Chapter 1059: Nine Tasks
After a season of growth and nearly three years of honing his skills, Lu Ke's abilities had fully reached a new level. He was no longer a challenger; instead, he was about to face more challenges, and Russell Wilson in this game was just the first.
This was not just a transformation of his skills but also a change in his status.
In this game, facing Russell's strong challenge, Lu Ke still managed to complete the special task and even exceeded the requirements.
"Additional Task Description: The host has exceeded the special task requirements. All six stats have significantly surpassed the challenger. Task rewards are doubled. Special Points +10, Gold Point +1."
This was the first special task, and Lu Ke also exceeded the requirements for the second special task.
Special Task: Lockdown by the Legion of Boom.
Task Description: The Seattle Seahawks' secondary defense has risen to prominence this season. They call themselves the 'Legion of Boom' and have become a new force in the league. After a long season, their strength is definitely not just for show. The four starting players each have their own strengths and work together, carving out a unique place for themselves in the league.
The secondary defense of the Legion of Boom is directly opposed to the quarterback. The matchups from cornerback to safety are crucial in determining the outcome of the game. Any quarterback must break through the Legion of Boom's lockdown to score a touchdown. This will undoubtedly be one of the most severe offensive and defensive challenges of the season.
Is the host ready for the challenge?
Task Requirement: At least four touchdowns.
Task Reward: The entire team's recovery speed is increased by 15%.
Penalty for Failure: Recovery speed for receiving players is reduced by 10%.
The task description clearly explained the context. Lu Ke needed to complete his tactical layout through his offensive line and receivers to break through the Legion of Boom's lockdown and score a touchdown. There was no requirement for it to be a passing or running touchdown; any touchdown would do.
This shows that the task was directly related to the outcome of the game, and the tempting reward was linked to the grand playoff plan.
After the long season, every team's physical and mental strength had been severely tested. This was especially true for the 49ers, who just completed an undefeated season. Compared to physical fatigue, mental fatigue, which you can't see or touch, had a more profound impact.
Lu Ke was no exception.
Looking back at the special task reward now, it became even more precious: "The entire team's recovery speed is increased by 15%."
When the special task appeared, Lu Ke asked Lil' Seven for more details. The answer was what he expected: it wasn't a set 15% determined by the system but a 15% increase based on each player's recovery speed.
In simple terms, after a tough game, Lu Ke might need three days to recover and five days to fully recover, while Logan might only need two days to recover and three days to fully recover. Now, Lu Ke's recovery period could be shortened by 18 hours, and Logan's could be shortened by about 11 hours.
Of course, this is just an example.
Not only is everyone's recovery period different, but it's also different at different stages. After the long season, the physical and mental reserves were depleted differently, so the recovery period was even more complicated. The example was just to explain the situation; the actual situation would be different.
In other words, the task reward was not an immediate 15% increase in all players' status but rather a faster recovery rate for the players in the following days.
But if a player didn't diligently do their recovery training, got injured during training, or had a less effective training session, their recovery speed would be affected, and a 15% increase would still be a drop in the bucket.
Even so, Lu Ke had to admit that this was absolutely one of the most important rewards from the system. If he could use it properly, for example, by setting an example and urging the team to do recovery training, it would have an immeasurable and profound impact on the team's future playoff journey.
This became a reason why Lu Ke had to complete the special task! For victory, and for the championship!
When the game ended, Lu Ke had no doubt completed the special task. This became the most gratifying gain, and its importance even exceeded that of the game tasks and the other special task. Now, it was time to see how much effect the 15% increase in speed would bring!
Lu Ke successfully completed six game tasks and two special tasks, and after a satisfying victory, there was also a hidden task as a perfect ending.
Hidden Task: Perfect Performance!
