“Why is your body so tough?”
Kyle grimaced as he rubbed his still aching chest.
“Hey, linemen. Are you not doing it properly?”
The line’s role is to protect the quarterback at the forefront. When the attack begins, they must hold off the defensive line to give the quarterback time to pass.
“Why the hell are you rushing in as soon as we start? Get your heads straight.”
“……”
The linemen had nothing to say.
It was personally humiliating to be overpowered by Hyunsoo, who was several weight classes smaller.
Both sides regrouped for the second attack.
“Hike!”
As soon as the ball reached Kyle’s hands, the attackers moved to their respective positions.
The line desperately pushed back the defensive players trying to break through.
The receivers ran quickly towards the touchdown zone to receive the pass.
“Huh?”
Kyle should have trusted the line and focused on watching the receivers’ movements.
Because no defender would foolishly leave a receiver open, he shouldn’t miss the moment when the receiver creates space by constantly stepping.
“What is that?”
But he found himself checking Hyunsoo’s movement first.
This time, the linemen charged at Hyunsoo with the intention of completely flattening him.
It seemed that Hyunsoo was being pushed back too easily without much resistance.
“Ah!”
But then, with a nimble spin move, Hyunsoo slipped through a gap in the line and started running fiercely.
According to common sense, it was like hitting a rock with an egg. It seemed like a meaningless gesture.
“Block him!!”
But he was so fast that the linemen couldn’t react, and instead, Hyunsoo hit them hard and knocked them off balance, causing them to fall to the ground.
“Crazy!”
Kyle quickly moved backward in fright. He threw the ball as fast as he could…
“Ugh!”
But he got tackled much harder than before and fell to the ground.
The pain was twice as bad.
“He hit the exact same spot as before!”
The pass failed due to the rushed throw.
“How was that? My tackle’s getting better, right?”
Seeing Hyunsoo’s nonchalant expression, Kyle felt uneasy for the first time.
“Just a little more, and I’ll get the hang of it.”
“……”
Hyunsoo thought American football was similar to chess.
At the front line, the offensive and defensive lines face each other.
“This is the most important part.”
If the first line does its job well, the movements of the second line become free.
If the defense wins the line fight, they can pressure the quarterback and even force a down, as they just did.
Conversely, if the offense wins, spaces are created for the running back to advance with the ball, or the receivers can position themselves to catch a pass from the quarterback.
“This is so fun.”
It felt different from basketball. Utilizing space was crucial, and various variables arose depending on the movement of each ‘piece.’
It was fun to meticulously calculate in his head and predict the players’ movements.
“Alright, everyone to your positions.”
In the reduced 7-man game, the number of offensive attempts was reduced to three.
They had to advance 10 yards (approximately 9 meters) within three tries, but the football team had to kick the ball after being stopped twice.
They kicked the ball far away so that the opponent would start their attack as far from the touchdown zone as possible.
“Ready?”
Dianthe took the quarterback position for the attack. Originally a quarterback in the football team, he had to focus on the basketball team after losing the starting position to Kyle.
“That’s why he’s particularly motivated for today’s game.”
Hyunsoo positioned himself as the running back behind the quarterback.
Unlike receivers who infiltrate the opponent’s territory to catch a pass from afar, the running back receives the ball directly from the quarterback and has to break through the line.
The running back needs to be the fastest on the team and have a tough build due to collisions with the line. It was a very important but equally dangerous position.
- He’s a real cheat. He handles almost every position well… Running back is completely unbalanced. Even the football team won’t have a solution.
Everyone acknowledged this after Hyunsoo practiced various positions over the past few days.
Hyunsoo’s running back skills were top-class at the high school level.
“Hike!”
As the attack began, the defense fiercely resisted as if seeking revenge. The defensive line, the position with the most physical disparity, quickly wavered.
A gap quickly formed, and a defender rushed towards the quarterback, while the line remained vigilant, unsure when Hyunsoo, the running back, would receive the ball and start running.
Even though they were a basketball team, they had already experienced Hyunsoo’s explosive power and speed firsthand.
“Now!”
Dianthe pretended to make a long pass. But it was a fake to confuse the incoming defenders.
Hyunsoo subtly signaled with his hand, and Dianthe immediately passed the ball to him on the side.
“Here he comes! Break him!”
The defensive line reacted immediately. They were determined not to let him pass under any circumstances.
But Hyunsoo didn’t rush forward. He had already memorized the receivers’ movements in his head before receiving the ball.
“Where’s the best spot?”
