Friday, 23 October 2015 - Liverpool, England
The silence in Abdul Azim's apartment felt unfamiliar after the noise of Anfield.
Only a few hours earlier, the stadium had trembled beneath the voices of thousands of supporters. Liverpool had defeated Rubin Kazan 5-0, and Azim had scored three of the goals. His teammates had congratulated him, Klopp had acknowledged his performance, and supporters had sung his name as he made his way towards the tunnel.
Now there was no crowd, no floodlight, and no defender attempting to close down his next touch.
There was only the ache in his legs.
Azim lowered himself onto the sofa, leaned forward, and pressed his palms against his thighs. His muscles remained tight from the repeated sprints, changes of direction, and collisions of the match. Even after a shower and a proper meal, fatigue lingered beneath his skin.
He had Endurance 11.
Yet his body was still not as resilient as he wanted it to be.
That difference had become increasingly obvious during the final stages of the match. His endurance allowed him to continue running when other players might have begun slowing down, but it did not make his muscles indestructible. Repeated accelerations still placed stress on his body. Hard changes of direction still demanded something from his joints and connective tissues. Even when his breathing recovered quickly, the physical damage accumulated from ninety minutes of competitive football did not simply disappear.
His Constitution was only 6.
I have been building the engine without strengthening everything around it.
The thought stayed with him.
He had spent months improving his endurance because Klopp's football demanded relentless movement. That investment had helped him survive the manager's training sessions and sustain his pressing throughout matches. But a powerful engine was not enough if the rest of the body could not withstand the strain.
He needed better balance.
Azim reached for his phone. Several messages from teammates waited on the screen, alongside congratulations from academy acquaintances and football supporters whose names he did not recognise. He read a few, replied to those he knew personally, and placed the phone down again.
He wanted to enjoy what had happened.
More than that, he wanted to understand it.
Three goals in a European match had changed the way people looked at him. But he knew the performance had not been achieved by supernatural ability alone. His movement had created opportunities. His understanding of Klopp's pressing system had helped him anticipate where the next opening might appear. His teammates had delivered the passes, occupied defenders, and won possession in dangerous areas.
He had contributed to the result.
He had not created it by himself.
That distinction would become increasingly important as the attention grew.
Azim closed his eyes.
"System. Show full status."
A familiar blue interface appeared before his vision.
[One Piece System]
Host: Abdul Azim
Age: 18
Height: 190 cm
Weight: 90 kg
Title: Pirate
Pirate Crew Name: Liverpool Pirate
Current Fame: 4,436 / 10,000
Fame Conversion Rate: 10,000 Fame Points = 1 System Point
Total Spin: 6/100
Available Spin: 0
Daily Spin: +1 per day
System Points: 392
Status Window - Available Stat Points: 0
Strength: 5
Speed: 5
Endurance: 11
Constitution: 6
Control: 7
Willpower: 10
Skills - Available Skill Points: 0
Observation Haki: Level 5/100 - Awareness Range: 25 metres
Tere Tere no Mi: Level 6/100 - Effective Control Range: 60 metres
Multilingual Mastery: Level 1/10
Languages: English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, German
System Shop: Available
Inventory: Available
Azim studied the panel for several seconds.
Then a notification appeared above it.
[Fame Skyrocket Detected]
Fame Generated: 32,545,352 points.
Conversion Threshold: 10,000 Fame Points = 1 System Point.
Previous System Points: 392.
Conversion in Progress...
The numbers moved.
System Points Awarded: +3,254.
Current System Points: 3,646.
Remaining Fame: 9,788 / 10,000.
[One Piece System]
Host: Abdul Azim
Age: 18
Height: 190 cm
Weight: 90 kg
Title: Pirate
Pirate Crew Name: Liverpool Pirate
Current Fame: 9,788 / 10,000
Fame Conversion Rate: 10,000 Fame Points = 1 System Point
Total Spin: 6/100
Available Spin: 0
Daily Spin: +1 per day
System Points: 3,646
Status Window - Available Stat Points: 0
Strength: 5
Speed: 5
Endurance: 11
Constitution: 6
Control: 7
Willpower: 10
Skills - Available Skill Points: 0
Observation Haki: Level 5/100 - Awareness Range: 25 metres
Tere Tere no Mi: Level 6/100 - Effective Control Range: 60 metres
Multilingual Mastery: Level 1/10
Languages: English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, German
System Shop: Available
Inventory: Available
Azim stared at the figures.
32,545,352 Fame Points.
He read the number twice, making sure he had not misunderstood it.
The System remained silent, displaying the result without comment. The attention generated by the Rubin Kazan match had been enormous, and the conversion had produced more System Points than he had accumulated through months of gradual progress.
A slow smile appeared on his face.
"That's quite a difference."
The excitement was immediate. So was the temptation to spend.
He opened the System Shop and examined the available purchases. An Additional Gacha Spin Ticket remained an attractive prospect. Three thousand points could buy three extra spins, perhaps producing something useful. A rare bloodline or a powerful skill could transform his development far more quickly than ordinary training.
But could was the important word.
There was no guarantee that another spin would give him what he needed. He might spend nearly his entire balance and receive something that did little to improve his current weaknesses.
Azim closed the gacha section.
For once, the decision required no prolonged internal debate.
He would save.
The System listed a Stat Point at 6,000 System Points. With only 3,646 available, he could not purchase even one. His new balance was substantial, but it was still below the threshold required for the next permanent improvement.
He would have to earn more Fame Points, allow the conversion to accumulate, and resist the temptation to squander his progress on uncertain rewards.
The money was not going to disappear.
