Overwhelming the National Team

After exchanging greetings with the national team players, Jung Hyuk looked around.

The senior national team at nineteen…

Everything was so different from before his regression. In the past, at this age, he had been nothing more than an ordinary high school soccer player—a thoroughly average athlete who'd barely scraped into the prospect category after receiving C-class talent.

But his standing now was entirely different. He was starting in the EPL, and he had been called up to the senior national team.

Memories of the past flickered through his mind. It was a strange feeling.

Of course, he wasn't entirely at ease. If anything, he felt a little uncomfortable. His club, Southampton, was riding a wave of peak form—if they kept producing results like this, a league title wasn't out of the question. Being called up to the national team while carrying so much of the load for his club meant leaving them short-handed.

But still.

There was a reason he had come to the national team anyway. Representing one's country was a glorious honor in its own right. The real reason, though, was something else entirely.

The message floating before his eyes right now—that was the true reason.

He had experienced it with the U-20 national team as well—becoming a national team player came with a reward. And the reward was far too sweet to ignore. That was the real reason Jung Hyuk had answered the senior national team call-up.

Jackpot, as expected.

A full +2 to every stat was a massive reward. Considering the U-20 call-up had only given +1, the difference in reward tier was clear.

With the reward applied, Jung Hyuk's stats now looked like this:

The stats reflected enormous growth. Unlike the pathetic numbers of his past life, every attribute except tackling and passing had now broken 80. His speed was even sitting at 104.

Jung Hyuk was certain. Stats like these put him in the upper tier even within the EPL. There couldn't be that many players with better numbers than his. And among the national team players gathered here, none would outrank him.

Of course, stats weren't everything. There were players who performed brilliantly through sheer experience even with lower numbers. Jung Hyuk himself had put in strong performances in the past by leaning on decades of accumulated experience when his stats had still been poor.

Even so, stats did have a direct impact on ability. And a short while later, a stage was set where he could put those elevated stats to proper use.

Just before the practice match began, a new message appeared before Jung Hyuk's eyes—and that message was the stage itself.

Manager Hong Seong-bo watched the players train with sharp eyes. But it wasn't long after training began that those eyes started to widen—because of Jung Hyuk and Oh Jung-hoon, training alongside the other national team players.

"Those two kids… their physical ability is pretty solid, isn't it?"

The coach standing beside him answered carefully to the muttered remark.

"…Yes. Honestly, they're a cut above the others."

"Hmm… and they're not even adults yet… physical ability like that? Well, well."

The surprise ended there. Outstanding physical ability was impressive, but it didn't automatically mean someone was good at soccer. Hong Seong-bo returned to a cold, analytical gaze and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠focused intently on Jung Hyuk and Oh Jung-hoon's movement.

A short while later, just before the practice match began, the players gathered on the pitch. One look at their training bibs made it clear that what Hong Seong-bo had said in public was no empty talk.

The players who started regularly in the domestic K-League—the ones Hong Seong-bo had long fielded as first-choice—wore no bibs. By contrast, Jung Hyuk, Oh Jung-hoon, the J-League players, and the fringe candidates all wore fluorescent bibs.

In other words, the players in bibs had been provisionally classified as reserves, and those without them as starters.

A grin tugged at the corner of Jung Hyuk's mouth as he took his bib.

This should be fun.

If anything, it looked more entertaining this way. Of course, the starters on the other side were clearly better than his own teammates, so the mission difficulty would rise. But that was fine. He was confident he could overwhelm the national team players all the same.

Besides—

I've got Oh Jung-hoon.

At this point in time, Oh Jung-hoon was the perfect partner. They had spent enough time together that their chemistry was razor-sharp. His ability had improved at a ridiculous rate, too—Southampton's defenders couldn't even contain ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠him in training anymore.

Watching a talent that absurd, Jung Hyuk had even started to wonder whether the kid might secretly possess a Card of Dream of his own. On top of that, Oh Jung-hoon's soccer IQ was high enough that he made Jung Hyuk's life easy whenever they played together.

And now, the practice match began.

The team with the starters took the first possession. They passed the ball around slowly, settling into their rhythm. There was ease in their movement—the kind that came from confidence in their own ability.

And then two players in fluorescent bibs from the reserve side began to move, intent on shattering that ease.

The moment starter Lee Geun-oh received the ball, he laid it off to Lee Myeong-jun and spun out toward the flank. Lee Myeong-jun shaped up to drive a long pass into that run—

And a sliding tackle came screaming in under his feet. A perfect clean steal, taking only the ball.

You really ought to check your surroundings.

Jung Hyuk sprang back to his feet after winning the ball with the slide. Pressure arrived the instant he rose—Song Jin-yeong, a midfielder from the starter side. But Jung Hyuk shrugged it off with almost insulting ease. He dropped his center of gravity low, mixed in an upper-body feint, and Song Jin-yeong simply peeled off him.

