The strength went up from forty-six to forty-seven. After Luke used his most precious basic point, his body didn’t even flinch, which was kinda expected; but even his throwing power stayed the same. Was that basic point just wasted?
"Each data point messes with the others, but it takes time. Unless there's a big change, you won't notice anything," Seven explained, trying to be patient.
Luke gave a slight nod, "So, I gotta add points to each sub-item slowly. Figures, there's no such thing as a free lunch. I was hoping that after boosting strength, other stats would just follow, and I'd become a top superstar in no time." He shrugged, just saying it out loud.
As a practice player who wasn’t even a sub, Luke knew better than anyone the importance of talent and hard work. Over the past two years, he had shed a ton of sweat and blood. Successfully sacking the opponent's quarterback was partly because the other guy slacked off, but no doubt, Luke's own skills played a big role too.
You get what you put in, and that's the beauty of sports. Effort always pays off. Without the superstar system, he needed to grind; with the superstar system, he needed to grind even harder because his dream finally had a shot at becoming real.
With the basic points reset to zero, Luke's focus shifted back to the long pass accuracy skill. Even if Kevin hadn’t said anything, Luke still had questions: What does a score of seventy-nine mean? What's his max accuracy? How about accuracy at closer ranges? What kind of boost can this skill give him?
Just one pass wasn’t enough to explain anything; he needed more practice. Eagerly, Luke stood up and did a couple of light jumps. A sound echoed in his mind again, but he wasn’t in a rush to figure it out. The urgent task now was to see if he had become a Super Saiyan! How much impact could the Football Superstar System have?
"Luke, looks like you're really okay," Logan walked over, helmet at his waist, wiping sweat off his face carelessly, speaking loudly. The other team members behind him were scattering, heading to the locker room in pairs and small groups, signaling that practice was over.
Luke's name in Avalis sounded like "Luke," and the pronunciation was easy for foreigners, so almost everyone could call his name clearly and accurately.
"How was practice?" Luke asked, warming up his elbows and ankles. "Everything goin' smooth?"
"Of course, who do you think I am?" Logan shook his hair like he was in a shampoo commercial, striking a pose. If there were any girls around, they might've swooned, but Luke wasn't buying it.
Walking in the opposite direction of the other team members, Luke headed towards the field. "I'm gonna work on some basic passing techniques now. How 'bout it, our star tight end? Wanna help out a lowly practice player?"
The tight end is a pretty unique role in the offense, needing both offensive and defensive skills, combining catching and blocking abilities. In passing plays, they team up with wide receivers to catch the ball; in running plays, they help the offensive line block defenders to clear a path for the running back.
If wide receivers come in all shapes and sizes—agile, tall and strong, fast, etc.—then tight ends are mostly big dudes, combining strength, speed, and agility. This makes the tight end a special presence in the offense.
Because of the tight end's versatility and strength, the side with the tight end is the strong side, and the side without the tight end is the weak side.
Logan was a tight end with mad talent, standing nearly 6 feet 7 inches tall and weighing 220 pounds. He was agile, had great hands, and was super aware. But overall, he was still a bit thin. The coach always told him to bulk up. Such a build could dominate in college but wouldn't stand out in the pros. Logan, though, was never too worried, saying, "I gotta keep my figure to attract more girls."
Watching Luke's figure, Logan sighed helplessly, "Seriously? I just finished a whole day of practice, a whole day!" Despite his words, Logan still walked towards the field. "Basic passing practice? Running pass or stationary pass?"
Luke thought about his barely passing score of sixty in running passes. "Stationary pass."
The once bustling field quickly quieted down. Luke and Logan walked back to the center of the field. Luke dragged the football cart over, hesitated for a moment, and stood at midfield. With fifty yards of half-field on either side, he thought to himself that generally, passes within ten yards are short passes, ten to twenty yards are medium passes, and over twenty yards are long passes.
Luke grabbed a football and gave it a good rub, then shouted to Logan, "Back up, back up some more."
