Soccer System: All the Skills, One Player!

'What does this question mark for a reward mean?' Lucas wondered as he trotted off to help rally the team's defense.

[It seems to mean that it's a mysterious reward. The only way to find out is to complete the mission suggested by the champion system].

'I understand that part. But what kind of reward needs to be hidden? I thought my rewards for completing missions were limited to experience, loot, and attributes.'

[According to my information, the champion system can offer about 1 million different rewards for each mission. Based on that, it's safe to say that the rewards get better and worse depending on the difficulty of the mission].

'In other words, I'm going to get a reward I've never gotten before for scoring a goal here and now! This is getting interesting!'

Excited, Lucas Tanaka gave it his all, dribbling to block Karaso High School's No. 7 from advancing.

His teammates on the bench shouted in celebration.

Lucas Tanaka got up quickly after the tackle, saw that the ball had gone wide, and ran back to his position.

High School Karaso now had to open up and try to find scoring opportunities, so it was only natural that the game became faster and more intense.

The sky was beginning to cloud over, promising the typical late afternoon rain, and a light breeze fluttered the flags on the flagpoles.

The green pitch at the Asset Minato Soccer Stadium wasn't perfect, as it was made of artificial grass, but the ball rolled very well.

As the ball rolled toward Lucas, he looked around for his teammates again, but at that moment, he noticed that the Karaso High School players weren't running toward the ball like they had before when they tried to keep up the pressure, but they were marking the Wushia High School players just like they had before Lucas entered. In other words, they prevented him from opening up the defense with his quick passes.

A broad smile appeared on Lucas' face. 'All right, Champion System. Let's show them what we can do.' Lucas thought.

He took a deep breath, feeling the cold air fill his lungs, and instead of passing the ball, he grabbed it and activated his new skill called , feeling a slight vibration in his legs as they also felt lighter. He looked ahead, visualizing the field and realizing that this was his chance to shine and earn the mysterious reward of the Champion System.

When an opponent approached and tried to disarm him, the first thing Lucas did was give the ball a quick flick, just as he had seen Tsukada do countless times. That was enough to make his opponent slip.

The High School Karaso players, used to Lucas' passing style of play, were surprised when he started to run with the ball and dribble. He soon passed the second marker with a short dribble, deflecting the ball to the left and then to the right, causing the player to stumble and lose his balance.

The skill seemed to have given him an accuracy with the ball at close range that seemed extraordinary.

"How does he do that?" One of the reserve players from Karaso High School shouted in surprise.

At the same time, on the bench at Wushia High School, Tsukada was in disbelief. He had never seen Lucas do that, not even in practice. To him, Lucas Tanaka was just a midfielder who was internally recognized by the team as a good passer, not a dribbler or anything like that.

Hidefumi leaned forward in his seat, put his hand to his chin and said:

"Tanaka looks different."

Tsukada blinked twice, still depressed, and agreed without thinking. "Doesn't he?! What happened to him?"

"I don't know, but it looks like he finally woke up."

Tsukada's brow furrowed at Hidefumi's answer. "What are you talking about?"

"You know, Tanaka was always a team player, a great passer and midfielder who played for the team. He was always the kind of player who always seemed to please others. However, I think he realized that just playing for his team doesn't always guarantee victories."

"Huh..."

"There's a problem, though." Hidefumi said, looking at Lucas, who was passing several opponents.

"What?" Tsukada asked dejectedly.

"I think it's because of Lucas' passive personality that he and Nishida have always been such good friends. He's the assist guy and Nishida is the goal guy... I wonder what would happen to their friendship if Tanaka finally started thinking individualistically."

After four dribbles in a row, Lucas was left free to move up the field. His teammates quickly appeared on the sides of his field of vision, and there, as always, was Nishida, the team's top scorer, exuding his unmistakable, animalistic hunger for goals.

"Lucas! Over here!" Nishida shouted, as if Lucas hadn't noticed him.

He was perfectly positioned. A simple pass behind the defender's back and he would be in a great position to fire a powerful shot with his left leg.

For a moment, Lucas' old collective nature almost made him give in and take the pass. He actually considered the pass, saw the play unfold in his mind. But even though it could lead to victory, he refused to follow the old path. Lucas wanted to complete the mission of the Champion System. That was why he was there.

In a risky decision, Lucas chose to dribble past another defender. He got past his marker, but not cleanly this time. The skill gave him a 30% chance of getting past a marker perfectly. Lucas felt a slight touch on the ball, enough to redirect its trajectory.

The world seemed to slow down. He saw the ball slip from his grasp and roll quickly out of his reach.

His heart nearly sank to the floor as he fought to at least try to finish, even though it was difficult. He succeeded, but the shot was chewed up and went wide without the goalkeeper having to make an effort.

Lucas stopped panting. Sweat ran down his face, mixing with the cold wind. He didn't have the heart to look at Nishida. He knew his friend was standing there, staring at him with an expression of disappointment he didn't want to see. Still, Lucas could hear it.

"Tsk!" Nishida clucked his tongue as he left the opponent's goal area.