Hatrick!!!

Now, Aoi's Technical Skill has three C+ grades – ball control, dribbling, and shooting.

If Aoi recalled correctly, the only dribbling techniques he could buy to shake off the defender were Step-Over and Feint, with the former being five Ego Points and the latter being ten Ego Points.

He felt it was absurd that the Feint would be ten Ego Points when, based on the description, he only has to move his body to fake a move to shake off the defender.

However, he realized it would be difficult to execute it.

If he moved his body out of the blue to fake the defender, his balance might be off to dribble the ball.

He really has to buy the Fient to learn it in an instant while keeping control of the ball while he dribbles.

Without even wanting to save more Ego Points, Aoi spent fifteen Ego Points to buy two dribbling techniques.

[You buy the dribbling technique, Feint, at a cost of ten Ego Points.

Ten Ego Points have been deducted.

You buy a dribbling technique, Step-Over, at a cost of five Ego Points.

Five Ego Points have been deducted!]

The defender was closer to him, but Aoi did not slow down his pace.

When the defender was two steps away from him, Aoi suddenly performed the Feint from the knowledge the system provided him.

With his dribbling technique on a C+ grade and Dexterity on the same grade, he naturally performed the Feint, seemingly trying to dash forward in the right direction, when only his upper body moved while he stepped over the ball to stop it.

The defender quickly reacted to the feint moving to the side, and his left leg moved forward.

At this position, it would be difficult to adjust his body to stop Aoi from running forward in the left direction, failing to stop Aoi.

Aoi smiled lightly, knowing he had managed to shake off his defender.

The remaining defender was on his right side now, trying to catch up to him, but with Oka also running on the other side, they found it difficult to proceed.

Nevertheless, Kaga and the defenders ran towards Aoi without hesitation.

As they were nearing Aoi, the latter suddenly exploded with speed, faster than before, causing their distance towards him to increase in an instant.

Now that Aoi was only five steps away from reaching the shooting field, he did not restrain himself anymore; instead, he utilized the Power, causing him to explode with speed and power.

He summoned all his power at the price of his stamina, draining rapidly, quickly reaching the shooting field.

The goalkeeper was tense; nevertheless, he focused intently on Aoi as though he expected him not to pass the ball.

He was right. Aoi would not really pass the ball.

The goalkeeper only wanted to stop Aoi's momentum at all costs.

If Aoi passed it to Oka in the end, the impact would not be massive, but if Aoi managed to pass many defenders and suddenly exploded with speed, even scoring a goal against the main goalkeeper in last year's batch… it would be a different matter.

The goalkeeper wisely decided to stop Aoi at any cost.

When he saw how focused the goalkeeper had his eyes on him, Aoi grinned.

He was not perturbed, even though he knew how good the goalkeeper was, even stopping Oka's curl shot before.

However, he was filled with confidence.

It was not arrogance or blind confidence in oneself.

It was just a pure egoistic belief, stemming not from the idea but the reality.

[Ding! You have shown an Egoistic Belief!

You have been rewarded with a staggering ten Ego Points!]

As he was approaching the goalkeeper, the time suddenly slowed down. Aoi was now locked in at scoring the goal, but the question was how?

Aoi's mind worked excessively, searching for the chance to perform a goal.

Aoi tried to recall the shooting technique that would work. When he found it, he did not hesitate to buy it.

The ten Ego Points he received from the system were quickly expended, but he did not regret it.

Instead, as he received the knowledge about how to perform the shot, as well as its experience, appearing like he had executed it before, he was thrilled.

In an instant, he was two steps away from the goalkeeper, and the latter's mind worked like a machine, connecting every one of its cogs to form a possible conclusion.

He remembered Aoi's two shots earlier, which were always an Instep Drive, a Power Shot, which used the Instep (laces) of the foot for powerful strikes.

Hence, he deliberately spread his legs and would quickly react once Aoi performed the Power Shot.

When Aoi pulled his right leg lightly, the goalkeeper instantly decided to drop his butt to stop the ball while slowly lowering his arm, hanging above earlier.

His heart skipped a beat when he realized Aoi's leg was not pulled longer than before, as it quickly stopped.

Aoi then lightly touched the ball, lifting it over the goalkeeper as it successfully flew above him.

The goalkeeper was stunned, setting his eyes at Aoi, who was smirking, looking at him.

He could feel Aoi's condescending gaze, and he felt humiliated by it. 

His heart burned with rage, not accepting the fact his ego was being challenged. 

However, he could not deny that he was successfully played by Aoi, failing to stop his goal. 

That fact alone made his heartache.

Nevertheless, he had to accept Aoi's performance, passing the defenders, suddenly exploding with speed, and successfully scoring a goal against him.

Aoi's third goal was not just luck, compared to his previous goals before, but his own hard work.

He had to acknowledge it… even if he felt bitter.

His face turned ugly, leaving his gaze from Aoi, not wanting to let his pride be stepped on many times anymore, as he turned his head and saw the ball settling inside the goalpost.

He bit his lips, having a difficult time acknowledging the fact that his opponent successfully scored a hat trick when he was a goalkeeper.

He stood up slowly, hearing the clamor behind his back, especially Oka, screaming at the top of his lungs as he sauntered forward to grab the ball.

He was suddenly furious, dropping the ball and then kicking it again.

The net completely stopped it.

He sighed, turned around, and watched Aoi, having a full smile on his face as he was being hugged by his teammates.

This time, it was not just Oka who was celebrating with him, but it was his teammates, too…