Chapter 17: Abundant Season Rewards

Suke rubbed his hands excitedly and switched the system interface to the card drawing screen. First up: Match Rewards. As usual, five card slots appeared. Suke whispered excitedly, "Let's draw!" The familiar shuffling sound and card flipping animation played. Soon, five cards appeared before him. [White Card (Skill Card) – Ronaldo's Dribbling]Named after the alien Ronaldo, he dreams of being like his idol. Their dribbling styles are very similar, but dreams always reflect reality—this Ronaldo is not that Ronaldo. [White Card (Skill Card) – Tross's Physical Play]Beastly Tross is known as a butcher in the South American league. His fierce play style strikes fear into opponents. [White Card (Skill Card) – Bastetia's Heading]This player excels in heading the ball. People say he constantly leaps because he longs for the sky. [White Card (Skill Card) – Angie's Ball Control]Angie has stable ball control. No matter what kind of pass, he can stop it smoothly. [Red Card (Skill Card) – Status Recovery Card]Clears all negative statuses. Single-use. Suke raised an eyebrow. The card quality varied wildly. Four white cards and one red card. The status recovery card was undoubtedly the best—a leg-saving tool. But it appeared too often. Would the frequency of such rewards increase in higher-tier leagues? Suke wondered as he tested each card. Ultimately, only "Ronaldo's Dribbling" and "Angie's Ball Control" could be slotted. However, both were rather underwhelming. "Ronaldo's Dribbling" was similar to Suke's current dribbling card—not much of an improvement. As for ball control, Suke was already quite good at it. So, the only real gain from the match rewards was the status recovery card. Still, that was a pretty good reward. Suke nodded, then moved on to draw from the Season Reward Cards, which were supposed to be more rewarding. As Suke anxiously watched, five more cards appeared. [White Card (Skill Card) – Model's Saves]As a goalkeeper, he's good at line saves, but often fumbles due to poor hand positioning."Isn't this just Bakic?" Suke muttered.Useless—next! [White Card (Skill Card) – Suarez's Bite]In moments of frustration or agitation, he vents by biting, terrifying opponents.Suke: "..." [Attribute Card – Add One Attribute Point Freely!]Brief description, but it made Suke beam with joy.Finally! Attribute cards provide real, tangible enhancements to physical abilities. [Red Card (Skill Card) – Status Recovery Card]Suke was surprised—was this card free or something? That's the third one!But who could ever have too many of those? Keep it! [Red Card (Special Card) – Andre's Lightning Legs]In the world of sprinting, stride length determines speed, but foot frequency is also key. Andre, though short and lacking stride length, shines in foot speed.(Wearing this increases speed by 15 points) Not bad at all! In football, speed is crucial. Fast wingers often initiate attacks. Compared to long strides, rapid footwork is better for ball control. It's a special card too, meaning Suke could equip it without restrictions. Final Summary: Two more status recovery cards (now totaling three), one attribute card, and Andre's Lightning Legs. Suke applied the attribute card to his speed stat and equipped the Lightning Legs. Player Panel: [Diamond Card (Special) – Inzaghi's Awareness] [Red Card (Skill) – Torrist's Short Pass] [Red Card (Special) – Andre's Lightning Legs] [Red Card (Skill) – Status Recovery Card] [White Card (Skill) – Roberts' Dribbling] [White Card (Skill) – Lyston's Shooting] Attribute Panel: Name: Suke Height: 151 cm Weight: 48 kg Speed: 72 + 15 Agility: 80 Strength: 60 Explosiveness: 77 Speed had increased significantly after equipping Lightning Legs, but how fast exactly, Suke wasn't sure yet. He'd need to test it out. Also worth checking how it affected his dribbling while running. Both the number and quality of his card slots had increased notably. His efforts over the season hadn't been in vain—a fruitful harvest. He even started wondering: setting aside his shortcomings, what is his true limit? When he returned to the pitch from the small hill, everyone was gone. Only Modrić was juggling a ball at the center of the field. "Where is everyone?" Suke asked. Modrić replied, "They went to a party." Suke nodded, then said, "Can you help me test my 50-meter sprint?" "Now?" Modrić stepped on the ball in surprise. "I don't have a stopwatch!" "Just give me a rough estimate. You've got fast players on your team—see how I compare." In football, speed is usually measured over 30–50 meters to assess explosiveness—not over 100 meters. Suke took his position. Modrić called out, "Ready—go!" With that, Suke pushed off the ground powerfully. Instantly, he shot forward. His explosiveness was already strong, but his top speed was even more shocking. Da-da-da-da-da-da! Suke's foot frequency was incredible—so fast it dazzled Modrić. In a blink, Suke had crossed the 50-meter line. "How was that?" Suke asked. Modrić replied instinctively, "Fast!" "Right?" Suke grinned. Modrić looked at him with awe—he hadn't expected Suke to have such speed. Before, he thought Suke should play midfield. Now he was reconsidering—maybe winger? "Let's test dribbling next." Suke picked up the ball again and lined up for another sprint, this time with the ball. Da-da-da-da-da-da! Suke felt great—blazing speed with no discomfort. He adjusted quickly and dashed through the 50 meters. But Modrić frowned. "You're running too fast." Suke smiled. "Told you I'm fast!" Modrić shook his head. "That wasn't a compliment." "You're running too fast." Suke was puzzled. Modrić explained, "Speed helps dribbling, but what matters more is rhythm." He elaborated patiently, "You were running full speed just now. If a defender appeared, you'd just crash into him." Suke thought about it. That was true. "Use 70% to 80% speed for dribbling. When a defender closes in, then change pace or direction to get past. Once you're clear, that's when you go full throttle. That's rhythm!" "So, I should dribble at 80% speed?" Suke asked. Modrić nodded. "Exactly." "I'll try again." Suke was about to go again. Modrić quickly stopped him: "Rest a bit. Aren't you tired?" Only then did Suke realize his legs were a bit wobbly. He had just played a full match. "I'll rest." He sat down and used a status recovery card. With three on hand and more likely in the future, it wasn't wasteful. Soon, a cool sensation flowed from his head down, washing away fatigue and restoring his energy. Suke stood up. "Let's go again!" Modrić: "???" Didn't you just sit down?! The two trained for the rest of the afternoon. Modrić kept looking at Suke as if he were a monster. He had good stamina himself, but Suke seemed tireless. For Suke, the experience was invaluable. Modrić wasn't just teaching youth drills, but real game experience. Suke now craved higher-level competition, doing everything to improve. With the season over, Suke returned to part-time work. Unlike pro players vacationing on scenic islands, they worked hard just to eat. Thankfully, he had secured a job—working at Bakic's Tavern. At 2 Marks per hour, it was enough to get by since the team didn't pay during the off-season. In May, the town—and the world—buzzed with excitement. All eyes were on Korea and Japan. The 2002 World Cup was about to begin. Though Bosnia didn't qualify, neighboring Croatia had made it under the leadership of Davor Šuker. In 1998, Croatia made the semifinals—a legendary run. Many hoped for an even better showing this time. But Šuker and several key players were aging, and their form was uncertain. Still, in Mostar, the Croatians eagerly gathered in taverns, waiting for the World Cup to start.