From Arsenal to the Ball God

December 24th, Christmas Eve has arrived.

While other players packed their gear and prepared to go out for festivities, Ma’el remained at the club’s training base practicing his crossing.

It’s not that he’s antisocial; his Skill Level for crossing was just a few points away from upgrading, and he wanted to finish it today before taking a break and having fun.

With one more Level 4 Skill, he’d have more confidence and stronger battle power in the Boxing Day showdown on the 26th.

”We’ll head to the barbecue joint first and then come pick you up.”

Evans, the team’s forward, shook the keys to his Mercedes AMG, waved goodbye to Gilbert, and some other teammates stood by.

They were all trying to persuade Ma’el, hoping he would put football aside on a day like this.

”We’ll wait for you.”

Janu waved to him, with a bit of confusion and admiration in his expression. Turning around, he whispered softly, ”Training like this, no wonder his progress is so fast. But the sacrifices are huge.”

”Do you support him?”

Ward was there too and asked, ”Or rather, are you willing to pay such a large price and sacrifice for brilliance on the field?”

Janu fell silent. He normally looked at Ma’el with envy, countless times wishing he were in Ma’el’s shoes.

But now thinking about it...how much had he really sacrificed?

If scoring over 20 goals in the Championship comes at this cost, he couldn’t confidently say he’s willing.

Others fell quiet too, their moods complex as they didn’t continue the topic. Only Gilbert, known for being strict with himself, seemed unfazed.

Under Ma’el’s influence, he also abandoned much socializing and leisure time, spending all his days on the pitch.

”Actually.”

Seeing everyone silent, Gilbert thought for a moment and said, ”I’ve always felt that the gap in people’s talents isn’t as wide as imagined. Sometimes, it’s just that we don’t want to give up comfort or sacrifice too much.”

His words stirred several hearts, prompting them to look back at Ma’el on the field.

He had just finished kicking over ten balls and was now running to retrieve them, his upright figure embodying endless Power, never to be crushed.

”I’ll come by car later.”

Ma’el shouted over at them, his voice bright: ”I won’t be long; afraid you’ll just have to pick me up as soon as you arrive.”

They nodded and left, while he continued practicing alone, occasionally patting his head to stay alert.

He gradually realized falling into a numb state in practice wasn’t good.

It’s best to carry out actions with clarity, to receive feedback from the body, and better memorize these feelings, as this makes Skill Level growth faster.

”Thud... thud... thud!”

With each foot, cross balls were sent out, Ma’el gradually sensed a thrill, as his accuracy in passing grew stronger, seemingly gaining some control over the landing spot.

Finally, as he swung his ankle, the instep wrapped around the ball sending it centrally again, a burst of clarity flooded his mind.

[Skills: Curved Trajectory Guidance Level 4]

[Skill Level: (1/2000)]

[Utility: Countless times of forging have brought your crossing to a new stage; all techniques related to crossing are ingrained in your body, as if you were born with them, significantly enhancing landing control ability!]

It’s here!

The second Level 4 Skill!

”Whew.....”

Ma’el exhaled, seemingly expelling all fatigue, and releasing the frustration of seeing others celebrating early while he remained at the training ground.

A intense joy and sense of achievement rose within him, dopamine flooding his brain, even making the cold feeling disappear completely.

At this moment, he felt invincible, facing no hardships.

”Yeah...!” he shouted, releasing his emotions; this was a joy solely belonging to him, a private celebratory romance.

Nothing could feel better than this, this emotion arising from the depths of his heart, true and passionate.

......

”Cheers!”

Twenty minutes later, Ma’el arrived at a downtown barbecue shop, which Evans had rented for today, making it their exclusive venue.

Each player grabbed two or three bottles of beer and poured them into red-themed Christmas cups, raising them for a toast.

With rest tomorrow, drinking a few extra glasses was fine. If lacking alcohol breakdown ability, morning jogging would help expedite metabolism.

”To our 43 points!”

Robert, the oldest among them and the captain, raised a mention first, ”In the second half, we aim for another 43 points!”

”Hahaha.”

Amid laughter, Ma’el, feeling a bit hungry, finished a cup of beer quickly then sliced two pieces of steak, watching them with intent.

”Merry Christmas Eve!”

”Merry Merry.”

”This one’s for Mr. Garrispeed, pity he’s not here.”

They toasted several times, and besides some players accustomed to drinking daily, others started speaking freely, their faces turning rosy.

The scene was lively, over twenty people seated at two joined large tables, chattering loudly, groups of three or five conversing, sometimes with everyone participating.

”This one.”

Evans raised his beer, being a seasoned team member himself, ”Let’s drink to the team’s top scorer, Assist King.”

”Oh.....!” A burst of cheers erupted, all eyes turning to Ma’el, filled with special emotions.

Usually, they rarely interact with Ma’el in private; it seems his time is entirely devoted to football.

This time, taking advantage of the opportunity, they must really strengthen their connection, after all, he’s likely to be a future star player…

Ma’el heard he was being talked about, finished chewing the meat in his mouth, then raised his glass to the people around him, thanked them, and drank it all in one gulp.

”Ma’el, how many more goals are you planning to score in the second half of the season?”

