Shooting Trajectory is Visible - Chapter 278



Only Noblemtl

Episode 278: Enhanced Characteristics

After a short break, I went to the soccer complex in Cheonan.

Now, Paju NFC is no longer used as a national team training center. Cheonan NFC, newly built by the Korea Football Association at a cost of 300 billion won, has become our new home.

Originally, construction was scheduled to begin in 2022 and be completed in the first half of 2025, but the previous chairman was extremely incompetent and stingy with spending money, so it was delayed.

And only after the new chairman of the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation came in did things start to progress quickly, and it was finally completed just before the World Cup.

[Kim Shin-ah: Compared to Paju, it is a very large site, so it is not yet complete and construction is still in progress, but it seems like the construction for the areas that the national team will use has been completed.]

[Kim Min-woo: How on earth do you know that?]

[Kim Shin-ah: I tend to search for things whenever I have time, so I ended up finding out about everything.]

[Kim Min-woo: Why are you telling me this?]

[Kim Shin-ah: It’s more fun to go knowing something than going without knowing it, lol]

…That’s true, though.

The Cheonan NFC that I visited in person was definitely―

“Player Kim Min-woo!”

Before entering, reporters’ cameras were hurled at him. And fans were also waiting, wondering how he got here.

I immediately waved at the camera and greeted the fans by signing autographs and taking pictures with them.

“You are so handsome.”

“Ahaha. Thank you.”

“Marry me.”

“yes?”

“Ahaha! Just kidding!”

Anyway, I’m saying there are a lot of mean people.

After greeting people, I stopped by Cheonan NFC and looked around. It definitely looked better than Paju NFC.

The Paju NFC looked old on the outside, but the inside was even worse. And the Cheonan NFC here looked very clean on the outside, perhaps because it was just built.

Afterwards, I unpacked under the guidance of a football association official, and only then did I realize that this was truly a proper training center.

“The facilities are nice….”

After a brief reflection, I reunited with my national team mates.

They were all people we knew.

Kim Seung-gu. Hong Hyun-seong. Hwang Hee-cheon. Jo Kyu-seok. Son Heung-min. Kim Min-je. Kim Yang-kwon. Jo Han-woo. Lee Kang-im. I see Kim Jun-young every day in Manchester, so I skip them. Oh Hyun-goo. Hwang Yu-beom. Lee Ja-seong. Kim Ji-seok. Park Seung-ho. Oh my, there are so many…

“Minwoo. Congratulations on winning four crowns!”

It was Jo Han-woo. His expression was full of respect. I was a bit embarrassed, so I answered as if it was nothing.

“What? Being a four-crown champion is nothing?”

Then, Son Heung-min looks at me with a dumbfounded expression. Lee Kang-im immediately joins in.

“Wow. Are you indirectly dissing Hongmin by calling him irrelevant?”

“Huh? No, I’m not saying that—”

“Ah, this troublemaker is for real!”

Son Heung-min was more attracted to Lee Kang-im than to me. As the old saying goes, a sister-in-law who stops a mother-in-law is more hateful than a mother-in-law who hits her, and it was exactly like that.

Lee Kang-im got a headlock on Son Heung-min with a loud thud, and we all burst out laughing without saying who would go first.

And then we started training in earnest.

I was in good physical condition because I had been playing hard until the end of the season. I would be able to play in any Premier League game right now.

So the first day ended with light warm-up + short tactical training + recovery training.

There’s only one thing left on today’s schedule.

One-on-one meeting with the director.

Since the players take turns one by one, they had to wait for their turn.

So I decided to use the trait enhancement ticket at that timing.

‘Let’s see… Wasn’t that the wedge-shaped goalkeeper I was trying to strengthen?’

I used Football Manager and the Trait Booster to designate a wedge goalkeeper. Then,

[Would you like to spend 30 stats to strengthen the trait ‘Wedge Goalkeeper’?]

Since it was already a decision, I didn’t have any worries. However, I was just curious about one thing: how would the stats be reduced if this happened?

‘You’ll know once you try it.’

[The ‘Wedge Goalkeeper’ is strengthened.]

[The ‘Physical Strength’ stat is consumed by 5.]

