Winston woke before dawn—after freshening up, he headed downstairs to the lounge and began his morning stretching routine.
Once he finished, he stepped outside Building D, signed his name on the attendance register, and made his way to the football field beside the towering fence, where he continued warming up.
The truth was, he hadn't slept well at all. He had spent most of the night tossing and turning, unable to quiet his thoughts.
Dumi's story replayed over and over in his mind. If Dumi could overcome devastating injuries through sheer determination... could Winston accept the path laid before him?
More importantly… Could he remain human after awakening all of these supernatural senses? No matter how hard he tried to ignore it, the Nethen Essence was always there.
It coursed through his veins in faint streams, pulsing with every heartbeat and flowing through every part of his body as though it had always belonged there. When he had asked Haruto whether the Awakenings could be reversed—whether he could become an ordinary human again—Winston had paid close attention to the doctor's reaction.
Haruto had fallen silent—instead of answering immediately, he had simply inserted his golden needles and treated Winston's disrupted essence.
Only afterward had he finally spoken—There was no known way to reverse an Awakening. Once the Nethen Essence fused with a person's body, it became part of their very existence.
As far as Haruto knew… Only death could truly separate the two.
The only option Winston had now was to keep moving forward. He had to learn to live with these Awakenings without letting them turn him into someone he never wanted to become.
Finishing his stretches, he was about to start his morning laps around the football field when a familiar voice called out. "Wis! I knew I'd find you here."
Oswin leaned casually against the gate, dressed in the Federation's sky-blue tracksuit—the standard training uniform issued to every youth player. Winston glanced over and couldn't help but smile. Seeing Oswin somehow eased the weight on his mind.
"Looks like it's going to rain today," Winston joked. "The princess actually got up this early."
Oswin rolled his eyes. "Keep talking, and I'll make sure you regret it during today's training."
Before Winston could reply, hurried footsteps approached from behind.
"Phew!"
Bongani jogged over, breathing heavily as he adjusted the zipper of his tracksuit jacket.
"I'm glad I found you guys," he said between breaths. "I didn't know you woke up this early."
"Wassup, bro?" Oswin greeted him, holding out his fist.
Bongani hesitated for a split second before awkwardly returning the fist bump. "By the way, I'm Bongani," he said with a grin. "I play midfield. I can handle both attacking and defensive midfield, though I'm mainly playing as a defensive midfielder right now."
He looked around the field before turning back to Winston and Oswin. "So... how many laps are we running today?"
"Maybe five to eight laps, followed by a few warm-up drills," Winston replied as he broke into a jog. "I want to finish before breakfast. C'mon."
The three of them set off, jogging around the football field at an easy pace. As they ran, Winston continued experimenting with his Nethen Essence. He released thin streams of it into his muscles, carefully observing the changes in his body.
That was how the Voltage Core functioned. It channeled Nethen Essence throughout his body, enhancing his speed and flexibility. At his current level, however, the enhancement only lasted for roughly one hundred meters before the effect began to fade.
Now that he could consciously control the Nethen Essence, Winston guided faint streams through his meridians and into his muscles, strengthening them from within. Thanks to Haruto's treatment with the golden needles, Winston had gained a deeper understanding of his Awakenings. The treatment hadn't increased his power, but it had helped him perceive and control the flow of Nethen Essence far more clearly. Even so, his understanding was still limited. He only truly comprehended the Awakenings that had reached Level One. As for the newly awakened senses… They remained a mystery, waiting for him to explore and master them.
"Wis, slow down!" Oswin shouted as he and Bongani struggled to catch up to Winston, who had already sprinted several meters ahead. Glancing over his shoulder, Winston saw the two of them panting behind him. He immediately eased his pace and waited for them to catch up.
"Sorry," Winston said with a wry smile. "I got carried away."
Truthfully, he had been testing the limits of his Nethen Essence and was already nearing exhaustion.
"Huh... Wis is back to his workaholic routine," Oswin muttered between breaths.
"Workaholic routine?" Bongani asked, hands resting on his knees as he looked between the two of them. Oswin walked over and casually draped an arm across Winston's shoulders.
"This guy?" he said, jerking a thumb toward Winston. "He's the hardest-working player I've ever met."
He flashed a smug grin. "Of course, he's only the second-most skilled player here... right behind yours truly."
Winston laughed. "Keep dreaming. I'm number one, and you're fighting for second place."
He picked up a few training cones. "Come on. Let's squeeze in some drills before breakfast."
Winston arranged three cones into a triangle, each player standing at one point. They began a passing drill—After every pass, each of them rotated to the next cone, forcing them to stay in constant motion.