The team’s central defender Steven didn’t know how to engage with Ma’el in this setting, and awkwardly said, ”We have to bring the top scorer title back to Sheffield United.”

”Don’t just assist Bolodanovich and Evans; in fact, my assists for you outnumber theirs combined.”

Ward, with a face full of dissatisfaction, complained, ”You owe me 5 assists, or I’ll fall out with those two.”

”Why would you fall out with us?” Evans beside him widened his eyes in confusion; wasn’t he supposed to fall out with Ma’el?

In short, everyone just quarreled like this, saying things they rarely had the chance to say.

When the lively mood passed, everyone felt tired, had eaten enough, and maybe drunk a little too much, the dinner gathering moved into its latter phase.

During this period, reflection and memory became the main themes here.

”Who could have imagined back at the start of the season where we would be now? Back then, I saw no hope; every time I stood on the pitch, it was an ordeal, and I wanted to escape everything.”

”Yeah, who could’ve thought, our best player now hadn’t played a single professional match when they joined the team at the start?”

”Haha….”

Someone suddenly remembered something, looked at Ma’el, and voiced their concern, ”Ma’el, I heard people say you might return to Arsenal after the Boxing Day clash?”

With this comment, several people turned their heads to look at Ma’el, each with different expressions—some curious, some skeptical, some nervous, and some hopeful.

Even Gilbert, who also came from the youth academy, was a bit tense, fearing that Ma’el might nod in agreement.

”Who said that?”

Ma’el smiled as he raised his glass, saying with a grin, ”How could I bear to leave you guys, leave a season that might create a promotion miracle?

”Rest assured, brothers, I won’t leave; I will fulfill the whole contract.”

Everyone present was taken aback, and then, two outgoing individuals suddenly cheered, leading everyone to shout along.

”Yeah…..!” They seemed to be standing on the podium, raising their arms in triumph.

As Ma’el watched their excitement, a special sense of satisfaction rose in his heart; he didn’t want to hide it. Being needed and feeling important are things everyone must have to live in this world.

Only then does he avoid feeling weightlessness, not feeling like he lives in an unreal world.

After the meal, a few players with a playful streak wanted to go to a nightclub, catching a taxi on their own for a second round of fun.

Ma’el and Gilbert headed home; they both felt a bit tipsy, a feeling that they hadn’t experienced since they first joined the team.

”Ma’el.”

Standing on the street corner, Gilbert rocked a bit, hands in pockets, looking somewhat goofy and a bit dramatic: ”I’m so tired, but I…”

Here we go again… Ma’el didn’t give him a chance to express anything and quickly interrupted the spell: ”If you’re tired, hurry home and sleep.”

...

At night, Ma’el had just lay down when he suddenly received a call from his uncle.

He answered, holding it to his ear, ”Uncle, what’s up? Planning to visit soon?”

The other end seemed a bit hesitant and embarrassed: ”Uh..... Ma’el, actually we arrived yesterday, intending to surprise you, but now facing a bit of a problem.”

”Huh?”

Ma’el’s mouth opened wide, sitting up from the bed, ”You arrived yesterday?”

”Yes, we all did; it sounds a bit makeshift, but that’s how it is… we planned to secretly watch your match, then contact the club staff to suddenly appear in front of you.”

At this point, Clément’s voice changed slightly, carrying a touch of defeat, ”But I couldn’t get tickets; I didn’t plan thoroughly, didn’t expect this match to be so hot, sorry.”

”No worries.”

Ma’el, while buffering the shock of this news, smiled wryly to comfort: ”I’ll figure out the ticket issue; it’s actually better not to surprise me, so we can spend Christmas together tomorrow.

”Have you settled in?”

”Yes, we have.”

”Great, I’ll consult the club people now; otherwise, by tomorrow, the tickets might be even tighter, and we might not even get a box.”

After hanging up, Ma’el immediately called Jorson, who is now seemingly taking the position of first assistant coach, having quite the clout.

Upon realizing this was his family’s first visit and sensing Ma’el’s sincerity, Jorson left only one comment, a very cool comment.

”There are no tickets, probably no box either, but leave it to me; I’ll make sure your family shows up at the stadium on the 26th.

”Even if it’s sitting on the coaching bench, on top of the stadium, I want them to experience the match on-site; this is on me.”

His second comment was surely a joke but showcased his determination.

After hanging up again, Ma’el found himself somewhat unable to sleep….. At this point, this Boxing Day clash truly seemed crucial to him.

Half an hour later, his phone vibrated a few times; perhaps Jorson was afraid he’d fallen asleep and sent several messages.

——”The bad news is, I can only give you three internal tickets, not enough; sitting in the box would have to be shared with others.”

——”The good news is, the club owner McCabe knows about this; he’s inviting your family to watch the game from his private box, promising to clear out idle folks and make it your family’s home ground.”

——”That’s the situation; hope your family agrees, experiencing the game while a billionaire discusses strategies beside them (’chuckles’).”

A smile appeared on Ma’el’s face; he exhaled a long breath and sent a message to his uncle.

....

ps: Sorry about the unstable update times; I’m gradually adjusting, there’s no backlog, suddenly increasing the update volume, need some time to adapt.