Free Web NovelChapter 12: Chapter 7: A Small Test
His Strength stat went from forty-six to forty-seven. After Lu Ke used up his single, most precious basic attribute point, his body didn’t react at all, which was somewhat understandable. But even his throwing power hadn’t changed. ’Was that one basic attribute point wasted just like that?’
"The various stats influence each other, but it’s a gradual process. You won’t see a difference unless there’s a fundamental change," Qi explained patiently.
Lu Ke tucked his chin slightly. "So, this means I still have to slowly add points to each individual stat. Figures. There’s no such thing as a free lunch. I was hoping that after I added to Strength, all my other stats would change automatically, and I’d instantly become a top superstar." But Lu Ke was just thinking out loud. He shrugged.
As a practice player who wasn’t even a backup, Lu Ke knew better than anyone the importance of talent and sweat. Over the past two years, Lu Ke had poured out blood and sweat. While his successful sack of the opposing quarterback just now was partly due to the other player’s nonchalant attitude toward practice, Lu Ke’s own ability was undeniably a major factor.
You reap what you sow. That was the most wonderful part about sports. Effort always yielded results; it would never be in vain. Without the Superstar System, he needed to work hard. With the Superstar System, he needed to work even harder, because his dream finally had a real, tangible chance of coming true.
With his basic attribute points back at zero, Lu Ke’s focus returned to his Long Pass Accuracy skill. Even without Kevin’s comments, Lu Ke still had his own questions. ’What does a seventy-nine rating actually mean? What’s my maximum accuracy like? What about my accuracy at shorter ranges? What kind of improvement can this skill really give me?’
A single pass wasn’t enough to tell him anything. He needed more practice. Anxious to find out, Lu Ke got to his feet and hopped lightly in place twice. A "DING" sound echoed in his mind again, but he wasn’t in a hurry to investigate. His top priority right now was to find out if he’d become a Super Saiyan! ’Just how big of an impact can the Superstar System really have?’
"Lu Ke, looks like you’re really okay after all." Logan approached, his helmet tucked at his waist, loudly wiping sweat from his cheeks. The other players behind him were scattering, heading toward the locker room in twos and threes. It seemed practice had ended.
The name Lu Ke sounded similar to "Luke," and its pronunciation wasn’t difficult for foreigners, so almost everyone could say his name clearly and accurately. To this day, Logan still thought Lu Ke’s English name was Luke. freewebnσvel.cѳm
"How was practice?" Lu Ke began to stretch his elbows and ankles to warm up. "Everything go smoothly?"
"Of course. Don’t you know who you’re talking to?" Logan flicked his hair back, striking a suave pose. If there were any girls around, they probably would have been captivated. Too bad for him, Lu Ke wasn’t buying it.
Lu Ke went against the flow of his teammates, walking back onto the field. "I’m about to practice some basic passing drills. What do you say? Is our first team’s ace Tight End willing to run some reps with a practice squad player like me?"
The Tight End is a unique position on the offense, required to both attack and assist in blocking, possessing skills in both receiving and clearing paths. In a passing play, they work alongside the Wide Receivers to catch the ball. In a running play, they help the Offense Line push back defensive players to open a lane for the running back.
While Wide Receivers come in all sorts of styles—nimble and agile, tall and strong, exceptionally fast, and so on—most Tight Ends are built big, combining strength, speed, and dexterity. All these traits make the Tight End a special presence on the offense.
It’s because of the Tight End’s versatility and power that during an offensive play, the side with the Tight End is designated the "strong side," while the side without is the "weak side."
Logan was a Tight End. He was exceptionally talented—nearly two meters tall, weighing a hundred kilograms, agile, with a delicate feel for the ball and sharp instincts. Overall, though, he was still a bit lean. The coach was always telling him to gain weight. A frame like his could dominate on the college field, but it wouldn’t even register in the professional league. Logan, however, never seemed to care much. In his own words, "I need to keep my figure to attract more beautiful women."
Watching Lu Ke’s retreating figure, Logan sighed dramatically toward the sky. "You can’t be serious! I just finished a full day of practice! A full day!" Despite his complaints, Logan still headed onto the field. "Basic passing drills? Running Pass or stationary throws?"
Lu Ke thought about his barely-passing sixty-point score in Running Pass. "Let’s stick to stationary throws."
The once-bustling field quieted down in an instant. Lu Ke and Logan walked back to the center. Lu Ke dragged the cart of footballs over, hesitated for a moment, then positioned himself at midfield. To his left and right were the two fifty-yard halves of the field. He thought to himself that, generally speaking, a pass under ten yards was a short pass, ten to twenty yards was a medium pass, and anything over twenty yards was a long pass.
