Around midday, Winston wandered through the hotel's expansive grounds, his thoughts still consumed by what had happened earlier.
Annalise's soft lips. Her heavenly scent. The memory alone brought a wide smile to his face. He barely noticed the people whispering behind his back or the strange looks they gave him. His attention remained somewhere else entirely.
The weather was still cool, with scattered clouds occasionally covering the sun. Winston climbed a flight of stairs leading to one of the hotel's upper floors. The spacious level contained several lounge areas, some with bars and others with small food courts. As he scanned the area, a woman's loud laughter suddenly caught his attention.
Winston turned his head. Oswin was sprawled across a purple, cushioned couch on the left side of the lounge. A woman sat beside him, laughing as he playfully tickled her. He leaned toward her neck, kissing and nipping at it while one hand rested on her crossed leg.
Winston hesitated. Then he cleared his throat. Oswin immediately pulled away and turned around with an irritated expression. But the moment he realized it was Winston, his entire demeanor changed.
"Yo, Wis! Long time no see. How's training?" Oswin brushed the woman's thigh before looking back at her.
"I'll be back, babe. Don't go anywhere." He walked toward Winston, glancing back at the woman with a lustful grin.
"What's up, bro? You see this woman? I found her here. She was sitting around all alone, and get this—she's feeling me, man."
Winston rolled his eyes. "I see her, bro. She's fine."
"Right? Right?" Oswin grinned. "She smells good, too. I'm thinking about either taking her to my room or going to hers. We'll see."
Seeing that Oswin was barely paying attention, Winston decided to get straight to the point. "Look, bro. Can you come to the training ground next week around ten in the morning?"
Oswin barely heard him. He bit his lower lip and blew a kiss toward the woman.
"Alright, sure. I'll be there. Right..."
Winston sighed and tapped him on the shoulder. Oswin finally turned around. "My bad, bro. You said next week around ten, right?"
"Yeah."
Winston patted him on the back and gestured toward the woman. "Go ahead. I'll see you next week."
Oswin didn't need to be told twice. He immediately returned to the couch, slipped an arm around the woman's shoulders, and resumed their conversation. Winston shook his head before walking away.
As daylight faded, Winston eventually found himself standing against the steel balcony railing outside his hotel room. The full moon hung over the distant cityscape, bathing everything in a pale glow. The cool night air brushed against his face, creating a strange sense of calm. Winston looked down. Two figures had just emerged from a restricted section of the hotel grounds. One was dressed casually and carried a pack of cigarettes in his hand. He was already smoking. The other wore a black sweater, black trousers, and black sneakers.
Winston narrowed his eyes. Isn't that... He recognized them. Maximilian, And the striker coach. They stopped several meters away and began talking. Winston leaned slightly over the railing, trying to read their lips.
"How are you feeling?" the striker coach asked in his raspy voice, exhaling smoke.
Maximilian looked over his shoulder. "I'm good. I can hear everything. My senses are heightened."
"That's the purpose of it. Remember, don't overdo it. We only conducted a trial run on the training ground. The effects should fully wear off within two hours."
Maximilian's expression revealed a mixture of excitement and disbelief. "I still can't believe something like this exists. A substance that can give someone supernatural abilities... and I'm only using a trial version."
The striker coach puffed on his cigarette. "Basically, you're the sixth person to use it during the trials."
Maximilian turned toward him. "What happened to the others?"
"From what I've heard, they're doing fine." The striker coach's eyes narrowed. "But if anything happened to them..." He shrugged. "I'll let you know."
"Okay. Then I'll crush—" Maximilian suddenly stopped, his eyes had locked onto Winston's. For a moment, neither moved. Then Maximilian smirked. He raised his hand, opened his palm toward Winston, and slowly clenched it into a fist.
A silent threat, Winston didn't flinch. Instead, he returned the smirk. The striker coach noticed Winston as well. He tilted his head upward and casually exhaled a cloud of smoke, seemingly unconcerned by the confrontation.
Maximilian finally looked away. "You said the effects only last two hours?"
"That's what I heard. Once the full effect wears off..."
"Excellent."
A sly chuckle escaped Maximilian's lips. He turned and casually walked toward the stairs, one hand tucked into his pocket. Winston continued watching until the two men disappeared around the corner.
What are they planning? A knot formed in his stomach. Whatever they were preparing, Winston knew one thing. It wasn't good.
Later that night, Winston lay on his bed with his legs crossed and his head resting against the pillow. Sleep still wouldn't come easily. At least he was beginning to get used to it. He didn't want to rely on sleeping pills, so he had developed his own way of passing the time. He would lie awake, replaying everything he had learned during training or revisiting moments from his previous matches.
Whenever the Core system updated, he would spend hours studying it. But lately, even that had become tedious. The system rarely showed him anything new. Winston stared at the familiar interface for a while before finally sighing. I've already seen most of this... He closed his eyes. But sleep remained just as distant as ever.
With the dawn of a new day, Winston followed his usual routine. He quickly showered, gathered his belongings, and rushed downstairs. As he crossed the hotel's ground floor, he glanced toward the receptionist's desk. His eyes met Annalise's, and he began walking toward her. Just as Winston was about to speak, Dumi unexpectedly emerged from the other side of the desk, interrupting him.
"Good, you're here. Let's go. The place we're going will take us about two hours to reach," Dumi said, patting Winston on the back. He then turned toward Annalise. "Honey, we'll be late, so take an Uber home, okay? Love you."
"Drive safely," Annalise replied softly.
As Winston and Dumi made their way toward the hotel's entrance, Winston raised a hand in farewell. Dumi glanced at him. "I hope you're ready for some physical training."
Winston tightened his grip on his gym bag. A question formed in his mind about the kind of physical exercises Dumi had planned for him.
"I'm pumped. Bring it on. I'm ready."
"Attaboy. That's what I love to hear. C'mon, get in the car. We need to hit the highway before traffic gets worse."
The car jostled along the narrow road as Dumi calmly hummed a smooth jazz tune. Winston stared out the window, watching the scenery pass by. In the distance, he spotted a house partially hidden beneath thick, untamed vegetation. As they drove deeper into the area, tree branches scraped against the car windows. The smooth guitar melodies playing through the speakers drowned out the harsh screeching of the branches.
Dumi rhythmically tapped the steering wheel, completely at ease. Winston, however, was anything but relaxed. The road was narrow and uneven, twisting sharply through the dense vegetation. At times, the car tilted so dramatically that Winston felt as though they were driving on two wheels.
This feels like some tourist guide driving people through the Amazon jungle. Winston glanced at Dumi, who remained perfectly calm behind the wheel. "Are you sure this is the right way?"
Dumi chuckled. "Oh, look. We're here." He gestured toward the road ahead.
Winston's eyes widened. The house he had spotted from a distance was now much closer—and much larger than he had expected. It was almost as large as Dumi's own home. Thick bushes and dense foliage surrounded the property like a natural fence.
Winston narrowed his eyes, trying to see beyond the vegetation, but the dense foliage obscured almost everything.
His anxiety intensified. Why do I feel like things are about to get really hard? Dumi hadn't said much since they left the hotel. Winston glanced at him again. And why hasn't he told me anything about what we're doing here?