THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME

As Zachary was about to begin perusing through the system user-interface, his phone's buzzer went off like an annoyed rattlesnake. He scooped it up, glanced at its screen, and noticed that his grandma was calling.

"Zachary!" His grandma's husky but comforting voice sounded from the phone when he placed it close to his ear. "Are you there?" She intoned in the Swahili language.

"Ndio, bibi," he spoke into the Motorola Moto-G phone. "Are you settling in well? How is the new place?" He asked in a humble tone, maintaining a clear Swahili accent.

Zachary had managed to move her from Bukavu after saving up half his allowance for a year. With 84,000 Norwegian Kroner, he rented her a sizeable house in Lubumbashi—and hired some casual laborers to work her farm back in Bukavu. Zachary had not been able to return to the Congo in the summer due to his tight training schedule. However, he had sent money to Coach Damata and tasked him with settling her in the new city. He'd even bought her a new phone, similar to his own, for easier communication.

"You know me," said his grandma. "I didn't want to move to the city. It's boring here. And my cows, my animals may be dying." She complained. The old lady loved her farm. It had taken endless pleading on Zachary's part in conjunction with Coach Damata's remarkable people-skills to convince her to move from Bukavu.

"But we agreed that you would set-up a crafts shop in Lubumbashi," Zachary said. "That should keep you busy. Moreover, don't you find Lubumbashi safer than the neighborhoods in our village?"

Zachary's grandma sighed audibly. "Enough about me," she drawled. Zachary could discern a suppressed melancholy undertone in her voice. It seemed she hadn't gotten used to living in the new city. "Are you studying and training hard? When will I get to see you on television?" She asked.

Zachary spent the next five minutes telling his grandma about his life in Norway. He talked about his classes, training, the weather, and a few other topics to assure his grandma that he was safe.

He was glad that he had a way to communicate with the sole parental figure he knew in both his lives. Zachary never got tired of hearing her voice because it kept all the homesickness he felt when he was in Norway at bay.

He had come to realize that going back in time had not turned him into a machine with only one goal; playing soccer. At times, some of the feelings he had occasionally suppressed in his previous life would threaten to drown his mind.

During the Christmas break of the previous year, he'd spent hours looking at the falling white snow through his window, thinking about his grandma, all alone back in Bukavu. The snow resting upon the earth in that winter, as if it were an endless feather cushion, had made him homesick, made him long for home. That was why he had felt compelled to purchase a phone to better communicate with her.

Zachary had not yet achieved the sort of steel nerves that could allow him to switch off everything else and focus solely on soccer. Maybe, that was why the system still graded his mental ability at B -.

However, Zachary didn't wish to lose all his emotions and become a soccer maniac. He wanted to experience all the things his new life had to offer whilst also becoming one of the best in the soccer world. That was his goal.

After talking to his grandma, Zachary returned his attention to the system. He re-opened the user-interface after placing his phone on the bedside table and began—skimming through the system menu.

****

SOCCER G.O.A.T SYSTEM

SYSTEM LEVEL: 2 (367/1000 Juju-points to level-up)

USER: Zachary Bemba

AGE: 16 years

TALENT ASSESSMENT: Grade-B

JUJU-POINTS: 367 (2 msg)

(Evaluation: A budding soccer player)

USER MENU

*USER STATS

*G.O.A.T MISSIONS (4 msg)

*SYSTEM SHOP

*SYSTEM LOTTERY (locked)

*SNOOPING TOOL

NB: Pls level-up the system to unlock more functions.

****

Zachary didn't take much time scanning the contents of the interface. He had upgraded the system a year ago and was already familiar with the level-2 interface. He extended his forefinger right away and tapped on the G.O.A.T-missions tab, already blinking red on the interface.

"DING"

****

#4 new messages

CONGRATULATIONS

-> You have completed the mission (One-Year Progressive Overload Fitness Training).

->Mission-Rewards

1) C-grade Physical Conditioning Elixir (Already availed to the user.)

2) 260 cumulative Juju-Points.

->Mission Summary

*Training plan completed with perfection over one year.

Overall Mission Rating: A+

->Bonus rewards

You have earned 100 bonus juju-points

****

The mission rewards were what Zachary expected. He'd been earning a dosage of the physical conditioning elixir and 5 Juju-points for each of the weekly training plans designed by the system.

