Later on, Emmy learned what the coach had said from his teammates, who couldn't stop discussing it among themselves as they returned to class.
He found out that the training schedule had indeed changed. Instead of three days a week as they normally trained, they would now be training five days a week, meaning they would train every school day.
That was joyous news to Emmy—not only would he have the opportunity to train every day, but he would also be completing his daily quest during school training. He wouldn't have to worry about going to the highway early in the morning to perform his quest.
Training every day wasn't the only information he got. He also learned that there was a friendly match between their school and another school this Friday. Not only that, but every Friday would be a match day, with friendly games against different schools. His joy couldn't be contained.
"Incredible, this is just incredible!" Emmy exclaimed.
He waited for everyone to leave before approaching the coach and asking for permission to do a set of personal training after the general school training. As expected, the coach did not decline. He granted Emmy permission to use the school pitch for personal training but with a limited time—he would only be allowed on the pitch after school closed, when everyone had left, and he would only have an hour to train.
With his current experience, one hour was enough to complete the last daily quest, which required him to set cones between 10 to 20 yards apart and run between them. However, he didn't know what other quests the system might have in the future. The system had said the daily quests would change every week, so he wasn't sure what the next one would be.
After everyone had left the pitch, Emmy and the coach were the only ones remaining. He wasted no time arranging the cones and getting into action.
The coach watched him with interest, observing his every move—his exhaustion, determination, and drive to achieve his goal. The first couple of tries were failures, but Emmy managed to complete the quest on the third attempt, and the system message resounded in his head, signaling that he had completed the daily quest for the day.
He lay down on the pitch, staring at the system message.
[Daily Quest Completed]
[Rewards have been granted]
[Rewards: +5 Speed points, +2 Agility points, +1 Stamina point]
He checked his stats as usual.
[Strength: 10]
[Stamina: 12]
[Agility: 7]
[Speed: 20]
[Perception: 5]
[Endurance: 0
[Resistance: 0]
[Football Insight: 0]
[Attribute points: 0]
"At least it's moving," Emmy thought.
He was very sure that before Friday, his speed would surpass 30, and then he could proudly say he was a speed ability user. He couldn't help but smile.
Looking at his stats, his eyes suddenly landed on Football Insight.
"Oh yes, that new attribute," he thought.
It was a reward he had received after drawing that match earlier. He noticed that the attribute had an arrow tab under it, so he decided to check it out.
[Football Insight]
[Attribute Description: This attribute gives the user deep knowledge of football. With enough points in this attribute, the user can easily understand the scope of football, come up with simple and dangerous tactics in dire situations or losing matches, and see through opponents' tactics and counteract them. This is usually an attribute of a coach at a god level, but the user is lucky enough to have obtained it.]
"Wow, a god-level attribute. This is too much, man," he thought, a large smile plastered across his face.
Coach Enzo, seeing that Emmy was taking longer than usual to get up after falling, decided to approach him. He saw Emmy smiling brightly, staring blankly into the air, and couldn't help but smile too.
"It seems you're trying to achieve something, and I can see that you've succeeded," the coach said, offering his hand to help Emmy up.
Emmy smiled, grabbed the coach's hand, got up, and dusted himself off.
"If I'm right, this little training you just did will naturally increase your stamina, endurance, and also boost your agility a little. If I may ask, who gave you this task?" the coach asked with curiosity.
Emmy was surprised. How on earth did the coach know exactly what he had gained from doing this?
"Well, he's a coach after all," Emmy thought.
After considering the question for a while, Emmy gave what he thought was the best answer.
"My brother. He told me to do this until the end of the week," Emmy replied.
"Huh? Sunny? If I'm not wrong, your brother knows nothing about football. How did he think of this?" the coach asked, surprised.
"He saw it on YouTube by chance, then showed it to me and told me to practice it this week. He said it would increase my speed and stamina," Emmy explained, trying to convince his coach.
Of course, he knew the man wouldn't buy it. Sunny was well known for his martial arts skills and had no interest in football, so why would he suddenly find and watch something on YouTube about it?
The coach was about to say something, but just then, Sunny himself walked onto the pitch.
"Hey, bastard, aren't you done yet? I'm tired of standing out there," Sunny said, walking toward them with an uninterested expression.
"Oh, Coach Enzo, I greet you," Sunny said, slightly bowing his head.
The coach nodded in response.
"Return the cones before you leave. We'll meet tomorrow," the coach said as he walked back to the bench under the tent.
Emmy obediently did as he was told, packed the cones with his brother, and left the pitch.
---
Unbeknownst to Emmy, Blake and his gang had been patiently waiting for him outside the school gate, still wondering why he hadn't come out yet.
"I'm sure the bastard was still on the pitch before we came out," a boy in Blake's group said.
"Then why hasn't he come out? Don't tell me he knew we were waiting for him, so he decided to stay in his class," another boy said.
"Or did we perhaps miss him?"
"I was watching everyone who came out closely. I'm sure he's still in school."
"Do you guys think we should go check?"
"Idiot, the guards won't allow us."
"We can climb the fence."
They began talking among themselves, still wondering why Emmy hadn't come out yet. Fred could also be seen among them, but he didn't look like his usual self. His hair was rough and dirty. Although he bore no visible injuries, specks of blood could be seen on his school uniform—a sign that he had been beaten and healed.
Blake also stood among them but remained silent. After a while, he spoke.
"Let's go. We've stayed here for more than thirty minutes, and we still haven't seen him. Don't worry; we'll get him tomorrow," he said, starting to walk forward. The others followed him immediately.
"I still can't believe that bastard Eric said not to mess with him," Blake muttered under his breath, loud enough for Fred to hear him.