The next few days passed like a vivid dream for Zachary. As his scheduled return to Norway drew closer, he became increasingly convinced that he'd made the right decision by hiring the ICS to find his biological mother. He was finally at ease since he knew professionals were working on finding his mother.

So, he returned his attention to getting his body back to tip-top shape. He followed a strict training schedule and consumed a weekly dosage of B-grade physical-conditioning-elixir. He was hard on himself and used every available minute of the next three days to practice with the intent of being fully match-fit before returning to Norway.

He would wake up early at 6:00 AM and jog between eight and fourteen miles to hone his endurance. After that, he would take breakfast and head to the TP Mazembe stadium to carry out some weight training — and go through agility drills.

In the afternoons, just after having lunch, he would practice his set-piece technique, sometimes with TP Mazembe players—if they were present. Without wasting any time, he would commence wall training to sharpen his ball control for the following hour. He would then conclude the session by running with the ball through carefully arranged cones to whet his dribbling skills.

In the evenings, just before going to bed, he would go through an hour of yoga to stretch his tired muscles. With the routine, he would also improve his flexibility plus body control. After that, he would finally retire for eight hours and resume the same schedule the following day. The days passed by quickly under the intense training. They felt like scenes from a fast-forwarded movie from Zachary's perspective.

Soon, the day before his scheduled return to Trondheim arrived. But, he still woke up early and decided to put in a few hours of running. When the clock hand pointed to six in the morning, he jumped out of bed and donned his tracksuit and sneakers.

A minute later, he rushed out of the house without waking anyone after having a light snack. Shortly, he was on the street, his strides eating meters of murram road with every passing second.

He wasn't worried that he would tire out quickly. He'd already consumed a weekly dosage of B-grade physical conditioning elixir and consequently had plenty of stamina. So, he'd decided to run to his heart's content.

Even the morning darkness didn't bother him in the slightest. He'd already put all his focus into maintaining the proper stride frequency so that his jogging was effective.

As he upped his speed and turned south — heading towards the direction of the city center, he realized he still didn't feel out of breath. He wasn't exhausted even after having run for more than seven kilometers. So, he decided to raise the intensity of the exercise up a notch by mixing in a few more routines.

For the next two kilometers, he kept on breaking into short sprints, covering hundreds of meters in only a few dozen seconds. He also slowed down occasionally to do simple exercises like leg lifting and frog jumps while still in motion. Those routines drained his stamina reserves quickly, and he soon found himself struggling for simple breath.

However, he didn't slow down one bit since he knew halting would drastically reduce the effectiveness of his entire workout. Instead, he wiped the sweat off his face with the sleeve of his tracksuit and then continuing jogging at a constant speed.

Some minutes later, the sun rose in the east, like a massive flower unfurling to shower its beauty on the city of Lubumbashi. Sunlight slowly started to fill the sky with golden radiance, fighting to illuminate every nook and cranny of the land.

Zachary's felt his spirits brighten as he watched the beautiful sunrise. He rounded a corner and started jogging back to his grandmother's residence.

For the return journey, he didn't attempt to mix in any routines into his running. He focused solely on jogging and was able to cover the entire distance in only twenty minutes.

After arriving at his grandma's place, he noticed he wasn't nearly as tired as he usually was after his previous morning runs. Despite having just completed a 14-kilometer run, he felt he still had enough stamina reserves to cover a lot more distance. It was a strange feeling. For a moment, he was tempted to run a few more kilometers to explore how much further he could go. But after deliberating for a few more seconds, he remembered he had to prepare for his trip back to Trondheim. So, he pushed the matter to the back of his mind. But that was after having convinced himself that the sensation was a result of his ideal state of mind.

"Zachary is back! Zachary is back..."

His cousins at home had already woken up when he arrived. They started shouting and clapping their hands as he rushed into the gate.

They'd warmed up to him and even started calling him big brother Zachary after he bought them a few balls, boots, and jerseys. They were always excited whenever he returned home. It seemed they always expected him to arrive with more gifts.

"How was your run, big brother Zachary?" Joshua, the oldest one, asked in Swahili with a smile.

"It was enjoyable," Zachary replied, flashing him a smile. "How is your morning? Why are you all up so early today?"

"We also want to follow big brother Zachary's example and become footballers in the future," Joshua was quick to reply as he fidgeted and scratched at his chin.

"Oh," Zachary said, sweeping a glance over them before fixing his gaze on the girl. "Even you, Lily! Do you also want to become a footballer?"

"Yes," the young girl, Lily, replied in her childish voice. "I would also like to become a footballer and drive a good car like yours."

Zachary smiled and pinched the girl's cheek lightly. "Then you guys have got to keep working hard every day," he said, glancing at the rest. "That includes running five kilometers at least every three days. Are you ready for that?"

"Yes, we are," It was Joshua, the oldest, who was quick to reply once more in an animated voice. "We have also just completed our morning run around the compound."

"Then, that's great," Zachary said, giving him a thumbs up. "Keep up the hard work, and you'll all soon mature into skilled footballers. But don't forget about school when you start training. Okay?"

"Yes, big brother," Joshua replied, smiling.

"Then, good," Zachary said before starting his stretching routine.

For the next few minutes, he focused on loosening and cooling down his muscles. He went through a textbook warming down routine that included progressive stretching of the shoulders, torso, neck, quadriceps, and hamstring.

In only a few minutes after delving into the routine, he felt his muscles relaxing and his fatigue from running fading away. But, he continued stretching for fifteen minutes to finish the session perfectly.

As soon as he'd completed the session, he headed back to his room, thinking of quickly taking a shower and going to the Planet Hollybum Hotel to check on Kristin after breakfast.

But just after he'd closed his bedroom door to undress before showering, a system notification chimed in his mind. Before he could even react, the system's translucent bluish interface manifested before him as more notification sounds went off in his mind.

"DING"

"Congratulations," the system AI intoned in its apathetic feminine voice immediately after. "The user has managed to complete a hidden system mission. For the first time, the user has advanced two of his core attributes to the S- grade."

"Which ones," Zachary asked hurriedly, feeling his heart race.

Without losing a second, he fixed his eyes on the system interface before him.

He'd been waiting for a long time for his stats to make a breakthrough and was too impatient to listen to the AI's slow emotionless voice. So, he decided to read the notifications directly from the interface and ignore the AI.

****

#4 new messages

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CONGRATULATIONS

-> For the first time in your career, you have managed to complete a hidden system mission by upgrading two of your core attributes to the S grade. Your Stamina and Endurance physical fitness stats are now at the S- grading.

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-> Mission Rewards

1) 5000 Juju-points

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-> Mission Summary

*Analysis: You have managed to bypass a great bottleneck by upgrading your stamina and endurance through hard work. You have jumped over the greatest divide that separates the excellent from the ordinary players. You are well on your way to becoming a great among footballers. Congratulations.

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-> Bonus Rewards

As a bonus for your hard work, you have earned a monthly dosage of an A-grade physical-conditioning-elixir. It will help you stabilize your stamina and endurance at the S-grading.

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-> Remarks

Advancing the endurance and stamina attributes to the S-grading is just the beginning. You still have a long way to match the skills of any player that has ever made it to the list of players with the potential to become the G.O.A.T. So, please continue working hard.

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****