Rise of a Football God

Due to how busy he was, schedules piled up to the brim, it had been a long time since Sam last looked at his system player status.

And finally, he looked at it, first navigating to his skills tab.

Afterall, he just got rewarded with an Advanced-tier skill mastery Upgrade Card for a trophy he won that he didn't even play in the final.

Benefits of playing for a big club.

Sam sighed. "Should I perhaps invite the squad to a dinner party in my house and host them, just to thank them?"

He chuckled. "Maybe I'll do that at the end of the season".

"For now, let's feast".

He didn't hesitate, quickly scrolling through his skills.

By now, every single skill that he had was already ingrained in his bones. He knew his body like the back of his hand, and knew exactly what he was capable of with a ball at his feet.

Compared to when he just started, compared to when he even first entered FC Barcelona, his mastery of his body was now at its peak.

His body to mind coordination was literally perfect.

With this in mind, he went through his skills. Unknown to him, after his exploits in the AFCON tournament, even without the help of the system, some of his skills already upgraded on their own.

The best example was his Elastico dribble skill. After his exploits in the AFCON tournament, from the intermediate mastery level where it was before, Sam's mastery of the Elastico was now at the Advanced level.

With a grin on his face, after going through the skills, he choose one of them to use the Advanced-tier skill mastery Upgrade Card on.

***

[Target Skill Acquired: Knuckle Ball Technique]

[You have made use of the Advanced-tier skill mastery Upgrade Card!]

[Upgrading basic mastery skill, please wait…]

[Upgrade complete!]

[Congratulations! Your mastery of the Knuckle Ball Technique is now at the Advanced level!]

[Your Shooting Attribute has increased by +1!]

***

To Sam, his prominent football ability was his dribbling skills.

His dribbling was almost perfect, devastating on the football pitch. And after the AFCON tournament, it was his dribbling skills that improved the most.

Playing as a striker for FC Barcelona now due to Robert Lewandowski's ACL injury, his shooting was important to him.

Sam's shooting was not shabby in anyway, elite even, but still, he wanted to take it one step further when given the chance. This was why instead of choosing a dribbling skill to upgrade, he choose the knuckle ball technique.

Another reason was because the skill was still at the basic mastery level since. By taking it all the way to the Advanced mastery level at a go, it would result in the greatest increase to his overall football ability.

After the upgrade, relaxed on his bed with a smile on his face, Sam finally focused on his system player status again.

~----~

[Player status!]

Host: Samuel Moses

Current Career Status: Reigning Premier League champion, Reigning FA Cup champion, Reigning Supercopa de Espana champion, Reigning AFCON champion

Talent Rating: S

Player Position: Attacking Midfield/Striker

Player Attributes:

*Pace: 86

*Shot: 88

*Pass: 85

*Dribbling: 89

*Defending: 40

*Physicality: 82

*Stamina: 90

Overall Rating: 88

…

[Owned Football Skills:]

[Passive skill: Stalwart]

>You have proven your credentials as a reliable stalwart with well-rounded attributes in the middle of the pitch. You can score, you can assist, you can dribble, and you can press; you are the complete package<

>+10% to all 4 packages when on the pitch<

>All 4 packages refer to your shooting attribute, your passing attribute, your dribbling attribute, and your stamina attribute<

[Passive Skill: Clutch Player]

>Clutch Player: This passive skill triggers only during the biggest games, in the biggest stages. When triggered, all your abilities and attributes increase by 50%, making you a far deadlier, and lethal footballer. The X-Factor favors you, making you a clutch player<

[Active skills:]

[Basic mastery level: Step overs; overhead kick; trivela shot]

[Intermediate mastery level: Cruyff turn; La croqueta; Power header; Roulette; Overhead Kick; Rainbow Flick; Penalty Technique; Scissor Kick]

[Advanced mastery level: Spatial awareness; Power shot; Body feint; Elastico; Knuckle Ball Technique]

[Perfect mastery level: Freekick Technique]

…

[Legendary Inheritance: Elastico]

[Legendary Inheritance: Spatial Awareness]

[Legendary Inheritance: Power Shot]

…

[Ability cards:]

>Shoot it like Lewy<

[Card uses remaining: 2]

>Thread it like KDB<

[Card uses remaining: 2]

>Bend it like Beckham<

[Card uses remaining: 2]

…

[Trophies won:]

>NPFL title ×1<

>CAF Champions League trophy ×1<

>EFL Cup title ×1<

>Premier League title ×1<

>FA Cup title ×1<

…

[Title: Space Interpreter!]

[Title: Legs of Steel!]

[System Remark: An elite young talent playing in one of the best leagues in the world!]

~----~

And all of a sudden, Sam's basic mastery skills were the lowest in his repertoire. He was an even better footballer now.

During the course of the AFCON tournament, his skills improved a lot. Not just his skills, but his attributes too.

At some point, his Stamina attribute finally broke the threshold to 90.

Not just his Stamina, his dribbling, shooting, and physicality attributes also improved. Honestly, staring at the status, Sam felt a bit scared.

He could not believe he was the one with these ridiculous stats.

"I'm no longer a Lion Cub". He thought with a chuckle.

With that, resting his head comfortably, he finally slept.

…

The next day, Sam woke up early, quickly catching up with his friends as they started their hobby early.

After completing his daily system quest alongside his friends, they finally reported for team training again under Hansi Flick's guidance.

The Barcelona head coach drilled them till they were tired, after which they went home. The next day, they did the same thing, and again, and again till D-day finally came.

In the blink of an eye, it was already 29th.

They were caught in the eye of the storm, trapped in the deep end.

They were not scared though, rather, they were determined to continue their trophy bids this season.

Sam went straight back into Hansi Flick's starting XI.

He felt hyped for the game.

'Bring it on!'