Chapter 9: The Elastic Debt
The final whistle at the SV Sloten grounds didn't just end the match; it cut the cord on Luuk's adrenaline.
As the other trialists slumped to the grass, gasping for air, Luuk stood still. His silver-grey eyes were fixed on the goal he'd just decimated, but his focus was internal. The "Scorpion" snap and the "no-backlift" poke hadn't been free.
[Warning: Kinetic Load exceeding current Coordination (64.2)]
[Neural Fatigue: High]
[Hip Flexor Torque: 82% of Structural Limit]
"Number 42! Over here!" Coach Visser called out, waving his clipboard.
Luuk walked toward the sideline. With every step, he felt the Friction. The frame that had moved like a whip minutes ago was beginning to seize. The "Desync" was back—his brain was still firing at Nagi-level speeds, but his muscles were cooling down and tightening like shrinking leather.
"That last strike," Visser said, his voice lower now that they were away from the others. "That wasn't a football kick. That was a snap. Where did you learn to generate power from a dead-stop?"
"I've been working on my chambering," Luuk said. His voice was steady, but he had to consciously lock his knees to keep his legs from trembling.
"Whatever it is, it works. Come back Tuesday for the first team session. Don't be late."
Luuk nodded, took his bag, and headed for the exit. He didn't wait for the communal showers. He needed to get home before the biological debt came due.
The walk to the tram was a slow crawl. The Amsterdam wind, which usually felt like a challenge, now felt like a weight. By the time he sat down on the plastic tram seat, the pain had arrived.
It wasn't a dull ache. It was a sharp, biting protest in his pelvic bowl and lower back. To execute those "Out-of-Coordinate" moves with his current flexibility, he had essentially overclocked his joints. He could feel a dry, feverish heat radiating from his skin.
He leaned his head against the cold glass of the window, closing his eyes. The Status Screen flickered in the dark of his eyelids.
[Current Status: Biological Reconstruction Initiated]
[Thermal Output: High]
[Recommended: Immediate Neural Flush and Cryo-Therapy]
He reached his apartment in De Pijp as the sun began to dip below the rooftops. The house was quiet; his father's work boots were missing from the hallway. Hendrik was likely on a double shift.
Luuk went straight to his room. He didn't even turn on the light. He stripped down to his boxers and stood in the center of the small space.
"Again," he whispered, his voice cracking.
He dropped into a side-lunge. It was a move he'd done a thousand times, but tonight, his body fought him. His frame was lengthening—his bones were throbbing with the deep, heavy ache of a growth spurt—and his muscles were struggling to keep up with the new reach.
He stayed in the lunge, feeling the "Lag." He could visualize the perfect, feline turn of Nagi Seishiro, but his own hips felt like rusty hinges. He forced the movement, breathing through the sharp stabs of pain. He wasn't just stretching; he was re-mapping his nervous system to accept the torque.
[Flexibility: 57.8 -> 58.2]
[Coordination: 64.2 -> 64.5]
The decimal points felt like blood-money.
He finished the session in the shower, the water as cold as the North Sea. He stood there until his skin turned blue, letting the Hyper-Recovery flush the heat from his tendons.
When he finally collapsed onto his mattress, he felt "longer." It was a strange, buzzing sensation in his shins and spine. He wasn't the same player who had walked into the cage a few days ago. He was a weapon being forged, and the fire was the friction of his own evolution.
[Status: Bone Marrow Optimization Active]
[Neural Desync: Reducing...]
As his eyes closed, he felt the ball at the end of the bed. Even without looking, his 100 Ball Sense told him exactly where it was. He reached out a foot, hooked the ball with his toe, and pulled it under the covers with him.
He didn't need a club to tell him he was a player. He could feel it in the heat of his bones.
A/N: Happy New Year to you all 🎉
I hope you enjoyed the chapters till now