[The ‘Stamina’ stat is consumed by 5.]

[‘GK Kick’ stat consumes 4.]

[‘GK Diving’ stat consumes 4.]

[‘GK Reaction Speed’ stat is consumed by 4.]

[‘GK Positioning’ stat consumes 4.]

[‘GK Speed’ stat is consumed by 4.]

“aha.”

They cut it in order? That’s fortunate. I thought they’d randomly cut some stats a lot and some a little. The worst part is that they just pick one stat and cut all 30 at once.

‘If you focus on just one stat and criticize it, you could end up in a disaster where your eyes will follow but your body won’t be able to react.’

Fortunately, that didn’t happen. If it had, I probably wouldn’t have to use the trait enhancement ticket again.

‘I should try strengthening the special ability enhancement ticket later when I have time.’

The plan was this: finish this World Cup and then finish the next season without a hitch.

And during the pre-season, I tried strengthening the trait enhancement ticket and also used the trait ‘growth accelerator’ that I had saved to increase my height.

For now.

‘Let’s see how and where things have changed.’

I immediately opened the description window for the wedge goalkeeper.

[Trait: Wedge Goalkeeper]

[Description: When participating in an attack, attack ability and pass accuracy are greatly improved.]

“oh.”

Previously, it was written that only the attacking ability was greatly improved, but the term ‘pass accuracy’ was also added to it.

My long ball is already known for being sharp, and now it has this phrase attached to it? Hmm….

‘Oh, I’m curious. I want to check it out quickly.’

I wanted to get a feel for how much it was. It would have to be worth 30 stats… .

“Why are you looking into space and laughing?”

It was Hwang Hee-cheon who happened to be next to me.

“I just thought of the old days. You know, there are things like that out of the blue. Memories of the old days that made you laugh.”

“I’ve seen all kinds of weird guys.”

“It’s strange that he hasn’t lost a single point since his debut.”

“… … I admit that.”

So the interview with the director came quickly, and it was my turn. I knocked on the director’s office door twice and went in.

“Come on in, Kim.”

Leon Harpus greeted me by raising one hand while sitting down. I greeted him and sat down.

“How have you been, Director?”

“Well then. Congratulations on winning four crowns. You’ve won all the big cups.”

“That’s true, but there’s still one big room left, right?”

Then, when she winked one eye, Leon smiled cutely.

“Are you talking about the Champions?”

“No! It’s right in front of you.”

“What a big dream.”

“It’s not impossible, is it?”

Leon seemed to hesitate for a moment at my words, then nodded.

“Yes, Kim, you can do it. Even Mbappe and Messi can’t win the World Cup on their own, but Kim, you can. You.”

If a national team coach tells a player that he can win the World Cup on his own, something that even Messi and Mbappe couldn’t do, you might laugh at him for being absurd or for being too protective of his student, but Leon was sincere. I took it that way too.

And if you’ve been respected like this, you should say something.

“I don’t know about foreign countries, but in Korea, winning the main tournament of a major tournament for the first time is called Royal Road.”

“The King’s Way. What a wonderful word.”

“And when a rookie wins his first competition, it’s called a Royal Roader. I’m ready. Some people might say it’s okay if he fails because it’s his first attempt, but a Royal Roader is something you can only do once in your career. If possible, I want to walk that path with the coach.”

“Hehehe. Did you learn speech from Giovanni?”

“Giovanni is not the type to talk well.”

And that was the end of the interview.

Leon looks at me with an expression that says he’s finished talking.

“Is there anything else you want to say, Kim?”

“… Don’t you usually talk about your role on the national team or how you want to play?”

“It might be like that for other players, but it doesn’t matter to you. You’re doing well enough now. Just keep doing it like this.”

As if that wasn’t enough, Leon added:

“Because you are the best goalkeeper in the world.”

Wink―

Leon returned the wink I had given him earlier. I smiled and was about to get up when suddenly a thought from before came to mind and I said.

“Oh, right. Coach. How about putting Son as a central striker?”

“huh?”

And he spoke at length. Son Heung-min is currently playing as a central striker for Tottenham and is scoring goals, but he is playing as a winger in the national team, which is his old position. I wish he would change that… It was a long suggestion.

