THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME

Zachary woke with a start and sat bolt upright on the sofa. The morning sun was already beaming through the window, adorned with drawn silk curtains, on one side of his apartment's living room. The light rays reflected off the glass-top of his classic rectangular coffee table, blinding him momentarily because his pupils were—still dilated from sleep.

He cast a cursory glance at his wall clock and noticed that it was already 10 AM. Only then did he remember why he'd slept in the living room instead of the comfort of his well-furnished bedroom.

The previous evening he had purchased the Snipe-it-like-Pirlo Juju from the system shop. He had immediately gone through the mental conditioning required to learn the skill but had blacked out during the process. He couldn't help but tremble on recalling the mind-numbing pain he'd gone through the previous night.

"System, did I succeed in learning the skill?" He queried, standing up from the sofa and stretching his limbs. He couldn't feel any differences in his body compared to the previous day. He only felt a little dizzy, probably as an after-effect of the mental conditioning procedure.

"Reporting to the user," the system AI intoned in its signature feminine but impassive voice. "Both the mental conditioning and the addition of the Snipe-it-like-Pirlo Juju data into the user's mind was very successful."

"Why is it that I feel nothing different about myself?" He inquired. He then took a few steps and looked out of the window. It was a slow Saturday morning. Only a few vehicles and pedestrians were moving on the streets below his apartment building.

"The user will feel the difference while playing football," the AI responded. "Please be rest assured that the information necessary to achieve initial mastery of the skill has already been ingrained into the user's core instincts."

"The user can now easily use the Snipe-it-like-Pirlo basic passing skills on the pitch."

"Does the user wish to check his progress in learning the skill on the system panel?"

"Yes," Zachary responded, walking back and settling into a sofa. "Please show me the skills menu."

"Command received," intoned the system. "G.O.A.T Skills tab coming up on the interface. Please wait a second."

Zachary blinked as his eyes adjusted to the luster of the translucent bluish interface. He watched as the G.O.A.T Skills he'd mastered populated the entire length of the screen.

****

->G.O.A.T Skills: 6

(i) ZINEDINE VISUAL JUJU

(1st-level: Progress: 90.001%)

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(ii) ZACHARY-ARROW-SHOT

(2nd-level: Progress: 1%)

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(iii) BEND-IT LIKE BECKHAM JUJU

(1st-level: Progress: 100%)

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(iv) CRUYFF-TURN

(Progress: 100%, Mastered beyond 100% completion.)

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(v) RONALDINHO ELASTICO DRIBBLE

(Progress: 100%, Mastered beyond 100% completion.)

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(vi) SNIPE-IT LIKE PIRLO JUJU

(Progress: 10%)

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->G.O.A.T Skills Simulator

*Activate *Deactivate

(Activation costs 2 Juju-points per hour)

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****

"DING"

The system notification sounded while Zachary was still perusing through the skill data.

"The system has detected two skills that match in usability and learning requirements," the AI intoned. "The Zinedine-Visual-Juju and Snipe-it-like-Pirlo-Juju are the skills in question. They can be merged into one at the cost of 1500 Juju-points by the system."

"Does the user wish to merge the two skills?"

Zachary's felt a surge of delight flowing through him after hearing the AI's question.

He'd already noticed that his mastery of the Snipe-it-like-Pirlo Juju had already advanced to 10% over a single night. That meant that he could already make use of the knacks that came with the Juju. He was already content since it would elevate his game reading and passing skills, especially in the midfield.

But on hearing that the system could merge the skills, Zachary was momentarily stunned, speechless. He couldn't help but wonder how such a feat was feasible when the two Jujus originated from two different players.

"System," he intoned. "Are there any drawbacks that'll follow after the merging of the two skills?"

"Yes, there are," the AI responded right away. "The user will lose some bit of mastery after the system completes the merging of the two skills."

[As I thought.] Zachary mused inwardly.

"Does the user wish to merge the Zinedine-Visual and Snipe-it-like-Pirlo Jujus?" The AI prompted once again. "Please note: the resulting skill will be much better than the two skills used separately."

"The merged skill will be better!" Zachary mumbled, stroking his chin. "Okay, proceed with the merging of the two skills." He commanded, leaning back into the sofa. Since the system had assured him that the resulting skill would be better, there wasn't a reason to avoid the merging. Maybe, it would be the skill that could help him rise to the top of the Tippeligaen. He 'simply' had to take a leap of faith.

"Command received."

"1500 Juju-points have been deducted."

"The merging of Zinedine-Visual and Snipe-it-like-Pirlo Jujus will commence in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1—and 0."

