Just imagining the potential positive effects of the hidden attribute "Luck" was enough to get a person excited and impatient.
"Little Seven, can I read the description of this hidden attribute?" Lu Ke asked tentatively. Before this, he couldn't see the results of special skills or hidden attributes in the mission rewards. He could only find out the specific content after opening the reward. But today, there was a small change, so Lu Ke had to figure things out as he went.
Little Seven didn't answer but instead displayed the description directly.
Lu Ke read it carefully and gradually understood.
So-called luck was actually a matter of probability.
For example, a crucial pass that was just a hair's breadth away could either be a drop or a catch. With the influence of luck, the catch could be completed. Another example: at an important moment, the pocket is broken, and a sack is likely, but with just a hair's breadth of difference, the quarterback successfully escapes and completes the pass.
A very clear example was in Week 12 of the 2017 regular season, in the game between the Denver Broncos and the Oakland Raiders. The Broncos' young quarterback, Paxton Lynch, tried to score a touchdown in the red zone, finding his wide receiver, Virgil Green, who was being double-teamed by three defenders.
Lynch's powerful pass hit Green's arm and bounced high in the air. At a crucial moment, Green ran into a safety, who fell to the ground. Then Green and two defenders fought for the ball, but the ball kept bouncing between the three players like a hot potato. In the end... it bounced into the arms of the safety who was on the ground.
The player completed an interception while lying down.
This was luck.
In official games, similar situations were countless, like a ball hitting the net or a line in table tennis, or an unexpected own goal in a soccer game. They were impossible to guard against, but they could always influence the course of the game in different ways. As Tony Romo said after the Week 2 game, luck is also part of skill.
Now, the system could display Lu Ke's hidden attribute, "Luck," and he could also increase his luck by adding special points, which would have unexpected effects at crucial moments.
Similar to the first hidden attribute, "Prediction," "Luck" was also a passive attribute. He couldn't predict when or how it would take effect, nor could he know its specific function. It just increased the probability.
Furthermore, "Luck" couldn't truly affect Lu Ke's life. It mostly worked on the field. The idea of getting rich by buying lottery tickets could be put aside for now. At the same time, "Luck" was mostly reflected in Lu Ke himself, and its effect on his teammates was very weak.
According to the explanation, during a pass, it could affect the receiver to a certain extent or the pocket protection of the offensive line. But beyond that, Lu Ke's influence on the defensive and special teams was incredibly weak. At most, he might be able to survive some close calls and boost morale, which would have a bonus effect on his performance.
But how much of a bonus was impossible to know.
In other words, Lu Ke couldn't use magic to make the football bounce out after it hit the goalpost on the Philadelphia Eagles' last-minute 51-yard field goal today.
So, should Lu Ke choose to activate the hidden attribute or the point lottery ticket?
To be honest, "Luck" was very appealing. At a crucial moment, after a player's skills were at their maximum, a little bit of luck could indeed change the entire situation. Even if it was just a matter of probability, its effect on the mental balance was incalculable. If he could, Lu Ke also wanted to be the "lucky guy" on the field.
But, on the other hand, Lu Ke's own abilities still had more room to grow. It was better to believe in skill than luck. Luck was just a bonus. Ultimately, what determined victory or defeat was his own absolute skill. By developing his skills step by step, everything else would fall into place.
Of course, Lu Ke believed that as a reward for a hidden mission, the effect of "Luck" might be far more than just this. There might be more unknown ways to control the flow of the game. What's more, the reward could directly add five special points. Lu Ke was a little curious and excited about his "Luck" score.
However, after much hesitation, Lu Ke forced himself to look away from the hidden attribute. He secretly clenched his fist and said in a decisive voice, "I choose the point lottery ticket."
Perhaps the point lottery ticket could give him a "0," and he would get nothing. Perhaps "Luck" had more functions to be developed. Perhaps if he missed this chance, he wouldn't be able to unlock the "Luck" hidden attribute again for a long, long time. But in the end, Lu Ke still believed in his own abilities and his hard work. Constantly improving his skills was the real improvement.
"Would you like to open the upgraded point lottery ticket now?" Little Seven's professional voice rang out.
