American Football: King of the Bay Area

JJ Watt is a beast, an absolute beast! After two hours of training together, that was the only conclusion Lu Ke could draw. The guy was an absolute beast! Two hours of high-intensity, high-density, high-frequency training... Watt was constantly challenging Lu Ke’s understanding of basic training, and he was doing double the volume. It was simply insane.

Before today, Lu Ke had always thought his training under the System’s supervision was not just diligent, but grueling.

In preparation for this Rookie Training Camp, and for the draft that would follow, Lu Ke hadn’t stopped training for a moment. He’d been relentlessly and methodically completing his daily training missions, not daring to slack off for a single day. Not only had he earned three basic points, but after today’s session, his latest daily mission progress now stood at ”4/14”.

But after today, Lu Ke felt he had been too young and naive. There was always someone out there working harder, more diligently. At the very least, Watt was a prime example. It proved once again that beyond talent, sweat was just as important—perhaps even more so.

After their workout, the two left the gym and got into an elevator. Watt said enthusiastically, ”Hey man, want to train together again tomorrow? It’s not easy to find a training partner at the Rookie Training Camp.” Indeed, there were very few players who trained relentlessly during the event.

Lu Ke nodded meaningfully. ’Players who trained as hard as Watt were even rarer. No, he was probably one of a kind.’ ”Yeah, I’m sure that’s the case.” But then he broke into a smile. He needed a training partner too, to keep up with his daily training missions. ”The training camp officially starts tomorrow. How about we meet at the gym after it ends in the afternoon?”

”No problem!” Watt snapped his fingers, humming a cheerful tune as the elevator stopped on the eighth floor. ”This is my floor.” Watt gave him a thumbs-up. ”Good luck tomorrow!”

Back in his room, the place was empty. An unpacked suitcase sat on the bed. It seemed his roommate, Logan, hadn’t even bothered to unpack, already impatient to go visit other rooms or floors. ’Classic Logan,’ Lu Ke thought. ’Not surprising at all.’

Instead of rushing next door to find Logan and the others, Lu Ke calmly sat down on the nearby sofa. Only now did he have time to properly examine the rewards from that special mission.

”Physical Fitness +1, Spiritual Quality +2, Tactical Awareness +2, Unknown Quarterback Training Skill Package +1, Unknown Special Skill Package +1.”

This was by far Lu Ke’s biggest haul yet. His Physical Fitness was now at 63, his Spiritual Quality at 83, and his Tactical Awareness had reached 69. It was an across-the-board improvement. Not only that, but after accumulating three basic points from his daily training missions over the past month, Lu Ke had allocated them all in one go to his Observation Field of View, which had now reached 63!

Since acquiring the System, this was the first special mission Lu Ke had ever received—the only one in nearly seven months. This just went to show how unique and rare they were. And now, the special mission had given him correspondingly generous rewards, boosting all of his important personal attributes!

More importantly, there were two Skill Packages! Seeing a Skill Package for the first time, Lu Ke felt a small thrill of excitement, wondering what surprises the System’s Skill Packages would bring.

Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Lu Ke opened the Unknown Special Skill Package first. A crisp ”DING!” sounded, and Qi’s voice followed. ”Congratulations, you have received the Special Skill ’Absolute Step.’ Duration: three seconds. Uses: 2/2.”

This was the first time Qi had personally announced a mission reward since the System was implanted. All other rewards, including the basic points from the special mission just now, had been delivered via text notifications. For Qi to announce this Special Skill personally meant it was clearly something significant.

’But what kind of skill is ’Absolute Step’?’

After getting used to the System for over half a year, Lu Ke was gradually becoming familiar with it. Instead of hastily asking Qi, he glanced around and, sure enough, spotted a new icon in the top-right corner. Next to the original ”Basic Points” icon, an icon for ”Special Skills” had appeared.

He opened the Special Skills option and saw a skill list. There were now two skills inside: one was ”Absolute Step,” and the other was ”Quarterback Training.” It seemed both Skill Packages had been placed here. He focused his attention on the first one, ”Absolute Step.” As expected, there was a detailed description next to it:

”After activating the skill, for its duration, the quarterback’s footwork becomes absolutely invincible, allowing him to evade any form of tackle, hit, or encirclement, and complete a pass with a stable posture.”

Holy shit!

That was the only thought in Lu Ke’s mind. Then he heard Qi say, ”Please use civilized language.”

Lu Ke couldn’t help but laugh. ”Qi, are you serious? You’re actually lecturing me on my language right now?” He wasn’t bothered in the slightest, laughing cheerfully. ”This skill is insane! Does this mean I can completely ignore the other team’s pass rushers, trust my legs completely, and just let loose with my play calls?”

