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Extra Chapter: On Every 50 powerstone
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As soon as Kang Hyun was substituted in, he sprang into action like a fish returned to water.
There was only one way to turn this situation around:
Run like hell, turn the overwhelmingly outmatched midfield into chaos, and eventually dominate it.
On top of that, Kang Hyun had another set of eyes—Han Myung-shin—standing right beside him, analyzing the field and feeding him instructions.
Effectively, it was 12 vs. 11. A sneaky, unsportsmanlike tactic, but what could he do?
Han Myung-shin was a ghost, invisible to everyone else anyway.
Wait. Can shamans see ghosts like Han Myung-shin?
The thought crossed his mind as he sprinted.
But it was quickly erased by Han Myung-shin's sharp yell:
—What are you daydreaming about mid-game?! I can see your feet slowing down! Run! Run, damn it!
'I am running!'
Kang Hyun pushed himself to the limit, sliding to tackle the ball away from the opposing striker.
"Ugh!"
The striker lost his balance and tumbled, but the referee didn't blow the whistle—it had been a clean tackle, only touching the ball.
"Nice! Now get up fast!"
The voice came from the coaching staff. Judging by the volume, it was Lee Yong.
Not that Kang Hyun needed the reminder—he was already scrambling to his feet to lead the counterattack.
Gasan University, who had pushed their line high to pour on the pressure, hastily retreated to reorganize their defense. But gaps were already everywhere.
—Pass it! A through pass!
That was exactly what Kang Hyun had in mind.
He glanced up at the forward—Kim Seok-joon, was it?
Kim Seok-joon was waving his arms like a preschooler waiting to cross the street.
Well, might as well send it his way!
No need to use the "Silk Road" technique here.
Kang Hyun executed the pass he'd learned from Han Myung-shin.
He hadn't practiced footwork and lifting drills much, but the through pass still landed neatly at the striker's feet.
—Run! To the right! Get in position for an easy pass! Go!
Thud-thud-thud.
'Ah, fuck, I'm gonna die.'
The curse slipped out involuntarily.
No matter how much he trained, sprinting like a madman in an actual game left him gasping for air within minutes.
Constantly running to find openings, tackling, immediately passing after getting up, then sprinting again—it demanded insane stamina.
But there was no time to complain.
As Han Myung-shin said, now was the time to run without thinking!
"Seok-joon! The right side's open!"
Lee Yong's shout echoed across the field.
Kim Seok-joon had hesitated earlier and lost the ball—and he was hesitating again now.
A defender stood in front of him, while the rest of Gasan's players were rapidly retreating.
Their defensive line was reforming in the blink of an eye.
"Hey—!"
Kim Kang Hyun raised his right arm, shout at the top of his lungs.
Pass it here, damn it! If you can't break through alone, just send it my way!
That was the desperate cry in his heart.
Luckily, Kim Seok-joon seemed to hear him. He glanced at Kang Hyun and passed.
Unlike Seok-joon's crowded position, Kang Hyun's side was wide open.
He received the ball and charged forward.
No one in sight.
—Your buddy's here now!
Oh.
One guy had caught up.
Lee Wan-sik.
No idea when he'd gotten there, but he lunged for a tackle just like Kang Hyun had earlier.
But with Han Myung-shin's guidance, Kang Hyun shook him off with a phantom dribble.
(Phantom dribble: A technique where the ball is swiftly shifted to the opposite foot with quick footwork.)
"What the—?!"
"Whoa! That's the stuff!"
Mixed reactions erupted from both sides.
Honestly, even Kang Hyun was surprised at himself.
How the hell did I pull that off?
But there was no time to dwell on it.
With one defender beaten, only one remained—the guy marking Kim Seok-joon.
Instead of rushing Kang Hyun, the defender kept an awkward distance, still wary of their striker.
In that case—
—Shoot!
He decided to trust his wild card again.
Closing the distance slightly, he fired with his right foot from just outside the penalty area toward the right side of the goal.
Whoosh—!
A crisp sound rang from his foot.
It felt good.
Just a hunch, but it felt clean and powerful.
Thud.
And just like that, the ball was sucked into the net.
"That's it!"
Cheers erupted from Misaeng FC, accompanied by applause.
Kang Hyun made sure to jog toward Lee Wan-sik and returned the "stroll celebration" he'd received earlier.
Lee Wan-sik sat on the ground, glaring.
Kang Hyun met his gaze with a challenging stare.
'What're you gonna do about it? You just got cooked by a backup.'
Satisfaction surged through him.
Seeing Gasan High's ace brought to his knees, staring daggers after being humiliated by a reserve player—it was delicious.
And he wasn't done yet.
His mission had barely even started.
Less than two minutes after the game resumed—
"Don't get cocky just because you got a lucky goal. I'll break your legs before this is over."
Lee Wan-sik, pride thoroughly wounded, spat out the threat.
Kang Hyun smirked.
