While buttoning his clinic shirt, Winston swung his legs over the side of the bed.
"How long have I been asleep?" Still leaning back in his chair, Haruto replied,
"About an hour. You had a nasty bruise across your chest. I was about to apply some ointment, but your body healed before I even had the chance."
As Winston pushed himself to his feet, a flash of gold shot through the air.
Thunk! Thunk!
Two golden needles embedded themselves into his chest and abdomen. Instantly, Winston's body froze—unable to move, he could only widen his eyes in shock. Haruto calmly rose from his chair and walked over. Pressing a finger against Winston's forehead, he gently pushed him back onto the bed.
"Why are you resisting your Awakening?" Haruto asked. "Do you realize you could cripple yourself if you keep fighting it?"
Winston couldn't answer.
His eyes were the only part of his body capable of moving as they flickered toward Haruto. Opening a small jade box, Haruto retrieved several more golden needles. With practiced precision, he flicked them into Winston's wrists and ankles. Almost immediately, the Nethen Essence coursing through Winston's body began circulating once more.
The cool current flowed through his meridians, easing the swelling that had begun building inside him. Leaning closer, Haruto carefully removed the needle from Winston's chest. Winston groaned as the Essence surged through him once again.
"Don't move," Haruto said calmly. "Relax. Your mana flow was blocked. I'm helping it circulate properly again."
Several minutes passed—One by one, Haruto removed the remaining needles.
Winston winced with each one—After placing the last needle back into the jade box, Haruto nodded.
"All right. You can sit up now."
Winston slowly sat upright and flexed his fingers. The familiar stream of Nethen Essence flowed effortlessly through his veins, muscles, and bones.
"Here."
Without warning, Haruto tossed a glass jar filled with ballpoint pens toward him.
Still distracted by the sensation inside his body, Winston reacted on pure instinct—his hand shot forward in a blur.
He caught the jar before it struck the bedside cabinet.
The pens inside continued spinning wildly from the momentum.
Instinctively, Winston adjusted his grip, smoothly absorbing the motion until the jar became perfectly still in his hand.
His eyes widened in disbelief. Slowly, he looked up at Haruto. Haruto merely nodded as he jotted a few notes into a small notebook.
"Excellent," he said. "Your Awakening has already enhanced your reflexes."
Dragging his chair closer to the bed, Haruto sat down and folded his hands—his expression grew serious.
"Now…" he said. "Tell me, Winston. Why are you rejecting your Awakening?"
"Because if I use it while playing football against other players…" Winston said honestly. "…wouldn't that be cheating?" Haruto studied him for a moment before asking,
"Is that what you're worried about?" Haruto asked,
Winston nodded.
Haruto smiled faintly. "Tell me, do you know why Dumi joined the military?"
Winston tilted his head. "I thought it was because he wanted more intense training."
Adjusting his glasses, Haruto let out a quiet chuckle and leaned back in his chair. "Is that what he told you?"
He shook his head. "Very few people know the truth."
Haruto's expression became nostalgic. "Before Dumi became the legend you know today, he was just an ordinary footballer. During his professional debut, he suffered a devastating injury."
"The doctors told him his career was over—that he should give up football." Haruto paused for a moment before continuing.
"At the time, I didn't know him personally. I was working for a research institute that specialized in studying Awakenings. We recruited injured athletes for experimental treatments, and Dumi happened to be assigned to me."
A smile tugged at the corner of his lips.
"Every time he came in for treatment, we'd talk. Before long, we became friends." Haruto looked down at his hands.
"Back then, I hadn't yet inherited this ancient gold-needle medical art.
What amazed me wasn't his talent—it was his determination. That man pushed himself beyond every limit imaginable. He broke bones—he tore muscles—he collapsed from exhaustion. Yet every single morning, he'd show up again as if nothing had happened."
Haruto laughed softly.
"We were convinced he had to be an Awakener. His bones became denser. His reaction speed improved dramatically. His body adapted in ways that shouldn't have been possible. We ran every test we could think of.
Nothing—even now, some of my former colleagues still refuse to believe that a normal human could achieve what Dumi accomplished through sheer perseverance." Haruto folded his arms.
"Eventually, the research institute was shut down. After that, Dumi enlisted in the military, where he continued pushing himself even further. Years later, another football club discovered him." A proud smile appeared on Haruto's face.
"The rest is history—He changed the way football was played." Winston sat silently on the hospital bed, absorbing every word.
His fingers tightened around the silk bedsheets. The man he admired most had never given up. Even after being told his career was over... even after suffering injuries that would've broken most people... Dumi had refused to abandon his dream.
A bitter smile crossed Winston's face. Compared to that... What had he been doing? He had been rejecting the very gift that could help him chase his own dream. His first chance had ended in failure. This... was his second chance. A realization slowly settled over him.
