The summer of 2012 was hotter than ever.
Even before the full heat of summer had truly begun, Euro 2012 had already sent a massive wave of excitement crashing across the world, and with the Olympics about to begin, the atmosphere had grown even more intense.
Time passed quickly.
July.
It was the preseason, but Ho-young was still in Manchester.
He had gone on holiday by renting an entire island, but the vacation had lasted only about a week.
There was too much to do for him to sit back and rest at ease.
Ho-young returned to Manchester right away and laid out many plans.
Manchester City helped a great deal with that.
Though even that help was not much different from usual.
They blocked paparazzi and intense media coverage as much as possible, and created an environment that allowed Ho-young to focus fully on his schedule.
In that way, Ho-young needed time of his own.
And as it happened, that environment came together naturally.
His mother, Kim Hee-sun, had gone abroad on a business trip for the clothing business she had started not long ago.
That was because "Y10," the brand launched with advice from the various clothing brands sponsoring both Manchester City and Ho-young, was growing rapidly.
The brand name carried the meaning of Ho-young and the number 10, and with the help of various celebrities, it was thriving.
Meanwhile, Woo Hwang-sun, who had come to watch the Euro final not long ago, stayed at the Manchester mansion for a few days before quickly returning to Korea for work.
It was because of the youth development business that was expanding more and more by the day.
Not long after founding the company, it had already sparked a youth football education boom in Korea and ignited the hearts of countless young football dreamers.
It was not that Woo Hwang-sun personally possessed special coaching know-how, but thanks to his son, Ho-young, he had been able to come this far.
It was less about making profit and closer to a personal investment in developing football talent.
So at present, the only person by Ho-young's side was Lucci noy Ruchi.
He managed Ho-young's schedule exactly as Ho-young wanted and created the perfect environment so he could focus on his personal plan.
"Just like we discussed in advance, I cleared your schedule entirely up until the Olympics. There won't be any filming either."
"Thank you for the hard work."
Other than the bare minimum of advertising shoots, no other schedule had been arranged.
However, at the track meet held in Spain not long ago, he had recorded a mark above the required standard and thereby qualified as a national representative.
Even though he had only run casually, he still beat Spain's national record.
So there was plenty of time left until the Olympics began.
"The Spanish Athletics Federation hasn't said anything?"
"It seems they're convinced you'll win the gold medal even without separate training. They're adjusting everything to suit us. Especially after the Euro title, the treatment has become even more special."
"Then tell them, just as I said before, that I'll only enter the 100 meters."
"Why not take part in the other events too?"
"There are many events I could challenge based on the schedule, but I can't do all of them. I'm a footballer."
In truth, even taking on the 100 meters alone felt like a burden.
There was no precedent for competing in both football and athletics at the same Olympics, and if he failed to perform well in football, it was obvious he would face criticism from the public.
And above all, the biggest reason was his personal conviction.
Three golds, four golds, five golds.
Personal honor and glory were all well and good, but for Ho-young, football was still absolutely the top priority.
Besides, he was only twenty.
Other challenges could wait until after he retired from international football.
"No matter how low the level of Olympic football may be, I can't afford to think lightly of it. For now, I want to focus on football."
"Haha. That sounds just like you, Ho-young."
"Of course. I still haven't completely conquered football yet."
"Still?"
"Yes, still."
"What kind of nonsense is that?"
"I can feel it. This isn't the limit."
Now that several of his talents had reached the TS+3 level, Ho-young could feel it deep in his bones.
He could see the end.
The limit that had once seemed final was opening up, and before long, he would reach the ultimate destination.
That was why Ho-young had been spending time making plans related to it.
How he could make the fullest possible use of the talents he currently had, and how he could continue to develop them going forward.
'At this point, effort alone won't improve my ability much.'
In the past, if he trained for 10 hours, now he needed 100 hours to get the same effect.
Simple training alone had reached its limit.
So.
'I need to obtain more high-level talents.'
At present, there were two talents that had entered the transcendent candidate group.
Transcendent Ball Sense (TS+3) and Transcendent Shooting (TS+3).
But it would not be an exaggeration to say that he had already coveted most of the worthwhile talents.
And because only talents above a certain level could be synthesized, there was no point in facing low-level footballers over and over again.
'I need time.'
Continuously gaining new talents from new players, and persistently working until he reached the summit.
That was the only answer.
There was absolutely no reason to rush.
Had he not already achieved countless goals?
He still had a long way to go.
Mamon had said that once he reached the final destination, a new branch would extend from it.
There was no need to hurry. He just had to move forward step by step with composure.
'Two major things remain.'
The Olympics and the World Cup.
The long-awaited 2012 London Olympics were right around the corner.
The London Olympics opened in London on July 27, with Queen Elizabeth II declaring the Games open.
This edition, built around the idea of "Inspire a Generation," featured 10,500 participants from 204 countries, and the opening ceremony ended with Paul McCartney of The Beatles singing "Hey Jude."
The Games proceeded without issue.
Football in particular had already begun its group stage the day before, on the 26th, and Great Britain, in Group A, got off to a smooth start by taking a win against South Korea.
Spain's Olympic football team, placed in Group D, also faced Morocco on the same day, and the result went just as everyone expected.
[Goooooal! Ho-young calmly strokes it in! Spain have their first goal!]
Hampden Park in Scotland.
The first goal came just five minutes after kickoff.
It came from the boot of Spain Olympic team's number 10, Ho-young.
[Isco's sharp killer pass was superb too!]