"Oh, so now you're gonna foul me because you can't keep up? Classic. Guess that's all you've got when skill fails."
"Bullshit. A fucking nobody like you acting all high and mighty is disgusting. Who do you think you are?"
"The nobody who just wrecked Gasan High's ace. Got dribbled past by a 19-year-old retiree, huh?"
"You little—"
"Wan-sik, know your place. Army team? You'll be lucky to make K3."
Lee Wan-sik's face turned red, then purple.
Kang Hyun scoffed, muttered "dumbass" under his breath, and dashed off after the ball.
—Ah, the battles of the world's strongest. Tsk tsk.
Only Han Myung-shin, the sole witness to their childish squabble, shook his head in disbelief.
---
"Wow. Kim Kang Hyun's actually really good."
It was Lee Yong.
Ahn Jung-hoon nodded in agreement.
"No standout background, retired at 19, no illustrious past—yet he's the most noticeable one out there."
"It's his stamina. He hasn't stopped running except for goal kicks."
Goalkeeper coach Lee Yong-jae pointed it out sharply.
His endurance was on another level.
Even during training after the boot camp, he'd been the player with the most remarkable stamina.
But he wasn't just a workhorse.
"Defense? Check. Build-up? Check. Attack? Check. He's got no weak points. The game's completely changed since he came on."
All three coaches agreed.
After Kang Hyun's substitution, Misaeng FC—who had been getting demolished—was now holding their own against Gasan University.
With Kang Hyun covering all over the midfield, the one-sided match had turned into an even battle.
And it wasn't just the coaches who noticed.
Misaeng FC's players—specifically, the second-stringers watching from the sidelines—were all stunned by the shift in momentum.
"Damn, he's seriously good."
"How does he keep up that pace? Does he have two hearts or something?"
"He's an attacking mid, but his defending's solid too."
Among the admiring gazes, one pair of eyes burned particularly intensely.
Park Yoo-seung.
His pupils tracked Kang Hyun's every move.
The first game was nearly over, and Kang Hyun had only been on for about ten minutes—yet the impact was undeniable.
Beyond competitiveness, beyond jealousy—no, this wasn't jealousy. It was more like...
'He's a completely different type of player. I could never play like that.'
To Park Yoo-seung, Kim Kang Hyun was the only one executing the coaches' tactics perfectly.
The whistle blew, ending the first match.
As Kang Hyun trudged over, drenched in sweat, Park Yoo-seung's heart pounded.
'I might not reach his level, but I'll give it everything I've got.'
He steeled himself.
For the second game, he'd work just as hard as Kim Kang Hyun.
---
The second game was distinctly different.
Boosted by Kang Hyun's performance, Misaeng FC played aggressively.
No one slacked off.
If the first game had been frustrating for the coaches, the second saw every player running themselves ragged to follow the strategy.
And Gasan University was the one suffering now.
To them, this was just a practice match—but their opponents were treating it like their lives depended on it, raising the risk of injuries.
The tempo had skyrocketed, with attacks and defenses switching constantly.
But even among the frenzy, Kim Kang Hyun stood out.
His passes cut through blind spots, and his forward balls were razor-sharp.
Of course they were—for him, this match came with an enormous reward, so he was going all out.
The others just saw him as an exceptionally passionate player, but for Kang Hyun, this was a pivotal moment.
"Ugh!"
A sharp tackle came in against Gasan's left-back.
Park Yoo-seung.
The left-back staggered, losing balance—and the ball.
Park Yoo-seung was clearly a cut above Gasan's full-backs.
After stealing the ball, he sprinted down the wing.
"Mark him!"
Lee Wan-sik's voice.
He'd started the second game too—after all, he was Gasan's ace.
At his command, Gasan tightened their marking on Misaeng's key attackers.
But Park Yoo-seung showed no intention of passing, speeding down the right flank.
In seconds, he reached the corner kick area and scanned the penalty box—packed with Gasan players.
Only one Misaeng FC player was inside.
Should he cross?
After a split-second decision, Park Yoo-seung fired a powerful ground pass.
To Kim Kang Hyun, positioned just outside the box.
The Gasan defenders, underestimating the threat, hadn't closed him down.
Only Lee Wan-sik, driven by personal spite, belatedly chased after him.
But it was too late.
Whoosh!
The Gasan defenders and goalkeeper barely reacted.
Kang Hyun didn't even trap the ball—he struck it first-time.
A shot from just outside the penalty box, weaving past every player before burying itself in the net.
"That's the one!"
"Whoa!"
Clap-clap-clap-clap—!
The coaches nodded in satisfaction as applause rang out.
Meanwhile, Gasan's staff huddled together, faces grim.
The goal had flipped the game's momentum entirely—Gasan's morale plummeted, while Misaeng's soared.
Their goalkeeper berated the defenders, who sighed and exchanged exasperated looks.
Kang Hyun celebrated in front of Lee Wan-sik with his teammates, mimicking a steering wheel with his hands—a cheeky, playful gesture.
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