Monday, September 21, 2026
Blackwood City, Aurelia
Blackwood Football Academy
Evaluation Day 14 of 90
The first thing Luca Veyron noticed on Monday morning was that his legs felt fresh.
Sunday had done its job.
He had spent most of the day away from the academy.
He helped Aurora carry two boxes of AURELIA samples from her apartment to her car, listened while she complained about a supplier changing delivery terms, and later spent an hour talking with Mara on the phone.
He had deliberately avoided football.
That had been harder than expected.
But when he stepped onto the academy grounds at 7:38 a.m., he was glad he had.
His right shin no longer hurt when he touched it.
His left ankle felt normal.
For the first time in several days, his body didn’t feel as though it was trying to catch up with his ambition.
Then he saw Ryan Mercer.
Ryan was already on Pitch Two.
He was striking balls into a small net with his left foot, then collecting them himself.
Luca walked over.
“Morning.”
Ryan stopped the ball beneath his boot.
“Morning.”
There was no tension in the greeting.
But both players knew what was coming.
Today was the first full training day since Victor Halden had formally introduced their right-wing competition.
No more controlled comparisons from opposite groups.
No more wondering who looked better from a distance.
They would train together.
And, eventually, against each other.
Ryan picked up another ball.
“Adrian said we’re doing one-versus-one.”
Luca nodded.
“I heard.”
Ryan smiled.
“Good.”
At 8:26 a.m., Victor gathered the players.
The squad was divided into position groups.
The defenders worked on recovery runs.
The midfielders worked on receiving under pressure.
The forwards worked on movement around the penalty area.
The wingers had a different assignment.
Victor pointed toward the right side of Pitch Two.
“Ryan.
Luca.
You’re together.”
Both stepped forward.
Adrian Vale stood nearby.
He had arranged six stations.
Each winger would complete the same number of attacking and defensive repetitions.
There would be no public ranking.
But the coaches would record the results.
Victor explained the rules.
“The attacker starts outside the final third.
Defender begins five meters away.
You have eight seconds to create an advantage.”
He pointed toward the goal.
“Beat the defender and enter the marked zone: one point.
Create a clean final action: another point.
If the defender wins possession, the defender gets the point.”
Ryan nodded.
Luca looked toward the cones.
Adrian added, “The point isn’t simply whether you beat the defender.”
Luca looked at him.
“It’s what you do after.”
“Exactly.”
Ryan rolled his shoulders.
“Let’s go.”
Ryan took the first ball.
Luca defended.
Ryan stood wide.
His body was relaxed.
Luca remembered what Adrian had told him about reading the defender.
Don’t decide too early.
Ryan received.
For half a second, nothing happened.
Then he moved the ball inward.
Luca followed.
Ryan immediately pushed it outside.
Luca turned.
Ryan accelerated.
His first three steps were powerful enough to create separation.
Luca chased.
Ryan crossed into the small target area.
“Two points,” Victor called.
Ryan jogged back.
Luca didn’t complain.
He knew exactly what had happened.
He had reacted to the first movement instead of forcing Ryan toward the side he wanted.
Ryan had used that hesitation.
Now it was Luca’s turn.
He stood over the ball.
Ryan crouched slightly.
“Come on.”
Luca received.
Ryan didn’t move.
Luca shifted his body toward the inside.
Ryan stayed.
Luca touched the ball forward.
Ryan took one step.
Luca accelerated outside.
Ryan matched him.
The gap disappeared.
Luca tried to cut inside.
Ryan’s foot touched the ball.
Possession lost.
“Ryan,” Victor called.
One point.
Luca walked back.
Ryan gave him a quick nod.
“Too predictable.”
Luca nodded.
He had no argument.
The second round was different.
Luca received the ball and didn’t immediately attack.
He watched Ryan’s feet.
Ryan watched his hips.
For two seconds they stood almost motionless.
Then Luca shifted the ball slightly inward.
Ryan moved.
Luca went outside.
Ryan followed.
Luca stopped.
Ryan’s momentum carried him half a step too far.
Luca cut inside.
He entered the marked zone.
“One.”
He continued.
The goalkeeper’s position was represented by a mannequin.
Luca had two options.
Cross or shoot.
He shot.
The ball struck the mannequin.
“Final action poor,” Adrian said.
Luca looked at him.
“One point for progression.
None for the finish.”
Luca nodded.
The result was mixed.
That was fair.
