Chapter 744: A Boost in Ability
The "Form" attribute was officially unlocked, but its specific function remained completely unknown, creating both pressure and motivation.
However, Little Seven mentioned something else.
Because Lu Ke's ability hadn't yet reached the top level—he was far from being a master—today's game was the most direct proof. Aaron Rodgers on the other side almost single-handedly kept the game close until the end without ever giving up. Lu Ke, on the other hand, had to rely on the strong support of his teammates, bringing out all their weapons, to win the game by just three points.
Therefore, the system would offer corresponding skills in the future, similar to the "Amplification Aura" or "Overwhelming Surge," to temporarily boost his form and help Lu Ke gain further control of the game and grow quickly.
However, in Lu Ke's view, the true meaning of the "Form" attribute wasn't to temporarily unleash more power through special skills to reverse a game. It was to learn to adjust his own game state through real-time monitoring during the game, completing the match in the most effortless and efficient way possible.
But he didn't have a clear idea of how to execute this yet. He would have to test it out in games.
After confirming all the details related to the "Form" attribute, Lu Ke began to tally up all his gains from today: 11 basic points, 3 special points, and one designated special skill.
First, the designated special skill.
Between "Hawk-Eye" and "Absolute Footwork," Lu Ke hesitated for a moment but finally chose the latter.
On one hand, footwork was indeed Lu Ke's weakness. The practicality and effect of "Absolute Footwork" were clearer and more direct. Although it was the most basic skill, it was also the skill Lu Ke used best at the moment.
On the other hand, he had used the skill twice in today's game. Now both "Absolute Footwork" and "Hawk-Eye" had two uses left, but in terms of usage frequency, the former needed to be replenished.
So, the number of uses for "Absolute Footwork" went back to three.
Next, the special points.
Without any hesitation, Lu Ke used the points exchange system to convert the three special points into nine basic points.
Among the current hidden attributes, "Luck," "Pre-judgment," "Charisma," and "Aura" were all in a state where adding points wasn't urgent. They could affect the depth of the game's quality, increasing the chances of winning in minor details, but only if Lu Ke's various skill attributes could raise the baseline of the game's quality.
So, this wasn't a very difficult math problem.
Finally, the basic points, a total of 20.
Lu Ke wasn't in a hurry. He carefully thought about his plan. He could spread the points out, giving a little to several different sub-items. He could also concentrate his points on one major item, delivering a thunderous blow and making a breakthrough in one go. Both methods had their pros and cons.
After careful consideration, his eyes fell on Left-Side Awareness, Right-Side Awareness, and Play-Action.
A game is always the best mirror for daily training. Strengths and weaknesses are laid bare, with no way to hide or ignore them. At the same time, this shows professional athletes the direction they need to work on in their daily training, to strengthen their strengths and make up for their weaknesses.
Training can never replace a real game. The game atmosphere, the intensity of the confrontation, the level of commitment, and the emotional state are all completely different things. And the playoffs are different from the regular season, just as the Super Bowl is in a different league from other games. It's all the same principle.
Today's game was the best test of the past six months of offseason training.
On one hand, his Left-Side Awareness and Right-Side Awareness were still too slow. If it weren't for Joe Staley's incredible performance, who blocked Clay Matthews's charges several times, the game's process and final result might have been different. Whether Staley could maintain his form today and work with Anthony Davis to protect Lu Ke's blind side would be a major highlight of this season.
On the other hand, his Play-Action was still too clumsy. He chose to use play-action at critical moments at least three times in the game, but only one of them achieved the expected 100% deception. This wasn't just about distracting the defense; it was an essential element for enriching his tactical playbook.
Clearly, this game exposed flaws, and compared to other sub-items, these three were the ones that needed to be addressed most urgently.
So, how should he allocate the points?
After thinking for a moment, Lu Ke made a decisive choice.
Twenty basic points, not too many, not too few.
If he were to spread the points out, Left-Side Awareness, Right-Side Awareness, and Play-Action would all get a small boost, but it wouldn't bring about any real fundamental change. But if he were to concentrate all of them on one sub-item, the impact would be incredibly obvious, completing a true transformation.
