As the clock hit zero and we walked back to the locker room, a weird atmosphere filled the room, so much had an observer wouldn't ever believe we were ahead. Offensive players were looking at us angrily like we had burned all of their houses and banged their wives on the smoldering remains.

Our score came thanks to a last-second touchdown by one of our receivers slipping away, though that had been only possible because the opponent's defense replicated our earlier trick, unlike us, they didn't particularly care about actually defending the ball, using the opportunity to hit our offensive players as hard as possible.

Our starting quarterback was limping badly, and so were two of our receivers and one of the running backs.

They shouldn't have been hurt that much just by a couple of plays, no matter how harsh, but their weak training regime was costing them. After all, there was also an art to getting tackled, an art that they were not particularly competent at.

Combined with their unfamiliarity with pain, their situation was literally torture.

In contrast, every single defensive player had smirks on their face, enjoying the pain the offensive team found themselves in.

Their elation was easy to understand. As a defense, we played amazingly, not allowing them to score not even once, and despite our offense's best attempts to ruin the game, we were still leading.

Yet, seeing Coach Spencer's growing anger as he walked away phone in hand, looking at me, I had a sinking feeling. A guy with both authority and money was a dangerous combination, especially without a corresponding sense of responsibility.

Maybe I shouldn't have pushed it too much.

As he walked away, I closed my eyes and touched the system, receiving the rest of the Traits I managed to earn on the field.

[Strategy V]

[Tactics V]

[Pattern Recognition V]

[Calculation V]

[Leadership V]

[Endurance III]

[Recovery III]

[Speed III]

[Strength IV]

[Agility IV]

Though, looking at the notifications that invaded my field of vision, I had to admit that, even if I knew how it would end, I would do the same.

First, Coach Spencer was clearly not just angry at me, but the defense in general, meaning I wouldn't be the only one that suffered his wrath.

Second, even if he did so, the worst thing he could do was to kick me out of the school.

It might have been a threat that would scare me a day ago. But now, after all those improvements, I was significantly less afraid of said threat.

After all, just the improvements in my physical traits were enough to get a full scholarship in a new college, not to mention I could easily try out for a professional team. With those traits, I had an excellent chance to actually make it.

And the less it was said about the potential improvements from the more mental aspects like Calculation and Leadership and the options they provided to me, the better.

"Not a bad game," I heard the familiar voice of Coach Bill who walked toward us, paying us a compliment, which was as rare as a full eclipse. We must have really impressed him. "But for the second half, I expect them to play an even heavier run game…"

I barely paid attention to his explanations, the latest improvements in my mental abilities enough to make his explanation superfluous.

Instead, I started thinking about the improvements I had received. Particularly, why no Traits had managed to surpass stage five even though most of them managed to hit the said limit, and despite the different improvements I expected to receive.

Maybe there was a reason for that, or maybe there was something I needed to unlock the next stages.

When we walked back to the field, the audience was cheering crazily as we stepped on the field…

"Let's show them what we are made of," I growled as we walked on the field after the kickoff, as it was our opponent's turn on the offensive side. Yet, when we lined against them, my gaze allowed me to catch a very welcome detail on the gaze of the opposing quarterback.

Fear.

It hurt my pride slightly to see his gaze bouncing between Thad and Carter rather than looking at me, the architect of his suffering.

That would not do.

I called a couple adjustments quickly, sending Thad to the right wings, and pulled Carter to the left wing, aligning the position just like the previous time, where he ended up as a painful sandwich.

His reaction was to pull one of the tight ends to his side to support the running back, creating even stronger protection for him. It wasn't a horrible play, he could give the ball to either of them for a run, or try to charge through the center himself. And, a pass was always an option with the extra time his protection would give him.

Too bad for him that it left the center defense weak, confident that it wouldn't fall since I was the only one in the center.

At the start of the game, it would have been a good choice. After all, a subpar middle linebacker against a right guard and a center was an inevitable end. Unfortunately for him, there was a great difference between my strength at the beginning of the game and the second half, where I had been fed by the fanatical cries of fifty thousand people.

Although I didn't have a proper opportunity to test my new physical capabilities properly, the little discrete tests I conducted suggested that I was at a point I could easily compete against professional talents.

Pity I couldn't reflect on the full extent of my abilities without raising too much suspicion, but there was no harm in a subtle burst in the middle of the game, especially when it could be easily mistaken for a mistake of my opponent.

The moment they snapped the ball, I charged forward, directly between the right guard and the center, looking like I was going to take both of them at the same time.

Yet, just before I slammed both of them at the same time, I took a step to the side. It sounded simple, but doing so while charging forward full speed, especially when I had lowered my center of gravity to maintain my balance after collusion, was much more difficult.

The only reason I was able to successfully achieve this was the dangerous combination of Speed and Agility, giving me the quick feet of a top-tier cornerback — but with a strength that would make a lineman jealous.

So, facing the unlucky right guard that didn't expect to meet with such a move, I didn't even need to use my full power.

I pressed my hand against his shoulder, and a gentle push was enough to push him back — conveniently positioning him in between me and the center that wanted to prevent my charge.

Then, I was face to face with the quarterback, his fear impossible to hide.

The kind of fear that triggered stupid decisions, like trying to throw the ball he was holding. After all, it was forbidden to tackle a quarterback who was not holding the ball.

Yet, from the beginning, I wasn't aiming at the man, but the ball he was holding. Halfway to his throw, my hands were around the ball, and I pulled it off.

When the running back that was responsible for defending the quarterback realized that Carter wasn't the main threat he needed to deal with, it was already too late. I started running forward, the thirty-yard distance nothing to my full speed.

I moved slower than my full capability, letting the running back catch up with me, only to put my hand on his shoulder and push him away, which sent him away like a ragdoll.

Then, just as I was about to take a step into the end zone, I jumped, delivering a full somersault, landing in the end zone with both feet.

"Touchdown!" I cried in elation as I raised the ball and spiked it down hard, and the team was around me before it could hit on the floor, and the celebration started.

I appreciated their presence, but not as much as the great wave of Intent I received as the audience cheered wildly, the show I had just put just the kind they appreciated, violent pushes, a desperate run, and most importantly, a beautiful score.

[Endurance V]

[Recovery V]

[Speed V]

[Strength V]

[Agility V]

One that brought me rewards that were much greater than I expected.

I had long realized that every increment had required several times more Intent than the previous progress, and the physical ones took much more than the mental ones to improve. Yet, one play — admittedly a glorious one — had been enough to push me to the next stage without the slightest problem.

There was really no substitute.

Interestingly, even that great amount didn't improve any of those Traits above the earlier limit, suggesting that stage five was a limit — a soft one considering how my guide had dismissed the little improvement given by it.

That was an issue for a different time, I decided as I returned to the sidelines.

After that play, the rest of the game progressed rather predictably. The strip-sack worked wonders to demoralize them, forcing them to rely aggressively on the running plays just to avoid a similar disaster.

And, without courage, it was impossible for them to score.

Meaning, that even for our pathetic offensive squad, it was difficult to lose the game. And they managed to hold on to the ball even as the opponent's defense attacked them harder and harder in revenge.

Seeing our dear comrades hurt on the field saddened the defensive squad greatly, but we managed to hold back our tears, to respect their great sacrifice.

Then, the match ended, 31-7.

Total domination.