Chapter 208: The Night Before Inter II
Orange glow.
AGILITY +3
UNCOMMON
His joints loosened and his lateral movement sharpened, and the ability to change direction without losing balance improved immediately because agility determined how fluid you looked when shifting weight mid-stride.
Second card.
Orange.
REACTIONS +3
UNCOMMON
His nervous system fired faster and his processing speed increased fractionally, and reading bouncing balls or reacting to deflections would happen milliseconds quicker now because reactions governed split-second decision-making.
Third card flipped.
Orange again.
DRIBBLING +3
UNCOMMON
Ball control tightened and his feet felt more responsive, and manipulating the ball in tight spaces would be cleaner because dribbling stat directly affected touch quality and close control under pressure.
Fourth card.
The glow was different—deeper orange bleeding into red-gold edges.
COMPOSURE +7
EPIC
The boost hit harder than the previous +2, and suddenly his chest felt lighter while his mind cleared completely, and decision-making under extreme pressure would be significantly better because seven points plus the earlier two meant nine total composure improvement in one night.
Fifth card flipped.
White shimmer.
TRAIT SHARD [LEADERSHIP BADGE]
Collect 4 to craft: Leadership Badge
Text appeared.
「Leadership Badge: Enhanced captaincy potential. Team morale boost when worn as captain. Improved referee interactions and tactical influence during matches.」
「Current Progress: 1/4 Shards Collected」
Not immediately useful since he wasn't close to captaincy at eighteen, but the trait would matter eventually if his career progressed as planned.
Sixth card.
White shimmer again.
TRAIT SHARD [SPEED DRIBBLER]
Collect 4 to craft: Speed Dribbler
More text scrolled.
「Speed Dribbler: Enhanced ball control at high speeds. Reduces touch error when sprinting with the ball. Particularly effective during counter-attacks and breakaway situations.」
「Current Progress: 1/4 Shards Collected」
Perfect for his playing style because his acceleration and sprint speed were already elite, and being able to maintain control while running full pace would make him dangerous in transition.
Seventh card flipped.
Blue glow—but fuller and brighter than skill shards.
HEEL-TO-HEEL FLICK
RARE TECHNIQUE
Full skill, not a shard.
Text appeared immediately with technical breakdown.
「Heel-to-Heel Flick: Quick directional change using both heels in succession to flick the ball past a defender. Effective in one-versus-one situations when defender commits to a tackle. Medium success rate against elite defenders.」
「TECHNIQUE UNLOCKED」
The muscle memory downloaded instantly, and suddenly his feet knew exactly how to execute the movement even though he'd never practiced it before, and the technique would be available immediately in matches whenever the situation demanded it.
Eighth card—final card.
The card stayed face-down longer than the others, and then golden light spread across the interface slowly rather than bursting outward, and the glow was different from any previous pull.
Text appeared in clean gold lettering.
PLAYER ANALYSIS CARD
SPECIAL FEATURE UNLOCKED
Additional information scrolled beneath.
「Player Analysis Feature Activated」
「Function: Displays basic statistical profiles of teammates and opponents during matches and training」
「Scope: Overall rating, key attributes, form status」
「Limitation: Cannot analyze players more than 10 OVR above user's current rating」
「Status: PERMANENTLY UNLOCKED」
The golden light pulsed once more before fading completely, and Demien felt nothing physical change because this wasn't a stat boost or technique—it was interface expansion—and suddenly he had access to information that would help him understand teammates' strengths and opponents' weaknesses in real-time.
Useful for tactical awareness.
Very useful.
「RESULTS APPLIED」
The panel confirmed everything while his body and mind absorbed the permanent upgrades.
Demien sat quietly for a moment while processing the Black Pack's value—solid attribute gains, two trait shards toward useful abilities, one full technique unlocked, and a feature that would provide tactical advantages during matches—and satisfaction settled over him because the pull had delivered exactly what premium packs should.
He still had 379 match points remaining.
Enough for one more Gold Pack if he wanted it.
Tomorrow was Inter Milan, and more improvements couldn't hurt, and after a short pause he exhaled once before speaking again.
"Gold Pack," Demien said. "Use two hundred MP."
「GOLD PACK SELECTED」
「Cost: 200 MP」
「200 MP CONSUMED」
「REMAINING BALANCE: 40 TP | 2 SP | 179 MP」
The gold lever appeared again, and he pulled without hesitation.
The pack opened and seven cards flew out in their familiar arc.
First card flipped.
Grey text.
NOTHING… BETTER LUCK NEXT TIME!
Second card.
Grey text again.
NOTHING… BETTER LUCK NEXT TIME!
Third card flipped.
Grey.
NOTHING… BETTER LUCK NEXT TIME!
