Confidence

Aoi focused on the football field, watching the defenders earlier make their counterattack with their midfielders and winger.

He replied, "It has never been easy. That's why I wanted to become a striker, the best there is. Not only is it fulfilling to score a goal, it is also rewarding to obliterate those who tried to stop me."

He might be too arrogant, but Aoi said his piece.

He was not lying about it for the sake of receiving Ego Points, to which he did obtain one.

When he watched clips of the best striker, passing against those defenders with ease, he felt it was too impressive and satisfying.

He deeply desired to perform the same elegant move.

Nakahara did not reply, and Aoi did not bother him.

It appeared he was concentrating on watching the players play on the football field, so Aoi did not want to disturb him.

Five minutes passed, and sometimes there were intense moments when the winger was about to score, but there was no success yet – on both sides.

Aoi was slowly distracted by the idea of how to distribute the remaining Ego Points.

That was when he realized he could add it later once he was in the match, possibly greatly startling the opponent team with his sudden change.

He was thinking of adding points to the Dexterity and Coordination.

He was perplexed by the latter, for Coordination covered two ideas.

The second made him bewildered.

After all, it covered the accuracy of dribbling, passing, and shooting – as it was the Foot-Eye Coordination.

However, the dribbling, passing, and shooting had been included in the Technical Skill.

He asked the system about it and discovered it was the accuracy of his Foot and Eye, making it crucial for Technical Skill but only for accuracy.

In simple words, Coordination was a bonus for his Technical Skills.

He concentrated on Dexterity and asked the system about its descriptions.

Dexterity refers to the skillful and precise use of the hands, fingers, or other body parts to perform tasks that require fine motor control and coordination.

In other words, it implies a high level of agility, quickness, and accuracy in movement.

It was like the unity of speed and agility, but it encompasses several aspects of physical skill, including speed, agility, precision, and coordination.

The Dexterity made him recall Messi's performance, dribbling as though he was defying gravity.

'Dexterity must be one of the key factors that make him one of the greatest players in the history of the sport. His Dexterity is exceptional!'

Aoi had been wanting to become like him, even surpassing him.

Of course, in his own way.

Nevertheless, to perform such a high level of dexterity made Aoi conclude he would prioritize it above other physical capabilities.

With dexterity, he would be quicker and more agile, bypassing the defenders with ease.

He decided to upgrade the Dexterity points later.

Now that he solved the bugging problem about his Ego Points and comprehended the physical capabilities, he focused on the game once again.

***

Ten minutes passed, and Kaga finally scored a goal.

He was celebrating across the field, acquiring the countless hugs of his fellow teammates.

It quickly dwindled though, as they resumed the match.

Kaga must have been so focused as to ignore Aoi entirely.

Of course, he had seen Nakahara talking with Aoi earlier, but he quickly soon forgot about him.

After all, he was now aiming to become the main winger, specifically the right wing of the club, and bring them to the national.

By then… hoping by then Izumi would have finally noticed his greatness and decided to break up with Aoi.

He knew it was still not too late.

After all, he had seen many relationships break as time passed by.

He knew it would occur the same with Aoi and Izumi.

Just imagining himself holding Izumi in his arms became the motivation for him to become stronger.

After his first goal, he obviously celebrated.

However, his thinking was not in the present but in the future.

He deluded himself into scoring a goal, bringing his team into the national competition, and then seeing Izumi cheering on the side.

It made him roar with euphoria.

When he came back to his senses, he decided to score the hat trick.

It would be impossible not to advance him as the main right winger if he could achieve it.

***

Nakahara saw the improvement of Kaga and was totally satisfied.

He mumbled, "He improved a lot. He can be the main right winger. Furthermore, he has room for improvement, too."

Nakahara was extremely delighted.

He knew Kaga had been putting effort into becoming the main right winger, and now, his endeavor had been rewarded.

Nakahara would not surely disappoint him.

He turned towards Aoi, who was watching the football match with a boring expression.

He was leaning back on the bench, relaxing, even putting his right arm on the backrest of the bench.

His casual action made Nakahara snort.

"Are you not learning anything? Have you learned how Kaga achieved it?"

Aoi turned his head to Nakahara and indifferently returned to face forward.

He replied, "His vision is impressive… but mine is just better. Just bring me there, and I'll show you."

Aoi received another Ego Point.

Meanwhile, Nakahara was furious and scoffed.

"Just you wait. I will surely find out later. I wonder where your arrogant comes from."

"Confidence," Aoi quickly replied.

Nakahara rolled his eyes.

Although Aoi was itching to play on the football field already, he was also troubled.

After all, just gazing at the greasy socks of the players, he was disgusted.

Surely, the cleats he was about to borrow would be oily.

It would distract him to the point it would affect his match later.

However, what else could he do?

He sighed helplessly.

As he was about to accept his unfortunate fate, a familiar feminine voice echoed behind him.

"Aoi!"

His heart skipped a beat.

He maintained his nonchalant expression, though.

He turned around and saw Izumi with her friends, carrying a box with a logo on it…