Lu Ke chose Play-Action.
Having learned from his physical experiences last year, Lu Ke didn't recklessly stack all the points at once. Instead, he split them into four stages to complete all the additions.
Lu Ke only felt a faint warmth flowing through his limbs and chest. It wasn't intense, like he was in a hot spring. The temperature was just right. He could vaguely feel that the ice in the tub was melting faster than before, but that was it. The upgrade was completed without any issues.
So, 60 became 80.
This was, without a doubt, a huge leap.
For a long time, Play-Action had been one of Lu Ke's worst technical sub-items, and to some extent, it had limited Lu Ke's tactical variations and strategies. After a long period of training and accumulation, he had finally made a breakthrough, climbing two levels. This wasn't just a quantitative change but a sea change. It had become another 80-point sub-item.
More importantly, Play-Action was not just a technique but also a tactic, which was undoubtedly a significant boost to Lu Ke's offensive ability.
In every aspect, being a sophomore was indeed different.
Everything was becoming more and more familiar and easier. After a season of exploration and accumulation, the first point allocation of the new season was much simpler and faster. In the blink of an eye, he had completed all the point allocation and could now fully enjoy the joy of this victory before the next game.
Time to relax!
With the end of Monday Night Football, the first week of the 2012 regular season came to a close.
Although the pre-game discussions had focused on two specific matchups, there was, in fact, a lot of exciting content this week. There were countless highlights and hot topics, which made people look forward to the new season. All signs pointed to this being an exciting year.
First, the two highly anticipated games did not disappoint, with both sides delivering brilliant matchups.
The San Francisco 49ers' road game against the Green Bay Packers ended with a victory for sophomore Lu Ke. This electrifying offensive battle sparked countless discussions, and both the league and the audience voted it the best game of the week. Following last season's NFC Divisional Round, Lu Ke once again received a lot of attention.
If there were any NFL fans who hadn't heard of the name "Lu Ke Skywalker" by now, they weren't worthy of being called a football fan.
That was Lu Ke's reputation now.
The Denver Broncos hosted the Pittsburgh Steelers. In last season's Wild Card game, the Tim Tebow-led Broncos created an incredible miracle, defeating Ben Roethlisberger's Steelers to advance to the Divisional Round. This season's rematch had even more to look forward to, except that this time, the starting quarterback was no longer Tebow.
Peyton Manning, who returned after a year-long injury, showed excellent form. He not only got his 400th career passing touchdown but also had two passing touchdowns in the game, leading the Denver Broncos to a dominant 31-19 victory over the visiting Steelers.
Although the Steelers were not in their best form, which affected the quality of the game, Manning's excellent performance successfully captured all the attention of the entire league. The front pages of the NFL, ESPN, Fox, Sports Illustrated, and other major websites officially declared:
"Peyton Manning is back!"
He completed 19 of 26 passes for 253 yards, with two passing touchdowns and no interceptions, for a quarterback rating of 129.2 and a PFF grade of 1.8.
Amid countless doubts and speculations, amid countless dismissals and regrets, the returning Manning delivered a perfect performance.
His rating even surpassed the ones from the close contest between Lu Ke and Rodgers this week, making him the highest-rated quarterback of the week. This was truly eye-opening for everyone. More importantly, in his reading and control of the game and his tactical planning and execution, Manning once again showed the style of a master. An elite quarterback was still an elite quarterback.
This was only Manning's first game back on the field!
The entire league was astonished. Some commentators even cried out in disbelief, "Manning's form is even better now than before his injury!" Although he still had to be tested throughout the season, his performance in Week 1 of the regular season truly showed a commanding presence.
So, did the Indianapolis Colts regret their decision?
The answer was no. At least not for now.
This brings us to the second highlight of the week: the eye-catching performance of the 2012 rookie quarterbacks!
After 2011 was called the year of the quarterback, this year's rookie quarterbacks continued to create a youth storm in the league for the second consecutive year, taking the stage in Week 1 of the regular season!
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