Ten base points was the most Lu Ke had ever received at one time since getting the system. But after looking at the "red" on his personal information panel, the excitement settled down a bit. Forget ten base points, even if he had a hundred, he could spend them all.
Taking a deep breath, Lu Ke carefully looked at each of his skill categories and thought seriously about how he should allocate them.
He could either get all his skills up to an average level so they wouldn't look so bad, or he could build on his strengths and improve his best skills, like his 81-point long pass, based on his experience in real games.
After some thought, Lu Ke made a decision. He would choose the latter.
The reason was simple. He wasn't sure how many base points it would take to get all his skills to an average level. More importantly, even if he did, he would just be an "average" quarterback. There were countless quarterbacks like that in the league. The lucky ones would sit on the bench for a few seasons waiting for their chance, while the unlucky ones might be cut quickly and leave the professional league.
Instead of being safe and mediocre, he would go for it. No one in professional sports was perfect. Most of the average players were mediocre. On the other hand, those with a special skill or with obvious strengths and weaknesses could be useful.
For Lu Ke, the most effective choice was to first get into the league and establish himself, and then slowly find opportunities to fix his weaknesses. So, the decision wasn't that difficult—at least not as difficult as he thought it would be.
With his ten base points, Lu Ke first added five to Field Vision. This skill went from 55 to 60, which was finally a passing grade. In the last two plays of yesterday's game, he had made mistakes in judging the positions of the players on the field and in reading the defense, which showed how important Field Vision was.
Then, Lu Ke added five base points to Running with the Ball. This skill went up to 65.
Simple Running with the Ball was similar to a running back's run. The quarterback would hold the football and keep moving, looking for a better receiver, and if necessary, the quarterback could also run with the ball themselves to get a first down. But this skill had to be combined with Dodge, Blocking, and Elusiveness to make a successful run.
Lu Ke didn't rush to add points to the other skills. On one hand, his base points were limited and couldn't make a big difference. On the other hand, he wanted to focus on his footwork in the pocket, his left and right movements, and his dropbacks, to have a clearer understanding of the entire field with his improved Field Vision, and then he could use his 70-point short pass and 81-point long pass skills.
One, two... The ten base points were used up in a flash. He looked at his skills list again, and there was no noticeable change. The revolution was not yet successful, and comrade Lu Ke still needed to keep working!
After reading all the information, the mission panel was clean again, with only one mission hanging there: Daily Training Mission, 0/14. This meant it was time to continue today's training!
After the Rose Bowl, the Bruins had a three-day break. The short vacation was over in a blink of an eye. Today, all the players would gather again to officially say goodbye to the seniors and officially end the 2010 season.
For Lu Ke, nothing had changed in the last three days. Every morning, he still did his daily training missions and then went to his normal classes. It wasn't easy, but seeing the mission counter go up day by day, now at "2/14," Lu Ke was once again motivated and sprinting toward the end of another mission cycle. Today was the third day.
Jogging along the familiar street to the training field, he took a deep breath after turning into the straightaway and started to sprint. In a short 100-meter sprint, the hidden power in his muscles burst out. He got faster and faster, and the wind rushing past his ears made his adrenaline pump. After the all-out sprint, he slowly slowed down, returning to his original pace and rhythm, and methodically adjusting his breathing, stretching out his short breaths and returning to his long-distance running breathing state.
He was slowly starting to adapt to the rhythm and burst of interval running. Next, he should try to improve his efficiency—shorten the time it took to run 10 kilometers, increase his 100-meter sprint speed, or even shorten the interval between two 100-meter sprints to push the limits of his endurance and explosiveness even further.
After completing his 10-kilometer run today, Lu Ke didn't stop but sprinted again at 100-meter sprint speed toward the locker room.
The build-up of lactic acid made his muscles sore, the force of his push-offs weakened, his fiery breathing felt like needles in his lungs, and his burning throat tasted bitter. Even the swing of his arms felt heavy. But Lu Ke gritted his teeth and kept pushing his limits. He knew he could only get better by breaking through them.
