Renzo woke up to the kind of silence only a "Day Off" can provide. No whistle, no tactical screaming from Montella—just the soft Florentine sun hitting his duvet. He sat up, rubbing his eyes, and immediately summoned the System.
[Scrappy Rebuild: Stage One Complete]
[Total Respiratory Cycles: 6,143]
[Attributes Updated: Interception (60), Anticipation (60)]
"I actually leveled up my defensive IQ while snoring," Renzo muttered, a smug grin forming. "If only my old PE teachers could see me now."
But the System wasn't done. The screen flickered, turning a deeper shade of blue.
[Stage Two Initialized: The 'Life is Football' Protocol]
[Goal: Raise 7 attributes to 65 (Long Pass, Set Pieces, Sprint, Acceleration, Tackling, Interception, Anticipation)]
[Requirement: 32 Attribute Points total]
[Trait: Kinetic Caloric Conversion—Every muscle movement, every step, and every calorie burned in daily life fuels the Rebuild.]
Renzo stood up and paced the room. 1%. The progress was significantly slower than the "Breathing" stage, but it made sense. He wasn't just fixing "trash" stats anymore; he was building a foundation for the elite level.
Hungry from his "strenuous" night of breathing, he headed down to the team canteen. Chef Victor, the heart and soul of the Fiorentina kitchen, was already waiting with a steaming plate of bacon pizza and potato-corn chowder.
"Ren! The man of the hour!" Victor cheered, sliding the plate over—extra chili flakes, just the way Renzo liked it. "Eat up. You need the energy if you're going to keep carrying the city on your back."
As Renzo dug in, Victor didn't just bring water; he brought the morning news. Three newspapers were slammed onto the table with a theatrical flourish.
"Look at this, Ren. Look!"
Renzo wiped his mouth and stared. Usually, the local Florence papers handled his hype. But these weren't local.
La Gazzetta dello Sport: The famous pink paper from Milan. The headline read: "The Viola's New Heart: Is Renzo the Bargain of the Decade?"
Corriere dello Sport: The Roman giant. "Three Games, Three MOTMs: The 16-Year-Old Conquering Serie A."
Tuttosport: The Turin mouthpiece of Juventus. "Golden Boy Watch: The Liverpool Loanee Taking Italy by Storm."
Renzo felt a chill that had nothing to do with the air conditioning. Being on the front page of Tuttosport was significant—they were the ones who handed out the European Golden Boy award. To be on their radar after only three games was unheard of.
"In all my years here," Victor said, his voice thick with pride, "I haven't seen a Fiorentina player sweep the Big Three like this. Not since the early days of Jovetić or Toni."
"It's just three games, Victor," Renzo said, trying to stay grounded, though his heart was hammering against his ribs.
"Three games, three Team of the Week selections, and a three-game winning streak," Victor countered, pointing at the TV where a highlights reel of Renzo's "Trivela" pass against Verona was playing. "The big clubs are waking up, Ren. Juventus, Inter, Milan... they're all looking at Florence today."
Renzo looked back at the "Scrappy Rebuild" screen in his mind. 1.2%.
Let them look, he thought, taking a massive bite of pizza. By the time we hit Goodison Park, I'm going to be a completely different animal.
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