Creating The Perfect Winger (2)

"To transform me into a winger—a good one at that—where would you allocate my bonus ten points?"

Jerry's heart was beating fast after he asked the question. He didn't know why he was so nervous about the answer the system was going to give him. It wasn't like it was going to be something life-changing, or at least, that's what he told himself. Yet, deep down, he couldn't shake off the feeling that this moment was pivotal. After all, this wasn't just about allocating some bonus points. It was about shaping his future as a footballer—a good one at that.

After what felt like forever, the system finally responded.

[Ding! After analyzing host's stats, the system feels host will need to allocate all points to pace in order to become a good winger. Host is good enough at dribbling and has a decent shot accuracy for his level. Hence, pace is the aspect host is lacking in the most.]

Jerry nodded as he heard the system's analysis. He didn't miss the specific choice of words the system used to describe him as "decent" and "good enough." If there was anything Jerry inherited from his father, it was his perfectionist attitude. He couldn't just be decent or good enough. He had to be the best. His father had always drilled into him the idea that if you weren't aiming for the top, you weren't aiming at all.

"Guess I have a ton of training to do in the near future," Jerry thought bitterly. No matter how obsessed one was with being the best, no one liked hearing they needed to do extra training, especially not after working so hard already. But Jerry wasn't the type to shy away from hard work.

"Alright, system, add all my bonus points to pace," Jerry said firmly, his resolve evident in his tone.

[Ding! Bonus points added.]

[Downloading host stats.]

Name: Jeremiah Hayes Jr. (Jerry)

[Club: Nil]

[Position (This is the position the host is best suited for, not the position he has been playing):

Primary: Left Winger

Secondary: Central Attacking Midfielder, Right Winger, Second Striker, Center Forward]

[Player Stats:]

[Speed: 75]

[Pace: 72 > 82]

[Passing: 56]

[Control: 32]

[Shooting: 67]

[Shot Power: 61]

[Technique: 77]

[Physique: 22]

[Player Skills:]

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[--]

[Titles: None]

[Awards Won: None]

[Match rating (current competition):

Vs Jermaine Walter Academy: 8.3]

Jerry smiled faintly as he saw the changes to his stats, especially to his pace. The slight boost made him feel like he was inching closer to the player he envisioned himself becoming. He also noticed his preferred position was now officially listed as a left winger. While it was a small detail, it still brought him a sense of satisfaction.

However, his smile quickly faded as he scanned the rest of his stats. There were still areas he deemed unacceptable—control, passing, and physique stood out like glaring weaknesses. Even though the changes were encouraging, he wasn't one to settle. He would work on those weaknesses in due time.

Then, he noticed something new on the stat page. His match rating for the game against Jermaine Walter Academy was displayed. Seeing the rating of 8.3 brought back memories of the system assigning him a mission before that match: to achieve a rating higher than 7.0. It had completely slipped his mind during the game.

As he processed this, Jerry began to feel a spark of annoyance. He had completed the mission, yet the system hadn't rewarded him. What was the point of assigning missions if there weren't any rewards for achieving them? The more he thought about it, the more irritated he became. He eventually sighed, shaking his head to clear his thoughts. There was no use dwelling on it now.

A few minutes later, Jerry laid down on his bed. With a match scheduled for the next day, he couldn't afford to exhaust himself with extra training. Sleep was the only logical option. Closing his eyes, he allowed his thoughts to drift.

The next day, Jerry left for training earlier than usual. His "very poor stats," at least by his standards, motivated him to put in some extra work. Arriving at the pitch, he spent the first hour doing basic drills: dribbling around cones, practicing crosses, and taking a few shots at the empty goal. It wasn't much, but it was better than nothing.

By the time the rest of the team arrived, Jerry was already sweating. Victor, their coach, gathered everyone for a warm-up session. As usual, the drills started with basic stretches and light jogging, followed by some more dynamic exercises. Then came the shooting drills for the forwards.

Jerry's form during the drills was decent, though he couldn't help but feel that his shots lacked the power and precision he desired. He made a mental note to practice shooting more often.

Once the drills were over, Victor called everyone into the locker room. The atmosphere was tense, as it always was before a game. Everyone wanted to know if they'd made the starting lineup.

"Alright, starting in goal is..." Victor began.

Jerry tuned out most of what Victor said, his mind entirely focused on the forward positions. He was anxious to find out who would start up front. Surely, Victor wouldn't start Daniel again after his subpar performance in the last game. But if Daniel wasn't starting, that meant Jerry might be placed as a striker—a position he didn't dislike but wasn't exactly comfortable with either.

"Zach, you'll be playing on the left, Jordan, you on the right, and Jerry, you'll play through the middle."

Jerry sucked in a deep breath when he heard his name and position. He had already suspected it, but hearing it confirmed made it hit differently.

"The three of you are quite good at playing across the attacking lines, so I want a dynamic, fluid front three," Victor continued. "Although I've given you positions, that's just for the paper. I expect all of you to rotate and interchange positions during the game to confuse defenders."

"Any objections?" Victor asked, scanning the room.

No one spoke up, so Victor dismissed them with a firm, "Alright then, you all can leave."

As the players filed out, Jerry approached Jordan. He shot him an apologetic look, which immediately made Jordan suspicious.

"Why does he look sorry? He hasn't done anything. Unless... don't tell me..." Jordan thought, his stomach sinking.

"Sorry, bro," Jerry began hesitantly. "My mum is stuck at work today. We're going to have to leg it."

"Fuuuuckkkkk!" Jordan groaned, dragging out the word dramatically. His worst fear had just been confirmed.

Jordan chuckled awkwardly, scratching the back of his head. "Yeah... my bad."

Jerry sighed heavily, already dreading the long walk ahead. "You owe me for this, Jordan. Big time."

"I ain't owing you shit. You should be the one paying me for a free ride, my mum's not an Uber you know". Jordan said with playful anger.

"Yeah, she doesn't charge". Jerry muttered under his breath.

"What did you say?"

"Nothing!" Jerry said hurriedly. "Let's start walking".

A/N:

Alrighty. Some of the more observant ones will notice that I made a bit of changes to the stats.

Firstly, I bashed the whole overall player ratings thing.

Secondly, I increased some of his stats that after a lot of thoughtful consideration, I considered too low for his level

And last but the least, this book has gotten contracted and although there aren't any premium chapters, if you're not feeling too stingy, you can leave some gifts for your boy... (It's me... I'm your boy)