THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME

The celebrations didn't just stop in the stadium. Individual prizes still had to be announced by the organizers later that evening.

So, the squad celebrated for only a few minutes before taking the bus back to their hotel. They changed into their formal wear before heading to the conference room for the post-tournament dinner party.

Zachary walked with his teammates as they followed Coach Johansen through the too-clean brightly-lit corridors of the Monika Centrum Hotel. Everyone was still in a jubilant mood. They chattered loudly about the match highlights without giving a damn about what those around them thought.

Zachary could feel a strong kinship and camaraderie with his teammates. He felt completely at home with them, having played alongside them throughout the tournament.

They walked quickly, and in no time, made it to the great hall—the designated venue for the dinner party. They were greeted with hundreds of loud conversations, all competing with the soft classical music playing in the background. The crowd consisted of players from teams that had taken part in the tournament, for the most part.

Zachary could feel most of the eyes in the crowd glued on him as he walked in with his teammates. However, he didn't panic but flashed them a polite smile as he continued to the massive table with the buffet on one side of the room.

All the players served themselves platefuls of all sorts of Latvian delicacies and headed to their allocated tables. They focused on dining, only occasionally making low indistinct chatter among themselves. They had finally calmed down to some extent after spending more than two hours celebrating their victory.

"I wish we didn't have to leave tomorrow," Paul Otterson complained from beside Zachary. "I could get used to this," he said, cutting a piece of fried salmon with his knife. He then stuffed it into his mouth and sipped on his juice.

"Don't forget we have to return to school on Monday," Kendrick commented from across the table, sighing.

"Who cares about school right now," Kasongo chipped in, frowning at Kendrick. "Don't sour our mood. We're still celebrating our victory. Thinking about books right now… Eew."

Paul Otterson laughed. "I can't believe we're the champions. It's so surreal. It seems like it's the first time NF Academy has won an international cup. I wonder whether we'll get more rewards from the academy once we get back home. Maybe, some of us will get to join the Rosenborg under-19s when we return to Trondheim."

"Guys," Kendrick whispered, leaning forward. "Did any of you get offers from some of the teams here?"

Zachary frowned, wondering where Kendrick was going with the topic. The NF Academy had an active partnership with Rosenborg to develop talents. Talk of transferring to other teams was strongly prohibited among players on scholarships. Yet, Kendrick was openly asking a related question on a table very close to the one occupied by the coaches. Zachary was perplexed.

"The coaches are just right there," Kasongo whispered back, saving Zachary from doing the same. "Can we discuss this later?"

Kendrick nodded before returning his attention to his food. They continued making small talk as they ate—until the Riga Cup tournament president arrived on the stage.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen," said Raimonds Laizāns, his voice amplified by the loudspeakers. "Welcome once again to the closing dinner party for the Riga Cup tournament. Thank you for coming." The president smiled.

"First of all, let me start by congratulating the NF Academy on winning this year's under-18 Riga Cup," he continued. "Please, let's give them a round of applause for their extraordinary performance. They have outdone themselves in this tournament."

Zachary's teammates once again grinned from ear to ear as the entire hall burst into thunderous applause.

Raimonds cleared his throat as the clapping died down. "I don't want to waste much time," he said. "Our fellow sportsmen from the NF Academy and VfB Stuttgart are already tired since they've just concluded that spectacular final. So, I'll begin announcing the individual accolades right away."

"The winners, please come forward to receive your prize when I announce your name," he added, smiling.

"I'll start with the best goalkeeper. The award goes to Kendrick Otterson from NF Academy Norway. Throughout the tournament, he put up an extraordinary performance in goal to keep his team from conceding. Kendrick Otterson, please come forward to receive your prize."

"Congs, man," Zachary high-fived Kendrick as he got up from his seat to receive his prize. The rest of the NF Academy players followed suit, hugging him, in turn, to congratulate him on winning the accolade. Kendrick marched triumphantly towards the stage and received a shiny metallic sculpture of a glove. He didn't forget to pose for a few photographs with the president before returning to his seat.