Whoosh-
It took less than a second for the pass.
“Crazy guy.”
The football team watched the arc of the ball with a contemptuous look.
It was good to catch them off guard. Watching the front as if playing a passing game and then giving the ball to the running back was a classic tactic.
But in a situation where everyone was wary of Hyunsoo’s breakthrough power, having the running back make a long pass himself? It was a method that might work once or twice.
“Too hasty. Definitely an amateur.”
However, a long pass like that requires natural shoulder strength and accuracy honed through long practice, so the defenders didn’t give it much importance.
“Huh?”
Kyle moved his body along the path of the ball, just in case.
He was playing as the safety at the very back of the defense.
When a long pass like this is thrown, his job was to stick to the receiver and knock the ball away or tackle them to get them down.
“This doesn’t feel right.”
As a quarterback, Kyle had a sense just by looking at the shape of the flying ball.
The ball was spinning perfectly, minimizing air resistance. The more forcefully thrown, the more likely it was to wobble, but this one had no flaws.
“No way?”
Even Kyle couldn’t catch up to Charles, who had been running at full speed from the start.
All he could hope for was a mistake from Charles. Balls falling from this distance are often missed even by professional receivers.
“……!”
But surprisingly, when Charles reached out his hand, the ball landed perfectly in his hand without even needing to jump.
Kyle could only watch helplessly as Charles entered the touchdown.
[6:0]
The football team’s eyes turned fierce at the basketball team’s first score.
This was unacceptable.
They quietly gritted their teeth and returned to their positions.
Coach Laban of the football team was in a foul mood.
“Stupid kid.”
He could see exactly what Kyle had in mind when he pushed for the basketball match.
But he should have known his place before making such a move.
Physicality isn’t everything in sports. Coach Russell’s training was professional and focused on strengthening teamwork.
No matter how skilled individuals were, it was hard to predict victory against a ‘team.’
“He should have at least checked their skill level before picking a fight.”
It showed how little the football team thought of the basketball team, simply because they had fallen behind in the competition.
- Coach, I want to have a football match against the basketball team this time. Please allow it.
Even Kyle had called when they moved the stage to football, recognizing the seriousness of the situation.
- Stupid kid. Are you a grade-schooler? You lose in basketball, so you want to play football? What do you gain from winning? You’ve already failed your objective. No, you’ve only proven that Coach Russell’s basketball team is well-prepared. Just accept the loss. That’s also part of sports.
He had angrily refused.
From the atmosphere, it seemed like they were requesting a proper game, not something like tag football or flag football.
The basketball team would never agree to it. They had already salvaged their pride, and there was no reason to risk injury.
He was furious at the captain who couldn’t even understand this basic principle and was flailing around.
“……”
Coach Laban’s thoughts changed 180 degrees after watching Angela’s video of the basketball game.
They lost too miserably.
It wasn’t even like a rival team with some significance in a sports movie, but more like an extra team discarded after being used to highlight the protagonist team.
“They challenged them with this skill level??”
It wasn’t just a damage to the football team’s image; they became a laughingstock. The team’s image directly affects ticket sales and the recruitment of middle school players in the future… One game had poured cold water on all that.
“They didn’t even take down the video. Damn the board.”
The video, viewed by 5 million people, was infamous even in the local district. Many industry colleagues had called to mock him after watching it.
No matter how much he wanted to take down the video to mitigate the situation, Angela had been granted significant authority over video shooting, at least within the school.
Especially since all the participants had agreed, and it had raised expectations for the previously underperforming basketball team, it was tolerated.
- Coach, the basketball team said it’s okay.
Then, while he was seething inside, he heard that the basketball team had agreed to the football match for some reason.
“At that time, I thought Coach Russell had lost his mind.”
The board eagerly promoted the match and sold tickets. Regardless of the outcome, it was good to raise interest in high school sports. The pride battle between the football and basketball teams was a very enticing topic.
Since it had come to this, he decided to allow the match to boost the team’s morale…
“Hey, you bastards!! Aren’t you doing it right?? Should I switch your positions to the basketball team??”
[12:0]
They had been scored on twice in the first 12 minutes of the first half. Fortunately, there were no field goals in the 7-man game, or they could have conceded 2 more points.
The biggest problem now was that the football team’s initial momentum was quickly dying down.
After the first score, they were anxious, but the basketball team’s offense and defense were not easy to handle.
With thousands watching, the pressure was too much for high school students to bear.