After entering the players' tunnel, he slowed down. His ankles and calves felt weak, his clothes were soaked with sweat, and the sweat streaming down his face was dripping onto the floor. All the pores on his body were open, and it felt exhilarating, but Lu Ke's job wasn't over yet. He grabbed his left wrist and started counting his heartbeat.
This was to test his condition. Had he truly reached his limit? Could his body handle the extra challenge? Should he increase the intensity of his training? Or should he maintain his current state?
"Creak," the sound of an office door opening and closing made Lu Ke stop. He looked over to where the sound came from.
The season was over, and the team was on break. For the past three days, there had been no one else at the training field when Lu Ke was doing his daily training. He had done his ball-handling training with Logan at the community sports field next to their apartment after class. Today was the day the team was gathering again, but who would be here so early?
Then Lu Ke saw Kevin, Kevin Priess.
This was a complete surprise. Lu Ke was a little stunned. Kevin obviously didn't expect it either. He stopped walking, and they looked at each other. For a moment, neither of them knew what to say.
Kevin had never liked Lu Ke. He could list countless reasons why. For example, a small-time practice player who treated every daily practice like the Super Bowl, making a big deal out of nothing. Or a small-time backup who coveted the starting position and took advantage of his injury to get ahead.
Or that he was always putting on a show, telling unfunny jokes to curry favor with his teammates. And that he was aiming too high for the professional league, even though they all knew that 99% of the players on the Bruins couldn't make it to the pros. Or that he was foolishly holding on to his dream, stubbornly trying to become a good football player, a kind of hopeless persistence that was almost infuriating.
But he couldn't deny that it was Lu Ke who led the team to a dramatic comeback and defeated the Trojans. He also couldn't deny that it was Lu Ke who saved the day in the last two minutes and beat the Badgers. And he definitely couldn't deny that Lu Ke worked much harder and was much stronger than he was.
Looking at the sweat-drenched Lu Ke in front of him, Kevin's eyes flickered, and a mix of feelings spread on his tongue. He couldn't describe it. After a moment of hesitation, he silently moved forward.
When he passed Lu Ke, he paused for a moment and said in a low voice, "Good luck!" He didn't stay any longer and kept walking. A "thank you" echoed in the tunnel, which made Kevin speed up, almost as if he were running away.
Lu Ke looked away and started walking forward again, heading to the indoor gym for weight training. But before he could get in, another person appeared in front of him, Head Coach Rick Neuheisel.
Looking at the sweaty Lu Ke in front of him, Rick wasn't surprised. A hint of a satisfied smile appeared in his eyes. The day after the Rose Bowl, Rick came to the training field to prepare some documents and was surprised to see Lu Ke training. That was when he was truly stunned.
Rick then remembered that Anthony had once told him that Lu Ke was training extra every day, outside of daily practice. He would meticulously complete all the training, not missing a single day. When Anthony mentioned it, Rick didn't take it seriously. But after the last game of the season and the Rose Bowl, Rick finally understood what "training extra every day" meant.
Thinking back, the two years of persistence in his freshman and sophomore years, his excitement at being a practice player after not making the team in his junior year, and his hard work throughout his junior season. Even he was deeply impressed by this Chinese-American kid. That's why during the practice before the start of the season, when Kevin and Lu Ke clashed, he didn't hesitate to side with Lu Ke.
Rick had once thought that Lu Ke had no talent, only hard work, which was far from enough for a professional athlete. Talent was the foundation of everything. Without that one percent of inspiration, all the hard work would be in vain. But now, it seemed his thinking needed to be corrected.
"Lu Ke, do you have a minute? If you're not in a hurry with your training, could you come into my office for a second?" Rick said. He had planned to talk to him after the meeting today, but since he ran into him now, he would do it early.
Lu Ke nodded, a little confused. "No problem!"
NOTE:
New chapters drop five times a day, every Monday through Saturday! Plus, you have the power to unlock more: we'll release five bonus chapters for every 100 votes! Let's get this story moving together.