THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME
Solo Training
Zachary was running at a steady pace.
He paid no attention to the hole that had always been in the eastern Bukavu dirt road nor to the mud piles caused by the previous day's rain.
He performed the song Chris Brown (Don't Wake Me Up) which was supposed to be released two years later.
Zakaria smiled gently. He's in a good mood.
Above it was a blue sky with only a few stratus clouds unhurriedly heading towards Lake Kivu in the north. The sun is already a golden yellow ball on top, promising more heat as the day progresses. Overall, he couldn't have asked for better weather to complete the system's mission.
It's been six days since Zachary returned to the past, and he's very close to completing the task in his first system mission.
He has been exercising like there is no tomorrow on his Thursday.
With the GOAT system, it has the motivation to work hard and hence never think of giving up when things get tough.
Every morning, he would start with a routine of a hundred sits, then fifty push-ups before running ten miles or so around the Bukavu dirt road. He will then finish his training day in the evening with six rounds of Hatha-yoga routine. His daily yoga practice always includes poses of snakes, bows, peacocks, turtles, eagles, and Matsyendra.
In his previous life, he had come across an article explaining how yoga is essential to improve the flexibility and coordination of the body of any sportsman. Zachary is determined to stick to this practice as it will reduce the risk of injury later in his career.
He was most afraid of getting hurt again. Injuries will diminish a player's form and destroy a career if not handled carefully.
The injury has been the beginning of Zachary's downfall in his previous life. But he is determined not to let it affect him in his new place.
For the past six days, his injured ankle has been in great pain after continuing to support his strenuous training without much rest. It was swollen and reddish-colored like a perfectly boiled shrimp. But Zachary has chosen to ignore the pain and continue the tedious task charged at him by the system.
Several times when he felt he could not survive, he just had to think about the incredible achievements achieved by some top athletes from a poor background in his previous life. Soccer stars like Sadio Mane, Frank Ribery, and Cristiano Ronaldo made it to the top by harnessing their talents. Through their hard work and tireless attitude towards football, they have almost achieved GOAT status supported by the general consensus of the pro-sports community.
Zachary believed that the pain and fatigue he felt at the time was his weakness leaving the body.
He could see the bigger picture.
The climb may be difficult and challenging, but if he manages to reach the top of the football world, the view will be worth it. So, he decided to work harder than any athlete alive and see if he could also be a great one. He'll try to be the best or die trying. With the cheat system that helped his ascension, he would not receive any less.
Zachary was in that zone and felt running was a form of whole-body meditation. He continued his steady movements at a steady pace removing the pain and fatigue from his mind while humming song after song to encourage himself.
On the nearly empty dirt road of Bukavu, he was not worried. Zachary does not have to worry about high-interest loans like in his previous life, no troubled girlfriend, no therapist. Only he cut off the warm wind that caressed her skin.
Sweat drenched his oversized gym clothes, while his former Nike snicker was covered in mud. He was panting while wiping his mouth on his sleeve. He could only imagine how bad he was.
As she turned the corner heading back to her grandmother's farm, a Ding rang out in her head.
The voice raised his mood because it was a now-known system notification indicating that he had completed one of the mission tasks.
But Zachary resisted the urge to open the User-Interface system and continued to run across the plains, up the hill, until he returned to his grandmother's house.
As soon as he stopped running, the cold sweat on his skin, grew colder by the noon breeze, and he started shivering.
He hurriedly took a shower before stretching to cool his muscles. She was just about to start her yoga routine when she was distracted by her grandmother's high-pitched voice.
"Zachary," he yelled. "You ran with that leg again. Not Dr. Kazadi told you to stop pushing for three months? Son, I don't have any more money to take you to the main hospital." He speaks Swahili - one of the local languages in Bukavu.
"Grandmother, I'm fine now," she lied, her voice humble. "I'll be fine by the time school starts once again. I want to be ready for the school team test."
[Sorry, grandma. I can't tell you everything now. But I will surprise you in the future.] Zachary swore in his heart.
"Are you sure?" She asked. "I will come and see the foot itself. I won't believe your words." She added.
"No, Grandma," Zachary hurriedly shouted back while locking the wooden door into his room from inside. "I'm getting dressed. Maybe later."
"I know you're lying" her grandmother's voice went up.
"so. Tomorrow, I'll ask Dr. Kazadi to look at your ankles again. If he says it's OK, then you can do whatever you want. But I don't want to see you run before that." His grandmother warned, his voice grim.
"Yes, grandma," Zachary replied humbly.
[I'll finish my mission tomorrow. If the gift of elixir can immediately heal all my torn ligaments and sprained bones, then there is no need to worry.] Her thought.
She once again focused on her training and went through her Yoga routine. Today, he woke up very early and worked extra hard to complete the mission before lunch time. He was eager to receive the first prize of the system. He will then be able to gauge whether the GOAT system is as bad as it is in most of the web novels he has read.
Within minutes, she finished her yoga routine, and Ding's voice once again reverberated in her mind.
Without taking a minute to relax, he called the system's user interface to check for his statistical changes.
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GOAT FOOTBALL SYSTEM
SYSTEM LEVEL: 1 (15/100 juju-points to level up)
USER: Zachary Bemba
AGE: 15 years
TALENT ASSESSMENT: Grade-D
JUJU POINTS: 15 (1 msg)
(Evaluation: A pathetic boy is far from being a professional soccer player)
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*USER STATUS
*GOAT MISSION (4 msg)
* SYSTEM STORE (temporarily unlocked)
*SYSTEM LOTTERY (temporarily unlocked)
*INFO TOOL (locked)
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NB: Please upgrade the system to open more functions.
****
Zachary instantly sees juju points, GOAT missions, system stores, and system lottery tabs flashing red on the user interface. With her skills gained through reading web novels, she was able to find out that she had received a new message or status change on the tab.
So, he tapped on the tab at the top of the virtual blue screen.
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JUJU POINTS: 15 (1 msg)
-> You have completed the mission – Preparation To Be A Soccer GOAT. You've got 15 juju-points.
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NB: Complete more system tasks, win matches, and gain fame to earn more juju points.
****
Zachary understood the message at first glance. He closes the tab in a similar way to navigating the android tab of a smartphone and then focuses his attention on the GOAT mission tab.
[What gifts will I get from the system?] He wonders.
[Will the vitality enhancing herb heal me?]
[What if it's a dream? Am I just getting up?] Many doubts raging in his mind made his brain tingle with anxiety.
But he punched them and tapped on the GOAT mission tab.
****
"DING"
4 new messages
CONGRATULATIONS
-> You have completed the mission (Preparation To Be A Football GOAT).
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->Misi-gift
1) elixir B-level vitality enhancer (Available in system store; temporarily unlocked. NB: The user must consume elixir within 5 seconds after being removed from the system store.)
2) Random GOAT skills (Available in system lotteries; temporarily unlocked)
3)5 points juju
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->Mission Summary
*Task 1: Run 70 miles in a week. (74/70 miles completed; A+ rating)
*Task 2: Complete 100 seats every day for a week. (Av. 200/100 seat-ups completed daily; S rating)
*Task 3: Complete 50 press-ups daily for a week. (Pres-up average 64/50 finished every day; A+ rating)
*Task 4: Complete four rounds of a half dozen Hatha-Yoga routine daily for a week. (Av. 6/4 round Hatha-yoga pose finished; A+ Rating)
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Overall Mission Rating: A+
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-> Bonus gifts
You have earned 10 juju-point bonuses
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****