"I am so tired, and I do not even know what I’ve done," Izan said as he dropped back into the couch and let the cushions swallow him.
The house was quiet in that late-morning way, sunlight spilling through the tall glass expanse and stretching across the floor like a warm blanket.
He hadn’t planned to do anything today.
At least, not yet, but his body felt too heavy for plans anyway.
Before he could settle, Miko, the other sole life in the house with him, padded in from the hallway.
The samoyed paused at the edge of the rug, lifted her head at him as if judging his posture, then leapt onto his chest with the confidence of sothing that had never been told no in its short life with the Hernandez family.
Izan let out a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding.
"Really?" His voice ca out softer than he expected.
Miko answered with a short, satisfied chirp and kneaded at his hoodie once before curling up.
She weighed almost nothing but sohow made breathing slightly harder.
Izan rested his hand on her back and let the quiet settle.
Just him, a tired body, and a dog that had made herself queen of the living room.
His thoughts drifted to the thing he had been ignoring.
He had been a bit lazy with checking it out, and now that things had dialled down a bit, it was only right that he do it.
"Alright," he murmured, as he ran a hand through his hair.
"Let’s do this."
"Max," he called out sharply after that as his vision sharpened for a mont, the world dimming around the edges as the familiar presence stirred.
[System loading...]
The words flickered in the air before him, clear and steady, before the blue holographic panel hardened in his vision.
[Welco back, Izan. You have pending rewards from recent accomplishnts. Would you like to review them now?]
"Yeah," he said ntally as he let his hand run across the fur of the dog.
"Show ."
[Confirm. Preparing to show all rewards, including those granted for winning the UEFA Super Cup and completing the historic Sextuple!]
The mont Izan confird, lines ford in the air, neat and precise.
[Processing achievent: UEFA Super Cup Champion...]
Izan stared blankly at the tab after the ssage, wondering why it had to process his achievent with all the ti it had when he hadn’t viewed it.
But before he could think further, the first tab opened.
[Reward generated.]
A single line followed.
[ 20 Stat Points.]
Izan blinked as he waited for the rest of it, thinking maybe the system had staggered things, dropping rewards one after another like a slow dealer laying out cards, but after 2 whole minutes, nothing else appeared.
He stared at the floating text a little longer before lifting his head.
"Hold on. That’s it?"
The system responded at once.
[Correct. You have received the appropriate compensation.]
He let out a quiet breath, half amused, half confused.
"No items? No perks?"
[You earned a trophy for winning a single match. Would you like more than that for a one-ga tournant?]
Izan opened his mouth, closed it, then nodded slowly as if the system had just explained taxes to him.
"Fair point. Makes sense."
Izan looked back at the glowing text.
"But then why did you build it up like you were about to drop sothing huge?"
The reply ca without hesitation.
[The buildup was not for the Super Cup. It is for the Sextuple achievent.]
The light changed again, deepening to a warr hue while another ssage ca.
[Processing achievent: Complete Seasonal Sextuple...]
After a while, the tab expanded into a full interface, taller and wider than the usual windows it had shown before the rewards began.
[Reward 1: 100 Super Points.]
Izan let out a low breath.
That was already more like it.
"Good start," he murmured as he began running the calculations for how many it would take to get him to full for his next upgrades.
The next tab unfolded beneath it, frad in a soft gold that hadn’t appeared in his system before.
[Reward 2: Achievent Unlocked — "3rd in the Club."]
A description followed, written with the sa clean precision the system always used.
[Description: This achievent is granted to the host since he completed a full seasonal Sextuple. For being among and leading the charge to beco the third team in football history to do so, you will receive the "3rd in the Club" buff.
Effect: During the latter stages of any title race or cup competition, you and your team will gain enhanced grit, heightened focus and a reinforced refusal to concede defeat.
This effect activates from the quarter-final stage onward and scales upward as you advance. Intensity peaks in finals.]
Izan read everything slowly, taking in each line.
The thought of his teammates subconsciously finding another gear in big monts made him smile.
"Yeah. That one’s actually pretty good."
The system didn’t pause.
[Reward 3: Ego Crowns x2.]
Izan straightened slightly.
"Oh? Finally. I was wondering when I’d get more."
An animation of the small crowns showed onscreen before being dumped into his inventory.
But just then, the sound of a car made Izan lift his head, doing away with the system, with a ntal flex.
Miranda’s SUV had just pulled up to the estate gate, its headlights sweeping across the garden before the iron panels slid open.
He pushed himself off the couch before making his way out of the hall, and just as he reached the door leading outside, the SUV engine cut off.
Miranda stepped out, phone in hand, while Izan leaned against the fra.
"I don’t think it is a good attitude for the boss to clock out, way before her employees."
A small smirk curved her mouth.
"I can if it’s to look after the sister of my employer."
Izan frowned lightly. "What?"
Just then, the back door opened, and Hori climbed out, slow and unsteady, one hand gripping the edge of the seat like it was the only thing keeping her upright.
Her face was pale, lips drawn thin with effort.
Izan didn’t wait.
He went straight to her, sliding an arm around her shoulders just as her knees wobbled.
"Hey. What happened?"
Miranda rounded the car and t his eyes.
"She had so sort of anaemic episode. Dizzy, short of breath. She threw up twice, so I brought her ho from school. I’ve already called the doctors."
Hori leaned into him without protest, causing Izan to smirk a little since he had always seen her sister pretend to be tough.
"Good," Izan said quietly. "I’ll take her inside until they co."
Miranda checked her watch.
"They shouldn’t be late. Traffic was clear when I called."
Just then, a sharp honk cut through the driveway while Miranda glanced back toward the gate.
"That should be them."
The gate opened again, and a compact dical vehicle rolled in, while Izan held Hori a little closer.
The lead doctor, a middle-aged man, gestured for his assistants to aid Izan with Hori.
They took her upstairs, two nurses flanking her while the doctor walked ahead, asking short, practical questions as they went.
Hori tried answering between breaths, though each sentence ca out thin and soft.
Izan stayed behind them, close enough to step in if she swayed again.
Once they got to her bedroom, the doctor guided her to sit on the edge of her bed and began his checks, pressing gently along her stomach, checking her pulse, her eyelids, and the colour in her fingertips.
A nurse handed him readings from a small portable device, to which he humd quietly as he reviewed them.
Izan just stood at the foot of the bed with his arms folded, watching every movent without interrupting.
After a few more questions and a final look at the numbers, the doctor straightened.
"It isn’t anything serious," he said.
"She’s dealing with an anaemic dip. It happens to young won more often than you’d think. The vomiting was her body reacting to the dizziness, not the cause. I’ll prescribe iron supplents and sothing to help settle her stomach. She’ll need rest, light als, and plenty of water."
Miranda, who had been waiting in the hallway, stepped in as the doctor handed her a small card with the prescription details, while the nurses set aside the drugs.
"If anything changes, call imdiately. Otherwise, expect her to feel better later today, and fully normal by tomorrow."
"Thank you," Izan said.
The doctor nodded once and headed out, his team following while Miranda walked with him to the stairs.
The room softened once they were gone, with Hori slumping back against her pillows, exhausted but visibly relieved.
Izan stepped to her bedside and, without ceremony, reached out and pinched her nose lightly.
She wrinkled her face and swatted at his hand.
"Don’t start. Or you will feel my wrath when I get better."
"Yeah, yeah," Izan said with a click of his tongue, before he let himself drop onto the small bean bag couch beside her bed.
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