Lu Ke's strength went from forty-six to forty-seven after he spent his most valuable base point, and his body had no reaction, which was understandable. But his throwing power didn't change either. Was this one base point just wasted?
"All stats influence each other, but it takes time to see a change. You won't notice a difference unless there's a fundamental change," Little Seven explained patiently.
"So you mean I still have to add points to each category slowly," Lu Ke said, rubbing his chin. "Looks like there's no such thing as a free lunch. I was hoping that by adding to strength, all the other stats would automatically change, and I'd instantly become a top superstar." Lu Ke was only kidding, though, and he shrugged.
As a practice player who wasn't even on the reserve team, Lu Ke knew better than anyone the importance of talent and hard work. Over the past two years, he had shed countless hours of sweat and blood. While the successful sack of the opponent's quarterback was partly due to the other player's carelessness, there was no denying that Lu Ke's own ability was a key factor.
You reap what you sow. That's the most wonderful thing about sports. Hard work always pays off. Without the superstar system, he had to work hard. With the superstar system, he had to work even harder because his dream finally had a real chance to come true.
With his base points back at zero, Lu Ke's attention returned to his long-pass accuracy. Even though Kevin hadn't said anything, Lu Ke himself still had questions. What did a seventy-nine-point rating really mean? What was his maximum accuracy? What was his accuracy like at shorter distances? What kind of improvement could this skill truly bring him?
Just one throw wasn't enough to answer his questions. He needed more practice. Eagerly, Lu Ke stood up and jumped lightly in place. The 'ding' sound rang out in his mind again, but he wasn't in a hurry to find out what it was. His most urgent task right now was to find out if he had become a Super Saiyan! How much of an impact could the Football Superstar System have?
"Lu Ke, you look like you're definitely okay," Logan said as he walked toward him, holding his helmet at his waist and wiping sweat from his cheeks. The other players had dispersed, walking in small groups toward the locker room, indicating that practice was over.
Lu Ke's name, 'Ke,' is a homophone for 'Luke' and is easy for foreigners to pronounce. So almost everyone could say his name clearly and correctly. Logan still thought Lu Ke's English name was Luke.
"How was practice?" Lu Ke asked as he began to warm up his elbows and ankles. "Did everything go smoothly?"
"Of course it did. Who do you think I am?" Logan dramatically tossed his hair, trying to look cool and dashing. If any girls were around, they might have been impressed, but Lu Ke wasn't buying it.
Lu Ke walked in the opposite direction of the other players, heading toward the field. "I'm going to practice my basic passing skills. How about it, our team's star tight end, are you willing to help a humble practice player?"
A tight end is a very special role on the offense. They need to be able to both attack and assist in defense, combining catching and blocking skills. In a passing play, they act as receivers along with the wide receivers. In a running play, they help the offensive line block defenders to clear a path for the running back.
While wide receivers can have various styles—light and agile, tall and strong, exceptionally fast—most tight ends are physically well-built, possessing a combination of strength, speed, and agility. All of this makes the tight end a special presence on the offense.
Because of the tight end's versatility and strength, the side of the field with a tight end is considered the "strong side," and the side without one is the "weak side."
Logan was a tight end. He was exceptionally talented, almost two meters tall and weighing a hundred kilograms, with an agile frame, great ball sense, and keen awareness. However, he was still a bit too thin overall. The coach had always wanted him to gain more weight. With his current size, he could be a star in college games, but in the pros, he wouldn't even rank. Logan, however, never took it seriously, saying, "I need to stay in shape to attract more beautiful women."
Seeing Lu Ke, Logan sighed dramatically. "Seriously? I just finished a whole day of practice, a whole day!" Despite his words, Logan still walked onto the field. "Basic passing drills? Stationary or on the run?"
Lu Ke thought about his barely-passing sixty-point score for throwing on the run. "Stationary passes."
The once-lively field became quiet again. Lu Ke and Logan walked back to the center. Lu Ke brought the football cart with him. He hesitated for a moment, standing at the midfield line, with fifty yards on either side. In his mind, he thought that passes within ten yards were short passes, ten to twenty yards were medium passes, and anything over twenty yards was a long pass.
