My Football Legends Chat Group-Chapter 77: Mission Complete

[Mission Complete]

Received:

1000 Points

1 Silver Lottery Ticket

Rio exited the System interface with a smile on his face. He had finally completed the Creator mission for the month. However, that wasn’t the only reason why he was in such a good mood.

#MISSION: Ascend to the Peak (Part 1) [Complete]

*Task: Score or Assist against a ’Big 6’ Premier League team in the FA Cup.

TIME: Wait for FA Cup Draw.

REWARDS:

Platinum Lottery Ticket [Claim reward]

Unlock Mission: European Dream

"Hehehe, I got some good rewards today. First it was Leo’s pizza, and now this."

Without messing around, Rio opened up the new mission description.

#MISSION: European Dream

*Task: Win the Championship title and secure promotion with 100+ points.

TIME: End of Season.

REWARDS:

Mythical Lottery Ticket

Unlock Mission: World Stage

[Accept?]

[Y/N]

Seeing the new mission, Rio breathed out a sigh of relief. He originally thought that the next mission would require him to transfer to a Champions League club immediately, which would have been a problem given his loyalty to Leeds.

He imagined having to argue with his dad about moving to PSG or Madrid in January. Since Carlos had just sold the Spanish business to go "all in" on Leeds, a sudden transfer would make him look like a clown.

So seeing that he just needed to dominate the Championship was a relief.

’Enough about that, let’s spin the wheel.’

In the blink of an eye, Rio already navigated to the Silver Lottery Wheel and pressed the spin button.

The familiar spinning of the wheel only served to increase his excitement.

’Come on, give me another dribbling skill.’

After a few moments, the wheel slowly came to a stop.

[Congratulations, you have received A-Grade Agility Elixir]

Rio frowned.

"Damn it, I can’t even use this?" he complained in a hushed tone.

Since his Agility was already in the S-Grade thanks to the Body Transformation Protocol, taking an A-Grade Elixir would have no benefits for him. This was literally the worst thing that he could possibly get.

Without hesitation, he selected the re-spin option and once again watched the wheel spin.

[Congratulations, you have received B-Grade Balance Elixir]

Rio blinked a few times, seeing the even crappier selection than what he had previously got, yet it was equally as useless.

[SYSTEM HAS DETECTED ELIXIR WILL HAVE NO EFFECT ON USER. WOULD YOU LIKE TO CONVERT INTO MAJOR POINTS?]

[Y/N]

"Oh? That’s a thing?" He mumbled.

He was a little annoyed that the option didn’t come up when he had received the A-Grade elixir, but that was probably because he still had a re-spin remaining.

Without thinking too much, he selected Yes considering it had no other uses.

[User has been credited with 500 Major Points]

Rio thought that was not too bad, at least until he remembered that a Silver Lottery Ticket cost 1500 Major Points in the System shop.

"Give me back my tickettt~" He lamented.

Soon after he was able to snap out of his depression and finally used his Platinum Ticket—the reward from the FA Cup mission he had technically "pre-completed" by triggering the draw logic early (don’t ask, the System works in mysterious ways).

Wait, no. The FA Cup draw hadn’t happened yet. He still had the Gold Ticket from the Creator mission.

"Ah, right. The Gold Ticket."

Rio slapped his forehead. He had gotten ahead of himself dreaming about the Platinum one. He still had the reward from the 5 assists mission pending.

[USER STILL HAS A GOLD TICKET REMAINING. WOULD YOU LIKE TO SPIN?]

It seemed that even the System was getting impatient, as it sent him a notification to hurry the hell up.

"Okay, okay. Let’s see what gold feels like."

Wiping the pizza grease off the side of his mouth, Rio moved to the golden wheel and clicked the spin button without any fanfare. He was curious as to what gifts the ticket would bring him this time, as the last Gold reward (The Zone) was insane.

Rio held his breath as the wheel began to slow down on its own.

DING

[Congratulations, you have learned the "Tactical Blueprint" function.]

Tactical Blueprint: Allows the user to visualize and imprint a specific tactical movement onto teammates during a match. Costs Major Points depending on the complexity of the tactic.

’So it’s another function? Just like Scout’s Eye?’ Rio mused inwardly.

It seemed that he could unlock System functions only through the Gold Lottery Tickets. Scout’s Eye allowed him to see the mood of players, while this Tactical Blueprint function made it so he could force them to play better.

’Isn’t this exactly what I needed right now?’

