April 22, 1998.
São Paulo, Brazil.
I woke up to the sound of the chime from the system.
You have new missions. Do you want to check them now?
Ugh! I was having such a nice dream. I was about to lift the World Cup for Brazil. I was the top scorer of the tournament. I won the Golden Ball.
And now, back to reality. Although, this is not too far from fiction either. 1 year since I was introduced to the system. And it is fitting that it wakes me up on my birthday as well.
I mentally clicked yes and checked the missions tab.
**********G.O.A.T System**********
Stats Missions Training Cards
**********G.O.A.T System**********
Missions
1. Win a trophy with the youth team.
Reward: One minor injury protection card.
2. Be the top scorer of the cup tournament (Paulista).
Reward: One minor injury protection card.
3. Be the top scorer of the Copa do Brasil.
Reward: A minor free-kick accuracy boost card.
4. Start in 10 matches for the São Paulo FC first team.
Reward: One stat point.
5. Win a trophy with the São Paulo FC first team.
Rewards: One stat point. One medium injury protection card.
6. Secure a first team place and start 5 matches in the national U17 or U20 team.
Rewards: One stat point.
*If you have additional questions regarding the missions or the rewards, think about the question while still in the missions tab.
My eyes bugged out seeing this. 6 missions. Injury protection cards as rewards. Possibility of winning 3 stat points and 4 cards.
I had so many questions. So, I thought about the question in my mind.
What's the difference between minor injury protection and medium injury protection cards?
The Minor Injury Protection card is passive, once equipped, it protects you from small knocks, sprains, and simple muscle injuries that could take anywhere between 1 to 2 weeks to heal. This is an injury protection card, so once the system detects an injury, the card is used and the injury is healed instantly. The card cannot be reused once it is used for an injury.
For example, in a match, a knock occurs in the 30th minute. The card, if equipped, is used then and there and deals with the injury. But, if another knock happens in the 60th minute, the same card cannot be used again. These are one-time use cards.
Whereas the medium injury protection card does the same job as the minor injury protection, but for bigger injuries. A hamstring issue that could sideline you for 2 to 3 months, a hairline fracture etc. This is also a one-time use card.
Are there any major injury protection cards?
Yes, there is a major injury protection card available that deals with injuries that could put you on the sideline for 6 months or more. A muscle tear, a torn ACL, a fracture. Major injury protection cards cannot be won in regular missions. It is only available as part of hidden missions.
Were there hidden missions for the previous year? If yes, may I know what they are?
Yes, there was one hidden mission for the previous year. It was to get into the first team for Sao Paulo FC and make your debut for the first team. The reward was 2 stat points and 1 * to be used for weak foot, skill moves, or work rate.
Fuck! I missed that. I tried to calm myself down. There's no point in being worried about spilt milk.
What happens if I equip a medium injury protection card, but a major injury occurs.
In that case, you will be asked if you want to use the medium injury protection card. If used, the extent of the damage from the injury is reduced. An injury that could have put you on the sidelines for 6months will be downgraded to an injury that puts you out for 2 to 3 months depending on the severity of the injury.
The vice-versa could also happen, where you have a medium injury protection card equipped but a minor injury occurs. You will be asked if you want to use it for the minor injury.
That's good to know. I need that medium injury card as soon as possible. That would be a lifesaver. So, I need to get into the first team and win a trophy with the first team, huh? That's not easy. Getting into the team is easy enough. But winning a trophy will depend on a lot of external factors. We shall see.
What is the free-kick accuracy boost card?
Once equipped, the card can be used for one match. This is not a one-time use card; it is valid for one whole match. If equipped, the card increases the free-kick accuracy by 10%. A medium card increases the accuracy by 25% and a major card increases the accuracy by 50%.
System, why are there no rewards for making the most assists in a tournament? I am a playmaker and not a striker. Shouldn't there be rewards for being the best playmaker?
I am unable to answer the question at this moment.
This is sus! Why would the system not be able to answer the question? I thought about this for a minute. I had a hunch that it must be a hidden mission. That's it!
System, is that a part of a hidden mission? Is that why you're unable to answer the question?
I can neither confirm nor deny.
Definitely a hidden mission. Yes!
So, the next year is sorted. 6 missions available straight up and maybe 2 hidden missions if I am lucky.
This is good. This is better than good actually.
All I need to do is to go for the win in the Paulista, score more, assist more and win a trophy for the U20.
Starting for the first team is also not going to be an issue. It is already going to happen for sure. I just need to confirm it and get the ball rolling.
I should talk to someone about how to get noticed by the national youth teams. Do they scout here? Do I reach out? Is there corruption? Are bribes involved? So many questions I do not know the answer to. So, that's going on my to-do list.