At times like this, you need to call a timeout and change players to shift the atmosphere… But this was a friendly match between kids. There were no player changes or coach advice, just like in the basketball game.
“Is that really a human’s physicality?”
He had to admit it.
Watching Hyunsoo hold off two linemen shocked the stadium.
Overcoming the weight difference with strength is something you only see at the national level.
But being small also made him nimble, and his speed was on par with a track athlete.
“His ability to read the game is also terrifying. It feels like someone is giving him directions; his vision and judgment are that good.”
The second half was a bit better. They rallied around Kyle and executed various strategies.
[18:18]
The game ended in a tie, and both teams gathered to discuss whether to finish the game or add extra time.
- Decide the winner! Decide the winner! Decide the winner!
The crowd was in a frenzy.
The underdog’s struggle ignited everyone.
Everyone except the football team wanted the game to end with a clear winner.
This is boring. Why a draw?
Oh, come on. Cowards? Cowards?
But in the end, the game ended with both sides accepting a draw.
“We’ve already lost.”
Even if the football team had forced a win, they were already set for ridicule. The basketball team had earned their re-evaluation and pride, so they saw no need to continue the game.
Most importantly, the second-half performance had occurred without Hyunsoo.
Too bad. If that Asian guy hadn’t gotten injured, it would have been much more exciting.
Asian guy? It’s Hyun Lee. God Hyun.
After colliding with the line, Hyunsoo claimed he was injured and had to be substituted.
After the game, the football team quickly exited amidst boos.
They bowed their heads and left their home ground, while the visiting basketball team greeted the crowd.
Hyunsoo was even given a celebratory toss by the players.
Hilarious. You’d think they won a league championship.
Well, you don’t know. This probably means a lot to them. They’ve likely felt inferior to the football team for a while… This was their chance to completely blow it away.
When you put it like that, it makes sense.
Coach Laban watched Hyunsoo with a complex expression.
But he did gain one thing from this match.
“We must recruit him. He can turn public opinion in one go, and maybe even lead us to a state championship…”
October 1, 2020.
“Sir, another one came up!!”
Hero Arm, a company that supplied prosthetic arms and legs at 10% of the usual price using 3D printing, was buzzing again today.
“Really? Is it that person again?”
“Yes, that’s right. The ID is EDTBH.”
“Quick, bring it up!”
The world’s largest open-source community, HUB.
User EDTBH, who gained thousands of subscribers with a single post, uploaded their second post exactly a month later.
“Challenging the Domain of Gods. II”
The CEO clenched his fist.
“There really is a Part 2. They plan to continue releasing technology.”
At first, no one paid attention to the arrogant title.
Also, being a new user with no previous posts didn’t help.
But curiosity always finds an audience. The alarming content spread quickly.
“The future we should strive for is in here!”
Experts who reviewed the post seriously were astonished.
EDTBH had a vision of advancing artificial human bodies to the level of natural human bodies.
Of course, everyone in the industry started with that goal, but EDTBH went further by presenting very specific methods.
They comprehensively covered the development of essential materials, a high level of understanding of the human body, improvements in related laws, and public interest.
The framework of the technology was at least 5 years ahead, and it contained directions for the next 10 years.
“Indeed!”
Many world-class scholars were conducting joint research, inspired just by reviewing the post.
Even now, related research results were being uploaded in real-time to Part 1.
Of course, Hero Arm was also dedicating a significant portion of its development and research budget to participate.
“Our market will experience a major shift. Companies that invest based on this post will survive, and the rest will be eliminated.”
The CEO read the post with a face full of exhilaration. There was much he didn’t understand, but that only made him more certain. This was real.
The chief researcher, looking puzzled, asked:
“Honestly, if they broke down the technologies in here and sold them, they could get at least tens of millions. Why make them open-source?”
“It’s all in their username. ‘Everyone Deserves To Be Happy.’ They must be doing it for those who can’t enjoy a normal life due to physical limitations. They gave up money to bet on rapid technological development.”
“Wow… That’s incredible. Whoever they are.”
The CEO nodded silently.
But as he read the post, a suspicion arose.
“Perhaps the EDTBH team has already completed these technologies. For rapid commercialization, they need to narrow the gap with the industry and build proper infrastructure. If that’s the case, releasing these technologies could just be a strategy to scale up. After guiding everyone to invest in this direction, if they already have higher-level technologies monopolized, giving away this level of technology wouldn’t be a big deal.”
Either way, it was time to focus on developing technology. The CEO dismissed his musings as conspiracy theories and concentrated on the post.
