NOVEL WEB Chapter 5: Chapter 5: I'm sherious
"Alright, everyone, gather around! We've got a lot to cover today, and I want to see maximum effort from all of you. Remember, the first-team spots are up for grabs, and I'm looking for players who are willing to put in the work."
The old man was too excited, like a monkey in heat, but no one found it surprising. It's well known that Dmitry is the kind of person who gets easily excited, which is also one of the reasons he could only coach the youth team.
The team murmured in agreement, and we began our warm-up drills.
As we jogged around the field, I couldn't help but glance at Dmitry, who was still scribbling furiously in his notebook. I wondered what kind of training regimen he was concocting for me. I couldn't help but think of protagonists like Naruto and the like, who became incredibly strong after special training. Unfortunately, there was no one here who would understand me if I joked about this.
I joined the others who were warming up, and it wasn't until we finished the warm-up that Dmitry divided us into groups for specific drills.
I took a deep breath because I knew that I would definitely shock everyone here. Before, I was known more for my stamina, while my strength and speed were above average for youth players—not top-tier.
Now, though? It would be a joke if I couldn't be the best in any of the tests among these kids, none of whom were even 18 yet.
Dmitry clapped his hands sharply, snapping everyone to attention. "Alright, listen up! Group A, you're on agility drills. Group B, strength and conditioning. Group C, ball control and passing. And Group D, you're with me for speed and endurance testing."
Interestingly, I was placed in Group D for speed and endurance. We had done these kinds of basic drills many times in the past, and basically, everyone knew what to do.
I wasn't sure if it was because he had become more concerned about me after the morning session or if it was random, but he assigned the assistant coaches to the other groups while he led ours.
As he led us to the track, his notepad still in hand, he said, "We're starting with a 100-meter sprint. I want to see your best time. No holding back." He adjusted his stopwatch and gestured for the first runner to take their mark.
One by one, the players sprinted down the track, their times recorded with precision. Dmitry's expression remained neutral, his focus entirely on the task at hand.
When it was my turn, I stepped up to the line. No one felt anything strange—it wasn't the first time, after all. But I was ready to surprise them because this time, I was going all out.
"Ready... set... go!" Dmitry's voice cut through the air, and I exploded off the line.
The world blurred around me as I pushed my body to its limits. My legs moved with a speed I had never experienced before, each stride propelling me forward with incredible force. I crossed the finish line in what felt like an instant, my chest heaving as I came to a stop.
Dmitry's eyes widened as he looked at the stopwatch. "That... that can't be right," he muttered, shaking his head. He checked the watch again, then looked at me with a mix of shock and disbelief. "You just ran the fastest time I've ever seen from a youth player. What the hell happened to you?"
My teammates also looked at me incredulously, as if they couldn't believe it. "Oh my god, is that really Viktor?"
They started babbling about it, but I was more interested in the time recorded by Dmitry. When I looked at the stopwatch, it showed a very good 11.2 seconds, which, to be honest, was a little below my expectations.
Although it's very good even among athletes, it's not at the level of Kylian Mbappé's 10.6 or Adama Traoré's 10.5. But then, I realized I was being a bit greedy.
In football, what really matters isn't your speed over long distances but your explosiveness and starting speed. As long as you have those, you're a fast player—and it just so happens that they are now my strong points. I should definitely be considered top-notch.
"11.2 seconds—that's definitely top-level speed for a player," Dmitry exclaimed, clearly excited.
I looked at him with an expression that said, Man, are you serious? Then I realized my mistake: it's not 2025 but 1999.
What does that mean? Even Thierry Henry at his peak only recorded a 10.9. In other words, I'm really top-notch right now.
My teammates looked at me enviously. Even Alexei, who was known for his speed, only managed 12.0 seconds, while the average among my teammates was 13.5 seconds.
I thought about it carefully. Even if Djokovic has good explosive power, he shouldn't be that fast. I remembered the system's introduction earlier: it allowed me to buy templates and superimpose them on myself.
Wait—superimpose means placing their abilities on me. Where I'm already better, it wouldn't be lowered to the template's level, but where I'm weaker, it would be elevated to match the template's strengths.
When it comes to speed, there are too many factors involved, especially the muscles like the Gluteus Maximus, Medius, Minimus, Biceps Femoris, Semitendinosus, Semimembranosus, and many others.
Where the template is better than me, my abilities would reach the same level. But among so many muscles, there must be some parts where I'm already better than the template, which makes it normal for me to be faster than him.
I was very excited by this discovery. If it weren't for my memory from my past life as an intern, I wouldn't have even realized such a thing. It seems that all my hard work back then wasn't for nothing.
Speaking of my past life, I couldn't help but sigh. I had dreamed of playing football but was forced by reality to study hard. I could only write web novels where the main character would live out my dream while I listened to music. That was the peak.
After coming to this world, I had the chance to realize my dream, but unfortunately, I was no longer as excited as before. That was also why I was planning to only play for a few years, make money, and enjoy myself.
"Viktor," Dmitry finally said, his voice full of excitement. His face was so red that it looked scary. "What have you been doing? Did you train with some secret program? This... this is incredible."
The others were also waiting for my response. Hollywood movies had become quite popular by now, especially E.T., which was quite popular among young people.
The whole society was also quite superstitious, not yet having been "baptized" by the internet. I didn't doubt that if I didn't come up with a logical response, something strange would happen.
I smiled, forcing myself to blush as if I had been caught doing something wrong and was embarrassed. "Well... I'm the future leader of the national team. I have to be more serious now."
The deeper meaning was that I had never been serious in the past. Anyway, my reputation as a slacker was well deserved. In the future, after succeeding, no one would care, and they would try to create a positive image of me—how hardworking I was, the difficulties I overcame, and so on.