Chapter 76 75 - Lone Wolf

The midfielder, who normally links defense and attack, received the ball and, without even hesitating, turned the play to the other end. Lucas raised his hand, calling for a pass, but was ignored.He looked around, trying to make sense of the situation. The ball was being kept away from him on purpose. It was just as Felix had warned. Team A, who had previously been marking aggressively, retreated slightly, concentrating more on covering the other sectors of the pitch. They were testing Team B.

'Why don't they pass the ball?' Lucas thought. It was frustrating. He knew he had the ability to make a dangerous move like before, but he couldn't do it without the ball.

Assistant Rodrigo scratched his chin, shaking his head slowly.

"Those boys..." Rodrigo muttered as he crossed his arms.

Lucas watched helplessly as the minutes passed without a single ball reaching him. The opposing defenders occasionally approached him, but it wasn't like before. They knew that Lucas was in no danger as long as he didn't have the ball. Obviously, he began to get restless, his feet tapping lightly on the turf while his eyes followed the rhythm of the match.

The game was passing quickly, but nothing involved him. He tried to shout to his teammates, calling for a long pass, but the moves seemed to take place in a parallel universe to his own.

"Come on, guys, I'm here! Play!" Lucas shouted, slapping his thigh in frustration, but no one seemed to hear him. "They're avoiding me... All of them..."

In midfield, Phelip, the midfielder, again ignored his run from the back. He laid the ball off to Nathan on the right wing, who, instead of triangulating, tried a risky dribble. He lost the ball once again.

Jimenez, the coach, knew what was happening, but in a test like this, it wasn't just individual talent that was being assessed. Teamwork, the ability to deal with pressure — all of that was at stake.

"Rodrigo, what do you think the boy is going to do now?" Jimenez asked his assistant.

"If he's smart, he'll stay calm. Lucas needs to understand that it's part of the game. If he loses his head, he'll end his chances on his own. But if he's too patient, well, the game will be over and, just like many in previous years, he'll be seen as a player who ran out of steam quickly."

Despite not receiving passes, Lucas continued to run around the pitch while putting himself in easy passing positions. Every second he went without receiving the ball was a blow to his pride, but also fuel to keep looking for a game.

On the other side of the pitch, Mark Tanner, the A-Team's left-winger, was clearly aware of the situation. Of course, he had already noticed Lucas' absence from the play. Normally, the young striker was a constant threat, but at that moment, it was as if he had been erased from the game. Mark exchanged glances with Raphael Portiolli, another A-Team player.

"That's not right, is it? Why aren't you passing to him?" Raphael muttered as he walked alongside Mark without taking his eyes off the ball.

Mark, older and more experienced, shrugged. "Who knows? But you can tell they're doing it on purpose."

When Raphael crossed paths with Nathan, he asked: "Why are you ignoring Lucas? He's free all the time."

Nathan turned around, panting, sweat dripping down his forehead. "It's obvious, man. It's not just him who's being evaluated here. Everyone needs a chance to show what they can do."

Raphael took a step forward. "This makes no sense! You're sabotaging the game! You can't impress anyone playing like this. Soccer isn't about one player shining; it's about the whole team working! And you're not working!"

Nathan crossed his arms dismissively and said, "Oh, please. You know what they want to see. Lucas isn't Messi. If he can't create anything on his own, then maybe he's not the player you think he is. They told me you played the second half together. Are you sorry because you were carried here by him?"

Raphael clenched his fists. "You're wrong... Nobody creates alone, not even Messi! He depends on his teammates to make the game flow. If you're sabotaging him, it's not just him who will lose. You'll all look bad.

Brighton's coaches aren't idiots; they know how to see the whole picture."

Nathan laughed sarcastically, tossing his wet hair back. "You don't understand anything about how soccer really works."

"If soccer is about hand-picking who you're going to sabotage to make yourself look better, then I really don't understand anything about it."

However, Lucas, who was too far away to hear the conversation between Raphael and Nathan, didn't let it get him down. After all, the others were ignoring him? Well, that was a good thing, because it was when the challenges began and the odds were stacked against him that this decided to show up.

[New Secondary Mission!]

[Secondary Mission Name: Lone Wolf

Description: You were playing well, but your teammates suddenly chose not to pass to you anymore. That's a shame. However, it would be embarrassing for them if you picked up the ball and scored a goal yourself, without depending on anyone, wouldn't it?

Goal: Score at least one goal without giving a pass or cross past midfield against Team A.

Rewards:

+ 70-Star Points.

+ 15 Attribute Points.

+ Legendary Loot Box].

The mission was clear, but not as simple as the Champion System made it seem. Lucas wasn't a dribbling or finishing specialist. In fact, most of his skills were only useful when he worked as part of a team. However, if he could mix all the skills he had received so far to score a single goal without anyone else, it wasn't impossible. He just needed to think carefully.

From the bench, coach Jimenez was observing. "The boy is reading the game. Let's see what he does now."

Lucas began to analyze his options. If he couldn't rely on passing, he would have to infiltrate space, make an interception, and then start running.

Team A was tactically very predictable, and that was to be expected after they had only been playing together for a few minutes. As excellent players, they knew how to pass efficiently and safely, without creating too many risks, and with Otto in midfield, they were a team that fit together.

Unlike at the start, it was also going to be difficult for Lucas to steal the ball, mainly because Felix was very attentive.

This time, Lucas couldn't think he was smarter than the other opposing players. It was then, while looking at his own team's pitch, that Lucas remembered a teammate with whom he had exchanged a few sentences.

"Daniel!" Lucas approached, going to pick up the ball from Team B's defense practically.

Daniel, the brown-haired boy who had looked so scared at the start of the competition, looked up and, seeing Lucas, was startled. Immediately, he remembered what Nathan had whispered to him: S~eaʀᴄh the Novёlƒire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

"Don't pass the ball, otherwise they'll be too focused on defense there and won't even get forward here, so you can show up for the coach and prove yourself capable..."

Daniel broke out in a cold sweat. He wanted to pass the ball to Lucas at the same time as he didn't want to.

'You don't look like a bad person, Lucas...' Daniel thought and had the ball under his right foot ready to turn and pass to another player on his team, but at that moment his eyes unconsciously looked at coach Jimenez, and he realized that if he didn't pass to Lucas, it would be very obvious what they were up to. 'Ah, fuck Nathan.'

*Thof*

With a quick pass on the right side of his foot, Daniel gave the ball to Lucas, who smiled when he saw the ball heading in his direction. However, at that moment, he felt an overwhelming presence at his back, like a demon that had been waiting for this.

Lucas, without even having touched the ball yet, used <Mirage Feint> and so, when he caught the ball, he seemed to melt away like a ghost from the marking of Felix who, confused, saw Lucas take hold of the ball, turn and run towards Team A's field in milliseconds.

"WHAT?! How?!"

Carrying the ball, Lucas didn't see the open field to run into as he normally did when he played on the left wing. It wasn't just about running and crossing. And fortunately, he was more used to that than most people in that gym knew. After all, Lucas had only become a striker a few weeks ago.

No one knew it at the time, but Lucas Tanaka was on his own turf and if he was a Lone Wolf, this was his hunting ground. Experience new tales on empire