Chapter 1 – The Boy with No Chance
The dusty field behind St. Mary's Secondary School was Adrian Cole's second home. At only fifteen years old, he spent more hours here than anywhere else. The uneven grass, the rusty goalposts, the faint smell of sweat and mud—this was his sanctuary.
But today, like most days, he walked off the pitch with his head bowed. His school team had just suffered another humiliating loss. Adrian had missed a sitter from five yards out, and his teammates hadn't stopped reminding him.
"Cole, you're useless!" one of them shouted as they packed up."You run like a donkey, can't even trap the ball properly."Laughter erupted, and though it stung, Adrian didn't answer. He was used to it.
In truth, Adrian was average—at least on the surface. He wasn't the fastest, strongest, or most technically gifted. His brown hair was messy, his boots were second-hand, and his family couldn't afford the expensive academies that polished raw talent into professionals.
But in his chest, his heart burned. Every night, he dreamed of packed stadiums, roaring fans, and lifting trophies above his head. He dreamed of being like Messi, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Zidane—legends who transformed football into art.
Yet reality was cruel. Dreams didn't pay bills, and in his family's tiny two-room apartment, bills were the monster they battled every month. His mother, Clara, worked double shifts as a nurse, her hands often trembling with fatigue. His little sister, Lily, only ten, adored him and believed in his dream more than he did.
"Adri," she would always say, "one day you'll be the best in the world. I'll scream your name in the stadium."
Those words kept him going, but nights like this made him doubt.
That evening, after showering in cold water and eating the simple meal his mother prepared, Adrian lay on his thin mattress. The ceiling above him was cracked, paint peeling. He closed his eyes, replaying every mistake from the match.
"If only… if only I had just a little more talent," he whispered into the dark.
And then it happened.
A chime echoed in his head, sharp and metallic.
[Ding!]
Adrian's eyes flew open. He sat upright, heart racing. Floating before him, like a hologram projected into the air, was a glowing screen filled with golden letters.
[Welcome, Host.][You have been chosen for the Legendary System.][Rise. Conquer. Become the Eternal Legend of Football.]
Adrian's jaw dropped. He rubbed his eyes. Was he dreaming?
"Wh-what is this…?"
The screen shifted.
[System Overview]– Talent Library: Empty.– Skill Steal: Locked.– Legendary Trials: Awaiting first challenge.– Status: Average human teenager.
His breath caught. "Talent Library? Skill Steal? Legendary Trials?"
The words themselves sounded like something out of a video game. But the sharpness of the screen, the way his pulse seemed to synchronize with its glow—this was no dream.
[Would you like to begin your first Legendary Trial?]
Adrian's hands trembled. Every fiber of him screamed this was impossible. But another part—the part that had prayed every night for a miracle—urged him forward.
"…Yes."
The system pulsed.
[Trial One: The Hand of God's Dribble.]Objective: Dribble past 30 opponents in street or training matches within 7 days.Reward: Unlock Diego Maradona's Dribbling Talent.
Adrian gasped. His heart thumped like a drum in his chest.
"Maradona's… dribbling?"
Everyone in the football world knew the name. The Argentine genius whose feet danced through defenders as if they were shadows. To think that he, Adrian Cole, the boy mocked for being average, could wield even a fraction of that…
He clenched his fists.
This was it. This was his chance.
For his mother, who worked herself to exhaustion.For his sister, who dreamed with him when nobody else did.For himself, to finally prove he wasn't just another face in the crowd.
Adrian lay back down, heart racing, the glowing screen fading slowly into the darkness of his room. His life had changed.
And tomorrow, the world would begin to see the birth of a legend.