Chapter 842: The Heart of a King
For Lu Ke, the football field has always held a special feeling.
Because this is the players' battlefield, where all the joy and sorrow, all the ups and downs, all the victories and losses are born. The miracles and glory are scattered in the grass roots and soil of the field, and the sadness and bitterness are hidden in every corner of the field. If you calm down and listen, you can hear the whispers left behind in the river of time.
Lambeau Field, Rose Bowl Stadium, Candlestick Park... All these stadiums are unique and irreplaceable to Lu Ke. And so is University of Phoenix Stadium.
It was here that he truly witnessed the cruelty of competitive sports and the sharpness of North American society. It was here that he truly established his unyielding and resilient playing style of facing challenges head-on. And it was also here that he truly earned his place on the NFL professional stage.
Every time he stepped onto this field, he was filled with endless motivation and passion, giving one hundred percent of his competitive spirit, giving his all and holding nothing back to face his opponents and rush toward victory. This was his response to this field.
The most direct and effective proof was that in this game, the "state" stat on Lu Ke's personal attribute panel reached 97%, infinitely close to a perfect 100%. In other words, Lu Ke had used almost all the weapons he had to their fullest extent, dominating the entire game with the most powerful and focused state.
Now, it was time to enjoy the moment.
He opened his arms, and all the noise, the jeers, the boos... all the anger, the contempt, the mockery... everything disappeared completely. This silence was deeply imprinted on University of Phoenix Stadium. It was so beautiful and so touching that every cell in his body began to cheer.
"Ding."
A mission notification sounded in his mind. It was especially clear and pleasant in the silent environment, which made Lu Ke a little stunned. The game was over, and the game mission and special mission had been completed, so why was there still a mission notification?
What was going on?
Lu Ke was originally going to go back to the locker room to check the mission results, but now that he encountered an unprecedented situation, he summoned the system out of curiosity and opened the mission page again. Sure enough, he saw a red dot for a new mission notification.
"Hidden Mission: Forge the Heart of a King.
Mission Description: In Week 8 of the regular season, the San Francisco 49ers defeated the Arizona Cardinals on the road, creating the largest margin of victory in the team's history and successfully shutting out their opponent, achieving a season-long eight-game winning streak.
First, the team, which is currently on a continuous winning streak, is undergoing a severe test. As the season progresses, their physical and mental strength will be further challenged. Feelings of complacency and arrogance have begun to quietly grow, and conflicts among players have also begun to surface. When the pressure to win outweighs the motivation to win, the state of the team will fluctuate greatly, and the difficulty of winning will also rise, or even double.
Only a true king can stick to his beliefs and lead the team step by step toward victory. The difference between an excellent quarterback and an elite quarterback is not in the number of Super Bowl rings or the number of wins in the regular season, but in the influence of a leader.
Second, the team, which has been completely transformed in just two seasons, is now at a time of fundamental change. The cheers and shouts of the fans are only a manifestation of their passion, but they are also looking forward to something more, a belief, a belief in victory, in a championship, and in the team.
Just like Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Drew Brees, and Aaron Rodgers, as long as they are on the field, the team is a winning team and has the potential to make a run for the Super Bowl. This belief is the key to the transition from a strong player to a king.
So, does the host have this heart of a king to lead the San Francisco 49ers back to glory?"
Undoubtedly, this was the longest, most important, and most passionate mission description Lu Ke had received since he got the Superstar Football System. Even just reading it once made his blood boil. The fighting spirit hidden in his bones couldn't help but rise, truly awakening the heart of a king deep within his soul.
If Lu Ke remembered correctly, this should be a series of missions.
In Week 5 of the regular season last year against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, that was the first step in the series, "Gather the Heart of Candlestick Park." In Week 15 of the regular season last year against the Pittsburgh Steelers, that was the second step in the series, "Light the Heart of San Francisco." Now he had come to the third part of the series, "Forge the Heart of a King," taking one step at a time through repeated tests to truly transform into a top-tier king.
The mission description was the best explanation. As long as this player was on the field, the team would become a strong contender for the Super Bowl. This was a belief that came from the players and the team, as well as from their opponents and professionals. Just like Michael Jordan and King Pelé, their existence itself was the biggest motivation to win a championship.
