Inside Building C, Winston woke in the middle of the night with a strange heaviness in his chest.
Why does my heart feel so heavy? Am I having a heart attack?
A wave of sadness suddenly tightened around his heart, taking him completely by surprise. Winston sat up and rubbed his chest before getting out of bed. He walked into the bathroom, washed his face, and stared at his reflection for a moment.
He didn't understand what was happening. After wiping his face, he looked through the bathroom window. Outside, the overcast clouds had opened up, sending curtains of rain down across the academy. The rain swirled violently as the wind swept through the grounds.
I should go to the instructor's office and check on my family.
With that thought, Winston quickly got dressed, grabbed his academy tracksuit, and descended the stairs toward the ground floor. Once there, he waited near the entrance, hoping the rain would slow down.
A few minutes passed.
The rain showed no signs of stopping, Winston sighed before bracing himself. He stepped outside and sprinted toward the instructor's office, which was located outside the dormitory building.
After arriving, Winston knocked three times.
Inside, the instructor rose from his sofa and switched off the television, which had been playing a replay of Supreme League highlights. He walked toward the door and opened it. "Oh… what was your name again?"
"Winston, Instructor," Winston replied, his shoulders raised slightly as rain continued pouring onto his back through his tracksuit jacket.
"Huh? Yes. Winston. How may I help you?"
"Oh, yes." Winston pulled the hood of his tracksuit jacket over his head. "I was wondering if I could make a call home."
"Right now, kid? It's 3:00 a.m. Come back in the morning before your dome training," the instructor said with a yawn.
Winston nodded, "All right."
He turned around and slowly walked back toward the dormitory. When he reached the ground floor, he stopped. The large indoor area in the middle of the dormitory contained two football fields. Winston stood there for a moment, staring through the open entrance at the pouring rain.
The heaviness in his chest hadn't disappeared. Instead, it felt even heavier. Winston stepped outside and simply stood there, allowing the rain to drench him. His thoughts began running rampant as he tried to figure out what could have caused the strange feeling.
Maybe Mom's sickness has gotten worse. He immediately shook his head. No. That can't be right. Knowing my father, he wouldn't allow Mom to get seriously sick.
A memory suddenly surfaced. One time, Anita caught the flu, and we were out of medicine at home. Father went to the pharmacy that night. Winston chuckled to himself. Actually, he dragged me along with him.
He remembered running through the streets with his father as they went from one pharmacy to another, desperately searching for medicine. Anita was still so young back then.
That had been the first time Winston had ever seen his father panic. When we finally came back, Mom had already made Anita some homemade medicine. She told us that Anita only had a mild case of the flu.
Winston shook his head. Maybe I'm overthinking this. He lowered his head. Maybe this feeling is caused by the Nethen Essence coursing through my body.
During the match between Hickman and Danilo, Winston had felt slivers of Nethen Essence traveling through his body more profoundly than before. The sensation had sent chills through his organs. Winston raised his hand in front of his face and focused on the sensation within his abdomen.
Nethen Essence… He could feel it circulating inside him. Maybe this is the backlash from what I felt earlier. But why is it making my heart feel even heavier?
Winston shook his head and clicked his tongue. "Jesus Christ, Winston. Why did you go so deep into your thoughts?"
He slapped both cheeks lightly before taking a deep breath. I should go inside before I catch a cold. Tomorrow, I need to start researching who I should challenge next.
Winston finally returned to his room, After changing into his boxers, he climbed into bed and pulled the blanket over himself. Yet even after lying down, the strange heaviness in his chest remained.
Winston stared at the ceiling.
Wait… maybe…
Ding
[Core stats]
Name: Daley Winston
Age: 19
Weak Foot: 2
Foot: Right
Profession: Footballer
Team: N/A
Player Rating: 86
Position: Center forward.
Potential: 89
[CORE MERIDIAN]
[Nethen Essence: Level 1]
Physical
Physical: 76
Jumping: 76
Stamina: 76
Strength: 76
Aggression: 76
[Voltage Core: Level 1]
Pace
Acceleration: 76
Sprint Speed: 76
[Innate Terra: 14%]
[Spatial Zenith: 14%]
[Absolute: 14%]
Reward Points: 25
Acquired skills: 05
Skills shop
Winston frowned and quickly dismissed the system with a swipe of his arm. He lay back on his bed, facing the ceiling with his feet crossed.
