Chapter 119

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Chapter 119: Ability vs. Ability (2)

"Did you hear? Manager Kim from Sales Team 1 got fired as team leader."

"Yeah, HR cut him loose because of his terrible reputation."

"I knew this would happen. He kept stealing his juniors' achievements… serves him right."

I’ve seen it countless times before.

People who push their subordinates to the limit just to get promoted.

People who take credit for other departments’ achievements at the last moment.

People who dump all the real work on clueless juniors and then take the glory with just a few words.

Many of them did climb up the ranks.

After all, promotions depend more on upper management’s approval than on how colleagues see you.

But.

‘Most of them didn’t end well.’

It’s only natural that someone no one wants to work with gets weeded out of the organization.

So, what I’m trying to say is…

[All players, please gather at the stadium!]

…not every battle is worth fighting.

If it’s a fight that can be won without me…

Waaaah—!

A remarkably well-designed stadium.

A total of twenty-two players gathered in the center of the grass field.

Each dressed in white and yellow uniforms, complete with socks and soccer cleats.

Cheers and murmurs echoed from the spectator stands overlooking them.

"You an idiot? Everyone's desperate to get on the roster, and you're just giving up your spot? And…"

As people focused on checking out the players, Jang Hanil approached me, lowering his voice.

"You could score goals with your ability."

"My ability?"

"Yeah! Teleportation! You could easily wipe the floor with the Brazilian national team."

‘Teleportation, huh.’

So that’s how he saw it.

Well, from the outside, it probably did seem like I just closed my eyes and appeared somewhere else.

But acceleration or teleportation wasn’t all-powerful.

"This is soccer. To play within the rules, the best option is to go with the most coordinated players."

"Sure, but… there are still two open positions."

"There are better candidates for those."

According to Park Gongchan, the "vacant positions" were two:

A winger to support the strikers and a goalkeeper.

I personally recommended the right people for those spots.

"But that guy…"

"I picked him because he’s useful. Nothing personal."

‘No need to keep revealing my abilities unnecessarily.’

The more I expose my skills, the more chances opponents have to figure out their cooldowns or, in the worst case, their countermeasures.

From that perspective, my choice was completely logical, but to Jang Hanil, who didn't know the situation, it must have looked frustrating.

"Hah, I bet no one else here is thinking about the team like you. Everyone's just trying to make a name for themselves."

He scowled as he spoke.

It’s not like I asked him to give up his spot, so why was he getting mad for me?

"Aren’t you worried about the participation bonus?"

"I already have a lot of points."

"…What?"

I had accumulated 179 training points so far.

Second place was Jaehyuk, the security guard, and Yura, all at 152 points.

Below them were other Koreans who hadn’t participated in the cavalry battle, sitting at 145 points.

And I was about to receive another bonus for representing the team.

‘No need to push myself unnecessarily.’

I had already done the math.

But since many eyes were on me, I added a little clarification.

"I made the choice that gives us the highest chance of winning."

"You mean the highest chance for the team to win… not just you?"

Jang Hanil stated the obvious.

"It’s a team game."

So I gave him an obvious answer.

Then, out of nowhere, a system message rang in my head.

[Command (Lv.2) skill activated.]

[Some individuals are paying closer attention to rookie employee ‘Lee Eunho’s’ words.]

"…You annoying bastard."

"Thanks for the compliment."

"……."

Just as Jang Hanil muttered with a complicated expression—

Piiiik!

The match began.

A soccer game led by nine national representatives and two mercenaries.

"Wow! The cleaning lady is doing amazing!"

"That old man’s specialized training really paid off."

"‘Paid off’? That’s an understatement! This is like a masterclass!"

【Many observers are impressed by the unexpected lineup!】

【‘The Raven of the Administration Bureau’ is stunned at how his subordinate is being used!】

The reactions of onlookers were pretty much the same everywhere.

No one had expected a regular woman—let alone a cleaning lady—to be thrown into a match against the Brazilian national team.

"How did you come up with the idea to stop suction halfway?"

"Ah, well, there’s a weight limit on how much she can store. So I figured, why not use that?"

"What does the skill description say exactly?"

"It says she can suck in objects… but there’s a distance and weight limit. Thirty centimeters and three kilograms."

"What happens if she hits the weight limit?"

"Uh… she can either spit things back out or they disappear after some time."

"Let’s test it right now."

All vacuum cleaners need their dustbin emptied when they’re full.

And this skill was no different.

Once she had sucked in enough objects to reach the weight limit, the intake jammed, preventing anything else from entering.