And in a football game, the only player who has this ability, this courage, and this belief is the quarterback.
Lu Ke had no idea that he would actually trigger such a mission now, but that was not all.
"Mission Requirements: Win all divisional games this season; choose one of the following: be the regular season passing yard leader, passing touchdown leader, or MVP; have a quarterback rating of over 105.0 this season; make it to the Super Bowl for the first time this season.
Mission Rewards: Three golden points; Comprehensive Training Pack +1; Growth Pack +1.
Failure Penalty: None. This is a passive trigger mission.
Mission Status: In Progress."
When his eyes fell on the last line, Lu Ke immediately understood. Instead of a hidden mission, it was a goal mission.
In the past, when a hidden mission appeared, it was already completed, and the system would only give a notification. He would have no feeling if he missed it. Today, the hidden mission appeared in an uncompleted state, setting a long-term goal that was incredibly difficult for the season.
There were still four divisional games this season: a road game against the Seattle Seahawks, which was a challenge on a "devil's home field;" a home game against the Arizona Cardinals, which was a revenge for their home loss last year; and two games against the St. Louis Rams, who were still undefeated in divisional games this season.
In short, every game was a tough battle.
As for being the regular season passing yard leader, passing touchdown leader, or MVP, any of these options would be a monumental task for a second-year quarterback. Thinking back to the fierce competition among the three elite quarterbacks last year, this year would definitely not be easy.
Even if he only had to choose one out of three.
But on the other hand, the good news was that he only needed to choose one out of three. And the biggest challenge was not "winning" the Super Bowl, but "getting into" the Super Bowl. This still left some leeway for a second-year quarterback.
But if he thought about it more seriously, Lu Ke wasn't sure if this was good news anymore. He didn't want to get to the Super Bowl only to lose the game and be a supporting character. If he made it to the Super Bowl, then victory was the only goal.
Regardless, the fact that the "Forge the Heart of a King" hidden mission appeared so early in his second professional season was the best recognition of Lu Ke's outstanding performance in this game. Perhaps this season was the best opportunity.
After confirming this, Lu Ke began to look forward to it. Since he was already on the field, since he had already achieved an eight-game winning streak, since he had already started this journey, and since he had already triggered the hidden mission, then... why not go a step further? Just like in "Inception:"
Darling, if you're going to dream, dream big.
Lu Ke clenched his fist hard and then quickly calmed down. Since he had already opened the system, he might as well check his gains from the game.
In the last game against the Seattle Seahawks, the game mission and special missions yielded a total of eleven basic points and three special points.
In this game against the Arizona Cardinals, the game mission and special missions yielded a total of ten basic points and two special skills.
After tallying everything, the two special skills were one "Bullet Time" and one "Absolute Stride." These were important additions for the upcoming games. To complete the hidden "goal" mission that just appeared, Lu Ke had to be ready at all times to deal with all potential surprises. Then, as usual, he exchanged the three special points for basic points.
In this way, Lu Ke now had a total of thirty basic points.
First, his passing skills were fully upgraded.
Tactical Area Accuracy increased by four points, reaching 99.
Wrist Control increased by three points, reaching 99.
Passing While Running increased by eight points, reaching 85.
Running with the Ball increased by two points, reaching 83.
Second, his physical attributes were further improved.
Strength increased by four points, reaching 85. As a result, his Throwing Strength automatically increased by one point, reaching 86.
Explosiveness increased by five points, reaching 85. As a result, his Acceleration automatically increased by one point, reaching 71.
Mental Stamina increased by four points, reaching 99. As a result, his Willpower automatically increased by one point, reaching 92.
As a traditional passing quarterback, Lu Ke was now slowly improving his professional skills. Now, two more skills had reached the max score.
But at the same time, Lu Ke was also slowly improving his pocket running ability, including skills like passing while running and running with the ball. Although Lu Ke was still not used to leaving the pocket and wouldn't prioritize it in his mind, he needed to distract the defense to enrich the West Coast offense, especially when the receiving corps' performance was fluctuating.
Could this be considered... becoming more well-rounded?
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