Camilla chuckled. “Is that the truth? Are you sure you won’t forget about me and focus only on training over the next few days?”

“Of course, I won’t forget about you,” Zachary conveyed. “I’ll train, yes. But I’ll also be eagerly waiting for you here in Turin. You’ll constantly be on my mind.”

Camilla chuckled again. “Okay. I guess I can only choose to trust you. What other choice do I have?”

“Please don’t be so skeptical?” Zachary asked. “I’m even going to set a reminder on my phone. It’ll keep notifying me about the countdown to your arrival in Turin.”

Camilla sighed audibly and said, “That’s an effective method for keeping your girlfriend on your mind. I’m really, really impressed.”

Zachary had a feeling that there was something wrong with her tone. He suspected that she was a bit angry. But after contemplating for a few seconds and confirming that he hadn’t done anything wrong to earn her ire, he pushed the matter to the back of his mind.

“Zach!” Camilla’s voice sounded again to break the silence after a few seconds. “As always, it was nice talking to you. But I now have to hang up and start preparing for work. I love you.”

“I love you too, and thanks for calling,” Zachary responded. “Have a nice day.”

“Have a nice day, too. Let’s talk later.” Camilla said from the other end of the line before ending the call.

Zachary smiled and felt a wave of relaxation washing across his entire being as he placed his phone back on the table. He could tell that his mood had improved after talking to his girlfriend.

He could also feel his energy levels and motivation rising and shooting into the skies. He even seemed to forget about his poor performance during the previous day’s game, as the only thing on his mind was how to train efficiently and improve himself.

“I should start training before my muscles cool down,” he thought. Without further ado, he settled back on his training mat and resumed his morning practice routine.

He went through the yoga poses, body strengthening workouts, and flexibility exercises with much more intensity since his mind was in the right place. His drive was as great as ever, and he only stopped his practice thirty minutes later when he was almost out of breath.

He got up from the training mat while sweating and struggling to take even a simple breath due to exhaustion. But a moment later, a rejuvenating sensation flooded his body before caressing his mind. He couldn’t understand what had just happened to him, but his thoughts were clearer after those thirty minutes of intensive exercise. It was as if he’d just recalibrated his mind and also unloaded a heavy weight off his shoulders. His body was almost in a hyper state of unbounded excitement.

“DING”

Just then, the familiar system notification sound went off in his mind. It immediately roused Zachary from his state of bliss and brought him back to the present.

“Congratulations!” The system AI’s apathetic voice followed. “After a sufficient period of targeted and efficient training, the user has finally overcome the side effects of the S-grade vitality-enhancing elixir. The user’s ball skills have now all returned to their peak. Please check the system interface for further details.”

“Finally, I’m back at my peak.” Zachary thought and immediately summoned the system interface with a mental command. He navigated through the system’s panel with familiar ease before arriving at the attribute menu. Without further ado, he rubbed his hands together and started perusing his updated stats.

****

—–

*USER STATS

—–

->Physical Fitness (Av. Rating: S )

Balance and Coordination: S-

Agility: S

Strength: S

Stamina: S

Endurance Points: 17,500

/18,000 (S )

—–

->Soccer Technique: Av. Rating: S

Ball Control: S

Dribbling Skills: S-

Passing Accuracy: S

Body Control: S-

—–

NB: The user is in peak condition.

—–

****

Zachary finally breathed a sigh of relief after he confirmed that he had overcome the side effects of the S-grade elixir from the system interface. At long last, he could start playing confidently again instead of constantly worrying about committing mistakes due to his lacking fitness. He couldn’t contain his excitement as he could finally unleash all his skills without fear or favor on the pitch.

“Now that I have overcome this hurdle, I can finally focus on the team training sessions,” he mused while trying to contain his bubbly emotions. “If I can do well during training over the next seven days, the coaches might consider me for the game against Chievo Verona. I have to do my best.”

The knowledge of returning to his peak fitness had totally rejuvenated him. It was like the final piece of the puzzle that helped him overcome the setback of committing a costly mistake during the previous day’s game against AC Milan. He was like a renewed man who was only thinking about doing his best during the team training sessions so as to cement his place at Juventus and make the squad for the game against Chievo Verona on 30th August.

—–

The next few days flashed by quickly as Zachary trained with the team. He didn’t rest on his laurels after regaining his peak fitness but continued pushing his limits and trying his best to improve himself. His drive was commendable, and he didn’t short-change himself as he constantly worked on refining his skills to prepare for the upcoming Serie A season.

Zachary’s unwavering attitude and love for training soon impressed the coaches and teammates. In only a short while, they seemed to forget all about the mistake he had committed during Juventus’ game against AC Milan, and they started treating him with cordiality again. Some players, like Andrea Pirlo and Gianluigi Buffon, even gave him advice on ways to improve his game on several occasions. And that further filled Zachary with glee as he could tell that they were trying their best to help him fit into the team.

Two more days elapsed as Zachary and his new teammates prepared for the new season. And finally, Friday, 29th August, the eve of the day when Juventus would play their opening game against Chievo Verona, had arrived. The excitement was in the air all around the Juventus training center as the team was about to kick start its Serie A season.

But in the evening of that same day, something unexpected happened and cut the excitement short. Paul Pogba, the incredibly talented young Frenchman, had up and decided to leave Juventus and return to Manchester United. He had made his decision abruptly and stealthily — only after informing a few of his close friends at the club.