The Giants Hawks restarted play cautiously, building from the back with quick, short, and accurate passes. Every time a teammate moved into space, another immediately offered a passing option, drawing Westminster's midfield farther up the pitch.
Once Westminster committed to pressing, the Giants Hawks switched to longer passes between the defenders, deliberately tempting their opponents to push even higher. They lacked explosive pace in attack, but they possessed something just as dangerous. A midfielder with a devastating long-range shot. Unlike the team's forwards, the young midfielder rarely drew attention to himself. He blended into the flow of play, allowing defenders to lose track of him.
That was exactly what the Giants Hawks wanted. The match changed the moment Winston, Oswin, and Westminster's third midfielder were drawn toward the ball. The Giants Hawks suddenly increased the tempo. Their crisp, low passes zipped across the grass, producing nothing but the sharp whoosh of the spinning ball as it raced from one player to the next.
The ball moved quickly from midfield to the striker, who dropped deep before receiving it with his back to goal. With two Westminster defenders closing him down, the striker slipped between them and curled a perfectly weighted pass into the path of the attacking midfielder, who had timed his run from deep and was now bursting in behind the defensive line.
He was inches from being caught offside. A Westminster defender sprinted across and attempted to chip the ball away toward the far flank. Instead, the clearance only redirected it into the midfielder's path. Without hesitating, the Giants Hawks midfielder chased it down and drove toward the edge of the penalty area. Using the outside of his weaker foot, he struck through the ball.
The shot climbed rapidly before bending sharply through the air. The unexpected curve completely wrong-footed the Westminster goalkeeper. The ball clipped the inside of the post, ricocheted off the goalkeeper's head, and bounced into the back of the net.
Thwack!
The Giants Hawks players burst into celebration, sprinting toward the corner flag as the goalscorer pounded his chest and shook his head triumphantly. Winston jogged back toward the center circle.
Then it happened. A strange ripple spread from the crown of his head to the soles of his feet, like a wave flowing through his entire body. His vision blurred. For a brief moment, the world seemed to pulse around him. Winston staggered and shook his head, trying to steady himself before turning his gaze toward the celebrating Giants Hawks players.
"Oswin," he called. Oswin glanced over. "Be careful. I think they're targeting us."
Oswin frowned. "What do you mean?"
"The guy who just scored..." Winston kept his eyes fixed on the attacking midfielder. "...he's their key player."
Oswin looked toward the celebrating Giants Hawks. "You sure? How do you know?"
Winston hesitated. "I'm not... but trust me. They might try to injure one of us."
Oswin's expression hardened. He rubbed his chin before narrowing his eyes. "We'll keep an eye on them." He clapped his hands once. "Come on. Let's get this game restarted."
"Right."
As Winston walked back into position, he couldn't stop staring at the Giants Hawks midfielder. What... was that? For a split second, it had felt as though he had seen the entire field from above. Every player's movement. Every passing lane. Every run. The vision had singled out the attacking midfielder as the true engine of the Giants Hawks' attack.
Whether that strange sensation had been real or simply his imagination, Winston couldn't tell. But one thing was certain. He wasn't going to ignore it. He clock ticked past the sixtieth minute. The referee blew his whistle. Westminster restarted play, calmly moving the ball across the back line as the defenders scanned the pitch for an opening.
"Here!"
Oswin checked into space and received the pass. Without losing momentum, he skipped past the first defender before dazzling the second with a sharp elastico down the flank. The crowd erupted. After drawing two defenders toward him, Oswin looked up and slipped a pass inside to Winston. Standing nearly forty meters from goal, Winston cushioned the ball with his first touch.
He didn't hesitate. He planted one foot and drove through the ball with everything he had. "Spear."
The ball tore through the air. Instead of traveling in a straight line, it weaved across the sky in a smooth S-shaped trajectory. The goalkeeper froze. Unable to read the ball's unpredictable movement, he hesitated for a split second. That was all Winston needed. The shot curled viciously into the top corner. The net exploded as the stadium erupted.
Thwack!!!
[DAILY USER CHALLENGES]
[Score a hat trick: 02/03]
[Spear: 02]
The score was now level.
The stadium erupted as supporters from both sides sensed the match had become a true battle between equals. Neither team showed any intention of backing down. It was as though each side was saying, Anything you can do, we can do too.
No one on the pitch could believe the goal Winston had just scored. The ball's movement had been unlike anything they had ever seen. It twisted through the air as though it possessed a mind of its own. Several teammates crowded around him, asking whether Dumi had taught him that technique. Even Oswin, who had witnessed Winston practicing the shot during training, was stunned. He had tried to imitate it himself, but out of dozens of attempts, only one had found the back of the net. Most of his shots had sailed harmlessly over the crossbar.
