THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME

After leaving the dinner party, Zachary returned to his villa. He waved to Angelo, his driver for the night, and then traversed the walkway cutting across the lush gardens as he slowly made his way toward the villa's side entrance.

As he walked forward, the gentle autumn breeze tickled against his face, soothing his emotions and casting a spell of serene tranquility over him. His face broke into a smile, and he took a few moments to observe the scenery around him.

He could see the water in his swimming pool glowing under the bright glow of the security lights in the distance. Then, whirling around, his eyes took in the tall trees spread around his entire estate. Their green leaves shimmered under the luminous glow of the moon above as they swayed back and forth under the influence of the wind.

Continuing to look around, Zachary took in the flowers, the walkway with rows of lamp posts on either side, and then the villa, which was like a castle out of a fantasy movie. At that moment, he felt that everything was perfect, and his fondness for his newly purchased villa increased to a higher level.

Smiling slightly, Zachary decided not to continue dawdling in the compound any longer. Instead, he traversed the walkway and arrived at the side entrance of his villa quickly.

He didn't bother to ring the doorbell but just punched in the security code to open the door. It opened with a whoosh, and he quickly stepped into the house, leaving the door to swing shut behind him.

After walking for a few more seconds, he arrived in his living room and noticed that Coach Bjørn Peters and his wife, Inger, were still awake. They had been lounging on the sofas while watching TV. But on seeing him arrive, they quickly turned around to greet him.

"You're back," Coach Bjørn Peters exclaimed, standing up from his seat. "How was the team dinner?"

"The dinner was great," Zachary responded with a smile.

"I can see that," Coach Bjørn Peters said, turning his gaze to the glittering accolade in Zachary's hand. "You even won another award. Which one was it?"

"October player of the month for Juventus."

"Then, congratulations," Coach Bjørn Peters said. "You truly deserve the accolade. You have been doing impressively on the pitch over the past few weeks."

"Thanks," Zachary replied before turning his gaze to Coach Bjørn Peters' wife. She was a tall, beautiful lady with red hair and bright blue eyes. Nodding at her, Zachary greeted, "How are you today, Inger?"

"I'm fine, Zachary," she replied with a smile. "Do you want me to fix you a late-night snack?"

"No, no." Zachary hurriedly shook his head. "I ate a lot at the dinner party. I don't have any room for more food in my small stomach."

Inger chuckled and nodded in understanding. "I get you," she said. "I guess the party should have been quite enjoyable."

"It was okay," Zachary said and placed his accolade on a nearby table. Then, settling down on the sofa, he continued, "I managed to eat my fill and talk to my teammates outside the training field. So, I guess it was enjoyable."

"That's good," Inger said.

"Zachary!" Coach Bjørn Peters chimed in before his wife could continue. "A few days ago, you mentioned that you would utilize the next ten days without Serie A football to start an intensive training regimen to improve your agility, body coordination, and ball skills. Is that still your plan?"

"Yes," Zachary replied. "I wish to improve my dribbling, ball control, and pace with the ball. And to achieve all that, the first thing to do is to work on my coordination and agility."

"Okay," Coach Bjørn Peters said. "But I must inform you that improving agility and coordination takes time. It's a gradual process, and you need to work on it consistently over a period of more than six months to see initial results. So, as your fitness trainer, my advice to you is this. Let's start by including a few exercises targeted toward improving your agility and coordination in your current routine."

"In the beginning, our main training objective will be to stimulate your body to acclimatize to your new regimen without affecting your performance on the pitch. We won't do anything intensive except for lighter routines of Ball or Balloon Toss, Jumping Rope, Balance Exercises, Juggling and Dribbling Drills, Cone Weaves, and Shuttle Runs."

"Then, later on, like after a month or two," the coach continued with a smile, "we can increase the intensity of the exercises and add in more routines, like swimming and targeted weight lifting, to improve your core strength. As long as we follow such a plan, you should be able to feel your coordination and agility improving in about six months."

"Can't we shorten the timeline?" Zachary asked.

