CHAPTER 147: CHAPTER 142: THE PULL [I]

Monday, September 9th, 2022

Demien’s Apartment, Bergamo

4:47 PM

Ding.

The sound cut through everything—the exhaustion, the anger still simmering from his relatives’ visit, the weight of the Adidas contract sitting in Marco’s briefcase—and Demien’s eyes focused on the glowing panel that materialized above him.

「MISSION COMPLETE: BRAND PARTNERSHIP SELECTION」

「Partner Selected: Adidas」

「REWARDS GRANTED:」

「+50 SP | +200 TP | +300 MP」

「UPDATED BALANCE: 485 TP | 50 SP | 416 MP」

The notification alone made him smile, not a small expression that barely touched his lips but something genuine that pushed through everything that had just happened with his relatives and made the confrontation feel distant like it belonged to someone else entirely, and suddenly the only thing that mattered was the numbers glowing on the panel and what they meant for his progression.

He sat up on the bed and the fatigue in his legs vanished immediately because it had been a long time since he pulled the gacha and the readers probably wanted to know what he was going to get this time.

"Hey, UG."

The panel brightened slightly.

「Hello, Demien.」

The text appeared in that clean font the system always used, and a moment later more words scrolled across:

「How are you today?」

Demien laughed once. "I’m good. I think. Anyway, I’m ready."

The panel pulsed.

「Understood.」

「Initializing pack selection interface...」

The familiar menu materialized and Demien’s eyes scanned the options quickly while his mind already calculated which packs he could afford with his current balance:

「AVAILABLE PACKS」

「Bronze Pack: 50 TP or 50 MP」

「Silver Pack: 200 TP or 100 MP」

「Gold Pack: 500 TP or 200 MP」

「Black Pack: 10 SP」

「Diamond Pack: 50 SP」

「CURRENT BALANCE」

「485 TP | 50 SP | 416 MP」

His mind worked through the math quickly because David Drinkwater’s seventeen-club career had taught him resource management even if the resources were gacha currency instead of wages, and the calculation settled into place: two Gold Packs with MP would cost 400 MP total, then he could use 400 TP on two Silver Packs, and that would leave him with 85 TP and 16 MP remaining though that wasn’t enough for anything meaningful.

The Diamond Pack glowed brightest on the menu and 50 SP was exactly what he had, and it had been a long time since he pulled Diamond so the decision crystallized fast.

Start with the Golds, work through the Silvers, then finish with Diamond.

"UG," he said clearly. "Pull a Gold Pack. Use 200 MP."

「GOLD PACK SELECTED」

「Cost: 200 MP」

「200 MP CONSUMED」

「REMAINING BALANCE: 485 TP | 50 SP | 216 MP」

The lever appeared and it wasn’t the simple bronze or silver version but the gold one that gleamed like real metal despite being pure interface, and when Demien’s hand closed around it the weight felt substantial and real.

He pulled.

The lever descended smoothly and the resistance was perfect, and the mechanical sound echoed in his mind—clunk-clunk-clunk—before the Gold Pack materialized in midair.

The packaging was clean with gold foil edges and sharp lines, and when it tore open the sound was crisp like expensive wrapping paper.

Seven cards flew out and they spun in sequence before settling into position with perfect spacing, all face-down and glowing softly.

The first card flipped.

Blue light burst outward and the text appeared:

CURVE +4

RARE

The boost settled into Demien’s awareness and his right foot tingled slightly as muscle memory adjusted, and suddenly bending a ball around defenders felt more intuitive though he couldn’t explain exactly why.

Second card flipped.

Orange glow.

STRENGTH +2

UNCOMMON

His core tightened fractionally and the change was small but present.

Third card.

White light.

STRENGTH +1

COMMON

Another point stacking on top of the previous boost, and Strength was climbing steadily so Napoli’s physicality wouldn’t overwhelm him as easily.

Fourth card flipped.

Orange again.

INTERCEPTIONS +3

UNCOMMON

His defensive awareness sharpened immediately and passing lanes became clearer in his mind’s eye, and the timing of when to step and cut out a ball felt more natural.

Fifth card flipped and the glow was different because it wasn’t a stat boost but the shimmer that meant trait shards.

TRAIT SHARD [PRESS RESISTANCE]

Collect 4 to craft: Press Resistance Trait

Additional text appeared below:

「Press Resistance Trait: When activated, significantly improves ball retention under pressure. Reduces effectiveness of opponent pressing by 25%. Particularly effective when receiving passes in tight spaces or when multiple defenders close down.」

「Current Progress: 2/4 Shards Collected」

Demien’s chest tightened because press resistance was exactly what he’d need against Napoli’s aggressive system, and having two shards already meant he was halfway to unlocking something genuinely useful.

Sixth card flipped.

Blue glow but it wasn’t a stat.

RARE SKILL SHARD [CROSS SPECIALIST]

Collect 5 to craft: Cross Specialist

More text scrolled:

「Cross Specialist Skill: Improves crossing accuracy and power by 15%. Enables better recognition of teammates’ runs into the box. Reduces time needed to execute quality crosses under pressure. Particularly effective from wide positions and half-spaces.」

「Current Progress: 1/5 Shards Collected」

Seventh card flipped.

Another trait shard.

TRAIT SHARD [NUTRITIONIST UPGRADE]

Collect 4 to craft: Nutritionist Upgrade

「Nutritionist Upgrade Trait: Unlocks access to advanced dietary planning and meal optimization. Improves recovery speed between matches by 10%. Enhances stamina regeneration during matches. Reduces injury risk from fatigue by 15%.」

「Current Progress: 3/4 Shards Collected」

Three out of four, and one more shard would unlock something that would genuinely improve his professional career beyond just numbers on a stat sheet.

「RESULTS APPLIED」

The panel updated and his body registered the changes though they were small and incremental rather than dramatic.

"Pull Gold Pack again," he said immediately because the gambling momentum was building. "Use MP."

「GOLD PACK SELECTED」

「Cost: 200 MP」

「200 MP CONSUMED」

「REMAINING BALANCE: 485 TP | 50 SP | 16 MP」

The lever appeared again and he grabbed it and pulled, and the second Gold Pack tore open with that same satisfying sound before seven more cards flew out and settled face-down.

First card flipped.

Orange glow.