The system divided reward chests into three tiers.
Blue Fine-grade chests.
Purple Epic-grade chests.
Gold Legendary-grade chests.
So when Ethan saw his random chest was only Fine-grade, he felt a small pang of disappointment.
Then he caught himself.
Not long ago, when he first loaded the system, he had already pulled the Platini Passing Model from a Legendary chest.
If he opened another Legendary chest right now, his luck would be almost absurd.
Besides, the €100,000 cash reward was a real lifeline.
His Liverpool contract was a standard rookie deal.
£85,500 a year.
For a sixteen-year-old, that was already a serious show of faith.
Since he was heading to Italy, Liverpool sporting director Edwards had personally told finance to advance Ethan half a year’s salary.
Enough to cover daily expenses during the six-month loan.
Over £40,000 for half a year sounded like a lot.
But that was pre-tax.
After deductions, what actually hit his account was closer to £20,000.
Italy ran on euros.
After the exchange rate, it came out to about €30,000.
But the cost of living in Italy wasn’t much different from England.
Earn euros, spend euros.
Stretching €30,000 across six months still meant watching every cent.
He was already regretting that moment at the London airport, saying goodbye to his parents.
His father had slipped a bank card into his bag, and Ethan had stubbornly handed it back, full of proud talk about making his own way.
He had dug that hole himself.
At least Fiorentina had given him a single room at the training ground.
And he ate most of his meals at the team cafeteria.
The two biggest expenses, food and housing, were covered.
Now the system had dropped €100,000 into his hands.
For the first time, he could breathe.
Next time the team won and went out to celebrate, he could pick up the check without a second thought.
He wasn’t worried about salary long-term.
The tight budget was temporary.
All he had to do was raise his level fast and prove himself on the pitch.
A new contract with real money would come soon enough.
[Your Milestone Mode has been unlocked!]
Ethan turned his attention back to the system interface.
What was Milestone Mode?
[Congratulations.
You have completed the following milestones:]
[First professional career victory!
Honor Value +100!]
[First Serie A assist!
[First career brace of assists!
Honor Value +150!]
[First Man of the Match award!
Honor Value +100!]
[Total Honor Value earned: 400.
You have received four attribute points.
You may freely assign them to your personal attribute panel.]
Ethan stared at the text, a rush of excitement hitting him.
Milestone Mode was incredible.
It gave out attribute points directly.
Every career milestone earned corresponding Honor Value.
Every 100 Honor Value could be exchanged for one free attribute point.
He had just been wondering how to raise his ability quickly.
And now Milestone Mode had landed right in front of him.
He opened his personal attribute panel and started thinking about where to put those four points.
[Platini – Passing] Short Passing: 99 Long Passing: 61 Vision: 68
[Shooting] Accuracy: 65 Long Shots: 67 Heading: 70
[Technique] Ball Control: 71 Dribbling: 70 Set Pieces: 60
[Speed] Top Speed: 62 Acceleration: 60 Reaction: 65
[Physical] Strength: 73 Jumping: 65 Stamina: 72
[Defense] Tackling: 60 Interception: 59 Anticipation: 58
Overall Rating: 71
First, under the passing category, Short Passing was already maxed at 99.
No points could go there.
Long Passing and Vision couldn’t take points either.
The Platini Passing Model card he had received had three nodes.
So far he had only activated the Short Passing node.
He was using barely a third of the card’s full power.
Later, when he found a way to activate the Long Passing and Vision nodes, those attributes would likely jump straight to max level, just like Short Passing had.
Putting points into them now would be a complete waste.
His overall ability was still modest.
If he wanted to be an immediate contributor on the pitch and make a real impact, he had to stick with his current approach.
Play to your strengths.
Hide your weaknesses.
Showcase his elite short passing as much as possible.
Conceal his flaws for as long as possible.
But that style couldn’t last forever.
It was a short-term trick.
Sooner or later, other teams would study him and target his weaknesses.
When that happened, life would get very uncomfortable.
He needed to raise one key attribute fast.
After a moment’s thought, his focus landed on Ball Control.
You can’t pass what you can’t hold.
A great midfield passer doesn’t need blazing speed or dominant physical strength.
But his control of the ball at his feet has to be excellent.
Secure control means you can release the ball cleanly in attack.
And when an opponent presses, you can handle the pressure and keep possession absolutely safe.
No matter how he looked at it, raising his ball control fast was his best move right now.
Decision made, Ethan dumped all four points into Ball Control.
[Ding!
Host Ball Control attribute has increased!]
[Ball Control: 71 → 75!]
On the attribute panel, a red upward arrow appeared beside Ball Control.
The number changed.
And Ethan noticed something else.
Once the value hit 75, the number turned from white to green.
According to the system notes, attribute values were divided into five tiers.
75: Professional Level.
Displayed in green.
80: Very Good.
Displayed in yellow.
90: Exceptional.
Displayed in orange.
95: World-Class.
Displayed in red.
99: Supernatural.
Displayed in deep crimson.
His Short Passing, already maxed at 99, was indeed displayed in deep crimson.
And after his debut match just hours ago, Ethan now understood exactly how heavy the word “Supernatural” really was.
His Ball Control had just hit 75.
That should mean it had reached the literal meaning of “Professional Level.”
He checked the system notes carefully.
Professional Level meant the average ball control ability of a player in Europe’s top five leagues.
That was a real jump.
A clear, tangible improvement.
Ethan couldn’t resist.
He flicked up the ball from the floor of his cramped dorm room and started working it, feeling the difference.
The surprise hit him immediately.
His control had definitely improved.
Before today, in a space this tight, he could never have handled the ball this freely.
The jump in ball control filled him with confidence.
Whether it was the next training-ground scrimmage or the next league match, he could finally receive the ball without that constant edge of hesitation.
15-30+ chapters are available now and daily updates!