All-Rounder

The whistle was blown once more, and Zain’s team started their kickoff.

Immediately, the two “wingbacks” started advancing towards the opponent’s field, while the two “centerbacks” moved towards the side. With all of the midfielders and attackers running up, Zain’s formation had essentially turned from a 4-1-4-1 to a 3-6-1 – a hyper-offensive formation designed to crush the opponent with lightning-speed goals in quick succession.

However, the fact that all of them were strikers still remained, which meant that their dribbling and passing, while still very good at a pro level, weren’t enough to pass a well-oiled defensive line. As the ball got to the holographic Roland, a centerback on the Architect’s side had already pressed towards the world’s number two and made a successful tackle, shutting down the offense.

“That’s right, guys!” The Architect raised his fist in joy. “Keep going! Don’t be afraid to attack!”

Normally, for a hyper-offensive formation like Zain’s, to avoid getting countered, one of the wingbacks should be at a lower position than the other, so that if one rose up, the other would back down, creating a more harmonious defense line. With Zain’s team, however, not only did the wingbacks keep their original positions even after the ball was stolen, but the centerbacks also started to advance right away, as if the goal didn’t matter anymore.

“Are… Are you nuts?” The Architect exclaimed. “Attacking with all nine players… that’s suicide!”

True to his words, once Zain’s field was practically empty, the Architect’s team only needed a long pass to put it over all of the defenders, with the ball now being with the most dangerous player on the field – Leonardo di Messeo.

“Finally…” facing the undisputed number one, Zain let out an excited grin. “Show me your skills, best in the world!”

Zain raised his arms to block the holographic player’s advance. Since Messeo was in fact shorter than him by a head, the player was soon forced to stop by the simple gap in physical prowess. However, the ball was still glued to his feet, and by constantly feinting movement from side to side, the number one had also locked Zain from getting a tackle off.

“Tch, annoying guy,” Zain grunted, still trying to find an opening. He knew that if he went in for a tackle at the wrong moment, Messeo would just slip past him with ease. However, in the end, he still underestimated his opponent a bit too much.

Messeo didn’t need an opening. By twirling his body and using his back as a wall, the number one managed to Zain’s right side. As the young man followed through the movement, he had created a gap between his legs, and that was enough for the number one to do a beautiful nutmeg past the last line of defense.

“Yeah! That’s Messeo for you!” The Architect was elated once more. But, just as fast as joy arrived for him, the boy had already eaten his words.

Wasting no time, Zain turned around as well, and with a freakishly high speed, managed to catch up to Messeo in a mere second, once again using his larger figure to block the number one from behind.

Replying to his opponent’s grin of confidence, Messeo soon changed his direction to the other side, before escaping Zain’s clutches by sending a cross towards the winger on the right side.

However, just as the winger took the ball, Zain had already appeared in front of him.

Without a choice, the winger had to make a backpass to the center midfielder, who then quickly sent the ball back towards Messeo’s position – a high-speed triangle formation play. But, like a silent reaper, as soon as Messeo had the ball, he had already found himself back facing Zain once more.

“I-Impossible!” Shouted the Architect. “How can you follow everything?”

“I already have superior physical power compared to these guys!” Zain let out a triumphant laugh in return. “And now with their data in my head, I can react to any play that they make! The ultimate one-man defense made for the ideal 1v1! Soccer Style: God Press!”

As the words left his mouth, Zain had successfully stolen the ball away from Messeo’s feet for the first time, and with a long pass, the tables had turned once more.

“Defense! Get into positions!” The Architect shouted. It didn’t matter if it was a chance of counterattack, as long as his formation didn’t break, the attempt would be for naught. And he had broken Zain’s offense once, there was little chance that it would succeed.

Of course, that was when the offensive line was in a 6-1 formation, then an 8-1 formation. But with Zain finally being on the move, his team had turned to their highest settings yet. A score-or-die suicidal advance, 0-0-10, only thirty minutes into the first half.

Normally, this kind of offense was meant to sow chaos into the field, when the clock only had little time left, as a last-ditch effort to find a goal. To deploy such tactics in a situation as low-stress as they were at the moment was simply unheard of.

But it was that illogical thinking that had caught the Architect off-guard.

Unlike before, passes after passes connected. The boy’s defense crumbled before the sudden surge of hyper-offensive power. And soon enough, the Architect had found himself already facing the world’s number two – Christopher Roland – in a 1v1 match in front of the goal.