After that, the president continued reading out the other best performers in the tournament.

The best defender award went to a player from VfB Stuttgart named Timo Baumgartl.

The best defensive-midfielder award went to Joshua Kimmich.

The best attacking-midfielder award went to Zachary Bemba.

The best forward award went to Timo Werner. He was still the striker with the most goals in the tournament even though he had missed a penalty in the finals. His tally was only one goal short of Zachary's.

The best coach award went to Boyd Johansen. He had led his team to victory in the tournament against stronger teams like VfB Stuttgart and Zenit.

The Golden Boot award went to Zachary Bemba. He was the top scorer with 13 goals, just one ahead of Timo Werner.

And finally, the president announced Zachary Bemba as the MVP of the tournament. Everyone in the conference hall rose to give him a standing ovation—as he marched onto the platform to receive the golden ball and a 10,000 Euro check from the president.

Once again, he felt how blissful it was to win—to become a champion. At that moment, he prayed he would never be anything other than a victor throughout his career. He resolved to work harder than ever to continue winning.

**** ****

Zachary left the dinner party early with his prizes in hand and headed back to his hotel room. Primarily, he intended to get some sleep. Coach Johansen had already informed them they would be on an early morning flight back to Trondheim the following day.

Secondly, the system notification had rung in his head once more at the moment when he received the Golden Ball from the tournament president. Zachary couldn't resist the temptation to head back to his hotel room and check out the system rewards.

"Hope there'll be a lot of bonuses this time around," he mumbled to himself as he sat on his bed in the silent hotel room. He calmed his mind before opening the system interface.

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"DING"

#2 new messages

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->You have played most of the matches in a highly competitive tournament with prize money at stake. The system has collected enough in-game data to grade your X-factor accordingly. Please click on the notification for more details.

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CONGRATULATIONS

->You have completed the system mission (Riga Cup Serial Challenge) successfully. Please click on the notification for more details.

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Zachary smiled as he looked at the two notifications. He couldn't contain his delight since he was about to receive rewards from the system after doing his best in the tournament. He didn't dawdle and instantly selected the X-Factor notification.

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"DING"

#1 new message

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X-Factor attribute unlocked

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USER STATS

->X-Factor (Av. Rating: B+)

Consistency Factor: A-

Luck Factor: A-

Supernormal Factor: D-

Match Winning Factor: A+

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NB: Please note that the X-Factor stats are constantly varying according to your condition and match performance. But, remember that you'll never become a G.O.A.T without a high X-Factor.

****

Zachary was confused once more.

He could somewhat understand the consistency factor. It seemed to be something related to maintaining his playing form over a long period. However, the supernormal factor and the luck-factor were attributes he had never heard about in sports. [Did some players possess more luck than the rest? Was there a way to increase the luck factor?] He couldn't help but wonder.

Nonetheless, he first pushed his thoughts about the X-Factor to the back of his mind before opening the other system notification. He could ponder on the X-Factor more after upgrading the system.

****

"DING"

#5 new messages

CONGRATULATIONS

->You have completed the system mission (Riga Cup Serial Challenge) successfully.

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->Mission Rewards

1) 2000 Juju-points

2) B-grade Agility Enhancing Elixir

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->Mission Summary

*Milestone 1: Help your team qualify for the knockout stages of the tournament. (Completed successfully; Rating A)

*Milestone 2: Help your team win the semifinals of the tournament. (Completed successfully; Rating S)

*Milestone 3: Help your teammates win the finals and become the champions of the tournament. (Completed successfully; Rating S)

*Milestone 4: Become the top scorer in the tournament. (Completed successfully; Rating S)

*Milestone 5: Become the M.V.P of the tournament. (Completed successfully; Rating S)

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Overall Mission Rating: S

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Bonus Rewards

You have earned 400 Bonus Juju-points.

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