Lu Ke picked up a football and lightly rubbed it in his hands again. He called out to Logan, "Go back, a little farther back."
The standard line in the center of the field is the fifty-yard line, with the yard markers decreasing as they get closer to the end zones. This is why the offense's moves before the end zone are called "the battle on the one-yard line." At this moment, Logan was standing on the forty-yard line, only ten yards away from Lu Ke, a short-pass distance.
After Lu Ke gave him the signal, Logan started to move back, but Lu Ke had no intention of stopping him. He kept telling him to go farther. Logan complained, "God, how far do you want me to go?"
"Twenty-yard line. I want to practice long passes," Lu Ke replied loudly. Logan shrugged in resignation, then jogged back to the twenty-yard line and waved his right hand to signal he was ready.
Lu Ke adjusted his stance, aimed at Logan out of the corner of his eye, and without any hesitation, he threw the football. The ball spun steadily and quickly like a shuttle, tracing a beautiful arc. It was reminiscent of a scimitar tearing through the sky and landed perfectly in front of Logan.
Logan didn't need to move or adjust. He just raised his hands to his chest, in a catching position, and the football seemed to have a life of its own, drilling perfectly into his hands. It was a strange feeling, as if he hadn't moved to catch it, but rather the ball had flown into his arms. All he had to do was act as a hoop.
This was truly... magical.
"Whoa," Logan exclaimed involuntarily, but even that wasn't enough. He said "Whoa" again, his face full of surprise. "Lu Ke, your accuracy has really improved. That was a textbook pass. I'd bet even Peyton Manning isn't that accurate."
Lu Ke looked at his own hands. The feeling was truly magical and hard to describe. It was a fleeting touch on his fingertips, yet it felt as if his arm and the football had become one. The moment he released the ball, he could almost see its entire trajectory. This was a brand new experience.
During the earlier match, in the heat of the moment, Lu Ke didn't have time or space to savor the feeling. Now, it was becoming clearer.
"Logan, go back farther, to the end zone." What did a seventy-nine-point long-pass accuracy or a seventy-eight-point throwing power really mean? Lu Ke was eager to find out.
This time, Logan said nothing more. He turned and ran all the way to the end zone. Lu Ke didn't wait for him to get there. He aimed at the front of the end zone, in the direction Logan was running, and yelled, "Logan!" Then, he took a big step forward to accelerate and threw the football with all his might.
He loved this feeling of having the football in his hands, as if he were holding the whole world.
Lu Ke watched the perfect, precise parabola of the football as it flew up into the sky and then quickly descended toward the end zone.
Logan was still grumbling, "Jesus Christ, at least give me some time!" But his words trailed off as he accelerated with all his might, extended his hands, sprinted into the end zone, and then steadily, firmly, caught the football. The placement was perfect, the power was just right, and the arc was flawless. Once again, the football just flew into his arms.
More importantly, it was a full fifty yards, and Lu Ke made it look so effortless and perfect!
"That was the easiest, simplest touchdown of my career!" Logan held the football high, jumping up and down and shouting at Lu Ke. "Jesus Christ, dude, you are incredible! You are incredible!"
In total, Lu Ke had completed three passes since getting the system. Each one was so precise, as if it were delivered directly into Logan's arms. Such a comfortable pass was an incredibly rare thing for a receiver.
Lu Ke was also amazed by his own hands; the result was truly stunning. But deep down, he knew there was still some luck in the sixty-yard pass. Thinking back, after the ball left his hand, he could feel the soreness and tension in his arm muscles. It was clear that such a throw was still beyond his current skill limit, but he was so immersed in the joy of victory at the time that he had overlooked it.
If he were to try to replicate it now, the result probably wouldn't be as good. But Lu Ke wasn't worried, because he finally understood what this superstar system meant! So now, the most important question was, how could he get more points?
In a game, you get points by defeating monsters or completing quests to gain experience and level up. How did this superstar system work? Lu Ke was getting impatient. Back in his rented apartment, he summoned the system interface in his mind again. Without waiting to study it or ask Little Seven, he saw a mail-like icon in the upper left corner blinking.
An unread message? It was a system in his head, so why would there be an unread message? Was it a message from the system?
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