My Football Legends Chat Group-Chapter 74: Inspiring Shout

Thankfully, Rio with his Captain’s Presence skill was able to read the atmosphere and began to move everyone along before things escalated in the tunnel.

It was only when the Southampton players had left, cursing about the loss, that Rio spoke up to the vulnerable kid in front of him. This was someone that reminded him of himself in his previous life, a naive talent who just wanted to play football without the politics.

Even now he still held vestiges of his former self, however, he had matured. After learning the hard way about agents and bench-warming, he had been given another chance to rewrite his story, one where he could be a leader, a legend.

Most of all, he would use this chance to achieve his dream of lifting the Champions League and live without regrets. If he could also pull up others like Archie with him, then there’s no way he would just sit idly by and allow them to burn out.

He already knew what it was like to lose momentum, it was pure misery. So Rio could not in good conscience allow Archie to continue on the same path of injury, not if he had the power to change it.

Rio placed his hand on Archie’s shoulder and spoke.

"Do us all a favor and keep that ankle iced tonight. You have a massive future, there’s no way I’d let a swelling get in the way of our partnership."

Archie flinched at these words, slowly raising his head and looking Rio in the eye. He was shocked to hear such a declaration from this person’s mouth after he had grabbed his shirt earlier.

This past month he had been chasing after Rio in everything. Running stats, passing drills, even diet... But Rio was always far ahead, his S-Grade physique blocking out even the sun.

No, that wasn’t it. He was the shining star ahead, drawing all eyes towards him with his amazing goals and aura, leaving people like him in the dust.

He saw it the first time they met in the gym. The bright light that emanated from the man in front of him, threatening to blind him if he stared too long.

’He thinks I’m his partner?’

Archie was speechless.

Once again tears began to form on the edge of his eyes, however for a completely different reason. He wiped them with the sleeve of his tracksuit and finally composed himself.

"Okay, I’ll do it, Skip." Archie replied.

Two days later in the manager’s office at Thorp Arch, Rio once again found himself at Farke’s desk, however this time it was the boss who had requested him.

Daniel Farke closed the laptop on his desk and carefully put it aside. His meticulous attention to detail was evident purely by the clean and organized state he kept his workspace in—except for the half-eaten pretzel on the side.

He let out a sigh, before finally turning to the star winger on his left.

Before speaking a word, he took a closer look at him, as if trying to figure out his secrets. Yet a few moments later he shook his head and chastised himself.

’There’s no way he could have known, it was just a lucky guess.’

Saying these words in his mind seemed to calm him down a little, allowing the manager to finally broach the subject.

"I just got word from the medical team this morning. They’ve found a hairline fracture in Archie’s ankle which had been hidden by the inflammation."

"Oh my goodness." Rio placed his hand over his mouth, doing his best to act surprised considering he was already aware of the Status: Warning thanks to the System.

"They’ve scheduled a protective boot for him for two weeks. Thankfully it was caught early, otherwise, if he played the second half against Southampton, it could have snapped completely," The manager said gravely.

Rio paused for a moment, his curiosity getting the better of him.

"What would have happened if he played?"

"Well, the physio didn’t go into specific details. But if Archie had sprinted on that pitch, the ligament would have detached. He would have been out for the season. Maybe even longer."

"Thank god that you stepped in, Boss." Rio said with relief tinged in his voice, this time he wasn’t acting.

He wasn’t sure what effect his new actions would have in this life, therefore after hearing the worst-case scenario of a career-ending injury, he was glad that they stepped in before it got bad.

Farke shook his head, feeling a bit uncomfortable with the compliment.

"It was you Rio, you’re the reason why Archie will no longer be in danger." The manager was full of smiles as he said this.

"Your father has raised a great son. Not only are you hardworking, you also look out for your teammates in the dressing room, guiding them when they’re in need. Even Gnonto has started to mirror your defensive work rate, something I would never have thought possible."

