[Mission: Put on a show]
[Host is being watched by scouts from top clubs all over Europe looking to recruit fresh young talents. Put on a show and make sure that you're among the most desirable talents after this semi-final match]
[Reward: 20x stat points]
[Failure penalty: two weeks without system]
Tyler sucked in some air when he finished reading the specifics of the mission. As if he wasn't already nervous before. The reward that the system offered him was by far the biggest it had ever given, and considering the occasion, it was justified.
Although this tournament wasn't a make-or-break for him, it was still better than chilling at Rising Stars while hoping that some random scout from a club in Europe finally noticed him. This was an opportunity to stand out. This was an opportunity to prove that he was worth taking a chance on. This was an opportunity to make them remember his name.
By the time Tyler finished going through the specifics of the mission, he, along with the other players in the starting eleven, had already started walking out of the tunnel.
The tournament was hosted by several top clubs in England, so the semi-finals were being played in a standard stadium. Well, sort of.
The stadium it was being played in had a capacity of ten thousand, which was scantily filled by a few fans who wanted to watch a free match and the loved ones of the players. There was also the average scout or two mixed in with the small crowd. While the numbers in the stands were not massive, the importance of the eyes watching could not be overstated.
As the two teams filed out toward the pitch, the two sets of players eyed each other, sizing up their opponents. Tyler took one look at the opposition right back and took a deep breath to calm himself. It wasn't because of the appearance of the fullback or anything, he was just very much nervous.
The system's mission burned at the back of his mind as he walked over to his position on the pitch while the pre-match ceremonies concluded. It all felt real now. The turf under his boots. The chill of the wind. The distant sound of people chatting in the stands. The buzzing tension of expectation.
"Put on a show, put on a show, put on a show." He muttered under his breath, trying to drown out the noise inside his head.
And then a few seconds later, the referee's whistle sounded. The match had begun.
The first few minutes of the match were a little bit slow. Tyler was obviously not the only one who felt nervous, and it showed. The two sides just focused on keeping possession, making simple passes, with no one daring to do something extreme.
That changed in the eighth minute when the attacking midfielder of Valhalla Academy went on a brilliant solo run, dribbling past three Rising Stars players before unleashing a venomous strike toward the bottom left corner.
Luckily for Rising Stars Academy, their goalkeeper was up to the shot and managed to parry the strike away from the goal, resulting in a corner for Valhalla Academy. It was a brilliant piece of goalkeeping, the kind that gets a coach out of his seat.
From there on out, the match became a lot more open as both sides seemed to have gotten rid of the nerves that affected them earlier on. The game opened up and became end-to-end. The midfield battle became fiercer, with crunching tackles and clever feints. Each team tried to push forward with urgency and energy, not wanting to miss their chance.
A barrage of shots ensued toward the two goalposts, with the two goalkeepers being the busiest members of their respective teams. With the number of saves that they made, they definitely gave the scouts something to talk about.
Despite the nature of the match, Tyler was feeling very frustrated. Somehow, Valhalla Academy had managed to force Rising Stars Academy to play a central game, barely involving their wingers. Even though the match was basically an open fire, he had yet to get a real chance in the match.
He kept shifting, repositioning, asking for the ball, but most of it came late or was intercepted before reaching him. He felt like a passenger, which was a terrible thing to feel when the biggest scouts in Europe were sitting in the stands. He could almost feel the minutes ticking away uselessly, taking his chances with them.
That changed in the twenty-ninth minute.
It was a counterattack. Rising Stars Academy's defensive midfielder managed to intercept a pass inside the penalty box and quickly sent a pass out wide to their left back. There was a brief moment of hesitation, a second of calm before the storm.
The left back took a touch and, after a brief scan, sent the ball forward to Tyler, who had the Valhalla Academy right back closely following him.
With his back to the Valhalla Academy right back, Tyler did a Sergio Busquets-like turn, teasing turning inside before exploding on the wing.
He ran towards the ball, freely entering the yards of space that the right back had left exposed.
A few paces later, he noticed that the right back was starting to catch up to him and did a Ronaldo-style chop, causing the right back to stop. Then he kicked the ball between the legs of the right back, continuing his rampant run on the left flank.
The right back could only look as Tyler ran past him. There was nothing he could do. The crowd let out a collective gasp. Even the scouts in the stands leaned forward, taking note.
Tyler slowly approached the Valhalla Academy penalty box and slowed down. The Valhalla Academy right center back had already charged outside to try and put an end to Tyler's run.
Tyler dropped a shoulder and made it seem like he was going to dribble wide, then sharply entered the box, taking a touch to steady himself before unleashing a curling shot toward the top corner.
He, and all the other players, watched as his shot curled in the air, moving around the remaining center back inside the box, and sinking just timely enough to dip into the top corner, in the back of the net.
Goal. The net rippled.
"Goal! Get in!" Tyler was ecstatic as soon as his shot went into the back of the net. "Finally scored a finesse shot."
He rushed toward the corner flag and did a knee slide before tapping the badge of the Rising Star Academy that was on the left chest of his jersey.
It felt like everything he had trained for, everything he had imagined, was starting to align. The celebration was pure emotion. The pressure. The expectations. The system mission. For that moment, it all faded away.
His celebration was short, and after he was congratulated by his teammates, he went back to his position, waiting for the referee to restart the match.
As he walked back to his side on the pitch, only one thought was in his mind.
"I'm already putting on a show.. right?"