Till Lindemann.
Born in 1992 in Munich, he was the goalkeeper of FC Bayern Munich U13.
He wasn't exceptionally gifted like other prodigies, but thanks to Germany's excellent training system, he had developed into a solid player.
His strengths were his control of the penalty area due to his height and his ability to handle aerial balls.
But above all, his best trait was his shot-stopping ability, especially against long-range shots.
That's why Lindemann felt confident.
'He's got better shooting than most kids, but nothing special. His shot speed is fast, but the trajectory is simple.'
Ho-young.
A threatening player, no doubt.
But from what Lindemann had seen in the last match, Ho-young's long-range shooting was fairly average.
Powerful, sure, but it lacked finesse, and the shot speed wasn't anything extraordinary.
He figured this free kick would be the same.
Lindemann was sure he could stop it easily.
Moreover, the distance was 24 meters, straight from the center.
'He won't shoot directly. Probably just float in a cross.'
A set-piece routine seemed more likely.
It was rare for a primary school kid to attempt a direct shot from that far.
'But if he does shoot, it'll most likely go to the left. Last time, he only shot toward the far post.'
With the wall set up in front, Lindemann locked eyes with Ho-young.
Tension filled the air.
Finally, Ho-young took a few steps back to get his run-up.
'One... two... three.'
Just three steps.
'He's going to cross it. No way this is a knuckle shot.'
He was sure.
Knuckle shots require a longer run-up, usually about five steps, to generate maximum power.
So the chance of a knuckleball was basically zero.
"Phew."
A tense moment.
Lindemann exhaled and calculated the timing of the shot.
'Now…!'
He leaned slightly to the left just as Ho-young planted his foot.
"Huh?"
Tap.
Boom!
By the time he reacted with, "Now," the ball was already soaring through the air.
'What the…?'
A half-beat quicker than expected.
There was no answer to that surprise.
Only the ball flying in.
It wasn't heading left, but right, in a perfectly straight line.
"Ugh."
Too late to react.
In football, half a second decides everything.
Thud!
The ball smashed into the back of the net before Lindemann even realized.
'A toe kick…?'
A toe kick.
A technique that allows for long-range shots using the tip of the foot, requiring little run-up.
If not struck cleanly, accuracy drops, and it risks toe injury, but Ho-young's Iron Body compensated for that weakness.
Plus, the quicker shooting motion helped fool the goalkeeper.
In short, Ho-young's psychological play had worked perfectly.
With a surprise free kick, Ho-young completed a brace.
He pounded his chest twice with his fist.
Beep!
"Nice!!"
With the Dream Squad taking a 2-1 lead, his teammates rushed over to embrace him.
There was still plenty of time left, but the energy felt like they had already won.
"Whew…"
Ho-young began to feel his heart swell.
Excitement.
'I can do this.'
They could win.
And just maybe, he could even reach his target.
Just one more goal!
Only one goal left to hit his target.
"Hooo—"
Ho-young closed his eyes to calm his mind.
He shook off the pressure of needing to score.
Instead.
'Just play hard.'
On the pitch, just play football. If he did that, the goals would come, and so would the win.
He recalled Cha Bum-kun's words and focused on playing.
And that mindset showed its worth in the second half.
Thud!
Receiving a cross from the flank, Ho-young scored a header to complete his hat trick.
However, around the 30th minute of the second half, the team started to wobble.
"Mark him!"
Bayern, who had been dominating possession all game, pulled out their most aggressive tactics.
Sharp. Ruthless.
In the 33rd minute of the second half, Müller broke through the back line with a clever off-the-ball run.
He immediately fired a low-driven cross into the box, and the forward on the receiving end converted it with a clean strike.
Thud!
It was Bayern's third goal, assisted by Müller.
Beep—
The match ended 3-3, with neither team pulling ahead in regular time.
Since it was a knockout match, it went into extra time.
"Ugh…"
All the players looked exhausted.
They were given a break, but five minutes wasn't nearly enough.
'We have to play more after this…?'
It was Ho-young's first experience playing extra time, and it was brutal.
Just 10 minutes each half, but every second felt like torture.
'Just a bit more…'
Still, he clung to his focus.
Winning mentality.
He had no choice but to push through with sheer willpower.
Then, in the 5th minute of the second half of extra time.
"Let's hang in there!"
Ho-young's voice echoed across the pitch.
'Only five minutes left.'
Following Cha Bum-kun's orders, the team focused on defense.
The so-called "Ten Backs" strategy.
The Dream Squad was at its physical limit. Pushing forward in attack would've been suicide.
Better to concede possession and dig in defensively to avoid conceding.
Then take it to penalties.
That was Cha's plan.
Beep—
The seemingly endless extra time came to an end.
The match was headed to penalties, the final destination.
The Dream Squad won the toss and chose to kick first.
First kicker: Suk Hyun-jun.
Tap—
Thud!
They got off to a strong start, taking the lead.
Both teams traded successful kicks until it came down to the fourth kicker.
Maybe it was the result of all their focused set-piece training?
Bang!
"Nice!!"
Bayern's fourth kicker struck the post, giving the Dream Squad a golden opportunity.
A chance to win.
If their final kicker scored, it would be over.
The final kicker was Ho-young.
'If I score, we win.'