At this praise, Rio was flabbergasted. Of course, he felt great being complimented, especially since this was his manager who he deeply respected since his previous life. Yet inwardly he felt unworthy.

’I still have my flaws. I almost punched Djed Spence.’ He admitted to himself.

"Anyway. What I’m saying is that for the next match against QPR, I’m thinking about giving you the vice-captain armband."

"Huh?" Rio’s train of thought was abruptly halted after hearing the admission. He stared at the manager in disbelief.

"Hahaha! No need to look so surprised my boy. Just keep training like usual and take us to the Premier League alright, Vice-Captain?" The manager seemed to enjoy seeing the shocked look upon Rio’s face, since it had usually been himself always being shocked by Rio’s goals.

After a pause, Rio managed to compose himself and responded with a slight bow. "Yes Boss!"

Once the conversation was done, the two headed down to the training pitch for today’s session. The manager had to announce the news to the team about Archie’s situation, however, he spared the nitty-gritty details.

Since no one knew of the seriousness of the injury there was not too much commotion. Rio received a few looks his way thanks to the public incident in the dressing room at halftime a couple of days ago.

However, like the manager, he employed a poker face, yet his left much to be desired.

Feeling the eyes on him, Rio inwardly wished he could receive a poker face skill from the lottery wheel, it would surely save him a lot of hassles in the future.

[Chat Room Active]

The_King: Vice-Captain? At nineteen? You are moving too fast, kid. The armband is heavy. It changes people.

Total_Football_14: It is just a piece of cloth, Eric. But the responsibility... that is real. You must now lead even when you play badly.

Zizou_5: And you must buy dinner for the team. It is tradition.

Rio smiled internally. He could handle heavy.

He walked onto the pitch. The wind was blowing hard at Thorp Arch.

The squad gathered around. Cooper, the club captain, was there. He looked at Rio and nodded.

"Alright lads," Cooper shouted. "Archie is out for a bit. We need to step up. Rio is taking the vice-captain role while Ayling is recovering. Any objections?"

Silence.

Then, Gnonto clapped. Then Rodon. Then Piroe.

Soon, the whole squad was clapping.

Rio felt a warmth in his chest that had nothing to do with the Titan’s Core.

"Thanks, lads," Rio said, raising a hand. "But clapping doesn’t win games. QPR are coming on Wednesday. They are fighting relegation. They will kick us."

"Let them kick," Ethan Ampadu grinned. "We kick back."

"No," Rio corrected him. "We score. We win. We go home."

Farke watched from the sidelines, a satisfied smile on his face.

"Okay!" Farke blew his whistle. "Rondos! Rio, you’re in the middle!"

"What? Why me?" Rio complained, laughing.

"Because you are Vice-Captain now," Farke shouted. "You must suffer first!"

Rio groaned, but he ran into the circle.

As he chased the ball, he felt a vibration in his pocket.

[System Notification]

[Mission Update: The Creator]

[Progress: 2/5 Assists]

[Time Remaining: 48 Hours]

[New Objective: The Leader’s Burden]

[Task: Win the match against QPR as Captain]

[Reward: Skill ’Inspiring Shout’ (Boosts team morale by 20%)]

Rio’s eyes lit up. Inspiring Shout? That sounded like a cheat code.

He intercepted a pass from Summerville.

"Gotcha!" Rio shouted.

"Lucky!" Summerville laughed.

Rio passed the ball back.

"Wednesday," Rio whispered to himself. "QPR. Three assists. And maybe... the armband."

He looked at the grey sky. It looked beautiful.

Everything was falling into place.

But somewhere in a dark office in London, an agent was watching the news on Sky Sports.

"Rio Lance... Vice-Captain," Jorge Mendes muttered, sipping his espresso. "The price just went up."

He picked up his phone.

"Get me the President of PSG. We have a target."

Rio didn’t know about the sharks circling. He was too busy chasing the ball, laughing with his teammates.