If he didn’t have to worry about the opponent’s blitz, a quarterback’s play-calling options would become so varied they could leave the opposing Defense Team completely stunned. In the best-case scenario, he could draw all the fire from the opponent’s Defense Team, and with their secondary left vulnerable, complete a fatal long pass to end the drive on the spot!

”It’s like... it’s like the Ripple Step!” Lu Ke was getting really excited. ”I know, I know, the duration is only three seconds, but for those three seconds, I’m invincible! And I have two uses! This is a skill that can turn the tide of a game! Wow, this is truly incredible!”

Quarterback footwork was Lu Ke’s biggest weakness right now.

Ball-Carrying Run, 65. Evasion, 60. Blocking ability, 53. Dribbling ability, 53. Illusionary ability, 53.

These were the current stats for Lu Ke’s footwork—a sea of red. Forget becoming an outstanding quarterback; he still had a long way to go just to be a competent one. It was a gap that couldn’t be closed in a short amount of time. But ”Absolute Step” provided an opportunity, like an ultimate move that could be a game-changer at a critical moment.

Three seconds could be a lot or a little for a single offensive play. A short pass might not even take two seconds, while a long pass could require four to five. Therefore, the key was to choose the right time and the right way to use it!

It was just like in the Rose Bowl, on that final offensive play. If he had used ”Absolute Step,” he wouldn’t have been in such a sorry state. Even if he’d been surrounded, he could have calmly completed the pass, and the outcome of the game wouldn’t have been so nail-biting. Lu Ke couldn’t help but wonder what it would feel like to use the ”Absolute Step” skill under the pressure of Watt’s beast-like lunge.

The Special Skill Package was already so incredible; his anticipation for the Quarterback Training Skill Package naturally soared. Lu Ke eagerly opened the training package. After a ”DING,” he saw the description. This time, Qi didn’t provide a verbal introduction; it was just a text description—

”Complete the following training: Quick short passes, three sets of fifteen reps. Quick mid-range passes, three sets of fifteen reps. Quick long passes, three sets of fifteen reps.

Training Reward: Short Pass Accuracy +1, Mid-range Pass Accuracy +1, Long Pass Accuracy +1.”

After reading the description, Lu Ke wasn’t enlightened; he was even more confused.

Judging solely by the training content and rewards, effortlessly completing forty-five passes to increase his Short Pass Accuracy, Mid-range Pass Accuracy, and Long Pass Accuracy by one point each seemed far too easy. But that was the problem. This wasn’t daily training; it fell under the skill category. So, what was the difference between this so-called training and his daily training missions?

”Qi, how do I use this Training Skill Package?” Lu Ke read it over carefully but still had no clue, so he swallowed his pride and asked.

”The Training Skill Package is a skill. Simply click to use it, and the System will complete the training in the host’s place. It will standardize the host’s skill mechanics and increase the host’s skill proficiency,” Qi’s explanation was, as always, simple and clear.

Lu Ke had an epiphany. It was basically an intelligent correction performed by the System.

In his usual training, even when Lu Ke followed videos, mimicking the drills to correct his technique, there were still bound to be slight deviations, especially in the application of power, muscle usage, and so on. In the real world, these techniques required guidance from a professional coach.

Now, the Quarterback Training Skill Package could train in Lu Ke’s place, correcting flaws in his mechanics while also increasing his skill proficiency.

At first glance, the reward from the Quarterback Training Skill Package seemed less impressive than that of the Special Skill Package. But in the long run, the Quarterback Training Skill Package would provide lifelong benefits, truly laying the foundation for Lu Ke to become an outstanding quarterback. As for the Special Skill Package, it was just a one-time use skill for critical moments. Once it was used up, it was gone.

Regardless, the two Skill Packages were the most important rewards from the special mission. They were something unobtainable from daily or game missions. One let him unleash an ultimate move at a critical moment in a game, while the other could lay the technical foundation for the next ten years. This was an absolutely major breakthrough!

Compared to the point increases in Physical Fitness, Spiritual Quality, and Tactical Awareness, the boost from the two Skill Packages was so immense that Lu Ke couldn’t calm his racing heart. In comparison, the mission itself hadn’t been that difficult. Even if it was a prank, it was absolutely worth it!

”Qi, are there any more special missions? Give me another one,” Lu Ke said, laughing. Unfortunately, Qi fell silent again. Lu Ke couldn’t help but call out repeatedly, ”Qi? Brother Qi? Lord Qi? Big Qi? ...Hong Qi?”

”No,” came Qi’s cold, stiff voice.