Carrington's training ground was humming again, the afternoon sun stretching long shadows over the pitch. But for Alexander Marshall, time felt like it was ticking in fragments.
Every touch. Every pass.Every second… mattered.
[System Notification: Quest Active — "Earn Your Place"]Objective: Impress coaching staff during U21 drills (Top 3 rated performance)Reward: +3 Stamina, +1 Tactical Awareness, Unlocks Training CustomizationProgress: 0%
Alex exhaled slowly and checked his boots again. They were worn in but sturdy. Just like he felt. He wasn't the fastest or strongest here—but he knew the game. Every inch of it.
Behind him, a familiar voice chirped, "Oi, Marshall! Don't let the nerves make you pass it backwards for ninety minutes, yeah?"
He turned. Jesse Lingard smirked, juggling a ball effortlessly.
Alex grinned. "Don't worry. I'll only pass backwards when I've embarrassed two defenders first."
The banter eased his tension. A little.
The first training segment was basic: passing triangles, movement, press under pressure. The kind of thing most young players rushed through.
Not Alex.
He saw it as his test.
[Tactical Lens Engaged]Teammate Movement Prediction: ONPassing Gap Analysis: ActiveMental Buff: Focus +10% for 15 minutes
Alex's feet moved cleanly, his passes threaded into space with unusual sharpness. Even the coaching assistant raised an eyebrow as he pinged a blind ball across the field into the path of Larnell Cole.
"Where'd you learn that?" Cole asked.
"Let's just say… I've had time to think about football," Alex replied with a sly smile.
The small-sided match was where things heated up.
Curtis Doyle, United's golden boy forward in the youth ranks, was watching Alex with a hawk's eye. Blonde buzz cut, sharp feet, and even sharper ego.
The second Alex got the ball, Curtis lunged.
"You trying to steal my spot, charity case?" Curtis hissed low.
Alex stepped past him with a sudden chop turn, slid a one-two with Will Keane, then curled a near-post shot past the keeper.
The net rippled.1–0.
["Sharp Touch" skill activated]+2 Shooting (temporary)+1 Flair (permanent)
"Say that again?" Alex muttered under his breath.
Curtis glared, but didn't answer.
By the end of the scrimmage, Alex had 2 assists and 1 goal. More importantly, the team trusted him. He called for the ball and got it. Directed traffic. Controlled the rhythm like a conductor.
[Quest Complete: Earn Your Place]You were ranked Top 2 in training today.Rewards Claimed: +3 Stamina, +1 Tactical Awareness, Training Customization Unlocked.
[New Feature: Personal Drill Designer – You may now customize your evening training sessions.]
As the lads walked off the pitch, Alex lagged behind, opening the system's new menu.
Custom Training Options:
📌 Dribbling Focus
📌 Vision & Passing
📌 Long Shots
📌 Pace & Agility
📌 Physical (locked – requires gym access)
📌 Mentorship Path (???) – Locked
That last one drew his eye.
[Mentorship Path will be unlocked when you enter senior training group.]Current progress: 0/5 toward eligibility.
He smirked. "Alright, then. Time to earn my invite."
That night, he didn't go home.
He stayed.
One of the youth coaches passed by around 8pm, only to see a single light still on at the secondary indoor pitch. There, Alexander Marshall was practicing half-volleys, pinged from all angles by a rebound wall, over and over again.
Ball.Turn.Strike.
Every shot sharper.Every second earned.
[Passive Progress: +1 Shooting, +1 Stamina][Hidden Trait Progress: "Relentless" – 8%]
In another part of the facility, Sir Alex Ferguson was reviewing notes on a tablet.
"Marshall," he muttered.
The assistant beside him asked, "Too raw?"
Sir Alex didn't answer immediately. He tapped twice on a replay from training—Alex controlling a looping ball mid-air and volleying it into the top corner from the edge of the box.
"No," he said finally. "I've seen something like that before."
He didn't elaborate. But the name on his mind wasn't just Marshall.
It was Rooney.
[End of Chapter 3]