Chapter 413 City lights

Chapter 413 City lights

No sooner had they settled into their seats than some of the players immediately fell asleep. The exhaustion was evident on their faces. Although they hadn't shown it previously in the locker room, the match had left them exhausted.

And as the last of them settled, the bus driver stepped on the gas pedal and started the bus. The venue, which had previously been alive with roaring fans, was now almost deserted, a stark contrast to the earlier electric atmosphere.

Outside, the city lights flickered brilliantly, casting a vibrant glow over the deserted arena. Though the energy of the match had dissipated, the city's nightlife was just awakening.

While the bus continued to tread its path through the streets, Hiro gazed out the window, observing the cityscape whiz by. The streets were alive with activity, filled with people navigating the night, especially the salary workers clad in suits and carrying briefcases. They wandered from one pub to another, seeking to wash away the stress of their day.

The bustling nightlife of the streets reminded him of his previous life. There was a moment in his life when he too would unwind in such places. Though his circle of friends had been small, there were still a few of them with whom he had a pretty decent relationship.

Especially Sumire, she'd help him with his hangovers, listen to his complaints and self-loathing, and help him to his room. Truly she had suffered a lot due to him.

Reminiscing such moments, made him feel guilty. Even when blessed with such generous people, he had been nothing but ungrateful, a truly unruly son and an unruly partner.

It was supposed to be a joyous night for him. But, now that he remembered a glimpse of his past life, he couldn't help but frown.

The bus rumbled through the city, and he found himself lost in thought. His companion beside him was already sound asleep, and so were the most of players on the bus. The pulsating rhythm of the nightlife outside the window felt both familiar and distant, evoking a sense of nostalgia.

There was a bittersweetness in watching the world go by outside, a strange mix of longing and contentment. And, all of a sudden all his previous glory felt like it amounted to nothing.

But life had given him another chance. A chance to turn things around. An opportunity to atone. So although he couldn't change his past, he still had the opportunity to make things right.

Then shaking this heavy feeling of guilt and remorse, he took his phone out of his pocket. Turning on his phone, he opened his account. But just as he opened his account, he noticed a flood of messages.

Congratulating him for his earlier performance, many of them expressed their feelings. Few complained about him not informing about his debut. Overall, it seemed that everybody was genuinely happy for him.

Reading their messages, brought a smile to his face. Without even realizing it, he had started smiling again. And even those heavy feelings that gripped him for a moment ago alleviated on their own as he went through their message.

Then he answered their message and sent them the pictures he had taken previously. Few were still online, so they responded immediately. There was still some time left before they reached their destination, so he too engaged in a conversation with them.

He could only marvel at the sheer number of choices in front of him. Yet, he could only pick one.

But most of them were already similar to the ones he possessed. However, even those weren't wasted at this moment with his fusion feature. Even if he selected a similar talent, he could just fuse it later when he had the required experience point.

Yet, he still needed to weigh his options and pick carefully. So, he went through their description before deciding his pick.

[First Touch (A)]

[Helps improve your positioning, and initial control of the ball upon receiving a pass]

'Well, my first touch is already good. So, I don't think I'll need it,' he thought as he went through its description.

His first touch even without the aid of this talent was already one of the finest in the league. But that didn't mean that it wouldn't help improve his skills even further. If he were to choose this talent, he'd receive a boost to his already impressive ball control. It'd probably take his ball control to a level further.

But despite the benefits, he decided to give up on this talent.

[Powerful Right (S)]

[Increases the muscle mass in your right leg, giving you more firepower and slightly decreases your chances of injuring your right foot]

'It's a great talent. But if I chose it, it might contradict my other talent Ambipedal, and create some disbalances. It'd also affect my gameplay as it'd make me reliant on my right,' he deduced as he went through its description.

The talent was great. But, it wasn't suitable to his style of play since he used both his legs. If he were to choose it, it'd make him a little more reliant on his right foot which would disrupt his harmony. So, due to such worries, once again he decided to give up on another talent.

There were benefits, but there were drawbacks too. So, he had to be careful while choosing the talent he wanted to copy.

Onto the next talent, Phantom Steps (A+).

It wasn't his first time seeing this talent making its appearance. He had already encountered it in the qualifiers for the U17 World Cup. It was one of the talents that allowed the star player of the Korean National Team, Park Seung-Gyu to flourish after all.

Back then it had intrigued him, but since he didn't have any use of it due to the presence of a similar skill he abandoned it.But, it was a different case right now. With the presence of the feature Fusion, he could fuse it with his skill Lightning Steps.