Dynasty Awakening: Building My Own Football Empire-Chapter 270: Letter from Real Madrid

Time flew by for the two best friends who made the most of their shared interest in chaos to help each other improve. Michael had been putting his new Game Changer ability to good use, trying everything with his off-hand (which mostly involved throwing water bottles accurately).

While it was difficult at first, he finally managed to find some success with ambidextrous tactics board drawing. The skill paired with his S+ Influence allowed him to do the previously unthinkable: convince Diego Nunez to eat a salad.

He was originally worried that subbing players so aggressively would cause him to fail his morale objectives, however, he was pleased to find out that this was not the case. The players loved the unpredictability.

However, despite managing for the better part of 6 months in the Premier League, he felt as if something was missing. Michael could feel that the squad lacked the depth and quality of a true dynasty even though they were winning games.

This had been a source of concern for Michael, but he could only accept the situation until the next transfer window. He decided to look on the bright side, at least they were in the Champions League places instead of fighting relegation.

It was currently May which meant it was time to finalize the season standings. In his previous life he had been managing in League One which was local, but this year he had other plans.

Since they had yet to receive any formal bids for the summer (besides the rejected PSG one), Michael and Arthur had made plans to travel to London for the end-of-season awards.

Michael and Arthur returned to the office after another successful afternoon at training. Since they were in the last week of the season and needed to focus on the final game against Manchester City, today was their last tactical session.

The two had thanked the coaching staff for their hard work and Michael could swear that he saw a tear forming at the corner of the physio’s eye. As if sensing that he was going to be emotional in front of the players (probably because Kaito was actually fit), he quickly shooed them away.

The moment Michael stepped through the threshold of his home, he let out a sigh of relief. Since it was the start of British summer, the air was surprisingly warm outside.

Michael did not like summer, at least in his previous life. Every time it was hot he would feel a deep sweating in his suit, making his brain associate summer with transfer stress and misery.

Of course this was no longer the case now thanks to his Media Darling skill keeping him cool, but for some reason, Michael still held the sentiment.

"We’re home." Michael said aloud, taking off his shoes.

"Welcome home you two. Come to the dining room, we need to talk." Kenji’s voice rang out. Though he tried not to sound serious, Michael and Arthur both looked at each other with trepidation in their eyes.

"What did you do this time?" Arthur murmured, clutching his jelly babies, wondering why he was getting dragged into this.

"What do you mean!? I should be asking you."

"You’re always the troublemaker..."

"Ah." Michael couldn’t really retort because Arthur was always so well behaved whereas he was a little more chaotic.

"None of you are in trouble." Sarah said, peeking from behind the wall.

Michael felt a little more at ease, at least until he saw the serious look on his billionaire owner’s face. He suddenly had a bad feeling.

"Take a seat."

The two did as they were told and sat down. Arthur was fidgeting, feeling a little uncomfortable with the situation. While Kenji and Sarah had treated him very well, perhaps he still had some unseen trauma from his previous poverty.

"I’ll cut to the chase." Kenji said, producing a thick, cream-colored envelope and handing it to Michael.

Before the two could hazard a guess at what the contents were, Kenji spoke up.

"This is a formal approach from Real Madrid, offering to pay your release clause to become their Manager next season."

Michael felt his heart shoot up to his throat at these words. His initial reaction was one of confusion, quickly followed by despair and pride. However, he quickly managed to reign in his wild emotions before anyone could see them on his face.

Or at least he thought so. Sarah who was in the kitchen saw the shock flash through his features before they were hidden, causing her heart to ache. She couldn’t stand to watch her friend in pain so she turned around and continued with making tea, leaving the task to her husband.

"Wow! That’s awesome Boss. Congratulations." Arthur pushed down his disappointment and wrapped his arm around his manager’s shoulders which seemed to have grown even wider with the stress.

Michael didn’t react initially, merely staring at the royal crest in front of him. This was the first time that he had been recognized for his abilities by the Kings of Europe, filling him with some strong emotions that he didn’t know existed.

However, seeing Arthur so excited for him filled Michael with guilt. This was his assistant who had quite literally saved him from the depths of League One despair. Thinking about everything that Arthur had done for him, even bringing him jelly babies during crisis meetings, his face turned resolute.

"I won’t accept." He said, pushing the envelope away, not even bothering to open it.

"What!?" Arthur cried out in surprise, looking at Michael as if there was something wrong with his head.

"I said I won’t do it."

Arthur felt a burning frustration from deep within, mixing with the pain and disappointment of being left behind. The feelings twisted and churned until he couldn’t help but raise his voice.

