Tyler's mouth was agape as he stared at the interface in front of him. He recognized the layout immediately. It was like a system from the many comics that he had read. So many times, as he read the comics, he wished to get a system like this, and now he finally had his wish.
After staring for a little while longer, Tyler decided that it was best if he studied the system while he was at home. It would certainly be weird if he suddenly started talking to himself after dramatically clutching his head like he was Harry Potter or something. If that happened, everyone would assume he had gone mad or something, and that was not the impression he wanted to give off.
For all he knew, his crush could be in the crowd watching him.
Tyler gave up on finding his bag. More accurately put, he didn't care about it anymore. The system had gotten all his attention. So much so that he nearly forgot to take his ball along with him.
Within ten minutes, Tyler walked up the porch of his house. He opened the door and stepped inside, walking in to the sight of his grandma knitting while sitting on the couch.
Tyler lost his parents when he was just six years old to a car crash. In fact, that was the reason why he was so desperate to become a footballer. He promised his father that he was going to be like Lionel Messi after watching him play against Manchester United in the 2011 Champions League final. It was the last thing he ever said to his dad so the promise held a lot of weight.
It was also the same reason why every release felt like a bullet in the chest for him. With every setback, he was pushed further away from his dream, further away from being able to fulfil the last promise he ever made to his father.
Ever since the death of his parents, he stayed with his grandma who spared no effort to take care of him. She bought him cleats when he needed them, bought new training wear when he needed, she drove to games when she could, and supported him every step of the way. She was his favorite person, and meant a great deal to him.
It was one thing to have a dream and it was another thing to have somebody who supported him so wholeheartedly. Eventually, his grandma became another reason why he had to make it as a pro. He couldn't let her down after she supported him all these years.
"How was practice today?" She asked, looking up as soon as she heard the sound of the door unlocking.
Tyler who was about to break into a sprint to his bedroom paused. "Um… Practice? Yeah, I got released".
His grandma raised an eyebrow. "You got released?"
"Yes, um, it was very painful, but there's nothing I can do". Tyler said, a bit annoyed, not in the pissed off sense, he was just very impatient at that moment. He was very anxious to see what the system could do, and although he understood that his grandma was slowing him down out of care, it didn't make it any less annoying to him.
"Alright then, whatever you say". His grandma said turning her attention back to whatever she was knitting.
Tyler practically ran to his room as soon as his grandma finished talking.
"System?"
As soon as he spoke, the system interface popped up in front of him.
"What exactly do you do?"
According to the knowledge that Tyler had, whenever an MC unlocked a system, it was almost always because they had accidentally fulfilled some sort of requirement. But Tyler couldn't remember doing anything like that.
[Ding! I am programmed to assist host as he sets out to become a professional and navigates the world of football]
"And how exactly would you do that?"
[Ding! System calculating…]
[Calculation complete]
[System has drafted a training plan for host to follow, to rapidly improve himself while keeping his versatility]
Tyler looked at the training plan and almost fainted as he saw it. He didn't even think he could complete the individual exercises not to talk of doing everything together. Some of the physical exercises might even require him to visit a gym.
[Push-ups x100]
[Sit-ups x100]
[Pull-ups x50]
[Run 5km]
[…]
[Short sprint training exercise: …]
[Dribble…]
While reading through everything, Tyler had a migraine. There was no way he had time to do everything on the list. It would take more than three hours to complete everything, and he still had to go to school during the day.
As he was already making excuses, Tyler read the end of the list and almost had a heart attack.
[Failure to complete daily tasks would result in permanent deactivation of the system. System will not condone a lazy and undetermined host]
"Fuck me". Tyler muttered under his breath as he read the warning. "I guess there isn't a way around this".
The next day, Tyler woke up around four in the morning and put on a training outfit. He packed a bag and put his football and his cleats (does anyone know what I can call it asides soccer boots and cleats) inside it. His ears were plugged in as he left the house and went on a run. He was supposed to run 10 kilometers, and what better time to run it than the morning.
The system calculated his progress, and all of sudden Tyler realized how short the distances between his house and certain points were. It was only after running two laps from his house to the park that the running exercise was deemed complete by the system.
After he finished the running exercise, he did the physical exercises that were in the system's training plan and after that he did the exercises that required him to have the ball. By the time he was finished, it was already seven in the morning, and his muscles ached severally.
Thankfully, he noticed that the system included quite a lot of rest days in the middle of the calendar that it drafted out for him. He couldn't imagine having to put himself through that type of torture every day.
By the time he got to his house, he took a long shower and collapsed on his bed. Thankfully, he was on the summer break so he didn't have to go to school today. Within a few minutes, he closed his eyes and took a very long and nasty nap.