Ryan had beaten him cleanly.
Luca had beaten Ryan cleanly.
Neither had found an easy answer.
By the sixth repetition, the competition had become physical.
Not reckless.
But serious.
Ryan’s shoulder clipped Luca as he tried to protect the ball.
Luca stayed upright.
On the next attempt, Luca used his body more aggressively.
Ryan absorbed the contact and kept moving.
Victor allowed it.
“Play.”
Ryan reached the byline and tried to cut the ball backward.
Luca stretched his left leg.
The ball struck his boot and went out.
Ryan turned.
“Good.”
Luca breathed heavily.
“Thanks.”
Ryan looked at the scoreboard.
“Still ahead.”
Luca glanced over.
Ryan had four points.
Luca had three.
“Not for long.”
Ryan smiled.
“That’s what I wanted to hear.”
The next station involved a second defender.
This was where Luca’s developing instinct became visible.
The attacker received wide while a midfielder waited inside.
The objective was to recognize whether the second defender would close the inside lane or cover the passing option.
Ryan handled it well.
He received, drew the first defender toward him, and released the ball to the supporting midfielder before the second defender could arrive.
It was simple.
Effective.
Luca’s first attempt went badly.
He tried to beat both defenders.
The ball was taken.
Victor blew the whistle.
“Why?”
Luca looked at the defenders.
“I thought the inside lane was open.”
“It wasn’t.”
“I saw it late.”
“Then release the ball earlier.”
Luca nodded.
Second attempt.
He received.
The first defender approached.
The second defender remained inside.
Luca looked at Noah.
Noah moved toward him.
Luca played the ball.
The defender followed Noah.
Luca immediately moved behind him.
Noah returned it.
Luca was through.
The sequence took four touches.
Victor pointed.
“That’s better.”
Adrian didn’t say anything.
He didn’t need to.
The movement had happened naturally.
Luca hadn’t forced the gap.
The final station was the simplest and the most personal.
One winger.
One defender.
One goal.
Ryan defended first.
Luca stood with the ball.
Victor checked the timer.
“Eight seconds.”
Luca looked at Ryan.
Ryan lowered his center of gravity.
“Go.”
Luca pushed the ball forward.
Ryan matched him.
Luca shifted inside.
Ryan blocked.
Luca went outside.
Ryan stayed.
Luca stopped.
Ryan stopped.
For a moment, neither player moved.
Luca could hear the other players training on the far pitch.
A whistle.
A shouted instruction.
Boots striking a ball.
He looked at Ryan’s feet.
The right foot was slightly forward.
The left was carrying more weight.
Luca remembered Adrian’s instruction.
Read the defender.
Not the space.
The defender.
Luca moved inside.
Ryan reacted.
Luca immediately pushed the ball outside.
Acceleration.
Ryan turned.
Luca gained half a step.
Then another.
He reached the line.
Cross.
The ball struck the target net.
Victor raised his hand.
“Two.”
Luca turned.
Ryan was already walking back.
He looked irritated.
Not angry.
Irritated.
Because he had been beaten.
Cleanly.
Ryan picked up the next ball.
“My turn.”
Ryan’s final attempt started differently.
He stood wider than before.
Luca defended.
Ryan received.
Luca didn’t rush.
Ryan feinted inside.
Luca held his position.
Ryan went outside.
Luca matched him.
Ryan stopped.
Luca stopped.
Ryan shifted the ball toward his left foot.
Luca anticipated the cut inside.
Ryan noticed.
He instead pushed the ball down the line.
Luca turned.
Ryan accelerated.
For three meters, Ryan had him.
Luca chased.
Ryan reached the byline.
Then Luca slid across.
His left foot reached the ball before Ryan could cross.
The ball rolled out.
Ryan stood over it.
Luca rose.
Ryan looked at him.
“You’re getting annoying.”
Luca laughed.
“Good.”
Ryan shook his head.
“Very.”
The duel ended with Ryan ahead by one point.
Victor recorded the result.
He didn’t announce it to the entire academy.
But he did tell both players.
“Ryan wins.”
Ryan nodded.
Luca accepted it.
Victor looked at Luca.
“You defended better than last week.”
Then Ryan.
“You attacked well, but you started relying on the same outside move too often.”
Ryan’s expression tightened.
“Understood.”
Adrian stepped forward.
“That’s the useful part.”
He looked between them.
