"Random task: Win the 3V3 basketball game! (Completed)"
"The reward has been received. The host has obtained 50 achievement points."
"It has been detected that the host has completed a basketball game. Personal attributes have increased."
Oliver, who was lying down, suddenly heard the system's voice ring out in his head.
"View personal attributes."
Character Name: Oliver
Age: 15
Height: 165cm
Weight: 60kg
Strength: Normal - 22+2=24
Endurance: Excellent - 60+2=62
Speed: Normal - 27+4=31
Tips: Excellent - 76+0=76
Hit: Normal - 45+2=47
Bounce: Perfect - 86+0=86
Skills Mastered: Sonic Dash, Accurate Shooter, Quick Recovery, Magic Pass
"That's it?" Oliver grumbled, scanning his updated attribute panel.
This kind of street basketball game wasn't enough to significantly improve one's stats. Real progress required formal games.
Then, Oliver glanced at the 50 achievement points flashing in the top-right corner of his vision.
"System, what can 50 achievement points get me?"
"50 achievement points can be used to increase an attribute rated below 'Excellent' by 5 points."
"Only 5 points? That's way too low!"
"The game lasted a total of seven minutes," the emotionless system voice replied.
Oliver rolled his eyes. "Way to make it sound worthless."
"Can I use the points for a lottery draw?" he asked hopefully.
"A minimum of 500 achievement points is required to draw from the lottery."
"..."
Oliver sighed. "Fine. Five points it is."
Something is better than nothing, after all. Even a mosquito's leg is still meat.
Now the question was: where should he allocate those five attribute points?
He reviewed his stats. His strength, speed, and hit accuracy were all far too low. Speed could be compensated by Sonic Dash, but the problem was its high energy cost.
Even at full stamina, he could only use Sonic Dash for about 60 seconds before becoming completely drained. Without energy, he couldn't even stay upright on the court.
Accurate Shooter helped boost hit accuracy, but it had the same issue: excessive stamina consumption. The skill only enhanced five shots, and to maximize its effect, Oliver had to take five three-pointers.
But after each three-point shot, he felt like he'd just sprinted around the entire playground. After five shots, his stamina was completely gone. Plus, Accurate Shooter had a 15-minute cooldown.
Without these skills, he became a joke on the court.
As for strength...
He didn't even have any skills to compensate for that. Strength was his biggest weakness.
That's why during the game, Oliver hadn't even tried to contest rebounds. With his current strength, he wouldn't be able to grab a board even if his life depended on it.
"System, is there any other way to improve my stats?"
He couldn't go on like this. The more he looked at himself, the weaker he felt.
The only impressive stat he had was his bounce, thanks to the beginner's gift package.
But even in that, Sakuragi had him beat. Their vertical jumps were similar, but Sakuragi had much longer arms. And Oliver was still much shorter in height.
The only reason he'd played well in the last two games was because of the system's support and temporary stat boosts. The other was his experience from his past life in the CBA, having played countless games at all levels. That accumulated experience was something even the system couldn't quantify.
But as the Slam Dunk plot progressed, countless strong characters would develop at lightning speed. Eventually, Oliver's experience and skills would no longer be enough.
If he wanted to survive and thrive in this world, he needed to get stronger fast.
"There is another way," the system finally replied.
Oliver's eyes lit up.
"The host can perform physical training. Every time the host reaches complete exhaustion, you will gain attribute points after recovery."
"Really..."
Oliver clicked his tongue.
Considering he had the Quick Recovery skill, he could double the amount of training he did each day.
Summer break was coming. With one and a half months ahead of him, he could probably improve his base stats to a decent level by the time school started again.
Excited, he made a quick decision.
"Add all five points to Endurance."
"Confirmed. Endurance increased."
A warm current flowed through his body. Oliver opened his stats again. His Endurance was now 67, a value that already surpassed Kaede Rukawa!
With his stamina somewhat replenished, Oliver pushed himself off the ground.
"So, what do we do next? It's getting late. Should we go home or hang out somewhere?"
Seeing that Oliver was back on his feet, Mito turned to Sakuragi and the others.
"I'm down for anything," Sakuragi shrugged. "No one cares what time I go home anyway."
Mito flinched slightly at Sakuragi's words and turned to the rest of the gang.
"How about you guys?"
"Let's go to the shopping street and get some takoyaki! A new shop just opened there and it's super good!"
Nozomi Takamiya jumped up excitedly, licking his lips.
"Seriously? You just had all that barbecue and you're still hungry? You came out here to cheer up Sakuragi, but you ate the most!"
"You don't get it! The grill is a battlefield. If you don't fight for meat, you lose by default."
"Look at your belly. You should be cutting down, not doubling down. You're rounder than the basketball."
"You wanna go, huh?! Say that again, punk!"
The gang broke into another familiar round of bickering. Mito smiled and turned to Oliver.
"How about you, little bro?"
"Me?" Oliver blinked.
"Yeah. Come with us. Let's hang out."
The rest of Sakuragi's Gang paused and looked at Oliver, their eyes filled with anticipation.
"Yeah, bro! Join us! You gotta see Hanamichi's dumb face whenever he gets rejected by a girl. It's priceless!"
"Ohkusu! You looking to get beat up again?!"
Sakuragi promptly smashed Ohkusu with a headbutt, then turned to Oliver with a big grin.
"C'mon, Bean Sprout! You don't have anything better to do. Come hang out with us!"
Oliver looked around at the gang. Despite the roughhousing and noisy bickering, there was something undeniably warm about them.
Like he had said before: the magic of basketball is how it can turn strangers into teammates, and teammates into friends.
Since arriving in this world, Oliver had always been alone. But now, these guys were inviting him in without hesitation.
What he didn't realize was that his actions—standing up for them at the barbecue place, and his stunning performance in the game—had already earned him their respect.
He had wanted to connect with Sakuragi's crew eventually, but he never expected it would happen so naturally over a game of basketball.
Oliver chuckled.
"First off, stop calling me 'Bean Sprout.'"
He picked up the basketball from the ground and walked toward the group.
"My name is Oliver. And I'm the guy who's going to lead Shohoku to a national championship one day."
The gang stared for a moment, then burst into laughter and cheers.
"Well said, Oliver! Welcome to the gang!"
"To the shopping street! Takoyaki on me if you can beat me to the stand!"
"You're gonna regret saying that, Takamiya! Move it!"
As the sun dipped below the horizon, Oliver followed his new friends down the street, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips.
This was just the beginning.
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