Free Web NovelChapter 493: Chapter 101: Worldie! Domain Skill: Controller! The Glass Man’s Sorrow! The Rookies’ First Champions League
Whether by bus, train, or plane, Wang Shuo always liked a window seat.
After a few flights from Europe back home, he began to understand why seasoned travelers preferred the aisle.
But this summer, when Wang Shuo flew from Frankfurt to the Capital, the plane ticket Shen Qinghe booked for him opened up a whole new world.
Who knew first class was so amazing!
Of course, if Wang Shuo were buying the ticket himself, he probably still wouldn’t have been able to bring himself to pay for first class.
Shen Qinghe had laid out the economics for him. The math left his head spinning, but the conclusion was that for the current Wang Shuo, first class wasn’t actually expensive but rather a very cost-effective choice.
But it was no use. Wang Shuo felt that being a cheapskate was a habit he probably couldn’t kick.
"Then from now on, whenever you travel, I’ll buy all the plane tickets!"
Shen Qinghe’s reasoning was also quite compelling.
"Since you’re not the one spending the money, you won’t feel the sting."
It was hard to argue with that logic.
Every time Wang Shuo got on a plane, he couldn’t help but recall her words and crack a smile.
Back at Mainz, he had almost always flown economy. At Dortmund, it wasn’t a sure thing; it depended on the specific flight.
For instance, on this flight from Nice to Dusseldorf, the Airbus A319 only had eight business-class seats, so it was impossible to arrange them for everyone.
So, everyone flew economy.
However, Dortmund’s traveling party was quite large, and when you added the accompanying media and fans, the entire plane was basically filled with their own people.
Wang Shuo, naturally, was back in a window seat, and he found himself actually missing first class.
It just went to show: it’s easy to go from frugal to lavish, but hard to go from lavish back to frugal.
The flight was two hours long.
After the plane took off, Wang Shuo said a quick word to Subotic and Reus beside him, then closed his eyes to rest.
...
After entering the Ball God System, Wang Shuo went directly to the Personal Attribute Panel.
The moment he saw the Passive Value column, he was completely stunned.
’512 points?’
’How did I get so many?’
The last time Wang Shuo had checked his Passive Value was after the UEFA Europa League final against Liverpool. He had 325 points back then.
He felt that reaching 500 points was still a long way off, so he hadn’t paid too much attention to it.
After all, accumulating points just from playing matches was a slow and steady grind.
He never expected to have accumulated enough so quickly.
When Wang Shuo looked closer, he immediately saw where the Passive Value had come from.
The UEFA Europa League title, being the UEFA Europa League’s top scorer, plus what he’d accumulated this season... and most importantly, the 150-point reward from the recent UEFA Super Cup and his hat-trick.
Added all together, it came to exactly 512 points.
’I’m rich!’
Wang Shuo was overcome with excitement.
’Now that I have 500 Passive Value, it’s definitely time for an upgrade!’
He immediately went to the giant soccer ball.
He now had four Intercontinental Level Passive Skills: [Breathing], [Ball Sense], [Swift], and [Foundation].
Before he had accumulated 500 Passive Value, Wang Shuo had been set on upgrading [Breathing].
It was the first Passive Skill he had drawn, and also the first one he had upgraded to the Intercontinental Level.
As a Virgo born in mid-September, Wang Shuo had a certain stubborn, methodical streak.
But now that he had finally accumulated 500 Passive Value and was standing before the giant soccer ball, he found himself hesitating.
[Breathing] improved stamina and endurance, the very foundation of the sport.
He had a strong feeling that upon upgrading from Intercontinental Level to World-level, besides the conventional boost in power, the most important Breakthrough would be unlocking Domain Skills.
This was something he had never encountered before, and he knew absolutely nothing about it.
He could only speculate, following conventional logic, that Domain Skills were likely upgraded versions of Passive Skills.
’In other words, since [Breathing] improves stamina and endurance, its Domain Skill should be in the same vein.’
’It would be incredibly powerful, no doubt about it.’
’But is it what I need most right now?’
’The one that will give me the biggest competitive edge?’
[Foundation] was not an option Wang Shuo considered, because his body and muscles hadn’t fully developed yet.
Wang Shuo knew full well that he wasn’t even able to utilize the full potential of his Intercontinental Level [Foundation] yet.
Even if he upgraded [Foundation], he wouldn’t be able to get much more out of it.
’My physicality is a bit weak?’
’I’m already used to that.’
Besides, for the past two years, Wang Shuo had relied on technique and speed to compensate for his physical shortcomings.
So, it came down to a final choice between [Swift] and [Ball Sense].
The choice wasn’t actually that difficult.
After all, Wang Shuo would definitely upgrade the others eventually; it was just a matter of when.
So, Wang Shuo quickly chose [Ball Sense].
The reason was simple: Dortmund was about to play in the Champions League.
Even in the Champions League group stage, the intensity of the matches and the quality of the defending were a cut above most Bundesliga teams.
Wang Shuo would be under much greater defensive pressure.
In that scenario, the benefits of upgrading [Ball Sense] would be far greater.
With that thought, Wang Shuo didn’t hesitate any longer.
"Consume 500 Passive Value to upgrade Passive Skill [Ball Sense] from Intercontinental Level to World-level?"
"Yes!"
"Upgrading..."
Wang Shuo felt it as the pentagonal face on the giant soccer ball representing [Ball Sense] suddenly erupted in a dazzling light. Its original golden hue became more intense, as if the energy converging within it had grown denser.
"Congratulations, you have successfully upgraded [Ball Sense] to World-level, officially unlocking the Domain Skill: Controller."