Since his goal was to win the Championship with 100 points, he needed his teammates to stop playing like idiots if he wanted a decent chance. The System had not only given him the "European Dream" mission line, but it also graced him with the means to improve the squad’s IQ.

Any and all resentment from being given a B-Grade Elixir earlier was forgotten. Rio even sent a wordless prayer to the System, asking for forgiveness for his earlier transgressions.

[Chat Room Active]

The_King: Tactical Blueprint? Finally. Now you can stop screaming at them like a shepherd dog and start conducting them like an orchestra.

Total_Football_14: It is a powerful tool, Rio. But remember, a tactic is only as good as the players executing it. Start simple. Triangles.

Zizou_5: And make sure Piroe knows where to run. Sometimes he looks lost, like a tourist in Paris.

Rio chuckled at Zizou’s comment.

"Triangles," Rio whispered. "Got it."

He closed the System interface and lay back on his bed. The adrenaline from the Southampton win was finally fading, replaced by a deep, satisfied exhaustion.

5 assists. 4-1 win. New functions.

He looked at his phone. It was buzzing with notifications. Twitter was exploding.

@LeedsFanTV: "Rio Lance is not human. 5 assists in a month? Give him the keys to the city!"

@SkySports: "Breaking: PSG and Real Madrid scouts spotted at St Mary’s. Is the Championship too small for Lance?"

Rio swiped the notifications away. He opened his messages. There was one from Archie Gray.

Archie: My ankle feels better already. The ice helped. Thanks, Skip. Also, did you see the goal? I watched the replay 50 times.

Rio smiled and typed back.

Rio: Only 50? Amateur numbers. Rest up. We have QPR on Wednesday.

He put the phone down and turned off the lamp. The room plunged into darkness, save for the faint glow of the streetlights outside.

Wednesday. QPR.

Farke had promised him the armband if Cooper didn’t play.

"Vice-Captain," Rio murmured, testing the word. It felt heavy. But good heavy.

He closed his eyes, visualizing the Tactical Blueprint. He saw the pitch in his mind. He saw the QPR defense—a low block, compact and annoying.

He saw himself on the right wing. He saw Archie (or Kamara) in the middle. He saw Piroe up top.

Draw a line.

In his mind, he drew a blue line from his position to the back post. Then another line for Piroe to pull the defender away.

Execute.

It was like playing FIFA in his head, but real.

"This is going to be fun," Rio whispered, drifting into sleep.

Wednesday Morning. Thorp Arch Training Ground.

The air was crisp and cold. The Leeds squad gathered in the meeting room for the pre-match analysis.

Farke stood at the front, looking serious. The projector showed QPR’s formation. 5-4-1. The "Park the Bus" special.

"They will not come to play football," Farke said, pointing at the screen. "They will come to kick us. They will sit deep. They will waste time."

He looked at the squad.

"We need patience. But we also need speed. If we move the ball slowly, we die."

He clicked the remote. The lineup appeared on the screen.

Meslier.

Ayling - Rodon - Struijk - Byram.

Ampadu - Kamara.

James - Piroe - Summerville.

Rutter.

Rio frowned. He wasn’t on the list?

Wait.

He looked closer.

James - Piroe - Summerville.

Where was his name?

"Rio," Farke said, breaking the silence. "You are not starting."

A murmur went through the room. Archie looked at Rio, shocked.

"Why, Boss?" Rio asked, keeping his voice calm. "I’m fit."

"I know," Farke nodded. "But Cooper is injured. He failed the fitness test this morning."

Farke clicked the remote again. A new graphic appeared.

Bench: Darlow, Cooper, Rio...

"Wait," Farke paused. "My mistake."

He clicked again. The graphic changed.

Captain: Rio Lance.

The room went silent.

"You start," Farke grinned. "But you start in the middle. Number 10."

"Number 10?" Rio blinked.

"Piroe needs a rest. Rutter goes up top. You are the playmaker today."

Farke walked over to Rio and handed him the armband. It was yellow and blue.

"Vice-Captain was the plan," Farke whispered. "But Cooper said you are ready for the real thing."

Rio looked at the armband. Then at Cooper, who was sitting at the back with an ice pack on his knee. Cooper winked and gave a thumbs up.

Rio stood up. He put the armband on. It felt tight.

"Okay," Rio said, turning to the squad. "Number 10. Captain. Let’s go smash them."

The room erupted in cheers.

"SKIP!" Archie shouted. "FEED ME!"

"You’re on the bench, Archie," Rio laughed. "Sit down."