Fourth card.
Grey.
NOTHING… BETTER LUCK NEXT TIME!
Five whiffs.
Six whiffs.
Seven whiffs.
Every single card was empty.
Complete brick.
The worst possible outcome from a Gold Pack.
「RESULTS APPLIED」
No changes. No improvements. Two hundred match points converted into absolutely nothing.
Demien shook his head lightly while a half-smile appeared despite the disappointment because that's how gacha worked—sometimes you hit, sometimes you bricked completely—and chasing losses by opening more packs would only make things worse.
"Yeah... that's enough," he said quietly.
The interface responded immediately.
「Understood. Closing pack selection interface.」
「Would you like to view updated statistics?」
"Yeah."
The panel shifted, and a compact window appeared displaying the accumulated changes from tonight's successful pulls.
「STAT UPDATE APPLIED」
JUMPING: +9
STAMINA: +3
AGILITY: +3
REACTIONS: +3
DRIBBLING: +3
COMPOSURE: +9
A brief recalculation symbol appeared—a spinning circle that lasted two seconds—before new text materialized.
「OVERALL RATING UPDATED」
「79 → 81」
The number glowed briefly before fading, and Demien's chest tightened slightly because two overall points represented significant improvement, and 81 overall at eighteen years old put him solidly in professional territory rather than prospect status.
The interface expanded further with his complete profile updating in real-time.
「PLAYER PROFILE — FIFA SCHEMA (UPDATED)」
Name: Demien Walter
Age: 18
Club: Atalanta BC
Nationality: English / Italian
Preferred Foot: Right
Position: CM (AM / RW capable)
STATUS
Overall Rating: 81
Condition: Fit
Form: Rising Fast
Morale: Confident
PACE
Acceleration: 91
Sprint Speed: 88
SHOOTING
Positioning: 72
Finishing: 63
Shot Power: 69
Long Shots: 80
Volleys: 62
Penalties: 57
PASSING
Vision: 67
Crossing: 78
Free Kick Accuracy: 66
Short Passing: 81
Long Passing: 80
Curve: 83
DRIBBLING
Agility: 87 (+3)
Balance: 72
Reactions: 72 (+3)
Ball Control: 82
Dribbling: 69 (+3)
Composure: 86 (+9)
DEFENDING
Interceptions: 70
Heading Accuracy: 71
Defensive Awareness: 65
Standing Tackle: 60
Sliding Tackle: 57
PHYSICAL
Jumping: 72 (+9)
Stamina: 88 (+3)
Strength: 86
Aggression: 87
LEGENDARY TECHNIQUES
Andrea Pirlo — Deep-Lying Playmaker
Mesut Özil — Eye-of-Needle
Arturo Vidal — Warrior Spirit
Paul Pogba — Long Switch Flair
N'Golo Kanté — Everywhere at Once
Claudio Marchisio — Balanced Engine
TECHNIQUES
Curve Run Timing (Epic)
Lofted Dink (Rare)
La Croqueta Chain (Epic)
Near-Post Dash (Rare)
Heel-to-Heel Flick (Rare) ← NEW
SKILL SHARDS
Rare Skill Shards:
Cross Specialist — 1/5
Ball Roll Cut — 1/5
Drag-Back Exit — 1/5 ← NEW
Step-Over Combo — 1/5 ← NEW
Legendary Skill Shard:
Header Power / Placement — 1/12
TRAITS (SHARD PROGRESS)
Agent Negotiation Perk — UNLOCKED
Ball Winner — 4/4 (READY TO UNLOCK)
Nutritionist Upgrade — 3/4
Aerial Threat — 2/4
Set Piece Specialist — 3/4
Recovery Boost — 2/4
Press Resistant — 2/4
Speed Dribbler — 1/4 ← NEW
Stamina Regeneration — 2/4
Long Shot Taker — 3/4
Sponsor Deal Slot — 2/4 ← NEW
Leadership Badge — 1/4 ← NEW
「STATUS SYNCHRONIZED」
The interface held for five seconds while Demien absorbed the complete picture—81 overall with elite pace, strong passing, improving physicality, and a skill set that combined legendary techniques with developing abilities—and everything pointed toward readiness for tomorrow's challenge.
The panel dissolved completely.
The apartment returned to silence.
Demien leaned back slowly until his shoulders touched the mattress, and he stared up at the ceiling while the darkness pressed down gently, and the weight of tomorrow settled into his chest with that familiar mixture of anticipation and focus that came before every important match.
Inter Milan was next..
thousand of voices.
His eyes closed while his breathing steadied, and sleep would come soon because his body needed rest more than his mind needed to process, and when morning arrived he'd be ready.
NOVEL NEXT