Morning at the academy didn't feel the same anymore.
Something had changed.
Lamii noticed it the moment he stepped onto the training ground.
Eyes followed him.
Not friendly eyes.
Not curious eyes.
Hungry ones.
The kind that studied weaknesses.
The kind that waited for mistakes.
He walked past the pitch slowly, feeling the weight of it.
Yesterday he had controlled the match.
Today he had become the target.
A large digital board stood near the entrance of the field.
Players gathered around it in silence.
Rankings.
Lamii stopped.
His eyes scanned the screen.
Then they froze.
ACADEMY SYSTEM UPDATE
Papii – Rank A
Lamii – Rank A
Marco – Rank B
Esteban – Rank B
Rui – Rank B
Below the rankings, a red symbol flashed next to two names.
Lamii.
Papii.
Next to the symbol were two words.
THREAT LEVEL: HIGH
Murmurs spread through the crowd.
"They flagged them."
"So it's real now…"
Lamii frowned.
"What does threat level mean?" someone asked.
A slow clap echoed across the pitch.
Coach Salva walked forward.
"Good," he said calmly. "You noticed."
The players turned toward him.
Salva looked at the screen like a scientist studying an experiment.
"The system evaluates influence," he explained. "Goals. Creativity. Control. Mental resilience."
He paused.
"But when a player begins to control matches too easily… the system labels them a threat."
A player raised his hand nervously.
"A threat to who?"
Salva smiled.
"To everyone."
The silence that followed was heavy.
Lamii crossed his arms.
"So what happens to threats?" he asked.
Salva's eyes flickered with interest.
"They get hunted."
A second screen turned on.
New information appeared.
THE PATHWAY SYSTEM
Three stages glowed in bold letters.
STAGE 1 — SURVIVE THE ACADEMY
Players must dominate internal competition.
Only the strongest minds and talents rise.
STAGE 2 — ATTRACT THE HUNTERS
Professional scouts observe elite academy players.
Performance determines contracts.
STAGE 3 — CLAIM THE NUMBER
A player who controls the field earns the ultimate role.
Number 10.
The screen flickered again.
Clubs appeared beneath it.
Barcelona.
Madrid.
Paris.
Manchester.
Juventus.
Some of the biggest football institutions in the world.
The players gasped.
"They watch this place?"
Salva nodded slowly.
"They always have."
Lamii felt a spark in his chest.
The stage suddenly felt much bigger.
This wasn't just an academy.
It was a battlefield for the future.
Salva continued.
"Every few months," he said, "clubs send scouts."
He looked directly at Lamii and Papii.
"When they see something extraordinary… they move fast."
A quiet voice asked from the back.
"What do they look for?"
Coach Mateo stepped forward.
"Not just talent," he said.
"Talent is everywhere."
He tapped his temple.
"They look for players who can survive pressure."
Another screen appeared.
Two names flashed across it.
LAMII vs PAPII
The room erupted.
"NO WAY!"
"They're forcing it!"
Lamii felt the air shift.
Papii stepped forward slowly, cracking his knuckles.
Salva raised a hand.
"This isn't just a match," he said.
"It's a mental test."
Lamii tilted his head.
"Mental?"
Salva nodded.
"Football breaks players long before their legs fail."
The screen updated again.
THE EGO TEST
Rules appeared.
Two teams will be built around Lamii and Papii.• Players can switch sides during the match if they believe another leader gives them a better chance to win.• Leadership, decision-making, and emotional control will be evaluated.
Gasps echoed across the room.
"Switch teams?"
"That's chaos."
Mateo smiled faintly.
"Exactly."
He looked at Lamii.
"Can you control players who might betray you?"
Then he looked at Papii.
"Can you dominate without destroying your team?"
Both boys remained silent.
But their eyes locked.
The rivalry had officially begun.
Later that afternoon, Lamii sat alone on the training bench.
The wind brushed across the empty pitch.
He stared at the grass.
Hunters…
Big clubs.
Scouts.
Contracts.
Dreams.
The thought of playing in massive stadiums flashed through his mind.
Crowds chanting.
Bright lights.
The number ten on his back.
But another thought followed.
If everyone is hunting talent… How many players disappear trying?
He remembered something Coach Mateo had said once.
"Football dreams don't fail because of skill."
"They fail because of pressure."
Lamii exhaled slowly.
"I'm not afraid," he whispered.
But deep down…
He knew this path would break people.
Footsteps approached.
Papii dropped onto the bench beside him.
Neither spoke for a while.
Finally, Papii chuckled.
"So it's official."
Lamii glanced sideways.
"What is?"
Papii smirked.
"Only one of us gets to control the field."
Lamii shrugged.
"That was always true."
Papii leaned back.
"You know scouts love power players like me."
Lamii smiled faintly.
"And they love creators like me."
Papii nodded slowly.
"That's why they'll enjoy watching us destroy each other."
The tension between them was electric.
But strangely…
There was respect too.
Night fell over the academy.
In the analysis room, Coach Salva and Coach Mateo watched recordings of the players.
Lamii's dribbling clips rolled across the screen.
His pauses.
His passes.
His sudden accelerations.
Mateo leaned forward.
"He's starting to understand control."
Salva nodded.
"But Papii has raw dominance."
A new clip played.
Papii bulldozing through defenders.
Powerful shots.
Explosive runs.
Two different philosophies.
Two different futures.
Salva folded his arms.
"One will lead the game," he said.
"The other will force it."
Mateo glanced at the screen thoughtfully.
"And when they collide…"
Salva finished the sentence quietly.
"We'll see who deserves to be hunted."
Back in his room, Lamii stood before the photo again.
The small child.
The idol holding him.
The impossible dream.
He touched the frame.
"Big clubs might watch," he said softly.
"But that's not the real goal."
He imagined a massive stadium again.
Crowds roaring.
A famous jersey.
Number ten.
This time the image felt clearer.
Closer.
"I don't want them to hunt me," he said.
"I want them to need me."
He turned off the light.
Tomorrow the ego test will begin.
And once it did…
Friendships would break.
Teams would collapse.
And only the strongest minds would survive.
At the same time, across the academy dorms…
Papii stood in front of a mirror.
He tightened his gloves slowly.
His reflection stared back at him.
"Control the game, huh?" he muttered.
Then he smiled.
"Or crush it."
Far away, in a quiet office in Europe, a scout closed a report.
Two names were circled in red.
Lamii.
Papii.
He leaned back in his chair.
"Interesting," he said.
"These kids might be special."
Outside the window, a massive stadium towered over the city.
The kind every young footballer dreamed of playing in.
The hunt had already begun.
And tomorrow…
The ego test would decide who could survive it.