After obtaining the personality badge—[Invincible Background Board], Link couldn't wait to "switch sides" to the second team during the intra-team scrimmage.
Hmm...
The reason was simple: his backup Point Guard, a Class of 2002 four-star high school recruit—Paul Kyle.
Compared to ordinary high schoolers, Link was already a cheat code.
This time, he was even more of a menace.
He really just threw up all kinds of wild shots and contested shots, beating the crap out of "Paul Kyle" on the other side.
Just as Link hit his fourth consecutive contested shot, a hint of fear appeared in Paul Kyle's eyes.
His expression seemed to say: Sir, please don't!
...
...
In this scrimmage, Link made 14 contested and tough shots.
This added 14 experience points to Link's [Difficult Shots (Bronze)], leaving him 192 points away from upgrading to "Silver."
[Difficult Shots (Bronze)]: 108/300
Link's style of play was usually quite rational during regular periods, so the [Difficult Shots (Bronze)] badge was the slowest to level up...
But now that he had the personality badge—[Invincible Background Board], he could totally use it to grind experience. And it wasn't just for [Difficult Shots]; [Corner Specialist] and [Catch and Shoot] could be leveled up this way too.
At this rate, he could definitely have at least five Silver badges by the High School League finals.
After the scrimmage ended.
Paul Kyle looked at Link with a face full of resentment and said, "Sir, do I look like a punching bag to you?"
Link:...
Paul Kyle glanced at the media reporters nearby and said, "Sir, I know a lot of people came today, but there's no need to be this ruthless."
Link laughed in spite of himself.
As the first high school player to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated, Link received far more attention than ordinary high schoolers. Even during intra-team scrimmages, media reporters often came to interview him.
After training, Link was once again surrounded by the media.
They asked many basketball-related questions, such as:
Which NBA team do you want to play for the most?
Who is the NBA player you want to collaborate with the most?
Which NBA player do you want to posterize the most?
Who is your least favorite star?
Which sports brand's sneakers do you like the most?
In addition, reporters also asked about Link's private life off the court.
"Link, are you still in contact with Sophia Clarke?"
"Link, according to netizens, Sophia Clarke took the initiative to use her tongue when fulfilling her promise that night. Is this true?"
"Link, would you consider becoming a couple with Sophia Clarke, who is five years older than you?"
Sophia Clarke, a beautiful reporter for Rivals magazine, was also one of Link's biggest haters. However, after fulfilling her promise and taking the initiative to give Link her first kiss last time, she had been exceptionally quiet lately.
As for the reporters' claim that Sophia Clarke used her tongue... well, yes, that rumor was spread by [grim reaper loves chasing dreams].
The alternate account ID [grim reaper loves chasing dreams] used a single photo to analyze from various angles that Sophia Clarke had indeed taken the initiative to use her tongue.
This left Sophia Clarke herself unable to defend herself, nearly driving her crazy.
Dating his own hater?
Link didn't really mind.
After all, she was a great beauty.
...
...
Three days later.
In the locker room of Lincoln High School's gymnasium.
Sitting in front of his locker, Link held the latest issue of Rivals magazine.
It announced the latest national high school rankings.
As a Class of 2001 senior, Link, who was ranked 58th last time, had risen significantly but still hadn't cracked the top twenty, landing at 25th.
Link was so angry he could only laugh.
Rivals was really just hating for the sake of hating.
He had even been the cover figure for the more influential and authoritative Sports Illustrated.
And you still rank me 25th?
Are you kidding me?
On that same day.
USA Today, one of the mainstream draft prediction media outlets in the United States, also released its latest draft prediction list.
The top three were the "Class of 2001 high school big three": Kwame Brown, Tyson Chandler, and Eddy Curry.
Link was ranked 28th by USA Today.
Compared to being a second-round pick not long ago, Link had made considerable progress this time.
However, this still couldn't satisfy Link's appetite.
"Next month, around mid-April, the McDonald's All-American Game will be held, and those three will definitely participate."
"And what I need to do... is to blow them out to prove my strength."
"But... I don't know if the event organizers' brains are rusty; why haven't they invited me yet?"
Link thought to himself.
Just then...
A series of mechanical and cold electronic sounds echoed in Link's mind again.
"Ding! Congratulations to the Host for triggering the main quest—King of Counterattacks!"
"Quest Description: Before the NBA Draft, for every mainstream media outlet that ranks you as a lottery pick, you will receive 500 Goat points. For each additional outlet, you will receive another 500 Goat points."
"Designated Media: ESPN, USA Today, Sports Illustrated, and NBA.com."
Uh...
The system's main quest—King of Counterattacks—required rankings from designated media, which prevented Link from trying to bribe smaller outlets with fruit baskets. These authoritative media outlets wouldn't be easily bought by Link's meager offerings.
...
...
Time passed until the eve of the High School League finals.
After this period of training and using the personality badge [Invincible Background Board] to grind experience for shooting badges, Link's personal strength saw another visible improvement.
In terms of player attributes:
[Shooting Categories]:
[Close-Range Shot] base attribute +1, increased to 76 (93); [Post Hook Shot] base attribute +5, increased to 55 (83); [Driving Layup] base attribute +5, increased to 75 (88).
As potential points became scarcer, to maximize gains, Link would focus on specific areas instead of practicing everything like before.
[Defense and Playmaking]:
[Ball Handling] base attribute +3, increased to 80 (88); [Passing] base attribute +10, increased to 80 (88); [Passing Vision] base attribute +10, increased to 80 (90); [Block] base attribute +5, increased to 45 (80).
Now, Link's ball-handling and Passing levels have reached the average for an NBA Point Guard. But the difference is... current NBA Point Guards are around 190cm tall, while Link is already a 201.7cm giant with a 216.2cm wingspan.
[physical movement]:
This was Link's long-standing problem.
Over the past week, Link trained his explosiveness like crazy; after all, this attribute had the most potential.
Under the 5x training experience buff from the [physical sports special training card], the [Explosive Acceleration] base attribute +8, increased to 48 (70).
As for badges, the following have also been promoted to Silver.