Winston himself was surprised. The ball had traced the exact same S-shaped path as it had during his clash with Maximilian—only this time, it lacked the terrifying destructive force it had displayed before.
The referee's whistle sounded. The Giants Hawks restarted play. Instead of celebrating his goal, Winston immediately pressed the player in possession. For a brief instant, his eyes sharpened. The entire attack unfolded before him. He saw the passing lanes... The runner drifting into space... The midfielder calling for the ball before he even opened his mouth.
There! Winston burst forward. He stepped into the passing lane and intercepted the ball cleanly before the Giants Hawks midfielder even realized what had happened. Without slowing down, Winston surged through midfield. One opponent lunged at him. He nudged the ball away at the last second.
Another rushed in from his blind side. Winston heard the heavy breathing behind him before the challenge arrived. His instincts took over. Without looking, he shifted the ball onto his right foot, exhaled calmly, and exploded into a McGeady Spin.
The defender was left reaching at thin air. Winston accelerated down the left channel before cutting diagonally toward the penalty area. The goalkeeper rushed off his line. Winston relaxed his shoulders. With one composed touch, he slipped the ball between the keeper's legs. The stadium fell silent. Then the net rippled. Westminster had completed the comeback.
Thwack!!
[DAILY USER CHALLENGES]
[Score a hat trick: 03/03]
[Spear: 03]
[Activated skill: Gamecharger]
[Activated skill: Technical]
The entire Westminster dugout rose to its feet. Some stood frozen in disbelief. Others erupted into cheers. None of them could believe Winston had just dribbled through nearly the entire Giants Hawks team by himself. His balance was impeccable. His acceleration came in perfectly timed bursts. Every touch kept the ball glued to his feet, allowing him to weave effortlessly between defenders.
For a moment, he looked less like a youth player and more like someone who belonged in the senior league. Even a few Giants Hawks players rubbed their eyes in disbelief after he slipped past them. The head coach couldn't take his eyes off Winston. Is this really the same boy? Only weeks ago, he had stood beside Winston's hospital bed, convinced the youngster's football career was over.
The injuries had been horrific. Broken bones-A coma-Even the doctors had admitted that, if Winston ever played football again, it would take nothing short of a miracle. Yet here he was. Scoring goals. Gliding past defenders with confidence. Playing with a composure that hadn't existed before the accident. No one watching this match would have guessed he had been lying unconscious just weeks earlier.
Oswin caught up with Winston before he reached the halfway line and jumped onto his back. "Bro! What the heck was that?" he shouted with a laugh. "You surfed through those defenders! Man, now I'm fired up!"
Winston smiled. "I was still a little off."
Oswin blinked. "What do you mean?"
"I should've attacked through the middle instead. One of their defenders has a weak foot."
Oswin instinctively looked toward the Giants Hawks back line, "Which one? I don't see it."
"The one on the left."
Oswin studied the defender for another moment before jogging back into position. With eighty minutes gone, the Giants Hawks threw everything forward in search of an equalizer. But Westminster's defense stood firm. Every attack was repelled. Every cross was cleared. Every shot was blocked.
Finally...
Fweerrret! Fweerrret! Fweerrret!
The referee blew for full time.
High above the pitch, inside the VIP section, two men dressed in black suits remained seated while the rest of the spectators slowly filed out. One adjusted his glasses. The other calmly exhaled a stream of cigarette smoke.
"So," the man with the glasses said, "what do you think? Is he one of the testers?"
The smoker kept his eyes on Winston below. "Yes."
He took another slow drag. "For someone who was in a coma just a few weeks ago to move like that..." He paused. "It doesn't make sense."
"Then why isn't his name on the testers' list?"
"That's what bothers me."
Silence settled between them for a moment.
"He has three matches left before the season ends," the man with the glasses said. "Do you think he'll keep using the pill?"
"I would." The smoker shrugged. "If he wants to attract attention from senior club scouts, he'd have every reason to."
"A shame there aren't any scouts watching today."
The smoker gave a faint smile. "We're fortunate the Federation hasn't made its announcement yet." He stood, brushing ash from his sleeve. "I can't wait to see what he does next."
The man with the glasses chuckled. "Come on. Drinks are on you."
The smoker snorted. "That's what you said last time."
"What can I say?" his companion replied with a grin. "There was a beautiful woman at the bar."
The smoker gave him a flat look. "...You're unbelievable."
Together, the two men disappeared into the crowd, leaving behind more questions than answers.