THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME



The first rays of sunlight lit up Zachary's hotel room the following morning. He rubbed his still-bleary eyes before jumping out of bed and walking to the window. Inclining his head, he noticed that the sky was clear, without any blemishes of dark clouds. The weather in Abidjan seemed perfect that day, and he didn't have to worry about the possibility of rain drenching him as he went through his first training with the National Football team.

With a calm mind, he quickly turned away from the window. His gaze passed over the lavish furniture and bedding in his hotel room as he walked towards the bathroom. He washed his face, and a few minutes later, he settled down on the woolen carpet and started going through his morning yoga routine.

He performed pose after pose with the resoluteness of a monk and slowly felt his muscles stretch and relax. Beads of sweat rolled down his forehead and dampened his shirt after about forty minutes of a fast-paced full-body power yoga workout. He felt a bit lightheaded, and at that moment, he knew that he was almost hitting his limit.

Yoga was an activity that could burn calories and tone muscles. It was also a total mind-body workout that combined strengthening and stretching poses with deep breathing and meditation or relaxation. For footballers, in particular, consistent yoga practice could gradually increase their flexibility, range of motion, and core strength.

Zachary, who happened to have remained an ardent practitioner of all kinds of yoga for years, felt he was on a precipice of crossing a threshold that morning. He hardened his heart and continued performing pose after pose of fast-paced power yoga until he felt like he had shattered through a barrier within his body.

At that moment, he seemed to have transcended to a higher level of life. A blissful sensation immediately washed across his entire body, and he could have sworn that he felt his skin pores opening and closing to take in some mystical energy. He took a deep breath that allowed him to return from the euphoric moment, and that was when he realized that a system notification had just sounded in his mind.

"DING"

"Congratulations!" The system AI's voice was as crisp and clear as ever in Zachary's mind. "The user has completed a hidden system mission by shattering through the barriers of muscle power and attaining SS-grade core strength mainly through consistent training efforts. As a token of support, the system has rewarded 20,000 Juju points to the user for accomplishing the feat. Please, continue working hard and attain more breakthroughs without relying on the system elixirs."

"Ehh..." Zachary's eyes widened with surprise. He had only been going through his usual morning power yoga routine as a warm-up before attending his first training session with the Ivorian National Football team. But just out of the blue, he had made a breakthrough and achieved SS-grade core strength. Moreover, that was through his own efforts without consuming a system elixir.

Thinking about the entire series of events, Zachary felt like he had just won the lottery after picking up a discarded ticket from the sidewalk. He stood up and flexed his muscles, and it was then that a sheepish smile outlined his face.

Two months back, during the Christmas break, most of his ball skills, plus agility, and body coordination attributes had all broken through to the SS grading. And now, just before he could attend his first training with the Ivorian National Football team, one of his other fitness attributes had also evolved to the same SS grade. He was developing fast as a player, and he had a gut feeling that if he could persist with his consistent training routines that covered all areas important to a professional footballer, he would continue making more breakthroughs soon.

"System!" Zachary called out in his mind. "Show me my current physical fitness and soccer technique attributes."

"DING"

"Command received. The breakdown for the user's physical fitness and soccer technique attributes will be coming up shortly."

Zachary smiled after hearing the system AI's response. He took a deep breath to calm himself down and focused on the crystal-like translucent display that had just manifested before him.

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*USER STATS

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->Physical Fitness (Av. Rating: SS)

Balance and Coordination: SS

Agility: SS

Strength: SS

Stamina: S+

Endurance Points: 17,500/18,000 (S+)

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->Soccer Technique: [Av. Rating: SS]

Ball Control: SS

Dribbling Skills: SS

Passing Accuracy: SS

Body Control: SS

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****

"Sweet!"

Zachary's spirits brightened even further as he glanced through his physical fitness stats. Only his Stamina and endurance were yet to break through to the SS grading. If they could also shatter the limit to the next grade, he would evolve into a terrifyingly well-balanced monster of a player. He would attain a body packed with several abilities and perks that could cause envy to even the most talented footballers of the generation.

From what he had figured out after constantly utilizing the system's snooping tool, most other professional footballers possessed physical strength at the S-grading. And if their core strength went beyond the norm, it would only be at the SS grade.