At first, the tempo was relaxed. But with every rotation, they increased the pace. Quietly, Winston activated the voltage core by releasing a trickle of Nethen Essence into his legs. His passes immediately became crisper—firmer, faster, and more accurate. Each time Bongani received one of Winston's passes, he let out a small grunt.
The pace and power stung his ankles. Winston glanced toward Oswin. Unlike Bongani, Oswin received the passes with little difficulty, absorbing their force effortlessly. As the drill accelerated, Winston's passes grew even sharper. The faster the ball traveled, the more painful each reception became.
"Argh!"
With a loud groan, Bongani hopped away from the drill, clutching one ankle before dropping onto the grass to massage it. Winston and Oswin continued on without him. Several more minutes passed before Oswin finally doubled over, hands on his knees.
"I'm done," he panted. "You win."
Laughing, he waved a hand in surrender before walking over to join Bongani on the sidelines.
"By the way, Wis," Oswin said as he stretched his legs, "I forgot to ask earlier. How are you feeling? Yesterday's training in the dome was brutal."
Bongani, still rubbing his sore ankle, looked between the two of them. "Wait... you guys were in that dome?" he asked in surprise. "I heard a lot of players got injured during one of the training sessions yesterday. I didn't realize it was yours."
Oswin nodded with a weary laugh. "Yeah. We drew one of the toughest instructors."
He leaned back on his hands and sighed. "I overheard some guys in my building talking about him. Apparently, he used to coach a senior team, and he was infamous for his brutal training methods."
Oswin shook his head. "A lot of senior players requested transfers because they couldn't handle his sessions... and some even quit football altogether."
Ding!
[Nethen Essence: Level 1]
Physical
Physical: 72
Jumping: 72
Stamina: 72
Strength: 72
Aggression: 72
[Voltage Core: Level 1]
Pace
Acceleration: 72
Sprint Speed: 72
Just as I suspected. Last night I was too exhausted to examine it properly. So that's how it works… The Awakenings can only evolve when I channel Nethen Essence through them.
They're tied to my very existence.
Winston slowly raised a hand in front of him and clenched it into a fist. Although he couldn't see the network of Nethen Essence flowing through his body, he could feel it—countless invisible streams coursing through his meridians, circulating with every beat of his heart.
A sudden realization struck him. Without hesitation, Winston opened the Core System.
The instant it appeared, a flood of enlightenment washed over him like a torrential downpour. Countless thoughts and connections clicked into place as he finally began to understand the relationship between the Core System, the Nethen Essence, and his Awakenings.
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]
[Voltage Core: Level 1]
Acceleration
Sprint Speed
[Innate Terra: 12%]
Shooting
[Spatial Zenith: 12%]
Passing
[Absolute: 12%]
Dribbling
[Nethen Essence: Level 1]
Physical
Reward Points: 20
Acquired skills: 03
Skills shop
Winston's eyes widened. How did I miss this? I was so focused on earning reward points that I completely overlooked the obvious. These Awakenings are connected to my football skills. The Nethen Essence enhances my physical body. The Voltage Core governs my speed and agility. And Innate Terra, Spatial Zenith, and Absolute...
They're connected to my shooting, passing, and dribbling.
A spark of excitement lit up his eyes. Now I want to experiment with those three Awakenings. I wonder if I can channel Nethen Essence through them the same way I do with the Voltage Core.
But if Haruto is right… These Awakenings aren't powers in the conventional sense. They're awakened human senses. Which means each one should naturally correspond to a specific football instinct.
Winston turned toward Oswin, "Oswin," he called. "When you have the ball at your feet... what goes through your mind before you make a pass?"
Oswin and Bongani had been chatting among themselves. At Winston's question, Oswin fell silent and thought for a moment.
"It's kind of hard to explain," he admitted.
"Before I pass, I'm constantly calculating angles, positioning, and where everyone will be a second later."
He scratched the back of his head. "Atlas always tells me to learn to hear and see the movement of the ball."
Oswin laughed awkwardly. "I know it sounds ridiculous. I thought it was nonsense too... until I actually tried it."
He shrugged. "Somehow... it worked."
Winston's eyes lit up. Spatial Zenith… It's about spatial awareness—Idiot, Winston. The answer was in the name all along. 'Spatial.'
If that's the case... maybe Atlas's method is the key to understanding it.
Just as Winston was about to lose himself in thought, a familiar voice echoed across the football field. The instructor from Building D had arrived.
"Everyone, head to your assigned dome!" he called out. "Training starts now!"
The youths immediately gathered their things and hurried toward their respective domes.