My system allows me to copy talents

Picking up his phone, he then turned on his phone. No sooner had he turned on his phone, notifications chimed continually, and he was besieged with texts one after the other. It was the exact reason why he had turned off his phone.

After that loss, he was certain that he would receive a flood of messages, not to mention condemnation from the media and the general public. Sure, the majority of them would come from his family and friends, but still, he didn't want to be disturbed for a while.

He needed time to recollect his thoughts. No, he wasn't depressed but still, he required some time alone to think.

As he skimmed through his phone, he noticed that most of the messages he had received were from his close friends and his parents. There were also a few from anonymous sources, asking him about his view regarding the match and a few asking him for an interview.

But, those anonymous messages meant nothing to him, the only ones that mattered to him were from his friends and family members.

"Damn, she must have been quite worried," he mumbled as he noticed the flood of messages and calls he had received from his mother.

Even so, he didn't call her back immediately. Considering the time difference, he thought it'd be better to leave a message to assure her of his well-being than to call her. One by one, he then started to text back as he responded to the worries of almost everybody worried about him.

There were quite a lot, so it did take him quite a while to text everybody back. Despite that, he didn't leave anybody on read.

While he was on his phone, he thought of checking the result of the other match from their group between Senegal and Poland. Since the coaches hadn't informed them about the other match due to their dreadful state, practically all of them were kept in the dark regarding the result of the other match.

And with only one match remaining, a win for Senegal would be extremely detrimental for them. But on the other hand, if Poland were to win the game, each four of them would have one win each. However, it was extremely unlikely to happen.

Despite the odds, he had no choice but to be hopeful.

However, as he checked on the result of the other match, it made him utterly speechless as it spilled water on the flame of hope kindling within his heart, extinguishing it in one fell swoop.

Senegal had won the match with a devastating score of 4-1 which had put them at the top of the table, and Poland after losing two games consecutively was sitting at the bottom of the table.

Since the top three teams of the group were qualified for the knockouts, they were still a contender for the knockouts considering their position in the group. But, that didn't mean they had already qualified either.

Poland could still redeem themselves and qualify for the knockouts if they managed to beat Argentina by a large margin.

Witnessing those results, Hiro couldn't help but reveal a heavy sigh, "Great, now we need to beat Senegal at all costs"

Tossing aside his phone, he then threw himself in his bed. By now, his hair was no longer wet. Just as he was beginning to recuperate from yesterday's defeat, another task, if not harder, but almost as difficult, presented itself to him.

But, surprisingly as he kept thinking about it, instead of feeling tired or agitated, he felt an unusual feeling of excitement. For some reason, he felt as if his veins were tingling with excitement. The thought of playing a do-or-die battle excited him.

It kindled the flames of competitiveness and excitement hidden deep inside his body.

Lying on his bed flat with his face facing the white ceiling above, he raised his arms as he mimicked a gesture as if he were grabbing onto something.

"I won't lose again," smiling, he murmured while staring at his raised fist with his eyes glistening with an unusual vigor.

[Ding!]

[New quest available]

At this moment while he was talking to himself, appearing quite excited about the final group match against the group leaders, the sound of the notification chimed in.

[Survive the ordeal, and qualify for the knockouts]

☼☼☼☼ ☼☼☼☼

As the golden hues of the setting sun painted the sky in shades of orange and pink, Kurosawa Taki found himself all alone on the pitch.

With no training scheduled today because of yesterday's match against Argentina, aside from him, nobody was present on the field, and an eerie silence lingered around him. Yet, he didn't appear to be at peace.

Setting the shooting machine, he then assumed his position in the post as he prepared to face the shots shot by the machine that shot countless random shots without any break.

And, as the machine started to run, with eyes full of desperation, he glanced at the machine. Then, a ball came flying toward the post at a rapid speed.

Gauzing the direction of the ball, he then leaped towards the ball. No sooner had he made that first save, another ball came flying toward him, giving him no moment to catch a breath.

With each thud of the ball against his gloves, he poured his heart and soul into each save, his movement fueled by a potent mix of determination and desperation. Soon though, he started to gasp heavily as perspiration ran down his forehead continuously.

Yet, despite his unwavering commitment, the lingering question that had been gnawing him for quite long remained; Why was he not getting any minutes on the field? Was he present here for the sole purpose of watching the match from the sidelines?

Right now, though he appeared physically exhausted, his mind was in a turmoil with whirlwind of emotions, swirling inside him like a tempest.

Sure, he was the third-choice keeper, but still he wanted to play. He wanted to showcase his potential. But, no matter how he looked at it, until and unless Shun was present on the team, it seemed like he wouldn't get any playing minutes.