8 Talent upgrade
After the first part of the trial is done Adam ordered a taxi and began to go to his motel
A few minutes later, Adam leisurely walked to the public bathrooms of his motel. He felt that only a cold shower could soothe his tender muscles.
The dirty bathroom and cold water were the best he could get with his meager funds. The pipes screeched like a ghost in a horror movie before spitting out a dribble of cold water. Adam braced himself to prevent himself from reflexively jumping out of the stream before he'd finished soaping and rinsing his body.
The water poured down and dripped to the floor. As his mind faded into dullness, everything became a foggy illusion. He felt like he was standing underneath an everlasting waterfall. The sensation of the cold water calmed him,
Adam exited the shower and headed back to his motel room. He felt refreshed and ate a light lunch before sleeping off his fatigue until evening.
He felt rejuvenated after waking up. He was physically ready to take the elixir. So, he opened the system user interface.
A card with an image of a fresh onion appeared on the translucent blue screen when he clicked on the temporarily unlocked system inventory tab.
Once he selected it, a small onion popped out of the screen. He wasted no time in tossing it into his mouth.
This time around, the B-grade elixir did not cause his body any pain. He only felt a slightly ticklish sensation, like he was under the ministrations of a massage therapist. But soon, the feeling passed as if it had never been there
'That's all'?. Adam thought
His experience with the vitality-enhancing elixir was a far cry from the strength one. The former brought great pain while the latter caused only a slightly ticklish sensation.
Adam doubted whether the elixir had been effective.
He clenched and unclenched his hands to see whether anything changed. However, there seemed to be no way of checking. He had no idea how raising his Strength would affect him. So, he opened the system user interface to peruse through his attributes.
****
SOCCER/FOOTBALL SYSTEM
SYSTEM LEVEL: 1 (17/100 Experience points to level up)
USER: Adam Strong
AGE: 15 years
TALENT ASSESSMENT: Grade C-
( F F+ D D+ E E+ C C+ A A+ A++ A+++ S+ S++ S+++ AX X the grades f to X)
Experience points: 17
(Evaluation: A slightly talented pitiful boy dreaming about playing on the pro soccer scene)
----
USER MENU
*USER STATS
*G.O.A.T MISSIONS
*SYSTEM SHOP (temporarily unlocked)
*SYSTEM LOTTERY (locked)
*SNOOPING TOOL (locked)
----
Yes," Adam yelled excitedly after perusing through the home page. His talent assessment had finally broken through to the C grading after more than a month of toiling. He tapped on the user-stats tab to see the breakdown of the changes in his attributes.
****
*USER STATS
->Physical Fitness: C +
->Soccer Technique: A -
->Game Intelligence: A +
->Mental Ability and Mindset: D -
-> Skills: 1
Adam's physical fitness and soccer-technique stats had all increased by a single grade. He clicked on the soccer technique tab
>Soccer-Technique (Av. Rating: A-)
Ball Control: A +
Dribbling skills: A +
Passing accuracy: C -
Body control: E +
He had expected such a result. A player who improved his strength would also enhance both his dribbling skills and body control. The two attributes had improved by a grade after his consumption of the strength-enhancing-elixir. However, he couldn't understand why his physical fitness hadn't leapt to the A- grade. The elixir was B-grade but had only caused minor changes in his physical fitness. So, he tapped on the physical-fitness tab to gain a better understanding of the changes in his body.
****
->Physical Fitness (Av. Rating: c +)
Balance and Coordination: C -
Agility: A-
Strength: C -
Stamina: C
He was perplexed.
His strength had leapt from the E+ to the C+ grading. Consuming the elixir also enhanced his balance and coordination from the E+ to the C- grading.
He was now confident he would excel during the trial matches tomorrow.
But before he could soak in the feeling of jubilation at improving his abilities, a wave of hunger washed over him. His stomach growled and rumbled. He couldn't think of anything but food.
Is this a side effect of the elixir?" He mumbled while patting his tammy. He glanced at his Stopwatch; it was still six o'clock in the evening.
Adam cleaned up and dashed out of his room to fill up his belly. He was critically short of money and decided to head to a roadside food stall nearby. He had already resorted to meals consisting solely of pancakes and fried cassava.
But as he stepped out of the motel, he bumped into Marcus stone, the strange boy that had also been selected for the trials happening the following day.
"You're Adam strong? Right?" stone asked, grinning.
"Yes, that's me," Adam replied, creasing his brows. "Are you staying in a nearby motel? Why are you here?"
Marcus stone was fated to be murdered by a drug dealer at the end of that week. According to the memories of his previous life, the unfortunate incident would take place in a motel room.
"Hahaha," stone laughed heartily. "I'm here to visit a friend that works around here. Why would I stay in such a dump?"
