(TN: Fiiine since you asked you'll get a few, but ngl I stopped reading at at chapter 200)
"Ding! Congratulations to the Host for completing the hidden achievement—The First High Schooler to Appear on the Cover of Sports Illustrated!"
"Ding! Rewarding Host: 2000 Goat Points."
[Goat Points: 2820 / 7,520]
The generous reward left Link momentarily stunned.
One must know that the post-match reward for an ordinary game was only about eighty to a hundred Goat Points. Obtaining 2000 all at once was equivalent to playing more than 20 official games.
Now that he was wealthy, Link first spent 1000 Goat Points to purchase a [physique and sports special training card (monthly)].
The 5x training experience buff was particularly important for Link, who was about to enter the NBA. His potential in terms of physical movement was somewhat low, and normal training just wasn't very effective.
Additionally, he purchased 1 Green sparring card and 10 [special sparring partner cards], spending another 1,000 Goat Points.
[Goat Points: 820 / 7,520]
...
...
Becoming the first high schooler to grace the cover of Sports Illustrated made "Link" a household name in the American high school scene.
In the following week, Link received dozens of love letters.
Girls of all ethnicities took the initiative to throw themselves at Link. After all, in their eyes, Link was a future multimillionaire.
Even if Link didn't marry them in the future, they could live a comfortable life just on child support for an illegitimate child.
It would definitely be a lie to say that Link, with his hormones raging, wasn't tempted at all; however, there was the repeated persuasion from head coach Leonard and his family, as well as the "assistance" of the special sparring partner cards.
It had to be said...
Ran Mouri played a very crucial role.
Of course...
Landing the cover headline of Sports Illustrated wasn't as simple as just having priority in the dating pool.
Sneaker brands like Reebok, Nike, and Adidas set their sights on Link once again.
Executives were currently discussing the endorsement offers to give Link.
...
...
After discarding the outside distractions, Link entered the virtual space once again.
This time, he used the—random All-Star sparring card.
This was the reward obtained upon completing the random mission—[This is Dominance].
The sparring player was Paul George wearing the Los Angeles Clippers' number 13 jersey.
Hmm...
The legendary "Natural Born Background Board."
[All-Star (Paul George 2022-2023 Season) sparring card]
Although Paul George had suffered a major injury, at this stage, Paul George still possessed All-Star level strength.
As the number two figure for the Los Angeles Clippers, his strength was beyond doubt, but his defense was quite different from his peak period. Additionally, on the offensive end, he could either be a god or a ghost.
Regarding the [Hundred-Point Battle] against Paul George.
In the first few rounds, he was slaughtered by a large margin by a Paul George who had an explosive touch.
But instead of making Link depressed, this made him even more excited.
As the saying goes...
Unpredictable as a Ghost or God—Paul George.
Link, who had decent luck, encountered "Ghost George" during the final Hundred-Point Battle.
George kept taking wild Three-Point Shots; the more he missed, the more decisively he shot.
After Link grabbed the rebounds, he would immediately go on the fast break.
In the end...
Link won 100 to 73!
He defeated a Paul George who was in "ghost" mode and had low Stamina.
The Hundred-Point Battle against Paul George was the easiest one for Link so far, even easier than the one against Kyle Korver; however, Link's strength back then couldn't compare to now.
In just one match...
Link cleared everything.
Three-star reward!
Four-star reward!
Five-star reward!
But what left Link staggered was...
The three-star reward gave him [Ankle Breaker (Bronze)];
The four-star reward was [Ball-Handling Steal Master (Bronze)] and [Death Coil (Bronze)].
Link had obtained these three badges before...
Furthermore, Ball-Handling Steal Master and Death Coil were only 3 and 48 points away, respectively, from being promoted to Silver badges.
Soon...
The system told Link that if he obtained the same badge, it could be converted into a badge experience upgrade bar.
The extra Bronze badges could be converted into 200 experience points for badge upgrades.
"Uh..."
Link felt the system's explanation was barely satisfactory.
The experience points used to upgrade badges needed to be obtained in 5v5 games. Averaging 3 Steals per game was already very good.
As for shaking off or crossing over an opponent 3 times in a single game, that was impossible even in the High School League.
Being able to use duplicate badges as experience points was actually a pretty good option.
After converting them into badge experience points, Link obtained two Silver badges.
[Ball-Handling Steal Master (Silver)] Introduction:
1. When defending on-ball, Steal +5, Perimeter Defense +3; helps improve the ability to successfully Steal the ball from the ball-handler.
2. To upgrade to the next stage (Gold), you need to complete 500 Steals through on-ball defense in 5V5 games.
[Death Coil (Silver)] Introduction:
1. Increases tracking Speed by a certain margin, allowing the defender to keep up with the offensive player's pace faster and making it harder to be blown by on the first step.
2. Enhances the effect of tight defense, making the defense tighter and more orderly, helping to reduce the attacker's penetration space.
3. When playing tight defense, the hand Speed and accuracy during Steals are increased by a certain margin, which can increase the defender's Steal probability.
4. To upgrade to the next level (Gold), you need to complete 500 effective tight presses (successful Steals or forcing the opponent to stop).
...
...
As for the [Ankle Breaker (Bronze)] he just got, even after adding 200 experience points, he was still 91 points away from promoting to "Silver."
The promotion of the two badges would undoubtedly cause Link's defensive ability to transform once again.
Of course...
What truly surprised Link was the five-star reward after defeating Paul George in the Hundred-Point Battle.
Personality Badge—[Invincible Background Board]. (PS: Personality badges cannot be upgraded, as mentioned previously.)
[Invincible Background Board] Introduction:
1. When the opposing defensive player's name contains "Paul" or "George," shooting attributes will increase by 2%.
2. In the last 4 minutes of a game, shooting attributes increase by 4%.
...
...
"Holy crap..."
"This badge is too bizarre!"
"But then again, Paul is a major surname, and George is also a major surname."
Link thought to himself.