The drizzle quickly intensified until sheets of rain poured over the stadium like curtains, reducing visibility across the pitch.
For several minutes, the coaches from both clubs looked toward the assistant referee, who stood with a hand pressed against his earpiece, receiving instructions from the officiating crew. After a brief discussion, the officials concluded that the match could continue despite the weather.
The referee blew his whistle.
Following the coin toss, Western Park F.C. kicked off. Unlike Westminster's direct style, Western Park played with patience. They circulated the ball calmly across the back line and midfield, drawing Westminster's players forward before quickly switching the point of attack with crisp, accurate passes.
Winston, Oswin, and the two wingers relentlessly pressed the ball, forcing Western Park's defenders and midfielders to make quicker decisions. Time and again, the four of them chased passing lanes, closed down space, and attempted to disrupt Western Park's composed build-up play.
[Retain a speed rating of: 66]
Winston sprinted toward the Western Park player in possession and launched into a slide tackle. The opponent exaggerated the contact, clutching his leg and rolling across the wet pitch. The referee immediately blew his whistle and warned Winston to be more careful.
Moments later, Western Park restarted play with a free kick from midfield.
Winston continued pressing relentlessly, chasing the ball wherever it went. Western Park remained composed in possession, shielding the ball well and refusing to give Westminster any easy opportunities. Their passing was patient and disciplined, forcing Westminster to spend long stretches defending.
The match continued in this fashion throughout the first half, with both teams enjoying brief spells of possession, though Western Park controlled the ball for longer periods. When the referee blew the whistle for halftime, Winston shook his head in frustration as he jogged toward the tunnel.
Inside the changing room, the head coach immediately gathered the players around the tactics board. Using a marker, he sketched a new formation on the whiteboard before pointing at each player one by one, assigning their responsibilities. He explained how they should double-team opponents in possession, close passing lanes, and make diagonal runs behind the defense to exploit any gaps.
[Retain a speed rating of: 45]
He still couldn't shake the anxiety surrounding this challenge. If he allowed fear to control him now, how would he overcome the even greater challenges the Core System would throw at him in the future? Every challenge it assigned seemed designed to push him beyond his limits.
Winston let out a slow breath. Fuck it. If the Core wants me to push myself to my limit... then so be it.
His eyes hardened with determination as he rose to his feet and stretched. Moments later, the rest of the team filed out of the changing room and walked through the tunnel toward the pitch.
The rain had eased into a light drizzle. The referee blew the whistle to begin the second half. Winston tapped the kickoff to the central midfielder, who quickly moved the ball to his teammates as Westminster immediately applied pressure. The midfield pushed high, forcing Western Park deeper into their own half. Once they had drawn the opposition forward, Westminster calmly recycled possession back to their center-backs near the halfway line.
Western Park's midfielders and forwards surged forward to press, but Westminster responded with quick, one-touch tiki-taka passing. The ball zipped from the defensive line through midfield before reaching the left flank.
Oswin received it in stride. An elastico sent the first defender the wrong way. Without slowing down, he followed it with a perfectly executed Matthews move, gliding past a second opponent before accelerating into the middle of the pitch.
He exchanged a series of quick one-touch passes with Winston, slicing through Western Park's midfield. As the defenders converged on Winston, Oswin burst into the gap behind them.
Winston slipped the return pass into his path. Without taking a touch, Oswin unleashed a low, driven shot that screamed between the goalkeeper's legs and into the back of the net.
Thwack!
[DAILY USER CHALLENGES]
[Hat-trick: 00/03]
[Goal Assistant: 01/01]
[Retain a speed rating of: 56]
After the celebration, Oswin wrapped an arm around Winston's shoulders and grinned. "Now it's your turn. They'll be focused on me, so use that chance to score, Wis. I got you, bro."
"Thanks, bro."
The two jogged back into their own half as Westminster prepared for Western Park's restart. Surprisingly, the Western Park players showed no signs of panic after conceding. They stuck to their patient style, circulating the ball with even greater composure than before. Their passing became sharper and more deliberate, frequently finding teammates occupying pockets of space between Westminster's lines. A few midfielders made explosive runs toward Westminster's defense, hoping to create openings.
This time, however, Westminster held their shape. They intercepted a loose pass and immediately launched a counterattack. Knowing Oswin was now being tightly marked by two defenders, Westminster switched play to the right flank instead. The winger carried the ball forward before slipping a pass into Winston's feet.
Winston inhaled deeply as the ball settled beneath his boots.
This is it.
He exploded forward. Charging directly at the midfield, he opened with a smooth Rivellino move, wrong-footing the first defender, whose standing tackle sliced through nothing but air.
Without losing momentum, Winston accelerated toward two more opponents closing in from either side. The defender on his right reached out and grabbed Winston's shirt. Winston instantly executed a sharp cut, causing the defender to lose his footing. His grip slipped away as he stumbled forward and crashed face-first onto the wet turf.
The second defender lunged in from Winston's left. Winston answered with a lightning-fast Puskás move, dragging the ball behind his standing leg before bursting past him in one fluid motion, leaving both defenders trailing in his wake.
[Retain a speed rating of: 69]
Winston burst into open space, driving straight at Western Park's back line. The full-backs had already shifted toward Oswin and Westminster's right winger, leaving only the two center-backs between Winston and the goal.
Seeing the danger, both defenders sprinted toward him. One committed first. Launching into a desperate slide tackle across the rain-soaked turf, the defender stretched out a leg, hoping to poke the ball away.