"BOOM"

And once again, an explosion went off in the confines of his mind. He then experienced the familiar splitting headache that threatened to put a halt to all of his conscious thoughts. However, that time around, Zachary hardened his resolve and passed through the torment without blacking out. In only a couple of minutes, the waves of pain in his head receded like a tide.

"Zinedine-Visual and Snipe-it like-Pirlo merging complete," the AI intoned. "The user can go ahead and name the new skill."

"That quick?" Zachary queried, his voice a pitch higher than he had intended. He'd expected to go through torture comparable to that of the previous day. However, in just a few minutes, the system had already merged the skills successfully. That did not make much sense to him.

"Yes, that quick," the AI confirmed. "As there wasn't any need for the user to go through another mental conditioning routine, the system was able to carry out the merging in only a few minutes. Please go ahead and name the new skill." The AI urged once again.

"Just name it the Zinedine-Pirlo Mental Juju," Zachary said, returning his focus on the system interface before him. Since the two skills were related to the game intelligence and mental aspects, Zachary decided to name them as a type of mental-juju.

"Command received."

"Naming the new skill as Zinedine-Pirlo Mental Juju."

"Skill data has been—updated in the system."

Zachary heard the AI articulate as new data populated the translucent blueish interface. The number of G.O.A.T skills on the panel reduced from six to five. The new Zinedine-Pirlo Mental Juju appeared on the screen in the fifth position, with 49.009% mastery.

Zachary was glad his mastery of the new skill had not started at zero. With 49% progress, he could use the new Juju in a match after a few training sessions. His only disappointment was that his game intelligence and the other mental attribute stats hadn't advanced.

He closed the system interface after perusing through some of his other stats. After merging the skills, he remained with a balance of only 900 Juju-points. He planned to save those for his daily usage—such as when purchasing the physical conditioning elixirs. He would also use them when activating the system simulator—the virtual world where he trained most of his techniques.

Zachary then quickly prepared a heavy breakfast comprising oven-baked chicken thighs, French fries, a banana, milk, and juice. He was starving since he hadn't eaten dinner the previous night. Moreover, it seemed like the mental conditioning had sapped all his energy reserves.

Thus, he eagerly feasted on more than half a kilogram of food before going out for his routine morning jog. He needed to run eight miles so-as-to complete the system mission task for that morning. It was part of the routine to acclimatize his body to the cold weather, which Zachary didn't wish to miss for anything in the world.

Out of his apartment building, the rising sun cast a rosy hue across the morning sky. Zachary took a moment to soak into the golden rays that were so rare on a typical March morning in Trondheim. In an odd counterpoint, the morning breeze was chilly on his skin. So, he zipped his Nike running jacket, put on his woolen head sock, and started jogging a few seconds later.

He got into the zone as soon as he was out on the streets—his strides short and consistent. His body seemed to have achieved a form of whole-body meditation as he raced along the sidewalk. At times, he would explode with speed to hone his sprinting and endurance. At others, he would abruptly change directions, making consecutive tight turns, so-as-to perfect his body control.

He 'simply' kept running like each step mattered, whizzing past the few pedestrians on the street. Then, before he knew it, his apartment building was before him, and all that was—left to do was let his legs crumple and rest as they wanted to.

However, he didn't allow himself to relax immediately. He stretched for a few minutes in front of his building, thereby completing the system's progressive overload mission task for that morning. He was then one step closer to obtaining the mental conditioning elixir as the reward for the mission.

Zachary ascended the stairs, hoping to take a quick shower before planning-on what to do the rest of the day. He hated days when there was no training. He wished he could join the rest of the other Rosenborg players at Lerkendal Idresspark to train. However, the coach had 'advised' him several times to take some time off from the intensive practice that weekend.

"I should probably buy a PlayStation like Kendrick suggested, to help me pass through my rest days," he mumbled. He immersed his entire psyche into his musings without bothering about his surroundings.

"Thankfully, there is the El Clásico today. I will watch that, maybe with the guys at Moholt."

He continued ascending the stairs leading to the sixth floor by sheer instinct. Meanwhile, his mind shifted into a higher gear, trying to recall who had ended up winning that El Clásico game in his previous life. Was it Real Madrid or Barcelona? But he couldn't remember as he hadn't watched that match in his past life.

Along the stairs, he seemed to hear someone calling out. But he didn't turn back since he didn't expect any visitors or know any of his neighbors personally.

"Zachary," the person once again called out. But that time around, he could tell that the feminine voice was calling out his name. He turned around, and to his surprise, found a girl he didn't expect to meet any time soon, a few steps away. She stood by the door on the fourth floor, smiling at him like a long-lost friend who had finally been—found.

"Miss Kristin Stein," Zachary exclaimed, feeling his heart start to race. "What are you doing here?"