Soccer System: All the Skills, One Player!

The day after the match, when Lucas arrived at the Training Center with Raphael and was heading for the changing room, Alex, the assistant, stopped them both.

"Lucas, can you come with me for a minute?" Alex asked with a serious expression that was unlike him.

Immediately, Lucas knew there was something unusual going on. However, he did his best not to give Raphael that impression.

Immediately, Lucas knew there was something unusual going on. However, he did his best not to give Raphael that impression.

"You already want to discuss those tactical ideas of mine, right? Fine." He said, knowing that Raphael didn't like the team's tactical discussions one bit. "Rapha, go ahead. I'll be there in a second."

"No problem. We'll talk later." Raphael headed for the changing room.

Lucas then followed Alex through the corridors of the main building at Brighton's training center. As he was only a youth player, he hadn't been around the building much and therefore didn't know where he was going, but when they passed the door with the sign "Management", he knew the conversation was serious. Enjoy exclusive content from empire

Sure, he had already noticed Alex's seriousness, but he thought it might be a problem with the team and didn't know it was that serious.

It wasn't long before Alex stopped in front of a door, turned to Lucas and said:

"Be very careful what you say in here. It's about your future."

Not having much to say because the words had slipped his mind, he just nodded in agreement.

Alex smiled at the corner of his mouth when he saw Lucas' obedient response. He opened the door and let him through.

When Lucas stepped forward, he saw a large, well-lit room with a high ceiling and a polished wooden floor. The walls were adorned with tasteful artwork, giving the room an elegant ambiance. In the center of the room, a massive meeting table dominated the space.

At the end of the table, a familiar face occupied the seat. He wore a baseball cap, had slightly tanned skin, a sneer on his face and also a broad smile when he saw Lucas. It was Coach Jimenez from Team A.

In the chair next to Jimenez was Eddie with his white moustache and a less than joyful expression.

"Good afternoon, Lucas. Come closer, we have a lot to talk about," said Eddie, pulling up a chair next to him.

"Good afternoon, gentlemen. What's the purpose of this meeting? Is it to talk about the championships we're going to play in? They should be here, or at least Felix because he's the captain, right?"

"Calm down, Lucas. It's all right. Come on, sit down." Eddie looked more impatient.

Lucas swallowed and sat down in the chair next to him. He looked at Coach Jimenez, who had been staring at him since he entered the room.

Alex hadn't entered the room with him, so it was just the three of them there. Three adults in theory.

"It's a pleasure to see you again, Lucas Tanaka. It's been a few days," said Jimenez and extended his right hand forward.

"Yes, sir. I think it's been almost a month, actually," replied Lucas, returning the greeting.

He wasn't thrilled with Coach Jimenez. Lucas knew Jimenez had approved his move to Brighton and that he owed him much more than Coach Eddie. Jimenez didn't believe Lucas was good enough to play on A-Team, unlike William which would have saved him a lot of time adapting.

"Ah-haha! Has it really been that long? Time flies when you're busy." Jimenez put both hands together and said. "Anyway, are you enjoying your time here in England? I know it takes a while to get used to the ever-so-dull weather and the awful food, but one day it happens. No offense, Eddie."

Eddie laughed quickly, without finding it hilarious.

"It's been better than I expected. My teammates are good, training is as intense as it should be, and I can see that everyone around me has the desire to improve and isn't too selfish. That's good. Not to mention that Mr. Eddie has arranged friendlies with good teams for us."

"Yes, I heard about that. You played Liverpool and Chelsea, right? Friendlies with big teams don't happen every year. Did you feel good during those games? Do you think you did well?"

Lucas felt like frowning, because he couldn't work out whether Jimenez was asking these questions because he cared about him or if he was still looking for a way to say something. Luckily, Eddie helped him out.

"Come on, Jimenez, just ask the kid the question straight away," said Eddie as he scratched his moustache with one of his fingers. He looked anxious.

"Question? What question?"

Jimenez pursed his lips, interlaced his fingers, sighed and said:

"Lucas Tanaka, I want you to migrate immediately to Brighton's A-Team."

Lucas's heart leapt when he heard that. However, for some reason, he wasn't as happy as he would have been if he had heard the same thing in the first week of training.

Jimenez stood up from his chair. "I analyzed the videos that assistant Alex made of your training sessions against Chelsea and Liverpool. I've also watched a few training sessions and seen how hard you've worked and how much you've improved every day. If before your decision-making seemed wrong, inexperienced, that has changed in an instant." He snapped the fingers of his left hand. "It's clear that you still have a lot to develop, but I believe you belong in the A-Team with the best boys from our base and not in the B Team. Eddie thinks so, too. Tell him, Eddie."

"Ah, yes," Eddie said, and he swallowed some saliva. "Kid, you were the major factor that led us to play so well against two wonderful teams. We lost against Liverpool, but it was still a spectacular game. And if anyone doubted it, we beat Chelsea's first team yesterday and showed that we can compete at a high level. Tanaka, you've been the driving force behind our team, both psychologically and athletically. It's incredible what you do at your age."

Lucas raised his eyebrows as he listened to Eddie say all this. Eddie had never given him praise outside the game, neither in training, nor in tactical talks, nor in anything. Lucas even had the impression that Eddie didn't like him.

Was Eddie's expression of seriousness because Lucas could go to the A-Team? How unexpected...

"See? Even Eddie agrees." Jimenez walked around the table and over to a blackboard, where he did some scribbling. "Look, we've got sixteen players on the A-Team, but I think you could get the start next year if our midfielder or one point moves up to the pros or runs out of contract. From there, I can see you moving up to the pros at the end of your second year or maybe in the middle of your third year. You won't even be of age when that happens. Isn't that amazing?"

Not long before that, Lucas didn't even know if he would ever make it as a professional footballer. It was a big uncertainty back then, because he was a time traveler who only knew the consequences of not following his dream, not knowing exactly how to do it. Now, there he was, already discussing when he would become a professional. It seemed crazy...

Still, he wasn't happy, and that didn't go unnoticed after he fell silent. His usually bright eyes became dull, and a heavy silence filled the air.

They could sense that something was deeply troubling him, and their curiosity piqued as they wondered what could have caused such a drastic shift in his mood.

"What is it, Lucas? You didn't like my idea?" Jimenez asked.

"It's not that..."

Lucas didn't even know why he wasn't happy, but something told him that this wasn't the way to go. Was it how long it would take? Another two years? Well, that didn't seem like much to someone who had lived so many years in mediocrity in an office with an abusive boss.

As he thought of thousands of possible and impossible reasons to explain that bittersweet feeling, many things crossed his mind. But he knew one thing. He wasn't experiencing the syndrome of craving to have and the boredom of owning something, such as when you buy something you really want, and it isn't everything you expected. It wasn't like that. He loved soccer, and he loved playing soccer even more.

Luckily for him, Lucas had something supernatural that helped him find answers sometimes.

[The mission "Thanks, but no." was granted.]

[Main Mission: Thanks, but no.

Description: You don't like the idea of playing for A-Team after being rejected, especially when you're so well integrated into your current team, and you think your teammates are playing well.

Goal: Reject Jimenez's request and make a counter-proposal.

Rewards: +1 Epic Loot Box].

The proposed reward was nothing compared to the clarity that description gave his mind.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"So, Lucas, what's your answer?" Jimenez asked, now on the other side of the table, as he looked at him with an anxious expression too.

Lucas looked him in the eye and said:

"Thanks, but no."