System to Dominate Football

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On the Sunday evening when he made his decision, Kang Hyun expected to get an earful—no, make that four earfuls—from his team captain.

He could've just hung up and blocked the number, but out of respect for their past bond, Kang Hyun pleaded earnestly. When he said he wanted to play football again, the captain just sighed deeply but eventually gave his permission. Not like he had a choice—Kang Hyun would've done it anyway.

And then.

Dinner with the family.

Kang Hyun slowly scanned the faces around the table as they ate. His father, dressed in worn-out clothes, ate quietly. His mother clicked her tongue while watching TV, where a reality show dramatized some toxic relationship drama. The panelists on the program sighed in disapproval, as if speaking for mothers nationwide.

As for his brother...

He was slurping down soup with gusto, wearing nothing but his underwear.

Yeah.

Mom's kimchi stew was pretty damn good.

"Ugh. Tell your brother to put some clothes on. What is he, freaking Zhu Bajie? That gut of his—"

Zzzt.

Kang Hyun shot Han Myung-shin a glare.

"I-I mean, it's just not pleasant to look at! Not trying to throw shade!"

Sighing, Kang Hyun clanked his spoon loudly against the table to get everyone's attention.

Clank.

"I have something to say."

"Since when do you use honorifics? Slurp."

His brother, Kim Kang-seop, responded while inhaling the kimchi stew like it was water. Ignoring him, Kang Hyun alternated glances between his parents before dropping the bomb.

"I quit the factory."*

"Oh? What? I thought you said you'd stick it out till you got unemployment benefits. Couldn't handle the grind?"

"Shut the hell up."*

Han Myung-shin was right.

His brother was Zhu Bajie.

A foul-mouthed Zhu Bajie.

"What do you mean you quit? Why?"

His mother's eyes widened in shock.

"I'm gonna try football again."*

"Oh, so after failing once, you're jumping back in? Munch munch. Still not thinking straight, huh?"*

Kim Kang-seop noisily chewed on a sausage while throwing shade.

Kang Hyun's fists itched.

If his parents weren't here, he'd have throw his plate straight to his head.

"Football... again? Why all of a sudden?"

His mother's voice dripped with skepticism as she narrowed her eyes.

Yeah, that was the expected reaction.

After all, he was the one who'd sworn never to touch soccer again.

"Guess he wants to suck the marrow out of his own spine or something. Slurp."

"Hey, Hyun. Hate to say it, but your brother's really asking for it. But don't let it get to you. Prove yourself with your skills, and they'll have no choice but to acknowledge you."

Han Myung-shin warned him not to take the bait in this critical moment.

Right.

Patience...

The patience of a saint.

Arguing now would just leave a bad impression on his parents.

"Han Myung-shin told me to play football again. Said he'd coach me."

"What?"

His mother looked genuinely baffled. His brother kept eating without a reaction. His father silently stared at him.

"Hey, what the hell are you—"

"Just kidding. I've been thinking about this for a while. I'm not asking for help—I'll support myself with the money I saved from the factory. I'm not asking for permission either. Just letting you know what I'm gonna do."

"Then why suddenly soccer? You were the one who said you'd never play again!"

His mother's voice rose slightly.

Kang Hyun replied nonchalantly.

"It's my life."

"...What?"

"Whatever happens, I'll take full responsibility. I've finished my military service—I'm an adult now."*

It might've sounded immature, but he was dead serious.

Plus, he had two solid backers now.

Not that he could mention that.

Honestly, he didn't know what the future held, but with this cheat-like system, failing to go pro would require something like having a prosthetic leg.

Success was practically guaranteed—as long as he worked hard.

And Kang Hyun was ready to work harder than ever.

His father, who had been silent, set down his chopsticks and looked at him intently.

"This is new."

"Huh?"

"I've never seen my son speak with this much conviction before."

"..."

Well, duh. He had Han Myung-shin and a crazy game system now.

But he couldn't say that.

If he did, not only would they not believe him, but even as family, they'd look at him like he was insane.

"Should we check him into a mental hospital?"

That'd be the family discussion for the next month.

So staying quiet was the best move.

"Then go for it."

"Honey!*

His mother's eyes looked ready to shoot lasers.

His father chuckled lightly and defended himself.

"If Hyun wants to do it, what can we do? And like he said, he's an adult now. It's his life, and he'll take responsibility. Don't go soft and dip into our retirement fund for him later."

"Ooooh. Dad dropping wisdom."

"You, on the other hand—lose some weight. Meet a nice girl. You still don't have a girlfriend, do you?"

"...I do?"

"Show me a picture then."

"We don't take pictures."

"Tch."

His father shook his head and picked up his chopsticks again.

"Your dad's way cooler than your brother. How did such a son come from such a father... Ah, sorry."

Kang Hyun didn't even glare—he agreed too much.

And like that, albeit a bit messily, he got his family's approval.

---

The next morning, Kang Hyun was dragged out of bed at dawn by Han Myung-shin's relentless orders.

He had to get in shape.

They headed to a small track near his house.

"We'll start light with a 10km run! Go!"

"That doesn't sound light at all..."

"Less talking, more running! Growth comes with pain!"

His body, drowned in alcohol and fat, screamed during the 10km run.

"W-Wait... Huff! I'm dying. I can't... do this..."

"If you can talk, you can run! If you were really exhausted, you wouldn't be able to speak! Run! Now!"

Han Myung-shin barked orders like a drill sergeant.

Gritting his teeth, Kang Hyun kept going.

Even though he'd stretched lightly before running, his calves burned like they were splitting apart.

