THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME

Even after spending a large part of the night partying with teammates, Zachary still managed to wake up at 9:00 AM. The hard-fought victory over Benfica had caused his spirits to soar into the skies, and he was in a hyper mood as he went through his morning yoga routine in the living room of his apartment.

As he performed the various yoga poses, scenes of the previous night went through his mind. First, he remembered how he'd provided an assist that enabled Nicki to score Rosenborg's first goal. Then, he recalled how Benfica had equalized the game during the 88th minute. At that moment, he had felt as if the entire world was crumbling around him since Rosenborg was behind Benfica going by the aggregate score.

But due to sheer luck, he'd entered an uncanny mental state, totally different from the zone mental state. The state of mind that seemed to rely purely on instincts had helped him perform the impossible and dribble through the opposition's packed midfield and defense before scoring Rosenborg's second goal on the night. And that goal was what helped Rosenborg extend the game into extra time and eventually to the penalty shootout, where they overcame Benfica.

"I wonder if I can enter that mental state again!"

Zachary could feel his blood boiling with anticipation as he recalled how he overcame the opposing midfielders and defenders before scoring the goal. The football skills he'd mastered seemed to have totally merged with his entire being, and he'd performed them without thinking. He had even gained an incredible connection with the ball, and performing moves like the elastico dribble had been like the reflexive action of blinking. All in all, football had never been easy like at that juncture.

But later on, during extra time, when he'd tried to re-enact the state of mind, he'd failed again and again. No matter how hard he'd tried, he hadn't managed to reach the level of playing just by relying on instincts during the crucial moments. So, he'd pushed the matter to the back of his mind until that morning, when he was going through his post-match yoga routine.

"System," he called out after completing the yoga routine. "Can you tell me about the state of mind I was in yesterday? Why could I perform beyond my best before I scored that second goal?"

"The user's will to win the game was incredible yesterday," the system AI replied. "The will to win the game forced the user to transcend his limits in the mental aspect and perform like never before. If the user would like to experience and explore that spectacular state again, the user should focus on increasing his mental aspects of the game. A good start would be winning the Europa League best player accolade and obtaining a corresponding reward of the S-grade mental conditioning elixir from the system."

"S-grade mental conditioning elixir!" Zachary mumbled as the details of the 2013/14 Europa League Serial Challenge mission coursed through his mind. He understood that he had to become the best player in that Europa League tournament to gain the elixir reward from the system. But there was one issue that still confused him. So, he decided to ask the system AI.

"System," he called out. "As far as I know, there is no best player award in the Europa League. So, how will the system judge whether I'm the best player or not?"

"The system can collect the performance data of all players in the Europa League," the AI replied. "By combining the various statistics (such as goals scored, successful dribble attempts, aerial duels won, number of assists, etcetera), the system can weight them against your team's overall performance in the Europa League. Then, it'll be easy to determine whether you're the best performing player in the tournament."

"I see," Zachary mumbled, smiling. Since the system had its own way of determining his rank on the Europa League best player list, he didn't have to wait for the shortlist for the UEFA Men's Player of the Year Award scheduled to be released in August. If all went well, he might be able to immediately acquire two S-grade elixirs and a hefty sum of Juju points as rewards from the system after playing the finals in Turin two weeks later. Those rewards would help him improve his football skills and abilities to unprecedented levels. He would then turn into a monster on the pitch before he completed his transfer to a new club. But first, he had to help his team win the finals.

"One step at a time," Zachary reminded himself as he dried his face with a clean towel. "Before playing the finals, I can't get ahead of myself. I have to perform at my best against Sevilla and ensure that my team wins without going through penalties again."

Zachary's experience during the semi-final against Benfica had made him dread and fear penalties more than before. He had felt useless the previous night when he'd noticed that he had no control over the result of the penalty shootout. It was mostly through luck that his team managed to win.

Winning that way irked Zachary to some extent. So, he had secretly vowed to do his utmost to win future games during the 90 minutes of regular game time. As long as he helped his team score many goals, he wouldn't have to face the mental torture resulting from the penalty shootout.

"Bzzt Bzzzt! Bzzt Bzzzt!"

Zachary's phone vibrated and attracted his attention just as he was about to take his post-yoga routine shower. He quickly turned around and scooped it up from a nearby table before glancing at the screen. He couldn't help but smile slightly after noticing that the call was from Emily, his agent.

"Good morning, Emily," he spoke into the phone after pressing the accept button. "You're calling so early! Do you have any good news for me?"

"Good morning, Zachary!" Emily's said from the other end of the line. Her British accent colored her words, making her voice as vibrant as ever. "You have guessed right. I do have some good news. Can we meet a.s.a.p.?"

"That's okay with me," Zachary replied after glancing at the wall clock on the opposite wall. "We can meet thirty minutes later, at around 11:00 AM. Where should we meet?"

"If it's not a bother, we should meet at your place," Emily replied. "This is a measure against some journalists who have been tailing me over the past few weeks. I don't want to give them an opportunity to glean some information from what I'm about to discuss with you. The best way to ensure secrecy is to hold our meeting somewhere private, like in your apartment or a hotel room."

"I see," Zachary said. "Then, just come over to my apartment. I'm alone here. So, you don't have to worry about the contents of our conversation leaking out."

"Great," Emily replied. "I'll be there in thirty minutes. Should I bring you some breakfast?"

Zachary thought for a moment and agreed. "A coffee will do. Thanks, and see you in thirty minutes."