When Winston turned around, he saw the head coach nodding as he observed everything from a distance. The coach rubbed his rugged chin, studying the two youths who were giving the drills everything they had. Their determination and willingness to learn new skills seemed to impress him.
The head coach called everyone involved in the practice drills over. "Good job out there. I'm happy with some of the progress I've seen. Today, we'll continue with the match we played during our last training session—a rematch, if you will."
The players gathered around him, listening attentively. "Remember, this might be a training match, but there are people watching us today. So give it everything you've got."
The head coach shifted his gaze toward the back of the stadium and subtly gestured in their direction. Winston followed his gaze. Several men and women dressed in suits were seated together, some with notebooks resting on their laps as they quietly observed the players. Others were mingling among themselves while occasionally glancing toward the field.
Winston's eyes widened slightly. Scouts... He peeked over the coach's shoulder, remembering what the senior coach had told him.
So it was true. The senior team scouts really are coming to watch the youth players. Winston's heart began beating faster. Then this is my chance.
Winston felt his body growing heavy, his muscles becoming sluggish. He moved toward the medical kit and grabbed an energy drink, hoping it would wake his body after all the all-nighters he had pulled because of that strange simulation.
He also attempted a few stretches to warm up his muscle fibers. Of course, all that running around the city and doing punishment laps for being late would eventually catch up with him. Awakening two cores at once had also drained his energy.
He realized he hadn't been performing at his best. The Nethen Essence and Voltage Core had given Winston a false boost before consuming nearly half of his vital energy.
Not now. I have to stay awake…
Jolted by the head coach's whistle, Winston forced himself to jog over to the same team he had been assigned to during the last training match. This time, however, they were starting the match.
Oswin came over and slapped Winston on the shoulder, forcing him to stumble forward slightly. Oswin gave him a concerned look.
"You good, bro? You look horrible. Did you sleep?"
"Yeah, I'm good. I'm just a bit exhausted."
"Didn't you get any sleep last night?"
"I did. My neighbor was having a party, so I didn't get enough sleep."
Of course, Winston was lying. He didn't want to tell Oswin that he had spent the night playing against silhouettes in an intense game-like simulation, running around, marking opponents, and dribbling past them to complete a system challenge.
Winston looked up at the burning summer sun. The heat warmed his face, but his body felt anything but warm. His dark-colored training clothes clung heavily to him, barely moving with the breeze like the clothes of the other players.
He smacked his dry lips and swallowed. I just need to get through this match.
When the sharp whistle rang out, Winston played a through ball to the goalkeeper, who trapped it before passing to one of the two center backs. Instead of passing to the right, the defender moved the ball toward the left.
The left back received it and passed to the central midfielder, who continued the same pattern as the previous players. The ball moved from player to player until it reached Oswin. Instead of continuing down the left side, Oswin suddenly cut straight toward the midfielders, catching them completely off guard. They hadn't expected him to move inward.
As if Oswin and Winston had been practicing these moves together for weeks, they immediately began executing a series of quick tiki-taka passes. The midfielders on Winston's team joined in, and the rapid passing sequence drew applause from the onlookers.
The constant tick-tack of the ball allowed Winston to slip behind the opposing players without them noticing. By the time they realized what had happened, Oswin had already played a perfectly timed through ball into Winston's path. Winston didn't wait to get closer to the goalkeeper. As the ball bounced once off the ground, he struck it.
Thwack!
By now, Winston's exhaustion was too great to ignore. Before returning to his position for the match to resume, he stumbled toward the drinks area, grabbed a large bottle of water, and gulped it down so quickly that he choked.
The coaches and assistants clapped while one of them patted him on the back. What they had just witnessed was something none of them had expected from the youths—especially not that level of class.
To be fair, what Oswin, Winston, and the rest of their team had just displayed was exactly what the head coach had been trying to teach them: chemistry.
During their previous match, the head coach had noticed that the team lacked unity and chemistry. That was why Winston's substitution in the second half had produced such a dramatic change. However, Winston hadn't stayed in his assigned position. Instead, he continued playing the role of a second striker.
It wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but it was an opportunity the coach could work with. And seeing Winston and Oswin combine so naturally today only confirmed his suspicions.
As the match resumed, Maximilian turned and attempted to pass the ball back to the youth behind him. Winston was already in hot pursuit. He accelerated and overtook Maximilian, surprising the midfielder, who immediately attempted a hurried pass.
Winston intercepted it. He stopped for a moment, scanning the field ahead of him. His chest heaved heavily, sweat dripping from his face. He glanced down at the ball before using the outside of his foot to tap it to the side. Then he made a decision. Forty-two meters.
Winston planted his foot and prepared to strike. He decided to simply punt the ball toward the goal from forty-two meters out. But he didn't realize how much exhaustion had already taken from him. The moment he kicked the ball, the last bit of strength left his body. Winston fell backward onto the grass. His body had nothing left to give.
[The Core: Entering The Vital Restoration process]
A few days passed. Winston woke up feeling as though he had been asleep for an eternity. When he sat upright and scanned the room, disappointment washed over him once again.
I'm in a hospital.
But this time, it wasn't the hospital he had stayed in before. This was a club hospital. At first glance, Winston realized he was alone in the room. There were no rows of beds or other patients nearby. Just a single bed, medical equipment, and a large open window.
Dammit. My head feels like a truck hit me, and my body feels stiff. I'm here again? How long have I been asleep?
He stretched his arms and looked toward the open window. A cool breeze drifted into the room, smooth and gentle, almost like calm waves brushing against the shore. The refreshing air made Winston feel strangely rejuvenated. For a moment, it gave him the sensation that he could conquer the world—or at least conquer every defender standing in his way.
A faint grin appeared on his face. I'm back. Winston opened the Core System.
[The Core: Vital Restoration process]
[Vital Restoration: 50%]
Ding!
[Vital Restoration: 50%]
Ding!
[Vital Restoration: 50%]
Ding!
[Vital Restoration: 50%]
Ding!
[Vital Restoration: 50%]
Ding!
[Vital Restoration: 50%]
This is weird. The system has been acting up ever since that simulation.
"Does this mean I broke the system?" Winston murmured, resting a hand against his chin.
He opened and closed the Core System repeatedly, checking it nearly five times. The rattling of the doorknob startled him. Winston quickly shut down the Core System and stared at the door.
It opened, revealing the head coach. Winston immediately felt as though he had messed up by fainting during the previous training session.
"How are you feeling?" the head coach asked as he sat down, crossing one leg over the other and leaning back in the chair.
"I'm okay. I'd like to apologize for fainting earlier. There was a party in my neighborhood, and it affected my sleep schedule."
"Yes, one of your teammates informed us. We also ran a few tests after getting your parents' consent." The coach paused. "You were absent for the match."
Winston lowered his head. With a heavy sigh, the coach continued, "Don't worry about it. We lost that match. Two-one. Enough about that. Since you haven't been getting much sleep, we've decided to give you two days off."
The coach stood and shuffled toward the door. As he reached it, he stopped.
"Your parents will come and take you home, so get yourself ready. After those two days, you'll need to report back here for more testing."
The coach left. Winston gritted his teeth before dropping his head onto the pillow. He covered his face with one hand, disappointment weighing heavily on him.
Stupid. Stupid. Stupid... He clenched his fist. Dammit. I had just broken through.