THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME
The Supernormal Factor
"I've unlocked the supernormal factor twice!" zachary exclaimed, his mind quickly working too hard to deduce when it happened. Then everything came to him. When he played in the Riga tournament during February of the previous year, he accidentally entered a state of extreme focus in two games.
Zachary can still remember the feeling of playing under those circumstances clearly as it was just yesterday. He played with instinct—a feat that made his dribble and ball control flow like water. In the match against BK Frem in the Riga Cup semi-final, the thought process was very quick. He managed to score the second goal as he reached a high level of focus. But, he did not know that it was related to the supernormal factor at that time.
"System," Zachary recites. "Are those two occasions when I entered a state of extreme focus during the Riga Cup?" He asked, wanting to ascertain if his conjecture was correct.
"Positive" replied AI. "On those two occasions, the user managed to reach an extreme level of concentration called a zone."
"The zone is a supernormal state of mind. Under its influence, an athlete is very focused and can easily see the slightest changes around him" the AI said. "The user must be in the initial condition of awakening the mental abilities of the zone because he cannot yet control it."
"When trained to a high level, the user will be able to create an incorporeal domain around it, say a radius of 3 meters. The user can then easily see whatever is happening in that domain—even without using his eyes. The spatial awareness of the users will also increase greatly. Then it would be trivial to assess the risks and positions of opponents and teammates on the field."
"Such an ability really exists?" Zachary asked, his eyes widened in disbelief.
"Users can—be assured that zone abilities must be possessed by every high-level team sports athlete" the system asserts. In team sports such as football and basketball, an athlete must keep track of his or her opponents and teammates at all times. That way, he would quickly analyze the risks and find the best route to reach the destination. So, an athlete will have a real edge if he or she has zone abilities. The wider the zone he can create, the better his passing ability, spatial awareness, and risk analysis."
"I should get the zone ability as soon as possible," Zachary decided, feeling a wave of excitement flowing through him. It was the dream cheat he needed to take his bait to the next level. "System, how can I develop my zone abilities quickly?"
"You need to focus on improving your mental abilities" replied the AI. "When your mind evolves to a certain threshold, you will be able to unlock your Zones abilities. Mental conditioning herbs can help you in that."
Zachary's mood became light upon hearing the AI's response. For the past four months, she has been—running progressive overload training system missions to adjust her body to the cold weather of Trondheim. It would mature the following week with a B-level mental conditioning potion reward if it successfully completed it. Zachary was confident that he would successfully complete all the mission tasks. That meant he could increase his mental toughness using elixir, possibly unlocking the abilities of the zone. Zachary felt a calm satisfaction spread through him as he daydreamed about how far his skills would skyrocket afterwards.
"Users should note that the chances of unlocking a zone ability with a B-level mental conditioning potion are about 2%," the apathetic sound of the system brought it back to earth. Zachary's mood was reduced because it meant he was most likely to fail rather than succeed.
"I have to go ahead and buy new skills to improve my chances in the first team" he murmured, trying his best to entertain himself. Instead of wallowing in worries about the supernormal factor with only a 2% chance of being unlocked, he was better off improving other aspects of his attributes.
"System," Zachary orders, leaning against a comfortable sofa. "Take my GOAT Skills data."
"DING"
"Info GOAT Skills appeared in the interface," the AI sounded in Zachary's mind. He blinked as his eyes adjusted to the new content on the screen.
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-> GOAT Skills: 5
(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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(First level: Progress: 100%)
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(iv) CRUYFF-TURN
(Progress: 100%, Powered beyond 100% solution.)
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(V) RONALDINHO ELASTICO DRIBBLE
(Progress: 100%, Powered beyond 100% solution.)
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-> GOAT Skill Simulator
Enable Disable
(Activation charges 2 Juju-points per hour)
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****
Zachary had mastered most of the GOAT skills he had acquired by practicing them thousands of times during the previous year. Only Zinedine-Visual-Juju still lags behind the others with a 90.001% completion as he experiences obstacles in his mental aspect. The AI system had told him that he would only start making progress in skills after increasing his mental strength.
Zachary has resisted the urge to buy new skills because he has yet to master the ones already in his repertoire. He truly believes in Bruce Lee's focused practice and high-level philosophy of proficiency. He would rather be the one who practiced one kick 10,000 times but not the one who practiced 10,000 kicks once.
Zachary would rather master one GOAT Skill to 100% complete than half-heartedly practice more techniques in a short period of time. That's why he can stay focused and train skills like Ronaldinho Elastico Dribble thousands of times to achieve perfection.
However, since he had already mastered all the GOAT skills that could be trained to 100% mastery, he could purchase new skills from the system shop.
"System," he murmured. "I want to buy new GOAT Skills from the store."
"DING"
"The government accepted," said the AI, an apathetic feminine voice that echoed in Zachary's mind. "Data loading, please wait."