Lu Ke picked up a football and once again rubbed it skillfully, then shouted to Logan, "Back up, a little further." freēwēbηovel.c૦m
The standard line at the center of the field is the fifty-yard line, with the numbers decreasing toward each End Zone. The closer you get to the End Zone, the smaller the number on the yard line, which is why an offensive push right before the End Zone is called "the battle on the one-yard line." Right now, Logan was standing on the forty-yard line, only ten yards from Lu Ke—short pass distance.
At Lu Ke’s signal, Logan started backing up. But Lu Ke showed no sign of stopping him, just kept telling him to go further. Logan complained in exasperation, "God, how far back do you want me to go?"
"The twenty-yard line! I want to practice my long pass," Lu Ke shouted back. Logan shrugged in resignation, then jogged back to the twenty-yard line and waved his right hand, signaling he was ready.
Lu Ke adjusted his footing, targeting Logan with his peripheral vision. Without a moment’s hesitation, he raised his arm and threw the football. The ball spun like a shuttle, stable and fast, carving a beautiful arc through the air that brought to mind a Crescent Moon Saber tearing across the sky. It then landed precisely in front of Logan.
Logan didn’t need to move or adjust his position. He just raised his hands to his chest, forming a receiving pocket, and the football—as if it had a life of its own—drilled perfectly into his grasp. The feeling was bizarre. It wasn’t that he was actively catching it; it felt more like the ball was diving straight for him. All he had to do was act like a basket.
It was just too... magical.
"Whoa," Logan exclaimed involuntarily. But even that wasn’t enough, so he said it again, "Whoa." A look of astonishment spread across his face. "Lu Ke, your passing accuracy has improved a ton! That was a textbook pass. I swear, not even Peyton Manning is that precise."
Lu Ke looked down at his hands. The sensation was truly incredible, impossible to describe with words. It was like a fleeting touch at his fingertips, yet at the same time, it felt as if his arm and the football had merged into one. The moment he released the ball, he could seemingly predict its flight path. This was a completely new experience.
During the earlier confrontation, everything happened so fast that Lu Ke had no time or space to savor the feeling. Now, it was gradually becoming clearer.
"Logan, go back a little further. All the way to the End Zone." ’A seventy-nine in Long Pass Accuracy, a seventy-eight in throwing power... what does that really mean?’ Lu Ke was getting eager to find out.
This time, Logan didn’t say another word. He just turned and sprinted toward the End Zone. Lu Ke didn’t wait for him to get there. Aiming for the front of the End Zone, in the direction Logan was running, he yelled, "Logan!" Then, he took a big step forward to build momentum and powerfully launched the football from his hand.
He loved this feeling—his hands controlling the football felt like he was controlling the entire world.
Lu Ke’s eyes were glued to the football’s upward parabola, as exquisite and precise as a mathematical theorem. It soared past the setting sun and against the blue sky before finally descending rapidly toward the End Zone.
Logan was still muttering under his breath, "Jesus Christ, at least give me some time—" But the rest of his words died in his throat. He burst into a full sprint, pushing himself to his limit. Stretching out his hands, he charged into the End Zone and securely—so securely—pulled the football into his chest. The placement was perfect, the velocity was just right, the arc was flawless. Once again, the football had practically slammed itself into his arms.
More importantly, it was a fifty-yard pass—a full fifty yards—and Lu Ke had made it look so effortless, so flawless!
"That was absolutely the easiest, simplest Touchdown of my entire career!" Logan held the football high, jumping up and down as he yelled at Lu Ke. "Jesus Christ, dude, you’re incredible! You’re absolutely incredible!"
All in all, since getting the system, Lu Ke had made three passes. Every single one had been so precise it felt like it was delivered directly into Logan’s arms. For a receiver, such an easy-to-catch pass was an incredibly rare treat.
Lu Ke stared at his own hands in amazement. The results were truly astonishing. Deep down, though, he knew that the sixty-yard pass had involved a bit of luck. Recalling it now, he could remember the soreness and tension in his arm muscles after the ball left his hand. Clearly, a throw like that was still beyond the limits of his current ability; he had just been too caught up in the thrill of victory to notice.
If he tried to replicate it now, the result probably wouldn’t be as good. But Lu Ke wasn’t worried. He finally understood what this Superstar System truly meant! ’So, the most important question now is, how can I earn more points?’
In video games, you either killed monsters or completed quests to gain experience, then earned points after leveling up. ’How does this Superstar System work?’ Lu Ke was getting impatient. Back at his rented apartment, he summoned the system interface in his mind again. Before he could study it or ask Qi, he noticed an icon shaped like an envelope flashing in the top-left corner.
’An unread message? This is a system in my mind, why would it have unread messages? Is it a message from the system itself?’
