The Greatest of all Time

666  The Morning After and System Mission Completion

The day dawned crisp and clear over Moscow, the city bathed in the golden light of the summer morning. Inside the luxurious confines of the team hotel, Zachary Bemba stirred groggily in his bed.

It was already 10:00 AM, a late start for someone as disciplined as him, but the night before had been a rollercoaster of celebrations. Ivory Coast had clinched the World Cup, and Zachary had become the tournament's top scorer and best player, earning him the coveted Golden Boot and Golden Ball.

Despite the triumph, exhaustion weighed heavily on him. His body, conditioned to endure the rigors of professional football, still ached from the previous day's exertions.

His shin also throbbed painfully—a reminder of the knock he had taken in the final. The team medics had provided only some first aid, and now, every step was a sharp reminder of the grueling match he had endured with his teammates.

He longed to continue sleeping, but as a professional athlete, discipline won out. He forced himself to get out of bed, aware that he needed to take some breakfast and address his throbbing shin.

Zachary shuffled to the bathroom with the help of his clutches, hoping to freshen up. The cool water splashed on his face brought a semblance of alertness. After he was done, he donned his Ivory Coast tracksuit, its bright colors a welcome contrast to his tired reflection in the mirror. He switched on his phone, and immediately, a flood of messages began to fill the screen.

He smiled as he scrolled through the numerous congratulatory messages. They came from all corners of the globe—former teammates and coaches, endorsement brand representatives, and even strangers whose lives had been touched by his performance. One message, however, stood out. It was from Coach Damata, the old football mentor from Lubumbashi, DR Congo.

Seeing the message, Zachary felt some guilt. He couldn't help but imagine how wonderful it would have been to win the World Cup for his home nation. For a moment, the thought lingered, filled with the bittersweet notion of what could have been.

But reality soon anchored him. He had already changed his nationality, and nothing would alter that. Moreover, the DR Congo team lacked the experience and collective skills to win the World Cup.

Although he couldn't deny his guilt, he resolved to support DR Congo's football through other means, particularly his project with Mr. Stein to establish football academies in the country.

With a mental note to accelerate his plans for the academies, Zachary picked up his clutches and headed toward the door, eager for breakfast. Just as he was about to leave, his phone rang. It was Emily Anderson, his agent. He answered, her voice bubbling with excitement.

"Zachary! Congratulations! World Cup champion, Golden Ball, and Golden Boot winner! How does it feel?" Emily's enthusiasm was infectious.

"Thanks, Emily. It feels surreal. I can't believe we did it," Zachary replied, smiling even though he was on the phone.

In the background, he heard another familiar voice. "Congratulations, Zachary!" It was Kristin, his long-time friend and PR manager.

"Thank you, Kristin," Zachary responded warmly.

Emily's tone suddenly shifted to one of concern. "Zachary, how's your injury? I saw how you were hobbling during the celebrations last night."

Zachary hesitated, trying to downplay the seriousness of his injury. He had a card up his sleeve—the few vials of potent elixirs in the system inventory. As long as he used one of the vitality-enhancing elixirs, he would heal almost immediately. "It's just a small knock. I got better after the on-pitch medics gave me some first aid," he said casually.

"Are you sure? Your health is important. I really think you should get it checked out properly," Emily insisted.

"I'm okay, really. No need to worry," Zachary reassured her, though he could sense her skepticism.

Emily sighed, clearly not convinced. "Even if you're alright, you should still have your shin checked by a doctor."

"I promise I'll get a check-up later," Zachary said, trying to appease her.

There was a brief pause before Emily changed the topic. "Alright, enough about that. I want us to resolve your transfer situation as quickly as possible. When can we meet to discuss the offers from the Premier League clubs?"

Zachary considered his schedule. "I'm leaving Moscow and heading back to Abidjan with the team tomorrow morning. If it's urgent, we can meet this afternoon. Otherwise, we can wait until I'm back in Europe."

"It's urgent, Zachary. Your transfer situation has dragged on long enough. The club representatives are constantly on my case. We need to meet this afternoon and finalize your decision."

Zachary agreed, knowing it was time to make a choice. "Okay, let's meet at the hotel this afternoon. I have nothing else scheduled for the day."

They finalized the plan and hung up. Zachary shoved the phone back into his pocket with a smile. But he didn't continue heading out for breakfast.

The conversation with Emily had reminded him of something important. Instead of hobbling around on crutches and attracting unnecessary attention from the press and teammates, he should consume the vitality-enhancing elixirs in his system inventory to heal his injury quickly.

With his mind made up, Zachary settled back on the bed and summoned the system's translucent interface. It appeared out of thin air, like a spectacle from a sci-fi movie, shimmering before him.

He navigated to the system inventory and selected one of the elixirs he had kept there since receiving it as a reward for winning the previous season's Serie A title with Juventus.

