My Football Legends Chat Group-Chapter 45: Wrong word!

SYSTEM LEVEL: 3 (3430/10000 Major points to level up)

NAME: Rio Lance

AGE: 19

TALENT ASSESSMENT: A-

POTENTIAL: D (S+)

MAJOR POINTS: 3430

USER STATS:

Physical Fitness: B+

Shooting: S 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Passing: C+

Game Intelligence: C+

Mental: B+

Skills: 12

PHYSICAL FITNESS: (Avg. B+)

Balance and Coordination: A

Agility: S

Strength: C+

Stamina: B

After nearly a month of intense Championship football, Rio’s stats had hit a plateau. Since he hadn’t played the last game due to rotation, there had been no new missions which meant that he had not acquired any additional Elixirs.

Rio had managed to complete all of the shooting missions in the image training apart from the bicycle kick goal. Despite having an S grade in Shooting, it was difficult to hit a bicycle kick against such intense virtual defending.

He was also disappointed upon seeing that the "Legendary Mentorship" function within the image training was still locked, even though he could now chat with legends in the chat room.

Looking at the status in front of him, Rio began to regain his confidence. He was sure that he could force his way into the starting XI and join his brother at the top, even if he didn’t get the headlines right away.

With these thoughts in his mind, Rio turned over and went to sleep, dreaming of his Premier League debut.

The following Saturday, Rio took the team bus from Leeds to Ipswich to participate in the crucial away fixture. The trip took just over four hours, yet it felt a lot shorter. He was sitting next to Summerville considering Mateo was sitting with Gray.

Since Portman Road was quite a historic stadium, the atmosphere was already buzzing when they arrived. By the time they walked out for the pitch inspection, he could already see the home fans filling up the stands.

He looked at the time and breathed out a sigh of relief after confirming he was named on the bench again. Thankfully he had made the squad despite the rotation.

Rio stood in place for a little while, staring at the Ipswich Town crest with a sense of determination.

"I can do this." He murmured, clenching his fist.

Whatever happened here had the potential to shape his entire season.

Dejected, the young winger headed back to the bench, not making eye contact with Farke on the way past. Or at least, Farke didn’t think he was; it was hard to tell with that hoodie up.

"Rio! Get stripped. You’re on."

Rio stepped up to the touchline, feeling a whole bunch of eyes on him. In the next moment, he felt the sounds in his surroundings disappear, causing a smile to tug on the corner of his lips.

His skill Crunch Time (acquired from Silver Lottery earlier) had activated, bringing his whole body into a focused state.

’Lucky me.’

The ball left the thrower’s hands and flew towards him, seemingly in slow motion. Rio’s heightened senses made it feel as if he had a complete grasp of everything within a 2-meter radius of himself.

He could feel where the defender’s studs were, could see the trajectory of the bounce, and could even count how many times it spun through the air. Information continued to pour into Rio’s brain as he calculated the most optimal timing to swing his left boot.

BANG!!

Rio didn’t even need to look at the ball to know where it was going. He casually placed his hands on his hips and began jogging towards the corner flag, relishing in the state he was just in.

This was the first time he had experienced the Crunch Time skill which increased all of his attributes by 2 grades in the final 10 minutes. It truly felt like he was having an out-of-body experience.

Farke stared at the boy who had just hit one of the cleanest volleys he had ever seen, even by Premier League standards.

"What did he eat for breakfast?" Farke asked, feeling a little giddy.

"Ah, that’s Rio Lance. He’s the one we... rested." The assistant coach stated, still tracking the ball which had nestled into the top corner, his face filled with awe.

Only now did something click in the assistant’s brain. It had been over a month since Rio arrived at Leeds and he looked a little different.

He couldn’t be blamed for not noticing the subtle changes, especially since he had been focused on the defensive drills. Farke traveled the touchline most of the game and would shout at hundreds of players each season.

His memories came rushing back, yet the thing that stuck was the boy’s deficit. His weak left foot.

"Wait what!?" The assistant almost jumped in fright.

"Doesn’t this guy rely on his right foot?" He asked Farke.

"Huh? No, look at the replay."

The assistant felt truly confused at the current situation, not even knowing if this was the same player. However, now that he looked closely, Rio resembled the "Party Boy" from the papers, especially with his pink boots and confident swagger.

He shook his head in the next moment; he would be able to make his mind up after he saw Rio dribble. His original assessment was that Rio was a one-trick pony with his only deficit being his predictability; as long as this was fixed there was no issue with starting him.

Rio returned to the center circle, however, there was no one to stop him. This was to be expected as everyone here was stunned, even if they were on the same team.

He headed back over to his position and took a breath.

The next two attacks were promptly dealt with by the Ipswich defense.

"Full time!"

Rio stood up and began to rotate his ankle before grabbing his water bottle. He ascended the steps onto the pitch and smiled, placing the bottle on his head and heading over to the away fans.

As he began to clap and thank the supporters, he didn’t realize that there was someone within the crowd who was gawking at him.

"L-L-Lefty!?"

A scout from Chelsea felt incredulous as he saw Rio celebrate by pinging balls into the crowd with his left foot. It was only after a few moments that he was able to piece together his broken thoughts and articulate a question to his colleague.

"Did you notice anything weird about that player?" He said, pointing at Rio.

The colleague was a little surprised but he shook his head, "No, nothing too out of the ordinary, why?"

The scout massaged his temples, however, he soon calmed down. It wasn’t exactly obvious, especially since this was the first time these people had seen Rio play live.

"He dribbles right-footed, but he shoots left-footed." He said patiently.

"Ah... Wow sorry I didn’t even notice." The colleague felt a little embarrassed, but he was a bit confused. Although it was weird, why would it matter in this situation?

Rio finished his celebrations and set his eyes on the defender who had come up to swap shirts. It was Leif Davis, the left-back who would eventually become a Premier League star.

He felt his fighting spirit ignite, knowing that he would get the chance to battle this defender again in the return fixture. After swapping shirts, Rio nodded his head and began walking off.

After planting his right foot he threw out his left hand to high five Mateo, projecting the vibe of a winner right to where the camera was waiting, as if it was drawn by a magnet.

DING

[Mission Update: The Ambidextrous Assassin - Task 1 Complete]

Rio gritted his teeth in satisfaction, yet he continued on. After scoring a goal with his left, the next challenge was to score a free-kick.

He wasn’t used to being so versatile which was starting to get to him a little.

’If only I could take the penalties too...’

With the fans chanting his name, a stocky reporter came to the mixed zone, staring at Rio with a grin.

’Let’s see how you like my English interview.’ Rio thought inwardly, putting his all into this next answer.

"Fuck yes, we win!"

Rio felt a pit in his stomach as he watched the reporter’s face turn pale.

’Damn it! Wrong word!’