My Football Legends Chat Group-Chapter 64: Weakness

Carlos pulled the car into the VIP parking lot at Elland Road and was waved in by one of the security guards who exchanged a fist bump with him. It was clear to Rio that the two must be familiar with each other since his father had been charming the staff for weeks.

Even though he had been to Elland Road to play matches and score goals, Rio couldn’t help but feel excited.

Would he be able to see a real club legend while he visited?

’Soon enough I’ll be one of those legends...’ He told himself.

"Alright, let’s head in," Carlos said, jumping out of the car with ease.

Leo had decided to stay home to prep the pasta, not wanting to get in the way of the father-son business meeting. If Rio really was going to be tested by Farke, he needed zero distractions.

As they made their way in through the players’ entrance, Rio couldn’t help but move his eyes around, taking in his surroundings. They walked past the centenary pavilion and down the tunnel.

"Press room, home locker room, the tunnel," Rio muttered, his curiosity mounting.

His father didn’t say a word, silently walking towards the pitchside entrance. Rio couldn’t help but smile wryly, knowing what he was probably thinking.

The reason they were there was to prove Rio’s "fever" hadn’t destroyed his fitness, not to take a tour.

"Ah, Carlos. You’re here." A familiar, booming voice called out from the dugout area, getting their attention.

"Boss, thanks for waiting." Carlos walked forward and shook Daniel Farke’s hand.

Rio observed the manager. If it wasn’t for the Leeds tracksuit, he could have been mistaken for a bouncer at a Berlin nightclub.

"This is my son Rio. You know him," Carlos said, sending a stern look towards Rio to behave.

Rio nodded, interpreting the look to mean ’don’t act cocky just because you have abs now’.

"Huh? Rio?" Farke looked Rio up and down and was utterly confused, even though he had seen him in the gym earlier.

"He looks like he ate a center-back for lunch," Farke commented, letting out a few chuckles.

"Ahem." Carlos coughed lightly, wanting to move the conversation along. "Shall we step onto the pitch?"

"My my, where are my manners. Rio, please, the grass is waiting. We have a guest today." Despite saying so, Farke still had a grin on his face.

Rio did as he was told, heading out onto the pristine turf of Elland Road.

There was one goal set up with a bag of balls, and a figure standing near the penalty spot.

The crisp sound of a football rocketing into the top corner rang out within the empty stadium, sending a shiver down Rio’s back.

As they walked closer, Rio’s world seemed to fade away as he saw the figure on the edge of the box wind up and let a volley loose. Every action was fluid yet filled with lethal intent, playing out in front of him like a piece of art. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Everything up to the point of impact took place seemingly in slow motion.

RIIIIIP

The sound of the ball hitting the net snapped Rio out of his stupor.

"Oh, it’s Daniel and Carlos. What brings you guys here?"

The striker was the first to notice the three of them even though he had been so absorbed in his shooting practice. He looked like a man in his late thirties, retired but still sharp.

He sported a fresh trim and had a confident charm, a result of scoring one of the most famous goals in Leeds’ history against Manchester United.

"Yo Jermaine. I don’t mean to bother you but we’d like to borrow the goal for a few minutes," Farke replied, smiling.

Jermaine Beckford, who had been enjoying a private session for a club documentary, looked back and forth between the manager and the kid with confusion.

"Oh okay, it’s fine. I’m done anyway," Beckford said, picking up a ball.

Rio gulped. He had finally recognized the legend in front of him, making him feel a little star-struck. However, he quickly shook his head and stepped forward, placing his hand out in front of him.

"Hi Mr. Beckford, my name is Rio. Carlos is my father," He spoke in polite English.

Jermaine Beckford was a cult hero. He had scored the goal at Old Trafford that knocked Ferguson out of the FA Cup. He was royalty here.

However, Rio could already see that despite being retired, the man in front of him still had a deadly right foot. He was hitting the top corner for fun, proving that class is permanent.

Beckford seemed rather impressed that the "Spanish Wonderkid" was so polite. Taking into account that he was also Farke’s secret weapon, he accepted the handshake and smiled.

"Nice to meet you, Rio. I saw your rabona on Twitter. Cheeky stuff," He asked, instantly recognizing the viral clip.

"Yes sir. I try my best," Rio confirmed, nodding like a chicken.

However, his face turned a bit weird in the next moment, almost as if he was disappointed.

