Michael Sterling stood by the radiator in his office warming his hands. He looked out at the white pitches.

One month had passed since the Christmas demolition of Leeds United.

Thirty one days of madness.

Arthur Milton sat on the sofa. The old scout looked exhausted. He was surrounded by phones. It was Transfer Deadline Day.

"I hate January," Arthur grunted rubbing his tired eyes. "It is cold. It is dark. And agents are annoying. They call me at 3 AM to ask if we want a striker from the Peruvian second division."

"Did you say yes?" Michael asked smiling.

"I said no," Arthur sighed. "We have enough strikers. We have Danny. We have Isaiah. We have the new kid."

Michael turned back to his desk. He looked at the calendar.

The last month had been a rollercoaster.

BOXING DAY: Barnsley 2. Liverpool 2.

A heroic draw at the Fortress. Danny Fletcher scored late to steal a point against Jurgen Klopp. The fans celebrated like they had won the World Cup.

DECEMBER 29: Newcastle 0. Barnsley 1.

An ugly win in the freezing rain at St James Park. Kenji Sato ran fourteen kilometers and collapsed at the final whistle.

JANUARY 1: Chelsea 3. Barnsley 1.

Fatigue caught them. The squad was tired. Cole Palmer danced through the defense. It was a reality check.

But then came the FA Cup Fourth Round. A 3 to 0 win against Brighton.

And now it was January 31st.

The Premier League table was tight.

1. Manchester City 52 pts

2. Liverpool 50 pts

3. Arsenal 48 pts

4. Barnsley 45 pts

5. Tottenham 44 pts

They were holding onto fourth place by a single point.

"Is he here?" Michael asked checking his watch.

"He landed an hour ago," Arthur said checking one of his three phones. "The taxi is stuck in the snow. But he says he does not mind. He says this weather is tropical compared to Norway."

Michael laughed. "He really said tropical?"

"Yes. He sent a picture. He is wearing shorts."

Ten minutes later the door opened.

A boy walked in.

He was seventeen years old but he looked older. He had pale skin blue eyes and blonde hair cut short. He was indeed wearing shorts and a t shirt. He carried a small backpack.

Erik Olsen. The Axe.

"Welcome to Barnsley," Michael said extending his hand.

Erik shook it. His grip was like iron.

"Hello Boss," Erik said. His English was perfect but cold. "It is good to be here. The snow is nice. It is soft."

"You are not cold?" Arthur asked pulling his coat tighter.

"No," Erik said. "Cold is a mindset. I do not have that mindset."

Michael looked at the System interface floating above the boy.

[NEW SIGNING ANALYSIS]

[NAME: ERIK OLSEN]

[NICKNAME: THE AXE]

[ATTRIBUTE: FROZEN HEART]

[DESCRIPTION: PERFORMS BETTER THE COLDER IT GETS. IMMUNE TO PRESSURE.]

[POTENTIAL: ELITE WINGER]

"We signed the papers electronically," Michael said. "You are officially a Barnsley player. We paid Bodo Glimt five million pounds."

"Good," Erik said. "I will repay you with goals. Can I train now?"

"It is snowing Erik," Michael said. "The other players are inside drinking hot chocolate."

"I do not drink hot chocolate," Erik said. "I drink water. I want to see the pitch."

Michael led Erik down to the indoor facility where the team was hiding from the blizzard.

The atmosphere was warm and lazy.

Kai Sora was lying on a yoga mat wrapped in three blankets. He looked like a sushi roll.

Diego Nunez was doing press ups with Isaiah King sitting on his back.

"Ninety eight... ninety nine... one hundred!" Diego roared. He pushed up one last time sending Isaiah tumbling onto the floor.

"You are a beast Diego!" Isaiah laughed adjusting his pink beanie. "My turn. You sit on me."

"You would die little man," Diego grinned.

Then they saw Michael and the new boy.

The room went quiet.

Erik Olsen stood there in his shorts. His legs were muscular and pale. He looked at the team without smiling.

"This is Erik," Michael announced. "Our new winger."

Diego Nunez stood up. The Bull walked over to the Viking.

They stood toe to toe. Diego was wider. Erik was taller.

"You are the Axe?" Diego asked.

"Yes," Erik replied.

"Why?"

"Because I chop defenses," Erik said simply.

Diego stared at him for a long second. Then he let out a booming laugh.

"I like him!" Diego shouted slapping Erik on the back hard enough to knock over a normal human. Erik did not move. "He is solid. He is made of wood."

"Iron," Erik corrected.

Kai Sora poked his head out of his blankets.

"Why are you naked?" Kai asked looking at Erik's legs. "It is minus five degrees."

"My legs need to breathe," Erik said.

Kai shuddered and went back inside his cocoon. "You are crazy. Welcome to the asylum."

Michael let them bond. He went back to his office.

The window was closing in four hours.

Arthur was shouting into a phone.

"No! We are not selling Arda Guler! Tell Real Madrid to stop calling! Tell Perez I will block his number!"

Arthur slammed the phone down.

