Winston staggered toward the side of the field and collapsed onto the lush grass. His muscles ached whenever he breathed heavily or moved, so he decided to remain on his back, staring up at the ceiling of the dome.
Oswin lay beside him, equally exhausted. He had thought that wearing the ankle weights for a long period would eventually make them easier to move with, but he was beginning to realize how wrong he had been.
"Damn, these dome trainings are fun and demanding," Oswin said. He twisted the cap off his water bottle and took a large gulp. "By the way, Wis, how are you holding up?"
"I'm exhausted," Winston replied, wincing as he stretched his hand toward the water bottle beside him. He grabbed it and slowly twisted the cap open. "They really are. I think the instructor is intensifying the training."
"Thank God it's Friday. I need a break to unwind and relax." Oswin stretched his arms. "I can't wait to spend some time in the sauna and the pool. Wish we could get some women over and turn it into a pool party."
Winston remained on the ground, his eyes growing heavier as exhaustion began to weigh down his entire body. He turned his head toward Oswin, who was unlocking the ankle weights.
Oswin splashed water onto his face before pushing himself into a sitting position.
Pain shot through Winston's body like a thousand needles. He winced and let out a low groan as the sharp, needle-like pain spread through his muscles.
"Oswin, I'm going back to the dorm. I'm so sleepy. Wake me up when it's time for Bongani's celebration party." Winston pushed himself to his feet, staggering backward for a moment.
Oswin struggled to remove one of his ankle weights through his exhaustion.
"Oh, okay. I'll go with you. I'm tired too. I need to relax for a bit before meeting the others at the football field outside Building D."
He quickly unlocked the other ankle weight and tossed both into his gym bag.
The two walked out of the attacking dome together.
***
Winston lay on his bed and raised his hand in front of his face. His eyes were heavy, but he stared at his hand with a troubled expression.
I didn't realize I could actually reach the limit of Nethen essence. How did I not notice that it was depleting?
His brow furrowed.
Wait... how did I learn about my limit back in Haruto's office? And what was that endless grassy island I was on?
The questions lingered in his mind.
Before he could think any further, Winston's exhaustion finally overwhelmed him, and he drifted off to sleep.
***
Outside Building B, Noah lay beside the training football field with cucumber slices covering his eyes. He was half-naked, basking in the afternoon sun while a group of youth players played a friendly match on the field.
Four youths sat nearby, watching the game.
"Something big is happening next week, and it's going to cause a huge commotion," one of them said.
The youth sitting beside him frowned.
"What? I hate when you do that. You're always being vague for no reason."
"Next week, I heard there's going to be a one-on-one challenge between Lucas and Oswin."
The youths around him furrowed their brows.
"You're lying. How can two players with high ratings, and who are in the same group, challenge each other?" one of them scoffed. "Who would even want to watch two highly ranked players from the same group? And why would that cause such a big commotion?"
"Shhh." The first youth raised a finger to his lips. "Don't yell, idiot. Apparently, those two have a deep history that could boil over at any second."
"Tsk. Let me guess. It's about a girl, just like those two players from earlier." The youth folded his arms and looked back at the players on the field. "I'm not interested."
Noah sat up straight, his expression becoming complicated as he pondered what he had just heard. After a while, he quickly rose to his feet, removed the two cucumber slices from his eyes, and walked out of Building B.
He picked up his pace and headed straight toward Building A. From there, he made his way to the far football field located near the forest.
When he arrived, he saw his twin brother, Duke, and several of the players they had recruited. Darwin was standing with his arms folded, commanding the youths who were being trained by Duke like a coach.
"Brother, I've got some good news," Noah said, trying to catch his breath.
Darwin turned toward his panting twin brother. "The news must be good if it was enough to drag you away from your relaxation."
Taking a deep breath, Noah straightened himself. "I'm planning to go back after I tell you the good news." His attention shifted toward the players Duke was training.
"I'm waiting," Darwin said.
"Oh, yeah, right. I was at Building B, and I overheard some players saying that Lucas and Sebastian are planning to challenge Oswin next week."
"I know. Someone from Building B told me. Apparently, it's about to happen...."
"But don't you think this is our chance to challenge Sebastian in a one-on-one challenge?" Noah asked, folding his arms like his twin. "I mean, we could catch him by surprise. If you win, you'll take first place."
Darwin shook his head.
"Brother, that won't work. Sebastian doesn't rely on those two friends of his." He paused. "And this might be a trap for us—or anyone else who wants to challenge him for the number-one spot. Since he hasn't received a one-on-one challenge yet, he's probably looking for an excuse to make an example out of whoever challenges him."
Darwin placed a hand on his twin brother's shoulder. "Right now, we need to stick to the plan and watch from the sidelines. Let's focus on the upcoming match. After that, we'll proceed with the plan."
Noah looked at his brother with his big, ocean-blue eyes. Darwin chuckled and brushed his twin's hair.
"Hey, you know we're the same age. You don't need to do that."
"Yeah, I know. But you were looking at me with those puppy eyes of yours," Darwin said as he turned to face Duke and the other players practicing on the field.
Noah walked beside him. "By the way, brother, do you know what the beef between Lucas and Oswin is about?"
"You remember the player who was badly injured last year in our league?" Noah nodded. "Apparently, he and Lucas were longtime friends until one thing led to another and they had a falling-out. I don't know exactly what happened, but their beef eventually spilled onto the football field. One thing led to another, and he ended up injured and missed his chance to be signed by one of the Supreme League teams."
Noah looked at his twin brother.
His brother always seemed to know something about the players around them. He shifted his attention toward the youths training on the field and lowered his head.
Brother, I admire how much you know about the other football players. I need to study players too if I want to climb into Group A.
***
Outside Building D, on the football field, Bongani, Hickman, and Elijah were passing the ball between themselves while laughing and enjoying the game.
Oswin walked onto the field while stretching his body.
"Good, everyone is here," he said, sweeping his gaze across his friends.
Then, with a furrowed brow, he asked, "Where's Wis? Is he still asleep? Come on, let's fetch him. I think he's still sleeping in Building C."
The four walked toward Building C, when they arrived, they found Winston deeply asleep on his bed.
Oswin shook the bed—nothing happened. Instead, Winston snored loudly. They tried everything to wake him, but nothing worked. Bongani eventually went to the academy infirmary and called Dr. Haruto.
The moment Haruto heard that it was Winston, he quickly made his way to Building C. After examining Winston, Haruto sighed and looked at Winston's four friends.
"Winston is fine. He's just asleep, so don't worry. It's normal for some athletes to fall into a coma-like state after exhausting themselves to this extent." He glanced at Winston one last time. "He'll wake up once his body has fully recovered. It's best that we leave him to rest."