Chapter 47: Pack Opening II
*Sound Effects*
**Language**
'Thoughts'
"Dialogue"
(Point of View)
| Setting |
[System]
So far I had gotten some good skills, currently I knew that I'd definitely need to integrate 'Skybound Soar' as soon as I was able to.
I continued on with my packs starting with the 'Cavaliers Pack'. I saw the image of Brad Daugherty in the low post on the front and the following description on the back:
[Rare - Paint Protector II (Passive) - Moderately Enhances the player's inside presence and defensive prowess in the paint]
[Effect: Paint Protector bolsters the player's ability to defend the interior, making them a formidable force in the paint. This skill moderately increases the player's effectiveness at contesting shots, grabbing rebounds, and deterring opponents from driving to the basket. With Paint Protector, the player becomes a reliable last line of defense, capable of disrupting opponents' scoring attempts and anchoring the team's defense in the key]
[Integration Requirement: 10 day, complete 100 defensive slides daily for 7 consecutive days]
'Oh, so 'I' are from Uncommon and 'II' is from rare skills. I wonder how high this numbering system goes...' I thought.
The passive looked great, however it was kind of vague so I was hesitant to make it high on my integration list.
The next pack was the bobcat's pack, I picked up the card to see an image of Gerard Wallace diving for a loose ball. On the back, the description said:
[Rare - Hustle II (Active) - Ignites a burst of energy, enhancing speed and acceleration for a limited duration]
[Effect: When activated, Hustle propels the player into overdrive, greatly increases speed and acceleration by 5 for 8 minutes at the cost of stamina]
[Cooldown: 40 min]
[Integration Requirement: 10 day, 100 suicides daily for 7 consecutive days]
'That's not bad, the only thing that sucks is the cooldown. I hope the cooldown time isn't based only from on-the-court time.'
I continued on to the bulls pack with fingers crossed. Upon looking at the card I saw the image of Dennis Rodman.
[Rare - Intimidator II (Active) - Utilizes intimidation tactics to disrupt an opponent's performance for a limited duration]
[Effect: When activated, 'Intimidator II' targets a single opposing player, causing a temporary decrease in their abilities by 5% for a 5 minutes]
[Cooldown: 30 min]
[Integration Requirement: 10 day, Read "Intimidation: The Power of Fear in Sports" by Jeremy Nevitt]
A/N: Not a real book lol, couldn't find a good book about intimidation that was out at the time
'Read a book?' I thought confusedly.
'Oh wow that's amazing' I thought after thinking more about the skill's versatlity. Anything that can inhibit a star player was something that was definitely needed. I'm not sure if this works on people like Kobe, who had a strong mental, but I'd have to test it out.
I kept going through the packs, finding some decent skills such as: defensive anchor II, which helped with preventing drives toward the paint and other offensive skills. Though they were decent, the only ones that I currently had on my top list of integrating were 'Skybound Soar' which immensely helped my current issue of lacking athleticism and explosiveness. As well as skills such as 'Inspirational Leader I' that helped buff my teammates even if it was a small amount.
I continued on until I reached the last rare pack which was a Lakers pack. The Lakers was a team that had no shortage of amazing players so I had my hopes up the most for this pack.
I took a small breath as I looked at the card of Magic Johnson and excitement ran through me. However I was quickly let down seeing that it was a skill that helped with passing accuracy which was underwhelming because I knew that Magic surely had a legendary skill regarding his court vision as he was renowned for it.
However, I quickly put away this as I got ready to open the Epic+ packs.
[1x Penny Hardaway (Epic+)]
[1x Playmaker's Pack (Epic+)]
[1x Boardmaster's Pack (Epic+)]
[1x Pickpocketer's Pack (Epic+)]
[1x Shotblocker's Pack (Epic+)]
[1x Scorer's Pack (Epic+)]
[1x Walt Frazier Pack (Epic+)]
I started with the Penny Hardaway pack and had my fingers crossed that I'd get a legendary from some of these packs.
I picked up the card to see an image of Penny Hardaway and immediately smiled upon seeing the color of the card.