"You're not?" Adam breathed out a sigh of relief. He only had to ensure that stone stayed out of motels in downtown New York to prevent his murder.
"I'm staying at the Mark hotel," stone replied, smiling.
"What the fuck!" Adam exclaimed. "You're that rich?"
He had heard that a single night's stay cost upwards of 200 US Dollars.
To his surprise, a boy about his age was staying comfortably in it. Adam sighed at the unfairness of the world. He couldn't help but gaze back at his shabby motel.
"What can I say? I was born blessed." stone spread out his arms like he was hugging the sky.
"I'm glad to make your acquaintance," he said, extending his arm.
Adam shook it before nodding.
He observed the would-be murder victim more closely.
stone was the same height as Adam both 180cm (5'10). He vaguely resembled a younger judge Bellingham, the famous player who would join Borussia Dortmund in the future. He had humorous brown eyes, round cheeks, a long face, and a light-skin shade.
I feel like fate made us meet here," Marcus intoned, voice mellow. "Come on. I'll buy you dinner today." He added, patting Adams's back.
"Thank God let's go eat," Adam as his honest stomach rumbled. It suddenly snarled and howled. A not-so-subtle undertone of pain followed. It came in waves, making him feel like his insides were digesting themselves.
"Man," stone creased a brow. "When did you last have a sensible meal?" He asked.
"At lunchtime," Adam replied honestly. He was certain the hunger and pain were an after-effect of the strength-enhancing-elixir. It seemed to have burnt through all his stored energy reserves. He urgently needed to replenish them.
"Alright then let's go now," stone said
Adam agreed
**** ****
Half an hour later, Adam and Stone sat at a table covered with a multitude of exquisite dishes.
A few moments after Adam had slid into his chair and made his order, a beautiful waitress brought him an enormous platter of food. Eggs, all kinds of meat, and crispy fried potatoes lay before him. A tureen of fruit had been placed in ice to keep it chilled next to them. He also had a glass of fruity cocktail juice.
[Even with my experience from two lives, I can't come to terms with the existence of this side of New York.]
He sighed at the unfairness of the world.
Many were starving in downtown times square while the rich stuffed themselves with delicacies. However, he was not depressed since he had come to understand the ways of society.
[A man has to work hard to make it or die trying.]
He continued stuffing himself with food like there was no tomorrow. The elixir had done a number on him. It would take a lot to sate his hunger. Adam only stopped eating after his second helping. stone gave him enough time to finish eating before starting a conversation.
Why join the New York times square trials?"
stones frowned noticeably before replying.
"My father doesn't want me to play soccer," he grumbled. "He says it's a waste of time. He's always talking about how the majority of USA soccer players in the local league waste away after retirement."
"Oh, but that's true," Adam replied. "So, you came here without his permission? Where did you get the money to spend in the New York times square?"
"My stepbrother sponsored my trip Why join the Times square trials?"
Marcus frowned noticeably before replying.
"He's much older and already joined my dad's jewellery company. At least, he understands that a person should only do what they love."
[What a naive boy. Perhaps, the stepbrother instigated his murder.] Adam mused.
It wasn't uncommon for siblings from wealthy families to murder each other in cold blood for inheritance. Adam found it hard to believe that a local drug dealer had murdered a wealthy patron like stone. There seemed to be a lot of facts that remained unknown to the public in his previous life.
"I can't leave," he whispered. " I heard that international scouts will appear tomorrow."
"You want to continue staying at your hotel?"
"Nope," he smiled. "I get your point. I'll move to another hotel right away." stone stated. He stood up to leave.
"That's good," Adam replied. He sighed in relief.
"Make sure it's a hotel where you can't easily be traced. I would hate to see the career of a talented player like you end prematurely."
"I understand," stone smiled.
"Wait before I go could I add you on Facebook?".Marcus asked
"No".Adam said
"why did I upset you?".Marcus asked
"Instead of Facebook add me on Instagram it's more modern if you get what I mean".strong said
"Oh ok then I do have that app but I only got zero followers".Marcus said
"Don't worry about that if you go pro you would have over millions also my name on Instagram is Adam strong just Adam strong".Adam said
"Alright done you have only 4 followers I guess when we become pros that will change Also I have already paid the bill. You should cut down on how much you eat. It'll be hard for you to perform if you get heartburn tomorrow." He added.
Adam nodded but continued stuffing salads into his mouth.
"It was nice meeting you. See you tomorrow at the trials." stone added after hearing no reply from Adam for a while.
"See you." Adam waved. He would have plenty of time to talk to Stone the following day. Now that Marcus's case was close to being resolved, he could return his attention to what was most important, food
