Chapter 520 An Increase in Stats
Zachary woke up feeling refreshed. After ncing at the clock and noticing that its hand had already passed the eight o''clock mark, he immediately jumped out of bed.
"The effects of the S-grade mental conditioning elixir are truly wondrous," Zachary mumbled as he walked to the bathroom to wash his face. His memory received a significant boost after he consumed the elixir. Without even focusing, he could recall many Italian sentences that previously seemed like alien text. He felt like, if he tried hard, he might even be able to master Italian within less than six months. But that was not all.
Zachary also noticed that his spatial awareness had risen to another level. With just a nce, he couldmit all the details around him to mind. Be it their size, the position, and the color of all objects around him — Zachary could remember all those elements even without trying that hard to observe. Moreover, everything seems to have increased to a higher definition, allowing him to perceive more particrs he had previously ignored.
"System," Zachary called out as he stepped out of the bathroom. He dried his face with a towel beforemanding, "Bring out my current attributes."
"Command received," the AI intoned. "User''s attribute dataing up on the interface immediately."
Zachary smiled. He settled on his bed and started perusing the information that had just appeared on the translucent crystal-like disy before him.
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*USER STATS
->Physical Fitness: S+
->Ser Technique: S+
->Game Intelligence: SS
->Mental Ability and Mindset: S+
->X-Factors: S+
->GOAT Skills: 10
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"Oh!" Zachary eximed. "My game intelligence attribute jumped over the S+ grade and improved straight to the SS grade. Wonderful!"
Zachary was giddy with excitement. His game intelligence had been at the S- grade for a few months. But after consuming an S-grade mental conditioning elixir, he improved straight to the SS grade. His game intelligence was finally catching up with that of experienced world-ss yers like Andrea Pirlo.
A few weeks ago, Zachary had given in to temptation and scanned Andrea Pirlo with the system''s snooping tool. He finally learned that exceptional yers like Andrea Pirlo didn''t possess abnormally-high physical fitness stats. In fact, Pirlo''s physical fitness attributes, including agility, strength, and stamina, were just at the inferior S- grade average. They were a level lower than Zachary''s S+ fitness stats.
But what was impressive about Andrea Pirlo was his game intelligence and passing skills. His passing skills, spatial awareness, risk assessment, and mental strength were at the SSS grade, while his tactical knowledge was at the SS grade. Those few attributes ovepensated for his weaker physique, allowing him to gain the ability to y like a maestro on the field of y. He didn''t need to take on yers by dribbling and tackling. Instead, he only needed to find spaces and use his insanely high game intelligence and passing skills during crucial moments. Then, he would be able to influence the game and win matches for his team without overexerting himself.
Zachary understood the charm of game intelligence after scanning Andrea Pirlo. That was why he was over the moon after leveling his intelligence attributes to the SS grading.
"System," he called out telepathically. "I would like to see the breakdown of my game intelligence and ser technique stats."
"Command received," replied the system AI. "Stats breakdown for game intelligence and ser technique will being up on the interface shortly."
With that said, the crystal-like disy shimmered slightly before bringing up new information on the screen. Zachary reflexively blinked his eyes and began to read through the contents.
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->Ser Technique: (Av. Rating: S+)
Ball Control: S+
Dribbling Skills: S-
Passing uracy: S+
Body Control: S-
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->Game Intelligence: (Av. Rating: SS)
Spatial Awareness: SS
Tactical Knowledge: S+
Risk Assessment: SS
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Zachary observed that his spatial awareness and risk assessment were the individual stats that gained the most significant boost. As for tactical awareness, it was stillgging behind at the S+ grading. Perhaps, he needed to y more games and gain more experience before improving the stat.
Then, there were his ser technique stats. Surprisingly, they hadn''t received any boost after he consumed the S-grade mental conditioning elixir. Maybe, he needed to go through targeted training and get used to his high game intelligence before those technique attributes would level up. That was his gut feeling.
"Bzzt Bzzzt! Bzzt Bzzzt!"
