Weight: 93 kilograms, with an increase of just one kilogram in this cycle.
Strength: 65, an increase of one point from before.
Explosiveness: 73, also an increase of one point.
Acceleration: 64, a surprising increase of one point.
The above are the direct results of the strength training in the daily routine during the third cycle. Compared to the second cycle, the overall increase has further narrowed. But this was an expected result. Not only because the daily training had entered a bottleneck and was gradually slowing down, and the future would only be more difficult, but also because that unexpected breakthrough after the two consecutive losses brought an unexpected boost. In a way, this would also weaken the effect of the daily training. After careful consideration, the final result was still satisfactory. In just three months, Lu Ke's basic physical qualities had seen a comprehensive increase.
However, this was only for Lu Ke himself. If Lu Ke and Logan were compared, both of them started strength training at the same time, and Logan was not as consistent, with a slightly weaker overall training intensity than Lu Ke. But now Logan's weight and strength are infinitely close to the team's requirements, and his improvement is far greater than Lu Ke's. It's true that there's no harm in not comparing.
After confirming the gains from the third cycle of strength training, Lu Ke's eyes returned to the stats panel and he began to think about how to add his points. First, his recovery speed was at 75 points. Lu Ke added 5 points in one go, bringing it to 80 points. The closer he got to the end of the season, the more his energy and stamina would be depleted, and the slower his recovery speed would be. This not only increased the possibility of injury but also would inevitably affect his performance in the game. Now, his injury resistance is at 95 points, and his stamina is at 82 points. So, Lu Ke correspondingly increased his recovery speed to 80 points to prepare for the upcoming playoffs.
Next, his long-pass accuracy was at 85 points. He added 5 points, bringing it to 90 points. His passing power was at 81 points. He added one point, bringing it to 82 points. The point allocation today seemed simple and straightforward on the surface and was completed in a flash, but deep down, Lu Ke had gone through repeated deliberation. Objectively speaking, there are still many technical areas that Lu Ke urgently needs to improve: fake-pass action, 45 points; ball-holding ability, 59 points; running pass, 77 points; ball-carrying ability, 71 points; left-side awareness, 45 points; right-side awareness, 60 points.
The urgency of these points far exceeded that of long-pass accuracy, passing power, and so on. Moreover, they were not auxiliary skills like pushing ability, dribbling ability, or faking ability. These were all indispensable parts of a quarterback's tactical skills and comprehensive performance during a game. But Lu Ke noticed one thing with great sensitivity: he was becoming more and more balanced, and his ability to control the game was becoming more and more outstanding because the average level of his weapons was slowly catching up. But the sharp edge of his game was slowly disappearing, and his personal style was also slowly fading away.
In college, in the last regular season game against the USC Trojans and in the Rose Bowl against the Wisconsin Badgers, Lu Ke was not the one with the strength advantage. To be precise, he was a quarterback who had not even reached the average level, but he still turned the tide in both games. Why? To be more specific, in the first three regular season games, Lu Ke's various technical and tactical skills were far from today's level, but he still led the team to victory. Why?
According to the data, Lu Ke is now much stronger than he was a year ago and at the beginning of the season. His strength has improved substantially. So, does this mean that Lu Ke can now win more easily against the Seattle Seahawks and the Dallas Cowboys? Lu Ke doesn't think so. On the contrary, Lu Ke thinks he might have a harder time winning now, or even lose the game. On one hand, it's because of a change in his mindset. A good example is the game he lost to the Arizona Cardinals at home. After his strength improved, he thought he should naturally win the game, which made his mindset unbalanced and prevented him from performing at his best. On the other hand, it's because of a change in his form. Lu Ke is now losing his own game style.
Lu Ke is a quarterback who made his name with long passes. His passing accuracy and tactical arrangements are his strengths. He uses a deadly long pass at a critical moment to completely disrupt the opponent's entire plan. His risky and even crazy pass choices also allow Lu Ke to often burst out with more powerful energy and reverse the tide of the game when he doesn't have the advantage in strength. This is an unstoppable and powerful momentum! It was this momentum that helped Lu Ke turn the tide in the last two games of his college career and was the key to his three consecutive victories in the first three weeks of the regular season. Even if he wasn't as strong as his opponents, he still gave it his all, went all in, and fought to the death.