There is the U20 FIFA World Cup next year. So, I have one year to get into the team and try to get into the squad for the youth World Cup.
I should speak to Coach Martinez or Coach Alfonso about the national youth teams. I should also ask them about my first team promotion.
I started salivating thinking about this.
What a lovely start to the day. This is how a birthday should start.
I quickly freshen up. I was singing Smooth Criminal by Michael Jackson. I felt like a smooth criminal. The world has no idea about the system. Kaka was already a world-class talent, and you hand him this? A literal cheat code. Muhahaha! I had an evil laugh thinking about this.
I put on my new clothes. It was a nice white shirt with a pattern on it, and sleek olive green pants. My mom bought me these clothes and she has good taste. Classy! My dad's contribution to my outfit was my new sneakers. They were the new Air Jordan 12 from Nike. White shoes with a black sole. Gold lace rings and the iconic Jordan jump. They were gorgeous.
They went really well with my outfit as well. Leather shoes would have been better for the classy aesthetic but I took one look at the Air Jordans and I had to put them on.
I went down and joined my family at the breakfast table. They were already ready and the moment I came down, my mom was running and hugging me.
"Look at you, my baby! 16 years old and looking like a handsome young man. You'll always be my little baby Kaká. Did you know that you were so tiny when you were born? We were so worried, look at you now. Taller than me. Still growing up and growing strong."
"He is my son, of course, he is going to be tall and strong"
"I just hope that I don't end up bald like you"
"Hey! That was uncalled for. Is that how you thank me for the shoes?"
"Yeah, I'll take that comment back. You deserve that for the shoes. When did you get them?"
"I got them last week. I saw you looking at the Air Jordans in the shoe shop when we went to the mall last time. Thought you would like the new ones on your birthday"
"Yeah! Do you think I should start a shoe collection?"
"How many collections do you want Kaká? You want a watch collection, a car collection, and a shoe collection. What next, huh?"
"Can you blame me, mamãe? Just look at them. I think I will buy all the Air Jordans and have them. Now that my size is settled, I could have all of them in the same size. It is not like we don't have money now."
"We need to talk about spending Kaká. Your dad told me about your request for a Corvette. You need to save Kaká. You cannot let this habit develop. We know that you think you'll earn millions soon. But, all of that will disappear if you spend it on things like this as soon as the money comes."
"Okay, since we are addressing this, let me say this. What do you think is going to happen once I make it to the national team and a proper European team? It isn't just money that comes mamãe. I will have sponsorship deals. Cars, watches, shoes. I will want nothing else than. That will be on top of the millions I will be earning in wages and other deals that come my way."
"Yes, but you will have expenses as well. You need a home. You need to put aside a good amount of money once you retire."
"I know. What do you think I am doing? I am only spending 25% of my money. The rest is all going towards savings or to you guys. And let us be honest, giving it to you guys is as good as saving it."
"I understand that Kaká. But listen to what I am saying as well. The habit of spending will always come to bite you in the butt. Do not forget where we come from. We need to be grounded. Start small. A nice little car will do. Not a sports car by paying money in instalments. Once you have enough in your savings, then you can buy the things you want"
"I read a book about making a grid. What you want on one side and what you need on the other side. You'll have what you don't want and what you don't need on the opposite sides. So, always go for want + need. You don't need a sports car now. Put it away for some time later on."
"Okay okay, Jeez! Don't go into lecture mode. I am not making any grids. For now you will manage everything anyway. And I will always ask you before buying anything expensive mamãe. I'm not running off to buy a car. Stupid rules don't allow me for two more years." I grumbled.
There was laughter at that, and my mom said something like thank the lord for that.
Once breakfast was done, we left for church. A service was organised in my name. We stayed there for lunch as well. It was a small feast that was cooked up for lunch and I was confused at the quantity that was cooked.
I got my answer a little while later when I saw that it was for all the homeless people in the area. They were given a special lunch in my name. I didn't know what to say to that. Maybe my mom had a point. Save some extra money and do nicer things for people instead of buying 20 cars. Something to think about.
I was lost in my thoughts for a while about this. How should my money be used in the future? How much is okay to spend and how much should I give for charitable activities. I mean, looking at the happiness on their faces when they were given proper food, that affected me more than I thought it would.
If this was intentional, my mom is a master manipulator. She is all about charity and trying to spread joy. In my past life, I didn't have enough money to worry about charity. I was in a race to earn money to meet my basic needs.