Suddenly, Zachary''s phone vibrated from the nearby table as he finished reviewing his stats. He quickly dismissed the system interface with a mentalmand before picking up the phone and ncing at the screen.
The call was from an unknown number. It began with a country code of 225, meaning it was from a foreign country.
"Could this be from the Ivorian officials? Could they have finished preparing my citizenship papers?"
The gears in Zachary''s mind turned and fell into ce quickly. He epted the call and ced the phone against his ear.
"Bonjour, Zachary," the person on the other side of the line greeted in French. "I''m Omar Sangare, an Ivorian official helping with your citizenship papers. We previously talked on the phone."
"Oh, Sangare!" Zachary eximed. "I remember you. Are my citizenship papers ready? Can I y in the African Cup of Nations next month?" He went straight to the point.
"The papers are almost ready," the official replied. "As for ying in the AFCON, that will not be possible in your case. We have no problem with you joining us. However, CAF''s bureaucracy has hindered us from registering you for thepetition. Their procedures to approve a change of citizenship for any yer can take roughly six months. Our hands are tied."
"Oh, I understand," Zachary said, feeling both disappointed and relieved. Joining the African Cup of Nations would increase his chances of winning his first international trophy with Ivory Coast. He knew that for a fact, as the Ivorians had won the 2015 AFCON during his previous life.
However, partaking in the African tournament would also force him to forego his club duties during January. And since he was a key yer on the team, his absence might affect Juventus'' performance, and his team could drop out of the Champions League, causing him to lose out on attaining European glory. Obviously, he would have had to make a choice if the Ivorians had called him for the tournament. But now, he just needed to go with the flow and concentrate on his club duties. It was a relief.
"Mr. Sangare!" Zachary said after a moment. "When will my papers be ready? And when can we announce to the public that I''ll be ying for Ivory Coast?"
"Well..." Mr. Sangare said. "We could make the announcement in a few days when the papers are ready. But again, we don''t want to distract your future teammates and their coaches, who are busy preparing for the African Nations Cup of Nations. So, I suggest that we make the official announcement inte March. That will be after the AFCON and just before the friendlies. It''s a perfect time, in my opinion."
"Okay, then," Zachary agreed. "We will go with your n. Please try toplete all the necessary procedures before March. I would wish to start ying international games as soon as possible."
"Sure," Mr. Sangare said with a chuckle. "We also want you to y our international matches soon. So, we''ll obviously work fast to finish all the procedures concerning your citizenship."
"Excellent," Zachary said. "I have to say goodbye now andmence my morning practice. Thanks for the update."
"You''re wee. I will keep you updated concerning your whole citizenship change. Otherwise, I wish you luck in your uing games."
"Thanks, and goodbye," Zachary replied.
"Goodbye," Mr. Sangare said and hung up the phone.
Zachary stood in one ce for a moment as he organized his thoughts. The main reason why he chose to join Ivory Coast was topete in the 2018 World Cup. So, Zachary wasn''t overly depressed after failing to join their AFCON squad. He instead felt rxed as he had no diversions to distract him from his club duties.
But again, not joining the AFCON didn''t mean that his schedule had opened up. He was still as busy as a worker bee, as he had to y in the Italian Serie A, the Coppa Italia, the Supercoppa Italiana, and the Champions League. All those were top tournaments featuring world-ss clubs and talents. Zachary understood that he needed to do his all to remain focused if he desired to perform beyond expectations and help his club win most of thepetitions. There was no way around it.
The enhancement of his game intelligence hade at the right time. His football brain had experienced a significant boost in its abilities, and as a plus, it could potentially push his ball skills to a higher level if he went through targeted training. Thus, Zachary nned to work hard through the two-week Christmas break. He would go all out to push his body control or dribbling skills to the SS grade. Then, if all went well, he would shine on the football pitche January.
"Let''s start with the morning training for today."
Zachary psyched himself up. Without further ado, he started going through his morning yoga routine, hoping to warm up his body for the more intensive team trainingter that day.
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