THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME

"It's the moment we've all been waiting for," the booming voice of the announcer reverberated across the entire stadium after the organizers had set up the podium. "We're about to welcome the Rosenborg players and coaching staff to the podium to receive their medals. But first things first, let's put our hands together for the tournament's top scorer and MVP as he steps forward to receive his accolades."

Grinning from ear to ear, Zachary walked onto the podium with a slight swagger in his step amid waves of thunderous applause. He quickly shook hands with the Norsk Toppfotball officials, received his accolades, and stepped aside to give way to the rest of his teammates.

He had set a new record by receiving two golden boots and two of Norway's most prestigious best football player awards on a single day, just over a span of about two hours. The first was before kick-off, and the second was after the final whistle of the Cup final. He'd made history. Anyone could tell he was trying his best to contain his excitement while standing there on the podium with his three accolades.

"Let's welcome the best coach of the tournament," the announcer intoned, his booming voice shaking the stadium again. "His tactics today were overwhelming as he sent Rosenborg's old rival, Molde, packing to win the Norwegian Cup finals. Ladies and gentlemen! Let's put our hands together for the one and only, the best coach of the season, Coach Boyd Johansen."

The cheers of the Rosenborg fans hit another crescendo as Coach Johansen stepped forward. His hands were trembling a little as he accepted the Cupen winner's medal from the officials. He seemed quite excited as he had just achieved a perfect start to his tenure as the Rosenborg coach by winning a prestigious domestic double.

"Rosenborg! *Clap*Clap* Rosenborg..."

The cheers continued reverberating, causing the entire stadium to experience mini-tremors as the rest of the Rosenborg players followed their coach onto the podium. To spice things up, the announcer began listing out the achievements of individuals starting with Daniel Örlund, the keeper, as another surge of frenzy descended upon the stadium.

The atmosphere was boiling with tangled emotions as the Rosenborg players stepped forward, one after the other. With toothy grins framing their facial features, they took turns shaking hands with the Norsk Toppfotball officials before receiving glittering medals and stepping to the side in an orderly manner.

And finally, the ribbon fell, causing all the Rosenborg fans still in the stands to go into a wild frenzy. Under the illumination of the last rays of the setting sun, the supporters started singing popular Rosenborg chants as the Norsk Toppfotball chairman stepped forward to present the trophy.

Without further ado, Tore Reginiussen, the Rosenborg captain, came forward and received the trophy as the fireworks went off in the background. At that moment, all eyes were on the podium as the captain rejoined his teammates before lifting the trophy high and then passing it on to his teammates.

Another explosion of emotions ensued in the stadium since, by then, the Rosenborg players, coaching staff, and fans could no longer suppress the insane excitement coursing through them. Some laughed, others sobbed while hugging tightly, and the rest roared out loud like a bunch of madmen in their state of drunken happiness. The excitement in those few moments was so infectious that even stoic fellas, like Coach Johansen and Zachary, couldn't avoid joining the celebrations.

****    ****

Later that night.

Zachary was seated on a training mat in his living room, going through a routine of pre-bed yoga. He went through the exercises seriously, doing yoga pose after pose without cutting corners since he had a clear goal in mind concerning where he wanted his fitness to be.

He understood that he still had a long way to go and wasn't about to let the success of winning a low-tier double get to his head and stop him from achieving his goals. He'd even rejected several victory party invitations from his teammates right after the trophy ceremony earlier. He'd instead opted to return home and start on his post-match recovery routine with the intent of returning to full fitness in the shortest time possible.

As far as he was concerned, winning the Tippeligaen and the Norwegian Football Cup was just the beginning. His goal was unchanged, and he still intended to rise to the top of the footballing world. He yearned to bat heads and hold his own against the strongest and mightiest footballers in the world. However, to get to that level, he needed to spend more time in gyms or on the training field, honing his skills. Even with the system, he just couldn't cut all corners and rise to the top without putting in any effort.

It was that simple.

