Second Chances: Indonesian Football Player
Chapter 99's
Nero woke up in shock and sat up straight on the sofa. The morning sun was already shining through the window, decorated with drawn silk curtains, on one side of the living room of his apartment. A ray of light reflected off the glass of his classic rectangular coffee table, blinding him for a moment as his pupils were still adjusting to the light as they had just woken up from sleep.
He took a quick glance at his wall clock and realized that it was already 10am. Only then did he remember why he slept in the living room instead of the comfort of his fully furnished bedroom.
The previous night he had bought the Perfect Passing of Toni Kroos from a system store. He immediately went through the mental conditioning necessary to learn the skill but fainted during the process. Inevitably he trembled considering the mind-numbing pain he had experienced the night before.
"System, did I manage to learn that skill?" He asked, standing up from the sofa and stretching his limbs. He could not feel the difference in his body compared to the previous day. He just felt a little dizzy, probably as a side effect of the mental conditioning procedure.
"Reporting to the user" the AI system chanted in a feminine yet expressionless voice. "Both the mental conditioning and the addition of the Perfect Passing of Toni Kroos data into the mind of the user are very successful."
"Why do I feel like there's nothing different about myself?" She asked. He then took a few steps and looked out the window. It was a slow Saturday morning. Only a few vehicles and pedestrians were moving down the street under his apartment building.
"Users will feel the difference when playing football" the AI replied. "Please rest assured that the information necessary to achieve initial mastery of the skill has been embedded in the user's core instincts."
"Users can now easily use the basic passing skills of those skills in the field."
"Do users want to check their progress in learning skills in the system panel?"
"Yes" Nero answered, walking back and sitting on the sofa. "Please show me the skill menu."
"Government accepted," chanted the system. "Tab Mastery Skills appears in the interface. Please wait a minute."
Nero blinked as his eyes adjusted to the glint of the translucent bluish interface. He watched as the Mastery Skills he mastered filled the entire length of the screen.
****
-> Mastery Skills: 6
(i) Vision Andres Iniesta
(First level: Progress: 90.001%)
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(ii) Deadly Shoot
(2nd level: Progress: 1%)
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(iii) The Miracle Shoot of Lionel Messi
(First level: Progress: 100%)
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(iv) CRUYFF TURN
(Progress: 100%, Powered beyond 100% solution.)
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(v) ELASTICO dribble
(Progress: 100%, Powered beyond 100% solution.)
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(vi) Perfect Passing of Toni Kroos
(Progress: 10%)
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-> Dungeon Virtual System
Enable Disable
(Activation charges 2 exp points per hour)
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****
"DING"
"The system has detected two skills that are suitable in usability and learning requirements" AI said. "The vision of Andres Iniesta and the Perfect Passing of Toni Kroos is the skill in question. They can be combined into one at the cost of 1500 points exp by the system."
"Do users want to combine two skills?"
Nero felt a wave of excitement gushing through him after hearing the AI question.
He had already realized that his mastery of Toni Kroos' Perfect Passing had increased to 10% in one night. That meant he could already use the trinkets that came with Juju. He is already satisfied because it will improve his reading skills and passing game, especially in midfield.
But hearing that the system could combine skills, Nero was stunned for a moment, speechless. He couldn't help but wonder how such a feat was worth when two Juju were from two different players.
"System," he said. "Are there any flaws that will follow after the merging of the two skills?"
"Yes, there is," the AI immediately replied. "Users will lose a bit of mastery once the system completes the merging of the two skills."
‘As I thought.’ Nero looked at me in his heart.
"Do users want to combine Andres Iniesta's Vision and Perfect Passing of Toni Kroos?" AI is asked once again. "Please note: the resulting skill will be much better than the two skills used separately."
"The combined skills will be better!" Nero muttered, stroking his chin. "OK, proceed by combining the two skills." He ordered, leaning against the sofa. Since the system had convinced him that the resulting skills would be better, there was no reason to avoid merging. Perhaps, it was a skill that could help him climb to the top of the Belgian League. He 'just' has to make a leap of faith.
"Governance accepted."
"1500 exp points have been deducted."
"The merger of Andres Iniesta's Vision and Perfect Passing of Toni Kroos will begin on 5, 4, 3, 2, 1—dan 0."