"Ah, well good luck against Hull," Beckford responded, confused at the reaction of the kid.

Rio on the other hand was looking at the text in front of him and lamenting.

[USER IS UNABLE TO USE IDENTIFY FUNCTION. TARGET IS A ’CLUB LEGEND’. DATA IS ARCHIVED.]

He let out a sigh. It would have been a good time to get a gauge of what a prime finisher’s stats were, but life wasn’t so easy, even with the System.

"Rio, please take a few shots. I want to see the power," Farke said, his voice echoing in the stands.

"Okay, let’s warm up the engine first," Beckford responded, tossing the ball to Rio who seemed a little out of it.

Rio controlled the ball without paying too much attention and flicked it up, performing an ’Around the World’ trick before catching it on his neck.

"Freestyler?" Beckford said aloud, feeling slightly intrigued.

"R-Rio! What are you doing?" Carlos stammered. They had come to check out if his fitness was stable, why was he doing circus tricks?

"Ah crap." Rio had been sulking about the Identify function not working and had gone into ’FIFA Street’ mode out of habit.

"S-Sorry Dad, I was distracted," Rio apologized, before dropping the ball to his feet.

He took a deep breath and steadied himself. It had been a month since he arrived as a lightweight winger. Every shot used to float or lack the venom needed to beat a top keeper.

Now that he was fully upgraded with S-Grade Strength and Titan’s Core, would everything go back to normal? Would he suffer from over-hitting it and send the ball into the parking lot?

There were too many unknowns. Not only that, there was also the added pressure of being watched by Jermaine Beckford, a striker who lived for goals.

However, Rio had been in many pressure-filled situations (mostly in his head). He also activated the Captain’s Presence (passive), drowning out anything but the goal that was set 20 yards away from him.

’Here goes nothing,’ He thought, stepping up to the ball.

[Chat Room Active]

Hand_Of_King: Show them the power! Don’t stroke it. Smash it!

Total_Football_14: Keep your head over the ball. Technique first, power second.

The_Phenomenon_9: Just imagine the ball owes you money.

Rio felt no hesitation as his new, stronger leg swung back. His core locked in place—Titan’s Core activating instantly—keeping his balance perfect despite the wet grass.

He unleashed the shot.

A frightening noise rang out across the empty field. It sounded like a cannon firing.

Rio watched on as the ball took a straight path towards the top corner. It didn’t curl. It didn’t dip. It just traveled in a straight line of violence.

The ball hit the stanchion inside the goal, shaking the entire frame. The net rippled so hard it looked like it might tear.

Seeing that his ball had gone exactly where he was aiming, but with three times the power, Rio let out a sigh of relief. The absence of any recoil in his ankle was also a great boon to his confidence, making him feel on top of the world.

"I’m back..." he muttered, a smile creeping onto his face.

"Fucking hell," Beckford whispered, dropping his water bottle.

Farke’s eyes widened. He looked at Carlos.

"Carlos," Farke said slowly. "What are you feeding him?"

"Just paella," Carlos shrugged, though he looked equally terrified.

"That wasn’t a shot," Beckford laughed, shaking his head. "That was a declaration of war. Hull City are in trouble."

Rio turned around, grinning.

"One more?" He asked.

"No," Farke said immediately. "Save it for tomorrow. I don’t want you breaking the goalposts before kickoff."

Rio picked up his bag. He felt electric.

[Mission Update: The Lone Wolf]

[Task: Score 3 goals in 3 games (2/3)]

[Target: Hull City]

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Beckford," Rio said, shaking the legend’s hand again.

"Call me Jermaine," Beckford smiled. "And Rio? Do me a favor."

"Yes?"

"Score one for me tomorrow. The Stretford End hates me, but the Elland Road faithful... give them something to scream about."

"Consider it done," Rio winked.

As they walked back to the car, Carlos put an arm around Rio’s shoulder.

"You scared me," Carlos admitted. "I thought you were going to do another trick."

"I learned my lesson," Rio laughed. "No tricks. Just power."

They got into the car. The sun was setting over Leeds.

Tomorrow was matchday. The final test.

Rio closed his eyes.

’System,’ he thought. ’Show me the stats for the Hull City goalkeeper.’

[Accessing Data...]

[Ryan Allsop]

[Weakness: Low shots to the left.]

Rio smiled in the dark.

"Low to the left," he whispered. "Got it."