Which meant she could suck in the ball… but not absorb it.

"Too bad the range is short. You used all the mission rewards, right?"

"Huh? Nope."

"…What?"

"That thing can heal broken arms and legs, right? Who’d waste something like that? I’ve been saving it up!"

"……."

And so, she dumped all her squirrel-like hoarded rewards into increasing the skill's range.

Three meters, thirty kilograms.

As a result—

"Holy crap, this is impossible!"

A ‘vacuum cleaner goalkeeper’ who could suck in every incoming ball simply by standing in the goal with her arms outstretched.

【‘External Affairs Department's Rookie’ is amazed, saying this is the legendary 13th District soccer.】

【‘Prince of the Investigation Bureau’ lets out a hollow laugh, saying this isn’t the soccer he knows.】

"Wow! She’s stopping everything! Incredible!"

"Shit, how the hell do we score against that?"

"Man… did she unlock this ability just to be a goalkeeper?"

It was definitely fate.

But even setting aside the cleaning lady’s ability, the team was playing far better than expected.

The players were in sync.

"Young men! Catch this!"

"Nice! Song, send it flying!"

The ball, thrown with all her might by the lady, traced a parabolic arc through the air.

Cheers from the group followed its trajectory like contrails.

Thud!

A defender, waiting nearby, intercepted the incoming ball with a header.

From forehead to chest, then down to the instep.

The defender skillfully controlled the ball and sent a long cross.

Straight to our team's frontline striker, Park Gongchan.

"They're kicking it far! Are they going for a direct shot?!"

"Kya— I don't know what's happening, but crush them!"

Park Gongchan's skill was Shoot.

Whether it was a ball or anything else, as long as he kicked it, he could send it exactly where he wanted.

Just like last time during the basic fitness training session, when he kicked a small rock and made it hit other rocks in succession.

Let's go.

Only the shot remains.

A shot bound to land in the net like a guided missile.

As I clenched my fist in anticipation, watching the ball slip through the Brazilian defenders like a river—

"Oh no! Look there!"

[Translator - Night]

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An opposing midfielder was closing in fast.

Faster than a river, at the speed of light.

"It's the captain of the Brazilian national team! Louis Silva!"

"He's too fast! We can't afford to lose the ball…!"

Just as Jaehyuk and Jieun gasped in shock at his astonishing speed—

Tap!

A massive figure appeared, keeping pace with Louis.

"Nice! Block him! Don't let him through! No, just send him flying!"

"Shit, that would be a foul, you know? It's just a shoulder battle."

"A shoulder battle? Can't we just send him flying?"

If the fight got too rough, that damn system might penalize us.

But what the big guy was planning wasn't just a mere shoulder battle…

"Guard!"

A perfect block, leaving Louis with no chance to even approach Park Gongchan.

Flash!

The big guy's words turned into light and flowed into Park Gongchan.

At that moment, the opposing players around him—

Hesitated!

"…? What the?! Why can't I move…?!"

"What did you do?! Let go of me now!"

They were frozen.

"Wasn't that guy a bodyguard for Myung Seungtae's father?"

"Yeah. If we'd gone for Myung Seungtae before taking down the big guys, we'd have ended up like that."

One, two, three…

It was only a brief moment, barely five seconds at most.

Whoosh—!

But it was enough time for Park Gongchan to slip away with ease and strike the ball with his instep.

"Shoot!"

The ball shot straight towards the left side of the goal.

The opposing goalkeeper dived immediately, but—

Swish!

The ball curved at the last moment, narrowly grazing past the keeper’s fingertips and the goalpost.

Thump—!

It sank into the net.

[ROK Zone, Goal!]

[4:0]

"Goal!"

"Unbelievable! Did you see that?! It went in!"

A roar of cheers erupted from our stands, raining down over the opposing team.

It must have been heavy—because their side was completely silent.

‘Sorry, but…’

The score was already 4-0.

More than just the goal difference, the fact that they hadn’t scored a single point spoke volumes.

With barely ten minutes left, overturning the match was impossible.

So—

"We won."

"Huh?"

"The match is already over."

I spoke with certainty as I stood up.

"Uh, Eunho! Where are you going?"

"Snooping around."

"…Huh?"

It was time to prepare for the final battle.

"Will you help me?"

"Wow… I can see everything!"

With Jieun's help, I soared high into the sky.

The deep green field shrank below, players in white and yellow uniforms dashing across it, familiar cheers echoing through the air.

But as my view expanded, something else came into sight—

‘Other stadiums.’

"…Pass it over! There's still time!"

