June 10, 2010.
Arsenal's Colney training base, U17 training ground.
"Bip! Bip——!"
Two long whistles sounded, symbolizing the end of the day's training.
Maël sat on the ground stretching his muscles, suddenly noticing that the front of his shoe sole was starting to come unglued again.
"It should be retired."
He felt a pang of heartache. He had just glued it back together the day before yesterday, and it was already cracking again, meaning it really couldn't be salvaged.
Looking at the brand-new shoes on the feet of the other players around him, Maël felt a little envious.
An unfortunate family, perhaps the price he had to pay to pursue his football dream.
He wasn't actually called Maël, nor was he in 2010.
Li Muchen, the football-loving office worker from 2024, was his original identity.
Who knew that the drunken binge after the National Football Team's crushing 7-0 defeat to Japan a few days ago would be his swan song in that time.
When he woke up again, he was here.
"Maël, how long is your trial period?"
A voice sounded beside him. It was Karl, the team's French defender, who sounded very dejected. "Mine is only 6 months, and it's almost up."
"Same."
Maël raised his eyebrows regretfully, slightly helpless. "If we don't get a renewal before July 1st, you and I can prepare to leave together."
"Ah, the competition is too fierce."
Karl looked at the group of peers around him wearing Arsenal jerseys, shaking his head slightly. "If I go back, I don't know which club will want me."
Go back?
Maël really wanted to say that if he went back, even his livelihood would be a problem, and he might be forced to give up football and find a job to make ends meet.
After all, he didn't have the support of his parents. The original owner of this body was born into an unfortunate family in southern France. His ancestors were of Chinese descent and had settled there for generations.
Sadly, his mother died early in childbirth, and his father died in a drunk driving accident when he was two years old.
His only relative, his uncle, took over custody and raised him normally.
But his uncle and aunt already had three children to raise, and as the original owner's football expenses increased, the family gradually became less supportive of him playing football.
Fortunately, the original owner had some talent and received a trial invitation from Premier League giant Arsenal's youth team half a year ago, for a period of 6 months.
It can be said that this is definitely the last chance! If he passes, Arsenal will give him a salary sufficient to guarantee his livelihood and continue on this path.
Otherwise, he would have to return to France and find a job to make ends meet.
"I'm going to practice some shooting."
Maël stood up, took a few footballs, and dragged his already unglued shoes towards the field.
The last twenty-one days! If he still wants to stay at Arsenal and play football, he better seize every minute.
"Bang! Bang! Bang——!"
A series of shots rang out, followed by the crisp sound of the football hitting the net.
Maël galloped alone on the field, dribbling the ball, adjusting his body, swinging his leg for a powerful shot, picking up the ball, and repeating this process.
His position is winger, and his only commendable advantage is his decent basic skills.
He is 181cm tall and weighs 70kg, with average physical strength, average speed and explosiveness, and his shooting and passing are not considered excellent. Overall, he is mediocre.
With such conditions, he certainly has no competitiveness in the talent-rich Arsenal youth training camp.
The possibility of staying here after the trial period is very slim.
No matter how much extra practice and effort he puts in, it all seems futile.
But Maël didn't want to sit still and wait for death, he always wanted to try again, to fight again.
"Maël!"
After practicing for a while, a shout came from a distance, "Come to my office."
Maël stopped, covered in sweat, turned his gaze, and saw a tall, bald middle-aged man standing in the distance, waving at him.
It was Arsenal U17's head coach, Hans.
Maël stopped training and walked towards the head coach's office.
The sound of 'pa da, pa da' came from under his feet, the sound of his shoes falling apart even more, constantly flinging away and constantly slamming back to the soles of his feet.
Maël hesitated for a moment, he had just over two hundred euros left, enough to buy a pair of shoes.
But if he didn't stay, he would have to ask his aunt and uncle for the money for a ticket back to France. Or should he just glue them and make do for a few days?
Thinking, he pushed open the door and walked into the U17 head coach's office, and saw Hans with his shiny bald head sitting at his desk.
"What size shoe do you wear?"
Hans's gaze fell almost instantly on Maël's feet, "I have a few pairs I don't use, I can lend you a pair first."
It seemed he had been observing for a while.
"I..."
Maël's heart trembled, he subconsciously wanted to decline, but after looking at his feet, he pursed his lips, "Around 8.5."
"Perfect."
Hans raised an eyebrow and smiled, turned around and rummaged through the shoe rack, "I saw that your shoes have come unglued several times, and glued several times.
"I was thinking of giving you a pair of mine to use first, at least to get you through the trial period.
"I only wear these shoes when directing training, I don't use them much usually, they're still quite clean, I hope you don't mind."
Maël was both embarrassed and grateful, "Definitely not."
"Take them."
Hans quickly took out a bag containing shoes, and said with a hearty smile, "Go to the field and try them on to see if they fit, I have things to do."
"Thank you, boss."
Maël took the shoes and thanked him, then turned and walked towards the field, he would definitely remember this act of kindness in his time of need.
Arriving at the goal area again, he put on the shoes and resumed his shooting practice.
The shoes fit perfectly, and wearing them to play football gave him a special warmth.
Maël quickly immersed himself in shooting practice, carefully feeling the feedback from each successful shot, and the experience from each failed shot.
Slowly, he seemed to enter a mysterious state, the world seemed to only have the goal in front of him and the football under his feet.
He forgot his fatigue, forgot the time, and just practiced mechanically.
Maël desperately wanted to stay on the football field, this was the sport he loved deeply, the sport he was willing to devote all his time and energy to.
He had dreamed countless times of waking up in a crowded stadium, standing among a group of well-known stars, enjoying the cheers of the fans.
He had also fantasized countless times about the hearty release and sliding celebration after scoring a winning goal for the team.
Suddenly, a few lines of deep black words appeared before his eyes.
[Skill: Long Shot lv1]
[Proficiency: (34/100)]
[Effect: You slowly feel the joy of long-range shooting, and start to practice diligently, but your basic strength and accuracy are still far from enough, you yearn for the moment of upgrading and improving.]
[Note: lv1 is the lowest, lv5 is the highest! Any athletic ability and physical ability that is grinded to lv5 will have the highest human level!]
Maël suddenly stopped and stood there dumbfounded.
Fortunately, as an internet surfer in his previous life, he was well-informed, and he quickly tentatively said, "System?"
No one responded, so he had to study it himself.
It seems that as long as he keeps practicing specific skills, his proficiency can increase, and reaching full proficiency will definitely lead to an upgrade?
In other words, as long as he keeps grinding, he can keep improving, and his efforts won't be in vain?
"Let's try."
He ran towards the goal area to pick up the ball. This time, his steps were particularly powerful, and a few rays of vigor burst out on his face.
The 18-year-old new author is writing a book for the first time, I hope everyone will support it.
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