THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME

Zachary woke up feeling refreshed. After glancing at the clock and noticing that its hand had already passed the eight o'clock mark, he immediately jumped out of bed.

"The effects of the S-grade mental conditioning elixir are truly wondrous," Zachary mumbled as he walked to the bathroom to wash his face. His memory received a significant boost after he consumed the elixir. Without even focusing, he could recall many Italian sentences that previously seemed like alien text. He felt like, if he tried hard, he might even be able to master Italian within less than six months. But that was not all.

Zachary also noticed that his spatial awareness had risen to another level. With just a glance, he could commit all the details around him to mind. Be it their size, the position, and the color of all objects around him -- Zachary could remember all those elements even without trying that hard to observe. Moreover, everything seems to have increased to a higher definition, allowing him to perceive more particulars he had previously ignored.

"System," Zachary called out as he stepped out of the bathroom. He dried his face with a towel before commanding, "Bring out my current attributes."

"Command received," the AI intoned. "User's attribute data coming up on the interface immediately."

Zachary smiled. He settled on his bed and started perusing the information that had just appeared on the translucent crystal-like display before him.

****

*USER STATS

->Physical Fitness: S+

->Soccer Technique: S+

->Game Intelligence: SS

->Mental Ability and Mindset: S+

->X-Factors: S+

->GOAT Skills: 10

****

"Oh!" Zachary exclaimed. "My game intelligence attribute jumped over the S+ grade and improved straight to the SS grade. Wonderful!"

Zachary was giddy with excitement. His game intelligence had been at the S- grade for a few months. But after consuming an S-grade mental conditioning elixir, he improved straight to the SS grade. His game intelligence was finally catching up with that of experienced world-class players like Andrea Pirlo.

A few weeks ago, Zachary had given in to temptation and scanned Andrea Pirlo with the system's snooping tool. He finally learned that exceptional players like Andrea Pirlo didn't possess abnormally-high physical fitness stats. In fact, Pirlo's physical fitness attributes, including agility, strength, and stamina, were just at the inferior S- grade average. They were a level lower than Zachary's S+ fitness stats.

But what was impressive about Andrea Pirlo was his game intelligence and passing skills. His passing skills, spatial awareness, risk assessment, and mental strength were at the SSS grade, while his tactical knowledge was at the SS grade. Those few attributes overcompensated for his weaker physique, allowing him to gain the ability to play like a maestro on the field of play. He didn't need to take on players by dribbling and tackling. Instead, he only needed to find spaces and use his insanely high game intelligence and passing skills during crucial moments. Then, he would be able to influence the game and win matches for his team without overexerting himself.

Zachary understood the charm of game intelligence after scanning Andrea Pirlo. That was why he was over the moon after leveling his intelligence attributes to the SS grading.

"System," he called out telepathically. "I would like to see the breakdown of my game intelligence and soccer technique stats."

"Command received," replied the system AI. "Stats breakdown for game intelligence and soccer technique will be coming up on the interface shortly."

With that said, the crystal-like display shimmered slightly before bringing up new information on the screen. Zachary reflexively blinked his eyes and began to read through the contents.

****

->Soccer Technique: (Av. Rating: S+)

Ball Control: S+

Dribbling Skills: S-

Passing Accuracy: S+

Body Control: S-

->Game Intelligence: (Av. Rating: SS)

Spatial Awareness: SS

Tactical Knowledge: S+

Risk Assessment: SS

****

Zachary observed that his spatial awareness and risk assessment were the individual stats that gained the most significant boost. As for tactical awareness, it was still lagging behind at the S+ grading. Perhaps, he needed to play more games and gain more experience before improving the stat.

Then, there were his soccer technique stats. Surprisingly, they hadn't received any boost after he consumed the S-grade mental conditioning elixir. Maybe, he needed to go through targeted training and get used to his high game intelligence before those technique attributes would level up. That was his gut feeling.

"Bzzt Bzzzt! Bzzt Bzzzt!"

