"Alright then, I won’t waste too much of your time," David said.

"You came in on Tuesday," he said.

Will smiled awkwardly as soon as he heard the statement. It was only at that moment that it dawned on him that he was explicitly told not to report to training, and he disobeyed the orders for three days in a row.

"I did," Will nodded, while releasing a breath.

"I told you not to come in on Tuesday," David spoke again. He wasn’t even asking questions, it was like he was just stating things that had already happened.

"You did," Will nodded again, this time, he had a nervous smile on his face.

David nodded slowly, then sized the player in front of him for a few seconds before he started talking again. This time, he spoke just a single word.

"Why?"

Will opened his mouth to talk almost immediately. But halfway through the process of producing speech, he realized that he didn’t have anything to say, at least not right away, so he closed it and thought for a few seconds before he gave a reply.

"I really didn’t see the point of staying away," Will shrugged. "I mean, if there’s a review happening, I’d rather give you something to review and think about than sit at home and mope about."

He winced internally as he spoke, because that was precisely what he was going to do. If not for his mom who talked some sense into him, he probably would’ve been part of the trialists playing friendlies against some other club’s under eighteen squad.

David didn’t respond immediately. He paused for a few seconds as if he was weighing what Will said before he spoke again.

"Now about the squad review," David started talking. "I was supposed to release six players to free up slots for the next batch of scholars. So I had to release six players among ten underperformers, so you being told to wait at home didn’t mean that you were guaranteed to be released. Although you would have if you did stay at home, so I guess that’s good for you then," David said, causing Will to exhale almost immediately.

"Jacobsen. Orton. The two Patricks. Damilare. And Farrell," David read six names from a paper on his desk. "Those are the players that are going to be released."

Will didn’t say anything. But he went through the names of each of the players mentioned. He knew all of them, but was only friends with about two of them, and even though he was relieved to be in the clear, it was still sad for him to hear that his friends were released.

"So congratulations Smithson, we’re keeping you on," David said, and Will released a breath he didn’t know he was holding out of relief for himself. "But remember that you’ve got one more year on your contract and you will actually be released if you don’t perform to standard within that year."

"Right," Will said.

"You don’t even seem remotely surprised by this," David chuckled. "But on Tuesday you had a good training session, and then the gatekeeper told me that you’d always come earlier than everyone else to train in the morning," David said. "And between you and me, it was a bit of a mini mini mani mo between you and Farrell and I decided to keep you because you’ve shown that you have the determination and grit to make it as a pro. The only thing that can let you down at this junction is your ability. But that’s nothing a little bit of grit and fight can’t fix, and I’ve noticed that you have a lot of those. So never stop fighting, Smithson."

"I won’t," Will nodded with a small smile on his face. He felt pissed as hell when he heard that he was almost released on the whims of the coach, but he ended up staying so it was water under the bridge. It wasn’t like he could keep a grudge.

"Of course you will," David said. "Your passing has gotten a lot better. Well, not your passing itself, but your ability to spot those open teammates far away."

"I’ve been working on my vision a bit," Will said.

"Welp, it’s working," David said. "Alright, that’s all for now. Nice talk, I look forward to seeing you in training and seeing how you fight for your spot in this team. I’m actually rooting for you so don’t disappoint me, Will."

"I won’t," Will said lightly before stepping out of the office.

"You’re going to start on Saturday. In the friendly. It’s a friendly against trialists so of course the reserves are starting, but I’m telling you ahead of time because it’s an audition for you. Will you remain a reserve or will you push into the first team? That’s a question only you can answer."

Will nodded slightly, reflecting on David’s words as he exited the office.

One year. That was how much time he had to break into the first team, or at least show he was good enough to earn a new contract and play with the B team.

It wasn’t a reprieve exactly. It was just a window of opportunity that Will intended to make the most out of.

David was right about him, he was a fighter. The only thing was that for the past year or so, he had been fighting a losing battle. Now with the system, things were a lot different. He was willing to put in the work, and now he had a cheat code that made things easier for him, he wasn’t going to go down without a fight. And he was going to fight to the very best of his ability.

[Ding! Host has unlocked super mission]

[Mission: David, your head coach, likes you but is not convinced about your ability. Remove all his doubt and drop masterclass performances in the preseason to book your spot as a starter in the coming Under eighteen season]

[Target: Have an average match rating of 8.0 in the preseason]

[Reward: 200 Credits]

[Good luck!] 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

Will smiled when he saw the system interface light up in front of him and he smiled even more when he read the content of the notification.

"One year... That’s more than enough," Will thought to himself as he arrived home.