Line-up.

Six days passed in a blur as the new Dark Elites team continued to undergo intense training designed to boost their levels and build team synergy.

During that time, Mystic managed to add three more players to the squad: Eboye Victor (Head Boy), Jimoh Olushola (Pastor), and Apari.

Finally, the day arrived for their official debut match against Bariga Young Boyz. Mystic made his way to inspect the team bus, wanting to ensure everything was in top shape before departure. As soon as his hand touched the door handle, a system notification appeared:

[Team Bus Rank: Unclassified]

[Upgrade Needed: Pay 20,000 Alliance Credits to upgrade to Bronze Rank. Duration: 30 minutes (Y/N)]

(Note: No extra charges will apply, as your one-year service subscription covers all facility-service fees.)

Without hesitation, Mystic accepted and paid the fee, as he much preferred if the system employed bot is driving, as its loyalty and precision offered far more comfort than any human driver could.

With the training facility's upgrade to Bronze Rank already yielding multiple benefits, Mystic was eager to see what improvements the bus upgrade would unlock.

–

[Coach Status Tab]

Name: Mystic Dark

Stage: Amateur-Rank Coach

Level: 2 (54%)

Mana Energy: 11/11

Club Name: Dark Elites

Players: 14

Club Rank: Street-Based

Fan Base Level: F

Real-Life Money: 672,000

B-Coins: 300

Player Coins: 5,000

(Note: Previous errors have been corrected—the 200,000 Alliance Credits deducted for the stadium upgrade and 100,000 for the one-year service subscription.)

Looking at his remaining funds, Mystic let out a long sigh, as he decided to put a hold on any major spending for the foreseeable future and made his way back to the training facility, as he still needed to address his team, and as he was making his way in, another bus pulled up carrying about five workers Tool kits.

From the logo on the side of the vehicle, Mystic quickly realized they were system-assigned workers, those who handled facility upgrades without drawing attention from the real world.

He waved at them as they stepped down to begin work, recognizing a few familiar faces, especially the renovation team leader from last time who happened to be among them, with that sorted, Mystic headed straight into the facility, wasting no time as he made his way to the locker room.

-

The moment he stepped in, silence fell, every player turned toward him, and Mystic paused to read their faces, nervousness, smiles, eagerness, and a burning desire to prove themselves, they had trained hard, and now they felt ready.

"Honestly, this past week, I've been pushing you all so hard because I have something to prove, choosing to build a team of young talents like you, and not once did any of you complain, you all took everything, the hard drills, the light sessions, and you persevered."

"I want you all to know—I'm incredibly proud of every one of you. For trusting me, for signing with the Dark Elites. And since I haven't said this before, let this be the first you all hear it, I'm extremely honoured to have you all on my team." Mystic let his words hang in the air for a moment, letting them sink in before continuing.

"Now, just so we're clear, this team we're going up against today Bariga Young Boyz, they don't expect anything from us. To them, we're just a rebuilding squad. But I hope you'll give them something to remember. Something they won't forget for a very long time."

"I won't bore you with too much tactical talk—you all know the system by now, we stick to our 4-5-1 formation," Mystic said, as the team nodded in unison.

Though everyone looked happy, there was a quiet tension in the air, each player hoping to hear their name called in the starting eleven.

Line-up

Goalkeeper:

Kado 1.

Defenders:

Yung Tizzle (RB) 22, Okududu (CB) 2, Tizzy (CB) 3, Ghana Boi (LB) 5

Midfielders:

Jezzy Vingz (DM) 4, Ricky Lambert (DM) 6,

Omo Igbo (RM) 8, Bhola (CAM) 10, Mojo (LW) 7

Forward:

Tasty (CF) 9

Bench:

Apari, Head Boi, Pastor.

As Mystic announced the line-up, the floating AI bot beside him projected a holographic screen showing the team's formation in full display.

While the players were still taking it in, three familiar system employee bots entered the room, each carrying personalized bags and jerseys for the players. Mystic acted normally unlike before as he had already been informed that the system would provide official team kits for matches.

There had been an option to upgrade the jersey quality to bronze rank, but the AI had advised Mystic to hold off for now, explaining that since all of his players were still unranked, they wouldn't yet benefit from the boost that higher-tier gear could offer.

The players eagerly opened their bags to find football boots, shin guards, socks emblazoned with the Dark Elites logo, and more, but what truly caught their attention was the sleek black jersey with bold red vertical stripes along the sides.

The matching black shorts bore the team crest on the left and their individual numbers on the right.

Each player instinctively turned their jersey around to see their names printed on the back, and the realization hit them, they weren't dreaming. They were officially part of a team, and they were about to play their first match together, even if it was just a friendly, to them, it meant everything.

At the edge of the room, Tasty gently ran his hand across the back of his jersey, feeling the fabric over his nickname printed above the number 9, to him, seeing his name in that Nunito font had never looked so beautiful.

None of them could've imagined that, in their wildest dreams, the names on their jerseys would be their nicknames.

But after spending just a few days with Mystic, they quickly realized he wasn't like most coaches, not just because of his young age, but because he was completely open to trying new things, and they loved that about him.

What Tasty didn't know was that he had been the inspiration behind this idea.

In Mystic's previous life, Tasty had once ditched his given name in favour of his nickname on the back of his jersey, claiming it "made him feel fly in some type of way." That memory stuck with Mystic, and now it shaped his approach.

"Alright, no silly dallying—let's go put our training to the test," Mystic said.

"In each of your lockers is one fitted Dark Elites jogger to help you get ready comfortably."

As the players began preparing, Mystic glanced down at his own outfit, a sharp, sleek suit.

It wasn't overly formal, but stylish enough to make him look like a responsible coach while still moving with swagger.

Still, his mind wasn't on fashion, what really concerned him was his players' progress, after all the training they'd endured.