Of recent, he'd started watching highlights of football greats during his free time. He would spend some evenings before his 52-inch LCD TV screen scrutinizing past performances of phenomenal players like Ronaldinho Gaúcho, Maradona, Zinedine Zidane, Thierry Henry, Lionel Messi, and Cristiano Ronaldo. Be it their positioning during attacks, footwork, reactions in critical situations — he'd assessed them repeatedly with the intention of learning from them. However, he always felt totally humbled each time he witnessed those monsters destroying their opponents since his skills at the moment couldn't hold a candle to those of the greats.

For instance, Ronaldinho Gaúcho, at his best, could play around with top defenders, making them look like a bunch of nobodies. His technical skills, creativity, dribbling ability, and accuracy from free-kicks, as well as his use of tricks, feints, and no-look-passes, were simply a marvel. He singlehandedly paved the way for the emergence of sexy football with his mind-blowing displays.

At one time, the phenomenal Brazilian even looped the ball successively over the heads of a group of top defenders. With a couple of deft touches and a moment of immaculate ball-handling, he made them seem like a bunch of headless flies before stepping away gallantly like a king. Another time, he took on the whole Real Madrid backline, ducking and weaving through the ranks of one of the best defenses in the world at the time, before burying the ball in the back of the net. The man was a wizard with the ball that dazzled everyone with his tantalizing displays during games.

Zachary always felt goosebumps all over his skin after watching Ronaldinho Gaúcho's highlights. No player had ever made as big an impression on him as the phenomenal Brazilian. With a smile plastered on his face and feet made of gold, he could do the impossible and turn the game into what seemed like a circus show whenever he was on the field. There had never been a player like him ever, and Zachary admired him greatly.

So, how could he relax just after winning a low-tier double in Norway? How could he take a break when his skills were far from reaching even half of those of his idol - Ronaldinho?

Zachary was determined to utilize every second of the next few years of his professional career to raise his skills to a level much higher than the zenith of his previous life. With the system supporting him, he believed that attaining Ronaldinho-like footballing prowess or becoming the best player in a generation were achievable goals. As long as he worked hard and spent more of his time training, anything was possible.

Zachary's eyes glittered with resolve as he continued going through the simple yoga routine in his living room. Without any break, he performed the rest of the yoga poses meticulously. He didn't stop until thirty minutes later when he was sweating all over once again.

After letting out a breath, he stood up from the training mat and picked a bottle of water from the fridge, intending to hydrate himself. But then, he recalled that the system AI had already notified him about the Norwegian Football Cup mission completion a few minutes prior. So, without further ado, he decided to check on the mission rewards before anything else.

"System," he said after opening the bottle and chugging down some cold water. "Bring up the Norwegian Cup Serial mission completion details right away."

"DING"

"Command received," the AI's apathetic voice sounded in his mind the next instant. "Mission completion details for the Norwegian Football Cup Serial Challenge will be coming up shortly!"

"Great!"

Zachary could feel his heart racing just as the near-transparent crystal-like display manifested before him the next instant. Without further ado, he turned his full attention towards the contents of the system interface.

****

#5 new messages

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CONGRATULATIONS

->You have completed the system mission (2013 Norwegian Football Cup Serial Challenge).

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->Mission Rewards

1) 6000 Juju-points

2) A-grade Physical-Conditioning-Elixir

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->Mission Summary

*Milestone 1: Play all matches in the Cupen. The user must be among the starting eleven or a playing substitute for every tournament match. [Milestone Not Achieved; Rating C]

*Milestone 2: Help your teammates win the finals and become the champions of the Cupen. [Milestone Achieved Successfully; Rating S+)

*Milestone 3: Provide the most assists in the Cupen. [The user was third on the list of assist providers in the Cupen. Milestone Not Achieved, Rating C]

*Milestone 4: Become the top scorer in the Cupen.  [The user was the top scorer of the Cupen with six goals. Milestone Achieved Successfully; Rating S+]

*Milestone 5: Become the MVP of the Cupen. [The user was contributed massively towards Rosenborg's Cupen victory, especially with regards to work rate, goals scored, and assists provided. Milestone Achieved Successfully; Rating S+]

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Overall Mission Rating: A

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Bonus Rewards

You have earned 1000 Bonus Juju points.

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