The training ground was still waking up. Dew clung to the grass like tiny mirrors reflecting the early sunlight. A few players jogged lazily around the pitch, warming up their legs after the brutal Ego Test from the previous day.
Lamii stepped onto the field with sore muscles and a calm mind.
Yesterday had changed things.
The way players looked at him.
The way the ball seemed to follow him.
And the way the system had marked him.
Threat Level: High.
He wasn't just another academy player anymore.
He was someone people were beginning to watch.
What Lamii didn't know…
Was that someone who had already arrived?
High above the training pitch, a single figure sat quietly in the small observation stand.
He wore no club colors.
No badge.
No obvious sign of authority.
Just a dark jacket, sunglasses, and a notebook resting calmly on his knee.
His name wasn't announced.
No one greeted him.
And that was intentional.
Because scouts who mattered the most never arrived loudly.
They arrived silently.
He observed the field carefully, flipping through a thin folder filled with reports.
One page had a photo of Papii.
Another had a photo of Lamii.
Both names were circled.
The man tapped his pen against the paper thoughtfully.
"Interesting academy," he murmured.
Below him, players continued warming up.
But the scout's eyes weren't moving randomly.
They were fixed on two players.
The same two players everyone had been talking about since yesterday.
Lamii.
Papii.
A second man walked into the stands a few minutes later.
Unlike the first scout, he carried himself differently.
More openly.
More confident.
He wore a dark coat with a small emblem stitched near the collar.
A red and white crest.
The first scout glanced at it briefly.
Then smiled faintly.
"Monaco," he said quietly.
The man sat beside him.
"You noticed."
The mysterious scout shrugged.
"Hard not to."
The Monaco scout leaned forward, eyes focused on the pitch.
"So," he said casually, "which one are you here for?"
The mysterious scout didn't answer.
Instead, he asked his own question.
"Which one do you think?"
Below them, a powerful shot smashed into the training net.
Both scouts looked down.
Papii stood near the penalty area, breathing heavily after blasting the ball past the goalkeeper.
The Monaco scout chuckled.
"That one."
His eyes gleamed.
"Pure striker instinct."
Training began with intensity.
Coach Salva had no intention of slowing things down just because players were tired from the ego test.
If anything, he pushed them harder.
"Control drills!" he shouted.
The players split into groups across the field.
Lamii moved into midfield automatically, touching the ball lightly, warming up his feet.
Across the pitch, Papii was already dominating his group.
Every touch is aggressive.
Every movement is explosive.
He received a pass under pressure, spun sharply, and smashed the ball into the corner of a small training goal.
Players around him muttered in frustration.
"He's impossible to stop."
"Too strong."
The Monaco scout nodded slowly as he watched.
"Look at that acceleration," he said.
The mysterious scout stayed quiet.
But his eyes drifted elsewhere.
Toward Lamii.
Lamii didn't look impressive at first glance.
No huge shots.
No loud celebrations.
Just quiet touches.
But the scout noticed something immediately.
Lamii never lost the ball.
Even when two defenders closed in, he found space with subtle movements.
A soft drag with his left foot.
A quick turn.
A small pass that opened the entire drill.
The mysterious scout scribbled something in his notebook.
Vision.
Then another note.
Field awareness beyond his age.
Below them, Lamii received a difficult pass near the sideline.
Two defenders rushed him instantly.
He didn't panic.
Instead, he slowed the ball.
Waited half a second.
Then slipped the ball between their legs with a delicate nutmeg before gliding past them.
The defenders spun around in shock.
The Monaco scout laughed.
"Well… that was rude."
The mysterious scout smiled slightly.
"Or brilliant."
The training match began shortly afterward.
Eleven versus eleven.
Fast pace.
Hard tackles.
Perfect for evaluating players under pressure.
The Monaco scout leaned forward.
"Watch number nine."
Papii.
The ball flew toward him from midfield.