Winston reacted instantly. With a delicate rainbow flick, he scooped the ball over the sliding defender before skipping over the challenge himself. The crowd erupted as the defender slid harmlessly beneath him.
Only one center-back remained. Winston charged at him at full speed before suddenly executing a Scotch move, feinting one direction before cutting sharply the other way. The defender hesitated for just a split second.
It was enough. However, Winston's final touch was heavier than he intended. The ball rolled a little too far ahead. Sensing the opportunity, the goalkeeper exploded off his line, narrowing the angle as he rushed toward Winston.
Too heavy...
Without slowing down, Winston pushed himself one final time, stretching every muscle in his body to reach the ball first.
Thwack!
He struck through it with his laces, sending the shot screaming over the goalkeeper's outstretched shoulder and toward the far side of the net.
Thwack!
[DAILY USER CHALLENGES]
[Hat-trick: 01/03]
[Goal Assistant: 01/01]
[Retain a speed rating of: 75]
Winston felt his lungs burning with every breath. Instead of celebrating with his teammates, he jogged toward Westminster's dugout, grabbed a bottle of water, and twisted off the cap. While the players and coaching staff celebrated the goal, he drank until the bottle was half empty.
He lowered it and focused on steady breathing. In through the nose. Out through the mouth. Little by little, the tightness in his chest eased. Once the celebrations ended, Westminster jogged back into position. When Western Park restarted play, their attitude had completely changed.
Determination burned in every pass. This time, they forced Westminster onto the defensive. Their attacks repeatedly came down both flanks, whipping dangerous crosses into the penalty area. Time after time, Westminster's defenders rose to head the ball clear, but Western Park refused to let up.
The pressure kept mounting. Another cross came in from the left. A Western Park forward rose above everyone else and powered a header toward the top-left corner. The Westminster goalkeeper launched himself across goal and managed to palm the ball away.
It bounced just outside the penalty area. A Westminster midfielder reacted first, hooking the loose ball into Oswin's path along the left wing. Oswin took off. He surged down the flank before cutting diagonally toward the center, carrying the ball at full speed.
Seeing the opening, Winston exploded from deep inside his own half. As he sprinted forward, he kept glancing toward Oswin, raising a hand to call for the pass. Oswin understood immediately. With the outside of his boot, he threaded a perfectly weighted through ball between Western Park's defenders.
The moment Winston accelerated onto it, a strange sensation spread through his legs. A familiar icy tingle. The very same feeling he had experienced while experimenting on the team bus.
His feet became impossibly light. The pitch seemed to slide beneath him as though he were surfing across water instead of running on wet grass. In an instant, he left the Western Park defenders behind.
Only the goalkeeper remained. Reading the danger, the keeper charged off his line, spreading his arms and legs wide to make himself as big as possible.
Winston never broke stride. With one delicate touch, he lifted the ball into the air. The goalkeeper threw both hands upward, fingertips stretching desperately. The ball brushed the tips of his gloves before continuing its gentle arc toward goal.
Thwack!
[DAILY USER CHALLENGES]
[Hat-trick: 02/03]
[Goal Assistant: 01/01]
[Retain a speed rating of: 90]
He felt a strange throbbing deep within the muscles of his feet, as though something inside them was pulsing. When Winston touched them, they felt cold and numb. Fear gripped him for a moment, but before he could dwell on it, the referee blew the whistle.
The Western Park players stood stunned. Despite dominating possession throughout the match, they had lacked the cutting edge to convert their chances. Meanwhile, Westminster's defensive discipline—drilled into them by the head coach's halftime team talk—had paid off.
The match restarted.
Using his explosive speed, Winston intercepted a loose pass and burst toward Western Park's penalty area. This attack was his alone.
He weaved past defender after defender, mixing together the dribbling techniques he had learned from Oswin. During their countless training sessions, Winston had carefully studied Oswin's movements and incorporated many of them into his own game. Whenever Western Park's players tried to box him in, he relied on the shielding techniques Dumi had taught him and the body control Boris had drilled into him.
Several Western Park players attempted to exaggerate contact and win fouls, but the referee remained focused on the play and waved them on.
Winston suddenly dragged the ball backward with a sharp cut, sending two defenders stumbling over each other. Before they could recover, he shifted the ball onto his stronger foot and curled a precise finesse shot into the bottom-right corner of the net.
Thwack!
[DAILY USER CHALLENGES]
[Hat-trick: Completed]
[Goal Assistant: Completed]
[Retain a speed rating of: 96 Completed]
W
Winston staggered back toward his side of the field, each breath coming in ragged gasps. He had reached his limit. Glancing up at the scoreboard, he let out a quiet sigh of relief. The match had entered the eightieth minute. He slowly jogged toward the technical area and signaled to the head coach that he wanted to be substituted.
The moment the head coach and the medical staff saw him up close, their expressions changed. Winston's eyes had sunk deep into their sockets, and his face had gone pale from exhaustion. Without hesitation, the head coach ordered a substitution while the medics hurried over and handed Winston five energy syrup packets.
After downing them one after another, Winston slumped onto the dugout bench. His eyelids grew heavier with each passing second, and he drifted in and out of sleep as the match carried on without him.
Hour later, after the Nethen Essence had finally restored enough of his strength, Winston sat alone in the changing-room showers. The match had long since ended. As he opened the Core System, a notification appeared before his eyes.
Ding!
[Voltage Core: 90%]
[Nethen Essence: 90%]