[Yes, the chemistry in the Spain side is excellent. At this rate, it feels like they could score several more. It's a pleasure to watch.]
Since Olympic squads are made up mostly of players under 23, aside from the wild cards, the standard of play is usually lower, but Spain's level was surprisingly high.
That was only natural, because Spain's Olympic team included a large number of world-class prospects such as Isco, Koke, Javi Martínez, De Gea, and Jordi Alba.
Then there were the wild cards, Juan Mata and Jesús Navas.
And lastly, Ho-young.
The gap in quality between the two teams was naturally bound to be huge, and it did not take long for the Moroccan players to lose heart.
[The match is so one-sided that it might have felt dull, but it's not like that at all. It feels like watching a blockbuster film.]
A 4-3-3 formation.
Koke and Isco controlled midfield, while up front the wild-card trio of Juan Mata, Ho-young, and Jesús Navas showed fantastic chemistry and tore apart Morocco's half.
The score by the end of the match was 4-0.
Considering they had not been playing together for long, it was a highly satisfying result.
After that, they successively defeated Honduras and the United Arab Emirates with even better organization.
Among them all, Ho-young's performances stood out the most by far.
[
[Against the United Arab Emirates, Spain cruise to victory... Possession ends 8-2, and the score also ends 8-2 in a goal fest]
['Ho-young' reaches 9 goals in just 3 matches at the London Olympics, top scorer award all but secured]
└He's just crushing them without mercy.
└If I were them, I wouldn't even want to play in an Olympics with Ho-young in it...
└How exactly can you crush the dreams of youth footballers like this.....
└Doesn't he somehow look even better than last month?
There were quite a few people who felt Ho-young had improved in barely a month.
And that made sense, because the talents he had gained through Euro 2012 had been assimilated faster than expected.
De Rossi's ability to balance attack and defense, Philipp Lahm's tactical understanding, Thomas Müller's understanding of space, Franz Beckenbauer's creativity, and so on.
Those talents pushed Ho-young another step forward.
August 2.
As countless people expressed amazement at Spain's run, the Olympic football quarter-final bracket was completed.
[2012 London Olympics Quarter-final Bracket]
Spain were by far the overwhelming favorites, but Brazil, known for their youth golden generation, were hardly an opponent to be taken lightly.
[The key will be who manages their fitness better. Other than Great Britain, there's no team to really worry about, so it would be better to take it easy and save energy until the final.]
It was a reasonable opinion.
In fact, Spain planned to focus more on rest than training until the quarter-finals began.
Because they had the mindset that they could beat Japan with their eyes closed.
However, there was one player among them who was not resting.
[Yes, we are here at the Olympic Stadium track in London. In just a moment, the men's 100-meter final is about to begin.]
August 4.
Olympic Stadium track in Stratford, London.
The final of the men's 100 meters, the flower of athletics, was about to begin.
Standing on the final track was Ho-young, wearing the Spain national team uniform.
There were seven competitors in total.
But apart from this one man, there was no one Ho-young truly had to worry about.
[Usain Bolt]
[Possessed Talents: Human Bullet (T), Speed Close to the Divine (W+3), Spine Muscles That Have Reached the Pinnacle (SSS-), Innately Gifted Astonishing Lower-Body Muscles (SS), Superior Agility (S+3), (More...)]
(If the conditions are met, you may covet one talent.)
(If you covet a T-grade Title, you can acquire part of the senses. However, you must be over 18 years old to covet it.)
(For W-grade and SSS-grade or higher, you must achieve Hidden Condition 2 to covet it.)
(For S-grade and above, you must achieve the hidden condition to covet it.)
(Condition 1: Win the 100-meter final)
(Condition 2: Set a new Olympic record in the 100 meters)
(Hidden Condition: Opens when you covet at least one talent)
(Hidden Condition 2: Opens when you covet at least 3 talents)
(Hidden Condition 3: Set a new world record in the 100 meters)
Usain Bolt, the sporting icon who symbolized the Olympics in the early 21st century.
Ho-young had spent the last two days focusing intensely on his condition in order to beat him.
Then a moment later.
Bang!
[The men's 100-meter final has started!]
"Waaaaaaaaaaaah!"
At the same time, a thunderous roar erupted.
Something happened that overturned everyone's expectations.
[Usain Bolt surges ahead! Usain Bolt! Usain Bolt!!]
Unexpectedly, it was Usain Bolt who got the slightly better start.
That was only natural, since Bolt had spent the last several years doing nothing but repetitive start training.
But then.
As they entered the acceleration phase, the gap between them began shrinking rapidly.
And when they reached the middle phase and then the finish, something unbelievable happened.
Beep!
[Ho-young! Ho-young!! He's come in first!]
[It's an Olympic record! An Olympic record!!]
[Ah, no! He's broken the world record too!!]
Bolt's previous world record had been 9.58 seconds.
That fortress, which had seemed unbreakable forever, had just been broken by a footballer.
9.4 seconds.
The reward for winning Olympic gold, setting a new Olympic record, and setting a new world record was incredible.
[You covet Human Bullet (T). You partially acquire Usain Bolt's experience and senses. It will take 18 days to fully assimilate the experience and senses.]
It was a great shame that he could not immediately covet Speed Close to the Divine (W+3), but that was alright.
The Olympics would continue to be held in the future.
Meanwhile, the Games continued without issue, and time passed quickly until the men's football knockout stage was right at hand.
(To be continued.)
◇◇◇
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)