BEEP BEEP BEEP!!
The sharp blast of the whistle sounded, bringing the 90-minute match to a close.
Mostar Wanderers ultimately defeated Sarajevo FC 3-2.
Around the 80-minute mark, Mostar Wanderers’ stamina began to fail, and they nearly allowed a comeback in the final moments.
On top of that, their "sieve" of a goalkeeper, Buckqi, had a butterfingers moment that led to a goal. It’s safe to say they were inches away from a draw.
But the final result was still excellent. Thanks to goals from Suk and Mulinar, Mostar Wanderers won the match and smoothly rose to third place in the league, bringing them one step closer to the promotion zone.
Due to the small number of teams in the Bosnia and Herzegovina League, there was only one promotion and relegation spot, despite having a promotion/relegation system.
In other words, only the champion of the Bosnia and Herzegovina Second League could be promoted to the Bosnia and Herzegovina First League. Likewise, the champion of the First League would be promoted to the Bosnia and Herzegovina Super League.
For Mostar Wanderers, a club with a history of only four short years, this was the closest they had ever been to promotion.
And it was all thanks to their ’little’ center-forward.
After securing the victory, the Mostar Wanderers players were ecstatic. But when they looked for their goal-scoring hero, he was nowhere to be found.
"Where did Suk go?"
Mulinar asked.
The goalkeeper, Buckqi, pointed to the dilapidated archway and said, "He bolted as soon as the match ended. Probably had to pee?"
Mulinar shook his head. He stopped looking for Suk and turned to celebrate with his teammates.
Meanwhile, behind a small hill about 100 meters from the stadium, Suk sat on a rock, his hands clasped and pressed against his forehead. He whispered softly, "All you gods and spirits, please bless me!"
Immediately after, he made the sign of the cross over his chest before slowly opening his eyes.
As Suk opened his eyes, a blurry image appeared before him.
The image slowly sharpened from a blur into focus.
It was an ethereal outline of a human body. On this figure, cards were embedded in the forehead, chest, and both feet.
The cards on the chest and feet emitted a faint white glow, while the card on the forehead shone with a brilliant diamond light.
"Personal panel!"
Suk said softly.
The three cards began to display their details one by one.
First were the cards on his feet.
[White Card (Skill Card) — Boka’s Dribbling — As a village boy from South America, Boka was a genius player unanimously praised by his fellow villagers. He possessed outstanding dribbling skills and had performed spectacular feats of getting past opponents. Without any defensive pressure, he could play the beautiful game just like Ronaldinho!]
[White Card (Skill Card) — Lesten’s Shooting Skill — The ability to be decisive comes from shooting. Lesten possessed exquisite shooting ability, especially excelling at first-time volleys. His shots were placed at tricky angles, but they lacked power!]
Both were White Cards, the lowest tier, and were equipped in the Card Slots on his feet.
Their abilities weren’t particularly outstanding—until he brought up the brilliant Diamond Card.
[Diamond Card (Special Card) — Inzaghi’s Awareness — The most vexing poacher in Italian football. His phantom-like positioning gave even the top-tier defensive lines a headache. This was an innate talent—a man who lived on the offside line!]
These three cards constituted all of Suk’s current abilities and were the key to his confidence in professional football.
Of course, for now, the most useful was still [Inzaghi’s Awareness].
It was his most powerful weapon at the moment and the key to him becoming the top scorer in the Bosnia and Herzegovina Second League.
"Attribute panel!"
Suk said softly again.
The image blurred once more, this time revealing an attribute panel.
[Name: Suk]
[Height: 149 cm]
[Weight: 47.5 kg]
[Speed: 71]
[Flexibility: 80]
[Power: 59]
[Explosive Power: 77]
Suk’s natural athletic talent was already excellent. Ever since he was a child, he’d been climbing trees to raid birds’ nests and excelled at all sorts of sports. This was reflected in his Speed, Flexibility, and Explosive Power.
Only his Power, limited by his height and weight, had failed to develop and hadn’t even reached a passing grade.
Still, Suk had faith in himself.
Even though he was a 150 cm bean sprout, he was only 16 years old. He figured he was just a late bloomer compared to his peers. Sooner or later, he would grow tall and strong, becoming a powerful, orthodox striker.
Of course, for now, limited by his physical attributes, the only path he could choose was that of a phantom-like forward poacher, in the vein of Inzaghi.
After checking his two panels, it was time for the main event.
Following Suk’s thought, the screen turned ethereal again. When it solidified, it showed a thick stack of cards.
The deck was thick and had no patterns on it, just lying there quietly.
Below the cards were five Card Slots, representing the five cards he could draw after each victorious match.
As for the quality of the cards, that was all up to luck.
The cards were divided into three main categories.
[Skill Card], [Attribute Card], and [Special Card].
Skill Cards were the most common, like his two White Cards, but they were limited by his attribute values.
For example, even if Suk’s luck exploded and he pulled a Messi Dribbling card, he wouldn’t be able to equip it.
He could only equip it after his physical attributes reached the required standard.
However, Attribute Cards were incredibly rare. From what he’d seen so far, he would only get one or two as a reward at the end of the season.