Cross lv2 and Bicycle Kick lv2!

Cross had appeared! Maël let out a long breath. After spending an hour tediously crossing the ball, he had finally ground out the Proficiency Panel for Cross.

Just as the effects described, for a Winger, Cross was an absolutely vital ability.

A Winger who could not cross was basically walking around after cutting off one of his own legs.

The moment he got the ball, the opponent would know he was either going to Cut Inside or pass back, so defending him came with very little pressure.

Even Robben, who was famous around the world for cutting inside and shooting, also had a pretty impressive Cross in his locker, and could occasionally shape as if he were going to the byline to confuse defenders.

The key was that the defender still had to follow, because if Robben really got the chance to pick out a Cross, it would not be hard for him to tear through their defensive line.

This was also one reason Robben had such a high success rate when he Cut Inside.

Defenders could not give him either side. Sometimes, with one moment of hesitation and tension, Robben had already Cut Inside and shot.

"I'll aim to raise Cross to lv3 before the season starts, the same level as Long Shot."

Maël made his plan and imagined the future. "By then, even if I'm on a Championship pitch, I won't be afraid."

If he caught a chance, he would take the shot himself. If there was no moment to pull the trigger, he would stand out wide and pass the ball. To the team, that would give him a certain functionality.

Thinking about it, earning playing time should not be too difficult.

Once he slowly adapted to the Championship, he would compete for a starting spot. After getting into the starting lineup, he would produce as many stats as possible and build his reputation and value at Sheffield United.

This world was eager to hear stories of young success.

Although Maël was not exactly in a hurry and knew the road had to be walked one step at a time, he still hoped he could move a little faster.

"Let's keep going."

Maël did not think too much. He walked over to Gilbert's side. "One-on-one. We'll practice Cross next time."

He wanted to grind out the Dribbling Skill he had planned earlier. Once he had a breakthrough ability, he would not be in such a rush to grind new skills for the time being.

After these were all raised to around lv3, and his strength also reached lv3, he could spend some time doing physical training for coordination and speed, making himself more composed on the wing.

"Come on."

After that moment of realization just now, Gilbert was already thoroughly convinced by Maël's training methods. He lowered his center of gravity and stood in front of Maël. "I'm not good at defending. This counts as my weak point.

"You can use me for practice all you want, and I can learn how to tackle through you too."

Maël hesitated briefly. Through his training in shooting and passing categories, he understood that each major category of ability probably contained quite a few smaller categories.

Take shooting, for example. It definitely was not limited to instep Long Shot cannons. There was also Volley, headed shots, Curved Shot, and so on. Passing was the same.

Dribbling Skill was definitely not just dribbling either.

It might even be the major category with the most subcategories, because there were simply too many ways to beat a man.

So how should he choose? Common ones included Step-Over Dribbling, Marseille Turn, Bicycle Kick, McGeady Spin, Elastico, and so on. He first considered it from the perspective of his position.

As a Winger, the two most common one-on-one scenarios were breaking through to the byline and breaking through to Cut Inside.

The ones that fit these two best should only be Step-Over Dribbling and Bicycle Kick. Skills like Marseille Turn would not be of much use to him.

After narrowing down his choices, Maël then considered style.

In that case, the answer was obvious: Bicycle Kick!

Thump, thump...!

Tapping the football under his sole, Maël charged toward Gilbert. His left leg first circled around the football, followed closely by his right leg—

Smack!

Gilbert stretched out a foot and cleanly poked the ball away from under him.

Maël abruptly lost his balance and stumbled awkwardly for several steps, almost falling over. After recovering, he took the football again and faced Gilbert, starting his Bicycle Kick.

Just like that, he was tackled again and again, and made mistake after mistake.

The sweat on his face slowly gathered too, dripping down drop by drop. Some of it even fell into his eyes, making him extremely uncomfortable.

Gilbert could not bear to watch again and tried to advise him. "How about you change moves?

"Your Bicycle Kick is honestly clumsy. Forget me—even Mr. Wenger might be able to take it off you with one foot.

"With a bit more variety, I actually wouldn't find you so easy to defend. Defending is my weak point."

Maël waved his hand and began Bicycle Kick training again, constantly changing the number of Bicycle Kick movements during the process, hoping not to bore Gilbert too much.

Another twenty-plus minutes passed. Gilbert mechanically intercepted the ball again and again. This time, he truly had no idea what was going on and could not figure anything out.

Smack!

Only when he dispossessed Maël once more did Maël stop. After wiping away his sweat, he lay down on the ground.

Gilbert sat to one side, stroking his chin in thought. He was someone who was good at thinking.

After a long while, he suddenly raised his head. "Could it be stamina training?"

Maël: "..."

Skill: Bicycle Kick lv1

Proficiency: (43/100)

Effect: As an attacking player, dribbling past opponents is a technique you must master. You began practicing Bicycle Kick dribbling diligently, but for now the results were minimal. You longed for the day it leveled up.

Over the next few days, the two of them kept traveling back and forth between their residence and the Training Base, gradually becoming familiar with everything around them.

Sheffield City was an industrial city, and it still retained many buildings and factories from the last century. Walking through its streets gave off a retro feeling.

But it was also famous around the world as a university city. Fresh faces who had come from all over the world to study brought plenty of youthful vitality here, making it seem full of energy.

You could even call it a city of sports.

The names of Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday rang loud across European football.

Maël gradually adapted to this place. His adaptability had always been strong, and with Gilbert as his companion, he did not feel lonely either.

Since the day the players gathered had not yet arrived, the two of them spent every day at Sheffield's First Team training ground, doing extra training on the extremely high-quality grass.

Joelson often stayed by their side. He seemed quite free recently; the club probably did not have any tasks for him.

July 8th. Two days remained until the gathering day.

On Sheffield United's First Team training ground.

After a cross, a strange sensation suddenly surged into Maël's right ankle and right leg, making him involuntarily tense his instep and clamp his knees together.

Skill: Curve Cross lv2

Proficiency: (1/300)

Effect: After a long period of practice, you gradually discovered how to put curve on your crosses. When the confrontation is not intense and you have observed fully, you can occasionally deliver high-quality curved crosses!

Bang! Bang!

Maël did not stay idle, nor did he sigh over anything. He immediately picked up the ball and tried a few more kicks.

Because the two of them were training together, it happened to satisfy the conditions of low-intensity confrontation and sufficient observation. Every one of his crosses drew an accurate banana-shaped arc and dropped right in front of Gilbert's forehead.

Gilbert barely even needed to move before he could complete a powerful header on goal.

"The quality of those crosses...?"

Gilbert was a little stunned. As someone who trained with Maël every day, he knew Maël's crossing all too well. "Did you figure something out again? Wasn't it like this with the Bicycle Kick a couple days ago? You suddenly got better?"

"Not at all. You just judged it accurately and headed it well." Maël waved his hand, extremely modest.

Because Bicycle Kick had a high initial proficiency, he had already trained it to lv2 two days ago.

And after training crossing to lv2 today, his strength welcomed another major increase.

Counting it up, the current him already possessed quite a few abilities: Brutal Shot lv3, Muscle lv2, Curve Cross lv2, Fluid Bicycle Kick lv2!

"If they were all lv3, I'd probably be able to gain an initial foothold in the Championship."

Maël once again lay down on the soft grass. He liked doing this very much, feeling the soft blades beside his cheek as he stared blankly at the blue sky.

In a place he did not notice, Gilbert raised his brows hard several times to feel his own forehead, then hopped a few times to feel his jumping ability.

In the end, he spread his hands and stared at them in utter confusion. "Could it be that I have the potential to dominate the air?"

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