My Goalkeeping System

Dave was holding his man of the match award now while he was being interviewed by a female reporter.

The award wasn\'t like the one they were awarded at the Bilbeth Premier League, this one looked like a rectangular block of ice that was coated with silver color and had a ball carved in the middle.

"I know it was a tough match and a lot of things could have gone wrong in the first half but I\'m glad it didn\'t and I\'m also glad that our coach was able to spark up our playing spirits in the dressing room, that\'s how we were able to perform the way we did in the second half," Dave explained.

<Your playing spirit never needed sparking up>

"Okay, I have one more question for you." The reporter said.

"Okay, go on." The goalkeeper said.

"A lot of people have been talking about how you single-handedly stopped Manchester United from getting the ball past you and some of them are saying that it\'s only a matter of time before you become known as one of the elite goalkeepers of the game. What do you have to say about that?"

"Um...about single-handedly stopping Manchester United from scoring, that\'s not exactly true, sure our defense was too shaky in the first half but they still helped in the little ways they could and they even got better after the first half, I just did what I was supposed to do while they did theirs that\'s all." He expressed. "And about becoming known as one of the elite goalkeepers of the game, I think they\'re right, I may not be at that level yet but it\'s only a matter of time just like they said, I\'ve been pushing myself starting from some point last season and I\'ll continue doing it until I get to that level."

"Alright, Dave, that will be enough for today, thank you." She said before pulling back her mic.

"You\'re welcome," Dave said before he turned and began to make his way toward the locker room.

<Well, that wasn\'t quite the answer I was expecting from you but I have to say I loved it>

\'My mother has always told me to believe in myself and then when she died, that teaching just died in me, and then Emma came along, another person in my life who believed that I should always believe in myself and I\'m starting to get it now, believing in yourself gives you a reason to keep pushing forward, I believe I can be known as one of the elite goalkeepers of the game someday, that was why I answered the question like that.\'

He entered the locker room to discover that his teammates weren\'t celebrating as he expected them to but they were all chatting with each other happily.

"Hey! Everyone look, our ball magnet\'s here!" Mateo yelled as soon as he spotted the goalkeeper enter the room.

"Ball magnet," Dave muttered.

"You know, when Mateo told me that you were a world-class goalkeeper, I didn\'t really believe him but I guess he was telling the truth all along."

Dave slowly turned his gaze to the side to see Martinez Alejandro standing beside him.

"You were superb today." The Argentine defensive midfielder added.

"Thanks." Dave smiled.

After that, he had a few talks with his teammates in the locker room before they were informed that it was time to leave.

On the bus, Dave had to sit beside Mateo as always but the youngster didn\'t really have time for a conversation as he had his earphones in both of his ear holes while scrolling through his phone.

<Do you want to see it now?>

\'Of course.\'

[ Post Match rewards ]

[ Match result: Draw ]

[ Nine crucial saves: +90 exp ]

[ Goals conceded(1): 0exp ]

[ One shot on target: +10 exp ]

[ Match rating: 9.0 ]

\'I didn\'t know I got rewarded exp for shots on target.\'

<Well, it\'s very difficult for goalkeepers to get shots on target from their positions so it\'s only fair that you get rewarded for it>

\'Yeah, I guess that\'s right.\' He replied. \'I really wish I had gotten a quest in this match. Don\'t you think it\'s weird that I didn\'t get any match quest in this match, against Manchester United of all teams?\'

<This was just a friendly match, Dave>

\'So?\'

<You don\'t get match quests for friendly matches>

\'Really? Then what do you have to say about the one I got earlier today?\'

<That\'s a whole different thing, Dave, that\'s the way it has always been>

\'That\'s the way it has always been.\' The goalkeeper muttered subconsciously as those were the only words that caught his attention in her sentence. \'What do you mean by that\'s the way it has always been?\'

Catherine had never been too slow to answer his questions or give him a reply before but right now, it seemed like she wasn\'t going to answer his question.

\'Answer me, Catherine! What do you mean by that\'s the way it has always been?!\' He yelled in his head but even after that, there was still no reply from her. \'That\'s how it has always been could either mean that you\'re the one in charge of handing out the quests after all or someone has been the wielder of this system before me, come to think of it now, the latter makes way more sense.\'

Even after coming up with a theory in his mind all in an attempt to get Catherine to talk, she refused to say anything.

\'What is wrong with you, Catherine? Answer my question, has there been a wielder of this system before me?\'

<Yes, you are not the first wielder of this system, you are only the second wielder> She replied.

\'I knew it, everything has been pointing toward that direction right from the start. So who was this first wielder before me?\'

<I\'m sorry but I cannot answer you question beyond this point at the moment>

\'Seriously? What\'s the point, I\'ve already found out that there was someone before me, would it hurt to just tell me who it was.\'

\'I\'m sorry, Dave but I cannot tell you\'ll have to find out for yourself whenever you reach your peak. I cannot control it, that is how it has already been set up.\'

He was about to reply to her when he was suddenly pulled closer by Mateo who wanted to share a funny video with him, he even plugged off his headphone so that the goalkeeper could hear the sound too.

Dave had his gaze on the phone\'s screen but his mind was stuck in his subconscious and Mateo was beginning to wonder why he wasn\'t chuckling yet.

\'I cannot control it, that is how it has already been set up.\' He repeated her last lines in his mind. \'You know talking with you for the past couple of months has made me forget that you\'re just a programmed A.I, the conversations with you feel so human that\'s why it was nice to talk to you all the time but what happened now just reminded me that you\'re just a piece of A.I after all, you\'re more enhanced than the normal ones.

\'This system has a lot of mysteries surrounding it, a lot that I don\'t know yet.\'

*****

New year mass release goals.

A magic castle= one extra chapter.

Two magic castles= two extra chapters.

Mass release for goals met last month will still be rewarded on the due dates.