THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME

When Zachary's eyelids fluttered open the following morning, he immediately had a feeling that he had overslept. By reflex, he glanced around and noticed that the soft white-gold light rays of the new day were already seeping into his room through the gaps between the curtains, blanketing his bedroom window. But he still couldn't confirm the exact time. So, he scooped up his phone from the bedside table before glancing at the screen. And as expected, it was already 10:00 AM.

"Damn! How could I sleep for almost ten hours?"

Zachary jumped out of bed with a start, intending to wash his face before going through his customary daily yoga routine. But, just after taking the first step away from his bed, he felt his limbs and muscles weighing him down. It was as if his vessels and organs were full of lead instead of blood — a condition that caused him to experience a discomfiting numbness all over his body. He was even struggling to walk a few meters to the bathroom.

"This isn't normal!"

Zachary's eyes narrowed. He was sure that he hadn't over-exerted himself the previous night since he'd played as a striker, whose only role was to wait for opportunities to score. As a result, he wasn't that exhausted even after the referee blew the final whistle. He'd even run a couple of laps around the pitch to celebrate Rosenborg's overwhelming victory against Lyon after the game.

"Could it be due to playing in the cold rain?"

Zachary mused as he continued to stretch there in front of his bed. He performed a set of dynamic stretches, from the upper to the lower body, as the scenes from the previous night replayed within his mind.

The chilling downpour had been a menace during the game. But Zachary had forced himself to ignore the unfavorable conditions and only focused on the game. Eventually, he'd performed well and scored two more goals against Lyon during the second leg fixture. But, it seemed that all the running and sprinting in the rain had worn him out considerably. And that's why he was lacking energy and feeling pretty weak that morning.

"It has to be the rain." Zachary thought as he smoothly transitioned from the dynamic stretches to performing yoga poses. He began with the 'Downward Facing Dog' posture to bring calmness to his nervous system and also stretch his hamstrings and calves. He held the pose for a couple of minutes before switching to the 'Half-Front Splits' posture to open his hamstrings while easing the tightness caused by the intense running on the field the previous night.

Over the following few minutes, he switched to different poses, intending to boost his post-match recovery. He was a hundred percent immersed in his exercises, and before long, he felt the numbness that had been bogging down his body fading away. Soon, beads of sweat matted his forehead as he held the poses for longer and longer periods of time. But he persisted through the routine until he completed all the required poses for the yoga routine about an hour later.

By then, his body was no longer feeling weak. He cast his worries aside and quickly took a shower before feasting on a heavy and balanced breakfast. He enjoyed some bananas, fresh milk, cereal, and juice until he felt full and satiated.

Since Rosenborg had played an intensive match the previous night, the coach had given all the players a day off from training that Friday. Zachary wasn't in a rush to go anywhere that morning. He settled on one of the comfy couches in the living room before summoning the system interface.

The translucent crystal-like display appeared before his vision the next moment. And without further ado, he quickly navigated to the G.O.A.T missions' page to check out the details of the pending missions from the system.

Two weeks ago, right after Coach Johansen had announced the season's squad for the Tippeligaen, a new mission had appeared on the interface. It was a system mission requiring Zachary to help his team, Rosenborg, win the 2014 Norwegian domestic league trophy. But since Zachary wasn't sure that he would be playing for the Trondheim-based club for the entirety of 2014, he had chosen to delay his decision regarding the mission. He'd neither chosen to reject nor accept the system assignment since there was a possibility of him transferring out of Rosenborg during the upcoming European transfer window, between June and the start of September.

A few days ago, Emily had given him the long-awaited confirmation that several top clubs were interested in him. Teams like Juventus, Manchester United, and Tottenham were already chasing after his signature. Additionally, Paris Saint-Germain, the prestigious French club, had also just joined the race to acquire his services for the following season. So, he had a lot of options to choose from if he wished to transfer. As a result, there wasn't any need for him to dilly-dally before making the decision regarding the system's 2014 Tippeligaen serial challenge.

"System!" He mumbled, leaning back into the sofa. "I would like to reject the 2014 Tippeligaen Serial Challenge immediately."

"Ding"

A low chime rang within Zachary's head.

"Command received," the system AI's apathetic voice soon followed. "The user has chosen to reject the 2014 Tippeligaen serial challenge. The system will immediately remove all the mission details from the interface."