Wide space opened around Jung ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Hyuk. In the EPL, another player would already have been closing him down—but this wasn't the EPL. As a veteran, Jung Hyuk could gauge a player's level just from a few strides of running, and the standard here was a long way below the Premier League.

With the press loosened, Jung Hyuk had plenty of options. He drove forward with the ball first, tapping it in short, frequent touches—a dribble that could change direction at any moment.

In the blink of an eye, he had closed to the edge of the starter side's defensive line at blistering speed. A dribble arriving that early was something the starter players had neither expected nor experienced.

"Hup—stop him!"

"Wh-what? Get tight, now!"

The startled starter defenders shouted and scrambled into shape, but to Jung Hyuk's eyes it was almost laughable. With a leisurely expression, he pushed further forward. Even if one or two of them closed him down, he was confident he wouldn't lose the ball.

In fact, he didn't lose it even under Kang Man-soo's heavy pressure. He kept spinning, slipping past the tackle, then poked the ball forward through a gap between the defenders.

The player racing onto that through ball was Oh Jung-hoon. With his explosive, muscle-packed frame, he bounced starter center-back Kim Du-hee clean off him and claimed the ball.

"Guh—!"

Kim Du-hee went sprawling. At the same time, Oh Jung-hoon struck for goal—and the ball cleanly bulged the net.

In that instant, the atmosphere on the national team training ground went ice-cold. Starters and reserves alike stared at Jung Hyuk and Oh Jung-hoon with stunned faces.

"Wh-what was that?"

"…What just happened?"

Hong Seong-bo and the coaches were staring at the pair with the same shocked expressions. Honestly, they were surprised. They had assumed the European performances were only possible because of systematic training and a team that had built chemistry over many matches.

So what on earth was this?

Hong Seong-bo and the coaches were no fools. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠It had only been a moment—only a single goal—but that short sequence was more than enough. Jung Hyuk and Oh Jung-hoon were better than the other national team players. Shockingly so. They were on a different level.

What followed in the match was not much different. The astonishing scenes kept repeating.

Jung Hyuk received the ball out on the flank and immediately threaded it between the legs of starter fullback Lee Woong, bursting past him. Lee Woong lunged desperately to grab him, but Jung Hyuk was already gone at terrifying speed.

"Insane! How is he that fast?!"

Lee Woong snarled in frustration and chased after him. But Jung Hyuk had already completed the wing break and was lofting a cross—a high, long delivery. Oh Jung-hoon rose high to meet the ball in flight.

Starter center-back Kim Du-hee jumped with him, but there was no comparison in leap. From an overwhelming height, Oh Jung-hoon hammered a header no one could stop.

With a sharp crack, the ball left his head, bounced in front of goal, and was sucked into the net. An additional goal less than five minutes after the first.

"Nice pass!"

Oh Jung-hoon shot Jung Hyuk a thumbs-up. Jung Hyuk grinned and returned it.

Throughout the first half, Jung Hyuk and Oh Jung-hoon never quite blended into the team. That was only natural. Unlike the players who had built chemistry under Hong Seong-bo many times over, today was their first time linking up with these teammates. They still didn't fully know one another's playing styles.

Even so, Jung Hyuk and Oh Jung-hoon put in an overwhelming performance for the entire first half. They might not have meshed with the others, but the chemistry they had forged from high school all the way through Southampton was perfect—and that partnership alone was enough to dominate the national team starters.

Of course, the reserve side hadn't kept a clean sheet either. Jung Hyuk had shuttled between attack and defense offering support, but they still conceded one goal to Lee Geun-oh. Even so, the reserves scored three in total before the half ended, with Jung Hyuk and Oh Jung-hoon each adding another goal of their own.

In the second half that followed, the gap only grew wider.

That was why. With the +3 to every stat from the trait effect, Jung Hyuk attacked even more aggressively than in the first half—and the national team starters could not stop him.

He drove forward at high speed. From the halfway line, starter players quickly ringed him in as he ran with the ball. They had learned through the first half that giving Jung Hyuk space was a mistake.

But Jung Hyuk didn't insist on dribbling through it. He used a teammate. Oh Jung-hoon immediately knocked the rolling ball back—a one-touch return pass to Jung Hyuk. That exchange let him slip free of the press.

And then, with starter defender Kim Du-hee in front of him, he unfurled a dazzling dribble. A feinted step, then a phantom dribble in one seamless motion so smooth it looked like a single action. Kim Du-hee was completely sold. He gave Jung Hyuk the space—and Jung Hyuk poured his body into it.

But then, having been beaten, Kim Du-hee slid in late and stuck out a foot. His boot clipped Jung Hyuk's trailing leg as he drove into the penalty box. Jung Hyuk's balance broke and he pitched forward—but even as he fell, he refused to abandon the ball. He planted a palm on the ground and swung his leg through to the end.

The shot wasn't perfect, but it carried enough power. It beat goalkeeper Kim Seung-gu and shook the net.

A goal forged by Jung Hyuk's concentration—the kind that never gave up until the very end.

And in that moment, a message appeared before his eyes.