School Daze and Team Blaze

October's chill nipped at Luca's heels as he churned through his morning sprints—200m x 10, lungs burning, pushing harder.

Push-ups and squats followed in the backyard, his hands straining, the *Power Surge* task a daily beast. The *Football Prodigy System* chimed as he finished his 10km run too, a habit now.

**[Task Completed: Daily Grind - Morning Run]** 

- Points Earned: 100 

- Total Points: 2600 → 2700 

Home buzzed. Emily flipped pancakes, grinning. "Morning, speed demon. Hungry?" Luca nodded, chugging water. "Starving."

He banged Sophia's door—*"Up, corpse!"*—and she stumbled out, scowling. "You're a walking caffeine overdose, you know that?" Luca smirked. "Better than your zombie shuffle." Gianpiero sipped coffee, adding, "Sprints looking good."

School was a riot. In math, Sophia flicked a paper ball at Luca. "Solve this, genius—x equals your chances of not sucking." He flicked it back. "X equals your GPA—negative?"

Matteo, nearby, cackled. "She's got you there, Cappetta." Lunch brought more—Sophia smirked, "Heard you're crushing on Chiara. Don't trip over your own feet asking her out." Luca flushed. "Shut up, Soph. At least I don't drool over my phone all day."

Training was brutal—Coach Rossi drilling teamwork. "League's in ten days—first game's ours to take!" Passing circuits tightened, Luca's linking with Matteo, a seamless chain.

Small-sided games pushed unity—Luca's *Roulette* spun past Nico, *Body Feint* dodged Paolo, who grunted, "Showoff." A goal followed. Matteo nodded, "We're syncing, man." Coach Rossi barked, "That's it—together, not solo!"

Post-training, the system flared.

**[System Update: Milestone - 70 Overall]** 

- Potions discontinued.

New option: Convert points to stat points (1000 points = 1 stat point, allocatable directly). 

- New League Task: *Season of Glory* 

- Objectives & Rewards: 

 - 1000 points per goal/assist 

 - 1500 points for Man of the Match 

 - 500 points per match win 

 - 20,000 points for league title 

 - 10,000 points for MVP 

**[New Traits Unlocked]** 

- *Clutch Performer* (5000 points): +5 to all stats in final 10 minutes of matches. 

- *Playmaker's Eye* (5000 points): +10 Vision, +5 Passing. 

Luca whistled. *70 Overall*—no potions, but raw stat boosts?

*20,000 for the league?* His 2700 points could net 2 stats now, but he would rather grind for *Clutch Performer*.

Later, at school, he caught Chiara by the lockers. "Hey, uh, wanna go out sometime?" She smiled, teasing, "Score a goal in your first league match, and I'll say yes." Luca grinned. "Deal."