Winston and Oswin spoke until Oswin fell asleep, after which Winston began writing in his journal about his day's observations. Alex's skill moves were still fresh in his mind; after he was done, Winston pondered Alex's words. His gaze shifted toward the window of the bus. The full moon brightens the parking lot like daylight. He wondered if there were really other footballs that paid more and didn't have rules. As Oswin shifted, Winston snapped back and glanced into the bus hallway. His entire teammates were asleep, even the club staff, even the bus driver was not in the driver's seat. Winston got up and crept to the back of the bus, then sat on the floor facing forward.
Winston took off his boots and trousers, but not his ankle weights, which he worked around. He has had these ankles for a month and a half. He wondered when he was going to take them off. Rather than being bothered, he contemplated his speed post-removal, but he nonetheless commenced inspecting his feet. What he felt when playing with Alex on that ground was something out of this world; his footwork felt like he was gliding on the grass. He squeezed his feet and massaged his calves, and nothing happened for a while, he sat there.
And he came up with an idea, he quickly laid on his bed and started motioning his legs like he was riding the bicycle his hands supporting his back he moved his legs faster and faster out of nowhere his legs moved faster and he flipped back and banged his head on the tight kitchen cupboard interior the thud slightly shook the bus. The assistant coach stood up, disoriented, rubbing his eyes and squinting toward the back of the bus. Winston curled himself tightly in the corner of the tight interior.
The assistant coach shrugged his shoulders and went back to sleep after a few minutes, while Winston rubbed his head for a couple of minutes. Lying on his back, he was simultaneously amazed and shocked, prompting him to spring up and swiftly access the core system.
Ding!
[Core stats]
Name: Daley Winston
Age: 19
Weak Foot: 2
Foot: Right
Profession: Footballer
Team: Westminster F.C. (Under twenty-one team)
Player Rating: 86
Position: Center forward.
Potential: 89
[CORE MERIDIAN]
[Voltage Core: 85%]
Acceleration
Sprint Speed
[Innate Terra: 12%]
Shooting
[Spatial Zenith: 12%]
Passing
[Absolute: 12%]
Dribbling
[Nethen Essence: 88%]
Physical
Reward Points: 20
Acquired skills: 03
Skills shop
So that speed is from the voltage core, then this means I will have the same speed as Maximilian on that last match, so how will I explain this speed to people? Oh, shit, what if the government wants to do weird experiments on me? Get a grip Winston, maybe you are not the only one who might have this speed, and besides, plus an athlete has surpassed the human high speed record.
Winston took deep breaths after sweating profusely. After examining the core, he stayed on the floor in a cross-legged position. Winston retrieved a lunch bar from the floor; it had dropped when he banged his head. Winston would look at the bus's front now and then, each time he removed the plastic wrap. When he hears movement at the front of the bus, he stops, and when he chews the lunch bar, he tries to do so quietly.
Dark orange, warm sunlight seeping inside the bus windows. Winston quickly woke up and hurried toward his seat and pretended to sleep. The head coach's alarm awakened everyone, then told to assemble outside for stretches and laps around the parking lot. The head coach told them to go to the stadium because he had arranged with the other team's head coach to use it. Same as the previous time, they warmed up for a couple of hours until the assistant came with breakfast for them to eat. And after they were done, the head coach went over his plan and formation; he didn't change anything, instead he emphasized to his team to hold a line in defense. And tasked every defender to be aggressive when marking. The head coach instructed one center midfielder to fall back when the team is attacking, and he instructed the other center midfielder to go forward when they are attacking. He instructed the wingers that they should cut behind the other team's defense and that their target man is Winston. The head coach assured Winston he wouldn't be benched this time around, even though Winston's wandering yesterday had made him consider it. The head coach and his assistant had a talk about needing Winston for these couple matches.
He excused himself during warm-ups, went to the changing room, and then lay down, churning his legs. Again he back flipped this time he landed on his knees. He groaned while rubbing his knees. By moving his legs swiftly, Winston now grasped how to achieve high speed. He wondered if he could use it the same way he did when he was playing with Alex. He wondered if he needed to be pissed in order for him to tap on that speed. But since he had done this experiment two times, he now knew he needed to keep his speed high in order for him to tap on that fast footwork. After the agony, he grinned and stood up, and walked out of the changing room.
Ding!
[DAILY USER CHALLENGES]
[Score goals: 0/04]
He jogged outside toward the ground, while Winston made the decision to practice his shooting skills with the assistance of Oswin, just like the times when they practiced by taking turns shooting. "Yo, Wis, how many goals are you planning to score today?"
"Four, I want to score four goals, you want to score a goal?"
"Nah, I was just figuring out how many goals you need to take the top spot on the goal-scoring board."
"As long as I got the maestro winger beside me, I will surely reach the top."
"And never forget it,"
"After these last three games, are you going back home?" Oswin asked, pacing himself to take a shot.
"Yeah, I have been missing my family. And I need to take a break and prepare for the scout. You know the frenzy scout season is, by the way, have you decided which club you want to sign to?"
"At first I wanted Westminster F.C. but right now I don't know, and you? Let me guess, Westminster?"
"Yeah, but I am open to any team. But there must be in the top five though,"
"Man, I can't wait until this season is over; sleeping on the bus is not my style and it has stiffened my joints," Oswin said, cracking his muscles.
"I know what you mean."
The shooting practice for the duo extended until the head coach signaled for a break, allowing everyone to rest and recover. Everyone collapsed on the ground, same as last time. They all went into the changing room and caught up on some sleep. This time around Oswin disappeared, and Winston went straight inside the showers and sat cross-legged looking at the system and pondering over his plan to use the voltage core on this upcoming match.