I raised my hopes for nothing. The three Awakening progress bars were still stuck at 14%. I thought maybe these Awakenings were finally allowing the Nethen Essence to flow into my upper body.
He sighed. I was already thinking I might finally be able to control the remaining Awakenings. After a while, Winston remained awake, lost in deep thought, before eventually drifting off to sleep.
Morning arrived.
Bongani woke up early and quickly went to the bathroom. When he returned, he walked over to Winston, who was still deeply asleep.
"Wis. Wis, Winston."
"Annalise… Busisiwe… wait, let me explain…"
Winston suddenly woke up, disoriented from his sleep.
"Explain? I'm waiting," Bongani said with a laugh. "Who are Annalise and Busisiwe? They seemed like they were giving you hell in your dreams."
Winston rubbed his eyes, "Oh, Bo. What's up?" He paused, "Oh, those are two girls I know. One is from my city, and the other I met in Arlesey."
"Are they your girlfriends?"
"It's complicated. Anyway, why did you wake me up?" Winston asked as he stretched out on his bed.
"Oh, yeah. My bad for being nosy. I wanted to ask if you're planning on going to the training field today."
"Yeah, but I need to make a phone call home first. You can go without me. I'll meet you there once I'm done." Winston removed his bedcovers, swung his legs over the side of the bed, and stretched properly.
"Okay. I'll practice with Elijah and Hickman," Bongani said, slinging his training bag over his shoulder before walking away.
Winston looked out his window, dark clouds were gathering in the distance, slowly moving closer to the academy. The heaviness in his heart was still there.
Winston placed a hand over his chest. I hope this uneasy feeling eventually subsides as the day goes on.
He pushed himself to his feet, walked into the bathroom, and quickly took a shower before heading downstairs to make his phone call.
When Winston had requested a call late the previous night, the Building C instructor had contacted the main building. Once one of the Federation employees heard that Winston was requesting a call, they immediately informed their supervisors.
After Winston's recent match, the employees working at the information desk had been instructed to immediately notify their supervisors whenever a specific player requested something.
When Winston arrived at the instructor's office, the instructor looked surprised. "I didn't think you would actually come. Come on, I'll take you to the main building for your phone call. Don't worry. I'm here to sign you in."
He gestured for Winston to follow. "This way."
Winston followed him, still deep in thought. He didn't understand why the instructor was reassuring him. As they walked toward the main building, the instructor talked about the Supreme League highlights he had watched the previous night.
Winston barely listened, the only responses he gave were short, one-word answers. Eventually, they arrived at the main building. The instructor handed his keycard to one of the employees and gestured for Winston to make his call.
Winston took the phone and dialed his home number. As he waited for someone to answer, he chuckled to himself. He suddenly remembered how his mother used to quiz him on their home address and phone number whenever she thought he wasn't taking it seriously. Whenever he got one wrong, she would pinch his ears.
The call finally connected. "Hello, this is the Daley residence," a young, gentle female voice said from the other end.
"Hey, Anita. It's me, Winston."
"Brother! You're okay! We tried calling you, but we couldn't get through. Mum and Dad wanted to congratulate you on getting into the academy."
"Thanks. Listen, Sis, how are Mum and Dad?"
"They're good. Mum is asleep right now, and Dad already left for work. Should I wake Mum up?"
"No, don't. I just called to check on everyone. Please tell them I called."
"Okay. Brother, congratulations on getting into the academy! We'll celebrate when you get back, okay?"
"Okay. We'll go on another convention trip."
"Really?"
Anita's voice suddenly rose into an excited scream, causing Winston to quickly move the phone away from his ear.
"This time, we'll have to go early!"
"Okay, listen, Anita. I have to go. Bye."
"Bye!"
They both hung up, Winston slowly lowered the phone. For a moment, he simply stood there. His family was fine, his mother was fine. His father was at work, Anita was as energetic as ever. Everything seemed normal. Yet the heaviness in Winston's heart remained.