Become A Football Legend-Chapter 279: New Mission (Quads1) 1/3

"Alright."

The room gradually quieted again.

"Everyone."

The players gathered loosely in front of him, sitting on benches or leaning back against their lockers. The coach stood in the center of the room, his expression calm but clearly pleased as he looked around at the squad.

"First of all," he began, "congratulations."

He gestured lightly toward the stadium outside the walls.

"That was... impressive."

Several players nodded, some exchanging glances with teammates who had played key roles in the goals.

"You came into a stadium where the opponent had everything to play for," he continued. "Champions League qualification. A full house. A crowd that believed today was their day."

He paused briefly.

"And you beat them 5–1."

A few smiles spread across the room again.

"That is not easy," Toppmöller added, shaking his head slightly. "Not here."

He let the moment settle before continuing.

"And because of that performance, we finish the Bundesliga season second."

A few players clapped softly. Others simply nodded, absorbing the achievement quietly.

Toppmöller allowed the recognition to linger for a moment before his tone shifted.

"But now," he said slowly, "the league is finished."

The room stilled.

"There is only one match left."

He raised a single finger.

"Just one."

The players leaned forward slightly, the weight of those words landing naturally.

"One match," he repeated, his voice steady. "If we keep this spirit... if we keep this hunger..."

He tapped his chest lightly.

"This team will enter the history of this club."

His eyes moved around the room again, meeting each player in turn.

"Frankfurt."

"Hessen."

"You will be remembered."

The dressing room fell completely silent now.

Then he said it again.

"One more."

His gaze moved slowly across the players.

"One more."

Then his eyes settled on Lukas.

For a second the coach didn’t say anything.

Then he repeated the words quietly.

"Just one more."

Lukas felt the weight of it settle somewhere in his chest—not because the message had been directed only at him, but because somehow it still felt like it was.

The moment lasted only a second.

Then Toppmöller clapped his hands once.

"Alright."

"Recovery."

"Bus leaves in thirty minutes."

The noise slowly returned to the dressing room as players stood again and moved back to their lockers. But even as the laughter resumed and the music rose slightly in volume again, the message lingered in the air like an echo.

One more.

* * *

Morning sunlight crept quietly through the thin gap between the curtains in Lukas’s bedroom.

It was still early.

The room carried that soft grey-blue glow of dawn, the kind that came before the city was fully awake. The digital clock on his bedside table read 06:31.

Lukas opened his eyes slowly.

His body had learned the rhythm of mornings like this. Years of training had hardwired his biological clock to wake him early, even on days when he didn’t set an alarm.

For a moment he simply lay there, staring at the ceiling.

Then the dryness in his throat reminded him of something else.

Water.

He rolled onto his side and pushed himself up from the bed.

The moment his feet touched the floor, he took a step toward the kitchen—

And froze.

A sharp, tight ache ran up the back of his leg.

"Ah—"

He caught himself on the edge of the desk, frowning as the discomfort pulsed through his left hamstring.

It wasn’t unbearable.

But it was there.

And it was stronger than he expected.

Lukas stood still for a second, rubbing the back of his thigh as he tried to process it.

It felt like he had forgotten something.

Then it clicked.

"Right..."

The Freiburg match.

Even though the game itself hadn’t been particularly exhausting, his body was still carrying the accumulated strain of the last two weeks.

Manchester.

120 minutes at Old Trafford.

Then the travel.

Training.

Freiburg.

He sighed and limped the remaining few steps toward the kitchen.

A glass of water later, the dryness in his throat eased slightly. He stood there for a moment, leaning against the counter, before walking back toward the bed and sitting down carefully.

His hamstring still felt tight.

"Alright," he muttered.

He leaned back against the pillows and closed his eyes.

"Let’s check." 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

His consciousness slipped smoothly into the familiar space.

The LTC.

—

The training complex materialized around him.

Bright lights above. Polished wooden floors beneath his feet. The quiet hum of the system running in the background.

Lukas stretched his shoulders and walked toward the recovery section.

"Alright," he said. "Post-match recovery."

He was about to start the routine he normally ran after every game.

But before he could begin—

A notification suddenly appeared.

[ WARNING: MUSCLE STRAIN DETECTED ]

Lukas blinked.

"What?"

Another panel appeared.

[ Location: Left Hamstring ]

His eyebrows rose slightly.

"TT?"

[* Good morning to you too. *]

The familiar voice echoed in his mind with a hint of amusement.

"Why am I getting a warning?"

[* Because your left hamstring is currently about as relaxed as a brick. *]

Lukas frowned.

"What does that mean?"

[* It means something in your recovery routine has been incomplete. *]

A new diagnostic panel appeared.

[ Muscle Condition Analysis ]

[ Left Hamstring — Tightness: Elevated ]

Lukas crossed his arms.

"That doesn’t make sense. I did recovery."

[* You did recovery after Freiburg. *]

A pause.

[* But not after Manchester. *]

The realization hit him immediately.

The Europa League semi-final.

120 minutes.

The next day he had been traveling, dealing with everything that happened in Manchester, and never completed the full recovery session inside the LTC.

TT continued.

[* The system monitors muscular micro-fatigue patterns. Your hamstring absorbed excessive load during the Manchester match. Without the full recovery protocol, a small imbalance remained. *]

Another screen appeared.

[ Muscle Stress Residual: Minor ]

Lukas frowned.

"So it’s an injury?"

[* No. *]

A beat.

[* It’s the system preventing one. *]

He exhaled slowly.

"So what do I do?"

A new panel appeared.

[ Recovery Program Initialized ]

[ Target Area: Left Hamstring ]

[* I have prepared a specialized recovery plan. *]

TT sounded almost smug.

[* Congratulations. You get three days of stretching. *]

Lukas groaned.

"Three days?"

[* It could be more. Don’t tempt me. *]

He sighed and rolled his shoulders.

"Fine."

The recovery program began.

What felt like three full days of recovery training passed while only minutes ticked by in the real world.

Lukas moved through the routine steadily.

Deep stretching.

Controlled mobility exercises.

Light resistance work.

Balance training.

Each session targeted the hamstring specifically, carefully releasing the tightness that had built up unnoticed.

TT occasionally commented.

[* If you stretch any slower, the hamstring might heal out of boredom. *]

By the end of the third LTC day, Lukas sat on the floor of the gym.

His legs stretched straight in front of him.

He leaned forward slowly, fingers reaching his toes, holding the stretch as his hamstring lengthened fully.

He stayed there for a few seconds.

Then a notification appeared.

[ RECOVERY COMPLETE ]

[ Muscle Condition: Optimal ]

Lukas exhaled.

"Finally."

He sat up and rolled his shoulders.

Then another notification appeared.

[ NEW TASK AVAILABLE ]

His eyes narrowed.

"Another one?"

The panel shifted.

[ Mission: URGENT ]

Lukas’s eyes lit up as he stared at the screen, he had never received a mission before.

"What is this?" he asked TT as he reached out his hand and tapped it.

The mission details expanded.

[ Mission 1 ]

[ Win the UEFA Europa League ]

He read silently.

[ Description: You have brought Eintracht Frankfurt to the Europa League Final. ]

[ Opponent: Tottenham Hotspur ]

[ Location: San Mames Stadium]

Then the rewards appeared.

[ Reward: LTC Upgrade — Version 3.0 → Version 4.0 ]

[ Reward: Maximum Stat Limit Increased — 85 → 90 ]

A/N: THAT’S WHY QUAD’S THE GOAT! THE GOATTT!!

Thank you so much for the the magic castle Quads1, I really appreciate. You literally are #1 so your username tells no lies.

Thank you once more.

-Writ.