"Let's play a no-rules match. You can use the surroundings however you want. The only rule is that if the ball goes out of the ground, possession switches to the other player. Got it? Now start the game," Alex stood on the other side of the field with his hand in his pocket. Winston wondered what type of skills Alex has to be this nonchalant.
Winston nudged the ball a few steps ahead to Alex, then elasticoed it past him. Alex merely smirked over his shoulder as Winston went by. Winston paced along Alex's shoulders and then, unexpectedly, fell face-first. Surprised, Winston turned to find Alex's feet pressing the ball that had caused him to trip. Alex dribbled the ball over to Winston's side; instead of scoring a goal, he waited for Winston to stand up. Winston felt a deja vu, he darted toward Alex, who easily dribbled past Winston in fast, smooth motion. Alex said, "I am right here, so how long have you been playing professional football,"
Flicking the ball past Winston, Alex darted to the other side of the field and. Started dribbling the ball. "I started playing football when I was young, I started playing professionally around three years ago, how about you?"
Alex performed around the ball and replied, "I am not a professional footballer,"
"Why not? You are a skilled player,"
Alex stopped for a moment and he pondered, and then replied, "Nah, there is another football that pays more and it has the rules we are playing right now. And in professional football, you don't start getting paid real money until you get signed by a senior professional club,"
Winston couldn't grasp Alex's meaning, as his understanding of football was limited to the youth league and senior league, and he believed it was already the best. Alex was ready for Winston's lunge and blasted the ball into the fence, which ricocheted back behind Winston. Alex performs a breakdancing dive and swipe, utilizing two hands. Alex traps the ball with his heel, making the ball spin into his sole. Winston couldn't believe what he was seeing, he thought maybe Alex was like Maximilian, but he couldn't feel any powerful aura emitting out of his body. Alex used his hand to propel himself up and bicycle kicked the ball past Winston's shoulders.
Thwack!
Winston looked back at Alex and the ball, contemplating if this represented the "other football" Alex had mentioned, the one without rules. This marks the second occasion Winston has observed this football style. He jogged back to the ball and looked around; he didn't think of using his surroundings like Alex. Winston understood Alex's skill and acrobatic prowess, so he didn't consider him an amateur. He sprinted, and for a moment, his legs felt as if he were moving across the beautiful, nicely trimmed field. His footwork was fast in motion and his dribbling was also smooth—Winston's footwork surprised and impressed even Alex; before he knew it, Winston was already past and blasting the ball.
Thwack!
Unlike his usual experiences, where he would feel pain when such occurrences happened, Winston found himself unexpectedly unharmed and without any sensation this time. He looked down at his feet. They were still normal. "Wow, I didn't know you were that skilled," Alex stretched himself and continued, "Okay, now I need to be serious,"
With a deft flick, Alex initiated a series of intricate dribbles between his legs as he advanced on Winston, ultimately executing a deceptive fake kick that allowed him to tap the ball over Winston's head in a dazzling rainbow flick. Winston slid and propelled himself after Alex, in a fast motion; Alex blasted the ball into the green fence. And he sprinted on the right side, and the ball ricocheted on his left. Leaving Winston stumbling toward his side of the field.
Alex stopped and dribbled the ball, he was now intrigued by Winston's footwork and speed. He wanted to see what other skills Winston had up his sleeve. He toyed with Winston for what seemed like an hour. Without stopping until he noticed Winston was now adapting to his moves. When Alex ricocheted the ball against the green fence, Winston would intercept the ricocheting ball. But Alex would intercept the ball back from Winston.
Following a duration of thirty minutes, Alex stopped and pressed the ball beneath his sneakers before subsequently retrieving his ringing mobile phone. "Wassup, it's time, okay I am on my way," Alex flicked the ball into his hand, "looks like we have to stop our match here, I have to head out, you got some skills. What team do you play for? Again."
"Westminster F.C. under nineteen,"
"Okay,"
Alex propelled the ball upwards into the atmosphere, subsequently leaping and executing a mid-air body rotation and executed a spinning hook kick. The ball swirled toward Winston; he groaned when the ball hit his chest and arms. When he looked at where Alex was, Alex was long gone without a trace. Winston wondered where he disappeared to.
[Nethen Essence: 89%]
[Voltage Core: 89%]
Once Winston had fully regained his strength from the Nethen Essence, he proceeded to cleanse his face, ascend the challenging staircase, and then make his way back to the location where the bus had been parked. As he proceeded along the constricted thoroughfare, he observed a gathering of individuals who had imbibed too much alcohol, with some merely loitering aimlessly. Winston guessed the area was a tourist place, he quickly crossed the road and cut through an alley where a group of people were vomiting and some were fighting. Winston picked up his pace and passed through the empty road where the shops were closed. He climbed down the steps and jogged on the other side of the city. When he climbed up the steps he walked a few blocks until he came across a parking space where his club bus was parked. When he arrived at the bus, the assistant coach scolded Winston outside the bus while his teammate peeked through the window. A police car parked near the bus—the head coach briskly walked toward the bus. "Where the heck were you? We looked everywhere for you. Why can't you listen to instructions?"
Winston stood there with his head looking down, "I am sorry, coach, I got lost when I was sightseeing."
"Why didn't you call one of your teammates?"
"My phone was out of battery,"
After expressing his gratitude to the police officers for their dedicated service, the head coach then instructed Winston to enter the bus. The moment he stepped inside, he was immediately confronted by the piercing scrutiny of his teammates, their eyes fixed upon him as he made his deliberate approach to his seat. Oswin sat there typing on his phone he didn't pay attention to what was going on. He also got a scolding from the head coach and assistant coach, there went any police like Winston, however, he was scolded. "How was the scenery?"
Winson sat and let out a heavy sigh, "Brutal, bro, I met someone who was skilled, we played a one-on-one match,"
Putting down his phone, Oswin now looking at Winston, he asked, "Did you win? Do we know him?"
He lounged on the bus seat, his gaze drifting lazily towards Oswin before he responded,
"Nope, he was too skilled. He was also acrobatic; I think he was toying with me before he left though."
"Shit, here I thought I had a wonderful day,"
"You also came late?"
"Yeah, I met this girl when I was walking in the park, man, she was cute too, packing too, but she had a crazy boyfriend who chased me around the block,"
Winston erupted in laughter at Oswin's remark. "Bro, if you saw him, you would run too, he had those crazy eyes. And he had a pocket knife, but thanks to my speed I left that bum in the dust,"