My system allows me to copy talents

With only two of them charging forward, they were outnumbered. Yet, they had no choice but to push forward.

In this critical moment, a moment of hesitation or a brief moment of pause could very well disrupt their momentum. And, if they lost the momentum right now, who knows if such an opportunity would present itself another time or not.

Due to the usage of his skill Hawk eyes, right now, Hiro could see almost everybody present around him. And, because of it, he could move ahead without getting obstructed by the incoming opposing players rushing toward him.

Though the skill allowed him to determine the players’ positions around him, it wasn’t omnipotent since he still had to find the path himself. The skill although powerful had its own set of flaws.

At this moment while he was swiftly moving forward, avoiding the opposing players, Nijichi was struggling against the relentless pressure. Though he clung to possession of the ball, he was being inexorably pushed toward the sidelines and his grip on the game was slipping with each passing moment.

If it continued, it would only be a matter of time before he loses the position of the ball.

Witnessing the surge of intensity on the field, even the usually calm and composed manager of Team Japan was acting quite worked up, urging his players to push forward.

“Move, move, move!” Manager Haruki cried, his words echoing across the stadium as the tension on the field reached its zenith.

As much as others were aware of his situation, Nijichi himself was aware of it as well. And, he knew it very well that if it continued, he’d eventually lose possession of the ball.

Then with a burst of speed, he charged forward as he tried to get past the reach of the defender that was pressing on him. But in doing so, he underestimated his opponent.

Reacting to his sudden burst of speed, his opponent lunged toward him with a perfectly timed tackle, trying to stop him on his track.

Fortunately, Nijichi reacted in time as he avoided the tackle. Leaving the opposing defender who had lunged toward him in dust, he then accelerated forward with the ball. But, even after getting past one of the defenders, it still wasn’t enough for him to cut inside.

There were more of them preventing him from cutting inside. And, it seemed as if his only option right now was to close in from the flanks. At the moment, attacking from the flanks seemed the safest option.

That option in itself wasn’t bad, but it prevented him from taking the shot himself.

How could he give up the opportunity to score? He was a striker and it was his job to score. But, moving along the flanks meant giving up on that opportunity.

Unwilling to give up such a precious opportunity, he then glanced to his side, hoping to find a space open for him to cut inside. But, the defense of the opposing team was impeccable. Sticking close to each other, they had sealed every possible hole in their defense.

Such a scenario only added to his worry as it caused his already bitter expression to turn even more bitter. Unable to identify any gaps in the defense of the opposing team, he became even more irritated.

Just then while trying to locate any possible gaps in the opposing defense, he noticed Hiro charging ahead. Swiftly avoiding the opposing defenders, he was closing inside the penalty box. And, by the looks of it, he was sure to make it inside the penalty box of the opposing team.

Even so, the thought of crossing the ball to Hiro, he didn’t fancy it. Until the end, even if it meant losing the possession of the ball, he wanted to be the scorer. The mere thought of assisting after coming so close to the goal made his stomach churn with pain.

This is why, even after witnessing the run-up of Hiro, he tried to cut inside himself.

Once again, making use of his arsenal, he tried to get past the opposing defender who was blocking him from cutting inside. Though he wasn’t the only one who was blocking him, he was the one who was nearer to him.

If he could get through him, he might be able to locate the gaps he hadn’t been able to a moment ago. With such thoughts in mind, he then challenged the opposing defender close to him, despite noticing the presence of Hiro.

Witnessing such foolhardy action of Nijichi, Manager Haruki became even more irritated as his face started turning red from frustration.

“What the f*ck is that fool doing at this stage? Can’t he just move along the flank and cross the ball to Hiro?” Manager Haruki cussed, albeit in a low whisper despite the obvious rage churning within him.

It’s not that Manager Haruki wasn’t aware of Nijichi’s personality. But, because of the pressure, even he had forgotten about it.

The situation of other reserve players was no different. They too were making frustrated faces and their sentiment was almost similar to that of their manager. Almost nobody in their substitution box wanted Nijichi to cut inside at the moment— they all wanted to see him move along the flanks and make the cross to Hiro.

After all, the person with the best finishing in the team was none other than Hiro. And, it was only wise to entrust him with the opportunity.

Even at this moment, the crowd was as loud as ever. Especially the opposing fans, were quite full of vigor, shouting at the top of their lungs, encouraging their players, and intimidating the opposing players with their chants. They sure were full of vigor. Meanwhile, Japanese supporters were still as anxious as ever.

And, the man at the center of attention at the moment was none other than Nijichi. Trying to take on the opposing defense by himself, he was rushing straight toward the opposing team. It was like a single individual trying to take an army.

With a combination of body feint and flashy footwork, Nijichi somehow got through the first defender heading his way. And, that greatly boosted his confidence as he felt even more confident after that successful dribble.

Upon getting through the first defender, a subtle smile blossomed on his face and a surge of confidence rose from within. But, before he could even savor this feeling of getting through, another defender closed in toward him.

Lunging toward him with a perfectly timed sliding tackle, he didn’t give him any moment to enjoy his achievement of penetrating the first layer of the opposing defense.

As much as the offense of the opposing team had been impressive until now, their defense had been equally impressive. Conceding a combined total of only two goals in two matches against the likes of Argentina and Poland, their defenders were one of the best in the tournament.

And, not only had they conceded fewer goals, they had been quite dominant too. With their impressive set of players and strategies, they had rarely allowed any player to penetrate their defense.

Upon witnessing such an impressive tackle which sent the ball rolling away, opposing supporters became extremely excited.

But, their joy was short-lived as before they could even celebrate the tackle of their player which caused the Japanese team to lose possession of the ball, something unexpected happened.

Hiro who had been running all along, took hold of the loose ball right after Nijichi lost possession of the ball. It was almost as if he was expecting Nijichi to lose possession of the ball.

Otherwise, how would one be able to explain about his positioning and his timing?

Appearing at the perfect spot at the perfect time, it was just too good to be a coincidence. And, also since earlier he had been rushing from the middle. So, how did he appear in the right flank where Nijichi lost possession of the ball?

Right from the beginning when he had made that pass to Nijichi, he was aware that he wouldn’t receive the pass. This is why, though he made it seem like he was closing from the middle, expecting a cross from Nijichi, his true motive was the loose ball.

Knowing Nijichi, he knew that he’d get carried away after making one successful dribble. And, there was a huge possibility of him losing possession of the ball.

And, it played exactly as he wanted. However, Nijichi getting through the first defender was rather surprising. But, in the end, it played it as he wanted.

Without wasting any time, while taking advantage of the mispositioning of the opposing players, Hiro then accelerated forward making use of his skill Lightning steps. After the use of Lightning steps, in no time he found himself inside the box of the opposing team.

Then, a hushed silence fell upon the stadium as he prepared himself to take the shot. His talent which he had copied from Park Seung-Gyu came into effect the moment he stepped inside the penalty box, boosting his attacking stat.