Talent system

Liam Carter stayed alone in his room. Outside the house, his mother and grandfather thought he was in a bad mood because of the club or the World Cup, but in fact, Liam was thinking about his future.

He had just inexplicably transmigrated—into the body of a rich second-generation heir?

Although he was technically an illegitimate child, he was still a rich second generation.

No, he should be considered the third generation of wealth.

And according to his memories, he was currently the only male in the Carter family's third generation.

His father, William Carter, and his officially married wife only had two daughters—no sons.

This was probably the reason why Liam had ended up in this body.

Fortunately, he had transmigrated into this form. If he had ended up as a girl instead, he really wouldn't know what to do.

At the very least, he would be confused about whether to stand or squat when using the bathroom.

No matter what, he was already in this world, and now he needed to figure out how to survive.

Lying on the bed alone, Liam allowed his mind to drift into a blank state.

In this hazy state, he suddenly felt as if he had entered a space filled with gray mist.

"Where is this place? Am I dreaming?"

Liam was confused but noticed a small point of light ahead.

"Since this is a dream, there's nothing to be afraid of." He moved toward the light, wanting to see what it was.

He felt like he was moving fast, but the bright spot remained distant.

"I don't believe there's something in my own dream that I can't reach."

Driven by stubbornness, Liam continued forward.

It seemed like both a long time and just a moment had passed when he finally felt himself getting closer to the light.

But just as he approached, he was suddenly sucked in by an invisible force.

—

In the living room, Liam's mother, Kate Carter, and his grandfather, John Carter, had finished preparing lunch.

"I'm going to call Liam to come eat," John said as he saw the food was ready.

"No, I just checked on him. He was lying in bed, fast asleep. I called him twice, but he didn't wake up," Kate replied. "Let's eat first. I'll save him a portion for later."

As the father and daughter sat down for their meal, the conversation quickly returned to Liam.

"Don't worry, Liam will succeed in football. He definitely inherited my talent from back in the day," John said confidently.

"But in reality, your football career wasn't anything to brag about," Kate said bluntly, not sparing her father's pride.

"I only failed because of that damn injury! If it weren't for that, I would've made it big—signed with a top club and led Scotland to the World Cup… maybe even won it!"

"Be serious, Dad. Even England has only won the World Cup once. Scotland? Let's just focus on qualifying first before dreaming about lifting the trophy."

"You—"

The two began bickering, as usual.

John was a typical Scotsman—his identity and pride were rooted in Scotland. Meanwhile, Kate, having lived in London since her university days, identified more with England and the UK as a whole.

"Well, I'd rather Liam quit football and focus on his studies. If he put all his energy into academics, he could easily get into Oxford or Cambridge in two years. He'd make an outstanding mathematician," Kate concluded.

"But," she sighed, "I'll respect his choice. After all, he's 17 now."

—

"Liam? Liam?!"

Liam Carter felt something hitting his face. When he woke up, he felt a stinging pain and dampness on his skin. He looked up to see his mother and grandfather staring at him with worried expressions.

The two were leaning over his bed.

"Liam, did you take sleeping pills?" Kate asked immediately.

"No! Why would I take sleeping pills?" Liam responded, confused. His face still hurt—what was going on?

"Then why wouldn't you wake up when we called you?"

After listening to their explanation, Liam finally understood.

It was already past six in the evening.

He had gone to bed in the morning. At lunchtime, Kate had checked on him and let him sleep. After eating, she left for work.

John, being absentminded, had just watched World Cup highlights on TV all day and completely forgot about Liam.

When Kate returned from work and saw that Liam was still asleep, she panicked. They had tried waking him up, but when he didn't respond, they resorted to splashing cold water on his face and slapping him until he finally woke up.

"Did I really sleep for an entire day? Was that dream something more?" Liam wondered to himself. But out loud, he made an excuse, "I don't know what happened. Maybe I've just been too exhausted lately."

John stepped out to cancel the ambulance call. In their panic, they had already called for a private hospital's emergency service.

Kate still looked worried. "Are you sure you don't want to go for a check-up?"

"I'm really fine, Mom," Liam insisted.

He wasn't avoiding the hospital out of fear—he just didn't want to waste money.

Despite what people claimed about European healthcare, free medical care in the UK was limited to public hospitals. Those were always overcrowded, and waiting times were brutal.

For minor issues like a cold or flu, seeing a doctor could take weeks.

Serious conditions? By the time your turn came, you might already be in a coffin.

There were always news stories about people who had called for an ambulance in the morning and were still waiting in the afternoon.

Because of that, anyone with decent financial means relied on private hospitals. If you were wealthy, you'd even have a personal doctor.

Private hospitals were fast and efficient, but the cost was outrageous—the moment you stepped in, your bank balance started bleeding.

Liam didn't want to waste money on that, especially when he knew the real reason for his deep sleep—

The system inside his body had awakened.

A Talent System.