The field lights of the National Training Center were harsh and unforgiving, casting long, grotesque shadows across the synthetic turf.
It was 06:00 AM, but the Jakarta heat was already beginning its slow, suffocating climb. The humidity clung to the players' skin like a wet blanket. Rio stood on the edge of the line alongside thirty other players, all breathing heavily, their chests rising and falling in anxious unison.
This wasn't a game of skill. This was the Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery Test—the ultimate gauge of anaerobic endurance.
A portable speaker system sat on the sideline like an executioner, ready to bark commands. Two orange cones marked the twenty-meter distance. The drill was simple, brutal, and rhythmic: Sprint, recover, sprint, recover. The speed increased with each Level until the player could no longer keep pace with the beep.
Rio felt the collective tension of the camp vibrating in the air. For the local boys, this was about pride, about establishing dominance in the pack. For Rio, it was about extending his life past the next two months.
[CURRENT LIFESPAN: 49 Days, 04 Hours]
"You look like you're going to vomit," Specter noted, floating beside him, looking disgustingly fresh in his spectral suit.
Rio was pale. He had already burned six hours of lifespan just from the morning's light warm-up jog. His heart felt heavy and sluggish, protesting the tropical humidity that felt like breathing soup.
"I can't cheat this," Rio whispered internally. "The Mask is gone. This is pure cardiac output."
"Exactly," Specter hissed, leaning in. "Your heart is F-Rank. You'll die around Level 10. You need a better skill."
Rio opened the Shop with a mental flick.
[CURRENT BALANCE: 49 Days]
[ITEM: STAMINA POTION (Small)]Cost: 7 Days.
[SKILL: CATENACCIO LUNGS (Rank C)]Effect: Boosts recovery speed by 40%. Cost: 1 Month (30 Days).
"I can't afford the Lungs," Rio said, closing the shop with a shudder. "That leaves me with 19 days. Too risky. One bad game and I'm dead."
"Then buy the Potion," Specter urged. "It will keep you alive long enough to survive the Captain."
Rio hesitated. Seven days. He needed every second. He couldn't gamble just yet.
"No," Rio decided, clenching his fists. "I save the potion for when I'm actually dying. I have to rely on my mind."
A loud, mocking laugh cut through the tense silence of the field.
Bambang, the U-20 Captain, walked over, flanked by his clique of loyal followers. He looked pristine, his jersey crisp, radiating confidence and aggression.
"Valdes," Bambang drawled, speaking in clear, slow Indonesian that Specter quickly translated. "Still here? I expected you to quit after seeing the grass. Don't worry. I'll make sure you get a cold compress when you pass out."
Bambang pointed at the cones with a smirk.
"Remember my bet? Five hundred thousand Rupiah. Level 12. If you want to impress the coaches, you need to survive. Don't waste my time."
Rio met his gaze calmly. "I'll be waiting for you at the end, Captain."
The Test Begins
The recorded voice of the instructor boomed over the speakers, distorted and loud.
"Level 1. Speed 1."
Beep.
The first few levels were a fast walk. Easy. Rio stayed with the main pack, conserving every ounce of energy.
Beep.
Level 6. Speed 6.
The pace accelerated. The formation began to stretch like a rubber band.
Rio was already breathing heavily. His heart was beginning its heavy thump-thump rhythm against his ribs.
Level 9. Speed 9.
The separation began. The weak links fell away, collapsing on the turf, gasping for air. The sound of retching filled the sidelines.
Rio felt the familiar burning in his chest. His heart rate was spiking dangerously.
[SYSTEM WARNING][STAMINA: 30/100 (CRITICAL)]
I can't maintain this, Rio thought, stumbling slightly on the turn. My body is failing. I'm drowning on dry land.
He looked ahead. Bambang and his clique were running effortlessly at the front, chatting amongst themselves.
I have to cheat the test.
Rio activated his tactical skill.
[ACTIVATE: EAGLE EYE]
The world lifted. Rio saw the field as a grid of data. He didn't look at the cones. He looked at the other runners.
He wasn't running against the beep. He was running against the herd.
The Yo-Yo test wasn't about continuous sprinting; it was about the recovery time. You had to reach the cone, turn, and use the brief moments before the next beep to recover oxygen.
Rio saw the red lines of inefficiency glowing around the other runners.
They are wasting energy. They were decelerating too slowly on the approach to the line, and accelerating too quickly on the rebound. They were using 100% effort where 90% would suffice.
Rio adjusted his mechanics. He started copying the Japanese Drift he learned from Hiroto.
He decelerated sharply right at the cone, digging his heel in, making a pivot turn that was precise, efficient, and saved a fraction of a second of wasted momentum. He ran slightly behind the center of the pack, drafting off the other bodies, conserving tiny, precious amounts of energy by cutting through their wind resistance.
He was a parasite, leeching off the vitality of the others.
The Red Zone
Level 11. Speed 11.
The heat was brutal. Sweat streamed off the players, turning their jerseys dark. The turf was slick with moisture.
Rio's vision tunneled. His chest burned with agony, as if he had swallowed fire. He was deep into the Red Zone.
[SYSTEM WARNING][HEART STRESS: 130%][CARDIAC EVENT LIKELY]
He saw two players collapse. Then three. They lay on the ground, chests heaving.
"Keep up, Valdes!" Coach Bima yelled from the sideline, looking at his stopwatch.
