2 Hyogo Prefecture Semi-Finals

Hokkai High School vs. Hyogo Mikage Shihan.

Half-break.

During the half-time break, Leonardo who is now called Murano accepted to begin the system's operation.

—

'COMMENCING OPERATION'

—

BOOTING STARTUP…

****

Murano's head buzzed as his bones burned with a ticklish sensation. The agony felt like someone had stuck a knife to his head.

He instantly lay down on the bench. He tightened his eyes and wished for the misery to go away. The rest of the world grew distant, and all he could focus on was the misery buried deep in his brain and bones.

But quickly, he heard another ding sound before the misery evaporated like a wave. The lettering on the screen had changed when he opened his eyes.

—

SYSTEM FULLY INTEGRATED

—

ANALYZING USER DATA...

—-

ANALYZATION COMPLETED

—

That was the last of the message. The virtual display went dark once again. but only briefly. A new message appeared.

—

FIRST TIME USER REWARD

[5x Stamina Elixir] [5x Strength Enhancing Elixir] [+5 All Stats] [5x Mental Pill] [-10% Store Sales] [5x Agility Elixir]

[Claim Reward]

****

It resembled the user interface of a simple video game that the player could use to navigate the menus of the game.

"Yo Murano. Stop gazing out into space and concentrate, the break just ended." Murano was jolted back to reality by Kyo.

In a little over 15 minutes, the halftime break came to an end.

As soon as the coach was done with his pep talks and instructions, the players moved toward the field.

"Did you hear what the coach said, if at all?" Kyo enquired.

"What did he say?" Murano asked looking perplexed, and answered with a question of his own.

"Ugh, you're a lost cause." Kyo blurted, before going on to describe Murano's role.

"You would be brought on the game just a few minutes after kick-off so you must advance up the field to play as a false nine. With two extra attackers on the wings, this would enable us to get past the defense of the other squad."

"Give me the ball when I'm on." Murano blurted out.

"Huh?" Kyo was surprised that Murano was demanding today.

"Tell the others to give me the ball." He repeated.

Murano said as the players headed to the pitch.

After 15 minutes of the second half, Hokkai High was still having trouble getting past Hyogo's defense. As two midfielders from the opposing side were moved to defense in order to prevent any goals from being scored. The 5-2-3 alignment made it difficult for Murano's side to get to the other team's penalty area. There were no places in the box to send the ball to the attackers, therefore their strategy was futile.

[System]

As he was brought onto the game not long after, Murano pondered.

The system menu opened and he tapped the Inventory panel swiftly.

[Inventory]

[5x Stamina Elixir] [5x Strength Enhancing Elixir] [+5 All Stats] [5x Mental Pill] [-10% Store Sales] [5x Agility Elixir]

In order to get an advantage, he chose to ingest 1x Stamina, 1x Agility and 1x Strength Enhancing Elixir.

He felt his stamina refuel and his muscles contract after ingesting the elixirs. This was what he needed at this point of the game as the players get tired and the managers chooses who to replace them with.

This moment of the half is also the most decisive as changes could hinder a team's plan execution or strengthen it.

As soon as his side regained possession of the ball, he began to dash forward. A lengthy cross from the deep mid-field to the opposition penalty box was requested by Murano. Kurosaki complied with his request, however, the cross seemed to be heading toward the goal box due to its speed.

Murano rushed forward, but it seemed like the five defenders would stop him.

The fatigue began to set in at that point. With his sprints, Murano feinted the center-backs as he rushed toward the ball and outran the defenders. He elevated his leg, making a connection between it and the ball.

Pa!

The ball went directly into the goal as it went straight to the top corner of the box.

The score was now 1-2.

The goalie was in amazement and stood there still because he knew his defenders would stop the attacker but that wasn't what happened.

The tiny group cheered and hollered in delight in support of their high school squad.

As the clock was running down, Murano refrained from celebrating and hurried to join his team in formation. Soon after, the kickoff began.

….