And Leon’s answer when he returned was.

“The World Cup is just around the corner, is there really a need to change it?”

“You always need a plan B, right?”

I answered with a cough. Leon nodded with a kind smile.

“The idea of ​​putting Son in as a central striker was a topic that came up often in staff meetings. I was seriously considering it, but with the arrival of striker Kim, there was no need to do it that way. Well, I’ll try it out for tomorrow’s practice match. It was a plan, even if it was just a paper plan.”

“Yes. What.”

And then I got up from my seat. This really marked the end of my schedule for today.

* * *

The next day.

Leon Harpers watched the practice match with his arms crossed.

The national team was divided into a red uniform team and a black uniform team and played the game.

The red uniforms contained the best players except for Son Heung-min and Kim Min-woo.

Kim Min-je, Kim Jun-young, Lee Kang-im, Hwang Yu-beom, Kim Ji-seok, Lee Ja-seong, Hwang Hee-cheon, etc.

The black uniform team is mostly comprised of sub players, with the exception of Son Heung-min and Kim Min-woo. And this match is going surprisingly close.

“Hey! Hey!”

“Junyoung! Junyoung!”

“Here! Hey!”

Players running around sweating and shouting wildly. Leon observed the players with eagle eyes.

The game, which seemed to be running parallel to the ball, was broken by Lee Kang-im’s ray-like pass.

It was a truly exquisite pass.

A pass that the defenders couldn’t even react to in an instant. And the only one who reacted to that pass was Kim Jun-young, who quickly entered the box and created a 1-on-1 situation.

‘Oh, like that.’

And Kim Jun-young, the striker who knew better than anyone that he couldn’t get past Kim Min-woo using normal methods, tried to dribble too long, but was tackled by a defender who followed him and lost possession of the ball.

It was a truly absurd ending.

It seems like a combination of S-class passing and F-class decision-making ability.

Of course, Korean coach Yoo Jin-ho couldn’t stand it when he saw that sight.

“Hey! Hey! Hey! Junyoung! You should hit him right away. Why are you holding back? Your opponent isn’t Kim Minwoo! Just kick him like you usually do! It’s okay if he can’t hit you, so just kick him!”

I don’t know what you’re saying, but it doesn’t sound good.

Leon decided that he would have to give separate instructions to the players about this scene later.

Even in the World Cup, if the attackers hesitate in front of the goalkeeper, they might collapse from exhaustion.

Above all else.

“Wow. That pass is amazing.”

If one of the reasons the Red Team had a hard time against the Black Team, which was mostly comprised of subs, was Kim’s saves, another reason was Kim’s passes.

High pass.

When they felt they were at a disadvantage, the black team would pass the ball to Kim, who would then pass the ball straight to Son, who was far up front.

Kim from Munich solved most of them, but Son also did not lose to Kim as he kept trying.

Especially now.

Son, who won the physical challenge with Kim, quickly entered the box and kicked a shot between the goalkeeper’s legs.

The attempt was successful, giving the Black team a one-goal lead.

Clap clap clap clap!

Applause erupted everywhere.

Leon also joined the ranks.

‘Surely, it would be better to place him as a central striker like he did at Tottenham, rather than having him play on the wing?’

Kim Jun-young, who originally played as a central striker for the national team, was playing as a winger in this match, and I was surprised to see that he played better than I expected.

‘Is that why Kim suggested it?’

It was only a practice match, but it was worth serious consideration.

‘The Turkey match is… … It’s only a few days away, so it’s too early. No. I think I’ll try it out in the evaluation match against Switzerland.’

In fact, Leon was supposed to go to the World Cup with only Plan A. It would be good to have multiple plans, but for a team with weak depth like Korea, it would be good to have a solid Plan A.

But… … At best, it’s a plan B where the two players switch positions. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to try it out.

Leon watched the game again.

The game resumed quickly and started with the Red Team in the lead, but during the contest, the Black Team, who had stolen the ball, passed the ball back to Kim Min-woo.

And Kim Min-woo also… … .

Boohoo!

‘oh my god.’

Leon stared at the ball flying far away with his mouth open. This wasn’t a goalkeeper, but a midfielder. And he was a pass master.