“H-How can this be…” he could only mutter in disbelief before the titan of a player.

But, at the last moment, Roland didn’t shoot.

Instead, it was only a feint, as the ball was soon kicked to the side – right in front of Zain’s waiting arm, or rather, leg.

The only reason a team like this would work is because of the existence of a ‘heart’, thoughts ran through the young man’s head as he took the final shot. Only with a hero to hold the defense, and distribute the offense could the strikers wreak havoc on the field. And so, I’ll be that ‘heart’ that connects the strongests!

A powerful right-footed volley tore through the net. The whistle was blown, and the score had tied up 1 to 1, at the same time as the first half ended.

“You…” the Architect pointed at Zain at half-time. “I had always thought that you were supposed to be the power type, but I guess I was wrong… You’re a smart type, like me.”

Zain only let out a smirk as an answer, sending the boy into even further rage.

“Just you wait! I’ll prove I’m still the superior player!”

As the second half started, there had been a change in formation for both sides. Coincidentally, both teams had the same thought as they changed their formation to a diamond 4-4-2, with Zain and Messeo taking the centerpiece CAM position in their respective squads.

A team needs a ‘heart’ to realize its full potential… thought the Architect. I’ll hand it to you, Masked Lion. I won’t forget that lesson of yours. Messeo was great as a false nine, but in CAM, he could truly make use of all of his talents, while creating more pressure up-front with my two forwards. I’ll crush your midfield and take the win from here!

The whistle was blown once more, and play restarted.

With identical formations and tactics, the team with better players should be the one to win. And with Leonardo di Messeo, the Architect was sure that it would have been him. But strangely, the ball had never once gotten off his side of the field.

Zain’s God Press was already annoying enough when he was the only one on his field. Now, with more teammates and opponents, as well as the advantage of making such plays on the opponent’s field, Zain alone was enough to crush any and all hope of advancing from the Architect’s team. However, while Zain had blocked all of the Architect’s attacks, his team was also struggling to find a goal of their own when the other team had resorted to a low backline to deal with his constant press.

The back-and-forth match state struggled on, all the way up to the last minute of the game. Though none of the holographic players should be tired, they were all updated with real stamina values to most accurately mimic a real-life match. Even Zain himself, with his near-endless strength and durability, had also shown signs of fatigue thanks to the excessive runs he had made.

Both sides knew that this was their last chance.

“Hey, timeout for a moment,” Zain stopped moving and turned to the Architect in the other goal. “What happens if we draw?”

“It depends. In a group stage game, the draw will be counted as-is, while in knockout matches, we move to extra time and penalty like regular soccer. Since this is a friendly, anything goes.”

“So, the competitors decide by themselves, right?”

“Correct. And I want…”

“To continue, of course!” Both players shouted at the same time, and Zain started dribbling forward once more. Unlike Messeo, his technique was much cruder and less refined, but he made up for it by having powerful sprints – the kind of violent dribbling fit for a former tyrant of the cells.

As he broke past the last defender, Zain faced the Architect in a 1v1 once more.

I’m not falling for your tricks again, Masked Lion! The Architect thought. I can see Robertson rising from the right! You’re going to feint a shot, but will actually pass to him, just like Roland did to you in the first half!

The Architect was confident about his prediction. He had readied himself for a jump towards the right, to stop Robertson’s inevitable cannon volley.

However, Zain only smirked at the boy.

“You said it before that I was the smart type like you… But let me correct you on that. I am…”

The young man lifted his leg. He never intended to pass. And when the Architect realized this mistake, he was already too late.

“An all-rounder!”

The shot blasted through the net at the same time as the final whistle sounded, ending the game just in the nick of time. As Zain raised his fist in a celebratory win, the Architect dropped down the grassy field like a puppet without strings, crying a frustrated shout of defeat:

“Argghhhh! God damn it, I lost!”

But the boy was not crying at all. Instead, on his face was a satisfied grin as the two of them logged out of the virtual world.

“Man, you’re even better than what I’ve heard about you, Masked Lion! You passed!” The Architect, unable to control his excitement, punched Zain on the shoulder, which only resulted in him hurting his own hands.

“Good to know. Now let’s get to the questions…” the young man answered, but was soon interrupted by his new partner.

“I believe an introduction is needed, isn’t it? We’ll have this partnership for a long while, after all.”

“Fine by me. The Masked Lion…”

“No, no. Your real name.”

“… Zain. Just Zain is fine.”

“Michael Angelo, at your service.”