For instance, Giorgio Chiellini, the Juventus center-back dubbed by many as the gladiator due to his impressive power on the pitch, only possessed strength at SS grade according to the system's snooping tool. Of course, there might be SSS-grade strength abnormalities, such as The Hulk, Mamadou Sakho, Julio Baptista, Adebayo Akinfenwa, Yaya Touré, and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, among a few others in the world of football. But their numbers on the professional football scene were minuscule for plain-to-see reasons.

If a person had such muscle power, graded at SSS, why wouldn't he go for boxing, weight lifting, or wrestling, where he would be the king with minimal training? Or better yet, why wouldn't he go for rugby or American football, the other sports with many positions that relied on impressive strength?

Why would such a person join football and allow himself to be constantly bullied by lean and weaker players like Lionel Messi and Arjen Robben, who could render his exceptional strength worthless by relying on their agility and potent dribbling skills?

Zachary was obviously not born with innate strength. He was just a player who had relied on the system and its potent elixirs, coupled with his rigorous training, to grow all his physical attributes to the S-grading and beyond. As such, his physical fitness stats were all well-balanced and not like those of innately strong players who would possess SSS-grade core strength but with other attributes that couldn't even make it past the A-grade threshold.

Moreover, Zachary's physique didn't grow buff as his attributes evolved, maybe due to the system's interference or the effect of its elixirs. Even after breaking through the SS-grade core strength threshold, he stayed the same 6'4 lean player with impressive SS-grade agility and matching body coordination. His muscles were, without a doubt, well streamlined due to his consistent training and the power contained in his body, but they were not as buff as those of heavy-weight boxers, weight lifters, and rugby players. As such, opponents would never know the astonishing depth of his strength until they experienced it personally.

"Bzzt Bzzzt! Bzzt Bzzzt!"

Zachary's phone vibrated from the nearby table as he was still caught up in his euphoria. Picking it up, he realized that the call was from Kristin. He tapped the accept button and held the phone against his ear.

"Kristin, good morning," he said.

"Good morning to you too, Zachary," Kristin replied from the other end of the line. "It's already 7:40 AM. Mr. Sangare will arrive shortly to take you to the Ivorian National Football team's training venue. You should hurry and come down to take breakfast before he reaches here."

"Okay, thanks for reminding me," Zachary said. "I'll be down in fifteen minutes. See you in a bit."

With that, Zachary ended the call. He washed up quickly in a record time of about six minutes before brushing his teeth and donning a brand-new tracksuit. Then, after arranging his messy braids and tying them into a ponytail, he exited his room, ready to rush down the stairs and towards the dining area for breakfast.

But just after taking a few more steps, he got a scare of his life. His heart skipped a beat just as he was about to collide with a silhouette just a few paces from his doorway. It was Lorenzo, Zachary's new bodyguard, and judging by the red eyes, Zachary could tell that the man must not have slept even a wink the entire night.

"Lorenzo!" Zachary regarded his new bodyguard with a weird expression. "I thought we agreed that you didn't have to camp out of my room throughout the night. Why are you here and not down in the restaurant having breakfast?"

"Boss!" Lorenzo Riccardo said with a sigh. "I chanced upon some new information while enjoying a late snuck downstairs in the bar. I heard that about two years back, Didier Drogba was robbed while staying in this very hotel. I couldn't rest at ease knowing the same incident could happen to you. So, I decided to guard the door myself until morning."

"Oh! There was such an incident." Zachary was surprised. The hotel he was in was one of the best in the country. It was the pre-eminent symbol of Abidjan's post-colonial 1960s architectural heyday, with a grand feel and atmosphere reminiscent of the palaces of old about it. Moreover, it usually hosted many dignitaries that visited Côte d'Ivoire, and numerous security units usually kept watch around its premises. So, how could a robbery incident happen in such a hotel?

"Boss!" Lorenzo said. "After hearing the rumors, I did some research. From some past web articles, I confirmed that the incident really happened."

"Oh, okay," Zachary said with a nod. "Thanks for your hard work, then. But since you didn't sleep at night, how will you manage to stay awake during the day?"

"Don't worry about me, boss," Lorenzo said with a smile. "I'll squeeze in a few hours of sleep while you're undergoing training. That should be enough for me."

"Okay." Zachary nodded and decided to inquire no further. "I'm almost running late. If there's nothing holding you back, let's head down and have a quick breakfast before heading to the training ground."

"Okay, boss," Lorenzo answered. "Let's go."

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