"…Damn it! Just make the pass!"

The vast land was dotted with multiple stadiums.

Entry was restricted to designated zones, but apparently, they hadn’t thought to block off the sky.

"Eunho! Look over there…."

"China."

Among them, one stadium stood out.

A small child sat calmly in front of the goal, with black Go stones meticulously placed in a formation.

"Did they place those at an angle on purpose?"

"Yeah, they tilted the whole board. It’s not parallel to the goal. Looks like they’re trying to eliminate shooting angles."

Two massive lines of black Go stones blocked the goal, leaving almost no space for the ball to squeeze through.

And whatever tiny gaps remained were packed with defenders.

Even Park Gongchan's skills wouldn’t be enough to score.

"Is this even allowed?!"

"Come out and play properly!"

Because of that, the opposing striker was growing increasingly frustrated, stomping in place with a flushed face.

"It… worked."

But to me, it didn’t seem like they were just blocking the ball.

It was as if they were building a wall against the world itself.

A child, surrounded by a towering black fortress.

"…"

Wei lifted his head.

Even from a distance, our eyes met.

With my enhanced vision, I was sure it wasn’t just my imagination.

‘That expression…’

Inside the black wall, Wei looked at peace.

"If it's like this, they won't concede any goals. It’ll be an easy win."

Jieun spoke confidently, but I both agreed and disagreed.

"They won’t lose big, but they won’t win big either. Soccer isn’t just about defending."

"Ah…."

"Let’s check out another match."

"Okay, got it!"

Once again, we ascended and moved toward the stadium where Russia and Germany were facing off.

Germany was undoubtedly one of the world's soccer powerhouses, but—

Tat-tat-tat-tat-tat—!

"!!"

"Block them!"

Russia was on a completely different level.

Fast.

I had been impressed by the Brazilian team earlier, but their speed didn’t even compare to this.

Not just fast—their speed was like a bullet being fired from a gun.

And on top of that, they could stop or change directions instantly without any delay.

"I… I had no idea! Was Russia always this good at soccer?"

"I'm surprised too."

But what shocked me the most…

"All eleven of them are incredible!"

The entire team was displaying abilities beyond human limits.

'Is that even possible?'

If there had been just one or two star players, I might have suspected some special skills. But that wasn’t the case.

It was enough to make me believe that the Russian team had been receiving double the mission rewards all this time.

"We… need to prepare."

"Yeah… I have a feeling we’ll definitely face them in the final round."

Just as Jieun and I finished our brief scouting…

[4-1!]

[Victory for the ROK zone!]

[Congratulations on advancing to the final round!]

Waaaaah—!

"Ma'am, you’re the best! That was amazing!"

"Shit, that was badass!"

"What did you just say?! I ran my ass off, and you’re cursing?!"

"No, that’s not what I meant… Ah, forget it! Never mind!"

As we returned to the stadium, the sound of cheers and the announcement of our victory echoed through the air.

[30p of bonus points have been awarded due to the goal difference.]

[An additional 3p (10%) has been granted to all participants—please check your totals!]

Along with the rewards for us and the players…

[Attention, teams who won Round 3.]

[The final round will be a ‘Relay Race.’]

The final event was also revealed.

"!!"

A relay race… an actual baton relay.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

My heart pounded.

Jieun must have noticed because she smiled and lightly tapped my shoulder.

"Eunho, this is your main event."

"…Well, it's been a long time."

That’s what I said, but in truth, I had already finished calculating everything in my head.

No—actually, I didn’t even need to calculate.

Because there was no need for that.

'First, we need to decide the lineup with the other runners. There won’t be any time to practice baton passes, so we should go with the standard approach…'

Just as my mind was running at full speed and my forehead started heating up…

[You have been granted priority selection for an ‘Item’ to be used in the final round.]

"…?!"

My thoughts came to a screeching halt.

"An item?!"

"Shit, what kind of relay race needs items?!"

Because…

This was no longer the kind of relay race I knew.

[Each team may select one item, which can be used only once during the race.]

[Selection priority is based on ranking by bonus points, so choose wisely!]

Flash—!

A glowing blue window appeared before me.

My brow furrowed the moment I saw it.

Anyone would have reacted the same way.

Because the so-called "items" inside… were utterly ridiculous.

[Target: Lee Eunho. Please select your item.]

So basically…

▶ [Speed] Booster

▶ [Speed] Magnet

▶ [Attack] Water Bomb

▶ [Attack] Water Flies

▶ [Trap] Dark Cloud

▶ [Trap] Banana

…You expect me to pick from these?

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