"He's falling behind!" Bambang shouted, running past Rio in the opposite direction on the return leg. "He's finished! Time to collapse, little tourist!"
Rio ignored the taunt. He focused on the rhythm. Sprint. Pivot. Recover. Sprint. Pivot. Recover.
Thump-thump-thump-thump.
He reached Level 12. Bambang's bet was gone.
Level 14. Speed 14.
Now, the field had thinned dramatically. Only eight players were left, including Rio.
Bambang and his strongest allies were still leading, breathing hard, but still running strong.
Rio was barely holding on. Every step was a negotiation with death.
[CURRENT LIFESPAN: 48 Days, 23 Hours]
I have to make this worth it, Rio thought. I have to break their spirit.
He activated the [Vulture's Eye]. He stopped running efficiently. He started running aggressively.
He ran directly beside Bambang's right-hand man, Dino. He breathed loudly, deliberately, filling Dino's recovery space with his desperate, ragged gasps. Haaah... Haaah...
Dino glared at him. Rio didn't make eye contact. He just kept matching Dino's stride, making his presence known like a haunting.
Dino tried to speed up to lose Rio. Rio matched him. Dino cursed and slowed down to trip Rio. Rio adjusted instantly.
"He's trying to throw off my rhythm!" Dino screamed at Bambang.
Bambang glanced back. He saw the chaos Rio was creating. Rio looked like a dying man, pale and shaking, but he was creating psychological warfare.
"Ignore him, Dino! Focus on the line!"
Level 15. Speed 15.
The speed was agonizing. Every turn felt like his knees were grinding bone.
Suddenly, Dino stumbled. He missed the cone by a foot.
BEEP. The speaker barked the signal.
Dino, who was already running, couldn't make it to the next cone before the return signal.
"FAILED! Dino, stop!"
Dino collapsed onto the grass, clutching his stomach, his face green with sickness.
Rio ran past him, his eyes dead ahead. One down.
The Breakdown
Level 16. Speed 16.
Now it was just four players. Rio, Bambang, and two others.
Rio immediately attached himself to Bambang.
Bambang was furious. He started running erratically—speeding up, slowing down, using his massive body to try and elbow Rio off the line.
But Rio, using the data from [Eagle Eye] and his new [Drifting] efficiency, matched every move. He became Bambang's shadow, his own horrible breathing a taunt in the Captain's ear.
I am a parasite. I will live by draining you.
Bambang couldn't take the psychological pressure. He missed a turn. He missed the line by inches.
BEEP. The speaker system gave its final judgment.
"FAILED! Bambang, stop!"
Bambang stood frozen, staring at the cone. He was still physically strong, but his mind had broken under Rio's calculated torment. He hadn't failed the test. He had failed the mind game.
Bambang roared in frustration and slammed his fists onto his thighs, collapsing to the ground in shame. He looked up, his eyes burning with hatred as Rio ran past him.
Guntur, standing on the sideline, lowered his stopwatch. He didn't smile, but he scribbled something furiously in his notebook.
Rio ran past him. Two more levels.
Level 18. Speed 18.
The final player collapsed mid-turn.
Rio was alone. The music continued. The beep continued.
He reached the next line. Beep. He turned. He ran back. Beep.
He kept running until he had completed Level 20. The speed was a blur.
Finally, the instructor turned off the machine.
Rio stopped. He didn't collapse instantly. He just stood there, swaying in the morning heat, his eyes wide and vacant.
He had run until the System itself reached its limit.
[SYSTEM SHUTDOWN IMMINENT]
Rio fell to his knees. He didn't feel pain. He felt cold.
Coach Bima ran onto the field, followed by the silent team.
Bambang sat up in the grass, his eyes burning with humiliation. He looked at Rio—the pale, skinny "Japanese Import"—who was still standing, refusing to fall.
Rio looked directly at the Captain. He didn't smile. He just stared.
"He's still standing," Specter whispered into the silence. "You won."
Rio managed to crawl toward the bucket of water on the sideline. He plunged his head into the ice water, sucking in the freezing shock.
The Reward
The Locker Room. 30 Minutes Later.
Rio lay on the floor, wrapped in a foil emergency blanket. His entire body was numb, but his mind was alive.
[SIDE QUEST COMPLETED: DEFEAT BAMBANG]Objective: Survive the Yo-Yo Test after Bambang (Level 17) Reward: +7 Days Lifespan Bonus: Bambang's Humiliation (+1 Gacha Ticket - Bronze).
Rio let out a quiet sigh of relief. He had made a profit.
[CURRENT LIFESPAN: 56 Days, 04 Hours]
He had successfully raised his capital for the [Masquerade Mask].
"You're a demon," Specter admitted, tossing the Bronze Ticket into the air. "You won with tactical sadism. Now, open the ticket. We need a weapon for the match."
Rio picked up the ticket. He was too tired to argue.
"Spin it," he croaked. "I need something to hide my collapse."
He tapped the screen. The Bronze Wheel spun.
Click. Click. Clunk.
[CONGRATULATIONS!][YOU OBTAINED: IRON MAN'S STAMINA (Rank C)]
Type: Passive Trait Effect: Greatly increases Stamina efficiency by 15% when playing under 50% fitness. Note: Best used by damaged or weak athletes.
Rio smiled weakly. The System was adapting.
He had survived the ultimate physical test, not with muscle, but by being the ultimate cockroach.