[Legendary - Penny's Scoring Surge (Active) - Harnesses the scoring prowess of Penny Hardaway, unleashing a burst of offensive firepower for a limited duration.
[Condition: Can be activated once per game.]
[Effect: For 10 minutes, the user's attributes are replaced with those of Penny Hardaway at his peak, encompassing skills, footwork, scoring ability, and defensive prowess. However, the user will be limited to utilizing solely the skills and abilities characteristic of Penny Hardaway and will be unable to access any other skill sets. Note: This transformation does not alter the user's appearance, height and weight.]
[Background: Inspired by Penny Hardaway's scoring prowess and offensive dominance, Penny's Scoring Surge empowers players to emulate the explosive scoring ability of the legendary guard. Known for his versatility and scoring versatility, Hardaway could light up the scoreboard with his smooth drives, mid-range jumpers, and three-point shooting]
[Integration Requirement: Score a minimum of 20 points in a single game while recording at least 8 assists and 5 rebounds. Additionally, watch film of Penny Hardaway's gameplay for a total of 5 hours, analyzing his scoring techniques and offensive strategies]
'....'
"holy...crap" I said slowly as I read the description. This was a complete gamechanger. I'd be able to use the skillset and abilities of penny, it seems that although it doesn't affect appearance I will still be able to harness his same explosiveness.
'However, thinking about it, I realized that this would only be good 'early game' as later on when I accumulated more skills and had better stats than Penny, then it would become useless.'
Smiling at the fact I had gotten another Legendary skill, one that was very strong as well, I couldn't help but get my hopes up for the upcoming packs.
Looking at the next pack, 'Playmaker's Pack', I had high hopes for something that could help my passing and getting the ball to my teammates.
As I picked up the next card I looked and saw an image of Jason Williams. Upon looking at the rarity of the card, my face instantly morphed into a big smile.
[Legendary - On the Laces (Passive) - When passing, teammates always receive the ball on the laces, boosting shooting proficiency]
[Effect: 'On the Laces' ensures that each pass executed by the user hits its target flawlessly, landing precisely on the laces of the basketball. Additionally, the recipient of the pass gains a 10% increase in shooting accuracy for the shot immediately following the pass.]
[Background: Renowned for his flashy passing style, Jason Williams had a unique knack for delivering passes directly onto the grooves of the basketball, facilitating easier scoring opportunities for his teammates.]
[Integration Requirement: 15 days, Successfully complete 50 consecutive passes during a game without turning over the ball once]
'That's very strong' I thought. Thinking about it, with this skill even if I passed the ball to Shaq, he'd at least have a 10% shot to make it from beyond the arc, despite it being about 0.01% in reality.
'back to back Legendary skills, surely I can't make it 3 in a row...right?' I thought half jokingly.
However my expression quickly changed as I picked up the 'Boardmaster's Pack'.
[Legendary - Round Mound of Rebound (Passive) - When consuming greasy food before games, increase rebounding]
[Condition: Activated when greasy food is consumed before the game]
[Effect: Upon consuming greasy food prior to a game, the user experiences an immediate enhancement, gaining +10 to both defensive and offensive rebounding attributes for the duration of the match]
[Background: Dubbed 'The Round Mound of Rebound,' Charles Barkley earned this nickname for his exceptional rebounding skills. Barkley's pre-game ritual famously involved devouring an entire pizza box by himself before hitting the court, where he consistently outperformed opponents in grabbing rebounds]
[Integration Requirement - 14 days, Consume greasy food before at least 20 games and secure a total of 100 offensive and defensive rebounds across those games]
'LET'S GO!' I said, feeling on cloud 9 for having gotten 3 legendary skills back to back to back.
However, after I thought about this skill, I couldn't help but make a saddened expression.
'Damn...That's not gonna be easy' I lamented as I normally didn't eat much before games as I normally felt bloated from it and it usually would weigh me down. However, I was most scared by having to use the restroom when on the court. I couldn't imagine the feeling of having to take a dump in the middle of an intense game.
