Soccer System: All the Skills, One Player!

The second half began with a heavy air, as if everyone knew that the next few minutes would be definitive.

The Wushia College team had organized itself again, with Lucas Tanaka playing closer to midfield to use his strength to create plays and also help defend, while Nishida and Yukihiro were further forward. As the first few minutes went by, his eyes kept up with the pace of the game, but his body began to feel the weight of tiredness, even though he had just come back from the break.

The scoreboard showed a slender lead: [Nishikawa College 1 - 2 Wushia College]. The clock was already ticking 12 minutes. There were just over 30 minutes left. Half an hour. They only needed to hold this scoreline for half an hour to qualify for the semi-final. Lucas, in particular, wanted this because her family was going to Nagoya to watch them in the semi-final.

So when Lucas intercepted a ball, he felt the urge to go forward and score another goal to make them more comfortable. Sweat poured down his face and his lungs burned, but he knew he couldn’t fail. Not now. However, when he looked sideways, he realized that the team wasn’t advancing with him.

Kenji was running, but much slower than usual. Hidefumi, the unexpected hero of the previous goal, was at the back, breathing heavily with his hands on his hips and trying to catch his breath.

Tsukada was running, but he was moving his legs with worrying slowness.

The rest of the team looked equally exhausted.

On the other hand, Nishikawa College was fast, alert, determined to turn the corner and win.

"Lucas!" Nishida shouted.

Nishida was further forward, trying to position himself to receive the pass, but even he, who was normally a tireless machine, seemed to be succumbing to the weight of fatigue. Lucas had no choice. He had to act, and quickly. Nishida was pushing himself, running as fast as he could. Lucas tapped the ball, calculating the trajectory with precision.

The ball slid across the grass towards Nishida. For a moment, Lucas felt that the move had worked, that they could keep possession and perhaps, with luck, find a way through on goal. But Nishikawa was alert. Before the ball reached Nishida, an opposing defender, faster and with much more energy, intercepted the ball with ease, starting a counter-attack.

The pitch, which seconds before had looked promising, suddenly turned into a minefield. Lucas saw Nishikawa’s team advancing, like predators who had sniffed out their prey. He knew what that meant.

One mistake, one slip-up, and the slender lead that Wushia College had fought so hard to maintain would disappear.

At the side of the pitch, coach Yamamoto was watching the scene with watchful eyes. He was obviously aware of the extreme fatigue that had settled over his team. He knew that every player on the pitch was at their limit. But he also knew that he didn’t have many options. The bench was thin, with few substitutes capable of sustaining the insane pace that the match demanded.

The commentators, also attentive, began to question the old coach’s decisions.

"Yes, viewers, Wushia College is exhausted. They have talent, no doubt about it, we saw that in the first half, but Nishikawa College’s energy seems to be swallowing them alive now."

"Doesn’t Coach Yamamoto see that? Why hasn’t he made any substitutions yet?"

"The problem is that he probably knows that the best are on the pitch now. The options on the bench don’t have the same capacity to handle that pressure. He hasn’t changed the team much since the start of the championship... Substituting and putting someone in who isn’t in a good rhythm could end up making the situation worse."

"That’s true, but if he doesn’t do anything, Wushia College will be swallowed up more and more.

For his part, Lucas had the same reading of the situation as the commentators. He knew, as well as Yamamoto, that the players on the pitch were the best they had. There were no alternatives. It was all or nothing. They had to hold out until the end, even if their bodies were crying out for rest. The pressure was overwhelming, but giving up was not an option.

As Nishikawa College’s counter-attack advanced, Lucas ran desperately to get back on defense. His legs were heavy as lead, but he forced every step. The opposing team launched a powerful shot, but Hidefumi, with a Herculean effort, managed to block it, deflecting the ball away. It was a temporary relief. The game was relentless.

Collective exhaustion was an invisible enemy, eating away at the mental and physical stamina of all the Wushia College players on the pitch.

Lucas needed to do something. He needed a brilliant move, something to give the team a breather. But the genius move came from Luke.

Luke, the prodigy from Nishikawa, was also famous for his lethal accuracy with long-range shots. The young striker had just intercepted a misplaced pass and was setting up his leg for the shot. Luke’s arm swung out, his left foot subtly settling on the turf before he drove his shot into the opposite corner.

The ball left his boot with disconcerting effect, curving slightly in the air in a movement that would fool any ordinary goalkeeper. Enjoy exclusive content from empire

But not Toshinori.

The goalkeeper from Wushia College, stoic to the limit, deflected the ball outwards with his fingertips. The impact of the save made a muffled sound, like distant thunder. The ball went out for a corner, and the Nishikawa players let out sighs of frustration.

Lucas, on the other hand, felt something different. As soon as the ball was kicked away, the familiar cold buzz ran down his spine.

[The player Luke Ivanov has just demonstrated the Skill <Magic Curve Effect>, would you like to check the copy conditions for this skill?]

Luke’s heart raced. He knew what was coming next. The condition for activating the <Copying Genius> was always a challenge. The system didn’t make you strong without effort; it always demanded something in return.

[Skill Copy Conditions <Magic Curve Effect>: Make Luke and Klaus fight to the point where they no longer want to pass the ball to each other].