*( Physiological Turning Point)*
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**Pre-Dawn Training Session – Day 22 Post-Injury**
Ibukun's breath fogged in the freezing air as he completed his 37th lap around the deserted pitch. His ankle—the once-destroyed joint that should have ended his career—now absorbed each stride with only a dull ache.
The System notification blinked insistently:
***`NEW ITEM UNLOCKED: "ENDURANCE CORE SYRUM" (PERMANENT PHYSIOLOGICAL MODULATION)
EFFECTS:
→ Injury resistance +40% (Non-cumulative)
→ Fatigue recovery rate +65%
→ Cellular repair efficiency +50%
COST: 350 SP (One-time infusion)
WARNING: 14-day adaptation period`***
Jay-Jay's hologram leaned against the goalpost, arms crossed. *"Not magic. Just... optimized biology."*
Ibukun purchased without hesitation.
---
**The Transformation**
**Phase 1 (Hours 1-6):**
- A fever spiked to 39.4°C as his white blood cell count tripled
- Muscle fibers restructured during fitful sleep—dreams filled with lightning
**Phase 2 (Week 1):**
- Morning muscle soreness disappeared entirely
- Noticed his resting heart rate had dropped to 48 BPM
- Could train for 3 hours before sweat formed
**Phase 3 (Week 2):**
- Bruises from tackles faded within hours
- Completed back-to-back 120-minute sessions with identical performance metrics
***`SYSTEM UPDATE:
→ Ligament tensile strength: +32%
→ Aerobic capacity: 61 ml/kg/min (Elite threshold: 55)
→ SP REGENERATION: +3/day (Passive)`***
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**Match Day – Seraing vs. Lommel SK**
The changes revealed themselves in subtle but devastating ways:
**1. The Unbreakable Engine (Minute 1-90)**
- Covered 12.3km (Opposition average: 10.1km)
- Made 47 high-intensity sprints—no performance drop-off
**2. The Iron Man Moment (Minute 78)**
A brutal collision left Ibukun's knee bent at 20° the wrong direction. He stood, adjusted the joint with a sickening *pop*, and chased down the attacker within 10 seconds.
The Lommel bench collectively crossed themselves.
**3. The Aftermath**
Post-match scans showed:
- Zero swelling in previously damaged ankle
- Blood lactate levels of a player who'd lightly jogged
***`OPPONENT ANALYSIS:
→ Lommel right-back subbed at 63' (Exhaustion)
→ Central midfielder requested not to mark Ibukun next fixture`***
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**The New Normal**
Ibukun's training became terrifying in its efficiency:
**1. Recovery Drills**
- Needed only 4 hours sleep for full physiological reset
- Could repeat maximum sprints with <5% performance variance
**2. Injury Simulation**
- Voluntarily took studs-to-shin challenges to test pain thresholds
- Discovered he could now distinguish between "safe" and "career-ending" damage instinctively
**3. The Mental Shift**
- Began viewing his body as a machine requiring maintenance
- Stopped icing injuries entirely ("Interferes with natural adaptation")
Jay-Jay monitored quietly, his usual taunts replaced by clinical observations.
---
**The First Warning**
At 3:17 AM, Ibukun awoke to his left thumb twitching uncontrollably. The System displayed:
***`NEUROMUSCULAR FEEDBACK:
→ Motor control recalibration in progress
→ Estimated completion: 48h
ADVISORY: Avoid precision tasks`***
When he picked up a water bottle, his grip crushed it instantly.
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**Chapter 9 Closing**
Under the stadium floodlights, Ibukun practiced penalties until dawn. His shots struck the exact same spot 37 times consecutively—the ball's stitching left permanent grooves in the netting.
His HUD glowed with cold metrics:
***`NEXT PHYSIOLOGICAL MILESTONE:
→ Myoglobin optimization (96h)
→ Joint lubrication efficiency +15%
→ SP COST: 200 (For "Metabolic Fine-Tuning")`***
Jay-Jay's final words that night carried new weight:
*"The body adapts. The question is—what happens to the man inside?"*
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