07 - Star Level

When he got home, Lucas Tanaka took a shower and went down to the second floor, where he spent some time with Hana and Ayumi, his sister and mother, respectively. It was great for him to spend some time with them, especially as his work in Tokyo hadn't allowed him to visit his family regularly in his past life.

Lucas missed them so much that he talked to them about the whole game. Soon, Hana went to take his bath, and he was left alone with his mother.

When they were alone, Ayumi looked at her son all excited and said:

"Go for it! I'm sure you'll make it!" Her face was flushed, and she seemed a little embarrassed to be saying those words out loud, but you could clearly see the smile on her face and the sparkle in her eyes.

Ayumi's words gave Lucas the strength to remain committed to his goal, which was already very different from the timeline he had followed previously.

Over the years and his exhausting life in the office, Lucas Tanaka had convinced himself that his decision to give up his dream of becoming a professional footballer was something that his parents had also wanted and just hadn't said. However, this wasn't true. Ayumi and John had always supported him in any way they could.

So when Ayumi said those words of encouragement to him, Lucas grabbed her hands, looked into her eyes and promised:

"Yes, Mom! I'm going to be a starter in the league and I'm going to become a professional soccer player!"

However, not everything would be easier for Lucas in his second chance.

Plim!

When Mr. Yamamoto's message arrived, the content wasn't quite what Lucas had expected.

{Coach Yamamoto: Good evening, Tanaka. I hope you're recovering well from our intense training today (21:32).}

Coach Yamamoto: Unfortunately, you won't be in the starting eleven for the first game of the summer league. You have skill and are great for your teammates, but at times you lack vision. Ideally, you should come on in the second half, when there are more gaps in the defense, so that you can get the best out of the forwards with your good passing. I hope he understands my decision and, if he thinks we're wrong, he'll show it when he gets on the pitch.}

Lucas was shocked. Despite the poor start and the many misplaced passes, he had played a good game and managed to set up good moves. How could he not be in the starting eleven?

"Is it possible that he thought I did well just because the game was at the end?" Lucas asked himself after putting his cell phone down on the nightstand next to his bed.

[Yes, it's possible. You showed a better performance during the end of the game in the reserve team than during the beginning in the first team.] said the voice in Lucas' mind again.

"You! Arghh! I'd forgotten all about you."

[Do you prefer me to keep quiet during your introspections and reflections?]

"Yes, I mean, no... You can be useful." Lucas said. "First, now that we're alone, I can ask: who are you?"

[As I said before: I'm Céos].

"And what do you want from me?"

[Nothing. I'm just another of your many abilities. Céos, the God of Wisdom. I have no emotions and am driven only by purely logical calculations. I don't care about anyone but you."]

Lucas was still a little suspicious, but suddenly the memory of the knife in his chest and his mind fading came to the surface. He lowered his head and, with a melancholy tone, asked:

"You, the mission windows, the fact that I'm back in time... Was all that because I died?"

[Yes. Although I can't explain the reasons, I believe that your death was the trigger for all these events.]

"And who did it? Who is giving me this chance?"

[...]

[I don't know how to answer that question.]

"Right..." Lucas looked down at his hands. They looked so small and thin. "So, if even the God of Wisdom can't answer me, there's no point in wasting time thinking about these things. I need to know, Céos, what my abilities are." He stood up, cheering himself up.

[You currently have seven abilities. Among them are: <Replicator Genius>, <Champion System>...]

"Is there a visual way of showing this?"

[It's possible to check all your skills visually using the <Champion System> skill].

"And how do I activate it? Use the <Champion System> skill!" Lucas tried to say the command out loud, but nothing happened.

[Voice commands are unnecessary. All you have to do is will the <Champion System> to appear and it will."]

"Wish? Ah, okay, I can try."

Lucas closed his eyes, held both hands out in front of him, and imagined that the same screen he saw during the soccer match would appear in front of him. When he opened his eyes, there was the window that looked like it had come straight out of an RPG game.

+

===

Player name: Lucas Tanaka

Star Level: 1

===

[Attributes]

Speed: 25

Shooting: 21

Dribbling: 17

Defense: 9

Physical: 14

Passing: 22

===

[Talents]

Ball Control: 0

Endurance: 0

Strength: 0

Heading: 0

Scoring: 0

Vision: 0

Positioning: 0

===

Mystical Skills: <Céos >; <Sharp Intuition>; <Attribute Progression>; <Supernatural Resistance>; <Champion System>; <Replicator Genius>;

===

Soccer Skills: <Advanced First Kick>

+

"Man, it's no wonder I was placed as a reserve. I'm zero in talents and, calculating here, my overall is 17." With a hand to his face, Lucas said as he stared at that data window. "Also, what is this thing called 'Star Level'? I remember seeing it somewhere."

[Star Level is the Champion System's way of measuring how famous you are. You have a star, which means you're not even an amateur player. I estimate that for you to reach the level of a low-level professional player you need 14 stars.] said Céos.

"What? 14? Is that serious?"

[Yes. Even the worst professional players are hundreds of times better than ordinary people, even much better than normal high school kids like you].

"You tell me I'm not an amateur player and then you put me on the same level as ordinary people... You're going to hurt me like that!"

[If you want to know, in front of a professional footballer, the difference between amateur footballers and normal people doesn't exist.]

"Okay, okay. I've managed to understand how incredible professional footballers are."

[Warning! The Daily Mission has not yet been completed! Complete it or your attributes may decrease].

"Wait, the daily mission I received at the end of the game was for today? Shit!" Lucas got out of bed quickly. "I can't afford to lose attributes. All the ones I have are already too low!"