2nd card
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On the football field of Fulham Preparatory Elementary School, Liam Carter was sweating like rain.
With a sandbag tied under his feet, he practiced with weights and dribbles.
"Hurry up, hurry up!!" Savage was clapping and shouting, as if he was not satisfied with Liam's dribbling speed.
"Let's rest for a few minutes." After finishing three sets of load-bearing dribbles, Savage finally let him rest.
"After taking a break, do three sets of weight-free exercises, so that you don't have to bear weights. Alternating back and forth can make your ball feel better."
...
Ball sense training was over, followed by ball-handling training with the ball and without the ball. The coach called out to Liam for reaction speed training, and finally, today's main training began.
This was a set of comprehensive training. First, jump over obstacles with one foot, then alternate left and right feet over the training cones, take the ball over the plate, then take the ball to the stick, and finally complete the shot.
"You have improved a lot in the past two years at Crystal Palace, and I feel that more of your talents have been gradually tapped." At the end of the training, Liam was almost exhausted, but Savage was very satisfied with his performance.
After thanking Savage, Liam soon got into the car of Kate, who came to pick him up.
"How do you feel?" Kate asked as soon as he got in the car.
"I'm tired."
Liam just answered briefly, leaning on the back seat and closing his eyes to rest.
Liam was not a real cultivator, but he had entered the talent system and wanted to see if the whole day of training had been effective.
Soon, Liam saw the results that made him happy. The integration degree of the talent card directly increased by 2%, and now the integration degree had reached 23%. His technical attributes had also increased by 1 point, now reaching 58.
"Sure enough, training to speed up card integration also increases other attributes incidentally." Liam was secretly pleased. He was more confident in this talent system.
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Over the next half a month, except for routine breaks in between, Liam was constantly training with Luka Savage, and his card integration continued to increase.
On July 11, Liam took another rest day and went to Savage's home to relax and watch TV.
"Liam, who do you think will win the final championship tonight?" A ten-year-old boy ran over and asked Liam.
"Ivan, I think it will be Spain." Liam wanted to reach out and pat the boy's head as he spoke, but the boy quickly stepped aside.
"I'm no longer a child, don't touch my head anymore." Ivan dodged Liam's hand and continued, "But my dad and I think the Netherlands will win. They've been runners-up so many times."
Today was the big day of the World Cup final in South Africa. Liam didn't train but went to Savage's home to watch the match with them.
The little boy was Savage's son, Ivan Savage.
"Little Ivan, winning the championship doesn't necessarily come from being a runner-up too many times," Liam said playfully.
"Really? Then why does it always feel like bad luck when I get second place?"
"It still takes a lot of strength to be a runner-up. Look at England—they don't even have the chance to be runners-up now."
"You're right. So is Serbia."
The two chatted like this, waiting for the start of the World Cup final.
Luka Savage was Serbian. He had played in the Yugoslav League in his early years, but when the Yugoslav Civil War broke out, he moved to England to play and later retired there. He married a woman of Serbian descent and settled in the UK.
Because of this, although the Savage family held British nationality, they still identified as Serbian. Even young Ivan often said that if he became a professional player in the future, he would play for the Serbian national team.
Of course, this situation was quite common in Europe, and the Savage family was no exception.
At 7:30 PM UK time, the 2010 South Africa World Cup final finally began.
Since both teams had never won a World Cup before, this match would crown a new world champion. The game was fiercely contested, with a record-breaking 14 yellow cards shown in a World Cup final.
The Netherlands had many chances to win the match but missed too many opportunities. In the 116th minute of extra time, Fabregas assisted Iniesta for the winning goal. The Dutch team once again fell short, while Spain ascended to the top of the world.
Although the final score was just 1-0, little Ivan was still excited because the game had been thrilling.
After the match, he excitedly grabbed Liam and said, "Iniesta is amazing! Scoring a last-minute winner in the World Cup final—just thinking about it makes my heart race. How did he aim and score under that pressure? I think he'll win the Ballon d'Or this year, definitely!"
"Liam, will you be like Iniesta one day in a World Cup final?"
"You don't even need the World Cup. The Champions League final, any cup final—can you do something like Iniesta?"
"Oh, and which national team will you play for in the future? England? Or maybe Scotland?"
Ivan's string of excited questions didn't even give Liam a chance to answer. He was practically talking to himself.
But his last question actually left Liam deep in thought. Would he play for England in the future? Or Scotland? He had never really considered the decision before.
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After the World Cup final, Liam returned to training.
Through his training, he noticed something—while his card integration and technical attributes improved steadily, his physical attributes progressed much more slowly.
So far, Liam's fusion of the Joaquin card had increased from 21% to 35%, and his technical attributes had risen from 57 to 63. However, his physical attributes had only increased by 1 point.
Liam wanted to unlock the next talent card, but his physical attribute of 59 was holding him back.
In the first row of blue cards, aside from the first card, all other cards required at least 60 points in all three main attributes to be unlocked. Additionally, the previously lit card had to have a fusion level of at least 33%.
Liam had met every other requirement—he just needed one more point in his physical attributes.
But this wasn't something he could rush, so he had no choice but to wait.
That evening, after another long day of training, Liam returned home to find Old John waiting for him.
"Liam, I convinced the club. They'll be making an offer to Crystal Palace. You'll be playing for Dundee soon!" Old John was clearly in high spirits.
"Kate, please help me handle the transfer," Liam said.
Liam didn't have an agent—his mother, Kate Carter, managed all his business affairs. Kate had studied law in university and now worked at a law firm in London, so handling contracts wasn't a problem for her.
After taking a shower and listening to Old John talk about how great Dundee United was, Liam went back to his room to rest.
Lying on his bed, he entered the system again and focused on the three numbers under the talent card interface.
64, 60, 73.
His physical attribute had finally increased to 60.
With excitement, Liam unlocked the second blue card.
Full Moon Scimitar (Beckham).
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