Over the 52 weeks in the previous year, he'd earned a total of 260 points. The system had awarded him a bonus of 100 Juju-points for his perfect completion of the mission. He then had enough to purchase one of the skills in the unlocked system shop.

However, he decided to check his user-stats first before opening the system shop.

****

*USER STATS

->Physical Fitness: A-

->Soccer Technique: A+

->Game Intelligence: A+

->Mental Ability and Mindset: B-

->X-Factors: F

->G.O.A.T Skills: 2

****

Zachary managed to improve his physical fitness and soccer technique by a single grade over the year of training. Due to his strict training schedule, involving yoga and meditation, his mental ability had finally improved from the C- grading to the B- grading. However, he had not managed to increase his X-factor even by a single grade over the course of the entire year. That single stat was holding back his talent assessment, yet he had no way to improve it.

[Maybe, I should seek help from one of the coaches.] Zachary sighed. He clicked on the physical-fitness tab.

****

->Physical Fitness (Av. Rating: A-)

Balance and Coordination: A+

Agility: A+

Strength: B+

Stamina: A-

Endurance Points: 4500/5500 (A-)

****

Zachary's physical fitness had benefited the most from the 1-year progressive overload training. His balance and coordination, together with his agility stats, had all leaped to the A+ grade. Only his strength stat remained shy of an A-grading among his physical stats. With his progress rate, he only had to continue with the intensive training plan—and one day, he would achieve the perfect physique for soccer.

Over the year of training, he had noticed that his physique was becoming less buff but more slender as he toned his muscles with vigorous exercise. He had achieved a body with lean, well-defined muscles with almost no body fat. He was a bit thinner than he originally was but in better shape as a soccer player.

He felt a sense of accomplishment since his physique had attained a mixture of the mesomorph and ectomorph body types. He was more agile with better body coordination—giving him an edge when dribbling or handling the ball. His soccer-technique grades for dribbling skills, passing accuracy, and body control had also improved due to his refined physique.

Zachary navigated back to the home menu of the system user-interface before opening the system-shop.

****

*SYSTEM SHOP

->Gift Packs (locked)

->Purchase Skills

->Purchase Elixirs

->Lottery Coupons (locked)

->Inventory

****

Zachary did not dawdle. He selected the purchase-skills tab on the system-shop menu right away. It was one of the features that had been unlocked by the system after its upgrade.

He blinked as his eyes adjusted to the new contents of the screen. Only two skills were available in the system shop. They appeared on skill cards hovering in front of everything else on the interface. One card depicted David Beckham, the famous English footballer, in a shooting posture with the ball. The other portrayed Andrea Pirlo, an Italian legend, with the ball at his feet.

Below the two skill-cards were a few words in beautiful calligraphy.

****

1) Bend-it like Beckham Juju: For setpieces. Costs 300 Juju-points.

2) Snipe-it like Pirlo Juju: For passing. Costs 300 Juju-points.

NB:

*The skills are limited to a single purchase until the next system upgrade.

*Please make your choice by tapping on the skill-card to purchase.

****

Zachary didn't need to deliberate much. He selected the 'Bend-it like Beckham Juju' right away.

He was already confident in his passes and only wanted to acquire skills capable of winning him games when he debuted for Rosenborg. The setpiece skill seemed like the best choice to Zachary at that moment since only a single purchase was allowed until the next upgrade of the system.

In his past life, Celtic had depended on Nakamura's freekicks to win several games—and contend for various Scottish titles. Zachary was sure he could become a great asset to any team if he mastered the art of taking setpieces at the level of Beckham. As a midfielder, he would not need to worry about being left out of the team roster as long as he could score most of his setpieces.

However, when Zachary tapped on the card with Beckham's image, a system notification instantly popped up.

****

*G.O.A.T Skills

#2 new messages

->You are attempting to learn a G.O.A.T Skill that requires both mental and physical conditioning before achieving initial masterly.

-> Activate the G.O.A.T Skills Simulator to commence mental conditioning by spending 2 Juju-points for 1-hour activation.

*Accept *Reject

****

"So this is the use of the simulator," Zachary mumbled to himself. He was enlightened. The G.O.A.T Skills Simulator was a new feature added under the G.O.A.T-Skills menu after the system upgrade. He had been ignorant of its use until that moment.

Without any hesitation, he clicked on the accept button to activate the simulator. He could not wait to learn new Juju.