"No," the fitness trainer's voice was firm. "In fitness training, patience is crucial to success. We've got to set achievable goals and work on them consistently for months or even a year to accomplish good results. Otherwise, if we're to rush, we might tire out your body and make you injury-prone. And that's what we want to avoid here. Our sole objective should be to gradually raise your fitness while also maintaining your productivity on the pitch during football games."

"Okay, I understand." Zachary nodded. "Let's begin early tomorrow and follow your plan. I really hope to improve my ball skills and agility as soon as possible. I wish to be more effective on the pitch and more clinical in front of the goal."

"You surely will with time," Coach Bjørn Peters promised. "As long as you keep working hard off the pitch to improve your athleticism, you'll soon become deadly. Not even the top defenders in the Serie A will be able to keep up with you."

"I hope so," Zachary said, nodding. He'd decided to work harder than usual to quickly improve his overall skills and, in so doing, enhance his chances of scoring hattricks against top teams in both the Champions League and the Serie A. Then, he would be closer to completing the system's new mission and obtaining Ronaldinho's Step-Over and Feint Kingly Magic.

"We also need to ensure that your diet keeps up with your training," Coach Bjørn Peters said after a few seconds. "So, I'll discuss the training plan with Inger later, and she will arrange an appropriate diet to match your training goals. Please, ensure that you follow Inger's instructions while selecting the foods to consume over the next few months. Okay?"

"That's a given," Zachary said. "I'll follow her instructions to the letter." He'd hired Inger as his dietician and chef to manage his diet so he would achieve better results during training. So, he wasn't about to ignore her instructions.

"Okay, guys," Zachary said, standing up. "Let's talk again tomorrow. I'm now going to bed."

"Okay, have a good night," the Peters couple replied more or less in unison. "See you tomorrow."

"Have a good night too. Bye."

Zachary responded to their goodnight wishes before quickly stepping out of the living room area and heading up the stairs. He arrived in his bedroom a few minutes later and immediately entered the bathroom to take a warm shower.

After cleaning up and drying himself with a towel, he donned his nightwear and settled on his bed. He then picked up his phone from the bedside table and dialed Camilla's number.

The next moment, the dial tone sounded, indicating that the call was about to connect. But after a few seconds, an electronic voice reverberated in Zachary's ear, expressing that the number he was trying to call wasn't available.

Quickly opening his WhatsApp, he sent her a hello. But again, the messaging app quickly showed a single tick on the mailed text, indicating that she hadn't received the message. She was most likely offline.

"Is she really okay?" Zachary pondered.

Over the past two weeks, Camilla hadn't even talked to Zachary once. She'd only sent a text through WhatsApp a week ago, saying she was still traveling with her mom somewhere in Poland. Then, after that, she'd gone silent again, leaving Zachary to wonder whether she was really okay.

"Maybe, she's in a place without network coverage," Zachary mulled as he placed the phone back on his bedside table. "She might be in a jungle, on a nature tour, or on the road in a rural area. I'll have to wait for her to call."

Sighing slightly, Zachary quickly forced himself to push Camilla's matters to the back of his mind. He had many other issues on his mind, including his planned investments, endorsement contracts, and above all, his career and training plans. So, considering all those worries and his busy schedule, he wouldn't allow himself to spend much time contemplating matters he couldn't control.

"I should sleep early," Zachary decided and jumped into bed. However, he didn't sink into slumberland immediately after entering between the sheets. Instead, his mind continued drifting, and he thought about a few more matters that transpired during his first three weeks in his new villa.

After he'd taken Emily's advice and delegated more assignments to Kristin, the Norwegian girl became more effective. She was already effectively handling all the miscellaneous tasks for Zachary, including organizing his schedule, paying bills, representing him in the not-so-important meetings, and so on and so forth. But that was not all she'd achieved over the past few weeks.

Ten days ago, she'd finally hired house helpers for Zachary. They had quickly taken their posts and were already helping out in the daily maintenance of the villa. As a result, Zachary no longer needed to hire outside help to clean the house or wash the laundry. He was already self-contained due to Kristin's efforts.

"Okay, I should sleep now," Zachary decided again. "I need to start on my new training regimen early tomorrow."

And with that, Zachary closed his eyes and sank into a peaceful slumber soon after.