But this is different. My first instinct was to get the sports car, start a watch collection and things like that. I think this is normal. What would anyone do when they never had money, and suddenly they have an avenue to earn millions. They would go for luxury. I am no different. But, my mom is not built like that. My dad is like me. But if I give my mom 1000$, she is going to save 500 and donate 500$. No second thought about that.
I just sat there thinking about this for a while. Like I said to my mom in the morning, I will let her handle everything in the future as well. I am not going to be thrifty, but I am going to consult her on my spendings. And to feel less guilty, I will let her manage the money I will set aside for charity.
That should work, right?
Once lunch was over, we thanked the pastor at the church for letting us organise the lunch. We received many blessings from the homeless. It was all very emotional and awkward for me. I just nodded and smiled. I didn't deserve it, it was my mom who did it.
When I had that troubled look during this. My mom said "Don't think too much, baby. It was your hard earned money. Yes, I had the idea, and I organised it, but this wouldn't be possible without your sweat on the football ground daily. So, accept the thanks and blessings. You deserve them as well."
That eased my mind a bit, but next time I will join the organisation team.
We were supposed to go back home to start preparing for the evening party.
But, to my surprise my dad took us to the mall. He said that there is a little thing left to do.
He took me to the Tag Heuer store.
"Remember last year when you had to borrow my watch. It is time we fixed that issue. You need a nice watch to wear for the big occasions. I placed an order for a model and it arrived yesterday. Next time, you will get to pick the model but this is a gift from us. So I picked it."
It was a 1998 re-issue of the Tag Heuer Monaco chronograph. It had a brown leather strap and black dial. It was beautiful. It had that classy look to it, but also the chronograph makes it great for casual occasions as well. It was perfect.
Tears welled up in my eyes. I hugged my father and mother tightly. I didn't need to say anything. My first watch in this life. And it was a beauty. It was expensive as well. But, I didn't care about any of that. This watch meant so much more than that.
I put it on and we went home after that.
We had a couple of hours to organise everything around the house. Around 20 people were invited to the party. Diego, Oscar, Adriano, Carlos, Moraes are all coming. My friend from my U15 days was also coming. I invited Alex, the goal keeper as well.
I invited a couple of friends from school. These were not footballers, but we met regularly to play video games, go to the arcade and talk about comics and movies at school. We shared a lot of interests. And I wanted to continue our friendship even if I become a professional player.
My father invited Gloria and her family as well, but apparently they weren't in the city. So, they wouldn't be able to make it.
Ever since the conversation that day, I haven't thought much about it. And our interactions stopped. I will know more when we interact in person again. I would have liked to continue being friends, but I guess that's not okay with her. I put her out of my mind and decided to focus on the now.
It was a nice gathering of people. A couple of them came with their families. And it was all about me.
I cut a nice cake, a black forest cake. One of my favorites. We played some party games, the adults had their conversations on the side and we played a kid friendly beer pong with some funny forefeits.
We took a lot of photos and we even recorded a lot of our activities. Investing in the cameras was so worth it.
At some point an argument broke out about which coffee was the best. Columbian or Brazilian. There were a couple of Columbians in the audience and they argued that Columbian is more complex and has more flavour.
I am a fan of Brazilian coffee which tasted a lot more earthy and chocolatey. I didn't like the fruity coffee from Columbia.
We had a pointless debate for more time than we needed to. We called it a tie, since they didn't agree for a vote. I mean, we had more Brazilians so they would have lost.
We had a buffet style dinner, and my mom prepared everything. We helped, but our help was to cut the vegetables or clean utensils for her. All the cooking was done by her. I should learn cooking from her. She is a brilliant cook. It was a wonderful dinner. Everyone loved it. I loved the party. Spending so much time away from the football setting, not worrying about anything else, was a nice change of pace.
We were able to do this because of the contract and money from football. So, I was thankful for that.
Most of the gifts I received were pretty normal. Some people pooled money together and gave me football shoes. My U15 friends gave me a Milan jersey which I really appreciated.
But the best gift in my opinion was a book I received from Alex. It was "Learn Italian from Portuguese."
Everyone here knew that I wanted to play for Milan and this book will serve as a constant reminder and will be incredibly useful. And I mean to put it to full use. I will keep it a secret though and was already planning a long term prank on my future teammates and coach.
With the gift exchange done, everyone left and that was an end to a beautiful day. It was everything I could have hoped for. A service at the church, the blessings from the homeless, the time spent with my friends and family. And most importantly the watch from my family.
I didn't think about football or my goals or missions or anything after breakfast today. That's exactly how I wanted it. Football can wait for later. Today was all about the people in my life and the little things. With that, I thanked the lord for everything and slept off with a satisfied smile on my face.