My Football Legends Chat Group-Chapter 52: Yes, Boss!

The rest of the day seemed to drag on for Rio who found himself staring out the window of the team bus just like old times.

Yet instead of looking at the rain, he now had the status window of his System hovering in front of him.

SYSTEM LEVEL: 3 (3950/10000 Major points to level up)

NAME: Rio Lance

AGE: 19

TALENT ASSESSMENT: A-

POTENTIAL: D (S+)

MAJOR POINTS: 3950

USER MENU:

-STATS

-MISSIONS

-SYSTEM SHOP

-LOTTERY (Locked)

-IMAGE TRAINING

-IDENTIFY

-CHAT ROOM

USER STATS:

Physical Fitness: B+

Shooting: S

Passing: C+

Game Intelligence: B+

Mental: A+

Skills: 13

PHYSICAL FITNESS: (Avg. B+)

Balance and Coordination: A

Agility: S

Strength: C+

Stamina: B+

In the month that he had since the Millwall game, Rio had been working hard on not just his physical training, but also brushing up on his set-pieces.

In reality, he had no other choice since even after four weeks he had yet to receive any increases in his strength, at least according to the System.

Which was why only his Game Intelligence had improved by two grades, thanks to the constant tactical advice from Total_Football_14.

Rio was hopeful that the A-grade Physicality Enhancing Elixir would be able to push his stats closer to the S rank. Although he realized that his stats were harder to increase the higher they became.

This also begged the question, were there grades higher than S? Rio had seen Mateo’s potential was at the SSS+ grade which was the highest he had ever seen, even costing him some Major points to be able to view his stats.

Rio had a feeling that there were ranks above the SSS rating, mainly because even with his S-rated Agility, he still struggled to consistently beat the virtual Maldini in his Image Training.

Since he was only dribbling against the "Legendary" difficulty, it was the logical conclusion.

Rio was startled from his deep thoughts by the sound of the bus arriving at the training ground gates, signifying the end of the journey. Before he could even make a move to grab his bag, Archie Gray was already bouncing around in anticipation.

"Let’s go Rio!"

Holding back a laugh, Rio calmly placed his headphones into his bag and headed off the bus.

Not long later, the two found themselves at the Thorp Arch training complex located on the edge of the city. Seeing the familiar pitches where he had trained alongside Mateo in his first week seemed surreal.

However, these pitches had also been a source of his pain for many weeks. After being benched for so long, what was once his proving ground had turned into a reminder of what he had to overcome.

"Rio? Are you coming?" Archie turned around and spoke to Rio who had stopped in place with a vacant expression on his face.

"Yeah, coming." Thankful for the interruption, Rio continued forward, gripping his washbag tightly with his right hand.

After arriving onto the pitch, Rio saw a figure dressed in a tracksuit holding a clipboard. Rio instantly recognized the man who he had looked up to, who had tamed his selfish dribbling and arrogant attitude in the last few weeks.

"Boss..." Rio whispered, his tone filled with respect.

"Good afternoon Boss!" Once close enough, Rio placed his bag on the bench and nodded deeply in front of the man.

"Ah... G-Good afternoon Boss." Archie was startled, having not expected Rio to be so formal today, he quickly followed Rio’s lead.

"You..." Manager Farke looked up from his clipboard, recognizing the two players who had caused him a headache with their cafeteria antics yesterday.

He placed his free hand on his chin and began to rub it gently in thought. His eyes were sharp and intelligent, contrasted with some obvious bags under his eyes from analyzing Southampton’s press.

"Names," He replied, turning his attention back to the clipboard, pretending not to know them.

"Rio Lance."

"Archie Gray."

The two responded one after the other, playing along with the German’s humor.

"Lance?" Farke’s expression seemed thoughtful for a moment, as if he was doing his best to remember such a name.

"Boss, you know my dad Carlos. The one who brought the Jamón Ibérico." Rio said simply, attempting to reboot his memory with bribery.

"AH! Yes Carlos, of course you’re his son, I can see the resemblance. It’s good to see that his son had inherited his father’s taste in ham and not his terrible English." He responded.

Although his words may not have sounded too pleasant to the ear, a smile and reminiscent look painted his features.

The man in front of them was Daniel Farke, someone who had worked with Premier League stars. Carlos would send potential wines to Manager Farke in order to get an evaluation (and playing time).

