The Greatest of All Time

Chapter 31 - An Upgraded System

As Zachary was about to begin perusing through the system user-interface, his phone's buzzer went off like an annoyed rattlesnake. He scooped it up, glanced at its screen, and noticed that his grandma was calling.

"Zachary!" His grandma's husky but comforting voice sounded from the phone when he placed it close to his ear. "Are you there?" She intoned in the Swahili language.

"Ndio, bibi," he spoke into the Motorola Moto-G phone. "Are you settling in well? How is the new place?" He asked in a humble tone, maintaining a clear Swahili accent.

Zachary had managed to move her from Bukavu after saving up half his allowance for a year. With 84,000 Norwegian Kroner, he rented her a sizeable house in Lubumbashi—and hired some casual laborers to work her farm back in Bukavu. Zachary had not been able to return to the Congo in the summer due to his tight training schedule. However, he had sent money to Coach Damata and tasked him with settling her in the new city. He'd even bought her a new phone, similar to his own, for easier communication.

"You know me," said his grandma. "I didn't want to move to the city. It's boring here. And my cows, my animals may be dying." She complained. The old lady loved her farm. It had taken endless pleading on Zachary's part in conjunction with Coach Damata's remarkable people-skills to convince her to move from Bukavu.

"But we agreed that you would set-up a crafts shop in Lubumbashi," Zachary said. "That should keep you busy. Moreover, don't you find Lubumbashi safer than the neighborhoods in our village?"

Zachary's grandma sighed audibly. "Enough about me," she drawled. Zachary could discern a suppressed melancholy undertone in her voice. It seemed she hadn't gotten used to living in the new city. "Are you studying and training hard? When will I get to see you on television?" She asked.

Zachary spent the next five minutes telling his grandma about his life in Norway. He talked about his classes, training, the weather, and a few other topics to assure his grandma that he was safe.

He was glad that he had a way to communicate with the sole parental figure he knew in both his lives. Zachary never got tired of hearing her voice because it kept all the homesickness he felt when he was in Norway at bay.

He had come to realize that going back in time had not turned him into a machine with only one goal; playing soccer. At times, some of the feelings he had occasionally suppressed in his previous life would threaten to drown his mind.

During the Christmas break of the previous year, he'd spent hours looking at the falling white snow through his window, thinking about his grandma, all alone back in Bukavu. The snow resting upon the earth in that winter, as if it were an endless feather cushion, had made him homesick, made him long for home. That was why he had felt compelled to purchase a phone to better communicate with her.

Zachary had not yet achieved the sort of steel nerves that could allow him to switch off everything else and focus solely on soccer. Maybe, that was why the system still graded his mental ability at B -.

However, Zachary didn't wish to lose all his emotions and become a soccer maniac. He wanted to experience all the things his new life had to offer whilst also becoming one of the best in the soccer world. That was his goal.

After talking to his grandma, Zachary returned his attention to the system. He re-opened the user-interface after placing his phone on the bedside table and began—skimming through the system menu.

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[SOCCER G.O.A.T SYSTEM]

[SYSTEM LEVEL: 2 (367/1000 Juju-points to level-up)]

[USER: Zachary Bemba]

[AGE: 16 years]

[TALENT ASSESSMENT: Grade-B]