THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME

For Zachary, time was passing really quickly as he prepared for the Coppa Italia finals against Lazio with his teammates. He was in a Black Mamba state of mind as he went through the team tactical drills on Monday. Then, Tuesday arrived, and he attended the pre-match tactical meeting at around three in the afternoon before saying his goodbyes to those at the training ground and heading home to rest for the day.

Lorenzo Riccardo, his bodyguard/driver, drove him back to his mansion, where he spent the evening hours napping. Training had exhausted him considerably that day, so he slept deeply until his phone's ringtone woke him up.

He opened his eyes groggily and extended his arm to pick up the annoying communication device from his bedside table. On glancing at the screen, he noticed that it was Emily, his agent calling. He turned and made himself comfortable in bed before pressing the accept button and holding the phone against his ear.

"Hello, Zachary," Emily's voice immediately sounded from the other end of the line. "How are you doing?"

"Hello, Emily," he replied. "I'm doing okay. What about you?"

"I'm also okay. I just arrived in Rome to watch your Coppa Italia finals against Lazio tomorrow."

"That's nice," Zachary said. "Should I reserve a match ticket for you?"

"Please do, and thanks," she said with an audible sigh. "The tickets for the finals are selling like hotcakes here. You can't get one unless you go to those expensive dealers. When are you guys arriving in Rome, by the way?"

"Tomorrow in the afternoon," Zachary said. "We'll arrive with the team bus and rest only for an hour or two in Rome before heading to Olimpico di Roma to play the final. That's the plan. But you don't need to worry. I'll send you an electronic match ticket tonight."

Emily chuckled. "That's the least of my worries. By the way, I just received a call from one of Mr. Martin Stein's people. He contacted me to inquire about the plan to start a sports agency and talent development center in Africa. You can imagine my surprise as I knew nothing about such a venture."

"I'm so sorry," Zachary apologized. "I meant to inform you about the project. But the whole thing escaped my mind due to how tight and busy the end-of-the-season schedule has been. But I did agree to start the venture with Mr. Stein. It's something he proposed when I was still in Norway."

"Oh!" Emily said, her tone becoming sharp. "So, where do you plan to set up this project exactly? How much do you intend to invest in this project? Who's going to handle the groundwork for the project? I hope you aren't counting on me to help you do all this."

"Not at all," Zachary said. "Kristin will handle most of the work, especially since this is an idea from her grandfather. She'll be responsible for designing it and taking it off the ground. As for you, I hope you provide some help by doing some supervision, contract work, and feasibility assessment during the course of the project. You're the person I trust most. So, I really do hope you can help me on this one."

"Zachary..." Emily's tone softened. "I'm a football agent, you know. I should be working hard to get more clients, hoping to make it big in the football industry. But here you are, delegating charity work to me."

"That's where you're wrong, my dear agent," Zachary said while pushing himself up from bed. He switched the phone to his other ear and continued, "I think the project proposed by Mr. Stein has the potential to unearth many talents from Africa. If you can take advantage of it, you could find more promising footballers while doing work on the project. By the way, have I forgotten to mention that I'll be offering you five percent of the shares I receive from the parent company that will handle the entire venture?"

"Really?" Emily's voice rose up a notch.

"Of course, I mean what I say," Zachary assured. "Moreover, I don't just plan to set up the agency and talent development centers in only one country. I want us to tap all of Africa, including West African countries like Ivory Coast, DRC, Cameroon, and Senegal. As you know, all these are places brimming with talented footballers. If you play your cards right, you can discover many neglected promising footballers from there."

There were a few seconds of silence on the other side of the line before Emily spoke again. "Okay, let's say I am in. What exactly do you want me to do? How do you want me to help with the project?"

Zachary smiled, knowing that Emily had bitten the bullet. "The first step is to meet Mr. Stein. He has a lot of promising ideas. You can listen to them and assess whether they're feasible. Then, we can start from there and see how best to start off this venture."

"Okay," Emily said again. "But you owe me for this one."

"Thanks," Zachary said. "You're the best."

