The November rain hammered against the bus windows as Andrei Luca pressed his forehead to the cold glass, watching Iași's gray streets blur past.
His phone buzzed—another message from his mother asking if he'd eaten.
He smiled despite the knot in his stomach.
Tomorrow, he'd train with FCSB's first team for the first time.
At eighteen, Andrei had spent three years grinding through Poli Iași's youth academy, learning football on pitches that turned to mud lakes every winter.
He was good—everyone said so—but "good" in Iași meant something different than "good" in Bucharest.
The capital was where dreams either crystallized or shattered.
The bus jolted to a stop. Andrei grabbed his worn duffel bag and stepped into the rain.
His apartment was a cramped studio in Titan, the kind of place where you could hear your neighbors' conversations through walls thin as paper.
He dropped his bag and collapsed onto the narrow bed, staring at the water-stained ceiling. Sleep wouldn't come. His mind replayed every touch, every shot, every mistake from the past three years.
At 2:47 AM, something changed.
A faint shimmer appeared in his vision, like heat waves rising from summer asphalt. Andrei blinked hard, rubbing his eyes, but the distortion remained. Then, as if focusing a camera lens, it crystallized into something impossible—a translucent display floating in the darkness.
SYSTEM INITIALIZATION COMPLETE
Player: Andrei Luca
Age: 18
Position: Striker/CAM
Overall Rating: 66/99
PHYSICAL ATTRIBUTES:
Pace: 74/99
Strength: 63/99
Stamina: 67/99
TECHNICAL ATTRIBUTES:
Dribbling: 68/99
Shooting: 64/99
Passing: 62/99
Ball Control: 70/99
MENTAL ATTRIBUTES:
Vision: 61/99
Positioning: 63/99
Composure: 57/99
Andrei sat upright, heart pounding. He waved his hand through the display— it rippled like water but didn't disappear. "What the fuck...?" he whispered.
He'd grown up playing FIFA with his friends, knew these ratings intimately. A 66 overall meant he was decent for a youth prospect, nothing special. His pace was his best attribute—74 was respectable
But that composure rating... 57 was terrible. He knew it was true, too. In big moments, his hands shook, his touch deserted him.
A new message materialized:
The System tracks your football development. Train hard, play smart, and grow. Your potential is unlimited, but growth is earned through dedication, not granted through wishes.
First Objective: Survive your first week at FCSB
Reward: Attribute assessment and personalized training plan
Andrei stared at the words until they faded. He should have been terrified, should have questioned his sanity. Instead, he felt something else entirely—hope. For the first time since leaving Iași, he had something concrete to measure himself against.
He pulled out his phone and typed a message to his mother: I'm eating properly, mama. Don't worry. Tomorrow is going to be a good day.
He believed it, too.