Soccer System: All the Skills, One Player!

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

It was as if the system was challenging him to do the impossible. Considering that Luke and Klaus were twins and playing well, creating a rift between them seemed unrealistic, almost ridiculous. Their gazes met and, without words, they knew what to do. Destroying them from the inside, separating them mentally, would be a Herculean task. Yet that was exactly what he needed to do.

Lucas clenched his fists, feeling sweat trickle down his palms. The sticky feeling bothered him, but he didn’t have time to think about it. The score was still 2-1 in his team’s favor, but the fatigue of the Wushia College players was evident. He himself could barely breathe even though he had already used up a Rapid Recovery Elixir. He looked up at the sky.

The sun was shining high, relentlessly, making the heat on the pitch almost unbearable.

"Damn sun..." Lucas muttered, drying his face with his shirt.

On the other side, the Nishikawa College team looked like a hungry beast, with Luke and Klaus leading the way. Their energy was in stark contrast to the state of Luke and his teammates. Not surprisingly, they didn’t have to play for several days in a row like Wushia College did this past week. They started in the playoffs.

Suddenly, the system flashed in his peripheral vision, bringing up a new set of information:

[Hint: Emotional sabotage. Psychological attack could force a break-up between Luke and Klaus. Create an internal rivalry between the two to create discord].

"Internal rivalry?" Luke grumbled to Céos as he ran. "They seem to work together perfectly."

[Brothers can have fights too].

"I know, I have a younger sister. The problem is that fights only happen when there’s no common goal, and they definitely have one."

"Lucas!" Nishida shouted again, trying to snap him out of his state of contemplation.

Lucas turned around and realized the impending counterattack.

Klaus was already approaching the area at speed. He wasn’t as technical, but, unlike his brother, he had extraordinary strength and was therefore a threat from outside the area. His cold, focused eyes were looking for the perfect moment to shoot.

Without thinking, Lucas ran towards Klaus, even though his legs were as heavy as lead.

Klaus’ posture was one of pure confidence, as if he knew he had everything under control. He dribbled past Kenji with ease, using his superior speed, and was about to enter the goal area. Toshinori, the goalkeeper, was watching, ready to save. But then a treacherous detail appeared. The bright sun was directly over the defense area, reflecting hard against Toshinori’s gaze.

He blinked, trying to keep his focus, but for a moment the sun was so strong that it was impossible to see more than a few feet ahead even with his eyes crossed.

And Klaus noticed.

Seizing the opportunity, Klaus positioned his body and launched a kick. Lucas shouted, trying to alert Toshinori, but the distance between them was too great, and the shout was lost in the noise of the field. The shot was hit with disorienting force, and the ball traveled like a rocket towards the left corner of the goal.

Toshinori could only react too late. His fingers touched the air, away from the ball, and the sound of the net rattling was immediately followed by the roar of the Nishikawa High School crowd.

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"Damn..." Toshinori muttered, watching the ball bounce on the grass inside the goal. He had made impressive saves all game, but at that moment, he had been defeated by the most treacherous enemy: the environment itself.

The scoreboard now read [Nishikawa College 2-2 Wushia College].

The draw put pressure on Lucas’s team, who were already exhausted. They needed something miraculous to hold on to the match or, better still, to try to get back into the game.

Lucas wiped the sweat running down his forehead. Nishida approached, tapping Lucas hard on the shoulder, almost as if he wanted to transfer some of his energy to him.

"Let’s not let it go to waste, understand? There’s still time!" Nishida’s eyes were burning with excitement and he didn’t even blink.

Lucas nodded, even though his muscles were crying out for rest.

"Come on, Wushia!" Kenji shouted from the other end of the pitch, trying to cheer up his teammates. He had just been dribbled by Klaus, and his pride was still burning. "We need to be more focused!"

While waiting for the game to restart, Lucas looked at Nishida, who was standing next to him, carefully adjusting his boots. The two had built up a healthy rivalry since childhood, fueled by an incessant desire to outdo each other on the pitch. Nishida was stronger, faster and a finisher. Lucas, on the other hand, had his positional intelligence and ability to read the game.

They needed to keep using this combination.

The referee blew the whistle, and the game resumed.

Nishikawa College, buoyed by the draw, continued to press, with Luke running the midfield.

Nishida and Lucas knew that the best defense was now attack. They couldn’t let the opposing team dominate the pace of the game.

"Lucas, let’s focus on quick counter-attacks using Yukihiro as well," suggested Nishida, looking at the empty space ahead. "If we can catch them by surprise, we could score before the end!"

Lucas agreed. They needed something unexpected, a quick move that would break their opponents’ rhythm. Every second was precious.

For the next few minutes, the game continued at a relentless intensity. Every pass, every run was made with the feeling that the next move could be decisive.

When Nishikawa tried a new attack, Lucas saw the opportunity. He intercepted Luke’s pass, his leg stretching out at the last moment to touch the ball before it reached its destination.

"Now!" Luke shouted, throwing the ball to Nishida, who shot down the right side of the pitch.

Nishida received the pass masterfully, running as if he were on the run, while the opposing players tried to catch up with him. Lucas followed close behind, running with everything he had, his legs heavy as stone, but his heart racing with a single thought: the chance of victory.

As they approached the opponent’s penalty area, Lucas and Nishida exchanged glances. They knew what to do. Wordlessly, Lucas accelerated down the left, while Nishida drew his marker into the center. The movement was coordinated, almost instinctive. They had practiced it many times, but there, in the heat of the match, it seemed to be more a question of heart than technique.

Nishida made the pass at exactly the right moment, just as they had practiced that day before the championship. Surprisingly, the ball came in clean, low, sliding across the pitch. Lucas was free. He adjusted his body and took the shot. Nishikawa’s goalkeeper, alert, came out of his goal to close the angle.

The shot was strong, but not strong enough. Lucas didn’t have any exceptional finishing skills apart from the first-time shot he copied from Kenji.

The opposing goalkeeper managed to stretch out his right arm and, with his fingertips, deflected the ball out of the area.

"Damn!" Lucas roared.

"Nice try! Let’s not give up!" shouted Nishida.

They returned to their positions, trying to hold off Nishikawa College’s last attacks. The clock was ticking. The score was still 2-2, and both teams were now on the verge of exhaustion.

Then, when no one expected it, the final whistle came. Regular time and extra time had passed and the players from both teams hadn’t even seen it because they were anxiously searching for the goal.

Lucas took a deep breath with his hands on his hips as he tried to pull himself together. Nishida approached, tapping his friend on the shoulder once more.

"It’s extra time now, isn’t it?" Nishida said with a half-smile, clearly as tired as Lucas.

"Yeah, I think if we make more plays like that last one, we can score. But let’s try to reverse the roles."

But then something unexpected happened. The referee walked to the center of the pitch, and instead of signaling for extra time, he raised his hand, calling the captains of both teams.

Lucas and Nishida looked at each other, confused.

"What’s going on?" asked Lucas as he sipped his water near the bench.

"We won’t have extra time. The game will go straight to penalties... It’s a short championship, so that’s their policy." said Mr. Yamamoto.