The Great Thief - Chapter 26: Surprise

Demien Walter died on a rain-soaked road in 2025, his career a footnote in football history.A journeyman midfielder whose playing days ended in obscurity. A tactical obsessive whose notebooks gathered dust. A coach whose first opportunity came too late and ended too soon.Until he opened his eyes in 2003, inhabiting the body of Yves Laurent — head coach of AS Monaco.Now, armed with twenty years of football knowledge from a future that hasn't happened yet, Demien faces the ultimate tactical challenge: rewriting history from the touchline.He knows which players will become legends. He remembers which matches change careers. He's witnessed the tactical revolutions that transformed the game.Monaco is just the beginning. With each victory, each tactical masterclass, each deviation from the timeline he remembers, Demien alters football's destiny. From the Champions League's bright lights to World Cup glory, from Milan to Madrid to Manchester, his journey will reshape the beautiful game in ways no one could predict.No cheat codes. No supernatural abilities. No second chances.Just a man with future knowledge in a past world, attempting to build a legacy that even death couldn't erase.Football isn't just played on the pitch. It's won in the mind.And Demien Walter's mind has already lived through everything that's about to happen.

Nagi Travers, a 20-year-old shut-in and former gaming champion, lives a miserable and isolated existence after being tormented by bullies throughout his life. Fired from his last job and grieving the loss of his parents, Nagi now survives by playing video games and barely ventures outside. His world spirals further into despair when he encounters Jake and Mary, his former high school bullies, who humiliate him and steal his money.Broken by the return of his tormentors and the weight of his past, Nagi contemplates suicide as his only escape. Just as he’s about to take his life, a small girl’s ball rolls into the street, with a speeding truck barreling towards her. In a moment of selflessness, Nagi rushes out and saves the girl, sacrificing himself in the process. Fatally injured, he reflects on the idea that it's better to die doing good than bad.Nagi awakens in a surreal, white world, where he is greeted by an angelic figure who offers him two choices: remain in eternal peace, free from suffering, or be reborn in a different world where he could seek redemption and a second chance at life. Nagi faces a life-altering decision—rest forever or attempt to find meaning and fulfillment in another world.

Starting from today, I am retired. But what should I be doing? I neither have the skills, nor the mind to do business, my only advantage is this pair of hands which have taken this world. What a headache…

Note: The usage of the term “retired” here doesn’t mean retiring from old age, work etc. It’s a specific term to refer to not involving oneself in the affairs of a certain society.

Following the death of the emperor, the Astanian Empire plunged into chaos. His two sons both aiming for the throne caused a civil war that divided the empire.In the midst of this conflict, Alaric was forced into conscription. He later joined the crown prince’s army as a company commander.He led his 100-man army into battle, fiercely fighting with the hope of a better future. Unfortunately, he was just too weak to cause a ripple on the battlefield.A single arrow to the head shattered his hopes and he died without even a proper burial.Just when he thought that everything was over, he found himself back to his younger self with his memories intact.Armed with his knowledge of the future and a system that awakened his dormant powers, Alaric began his journey to overcome his fated demise.