I continued onto the next pack still holding onto hope for more legendary skills, even though I knew that it was probably less likely.
However, as I continued to pick up the next card, upon looking at it, I almost fell over seeing another Legendary.
[Legendary - Pippen's Defensive Instinct (Passive) - Embodies Scottie Pippen's defensive brilliance, enhancing steals, blocks, and overall defensive prowess]
[Effect: Elevates the user's defensive capabilities to elite levels, mirroring Scottie Pippen's renowned defensive prowess. This skill boosts the user's ability to anticipate passes and disrupt opposing offenses, increasing steals and deflections]
[Background: Inspired by Scottie Pippen's defensive excellence, Pippen's Defensive Instinct allows users to replicate Pippen's ability to shut down opponents and make game-changing defensive plays]
[Integration Requirement: Accumulate a total of 50 steals and 50 blocks across 10 consecutive games while maintaining a defensive rating at most 110. Additionally, study film footage of Scottie Pippen's defensive performances for a minimum of 5 hours, analyzing his techniques and strategies for disrupting opponents' offenses]
"4 in a row!?" I yelled out in disbelief. I could hardly believe I had gotten 1 legendary let alone 4 legendary skills in a row.
I couldn't help but worry though that I may have used up my luck for the year.
As I read the description more in depth, I couldn't help but smile. I would definitely be needing to put this near the top of my integration list as though I was good at 1 on 1 defense, I struggled to read the defense plays as a whole.
The thing with playing at such an elite level where the best of the best basketball player resided, if I looked around for just a moment to scan my surroundings, players immediately use this to cut. Even if they may not receive the ball, I have to honor this cut which results in my eyes being taken off of the plays ran by the defense.
'Hopefully with this, I can better read defense while still being able to guard my defender.'
Though I knew that as I gained more experience this would change, this skill still helps to speed up that process.
The only difficult thing was obtaining the skill, the keyword was 'defensive rating'. In basketball, this number measures the number of points a player allows per 100 possessions they are on the court. Meaning, that the lower the number, the better.
It was good to keep in mind even Jordan had a defensive rating of 99.8 during his peak defensive abilities. Looking up online, my current defensive rating was 107, this was most likely not only from my height but also because of playing with the bench rather than the starters. I'm sure if I was playing with the starters I'd be at around the lower 100's.
I couldn't help but sigh thinking about it before moving on to my other cards.
As I moved onto the 'Shotblocker's Pack' I couldn't help but still have wishful thinking about continuing my streak of Legendary skills.
I saw the image of David Robinson, defending against a post move from another player in the low block on the front of the card.
However, upon seeing the rarity I couldn't help but be slightly disappointed, but upon further inspection I realized that this was truly a gem.
[Epic - Defensive Anchor III (Active) - Increases the user's defensive capabilities to heightened levels for a limited duration]
[Effect: When activated, for 8 minutes the user transforms into an impregnable fortress on defense. The user's density increases, adding weight without compromising speed, enhancing their ability to thwart post-ups and disrupt offensive flow]
[Integration Requirement: Achieve a minimum of 10 blocks and 10 steals in total across 3 games while maintaining a field goal percentage of at least 50%]
'Wow' I didn't expect such a good skill from an Epic, the main thing that stood out was the increase in weight without affecting speed. Like any small guard, I struggled when being posted up as I kept being pushed back. Despite lifting weights, it was extremely difficult as most players were taller and had a different center of gravity compared to me which made things even harder.
'I wonder if I could use this on offense' I pondered. If I was able to use this offensively then I could also post up using the increase in weight and it would really elevate the versatility of the skill.
I continued onto the next pack, I had high hopes for the 'Scorer's Pack' as there were many amazing scorer's through NBA history.
I took a deep breathe as I picked up the card. Upon seeing a familiar face, I nearly flipped over the table accidentally.
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A/N: What could the next card be??? Find out next chap!
I skipped some of the Rare skills as coming up with each rare skill was challenging and wouldn't really be a big part of the story so I skipped it as most of them probably won't be integrated for a while. I hope you've enjoyed the story so far!
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