The standard line in the center of the field is fifty yards, decreasing towards the end zones. The closer to the end zone, the smaller the yard numbers, so the offense before the end zone is often called "the battle on the one-yard line." Right now, Logan was standing on the forty-yard line, just ten yards away from Luke, which is a short pass distance.
With Luke's signal, Logan started to back up, but Luke kept telling him to keep going. Logan complained, "Dude, where do you want me to go?"
"The twenty-yard line. I wanna practice long passes," Luke shouted back. Logan shrugged, looking a bit helpless, then jogged back to the twenty-yard line, waving his right hand to show he was ready.
Luke adjusted his stance, using his peripheral vision to aim at Logan. Without any hesitation, he raised his hand and launched the football. The ball spun steadily and quickly like a missile, drawing a beautiful arc and landing right in front of Logan.
Logan didn't need to move or adjust; he just raised his hands, placed them at his chest, and made a catching gesture. The football seemed to have a life of its own, landing perfectly in his hands. It felt magical, like the ball came to him rather than him actively catching it. All he needed to do was act like a basket.
It was truly amazing.
"Wow," Logan couldn't help but exclaim. Even so, it wasn't enough. He exclaimed "Wow" again, looking surprised, "Luke, your passing accuracy has gotten way better. This is like a perfect, textbook pass. I bet even Peyton Manning isn't this accurate."
Luke looked at his hands. The feeling was indeed magical, indescribable in words. It was like a fleeting touch at his fingertips, or as if his arm and the football became one. The moment he released the ball, he could foresee its trajectory. It was a brand-new experience.
In the earlier confrontation, Luke had no time or space to savor it; now, the feeling was becoming clearer.
"Logan, back up a bit more, to the end zone." Seventy-nine points in long pass accuracy or seventy-eight points in throwing power, what did it all mean? Luke was eager to find out.
This time, Logan didn't say much, just turned around and sprinted towards the end zone. Luke didn't wait for Logan to get there. He aimed at the front edge of the end zone where Logan was running and shouted, "Logan!" Then he took a big step forward to get some momentum and launched the football with all his might.
He loved this feeling, controlling the football with his hands, like he was controlling the whole world.
Luke watched intently as the football traced a perfect arc, precise and elegant like a mathematical theorem, cutting through the sunset and the blue sky, finally descending rapidly towards the end zone.
Logan was still cursing, "Jesus Christ, at least give me some time!" But the rest of his words got lost in the wind. He sprinted with everything he had, stretched out his hands, rushed into the end zone, and caught the football perfectly. The position was spot on, the force was just right, the arc was flawless. Once again, the football landed in his arms.
More importantly, fifty yards, a full fifty yards, and Luke nailed it effortlessly and perfectly!
"This is definitely the easiest touchdown of my career!" Logan raised the football high, jumping up and down, shouting at Luke, "Jesus Christ, man, you're amazing! You're amazing!"
From start to finish, after getting the system, Luke completed three passes, each one so accurate, as if directly delivered into Logan's arms. Such comfortable passes were truly rare for the receiver.
Luke also looked at his hands in amazement. The effect was indeed astonishing. But deep down, he knew that the sixty-yard pass still had an element of luck. Reflecting on it, he could feel the soreness and tightness in his arm muscles after releasing the ball. Clearly, that pass was beyond his current level, but he was so caught up in the joy of victory that he overlooked it.
Now, replicating it might not yield the same result, but Luke wasn't worried. He finally understood what the superstar system meant! So, the most important question now was, how could he earn more points?
In games, you either defeat monsters or complete tasks to gain experience and level up to earn points. How would this superstar system work? Luke was dying to find out. Returning to his rented apartment, he summoned the system interface in his mind again. Without waiting to study it carefully or ask Seven, he saw a mail icon flashing in the upper left corner.
Unread messages? This is a system in his mind; why are there unread messages? Could it be a message from the system?