Chapter 15 Ideas Are Cheap - Anyone Can Have Them

Chapter 15

Ideas Are Cheap - Anyone Can Have Them

"Five minutes to plan your strategy and tactics," Coach Kwan announced.

"Four versus four. No time limit. The match ends when one side scores a goal. One more thing—this is a duty and tactics class, not NEX power or special moves training. Therefore, NEX skills and special moves are absolutely forbidden."

No NEX. No skills or special moves.

Yes! A wave of relief washed over me. At least I wouldn't have to face those death-dealing shots or encounter those inhuman, monstrous movements and skills.

Wait. But if special moves were banned, that meant I couldn't use those techniques either...

I sighed. My stomach churned. I felt like throwing up.

Sure, I wouldn't face special moves or NEX powers, but I couldn't rely on them to make a living either. And this was my first real football match. How could I not be nervous?

"What's the plan, big brother?" Shambo started his usual chatter. "But at your level, you probably don't need any strategy, right? Especially with NEX and special moves banned—that gives us even more advantage."

"Those upper-class folks are only better because of their NEX power talents. Take away NEX, and their football skills aren't much. What can they do against you, big brother? You were born with ordinary NEX levels, but you made up for it with effort. You trained your football skills until you reached SST level. In a match without NEX, you'd win easily."

Is that so? Without NEX, they weren't that impressive. Hearing this eased my mind a little.

But they were probably still better than me anyway.

Never mind them for now. If I knew I was weaker, I had to rely on strategy. That was the smart man's way.

Plan the gameplay. Even though I couldn't play real football, I'd played enough football games to understand what each position did and what kind of person should play where.

The goalkeeper wore gloves and stood in front of the goal, wearing a different colored jersey from teammates. This position could use hands as long as they stayed in the "penalty box." Their main job was to stand in the penalty box and prevent the other side from scoring. You could say they were the most defensive player on the team.

I didn't need to think much about this position. Professor Kwan had already assigned someone named Noah Newman.

He was a tall but lanky young man with poor presence. His light golden hair was messy, and his blue eyes would look much prettier if they held some confidence.

He looked like those nerdy kids who got bullied in foreign movies.

His demeanor wasn't very reassuring...

As far as I remembered, I'd never seen this guy when playing G.O.A.T TRICKS. I figured his skills were so bad he quit football for another career.

Compared to the opposing goalkeeper, "Iron Curtain" Sam Curtis.

Just hearing the nickname told you about his skill level.

Unlike our side, Curtis had a role in the game. He was the student council team's goalkeeper, meaning he was one of the enemies from the main event. Even if his role was small, it lasted long.

He looked better than our side anyway.

The defense was harder to decide. In regular eleven-player football, defensive positions came in many forms.

Wing-backs stood close to the left and right sidelines in the defensive line. Though defenders, they had to help with attacks too, so they needed stamina and offensive skills. Their main defensive job was usually marking the opposing wingers.

Center-backs were even more complex. Their playing styles and duties varied, but if I had to find a simple common point: they were usually tall and large, brave in tackles and headers, using experience and instinct to defend against the other side's attacks. They did whatever it took to get the ball away from their own goal.

My body was taller and larger than others on the team. I was fairly confident about courage. But yesterday's club practice showed my experience and instincts were quite weak.

Maybe I could manage. I'd keep this in mind for now. I wouldn't eliminate this choice yet.

Moving up to midfield—this was incredibly complex and deep. There were so many variations. If I tried to analyze them all, I wouldn't have time. Let's just say this was a position for highly skilled players, good at many things, who understood game flow and had many duties on the field: creating attacks, helping defense, controlling game tempo.

I might lack skills and experience, but I thought I understood the game well enough.

Even if it wasn't the real thing.

When playing games, I usually knew what decisions to make in each situation, how to play.

This might work too. Another option to consider.

For forwards, there were mainly two types:

Forward—coordinated with midfielders, helped strikers score goals, moved a lot to confuse markers, used vision, technique, and creativity in play.

Striker—Assarun's traditional position. The player who stood closest to the opponent's goal, strong at holding the ball, making the opposing defense worry and stay alert.

Most importantly for both types: they had to be able to score goals.

From yesterday's practice, my shooting was absolutely terrible.

Sometimes I hit the post, sometimes too weak, sometimes I shot to Mars, sometimes I completely missed the ball.

This match would end when someone scored a goal.

If so, I definitely shouldn't play forward. No matter what, I probably couldn't score. Who should play instead...

...Wait!

How could I forget something this important?!

I had Asuka on my team!

And Asuka was a sub-boss level character from chapter three. Her skills had to be far superior to the characters from chapter one.

That's right! This was it. Let her play forward and drag the ball to score herself.

She could probably do it easily, right?

Ah, having such a beautiful and talented wife—what luck!

"Asuka, you play forward."

"No."

What... why?! I remembered her position in the game was forward, wasn't it?

My hopes crumbled in an instant.

Asuka came close and whispered softly in my ear.

"The closer I get to the opponent's goal, the more my dark NEX power surges. If I play forward, my demon form will definitely emerge."

"Oh, I see..."

Couldn't be helped. If others saw Asuka's demon form and something bad happened, we might trigger a route where Asuka became a villain.

"Then Asuka, you play defense."

Losing didn't matter. I had to try to hide her identity, keep her as far from the opponent's goal as possible.

"Hey! Shouldn't defense be my job?" Shambo asked with wide eyes, pointing both fingers at himself.

Right. Shambo's game position was wing-back defender.

Hmm, wing-back... that meant this guy had offensive skills too.

"Shambo, you play forward. I'll play midfield myself."

I decided firmly. This was the most balanced arrangement for us right now.

Shambo's big eyes grew even bigger.

"Me play forward?!"

"Time's up! Both teams take the field!!"

Coach Kwan's voice interrupted. I quickly wrapped up and walked onto the field.

"Yeah. I'll help as much as I can. Just score a goal."

It all started with his big mouth anyway. Let him take this most important responsibility.

"Ah, yes sir..." Shambo replied.

"Everyone fight hard! Play your best so you won't regret it later!"

Asuka closed with encouragement.