“Neither of you gets to leave thinking the other one is simply better.”
Ryan raised an eyebrow.
“Why?”
“Because both of you exposed something.”
Adrian looked at Luca.
“Ryan is more experienced.”
Then at Ryan.
“Luca is becoming harder to predict.”
Neither player responded.
Adrian continued.
“That is competition.”
The afternoon match simulation was different.
Victor wanted to see whether the morning duel affected their decisions inside a team.
He assigned the teams clearly.
Blue Team
Goalkeeper: Leon Hart
Right Back: Mateo Silva
Center Back: Daniel Arkwright
Center Back: Ibrahim Okoye
Left Back: Elias Morrow
Central Midfield: Noah Kessler
Central Midfield: Julian Cross
Right Wing: Luca Veyron
Attacking Midfield: Samuel Reed
Left Wing: Theo Martin
Striker: Marcus Renner
White Team
Goalkeeper: Aaron Bell
Right Back: Darius Cole
Center Back: Felix Ward
Center Back: Kieran Holt
Left Back: Nathan Brooks
Central Midfield: Ethan Cole
Central Midfield: Caleb Price
Right Wing: Ryan Mercer
Attacking Midfield: Andre Silva
Left Wing: Malik Johnson
Striker: Daniel Hayes
Victor looked at both right wingers.
“Forty minutes.”
Then he added:
“Don’t turn this into the duel you just had.”
Ryan nodded.
Luca nodded.
Neither completely believed that would be possible.
The match began quickly.
Ryan received the first pass.
Luca watched from across the pitch.
Ryan attacked Darius’s side.
Luca was not his defender, but he studied the movement anyway.
Ryan crossed.
Daniel Hayes headed wide.
On the next possession, Luca received.
Nathan Brooks closed him down.
Luca slowed.
Nathan expected the outside movement.
Luca instead passed inside to Noah.
Noah returned it.
Luca had already moved.
The defender was late.
Luca crossed.
Marcus got there first.
Goal.
1–0 Blue.
Luca looked toward Noah.
Noah nodded.
Ryan stood near the halfway line.
He had seen the entire sequence.
The duel was already influencing the match.
White equalized after eight minutes.
Ryan received wide.
He didn’t try to beat Elias immediately.
Instead, he passed into Ethan and moved inside.
Ethan returned the ball.
Ryan attacked the gap.
Luca was too far away to help.
Ryan crossed.
Daniel Hayes finished.
1–1.
Ryan looked toward Luca.
Not triumphantly.
Just knowingly.
He had found another answer.
The match became increasingly competitive.
At 2:18 p.m., Luca and Ryan challenged for the same loose ball near midfield.
Their shoulders collided.
Luca stumbled.
Ryan remained upright.
The ball rolled free.
Luca turned immediately and chased it.
Ryan did the same.
They reached it together.
Ryan’s boot touched it first.
Luca’s pressure forced him backward.
Ryan passed to Ethan.
Luca continued pressing.
Ethan lost the ball.
Noah recovered.
Victor shouted.
“Good transition!”
Luca returned to his position.
Nothing serious.
But he could feel it.
The physicality was no longer theoretical.
Blue scored again in the twenty-sixth minute.
Noah received centrally.
Luca stayed wide.
Nathan narrowed.
Luca noticed.
He started moving behind him.
Nathan turned.
Luca stopped.
Nathan stopped.
Then Marcus dropped toward the ball.
Kieran Holt followed.
The channel opened.
Luca attacked.
Noah found him.
Luca reached the box.
This time he didn’t rush the cross.
He looked up.
Marcus had two defenders around him.
Samuel Reed was arriving late.
Luca cut the ball backward.
Samuel shot.
Goal.
2–1.
Luca had made the correct decision.
Not the most spectacular one.
The correct one.
Adrian wrote it down.
Ryan answered again.
At the thirty-third minute, he received near the corner.
Elias approached.
Ryan attempted to go outside.
Elias blocked him.
Ryan stopped.
Luca watched from the opposite side.
Ryan looked toward the center.
Andre Silva moved toward him.
Ryan passed inside.
He didn’t need to beat the fullback.
The attack continued.
The ball eventually reached Daniel Hayes.
Shot.
Save.
Ryan turned away.
He had created the chance without winning the one-versus-one.
That was another lesson.
A winger didn’t have to defeat the defender every time to influence the game.
The final whistle came with Blue leading 2–1.