"Stressful?" Michael asked.

"Real Madrid are annoying," Arthur grumbled. "They see Arda playing well and they get jealous. They want to recall the loan."

"Can they?"

"No," Arthur smiled wicked. "I put a clause in the contract. No recall unless he plays less than ten games. He has played twenty. He stays."

"Good work Arthur," Michael said.

The phone rang again. Arthur groaned.

"It is Everton," Arthur said looking at the screen. "They want to know if we want Finn Riley back on loan."

Michael sat up straight. "Finn? Why?"

"He is not playing," Arthur said. "Since that game against us... Dyche benched him. He says Finn is too emotional."

Michael felt a pang of guilt.

"We cannot take him back Arthur," Michael said quietly. "We have Isaiah. We have Arda. And now we have Erik. There is no room."

"I know," Arthur said. "But it hurts."

"Tell them no," Michael said. "Finn has to fight. He has to learn."

Arthur made the call. It was a short conversation.

The clock ticked down.

DEADLINE DAY: 10:00 PM.

One hour left.

Michael looked at his squad list on the System.

GK: Sam Jones

DEF: Pavard, Nunez, Higgins, Tom, Mateo

MID: Kai, Kenji, Arda

FWD: Isaiah, Danny, Erik

It was a small squad. But it was elite.

Diego Nunez was fully fit. The doctors had cleared him yesterday. The Bull was back in the pen ready to be released.

Benjamin Pavard was playing like a general.

And Kai Sora...

Kai had evolved again. Since the game at Old Trafford he had unlocked a new ability in the System.

[ATTRIBUTE: THE SILENT DOMINATOR]

[EFFECT: TEAMMATES GAIN +10 COMPOSURE WHEN KAI IS ON THE BALL]

Basically when Kai had the ball everyone else calmed down. He was a human sedative.

DEADLINE DAY: 11:00 PM.

The window slammed shut.

Arthur opened a bottle of champagne.

"We survived," Arthur said pouring two glasses. "Nobody left. Arda is still here. Kai is still here."

"And we got a Viking," Michael added clinking his glass.

"To the winter war," Arthur toasted.

"To the winter war," Michael agreed.

The next morning the snow had stopped but the ice remained.

Training was brutal. Michael wanted to test Erik Olsen.

He put Erik on the left wing against Diego Nunez.

"Go," Michael blew the whistle.

Erik got the ball. He did not do step overs like Isaiah. He did not pass like Kai.

He just ran.

He ran straight at Diego.

Diego braced himself. He prepared for the impact.

Erik dipped his shoulder and accelerated. He was fast. Deceptively fast.

He knocked the ball past Diego and tried to muscle his way through.

CRUNCH.

They collided.

Diego did not move. Erik bounced off him and fell on the ice.

Diego looked down.

"You are strong Viking," Diego said. "But I am heavier. Eat more steak."

Erik stood up immediately. He did not rub his shoulder. He did not complain.

"Again," Erik said.

Michael watched from the sideline.

"He has spirit," Michael noted. "He does not fear the Bull."

On the other side of the pitch Isaiah King was watching. He looked a little jealous.

"Who is this guy?" Isaiah asked Arda. "He runs like a robot. And he has no style. Look at his boots. They are plain black."

"He is efficient," Arda said. "Like a German car. Or a Norwegian tractor."

"I am the King," Isaiah muttered. "I need to remind everyone."

Isaiah got the ball. He dribbled past three players. He scored a rabona goal.

"THAT IS HOW WE DO IT!" Isaiah screamed.

Erik Olsen watched. He did not clap. He just nodded and went back to his position.

Competition.

It was exactly what Michael wanted.

Later in the locker room Michael revealed the fixture list for February.

It was scary.

Feb 3: Aston Villa (Home)

Feb 10: Tottenham (Away)

Feb 17: Manchester City (Away)

Feb 24: Europa League Round of 16

Wait.

Michael blinked.

Europa League?

He looked at Arthur.

"Arthur why does it say Europa League?"

Arthur checked his emails.

"Ah," Arthur said. "I forgot to tell you. Because we won the Carabao Cup last year... wait no we did not win it. Why are we in Europe?"

"We are not in Europe," Michael said confused.

Then he realized. The text on the screen was glitching.

It was a System message.

[FUTURE SIGHT ACTIVATED]

[PREDICTION: YOU WILL QUALIFY FOR EUROPE NEXT SEASON]

[CURRENT OBJECTIVE: SECURE TOP 4]

"My laptop is hallucinating," Michael said tapping the screen. "Ignore the Europa League part."

"Aston Villa," Michael said addressing the team. "Unai Emery. They beat us earlier in the season. They are third. We are fourth. This is a six point game."

He looked at Diego Nunez.

"Diego. You are starting."

The room cheered.

"Finally!" Diego roared. "The cage is open!"

"Erik," Michael said. "You are on the bench. Watch Isaiah. Watch the pace of the game."

Erik nodded. "I will watch. Then I will chop."

Michael smiled.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.