The S-grade vitality-enhancing elixir was like he remembered, shaped like a tiny banana. He had resisted the urge to take it before the World Cup, knowing it could affect his control over his body, thus hindering him from being at his peak during the tournament. But now, with no immediate competitive matches coming up, there was nothing to stop him.

He readily swallowed the elixir, feeling its effects almost immediately. A refreshing sensation spread throughout his body, focusing on his injured shin.

The discomfort was intense but brief, lasting only about thirty seconds before an invigorating sensation took over. Zachary felt his physique grow slightly more robust, but more importantly, his shin was as good as new. The elixir had worked its magic.

Smiling, Zachary decided to also take the SS-graded version of the vitality-enhancing elixir, one of the rewards for winning the Champions League with Juventus the previous season. The SS-grade elixir was also shaped like a tiny banana—but much more potent.

He swallowed it and felt his blood boil. His bones became ticklish, and the pain washed over him in waves as it worked its magic. Fortunately, the discomfort lasted about five minutes, after which a refreshing feeling washed over him.

He could feel his body growing immune to the SS-grade elixirs, offering diminishing returns. He needed more potent elixirs to continue enhancing his abilities.

Fortunately, with the World Cup victory, he was about to acquire some SSS-grade elixirs, which would improve his attributes significantly as he prepared to join the English Premier League.

Suppressing his excitement, Zachary decided to check his current attributes. He called out to the system in his mind, instructing it to bring up his Physical Fitness and Soccer Technique stats. The system AI responded, and the translucent screen shimmered before displaying the required information.

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->Physical Fitness (Av. Rating: SSS)

Balance and Coordination: SS+

Agility: SSS

Strength: SS+

Stamina: SSS

Endurance Points: 98,500/110,000 (SSS)

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->Soccer Technique: (Av. Rating: SS+) n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Ball Control: SS

Dribbling Skills: SS+

Passing Accuracy: SS

Body Control: SS+

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Zachary sighed as he stared at the information displayed on the system interface. As expected, none of his attributes had experienced an upgrade after he consumed the elixir. It was clear that his body had grown immune to the effects of the SS-grade elixirs due to his already high stats.

He quickly calmed himself, pushing aside the frustration. There was another task at hand, one he had resisted the previous night amid celebrations.

He needed to check his mission completion details for the 2018 FIFA World Cup Challenge. More importantly, he was eager to receive the rewards from the system. With his eyes alight with anticipation, he called out to the system AI in his mind and instructed it to bring up the mission completion details.

****

#5 new messages

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CONGRATULATIONS

->You have completed the system mission (2018 FIFA World Cup Challenge).

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->Mission Summary

*Milestone 1: Play over 75% of the fixtures of the 2018 FIFA World Cup for Ivory Coast (Completed; Rating S; Rewarded 1,000 Juju points).

*Milestone 2: Help Ivory Coast qualify from group B to the 'round-of-sixteen' stage of the 2018 FIFA World Cup tournament. (Completed; Rating SS; Rewarded 40,000 Juju points).

*Milestone 3: Help Ivory Coast qualify for the quarter-finals stage of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Tournament (Completed by scoring a brace that helped your team qualify; Rating SS; Rewarded 100,000 Juju points).

*Milestone 4: Help Ivory Coast qualify for the semi-final stage of the 2018 FIFA World Cup tournament (Completed by scoring one of the goals that helped your team qualify; Rating S; Rewarded 200,000 Juju points).

*Milestone 5: Help Ivory Coast qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup finals (Completed by scoring two of the three goals that helped your team qualify; Rating SS; Rewarded 500,000 Juju points).

08:10

*Milestone 6: Help Ivory Coast overcome all odds and become the champions of the 2018 FIFA World Cup tournament (Completed by scoring a hat-trick that helped your team become champions; Rating SSS; Rewarded a dosage of an SSS-grade mental conditioning elixir).

*Milestone 7: Become the top scorer and win the 2018 FIFA World Cup Golden Boot (Completed by scoring 11 goals for Ivory Coast in their World Cup campaign; Rating SS; Rewarded a dosage of an SSS-grade vitality-enhancing elixir).

*Milestone 8: Become the best player of the 2018 FIFA World Cup tournament and win the Golden Ball (Completed; Rating SSS; Rewarded a dosage of an SSS-grade Spatial Awareness Conditioning elixir).

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->Mission completed rating: Beyond Exceptional!

Overall Mission Rating: SS

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->Mission Rewards

1) A total of 841,000 Juju points.

2) A dosage of an SSS-grade mental conditioning elixir.

3) A dosage of an SSS-grade vitality-enhancing elixir.

4) A dosage of an SSS-grade Spatial Awareness Conditioning elixir.

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->Bonus Rewards for the beyond exceptional performance!

1) A Random Technique Upgrade Token.

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->Please note that the SSS-grade rewards and the Random Technique Upgrade Token are items beyond the current system level. Please upgrade the system if you wish to receive them.