After making his choice, Lu Ke regained his composure. He had no regrets. The "Luck" attribute was now history. "Yes, open the point lottery ticket." Even so, Lu Ke couldn't help but grit his teeth and secretly pray that it wouldn't be a "0." Otherwise, he would really regret it.
Wait, was his luck that bad? Thinking back, if he had chosen "Luck," would he be more likely to get a high number from the point lottery ticket in the future? No, would that be a bug? Why didn't he think of that before? Was it too late to change his mind now?
"Bang! Bang, bang!"
The fireworks from opening the lottery ticket bloomed again. Clearly, it was too late. Deep in his mind, Little Seven said dutifully, "Congratulations. You've opened the point lottery ticket and won seven base points and three special points."
There was a slight regret, but it quickly faded. Lu Ke let out a long sigh of relief. Thankfully, it wasn't two "0s," and today's points were not bad. "Little Seven, this is the upgraded point lottery ticket. What's the difference?"
"The minimum limit is different," Little Seven explained immediately. "The minimum for base points is one, and the maximum is twenty. The minimum for special points is one, and the maximum is five."
In other words, the maximum was unchanged, but the minimum had changed from "0" to "1." That was the upgraded point lottery ticket.
After the truth was revealed, Lu Ke felt a little choked up. "That's quite an upgrade... Earth-shattering."
"Yes, do you think so too?" Little Seven's answer hit Lu Ke hard.
He let out a long sigh, tossing all his opportunistic thoughts aside. Although he missed the "Luck" hidden attribute today, the upgraded point lottery ticket was still a good haul, especially the special points. He got three points in the "1-5" range. Could this be considered a blessing in disguise?
To sum up, in Week 4 of the regular season, he earned a total of 13 base points and three special points, plus a beginner cheat. Although he lost the game, the rich rewards once again proved that hard work pays off. If he had won the game today, would the rewards have been doubled? Would the hidden mission's rewards have been even better?
Lu Ke would never know. But one thing was for sure: he had to work even harder in the games to come.
Now it was time to add points. The three special points, having given up on "Luck," were undoubtedly added to "Prediction." Lu Ke didn't hesitate to add them and was surprised to find that his "Prediction" score had reached 81. This meant that Lu Ke had another skill that had broken the 80-point mark, and his arsenal was finally starting to grow.
Then, his gaze fell on the 13 base points.
After the reflection and thought from the previous week's game, he had completed his point allocation. This week, Lu Ke didn't have much hesitation.
The most urgent task was to continue strengthening his strengths and advantages to further improve his competitiveness on the field. With his physical fitness and mobility still needing a lot of points to improve, it would be difficult to raise them to an average level in a short time. If he didn't further clarify and optimize his strengths now, he would only become an average quarterback with average skills in all aspects.
There were countless quarterbacks like that in the league. They might have decent physical fitness, decent running ability, decent tactical ability, and decent passing ability, and they might be average in all aspects but lack a true trump card. Alex Smith, Scott Tolzien, and so on were all like this.
To stand out in the competition, he couldn't rely on his "average" level. He should use his strengths to gain an advantage and then fill in his weaknesses one by one.
Everyone says that in a bucket, the shortest plank determines the capacity, and that's a fact. But before you fill it with water, the longest plank determines the maximum capacity. Lu Ke now needed his strongest skills to be even stronger.
So, Lu Ke quickly added all his points.
First, he added four base points to his short-pass accuracy, bringing it from 71 to 75.
Second, he added seven base points to his medium-pass accuracy, bringing it from 68 to 75.
Third, he added two base points to his tactical awareness, bringing it from 80 to 82.
In the blink of an eye, all 13 base points were spent.
Now, Lu Ke hoped to improve his tactical awareness as soon as possible because the offensive line needed his guidance. He needed to be able to catch the ever-changing situations during the game with various tactical combinations and defensive reads, which would provide him with more protection and allow him to complete passes.
In addition, this was the first time in a while that Lu Ke had improved his passing accuracy. Besides his 82-point long-pass accuracy, the instability of his medium and short passes was completely exposed in the past four weeks. The numbers don't lie, and the completion rates for passes in these two areas were relatively low.
Now, Lu Ke had finally improved the accuracy of his medium and short passes.
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!