Task Description: A perfect quarterback rating of 158.3 is not a fixed metric for a great quarterback, but it's an undeniable and direct representation of a perfect performance in a single game. It has become a benchmark for quarterbacks to continuously strive for excellence.Task Requirement: Quarterback rating exceeds 158.3.Task Reward: Special Points + (1-10).Penalty for Failure: None. This is a passively triggered task.
Since a perfect quarterback rating is not a hard metric, it's a happy occasion to achieve it, but it's not a shame if you don't. Even Peyton Manning wouldn't enter a game with the goal of chasing a perfect quarterback rating. This is a goal that requires a bit of luck to achieve, so the task reward is relatively simple.
For Lu Ke, achieving a perfect quarterback rating was a happy thing in itself, but achieving it against the Seattle Seahawks and the Legion of Boom was the most worth celebrating.
In the end, victory and a rival were the keywords; the perfect rating was just the icing on the cake.
In the end, all nine tasks were counted, and an excellent game also brought a harvest of joy. The symphony of ringing sounds in his mind made everything feel satisfying. The task rewards were as follows:
Game tasks: 10 Special Points, 1 Gold Point.Special tasks: 10 Special Points, 1 Gold Point, and a 15% increase in the team's recovery speed.Hidden task: 5 Special Points (randomly received).
Except for the team's recovery speed reward, which still needs to be tested over time, all other rewards were cashed out immediately. Now, Lu Ke needed to think carefully about how to allocate his points.
The playoffs are different from the regular season. All the points are Special Points. Of course, Lu Ke could stick to the regular season's point allocation method, converting all the Special Points into Basic Points and stacking all his stats to 99 in one go. That was indeed one way.
But now, Lu Ke had a different idea.
No player is perfect. He could use the system to stack all his stats to the max, if not this season, then the next. But would this kind of point allocation fit his playing style? The simplest example is that he would never use read-option plays as frequently as Russell Wilson or Cam Newton. Would the skills related to running with the ball be a waste then?
On the other hand, Lu Ke hadn't been stacking his hidden attributes for an entire season.
After two seasons of practice, Lu Ke also understood two things: First, the details of the game are crucial. In close games or games between two strong teams, the details are the key to success or failure. This is especially true in playoff games, where the opponents are more evenly matched, and there are more variables. A small detail can change the entire game.
In last year's playoffs, the victory against the New Orleans Saints and the loss to the New York Giants in the NFC Championship were both influenced by small details. This was also the case in many key games in the second half of this season.
Second, football is a team sport. He couldn't win by himself. He needed the support of his teammates, just like the reward from the special task—an increase in the team's recovery speed. This was an invaluable reward.
The hidden attributes were also closely related to the team's status and overall well-being.
The fact that the system gave out rewards in the form of Special Points in the playoffs was an important hint, especially since the points could be exchanged. The system was clearly trying to tell him something.
After careful consideration, Lu Ke believed that he should exchange some Special Points and stack some Special Points to balance his point allocation and further enhance his competitiveness in the playoffs, especially his ability to control the details of the game. So, how should he allocate them?
He had 25 Special Points and two Gold Points.
If he compared them, converting all of them to Basic Points for calculation, this was even more than the rewards he got from the end of the last season. As expected, the risk of a single-elimination game in the playoffs is higher, which also means the rewards are bigger. It's a direct correlation.
Before officially allocating the points, Lu Ke first opened his attribute panel and looked at the hidden attributes he hadn't paid much attention to the entire season. It felt like they had been collecting dust and were even a bit unfamiliar.
Luck: 0-75
Charisma: 70
Prediction: 99
Aura: 75
Status: 96%
In this game against the Seattle Seahawks, Lu Ke's status was indeed at a peak level. Even though the details of the football were harder to control due to the weather, Lu Ke was not affected at all. He was on fire the entire game and was close to his 100% best form, which was a rare thing to see.
In addition, Lu Ke's gaze fell on the four options of Luck, Prediction, Charisma, and Aura, and he began to think carefully. Only Prediction had reached the max; the other three still had a lot of room for improvement.
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