He knew this feeling all too well.

Lack of exercise.

Severe lack of exercise.

"Fuck! I can't even run 10km? Me?"

Then he remembered the casual football match.

Right.

Han Myung-shin had pointed out how little he ran even in the second half.

He'd brushed it off then, but seeing his stamina now, it made sense.

"The one thing I could rely on was my stamina, and now 10km feels like death? Damn it!"

He'd built a wall between himself and exercise for too long.

So he pushed even harder.

Several times, he wanted to collapse and roll on the ground, but he slapped his cheeks and endured.

"Fuck! Fuck!"

"Good! Swear all you want! Just don't stop running! Don't you dare walk!"

"Fuck!"

Cursing, he forced himself through sheer willpower.

There were moments when his breath hitched like he was drowning.

Every time he thought "This is it, I can't go on," Han Myung-shin's furious shouts snapped him back.

Finally, he finished the 10km laps.

The second he stopped, he collapsed face-first onto the track, gasping for air.

He pulled out his phone to check the time—1 hour, 10 minutes, 53 seconds.

Finishing was an achievement, but seeing the time was humiliating.

This was average fitness level.

Like, barely active average.

Clap clap clap!

As he focused on breathing, he turned his head toward the applause.

Han Myung-shin.

"Not bad mental fortitude. Good job. 10-minute break."

Kang Hyun didn't even have the energy to respond.

He just breathed.

And as he did, the world looked... different.

Had the world always been this beautiful?

Damn...

That hellish 10km run.

But it was just the beginning.

"We'll gradually increase intensity to avoid burnout. First, diet."

Low-calorie chicken breast and salads.

A completely unfamiliar menu.

"A thousand jump ropes! Start!"

"Fuck!"

Thankfully, Han Myung-shin allowed him to break it into sets—250 jumps each, four sets total.

By the end, his legs refused to lift, and he kept tripping.

Han Myung-shin ordered him to take off his shoes—each stumble agonizingly stung his toes.

"Hurts, but it's effective. Later, we'll switch to double-unders. Be ready."

By the time he finished jump ropes, it was around 9 AM.

The day was far from over.

"Morning training done. Shower and rest up."

"...Seriously?"

"What? Want to run more?"

"N-No! Absolutely not!"

Panicked, Kang Hyun bolted home, showered, and flopped onto the couch.

His legs felt like lead.

Had his stats improved from all this suffering?

He checked—but shockingly, nothing had changed.

[Kim Kang Hyun]

- Stamina: 45/45

- Endurance: 41/41

- Detailed Stats (Tap to View)

- Total: 29

- Skills: Silk Road (F)

- Items: None

"Wait."

Something was off.

Why was his stamina still at "45" when he was completely drained?

Han Myung-shin checked the stats and theorized:

"Maybe the system only deducts stats during actual soccer matches?"

"So if I play a game now, will my drained stamina recover?"

"Maybe, maybe not. We'll have to test it. Either way, this status window and your physical condition seem separate. Probably."

Now that he thought about it, it was weird.

After slacking for so long, his stamina and endurance were still in the 40s—higher than his other stats.

Maybe those were baseline stats given to all players.

Shaking his head, he decided not to overthink it. Right now, he just wanted to rest.

That evening, he ran again.

But to avoid overexertion, he halved the distance—5km run and 500 jump ropes.

Even that was brutal.

But he pushed through.

And repeated it daily.

After about a week, he upped the evening session to match the morning—10km and 1,000 jumps.

Around then, the system finally delivered a message:

[Continuous training has increased Stamina by 1.]

He was stunned.

He'd hoped, but never expected stats actually rising.

From then on, he trained even harder.

Once 10km became manageable, the difficulty spiked again.

[Continuous training has increased Stamina by 1.]

[Continuous training has increased Stamina by 1.]

[Continuous training has increased Endurance by 1.]

[Continuous training has increased Endurance by 1.]

The harder the training, the slower the stat gains.

Like leveling up in a game—higher stats required exponentially more effort.

And in just one month, his weight had drastically changed.

[Detailed Stats]

...

Age: 21

Height: 183 cm

Weight: 79.5 kg

Preferred Foot: Right

==

7.5kg lost in a month.

But by BMI, he was still overweight.

He needed to lose another 2.5kg to hit "normal."

He compared it to a pre-training photo.

The difference was huge.

"Slack off, and it'll come back fast. But you won't, right?"

Around that time, a promotional video circulated online:

Ahn Jung-hoon, the 2002 legend, smiled awkwardly as he said those words.

"Oh, I watched this before. Season 2, huh?"

Misaeng FC.

Han Myung-shin glanced at it and dropped a bombshell.

"Apply."

"Huh?"

"You could get an agent and try out for a pro team, but this is more efficient. Your body's still a work in progress, and you're nowhere near pro-level skill yet."

"So you're saying I should join this to improve?"

"Exactly. Build your body and get real-game experience. I remember watching this before I died."

"Wow, you watched this too? Even legends were fans?"*

"Pretty sure I tweeted support back then. Or was that a dream?"

"Probably a dream."

"Shut up and apply. Deadline's in a month, right?"

"Yeah, it says so here."

"Perfect. Actual tryouts will be a month after that—plenty of time to get in shape. Just don't get rejected on paper."

"But my stats suck. Won't I get filtered out?"*

"Just apply. If you get rejected, we'll figure something else out."

"Kay~"

He sat at his computer for the first time in ages and filled out the application.

His resume was embarrassingly empty, so he poured his heart into the personal statement.

*

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