Luca’s team had won.
But Ryan had created more direct danger.
The result was useful.
It was also incomplete.
After the match, Victor reviewed the performance.
“Blue won 2–1.”
He looked at the group.
“That doesn’t mean Blue played better for forty minutes.”
He pointed toward Ryan.
“Ryan created the most dangerous individual attacking sequence.”
Then Luca.
“Luca created two goals through combinations.”
He looked at the midfielders.
“Noah’s positioning made both possible.”
Noah simply nodded.
Victor continued.
“That’s football.
One player doesn’t own every attack.”
The players began leaving.
Ryan remained near the sideline.
Luca walked past him.
Ryan called out.
“Veyron.”
Luca turned.
“Yeah?”
“You beat me this morning.”
“I know.”
“I still won the duel.”
“I know.”
Ryan looked irritated.
“You’re enjoying this.”
“A little.”
Ryan shook his head.
“Good.”
Luca waited.
Ryan continued.
“Because I’m enjoying making you work for it.”
That was the closest thing to a smile Luca had seen from him all day.
At 4:07 p.m., Sofia checked Luca’s shoulder.
“Bruising?”
“Probably.”
She examined it.
“Nothing concerning.”
She then checked his ankle.
“Normal.”
Ryan was waiting nearby.
Sofia looked at him.
“Your calf?”
“Fine.”
“Really?”
Ryan hesitated.
“A little tight.”
Sofia sighed.
“Recovery room.”
Ryan followed her.
Luca watched him go.
The rivalry had consequences beyond pride.
Bodies accumulated the cost.
Training did too.
At 6:35 p.m., Luca met Aurora.
She was carrying a folder from an AURELIA meeting.
She looked at his shoulder.
“Another bruise.”
“Minor.”
“That’s what people say before they become clients at the physio clinic.”
Luca laughed.
They walked together through Blackwood City.
He told her about the duel.
Aurora listened.
“Who won?”
“Ryan.”
“And the match?”
“My team.”
“So you lost individually and won collectively.”
Luca thought about that.
“Yes.”
“Sounds like football.”
He smiled.
Aurora slipped her hand into his.
“You don’t have to win every comparison.”
“I know.”
“But you do have to keep improving.”
“I know.”
She looked at him.
“You’re saying that a lot lately.”
“Because you’re right.”
“Don’t get used to it.”
He laughed.
For the rest of the walk, they talked about things outside football.
Aurora had received approval for a small AURELIA production order.
Luca asked questions about it.
She explained how the supplier agreement affected delivery dates and pricing.
He didn’t understand every detail.
But he liked hearing her talk about something she had built herself.
Her ambition didn’t depend on his career.
That mattered to him.
At 10:04 p.m., Luca sat in his room.
His shoulder was slightly bruised.
His ankle was fine.
His legs were tired.
The day had produced no dramatic breakthrough.
Ryan had beaten him in the direct duel.
Luca’s team had won the match.
Ryan had created danger.
Luca had created goals.
Both had weaknesses.
Both had improved.
That felt more real than any perfect victory.
The System appeared at 10:12 p.m.
[PLAYER DEVELOPMENT SYSTEM]
[Evaluation Day: 14/90]
[Days Remaining: 76]
[Position: Right Wing]
[Competitive Assessment Recorded.]
[Direct Duel Result:]
[Ryan Mercer — 1st]
[Luca Veyron — 2nd]
[Match Simulation:]
[Blue Team Victory — 2–1]
[Development Improvement Detected:]
One-on-One Timing
Defensive Recovery
First-Touch Direction
Space Recognition
Combination Play
[Continued Weaknesses:]
Final-Third Consistency
Decision Making Under Fatigue
Defensive Positioning
Repeated-Sprint Efficiency
Luca looked at the assessment.
Then another line appeared.
[Competition has increased training intensity.]
He nodded.
That was true.
Ryan was no longer an idea.
He was standing in front of Luca every morning.
A real player.
A real threat.
A real standard.
Luca closed the System.
He picked up his notebook and wrote down one thing from the duel.
Ryan watches my first movement now.
He added another.
I need a second one.
Then he closed the notebook.
The room was quiet.
Tomorrow would bring another session, another test, another chance to make a mistake and correct it.
Luca switched off the light.
He had lost the first duel.
For once, losing didn’t make him question whether he belonged.
It only made him want to know what he could do differently the next time Ryan stood in front of him.