The abdominal pain drove Winston to the bathroom, expecting that he might have diarrhea, but no relief came. He decided to push through it without alerting the club staff or the head coach. Winston knew that telling the head coach would derail his plan and make all the effort he had put in pointless.
When he came out of the bathroom, a few club medical staff glanced in his direction. Winston quickly pretended he had only been using the restroom before hurrying toward the exit, where his teammates were already shoving and joking with one another as they made their way outside.
Winston patiently waited for the assistant coach to finish marking everyone off the register. His abdomen felt as though it were on fire, and sweat poured down his face. He hurried toward the seat Oswin had reserved for him.
"You okay, Wis? You look like you're about to pass out."
Winston dropped heavily into the seat, clutching his abdomen. Despite the pain, he forced a slight smile. "I don't know. I feel like I'm being torn apart inside."
Oswin reached into his pocket and pulled out a small gummy candy, holding it out to Winston. Winston examined it before glancing at Oswin suspiciously.
"Hahaha! It's not an illegal drug. It's just a sports sweet. I got it from the medical staff. I was found collapsed in the hallway after training with Atlas, and one of the medics gave me this. Try it. It works wonders."
Winston hesitated before taking the gummy and chewing it. After a few moments, he leaned back into his seat. One hand propped him up while the other rested against his head. Slowly, the discomfort in his abdomen began to fade. A cool sensation spread from his stomach throughout his body, carrying away the heat and sweat that had built up during the painful episode. Winston glanced at Oswin, who was staring back at him with a grin.
"I told you, man. These sweets work wonders. But be careful. I took about five of them once and had a sugar rush for a week. I couldn't sleep after all that Atlas training."
Winston burst out laughing. He knew Oswin wasn't exactly the type to miss sleep. "How did you manage to come down from the sugar rush?"
"I had to call this one girl I met back home. She's a real talker. Her yapping eventually put me to sleep."
Winston shook his head, laughing. Meanwhile, the strange sensation in his abdomen returned. Chilling waves radiated from his stomach, spreading through his upper and lower body. His abdomen felt as though a strange energy were swirling inside it. Winston wished he could tell Dumi about what was happening. Maybe he could ask Haruto for help. After all, Haruto studied ancient medicine.
Then, suddenly, the pain disappeared. Winston looked over at Oswin and smiled. "Damn, those sweets really do work. I'm feeling fine now."
"I told you, man." Oswin yawned and slouched farther into his seat. "Wake me when we arrive."
As dusk approached, Winston noticed that nearly everyone on the team had fallen asleep. He pulled out his notebook and began journaling about everything that had happened over the past few weeks. He had barely written a few lines when one of the assistant coaches, making his rounds to check on the players, stopped beside him.
"Can't sleep?"
"Oh, I can. I'm just writing down my progress from the past few weeks."
"That's good, but don't forget to get some rest. When we arrive in the next city, we won't have much time to relax. Even though you'll be benched for the first half, the head coach is keeping a close eye on your progress."
Winston nodded before closing his journal. "Alright, Coach." He leaned against the window and pretended to sleep.
In reality, sleep refused to come. Winston shifted restlessly throughout the night, his thoughts constantly returning to the strange sensations in his body and everything that had happened since receiving the Core System. Eventually, dawn arrived, The team bus finally rolled into the parking lot.
An assistant coach woke everyone and instructed them to get off the bus. The players gathered outside, still groggy from the long journey. The head coach stepped forward.
"Since we've arrived for our next match, get yourselves ready for warm-ups. The game starts around one o'clock, so I need everyone to be in top condition." He clapped his hands several times. "Come on, boys! Wake up, wake up, wake up!"
The players slowly stirred to life before making their way toward the stadium. They had finally arrived in Hawkfield, home of Giants Hawks U19 F.C.
Although the stadium was well maintained, its location wasn't as central to the city as the senior team's stadium. Still, it wasn't a bad spot for Giants Hawks Under-19 F.C.; it was conveniently located near the university and the city's renowned park.
Winston quickly changed into his club training uniform and pulled on a training bib. With determination in his eyes, he paced through the tunnel leading into the stadium. Without missing a beat, he began his warm-up drills with precise, deliberate movements. When his teammates saw how focused he was, they gradually began following his example.
After a couple of hours, Winston's teammates were exhausted. Some had already collapsed onto the ground, struggling to catch their breath. Winston and Oswin, however, continued repeating the same warm-up drill. Well, Winston did.
Oswin eventually collapsed onto the floor, drenched in sweat. He raised one hand and gave Winston a thumbs-up while breathing heavily. Back when Winston and Oswin had trained together in Arlesey City, Oswin had always tried to match Winston's pace. But no matter how hard he pushed himself, he could never quite catch up. Whenever he thought he was finally getting close, Winston would somehow increase the intensity again, leaving Oswin exhausted. He had once asked Winston what he ate to have so much energy. Of course, Winston had made something up. But there was one thing Oswin had genuinely learned from training with Winston:
You can never be good enough or skilled enough.
Another hour passed, and the group's attention gradually shifted away from Winston and toward their own conversations. Once he felt satisfied with the warm-up, Winston changed the drill into passing exercises. For the next twenty minutes, Winston and Oswin exchanged short, accurate passes before gradually increasing the distance between them. Eventually, they began sending long passes across the pitch.
Around ten or eleven in the morning, the assistant coach finally called the entire team over. "Alright, boys. Take a break and get some rest until the match starts. And remember, don't wander too far."
Oswin wiped the sweat from his forehead and placed his hands on his hips. "Want to explore the city?"
"No." Winston shook his head. "I'm thinking of getting some sleep before the match."
"You know what? That's a good idea." Oswin yawned. "I'm exhausted too."
He took a long drink from his water bottle before suddenly remembering something.
"By the way, I forgot to ask. Is Atlas still training you?"
Oswin shook his head. "After the match, he said he was going back to Westminster City. Apparently, he's been getting more one-on-one bookings. He said we'll continue our training after the season ends."
He looked at Winston. "What about you? What did Dumi Crowe say?"
Winston fell silent for a moment. The last time he had seen Dumi was during their last training session. When Winston had asked Annalise whether she had seen her father, she explained that they had only been communicating by phone. While Winston had been in a coma, Annalise had visited him several times. Naturally, Winston was disappointed. He had desperately wanted another chance to see Dumi before leaving the city. But Annalise's university break was over, and she had already returned to school.
"He didn't say much," Winston replied. "The last time we talked was on the final day of our training."
"Seriously?" Oswin frowned. "Damn. I'll ask Atlas. Maybe he can talk to Dumi."
Winston nodded. "Yeah. That would help."
After exchanging a quick dap, the two made their way back toward the tunnel.