Despite his curiosity, Mystic resisted the urge to open the system status tab and explore what had changed, his system had been in a suspended state for years, only fully activating after he inherited the club.
However, there were more pressing matters at hand than satisfying his curiosity.
He stole a glance at his uncle, waiting to see if he could perceive the holographic screen in front of him, and as expected, Alfred didn't react.
It was clear—only Mystic could see it, he also realized that he could close and reopen the system interface at will, simply by thinking about it.
With that sorted, his focus shifted back to the immediate task, damage control.
He needed to see if there was any way to reclaim the talented striker his father had invested in, as much as Mystic wanted to discard him for his lack of loyalty, the reality was that Adekunle had already reached Bronze rank.
A player of that caliber was highly sought after and could easily dictate match outcomes in the lower street leagues, accelerating the club's revival.
"Let's pay the Bariga Young Boyz a visit," Mystic said, standing up and heading toward the door.
But the moment he stepped away, the system interface flickered and vanished as if it had disconnected from him.
"Wait a minute," Mystic muttered, turning back to retrieve the Rubik's Cube necklace.
As soon as he got closer, the system light reappeared, the connection between the system and the necklace was undeniable, this time, Mystic didn't hesitate, he slipped the necklace around his neck.
Without him noticing, the moment his sleeve covered the pendant, the Rubik's Cube transformed, merging into his skin like a tattoo.
The necklace now appeared as a tattoo on Mystic's skin, making it seem like he had simply inked a design resembling the pendant, in his rush to stabilize the system, he hadn't even noticed the transformation that had taken place.
With no time to dwell on it, Mystic and his uncle left the house and hopped into his newly inherited hover car.
As the vehicle lifted into the air, Mystic instinctively input the destination coordinates, his fingers moving with an eerie familiarity.
As he set it to autopilot, and the car surged forward toward the Bariga area.
As they soared over the city, Mystic took in the view, both familiar and strangely new.
His past life's memories allowed him to recognize places, yet everything seemed more advanced, as if the world had been upgraded.
Even Bariga, once a rougher neighbourhood, now looked far more sophisticated to him, however, one thing hadn't changed the ever-present street guys who controlled the area's pulse.
Ordinarily, stepping into rival territory should have been a cause for concern, especially since Mystic wasn't just the new owner of a club in the shomolu area but also the coach of the club on the other side of Bariga.
But at this moment, his only priority was sorting out this old player situation.
It didn't take long for them to spot the Bariga Young Boyz stadium, and just beside it was their training center, the hover car smoothly descended near the entrance.
–
On the field, the Bariga Young Boyz were deep in their usual training drills when Mystic and his uncle arrived, their presence didn't go unnoticed, as the moment the club's coach spotted the unfamiliar visitors, he swiftly blew his whistle, signalling for his captain to step forward.
After issuing a few instructions to his players, he made his way toward Mystic, eyeing him curiously.
Dressed sharply and carrying himself with the air of a rich young master, Mystic looked every bit like someone who had come for serious business.
Mystic kept his hands deep in his pockets, casually observing the players as the coach approached.
As he scanned the field, his special ability Zone sense activated instinctively, linking with the system, as names appeared above the players' heads, along with bars displaying their energy levels.
This unexpected revelation surprised Mystic, but it proved useful.
With a quick glance, he spotted Adekunle, unlike the other players, whose energy bars had significantly depleted—most dipping into the orange zone, Adekunle still had plenty of stamina left.
As his energy bar had dropped slightly but remained in the green, a clear sign of superior endurance.
Another detail caught Mystic's eye: a single bronze-coloured star beside Adekunle's name.
He mentally deactivated his ability, and just like that, all the information vanished, confirming his suspicion, he was the only one who could see these stats.
[Inspect Player (Y/N)]
A new prompt appeared as he focused on Adekunle, but before he could check it out, the coach finally reached them, drawing his attention back to reality.
"What brings you guys from Shomolu to my side?" the coach asked, a sly smile playing on his lips.
"You know exactly why we're here, so drop the act and let's get straight to it," Alfred said coldly, his gaze sharp.
Mystic stepped forward before things escalated.
"I want to have a discussion with one of your players and with you in your office, don't worry, I won't take much of your time—I promise to keep it brief." His eyes locked onto the coach's, unwavering.
The coach smirked.
"Oh? If that's all, I suppose there's no harm. But tell me—why should I agree to such a condition?"
"Because I can make an anonymous call to the Lagos State Football Federation and report your club for violating transfer regulations," Mystic said, his gaze locked onto the coach.
"I don't know how you managed to forge documents to sign a player from our club, one who hasn't even paid the penalty for breaching a long-term, binding contract, but I can assure you, that won't go unnoticed."
Though Mystic wasn't entirely sure of the exact contract details, however he knew he could draft a new binding agreement and retroactively impose penalties on any player who had left without proper clearance.
The weight of that unspoken threat lingered in his words.
Even if Bariga Young Boyz believed they could fight the charges, they wouldn't want the Lagos Football Federation snooping around.
An investigation would put all their activities on hold, a risk they couldn't afford.
The coach understood the threat immediately, and with a slow nod, he conceded to Mystic's request, but his mind raced.
How could such a young-looking boy be making such intimidating moves?
He had expected the older man beside Mystic to be the one calling the shots, yet it was the younger one who dominated the conversation.
And the way Alfred stood slightly behind him only reinforced one thing, Mystic was the real boss here.