"EXPLOSIONS"
And once again, an explosion exploded within the confines of his mind. He then experiences a familiar splitting headache that threatens to stop all of his conscious thoughts. However, just then, Nero hardened his resolve and went through the torment without fainting. In just a few minutes, the waves of pain in his head receded like a tide.
"The merging of Iniesta's Vision and Toni Kroos' Perfect Pass is complete" AI said. "Users can go ahead and name new skills."
"So fast?" Nero asked, his voice higher than he meant. He thought that he would experience a torment comparable to the previous day. However, in just a few minutes, the system had successfully combined the skills. It doesn't make sense to him.
"Yes, that fast," the AI confirmed. "Since the user does not need to undergo any other mental conditioning routine, the system can do the merging in just a few minutes. Please go ahead and name the new skill." The AI urged once again.
"Call it Perfect Vision," said Nero, returning its focus to the system interface in front of it. Since both skills were related to game intelligence and mental aspects, Nero decided to name them as a type of mental skill.
"Governance accepted."
"Came the new skill as Perfect Vision."
"The skill data has been updated in the system."
Nero hears AI articulate as new data fills a translucent bluish interface. The number of Mastery Skills on the panel was reduced from six to five. Perfect Vision has appeared on the screen in fifth position, with 49.009% mastery%.
Nero was happy that mastery of his new skill did not start from zero. With 49% progress, he was able to use new skills in the match after a few training sessions. His only disappointment was that his game intelligence and other mental attribute stats did not improve.
He closed the system interface after perusing some of his other stats. After combining his skills, he remained with a balance of only 900 exp points. He planned to keep it for his daily use just like when buying a physical conditioning potion. He would also use it when activating the system's virtual Dungeon that was the virtual world where he trained most of his techniques.
Nero then quickly prepared a heavy breakfast consisting of oven-roasted chicken thighs, fries, bananas, milk, and juice. He was starving because he had not eaten dinner before. Moreover, it seemed like mental conditioning had depleted all of his energy reserves.
Therefore, he eagerly ate more than half a kilogram of food before going out for his routine morning run. He had to run for eight miles to complete the system's mission task that morning. It was part of a routine to adjust his body to the cold weather, which Nero did not want to miss for anything in this world.
From his apartment building, the rising sun emitted a reddish hue in the morning sky. Nero took a moment to enjoy a rare golden glow in the morning of March in Brussels. Instead, the morning breeze felt cold on his skin. So, he unzipped his Nike running jacket, put on his woolen socks, and started running a few seconds later.
He got into the zone as soon as he was out on the streets his steps were short and consistent. His body seemed to have achieved a form of full-body meditation as he ran along the pavement. Sometimes, he would explode with speed to hone his sprints and endurance. Elsewhere, he would suddenly change directions, making consecutive sharp turns, to perfect his body control.
He 'just' kept running as if every important step, darting past a few pedestrians on the street. Then, before he knew it, his apartment building was in front of him, and all that was left to do was to let his legs crumble and rest as they wished.
However, he did not allow himself to relax immediately. He lay for a few minutes in front of his building, thus completing the mission task of the system's progressive overload for the morning. He was then one step closer to obtaining the mental conditioning potion as a reward for the mission.
Nero climbed the stairs, hoping to take a short shower before planning what to do for the rest of the day. He hated the days when there was no training. He hopes to join the other Anderlecht players at Lotto Park to train. However, the coach several times 'advised' him to take time off from intensive training that weekend.
"I might have to buy a PlayStation like Damon suggested, to help me get through my rest days" he murmured. He immersed his entire soul into his musings without caring about his surroundings.
"Thank God, there's El Clasico today. I'll watch it, probably with the guys at La Rue."
He continued to climb the stairs towards the sixth floor with sheer instinct. Meanwhile, his mind turned to higher gear, trying to remember who ended up winning El Clasico's match in his previous life. Is it Real Madrid or Barcelona? But he could not remember it because he had never watched that match in his previous life.
Along the stairs, he seemed to hear someone calling. But he did not turn around because he did not expect visitors or know his neighbors personally.
"Nero," the man once again called. But that time, she could tell that the feminine voice was calling her name. He turned around, and to his surprise, found a girl he did not expect to meet any time soon, a few steps away. He stood by the door on the fourth floor, smiling at her like an old lost friend who had finally been found.
"Miss Sage," exclaimed Nero, feeling his heart start racing. "What are you doing here?"
