The New Dawn College soccer team had left the school as early as ten on Friday morning. They had left for Community High School, where their first friendly match would take place against the soccer team of that school.
Community High School is roughly 200 kilometers away from New Dawn College, and it took them nearly two hours to get there by school bus.
Community High School itself is no different from New Dawn College. As government-owned schools, they were both designed in almost the same way, with similar patterns.
Just like New Dawn College, Community High School also has five magnificent buildings—two belonging to the teachers and other school staff, while the other three buildings belong to the students. Apart from those three buildings, there's also the school stadium of the same size, a training room for combat and martial arts practitioners, a swimming pool, a basketball court, a tennis court, and so on. Every government-owned school in Nara City must have each of these facilities, all built in the same way.
Apart from the color used to paint the school, it looked exactly like New Dawn College.
"Wow, it looks exactly like our school,"
Emmy said, his eyes brimming with excitement and enthusiasm. However, a hint of exhaustion and strain could be seen on his face. He entered Community High School with the rest of his team, Fred walking closely beside him. Blake and his friends followed behind them, while Eric and the rest of the team walked in front, with the coach leading the way.
After what Sunny had done to Blake and his friends, they dared not attack Emmy again, and they also did their best not to disturb Fred. Sunny had made it clear that day not to touch his brother or his friends again. Now that Fred had grown closer to Emmy, even though they didn't talk much, they dared not touch him.
They avoided the two of them like the plague, and Blake focused heavily on his training. He even managed to get on the substitute bench after the coach noticed his excellent skills.
The last few days had been rather incredible and thrilling for Emmy. He spent most of his time training and had improved a lot, managing to secure a spot as a substitute.
Although his stats were not on the same level as many others on the team, he was confident that he could make an impact with his skill and intelligence—more importantly, due to a special attribute he had gained on the first day:
The Football Insight attribute.
This attribute alone could change the very outcome of a match if possessed by an elite coach. Although Emmy was no coach, he was confident in his experience as the captain of the newly awakened students in the past when they had not yet awakened.
He had been training hard for the last two days and had also completed all his daily quests, slightly increasing his stats.
[Strength: 10]
[Stamina: 16]
[Agility: 15]
[Speed: 40]
[Perception: 5]
[Endurance: 0]
[Resistance: 0]
[Football Insight: 10]
[Attribute Points: 0]
It wasn't a surprise that his Football Insight attribute now had 10 points. After completing his daily quests for the last two days, Emmy realized he couldn't make much impact in this match with his stats alone. Everyone was naturally stronger than him since they all possessed abilities; their overall stats were higher, and he might not even be recognized on the pitch.
But then he remembered the system's promise: 10 attribute points would be awarded at the end of the week. Friday marked a week since Emmy had been granted the system. Although he hadn't done the daily quest on the first day he received the system—starting only the next day, making it six days—Emmy still decided to take a gamble.
He woke up as early as five on Friday morning, completed the first two parts of the quest, got to school by six, then finished the last part and completed his daily quest for the day. Not only did he get his rewards for the day, but he also received the 10 attribute points promised by the system.
"How generous of you, system."
At first, he thought of pouring all 10 attribute points into Speed, taking his speed to another level. However, after thinking long and hard, he realized speed alone wouldn't help him. So, he decided to invest all the points into Football Insight—taking a gamble, as he wasn't entirely sure how this attribute would help him, especially at such a low level.
The coach led them straight into the Community High School stadium, where the school soccer team had been waiting with their coach. They were welcomed by the Community High School team, and the two coaches exchanged a few words before moving into the training room.
By the time they returned outside, the audience seats had almost been filled with a crowd—all students. It was already lunchtime, so it was only natural for the students of Community High School to come watch the match and support their school. This posed a slight disadvantage for New Dawn College, as they hadn't brought any fans to support them. Still, they didn't panic.
Emmy couldn't help but feel nervous—not out of worry, but from excitement. He was so excited that it made him nervous.
This was his first official match, after all, so he couldn't help it. Although he wasn't sure if he'd even be substituted in, he had a feeling he would be.
A few minutes later, both teams jogged onto the field with measured and organized steps, the referee leading them with the ball in his hand.
New Dawn College was dressed in green jerseys and white shorts, while Community High wore a full purple kit. The referee called the captains of both teams forward, conducted a coin toss to decide who would have the first kickoff, and it fell in favor of Community High School.
They started with a 4-4-2 formation, while New Dawn College stuck with a 4-3-3 formation.
Eric led the front as usual, being the team's main striker. The two wings were occupied by two speed-ability users. Karim, the captain, led the midfield with Fred behind him. Fred didn't have much to do in today's match—at least not on the field—as his ability would play a significant role later. The coach started him mainly to see how much he had improved in building his confidence. He would likely be substituted out for either Blake or Henry later.
Their defense was also solid, and their keeper remained calm.
The referee blew his whistle.
"Coach Enzo, I'm sure your players understand the rules of ability in soccer,"
The Community High School coach said from the sidelines.