Suddenly, Zachary's phone vibrated from the nearby table as he finished reviewing his stats. He quickly dismissed the system interface with a mental command before picking up the phone and glancing at the screen.

The call was from an unknown number. It began with a country code of 225, meaning it was from a foreign country.

"Could this be from the Ivorian officials? Could they have finished preparing my citizenship papers?"

The gears in Zachary's mind turned and fell into place quickly. He accepted the call and placed the phone against his ear.

"Bonjour, Zachary," the person on the other side of the line greeted in French. "I'm Omar Sangare, an Ivorian official helping with your citizenship papers. We previously talked on the phone."

"Oh, Sangare!" Zachary exclaimed. "I remember you. Are my citizenship papers ready? Can I play in the African Cup of Nations next month?" He went straight to the point.

"The papers are almost ready," the official replied. "As for playing in the AFCON, that will not be possible in your case. We have no problem with you joining us. However, CAF's bureaucracy has hindered us from registering you for the competition. Their procedures to approve a change of citizenship for any player can take roughly six months. Our hands are tied."

"Oh, I understand," Zachary said, feeling both disappointed and relieved. Joining the African Cup of Nations would increase his chances of winning his first international trophy with Ivory Coast. He knew that for a fact, as the Ivorians had won the 2015 AFCON during his previous life.

However, partaking in the African tournament would also force him to forego his club duties during January. And since he was a key player on the team, his absence might affect Juventus' performance, and his team could drop out of the Champions League, causing him to lose out on attaining European glory. Obviously, he would have had to make a choice if the Ivorians had called him for the tournament. But now, he just needed to go with the flow and concentrate on his club duties. It was a relief.

"Mr. Sangare!" Zachary said after a moment. "When will my papers be ready? And when can we announce to the public that I'll be playing for Ivory Coast?"

"Well..." Mr. Sangare said. "We could make the announcement in a few days when the papers are ready. But again, we don't want to distract your future teammates and their coaches, who are busy preparing for the African Nations Cup of Nations. So, I suggest that we make the official announcement in late March. That will be after the AFCON and just before the friendlies. It's a perfect time, in my opinion."

"Okay, then," Zachary agreed. "We will go with your plan. Please try to complete all the necessary procedures before March. I would wish to start playing international games as soon as possible."

"Sure," Mr. Sangare said with a chuckle. "We also want you to play our international matches soon. So, we'll obviously work fast to finish all the procedures concerning your citizenship."

"Excellent," Zachary said. "I have to say goodbye now and commence my morning practice. Thanks for the update."

"You're welcome. I will keep you updated concerning your whole citizenship change. Otherwise, I wish you luck in your upcoming games."

"Thanks, and goodbye," Zachary replied.

"Goodbye," Mr. Sangare said and hung up the phone.

Zachary stood in one place for a moment as he organized his thoughts. The main reason why he chose to join Ivory Coast was to compete in the 2018 World Cup. So, Zachary wasn't overly depressed after failing to join their AFCON squad. He instead felt relaxed as he had no diversions to distract him from his club duties.

But again, not joining the AFCON didn't mean that his schedule had opened up. He was still as busy as a worker bee, as he had to play in the Italian Serie A, the Coppa Italia, the Supercoppa Italiana, and the Champions League. All those were top tournaments featuring world-class clubs and talents. Zachary understood that he needed to do his all to remain focused if he desired to perform beyond expectations and help his club win most of the competitions. There was no way around it.

The enhancement of his game intelligence had come at the right time. His football brain had experienced a significant boost in its abilities, and as a plus, it could potentially push his ball skills to a higher level if he went through targeted training. Thus, Zachary planned to work hard through the two-week Christmas break. He would go all out to push his body control or dribbling skills to the SS grade. Then, if all went well, he would shine on the football pitch come January.

"Let's start with the morning training for today."

Zachary psyched himself up. Without further ado, he started going through his morning yoga routine, hoping to warm up his body for the more intensive team training later that day.