"Don’t be so selfish! This is what we wanted. If you manage Madrid then you’ll have a straight pathway into the Champions League final every year."

Sarah spun around hearing the usually quiet assistant raise his voice, however Kenji gestured for her to keep quiet. Although they were the owners in the room, they needed to let the two Misfits discuss their future.

Michael turned to Arthur and frowned, "I won’t go unless you’re coming too. Kenji can speak to them and let them know my conditions."

Arthur let out a laugh, however there was no humor in it. "Now you’re just being childish. Do you think that Florentino Perez will listen to you? Why would you throw away such an opportunity for such a crappy assistant?"

Arthur was too emotional to sugarcoat his words, so he didn’t realize how harsh they sounded. Michael who had never gotten into a fight with Arthur suddenly began to get angry.

He was doing this so Arthur would also have the opportunity to manage at the Bernabeu, so why was he being yelled at? Just as he was about to retort, Kenji spoke up to ease the tension.

"Arthur, I think what Michael is trying to say is that this is an amazing opportunity for you both, but he considers you a package deal."

His words were soothing, removing the taut emotions that were driving the argument earlier. Michael sent his owner a look of appreciation, his interference had allowed him to regain his composure.

"Yeah, and who said I won’t be able to stay at Barnsley? We still have the Champions League to win here remember?" Michael smiled, placing his hand on Arthur’s shoulder.

"Y-Yeah..." Arthur still felt a lingering feeling of guilt, however after looking at both his owner and Boss, he felt that he didn’t have much of a choice.

Of course he was thrilled at the idea of Madrid, but if Michael stayed, it would be even better. Slowly his face began to morph into a smile and he slapped Michael on the back, causing him to let out a yelp of surprise.

"It’s a promise. Let’s win the Champions League with the Misfits." He said, holding out his fist.

"You bet!" Michael exclaimed, bumping fists with Arthur.

After dinner, Michael headed up into his room and laid down on his bed. Even though everything had been resolved, he still felt some lingering emotions from the whole ordeal.

He would be lying if he said that he wasn’t somewhat tempted by Real Madrid, the biggest club in the world.

Hearing Arthur wanting him to take the opportunity had made him lash out in anger, saying some things that he regretted. However, now that he was by himself he felt warm on the inside knowing that Arthur valued him so much that he would argue for his success.

Of course Madrid was not such a place that would bend to Michael’s will regarding assistants. Yet the sentiment was enough for him to know that Arthur was a true friend, his partner in chaos.

Michael couldn’t help but let out a deep sigh. Out of habit, he brought up his system window and looked at his stats.

PREMIER LEAGUE SYSTEM

SYSTEM LEVEL: 4 (4500/20000 Influence points to level up)

NAME: Michael Sterling

ROLE: The Architect

INFLUENCE: S+

INFLUENCE POINTS: 4500

MANAGER STATS:

Tactical Knowledge: S (A+)

Man Management: S

Media Handling: S+

Negotiation: A-

Influence: S+

Tactical Insight: S

Note: Grades in brackets are before skill modifiers.

After over 9 months of managing, Michael’s stats had hit a plateau. Since he hadn’t been playing any European football, there had been no new missions which meant that he had not acquired any additional Elixirs.

Michael had managed to complete all of the Premier League missions in the Zone simulation apart from the undefeated season goal. Despite having an S grade in Tactical Insight, it was difficult to go undefeated against City and Liverpool.

He was also disappointed upon seeing that the Miracle Engine function was still locked, even though he could now use True Vision freely.

Looking at the status in front of him, Michael began to regain his confidence. He was sure that he could reject Madrid and build a dynasty here, even if he didn’t have the unlimited budget right away.

With these thoughts in his mind, Michael turned over and went to sleep, dreaming of lifting the Premier League trophy at Barnsley.

The following week, Michael took the train from Yorkshire to Manchester to participate in the final game of the season. The trip took just over an hour, yet it felt a lot shorter. He was riding with the squad considering Kenji had flown ahead to meet with sponsors.

Since the Etihad stadium was quite a way from the station, the team bus had to navigate through blue crowds. By the time they arrived, he could already see thousands of City fans singing.

He looked at the time and breathed out a sigh of relief after confirming they were still 90 minutes early. Thankfully he had arrived on time despite the traffic.

Michael stood in place for a little while, staring at the Manchester City sign with a sense of determination.

"I can beat him." He murmured, clenching his fist.

Whatever happened here had the potential to shape his entire future. Pep Guardiola was waiting.