I see… Dr. Haruto isn't telling me to rely on this power. He's telling me not to waste it. Rather than fear this gift... I should use it to climb from the bottom. To reach the top—to become one of the greatest footballers in history.
Winston slowly released his grip on the bedsheets and looked at Haruto. "Did you ever find out if Dumi was an Awakener?"
Haruto snorted. "No."
A smile spread across his face. "He's just a stubborn idiot with monstrous natural talent and inhuman determination."
He shrugged. "Sometimes, a person doesn't need an Awakening to surpass ordinary human limits.
"By the way," Winston said, "back in your office in Arlesey, you and Dumi mentioned a pill. What exactly does it do?"
Haruto stretched his arms, a yawn escaping his lips before he answered. "That pill is designed to forcibly awaken the human senses."
He folded his arms and continued, "When consumed, it attempts to unlock every dormant sense at once—enhanced speed, strength, perception, hearing, vision... every latent ability hidden within the human body."
His expression darkened. "The problem is that the human body isn't meant to awaken that way. Most people who take it die from the overload—and those who survive..."
Haruto paused. "...often lose themselves."
He looked Winston straight in the eye. "Awakening every sense at once without the proper foundation drives a person insane. Eventually, they lose their humanity."
A chill ran down Winston's spine—his scalp tingled as memories of his match against Maximilian resurfaced. He remembered that overwhelming sensation.
The heightened awareness. The impossible speed.
The feeling that everyone of his senses had awakened simultaneously. His eyes widened—Everything finally began to connect. The Core System, the awakenings. The strange sensations flowing through his body. Instead of fear, a spark of curiosity ignited within him. He wanted to reach that state again. Not through a pill... but through his own awakening. A thought suddenly crossed his mind.
Looking at Haruto, Winston asked, "Dr. Haruto... do you think there's someone here who's taken one of those pills?"
Haruto fell silent for a moment, weighing his words. "I think there might be," he finally said. "But I can't be certain."
Winston frowned. "Who?"
Haruto adjusted his glasses before answering. "I probably shouldn't tell you this..."
He hesitated briefly. "...but that Halbrook kid—Sebastian—is suspicious."
His expression grew thoughtful. "I'm still waiting for confirmation from a colleague of mine who works at Halbrook's research division. Until then, it's only a theory."
Winston lowered his gaze in thought. His mind drifted back to the moment Sebastian removed his weighted ankle guards. He remembered feeling faint streams of Nethen Essence radiating from him—it wasn't wild or unstable like Maximilian's. On the contrary, Sebastian's Essence felt refined... disciplined... as though it was under complete control.
Could Sebastian already know how to use his Awakening? The possibility lingered in Winston's mind.
Haruto rose from his chair and stretched. "You should head back to your dorm," he said. "It's getting late."
Walking Winston to the door, he paused and added, "And remember—don't be afraid of your Awakening."
His tone softened. "Whenever you feel overwhelmed, meditate. It'll calm your mind and help your essence flow naturally."
He gave Winston an encouraging smile. "One step at a time."
By the time Winston arrived at Building D, the sun had already set. Most of the youths were gathered in the cafeteria, eating dinner and chatting after the day's brutal training. With no appetite, Winston quietly made his way to the third floor. As he approached his bed, he noticed a football resting against one of the nearby bunks.
Without thinking, he picked it up and began dribbling. After a few touches, he stopped the ball beneath his foot.
Closing his eyes, Winston took a slow, deep breath. As he exhaled, he felt the Nethen Essence gathered in his abdomen begin to circulate through the countless meridians within his body, spreading warmth and power to every limb.
He nudged the ball forward—then another touch.
His feet grew lighter—his movements became sharper.
Before long, his footwork accelerated to a level he had only experienced once before—during his match against Alex.
Winston's eyes lit up.
He burst across the room with the ball glued to his feet, weaving effortlessly between the bunks. With a flick of his foot, he fired the ball against the wall before receiving the rebound in a single smooth motion.
Again—And again.
Every touch felt cleaner than the last. His body moved as though it instinctively knew where the ball should go next. He continued dribbling until the sound of footsteps echoed from the hallway.
Someone was returning to Building D.
Breathing heavily, Winston trapped the ball beneath his foot and steadied himself. Despite the Nethen Essence flowing through him, fatigue gradually crept back into his muscles. The more he relied on it, the longer it took for the Essence to restore his stamina.
Winston frowned—So there's a limit… The Nethen Essence and the Voltage Core aren't limitless. The more I draw on them, the longer they need to recover.
Ding!
[Nethen Essence: Level 1]
Physical
Physical: 71
Jumping: 71
Stamina: 71
Strength: 71
Aggression: 71
[Voltage Core: Level 1]
Pace
Acceleration: 71
Sprint Speed: 71