It was his first time taking a penalty in a real match, so he had every reason to feel nervous. But he calmed himself.
He let go of the pressure and just thought of it as a shot.
He aimed at the open left side of the net and fired a thunderous strike.
Boom!
"Ah…"
A sigh of frustration slipped from Lindemann's lips.
But from Ho-young's mouth came.
"Woohoo!!"
A cry of joy.
"Haah."
'We did it.'
Right after the match ended, Ho-young collapsed to the ground, his legs giving out.
Just then, a long shadow fell over his face.
"Huh?"
It's said that kindred spirits recognize each other.
Bayern's ace, Thomas Müller, was offering him a handshake.
It's rare for the loser to approach first, and it caught Ho-young by surprise.
'No. This just evens the score.'
That's right.
Müller had won the previous match, and Ho-young had won today.
Neither was the true winner or loser just yet.
Who knows if they'd meet again in a national team match or a club competition?
'I hope we meet again.'
Ho-young sincerely hoped so.
He also vowed that the one goal he failed to score today, he'd get it next time.
'Damn. Just one more goal and I would've gotten it.'
To acquire Ballack's talent, he needed five goals combined.
Ho-young had only scored four.
Still, he didn't complain.
He had gained Müller's talent instead.
[Select the talent you wish to obtain.]
- Clever Space Penetration (A+)
- Solid Fundamentals (A)
- High Football IQ (B+3)
- Reliable Finishing (B+2)
'Space penetration is better.'
Solid Fundamentals was tempting, but what he needed more was space penetration.
With his speed and this talent combined, he would have everything a breakthrough-style striker needed.
It would sharpen his main weapon even further.
And it was A+ grade.
'My first A-plus.'
[It will take 40 days to fully acquire the talent. You cannot obtain another talent during this time.]
'Perfect. This is still a big win.'
Missing out on Ballack's talent was frustrating and disappointing, but he had done his best.
The problem was their next match, against Sydney United U13, who had advanced by defeating Orlando City SC.
But having spent all their energy in the match against Bayern, the Dream Squad had nothing left in the tank.
They ended up losing 1-2.
Skill-wise they were on par, but accumulated fatigue held them back.
"Good work, everyone."
Cha Bum-kun gave his players heartfelt encouragement.
Even just beating Bayern was a major achievement.
The tournament ended three days later.
Having exceeded expectations, the team spent the remaining days sightseeing or watching football matches.
The kids bought souvenirs or received gifts from their parents.
And on the day before their flight back, Ho-young received a meaningful gift.
It happened in the most unexpected way, during a visit to the accommodation, summoned by Cha Bum-kun.
"Hello."
Michael Ballack.
He had dropped by after hearing Cha was leaving the next day.
"But… why me…?"
"Ha ha. To keep my promise, of course."
The promise that he would pass on his know-how if Ho-young beat Bayern.
Ballack had not forgotten.
He spoke in simple English.
"I watched your match. It was inspiring."
"Huh? You were watching?"
"If you keep working hard, you might end up like me."
Was he suggesting Ho-young would rack up runners-up medals?
That silly thought crossed his mind for a second, but Ho-young focused on the conversation.
"You asked me before how to become better at football, right?"
Ballack gave his signature smile and explained slowly, in an easy-to-understand way.
"When I play, I draw the whole field in my head. Whether I'm controlling the midfield or pushing forward in attack."
"You mean… like seeing the forest instead of the trees?"
"No. Both are important. But above all, you have to read the flow. Like reading a river current."
That way, you can understand the opponent's tactics and control the game.
Ballack spoke with seriousness.
'Read the flow of the match…'
Ho-young etched those words into his heart.
He couldn't fully grasp it yet, but one day it would become his guiding principle.
"Thank you."
He sincerely bowed and stood up from his seat.
It was at that moment.
"…!!"
A miracle occurred.
[Your current talent slots are full. 'Clever Space Penetration (33 days)' is now in standby mode.]
[Please select the next talent to acquire after 33 days.]
- Versatile Midfield Commander (U)
- Unrivaled Heading (S)
- Towering Jumping Ability (A+)
- Ironclad Stamina (A)
- Ambidextrous Mastery (A)
- High Work Rate (A-)
- Tactical Genius (A-)
- Powerful Mid-range Shot (A-)
- Clinical Finishing (A-)
- Ironclad Physique (A-)
- Smooth Ball Distribution (B+3)
- Fiery Competitive Spirit (B+3)
- Exceptional Dribbling (B+2)
- Active Off-the-ball Movement (B+2)
- Quick Interceptions (B+)
- Powerful Curved Free Kick (B+)
- Space-seeking Cross (B+)
[See More]
'No way…'
Ballack's talent had appeared out of nowhere.
He was supposed to need five goals to unlock it, so how had it worked?
It was puzzling.
Then it hit him.
'Wait… could the last penalty goal count too…?'
It must have.
The winning penalty was recognized as a goal.
That made sense.
After all, a goal is a goal, even from a penalty.
Like finding cash in the pocket of a winter coat.
'Ohhh!'
Which meant.
'My second U-grade talent!'
Versatile Midfield Commander (U).
What kind of talent would it be?
(To be continued.)
Lots of bonuses, so it's only fair to get lots of Power Stones, right? : )
◇◇◇
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)