Soccer System: All the Skills, One Player!

Chapter 44: 43 - First Half

The Gekokujou High School fans, who had previously been chanting from the bottom of their chests, became quiet and began to complain amongst themselves. At that moment, booing sounds could be heard, but they were still few and far between and it wasn’t possible to tell whether the booing was for the Gekokujou players or for Nishida, who was celebrating with his arms open to the opposing fans.

Lucas, however, wasn’t satisfied with just that. One goal wasn’t enough to silence such a ferocious crowd for the rest of the game. To do that, it was necessary to crush not only the spirit of the opposing players, but also that of the supporters.

When Nishida returned with the others to their side of the pitch, and the game was about to be restarted, the Gekokujou College crowd started chanting loudly again.

"These guys don’t give up easily." Lucas thought aloud.

Hidefumi gave a lopsided smile. "And they won’t stop. It’s getting annoying."

"For us? Of course. After all, we’re the ones playing against all this pressure. But for them..." Lucas pointed with his chin at the opposing players who were in midfield for the restart.

The Gekokujou College players were wearing expressions that expressed all the eagerness they were feeling for the goal. They were frowning and looking down.

"Huu... What a fright." Tsukada quipped.

Unlike Tsukada, Lucas was not someone who usually underestimated opponents, especially when the opponent was such a traditional school in the Chubu Region. So, after the game restarted, Lucas rushed to put pressure on his opponent.

Surprisingly, Gekokujou’s midfield had some obvious cracks, the result of their haste to score. They were still trying to stick to their formation, but they were a bit disjointed because we were marking high and, as a result, not only did they need to be in a hurry to pass, they also needed to create good moves.

At one point, the ball reached one of the Gekokujou defenders, but the pass was miscalculated.

"Oh, shit!"

Before another player could correct the mistake, Lucas appeared like a shadow, stealing the ball with ease.

The defender in question, number 4, tried to chase Lucas down. However, Lucas was advancing like a predator that smells blood.

The defense was instantly disorganized. The fear in the eyes of the Gekokujou players was as clear as if they had seen a haunting in front of them. They tried to reposition themselves while marking Tsukada and Nishida, but panic took over anyway.

Lucas evaded the first defender with a light touch, and the boy, clearly frightened, nearly tripped over trying to keep up. Another player approached, trying to close the angle, but hesitated for a fraction of a second - and that was enough. Lucas fired a left-footed shot, a missile straight into the bottom right-hand corner.

The goalkeeper, desperate, threw himself at the ball, but it was too late. The net rattled and, once again, the Gekokujou fans stopped singing in bewilderment. Expressions of disbelief and shock spread like a virus through the stands. And then the murmurs began once again. It was no longer fervent support; it was the sound of a crowd beginning to lose faith.

The Gekokujou players were in despair. Their breathing was rapid, sweat dripping down their faces as they exchanged frightened glances.

Lucas could see the fear in each of their eyes and, for some reason, he felt good, because in his past life, after Nishida left school, this happened many times until the end of high school.

Now, with two goals scored in less than five minutes against one of the strongest schools in the region, Wushia High School was clearly on the rise. This team, which had previously only been seen as cautious and afraid to make mistakes, was pressing their opponents relentlessly.

But Lucas wanted more. He had to shut them up completely, put an end to any hope.

A few minutes later, Gekokujou attempted a counter-attack, but it was disastrous. A pass in midfield was intercepted by Kenji, who quickly passed the ball to Tsukada, who played it to Nishida and the ball easily fell to Lucas.

The Gekokujou players, visibly terrified, tried to retreat, but they were disoriented.

When Lucas got close to the box, three defenders tried to surround him. Fear showed in their eyes - fear of failing, of leaving their team even more exposed. They knew what was at stake. Lucas, however, kept his cool, used <Mirage Feint>, and left the three players completely lost. For him, it was as if they were playing in slow motion.

The last defender fell to the ground as he tried to make a desperate tackle, but Lucas had already left him behind. Facing the goalkeeper, he did something unexpected: a subtle touch, deflecting the ball with class into the opposite corner.

The goalkeeper, completely fooled, didn’t even move. The third goal had been scored, and this time there were no murmurs. Just silence.

3-1 to Wushia College in the first half.

The Gekokujou fans were devastated. Many lowered their heads, unable to watch the massacre on the pitch. Some angrily started shouting profanities at the players, while others seemed frozen, unable to believe what they were seeing.

On the other side of the pitch, the Gekokujou coach was desperately shouting to his players, trying to wake them up from the nightmare they had fallen into. But his distant words were in vain.

The players were lost, sinking into a sea of insecurity and fear. What had once been a strong and imposing team was now a group of terrified youngsters with no direction.

"Doesn’t this count in the system as a completed mission? Does it only count when the game is on? If that’s the case, we have to score more goals so they don’t have the chance to come back after the break."