The team bus rumbled down the highway, cutting through São Paulo's sprawling outskirts under a pale morning sky.
Thiago sat by the window, forehead against the glass, watching the city bleed into countryside. Apartment blocks became dirt lots. Murals became trees. Noise became quiet.
Inside his head, he was already on the pitch.
Every motion rehearsed. Every step patterned. Ball control, pass timing, shot angles, stamina management. He didn't need the System to prompt him anymore. It had drilled itself into him like instinct.
But today wasn't about training.
It was the first match of the Regional U17 Cup.
And it wasn't just about Palmeiras.
Scouts from Bahia, Cruzeiro, Atlético Mineiro, and even a whisper of someone from Portugal would be in the stands.
Eyes. Everywhere.
Thiago didn't feel fear.
But he felt weight.
They arrived just past noon.
The facility wasn't huge—just a clean, well-cut grass pitch surrounded by two stands, white tents set up for staff and press. Small crowd. Sparse buzz. But tension hung like humidity in the air.
The Palmeiras team disembarked in silence.
Coach Paulo handed out matchday bibs, clipboards tucked under his arm. He looked calm, but Thiago had learned by now that the quieter Paulo got, the more serious the stakes were.
"Focus," Paulo said. "Everyone's watching."
Thiago didn't need the reminder.
The locker room buzzed low.
Some players had their heads down. Others listened to music. One was throwing up into a trash bin from nerves. Thiago sat in the corner, pulling his socks up tight, eyes shut, visualizing the pitch.
João nudged him.
"You good?"
"I'm home."
João grinned. "That's a scary answer."
Thiago smiled back. "For them."
Thiago started at left wing.
The first thing he noticed was the tempo. This wasn't an academy scrimmage. This was war dressed as sport.
The opposition—Esporte Clube Vitória's U17s—pressed hard from the opening whistle. No time to think. One second delay meant a lost ball. Their fullback was aggressive, tall, quick—kept trying to muscle Thiago off the ball every time he got a touch.
But Thiago had danced on concrete with broken toes and barefoot cuts.
Pressure didn't shake him.
It sharpened him.
In the 13th minute, Palmeiras won a throw deep in enemy territory. João launched it long, high arc, bouncing once toward the corner flag.
Thiago sprinted in, back turned to goal. The fullback tracked tight.
One bounce.
Thiago feinted like he was going to shield, then let the ball drop between his legs.
The defender bit.
Wrong move.
Thiago spun off him, letting the ball run wide, then exploded into space.
The crowd snapped to life.
He didn't cross immediately.
Instead, he chopped back, froze the center-back, and delivered a low ball across the edge of the box—
—first-time shot from the striker.
Off the post. In.
Goal.
System Notification:Assist Logged+5 EXPQuest Progress – [Scout's Notice]: 1/2 Contributions+1 Dribbling+1 VisionLevel: 7 (43/250)
The coach didn't even react.
But Paulo was scribbling notes.
And the scouts?
They were writing too.
The match wore on. By the second half, the score was 1–1. Vitória had drawn level with a long-range strike Thiago could only watch from the opposite end.
The air thickened. Tackles got heavier. Fouls started flying.
In the 70th minute, Thiago caught a late one—ankle raked as he tried to spin away. No card. Just pain.
He gritted his teeth, stood up, and shook it off.
System Alert:Pain Resistance I – ActivePerformance Unaffected
He rolled his ankle once and took his position again.
The crowd was louder now. Word had gotten around.
#17 was lighting it up.
Minute 76.
Counterattack.
João intercepted at midfield, laid it off quickly.
Thiago was already gone.
Sprinting. Space in front. One man between him and the box.
He didn't slow.
He shaped right, then dropped his shoulder and dragged the ball left across his body. Defender bit again.
Too easy.
Thiago took one more touch and curled the ball low, left-footed, across goal.
Keeper dove.
Too late.
Bottom corner.
2–1.
System Notification:Goal Logged+8 EXPQuest Complete – [Scout's Notice]+2 Dribbling+1 Shooting+1 Coach FavorUnlocked Passive: Poise Under Fire I(Increased focus and decision-making when match score is tied or losing)
Level: 7 → 8Skill Point Earned
He didn't shout.
Just raised a finger to the sky. Breathed in.
Listened to the scout murmurs behind the fence.
And ran back to position.
Final whistle.
2–1 Palmeiras.
Players collapsed. Some cried. Some screamed. João tackled Thiago to the ground in celebration.
Coach Paulo came over, hand on Thiago's shoulder.
"You're turning heads."
Thiago nodded, breath heavy.
"Let them."
Paulo smiled.
Then leaned in.
"Scouts from Braga and Shakhtar asked your name."
Back at the hotel, the team celebrated light—recovery drinks, cold showers, phone calls to family.
Thiago stepped outside alone, sat on the steps with his boots still unlaced.
The stars were faint, but they were there.
He opened the System window quietly.
Level: 8EXP: 11/300Attributes:Pace – 69Dribbling – 70Shooting – 58Passing – 62Physicality – 63Mentality – 54
Unlocked Passive: Poise Under Fire IActive Quest: None
Skill Points: 3
He didn't spend anything.
Not yet.
The next match was only two days away.
And the whispers had just begun.