Entering the attacking dome, Winston was met with stares from the players inside. Some shook their heads in disappointment. They had been hoping to challenge Winston next, thinking that his three-day sleep would give them the perfect excuse to catch him at a disadvantage. They had assumed he would be stiff and sore from sleeping for so long.
However, the rumours spreading among the players who had attended his match had changed their expectations. They had been amazed by what they saw—and disappointed that Winston was apparently doing just fine.
With his gym bag slung over his shoulder, Winston walked confidently toward Oswin. He placed his bag down and sat beside him as Oswin fastened the ankle weights around his legs.
"I'm surprised I got here before you."
"I was at the football field training with Bongani and Elijah," Winston said as he changed his sneakers into cleats. "You need to become an early-morning bird. You stood Elijah up, and he was looking to get some information from you."
"I'll apologize later. It's just that I spent the entire night training with these ankle weights. I think I'm getting the hang of them, to be honest with you." Oswin paused. "I was so tired that I couldn't wake up early this morning."
He fastened the last ankle weight and looked down at his legs.
"Wis, I think these ankle weights have helped with my footwork and speed. I think I've gotten faster than before."
Oswin lowered his voice as a thought crossed his mind. Dumi, you genius. You told Wis to put on these ankle weights because you wanted to increase his speed. Ever since he took them off, he's been faster than before.
He turned toward Winston. "Wis, how long did you have these ankle weights on?"
Taken aback, Winston sat up straight. Oswin's question caught him by surprise. He had been lying back and enjoying the cool morning weather.
He thought for a moment before answering. "I started putting them on back in Arlesey when I visited Boris."
Okay, so it's been a month and a half. Oswin thought for a moment before asking another question. "Did Dumi or Boris ever say why you should put these ankle weights on? Or did you ask what their purpose was?"
Winston shrugged. "Not really. I just wanted some physical training that would give my body greater strength and improve my acceleration. Why are you asking?"
Winston looked at Oswin with a furrowed brow. So I was right. These ankle weights can boost the explosive speed of the person wearing them.
Oswin chuckled to himself. They're clever, too. From afar, these ankle weights look like shin-guard straps, but up close, they're completely different.
He ran his hands over the ankle weights. And the material they used is so thin yet so heavy. Whoever designed these is a genius.
Winston stared at Oswin as he rambled to himself before nudging him. "Oswin, are you okay? You seem to be deep in thought."
"Huh? Yeah, yeah. I'm okay." Oswin quickly changed the subject. "By the way, did you hear about the match between Darwin and Derrick?"
Oswin continued running his hand over the ankle weight, still marveling at its design.
"No. What happened?"
"Apparently, Darwin beat Derrick six-nil. Darwin had ninety percent possession, and Derrick and his team were running around like headless chickens." Oswin stretched out his legs.
"It was inevitable, to be honest. That Darwin guy is skilled, and with his twin and Duke beside him, they make an unstoppable team," Winston said, lying back on the lush, freshly trimmed football field.
"Yeah. I also heard rumours that they're thinking about challenging Sebastian next."
Winston turned his head toward the twins. "I guess Darwin really wants that number-one spot. I wouldn't mind watching Sebastian play a match. I want to see why everyone is so scared of him."
"What about you? Don't you want to fight for that number-one spot with them?" Oswin asked while doing some leg exercises.
"Not now. I'm still way behind. I need to focus on getting to Group B first before I think about challenging anyone from Group A. Besides, Bongani, Elijah, and I came up with a plan."
"And that plan is?"
"Since you and Hickman are already in Group A, and Elijah is in Group B, Bongani and I will initiate more one-on-one challenges in the upcoming weeks to reach Group B. After that, the three of us will start initiating more challenges so we can climb together. We'll alternate who takes the one-on-one challenge each week."
Winston paused before continuing.
"Based on our calculations, each recruitment point we earn from one another's one-on-one challenges will help boost our rankings in the group tables. That way, nobody gets left behind."
"That's a good plan. And you came up with this plan this morning?" Oswin asked, switching the ankle weight to his other leg.
"Yeah. What do you think? We wanted to tell you and Hickman about the plan."
"I don't mind. I mean, being recruited by the three of you will also boost my rating in Group A, so I don't see a problem with it."
The bald, short instructor walked into the attacking dome with a cup of coffee in his hand. The players immediately stood up and formed a line in front of him.
"Good morning, players."
The players looked at one another, confused. This was the first time they had heard the bald, short instructor greet them like this.
Without waiting for a response, the instructor continued. "I enjoyed yesterday's match. I'm glad to see that the dome training is actually improving your skills."
He glanced at Winston and Darwin before raising his coffee cup and taking a sip.
"Okay, now that that's out of the way, today's training will focus on passing accuracy. From yesterday's match, I noticed that some of your passes were inaccurate."
He walked from side to side in front of the players. Behind him was the first training setup. "I need clean, crisp, accurate passes, along with some accurate shooting."
After explaining the drill, he blew his whistle.
The first exercise was a warm-up passing drill. The players had to pass the ball around and behind several mannequins. They formed a line and began passing the ball back and forth. After watching them for a while and deciding they were ready, the instructor blew his whistle again.
"Next drill. Receive, turn, and pass."
The players quickly moved into position.
Winston channeled his Nethen Essence into his feet. Yesterday's match had taught him something new. Whenever he received the ball and tried to turn while using his Nethen Essence, his movements became too heavy.
He wanted to get used to controlling the ball while keeping slivers of Nethen Essence flowing through his feet.
Again and again, his touches were too heavy—but Winston didn't give up. He continued repeating the movement until one of the instructor's assistants approached him.
"You're waiting too long to receive the ball," the assistant said. "You should already be moving before the ball reaches you."
Winston's eyes widened slightly, that was the same advice Dumi had given him before. Now that he could control his Nethen Essence, however, there was another problem. His feet had become so light that when he tried to trap the ball normally, it would bounce away from him.
Remembering the assistant's advice, Winston changed his approach. Instead of stopping the ball completely, he used the side of his cleat to guide it forward in a smooth, circular motion. The movement allowed him to keep his momentum while maintaining his explosive speed.
Winston nodded toward the assistant. "Thanks. I understand now."
Nearby, Oswin wasn't struggling nearly as much as before. After asking Winston those questions about the ankle weights, he had become convinced that removing them would make him even faster.
If these weights really helped Wis develop explosive speed, then once I take them off, my speed should improve too. The thought excited him.
As a winger, increased speed combined with his improved footwork could make him far more dangerous. A wide grin slowly spread across Oswin's face. It grew so large that it caught the attention of the bald, short instructor.
The instructor furrowed his brow. "I'm glad some of you are enjoying yourselves." His sarcastic tone immediately wiped the smile from Oswin's face.
Oswin quickly lowered his head and continued with the drill.