Manager Farke was one of the main reasons he had decided to stay at Leeds after declining the initial interest from mid-table Spanish clubs.

A moment later, another bunch of players arrived onto the pitch, causing the manager to move his gaze and size them up.

Rio also turned his attention to the new arrivals, his eyes focusing on one person in particular.

’Ethan...’

Memories flashed in front of his eyes as if they had just happened yesterday. Out of all of his teammates in the U21s, Ethan Ampadu was the one he respected the most, yet ironically they shared similar fates.

While Rio had gotten benched for being lightweight, Ethan suffered a loan spell at Chelsea where he was ignored for years before finally finding a home here. Like Mateo, he was highly rated, yet he fell just short of the elite level—until now.

’I don’t know what’s worse, losing playing time or losing hope...’ Rio mused internally.

"Looks like you’re all here. Get in your bibs and then we’ll go warm up with the rest of the team," Farke said.

After the warm-up, Farke took them to the tactical board and explained the plan for Southampton.

"Get changed and meet me back on the pitch. I’ll be testing you all on some defensive transitions as well as your general fitness," He said simply, walking out in the next moment.

After the manager had left, the twenty or so players did as they were told and began to get dressed. This was the case for all except Rio who made his way over to the new signing who was in the corner.

’Ah, what’s he doing?’ Archie looked on in puzzlement, was there a fight about to start already?

Rio stopped in front of a tall, lanky striker who looked like he hadn’t slept in days. It was Joel Piroe, but he looked... different. More stressed.

"Joel," Rio said, his voice low.

Piroe looked up, startled. "Rio? What’s up?"

"You’re worried about the Southampton game," Rio stated, not asking.

Piroe sighed, dropping his shoulders. "Is it that obvious? They have the best defense in the league. And I haven’t scored in three games."

Rio grinned. "Don’t worry. I have a plan."

"A plan?"

"Just run to the near post when I get the ball," Rio winked. "Trust me."

[Chat Room Active]

Hand_Of_King: The striker is scared. A scared striker is useless. You must feed him, Rio. Make him hungry again.

Total_Football_14: Southampton plays a high line. Piroe is not fast, but he is clever. Your pass must be the brush, and he is the canvas.

Zizou_5: And tie your laces properly this time. You tripped over them in the warm-up. It was embarrassing.

Rio chuckled, bending down to fix his boots.

"What’s so funny?" Archie asked, walking over.

"Nothing," Rio stood up, slapping Archie’s back. "Just listening to the voices."

"You’re weird, man," Archie laughed. "But if you get me an assist today, I don’t care."

They ran out onto the pitch. The sun was breaking through the clouds.

"Okay!" Farke shouted. "Red bibs vs Blue bibs. High intensity! Loser cleans the boots!"

Rio was on the Red team. With Piroe. And Archie.

"Let’s cook," Rio whispered.

The game started. It was fast. Brutal.

Rio received the ball on the wing. He cut inside. The defender, Ayling, expected the shot.

But Rio didn’t shoot. He saw Piroe making the run to the near post, just like he asked.

[Skill: Juninho’s Curse Active]

Rio whipped a ball in with his left foot. It had wicked spin. It dipped right onto Piroe’s head.

Piroe headed it into the bottom corner.

"Yes!" Piroe shouted, pointing at Rio. "You wizard!"

Farke blew the whistle. "Good goal! But Blue team, where is the pressure? You are sleeping!"

Rio high-fived Piroe. The striker looked lighter, happier.

"Told you," Rio grinned.

But then, a notification popped up in his vision.

DING

[Side Mission: The Playmaker’s Burden]

[Description: A true legend makes everyone around him better.]

[Task: Assist Piroe in the next match against Southampton.]

[Reward: Skill ’Visionary’ (A-Grade) + 500 Major Points]

Rio’s eyes widened. A-Grade Vision? That was exactly what he needed to fix his ’Game Intelligence’.

"Okay," Rio muttered. "Southampton isn’t ready for this."

"Ready for what?" Archie asked, panting.

"Ready for the duo," Rio laughed. "Piroe and Lance. Sounds like a law firm, doesn’t it?"

"Sounds like trouble," Archie grinned.

Farke blew the whistle again. "Back to work! Rio, stop talking and start running!"

"Yes, Boss!"

Rio sprinted off, the wind in his face.