Zachary breathed out deeply as he turned his gaze to the only remaining pending mission on the interface. He immediately clicked on it before starting to peruse through its details.

****

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G.O.A.T MISSIONS

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#PENDING MISSION: 2013/14 Europa League Serial Challenge

->The user has already accepted the mission and will receive the respective rewards after the end of the tournament.

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*Milestone 1: Play over 80% of the fixtures in the 2013/14 Europa League tournament for Rosenborg (Pending).

*Milestone 2: Help Rosenborg qualify for the round of sixteen of the 2013/14 Europa League tournament (Completed).

*Milestone 3: Help Rosenborg qualify for the quarter-finals of the 2013/14 Europa League tournament (Completed).

*Milestone 4: Help Rosenborg qualify for the semi-finals of the 2013/14 Europa League tournament (Completed).

*Milestone 5: Help Rosenborg qualify for the finals of the 2013/14 Europa League tournament (Pending).

*Milestone 6: Help Rosenborg become the overall champions of the 2013/14 Europa League Tournament (Pending).

*Milestone 7: Provide the most assists in the 2013/14 Europa League tournament while playing for Rosenborg (Pending).

*Milestone 8: Become the top scorer of the 2013/14 Europa League Tournament while playing for Rosenborg (Pending).

*Milestone 9: Become the Best Player of the 2013/14 Europa League Tournament while playing for Rosenborg (Pending).

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*Rewards:

->Milestone 1 completion reward: 2,000 Juju points (Pending).

->Milestone 2 completion reward: 5,000 Juju points (Achieved).

->Milestone 3 completion reward: 30,000 Juju points (Achieved).

->Milestone 4 completion reward: 50,000 Juju points (Achieved).

->Milestone 5 completion reward: 100,000 Juju Points (Pending)

->Milestone 6 completion reward: A dosage of S-grade vitality enhancing elixir (Pending).

->Milestone 7 completion reward: 20,000 Juju-points (Pending).

->Milestone 8 completion reward: 40,000 Juju-points (Pending).

->Milestone 9 completion reward: A dosage of S-grade mental conditioning elixir (Pending).

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

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->The user has already accepted the mission and completed some of the milestones. The respective rewards will be given out at the end of the tournament.

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*Punishment if none of the milestones has been achieved after the stipulated time.

->Minus 120,000 Juju-points

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

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*Remarks: Only by imagining, believing, and attempting the impossible can one accomplish the impossible. Moreover, the word impossible should never appear in the vocabulary of any footballer vying for the position of the G.O.A.T.

****

Zachary smiled with glee after reading through the mission details. He'd already gained plenty of Juju points by helping Rosenborg qualify for the semi-finals of the Europa League after beating Lyon. He could hardly contain his delight.

Moreover, if his team could continue performing well and, by chance, win the Europa League finals, he would acquire a dosage of S-grade vitality-enhancing-elixir as the milestone completion reward from the system. By relying on the elixir, he would be able to push his body fitness to unbelievable levels, the likes that could compete with some of the best footballers of the generation.

Additionally, there was a mouth-watering system reward for becoming the best player for the 2013/14 Europa League tournament. If Zachary could achieve the milestone, he would win himself an S-grade mental conditioning elixir, which would help him elevate his cognitive abilities to the S-grading. Thus, Zachary really hoped that his team could win the Europa League so that he could obtain all those rewards from the system.

"Let's take things slowly," he thought as he dismissed the system interface. "Next, we'll play in the semi-finals against Benfica. As long as we defeat them, then we're in the finals. We can then fight for the trophy with everything in our arsenal."

A smile outlined Zachary's face as he stood up, intending to switch on the television so that he could watch the morning sports news. But just then, he felt feverish and out of energy once again. His temples throbbed, and he felt like standing was a tasking chore. He even had to hold on to the sofa to support himself.

For a moment, Zachary felt a bit alarmed by his abnormal condition. But after recollecting how he'd run for more than ninety minutes in the chilling rain the previous night, he pushed his worries to the back of his mind.

He presumed that the post-match fatigue was still weighing him down. But even then, he still decided to sleep for a few more hours, hoping to quicken his post-match recovery.

He trekked into his bedroom with unsteady steps before diving under the covers. A couple of minutes later, he felt even more fatigued, and his thoughts slowed down until he started sinking into slumberland. His only hope at that juncture was that his body would return back to normal after he woke up. That way, he would be able to train a little bit more and make adequate preparations for the upcoming matches.