Lu Ke felt this deeply in this week's game against the Arizona Cardinals. In fact, the Cardinals had a chance in the fourth quarter, at least three chances, but they didn't have the courage and madness to take a risk. After hesitating, they chose to play it safe and secure, which completely ruined their chance to turn the tide of the game. The current Lu Ke is still far from the point where he can completely dominate his opponents. If all of his stats were at 100 points, he could steadily control the game and use different combinations of his weapons to win with ease. But he can't.
In the playoffs, there are never absolute underdogs, not only because it's a single-elimination tournament where the uncertain factors are magnified to the extreme, and there are countless battles where underdogs beat stronger teams, not to mention the many variables in a showdown between two strong teams. It's also because of the intense atmosphere of the playoffs. It's truly a test of courage. Choosing to be conservative and play it safe often means losing.
So, Lu Ke needed to find his game style again, to be sharp and risky, bold and aggressive, and powerful and energetic. He needed to maximize the youth and swagger of the young blood in the team, sprint with all his might, and run to the end of every victory, fighting to the death, just like a moth to a flame. This is only Lu Ke's rookie season. If a first-year player loses his edge, what will happen when he enters his prime and later years?
So, Lu Ke chose long-pass accuracy and passing power, once again highlighting his long-pass skills, and returning to his form from the beginning of the season. He further elevated his strengths! Five points for recovery speed, five points for long-pass accuracy, and one point for passing power. The 11 base points were all used up just like that. The thought process was incredibly complicated and tangled, but once he made his decision, Lu Ke didn't hesitate at all. He completed the point allocation in a decisive manner, continuing his usual style.
Then, his eyes fell on the 10 special points. This was absolutely the most special points Lu Ke had ever received in one go. In fact, all the special points he had received from all the special missions combined had not exceeded 10 points. Lu Ke didn't do a detailed calculation, so he wasn't sure, but his gut feeling told him this was true. In fact, on his stats panel now, there are only two hidden attributes: luck and prediction. Even if he received more special points, Lu Ke's options were very limited.
This time, Lu Ke didn't hesitate or waver. He continued the point allocation strategy of the base points and put all 10 special points on the same attribute: prediction. Lu Ke's attitude toward the two hidden attributes has always been consistent. Luck is the cherry on top. It can be a crucial turning point in a game, but it's not the direct way to win a game. He can't put his hope in luck. He should focus on improving his strength. Only when his strength reaches a certain level can luck play a corresponding role. Otherwise, if he only has one or two lucky flashes in the entire game, but can't carry it through to the end, he still won't be able to win.
Thus, prediction became Lu Ke's only choice. Originally, his prediction score was 82 points. Now with the full boost, it immediately soared to 92 points, becoming the third-highest stat on Lu Ke's personal stats panel, after tactical awareness and injury resistance. Before this, when he significantly improved his physical qualities and tactical awareness, Lu Ke experienced some physical and mental discomfort. He could clearly feel the drastic changes. But today, his prediction score increased by a full 10 points, but his mind was calm and quiet, with no reaction at all. At first, Lu Ke thought that the points were not successfully added, but after confirming his stats panel, he could see that his prediction score had become 92, and all 10 special points were gone, but there was still no reaction in his mind.
"Could it be that the impact was so strong that I'm starting to hallucinate?" Lu Ke couldn't help but let his imagination run wild. "Then, how should I determine if I'm hallucinating? If it's like in Inception, I need to use a totem. But I haven't made a totem before. Or do I need to fall into a bathtub like Leo..." As he thought about it, it got more and more ridiculous. Then Lu Ke finally realized the anomaly: the speed of his mind's rotation was far beyond what he could have imagined. One second, he was thinking about hallucinations, and the next second, he was already fantasizing about weightlessness in the universe. And he couldn't stop. So, this was the side effect?
🗒️NOTE:
New chapters drop Three times a day, every Monday through Sunday! Plus, you have the power to unlock more: we'll release Three bonus chapters for every 300 votes! Let's get this story moving together.
Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/MistaQuartz
Explore up to 30 chapters in advance!