He controlled it mid-run, shrugged off a defender, and burst toward the penalty area like a charging bull.
Three touches later—
Boom.
Another goal.
The net shook violently.
The Monaco scout clapped slowly.
"That's a striker for the future," he said proudly.
The mysterious scout nodded politely.
But his attention moved again.
Lamii had the ball now.
Lamii stood near the center circle with the ball at his feet.
Three teammates waited for a pass.
But Lamii wasn't looking at them.
He was studying the defenders.
Reading their movements.
Calculating.
Then he moved.
One quick touch left.
Another right.
A sudden burst forward.
The defenders stepped up to challenge him.
Lamii smiled faintly.
Exactly what he wanted.
He slipped a perfectly timed pass between two defenders.
The ball curved directly into Diego's path.
Goal.
Simple.
Clean.
Effective.
The mysterious scout wrote another note.
Creates chances without forcing them.
The Monaco scout tilted his head.
"Interesting player."
But his tone made it clear.
He had already chosen his favorite.
Late in the match, fate created something perfect.
Lamii and Papii reached the ball at the same time again.
The entire field seemed to pause.
The scouts leaned forward instinctively.
Papii grinned.
"Round two."
Lamii tilted his head slightly.
"Are you ready?"
Papii lunged first.
Raw speed.
Lamii flicked the ball up lightly.
It floated just over Papii's foot.
Lamii spun.
Accelerated.
The crowd of players gasped.
But Papii recovered instantly.
He chased Lamii down with terrifying speed.
A shoulder slammed into Lamii's side.
Both players fought for control.
Power versus precision.
The ball bounced loose.
For one brief moment…
Neither had it.
Then Lamii stretched his left foot forward and hooked the ball away before Papii could reach it.
The mysterious scout exhaled slowly.
"That's rare."
The Monaco scout nodded reluctantly.
"Yes."
The match ended soon after.
Players collapsed on the grass, exhausted.
The two scouts remained seated.
The Monaco scout stood up first.
"Well," he said, adjusting his coat.
"I think I've seen enough."
The mysterious scout closed his notebook.
"Already?"
The Monaco scout smiled.
"Players like that striker don't appear every year."
He glanced down at Papii again.
"Explosive. Confident. Fearless."
Then he added quietly:
"My club likes players who attack without hesitation."
The mysterious scout nodded.
"And the other one?"
The Monaco scout shrugged.
"Creative. Smart."
Then he smirked.
"But creativity is harder to build a team around."
He began walking away.
Before leaving, he paused.
"Good luck with your player."
The mysterious scout watched him go.
Then he whispered softly.
"You're wrong."
The mysterious scout looked down at the field one last time.
Lamii was still practicing.
Even after training ended.
Working on tight dribbling.
Small movements.
Repeating the same turn over and over.
The scout smiled.
Then he opened his notebook again.
At the top of the page was a small symbol.
A crest.
Not obvious.
Not fully visible.
But if someone looked carefully…
They might recognize the colors.
Blue.
And red.
He wrote one final line beneath Lamii's name.
Potential future playmaker.
Then another note.
Observe again soon.
The scout stood up.
And quietly left the academy.
Across the field, Lamii finally stopped training.
He looked toward the empty stands without knowing why.
Something felt different.
Like someone had been watching.
Papii walked past him, holding a ball under his arm.
"You training alone again?"
Lamii shrugged.
"Someone has to improve."
Papii laughed.
"You think improvement will make you number ten?"
Lamii looked directly at him.
"No."
He picked up the ball.
"I think Control will."
Papii smirked.
"Then we'll see."
They walked off the field in opposite directions.
Neither of them knew.
But somewhere in Europe…
Two reports were already being written.
One for a powerful club from Monaco.
One for a legendary club whose colors painted stadiums blue and red.
The hunt for the future had begun.
And Lamii and Papii had just stepped onto the biggest stage of their lives