Neither was the opportunity to improve.
He opened the status panel again, concentrating on the six attributes.
Strength: 5.
Speed: 5.
Those two were balanced. Neither physical power nor quickness had moved too far ahead of the other, and he wanted to keep them that way. Greater strength without the corresponding speed could make him powerful but cumbersome. Greater speed without sufficient strength could leave him vulnerable when competing against aggressive Premier League defenders.
The same principle applied to his endurance and constitution.
Endurance: 11.
Constitution: 6.
The imbalance was obvious.
His first major physical target would be to raise Constitution to 10. That would require four Stat Points, costing 24,000 System Points at the current price. It was a substantial investment, but it was one he could justify. He did not want to become a player who could run endlessly for a match only to struggle with accumulated physical stress afterwards.
His recovery, resilience, and ability to withstand the demands of a long season mattered as much as his ability to maintain a high work rate.
Then there were Control and Willpower.
Control: 7.
Willpower: 10.
Azim's smile faded into concentration.
These attributes governed a different kind of limitation.
During the Rubin Kazan match, he had kept Observation Haki active for much of the game. It helped him interpret body orientation, recognise passing options, and notice the subtle movements that preceded an opponent's next action. It sharpened his awareness, but it did not tell him the future. He still had to judge what he sensed and decide what to do with that information.
The ability had become an important part of his football.
Telekinesis was another matter.
His Tere Tere no Mi had reached Level 6, granting him effective control within sixty metres, but that range described where he could exert influence. It did not mean he could manipulate the ball repeatedly throughout a ninety-minute match without consequences.
He had managed roughly four deliberate telekinetic interventions during the Rubin game.
Four.
Each use demanded concentration, fine control, and mental effort. Used carefully, telekinesis could guide a pass, alter the curl of a long-range shot, or influence a loose ball when a small adjustment made the difference between possession and danger. Used carelessly, it could drain him at the wrong moment.
Four interventions had been enough to supplement his football without allowing the ability to dominate every decision. By the end of the match, the strain had reminded him that his current limits were not merely numbers on a screen.
He wanted to use telekinesis more often.
Far more often.
But if he hoped to manipulate the ball consistently throughout an entire match, his Willpower would need to exceed 50. Even then, he could not afford to neglect Control. Greater mental strength without the precision to direct that strength would be inefficient. Greater control without sufficient Willpower to sustain it would leave him equally restricted.
He needed both.
And he needed to raise them without allowing either to fall too far behind the other.
The System's broader scale gave him another reason to be patient. A stat below 5 represented an ordinary level by the standards of people in One Piece's East Blue. Values below 10 could still fall within a broad range of normal adult capability, while anything beyond 10 began approaching the level of an ordinary passerby on the Grand Line rather than a genuinely formidable fighter.
The comparisons made his current Endurance of 11 impressive, but not extraordinary within the wider world he was trying to emulate.
There were far greater heights to reach.
For now, his development would follow three priorities: Endurance and Constitution, Willpower and Control, Strength and Speed. He would strengthen the weaker side of each pairing while preserving the balance that made the attributes useful together.
He closed the System Shop without purchasing anything.
The 3,646 System Points would remain untouched until he could afford a worthwhile improvement. His Observation Haki and telekinesis would continue to develop through their established progression, but he would not pretend that a single European performance had eliminated the limitations of his abilities.
He had made an extraordinary step forward on the pitch.
There was still a great deal of work to do.
His phone vibrated again.
This time, the caller was his father.
"Azim?"
"Yeah, Dad."
"Have you seen the news today?"
"Some of it."
"And the messages?"
"Too many to count."
His father gave a short laugh, although the concern in his voice remained.
"Well, that is part of the problem. Your name is everywhere. People are asking questions, and some are already talking about what you might be worth."
Azim sat back against the sofa.
"Because of the hat-trick?"
"Because of the hat-trick, the European match, your recent performances, and the attention they have generated. All of it together."
There was a pause.
"Liverpool have contacted me," his father continued. "They want us to attend a meeting at Melwood this afternoon."
Azim's expression changed.
"What kind of meeting?"
"They want to discuss your contract."
For a moment, the apartment seemed quieter than before.
He remembered the academy arrangement he had been living under, the modest weekly wage, and the years he had spent hoping that someone at the club would eventually trust him with a proper first-team opportunity.
Now Liverpool wanted to talk about his future.
His father continued before Azim could answer.
"Listen carefully. An enquiry is not a formal offer, and a formal offer is not necessarily a good career decision. We must consider your playing time, your development, the manager's plans, and the terms of anything put in front of us. Money matters, but it is not the only thing that matters."
"I understand."
"Good. I want you to come with your own questions. This is your career, Azim. I am here to help you make the right decisions, not to make every decision for you."
Azim looked at the System panel, now closed, and then at the phone in his hand.
He had spent the previous night proving that he could perform at a level few people had expected of him. But a successful performance did not automatically answer the larger questions about his future.
How did Liverpool see him?
What role did Klopp intend to give him?
And would the club offer him a future that matched the expectations now being placed upon him?
"Of course, Dad," he replied. "I'll be ready."
The call ended.
Azim stood, collected his clothes from the bedroom, and prepared to leave.
The new System Points could wait. His physical development could wait for the next training session. Even the attention surrounding his goals could wait until he had time to understand it properly.
This afternoon, he needed to make a different kind of decision.
He was going to Melwood to discuss his future with Liverpool.
And for the first time, the question was no longer simply whether the club believed he was good enough to become a first-team player.
It was whether Liverpool was prepared to build a future around him.