Chapter 30: Chapter 29: The Day After Victory [I]
Sunday, July 14th, 2022 - Morning
Sunlight crept through the curtains, warm against Demien’s face as he opened his eyes slowly, the ache in his legs reminding him of yesterday’s match while beside him, Luca snored softly, dead to the world.
Demien checked his phone and saw it was eight-thirty, which meant the residence was probably still quiet with most players sleeping off the win.
He swung his legs out of bed and grabbed his towel before heading for the bathroom, where the shower helped clear his head as hot water washed away the lingering soreness, and by the time he finished, Luca still hadn’t moved.
Back at his desk, Demien sat with his phone in hand as Marco’s words from yesterday echoed in his head: You need social media. Scouts look at it. Clubs look at it.
He opened the App Store, typed "Instagram," and hit download while the app installed quickly, then opened it and tapped "Sign Up" before creating an account using his email with the username demienwalter, which was available, though he left the profile picture and bio blank for now.
Done, just like that.
He stared at the empty profile showing zero posts, zero followers, zero following, and thought I’ll text Marco later as he set the phone down.
Then the system chimed.
A soft tone rang in his head as the familiar blue panel flickered into view.
「SYSTEM NOTIFICATION」
「NEW FEATURE UNLOCKED: READER APPRECIATION SYSTEM」
「Condition Met: Instagram Account Created」
Demien straightened as the panel expanded with text appearing line by line.
「This feature allows supporters to contribute to your development through Golden Tickets and Power Stones」
「Rewards Scale:」
「• 20 Power Stones = 1 TP」
「• 5 Golden Tickets = 10 TP + 1 SP」
「• Every 2 Golden Tickets = Special Fourth Wall Interaction」
「Feature Status: ACTIVE」
Demien read it twice and said, "Wait. Readers can help me level up?"
「Correct. Supporters who believe in your journey can contribute resources that translate into training currency.」
"That’s... actually incredible," he leaned back, processing the information before adding, "So if people send Golden Tickets or Power Stones, I get stronger?"
「Precisely. Consider it fan investment in your success.」
Before Demien could respond, the system chimed again.
「INCOMING CONTRIBUTION」
「Zeereads has sent 1 Golden Ticket to Ultimate Gacha System」
Demien blinked and asked, "Who’s Zeereads?"
「A supporter of your story. They have chosen to invest in your progress.」
Another chime rang out.
「mud104 has sent 6 Golden Tickets to Ultimate Gacha System」
Demien stared at the screen, taking in the sight of seven Golden Tickets from people he’d never met, people who didn’t know him and didn’t owe him anything, but believed in him anyway.
His throat tightened.
Fiorentina had rejected him, called him not good enough, and cut him loose without a second thought, but these strangers—Zeereads, mud104—they were investing in him, choosing to support him, believing he could make it when his own academy hadn’t.
"Thank you," he said quietly, his voice thick with emotion as he continued, "Zeereads. mud104. I don’t know who you are, but... thank you. Really."
He sat there for a long moment, letting it sink in as he thought about thirty-seven years as David Drinkwater being mocked and dismissed, eighteen years as Demien Walter being rejected and broken, and now, finally, people were choosing to believe not because they had to, but because they wanted to.
The panel updated.
「Total Golden Tickets Received: 7」
「Rewards Calculated: 10 TP + 2 SP (5 Golden Tickets)」
「Remaining: 2 Golden Tickets (Special Fourth Wall Interaction Pending)」
「Current Balance: 80 TP | 12 SP | 0 MP」
Demien stared at the numbers, his chest still warm as he said, "Eighty TP? Twelve SP?" and did the math quickly, realizing he’d had 70 TP and 10 SP after yesterday’s match, which meant the rewards just added ten TP and two SP.
Wait. That’s enough for a Black Pack.
His heart kicked up a notch.
But before he could think about it, the system chimed three more times in quick succession.
「INCOMING CONTRIBUTION」
「mud104 has sent 3 Power Stones to Ultimate Gacha System」
「miguel_jeann has sent 2 Power Stones to Ultimate Gacha System」
「jaavb has sent 2 Power Stones to Ultimate Gacha System」
「HikenAce has sent 1 Power Stone to Ultimate Gacha System」
Demien’s grin widened as he said, "You guys are amazing."
The panel calculated automatically.
「Total Power Stones Received: 8」
「Rewards Calculated: 8 TP (20 Power Stones = 1 TP conversion not met)」
「New Balance: 88 TP | 12 SP | 0 MP」
He sat there for a moment, the smile refusing to leave his face as strangers—people he’d never met—were supporting him, helping him, believing in him.
"Thank you," he whispered to no one, speaking to all of them before his expression shifted and became focused.
"UG. I’m ready to pull."
The system responded immediately.
「PACKS MENU ACTIVATED」
AVAILABLE PACK:
Black Pack — 10 SP
8 cards (4 high attributes + 2 trait shards + 1 guaranteed skill + 1 wildcard)
Current Balance: 88 TP | 12 SP | 0 MP
「Note: Insufficient currency for Bronze (100 TP), Silver (200 TP), Gold (500 TP), and Diamond (50 SP) packs」
Demien smiled, seeing only one option, but it was the right one since he had twelve SP and needed ten.
"Let’s do it."
「BLACK PACK SELECTED」
「Cost: 10 SP | Remaining: 2 SP」
The floating lever appeared with its metal grip gleaming as Demien reached out, gripped it, and pulled.
The screen flashed.
PACK OPENING
Eight cards appeared, face down, spinning slowly.
「Pull to reveal」
Demien tapped the first card and it flipped.
Long Shots +6 — RARE
The second card followed.
Strength +4 — UNCOMMON
Third came next.
Positioning +3 — UNCOMMON
Fourth flipped over.
Acceleration +4 — RARE
Fifth appeared.
Trait Shard [Big Match Temperament] — 1/4
Sixth revealed itself.
Trait Shard [Leadership Badge] — 1/4
Seventh card flipped and Demien’s breath caught.
Marseille Roulette — EPIC Technique
Marseille Roulette. That was Zidane’s move.
Eighth and final card appeared.
Long Passing +6 — RARE
The panel chimed.
「RESULTS APPLIED」
Updated Stats
PACE
Acceleration: 79 → 83 (+4)
SHOOTING
Long Shots: 60 → 66 (+6)
Positioning: 69 → 72 (+3)
PASSING
Long Passing: 72 → 78 (+6)
PHYSICAL
Strength: 70 → 74 (+4)
TECHNIQUES
• Andrea Pirlo: Deep-Lying Playmaker
• Curve Run Timing (Epic)
• Lofted Dink (Rare)
• Marseille Roulette (Epic) — NEW
TRAITS (Shards Collected)
• Agent Negotiation Perk: 1/4
• Recovery Boost: 2/4
• Press Resistant: 1/4
• Speed Dribbler: 1/4
• Stamina Regeneration: 1/4
• Long Shot Taker: 1/4
• Set Piece Specialist: 1/4
• Big Match Temperament: 1/4 — NEW
• Leadership Badge: 1/4 — NEW
STATUS
Overall Rating: 68 → 71 (+3)
「Pack opening complete.」
「Current Balance: 88 TP | 2 SP | 0 MP」