"You've learned how to become cheeky," she complained. "The project aside, how are the preparations for the two finals going?"

Zachary sighed. "We're trying our best. All my teammates are training harder than ever. No one has said anything. But I'm sure they wish to win a quadruple this season."

"A quadruple would be interesting," she remarked. "Moreover, it's feasible for your case. You and your Juventus teammates have already won the Supercoppa Italiana and the Italian Serie A. If you win the Coppa Italiana finals tomorrow night, you'll only remain with the Champions League to complete the quadruple. I think you guys can achieve this."

"We'll try our best," Zachary said. "The matches might be difficult. But we'll give our all to take home all the trophies. Then, I can invite you to the after-party."

"You said so yourself," she replied with another soft chuckle. "I'll be waiting for the invite after the Champions League final. But before thinking of all that, make sure you win the game against Lazio tomorrow."

"That's a must," Zachary said.

"Great. We have talked for quite a while. Let me wish you a good night."

"Good night to you, too, and thanks for the call."

"Don't forget my match ticket, and all the best in the final tomorrow. I'll be praying for your win. Good night!"

"Thanks."

She then switched off the phone without saying anything else.

Zachary smiled. He looked at his phone screen and saw many notifications from WhatsApp and his default SMS app. After opening them, he realized most were from his acquaintances wishing him the best in the following day's Coppa Italia finals against Lazio.

Zachary's mood brightened after reading some of the messages. He placed his phone to the side and called out to the system AI in his mind. "System! Please bring up the details of the 2014/15 Coppa Italia Challenge on the interface. I would like to see them."

"DING"

A system notification chimed in his mind.

"The user's command has been received," the system AI said. "The 2014/15 Coppa Italia Challenge Mission details will be coming up on the interface. The user can take his time reading them."

The space before Zachary's eyes flickered with a bright luster after the system AI's voice sounded. On cue, the system's translucent and formless display manifested out of thin air, and he immediately focused on its contents.

****

GOAT MISSIONS

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#The 2014/15 Coppa Italia Challenge

->Mission Status: Accepted and In Progress

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*Milestone 1: Play 80% of the 2014/15 Coppa Italia fixtures [In Progress: Played 60% of games so far].

*Milestone 2: Help your teammates become the 2014/15 Coppa Italia Champions [In Progress: Awaiting result from the final].

*Milestone 3: Provide the most assists in the 2014/15 Coppa Italia tournament [In Progress: Awaiting result from the final].

*Milestone 4: Become the top scorer of the 2014/15 Coppa Italia tournament [In Progress: Awaiting result from the final].

*Milestone 5: Become the MVP of the 2014/15 Coppa Italia tournament [In Progress: Awaiting result from the final].

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*Rewards:

->Milestone 1 completion reward: 100 Juju-points

->Milestone 2 completion reward: 2000 Juju-points

->Milestone 3 completion reward: 10,000 Juju-points

->Milestone 4 completion reward: 20,000 Juju-points

->Milestone 5 completion reward: A random-effect elixir that can increase one of the user's fitness attributes by an entire grade (The specific attributes that can be improved include Balance and Coordination, Agility, Strength, Stamina, and Endurance).

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NB: There will be additional rewards if the user realizes any other milestones that can unlock hidden missions.

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*Punishment if the user fails to realize any of the milestones.

->Minus 70,000 Juju-points

*The user has to complete at least one milestone before the tournament ends to escape the penalty.

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*Remarks: Every little victory counts. Never underestimate the power of small, consistent wins whose effects compound over time.

****

Zachary's eyes gleamed with desire after he perused the Mission details again.

He had long been captivated by the reward for milestone 5, which happened to be a random-effect elixir that could increase any of his fitness attributes, including Balance and Coordination, Agility, Strength, and Stamina/Endurance, by an entire grade. As long as he could become the Coppa Italia MVP, he would be able to push one of his stats to the SSS grading. It was a great temptation that he couldn't resist.

"I guess I'll have to work harder than ever during the final against Lazio to really secure this reward." His fighting spirit was like never before as he prepared to play yet another final in his career.