The morning sun filtered weakly through the frosted windows as the smell of warm toast filled the apartment.
Mateo sat at the kitchen table, still groggy from sleep, lazily spreading jam over his bread.Across from him, his mother sipped her coffee with a soft, knowing smile.
"I have some news," Helena said casually, setting her cup down.
Mateo blinked, mid-bite.
"In two weeks," she continued, "you'll start school. Just a few blocks from here. It's a good school — small, and very welcoming."
The words hit him like a sudden gust of cold wind.
School.
Of course, he had known it would happen eventually, but hearing it aloud made it real.And with it came the heavy realization: he would have to balance schoolwork, language practice, and intense daily training.
For a moment, worry flickered across his face.
Helena smiled gently, reaching over to squeeze his hand.
"You can do this, Mateo. You're already doing something amazing. This is just the next step."
Mateo swallowed his mouthful of bread and nodded, determination hardening in his chest.
If he could survive three months of grueling physical and mental training, he could handle this too.
He would have to.
Later that day, at the high-performance center, Mateo trained harder than ever.
The new passive skill — Athlete's Recovery — was already working wonders.His muscles no longer felt like wet noodles after intense sessions.He could push through longer drills without collapsing from exhaustion.
Today's regimen was focused on explosiveness and control:
Sprint drills with weighted vests (short bursts at maximum speed)
Box jumps (3 sets of 20 reps)
Lateral cone drills for footwork agility
Medicine ball throws for core strength
Balance exercises on unstable platforms
Mateo panted hard through every drill, sweat running down his temples.But somewhere beneath the exhaustion, he felt stronger, more stable — as if his body were slowly molding itself into the machine he needed it to become.
[Daily Quest Progress: 85% Complete.]
The system pinged quietly in his mind, and Mateo allowed himself a small, tired smile.
Progress.
Real progress.
That night, after a long hot shower and a hearty dinner, Mateo sat with his mother again at the table, practicing German vocabulary for school — subjects like mathematics (Mathematik), history (Geschichte), and science (Naturwissenschaft).
They laughed when he tripped over a complicated sentence, corrected it, and tried again.He was no longer afraid of mistakes.
Mistakes meant growth.
Later, tucked under the heavy blankets of his bed, Mateo stared at the ceiling and whispered into the darkness:
"I'll find the balance. I'll do it all."
The road ahead would be heavier now — more responsibility, more pressure.
But Mateo González Schwarz had never been more ready.
His dream burned bright inside him, illuminating the long nights and cold mornings, giving him strength where most would falter.
In two weeks, a new chapter would begin.