The boardroom was a temple of corporate football. A long mahogany table sat in the center, surrounded by leather chairs. Large windows offered a panoramic view of the stadium.

Three men and one woman were already seated, sipping sparkling water and looking over financial reports.

Fawkes took his seat at the head of the table and motioned for Maddox to sit opposite him.

"Everyone, this is Eric Maddox," Fawkes announced. "The man who took our struggling youth prospects and put them into the NextGen Ascension League in record time."

A Scandinavian man with a thin mustache and a gold watch looked up. "I’m Julian Bjorn, Chief Financial Officer. Congratulations, Maddox. Your little win has increased our youth-sector valuation by twelve percent. Northcastle Corporations is very pleased with the optics."

"Optics are fine," said the woman, Sarah Sterling, the Head of Commercial Operations. "But we’re interested in sustainability. Was the Hastings win a fluke, Eric? Or can you actually compete with the top academies?"

Maddox sat back, feeling the weight of their scrutiny. These people didn’t care about the beauty of the game. They cared about the "sector valuation" and the "optics."

"It wasn’t a fluke," Maddox said calmly. "We won because we were tactically superior. We’ll compete in the NextGen Ascension League because we’ll continue to be tactically superior. I’m not interested in flukes."

"He thinks our senior team is slow, too," Fawkes added with an expression that wanted to see the world burn, dropping the comment like a bomb in the middle of the room.

The table went quiet. Bjorn cleared his throat. "The senior team is a different world, Mr. Maddox. The pressure is higher. The stakes are millions of Terra. You can’t just play ’fancy’ football in the Crown League."

"I don’t play fancy football, Mr. Bjorn" Maddox countered. "I play efficient football. Whether it’s a youth match or a cup final, the physics of the game are the same. Space is space. Time is time. If you use them better than your opponent, you win. Right now, this club is wasting both."

Sarah Sterling leaned forward with a frown. "You’re very confident for someone who was nearly sacked a month ago. What changed? Your predecessor’s reports said the squad was ’untalented’ and ’unmotivated’."

"What changed was the leadership," Maddox said. "A squad is only as good as the vision they’re given. I gave them a vision they could believe in. I gave them a system that utilized their strengths instead of highlighting their weaknesses."

Fawkes watched Maddox closely, a sharp glint playing in his eyes. "We’ve been watching your training sessions via the remote cameras, Eric. You’ve implemented some... unusual drills. The ’Shadow Box’? The reaction sensors? Some of our senior staff think it’s a bit too ’experimental’."

"The results aren’t experimental," Maddox replied. "Declan Whittaker was a discarded player with ’attitude issues.’ Now he’s the most dangerous winger in our youth division. Luis Navarro was a striker who couldn’t find the net. Now he’s a clinical finisher. The drills work because they train the brain to process information faster. If the senior team used them, Silas Vanney wouldn’t be losing the ball in the center circle."

Bjorn scoffed. "Silas Vanney is a fifty-million Terra asset at the very least. You’re talking about him like he’s a trainee."

"I’m talking about him like a player who is underperforming," Maddox said. "Value is determined by performance on Matchdays, not the price tag from years ago."

Fawkes tapped his fingers on the table. "He has a point, Julian. The board has been complaining about the lack of ROI on the senior squad for two seasons. We’re stagnant."

He turned back to Maddox. "The reason we brought you here, Eric, isn’t just to pat you on the back. We wanted to see if the ’Touchline God’ was just a media invention or if there was a real footballing mind behind the hype. You’ve answered that."

Fawkes stood up and walked to the window, looking out at the stadium. "The NextGen Ascension League is a high-profile stage. The scouts from the continental giants will be there. If you succeed there, it reflects well on the entire Northcastle brand. We want to offer you an ’Advanced Resource’ package."

Maddox waited.

"We’re granting you full access to the senior club’s scouting database," Fawkes continued. "And we’re assigning two of our top-tier data analysts to your staff for the duration of the tournament. In exchange, I want monthly reports on your tactical implementations. I want to see if what you’re doing can be scaled up to the first team."

This was a massive win. Access to the senior scouting database meant Maddox could find players that the youth scouts would never even hear about. It was like being given a map to a hidden gold mine.

"I accept," Maddox said. "But I want one more thing."

Bjorn groaned. "Here we go. What is it? More money?"

"No," Maddox said. "I want the right to request ’closed-door’ friendlies between my youth team and the senior reserves. I need my boys to feel the physicality of grown men before we hit the NextGen Ascension League."

Fawkes turned around, a genuine spark of interest in his eyes. "You want to play the reserves? They’ll bruise your boys, Eric. They’re frustrated professionals looking to prove a point."

"Good," Maddox said. "I want my players to be bruised. I want them to learn that a clever pass beats a heavy tackle every time. If they can move the ball around our reserves, they can move it around anyone in the NextGen Ascension League."

Fawkes nodded slowly. "Agreed. I’ll clear it with Draken, though he’ll probably complain that you’re wasting his players’ time."

"He won’t think it’s a waste of time once the game starts," Maddox said.

---

The lunch concluded with a sense of mutual, if guarded, respect. As Maddox walked back toward the parking lot, he felt the weight of the day’s events.

He had stepped into the lions’ den and walked out with more than he had hoped for. He was no longer just the "youth coach." He was now a tactical consultant in the eyes of the Director of Football.

As he reached his car, he received a notification from the System.

[SIDE QUEST COMPLETED: THE SENIOR SUMMIT]

[REWARD: 500 SYSTEM POINTS]

[FIRST TRAIT UNLOCKED: ’COMMANDING PRESENCE’ - Increases the effectiveness of team talks by 10%.]

Maddox climbed into the driver’s seat and pulled out of the parking lot.

He didn’t have time for boardroom politics. He had a medical to oversee.