"System on."
Oliver tried to shout.
"Ding! Basketball Superstar System activated. What does the host want to do?"
With a familiar electronic sound, the system interface suddenly appeared in front of Oliver.
After all, it was just activated during the game today, and now he finally had time to study it carefully.
What came into view was a sleek black interface with a 3D model of Oliver on the left and basic character attributes such as "Strength" and "Speed" listed beside it.
On the right side was the folded taskbar. With a simple thought, Oliver expanded it.
"Current Main Mission: Win the Japanese High School National League Championship! (Unfinished)"
"Current Stage Mission: Join Shohoku High School! (Unfinished)"
"Current Random Task: None"
Oliver tapped his chin in thought as he scanned the tasks.
He recalled that during the game against Kaede Rukawa, he had completed several hidden tasks. It seemed there were four types of tasks within the system.
Main Quests represented long-term objectives, like winning a championship—challenging to accomplish but extremely rewarding.
Stage Missions were important objectives in the current phase, such as joining a high school team or winning a school game.
Random Tasks were temporary missions triggered by behavior or specific conditions—similar to dynamic events in a video game.
And finally, Hidden Tasks, which rewarded unexpected excellence, akin to unlocking a secret achievement.
If he wanted to grow stronger through the system, Oliver realized he needed to keep completing tasks. While main and stage tasks wouldn't change often, Random Tasks seemed to be the key to rapid progress.
Then something caught his eye. The skill bar at the top right corner was blinking.
Curious, Oliver clicked on it.
The interface changed, displaying four glowing orbs—his currently learned skills—spinning around a larger, golden orb in the center.
"Nice UI," Oliver commented.
He tapped the glowing golden orb.
"Legendary Skill: Turnaround Jump Shot"
"Skill Description: Kobe Bryant's signature move, relying on strong core strength to maintain balance during a fadeaway, and excellent touch and coordination to land the shot accurately."
"Requirements: 'Bounce' and 'Hit' attributes must both reach 'Excellent'"
"Cooldown: None"
Oliver had obtained this skill by spending 500 achievement points, but he couldn't use it yet. His current stats didn't meet the requirements.
Next, he clicked on the brightest of the four smaller orbs—"Sonic Dash."
"Skill: Sonic Dash"
"Grade: Common"
"Description: Allows the user to perform a sprint beyond physical limits at the cost of extreme stamina consumption."
"Cooldown: None"
"Proficiency: 4 Stars"
"Proficiency? And grade? What do those mean?" Oliver muttered.
"Ding! Repeated use of a skill increases its proficiency. When a skill reaches 10 stars, it becomes eligible for evolution."
The system elaborated in its mechanical tone.
"Skills are categorized as Common, Rare, Epic, and Legendary. Upon reaching max proficiency, a skill can be evolved into a higher-grade version and customized along different enhancement paths."
"Please note: The host may equip only one Legendary skill and four additional skills of any other grade."
"So... if I get a new skill, do I have to delete an old one?"
"You may swap an equipped skill for another from your library. Skills are never deleted. Proficiency is preserved. However, skills cannot be swapped during a game."
"Got it."
Oliver rubbed his chin.
It was like a turn-based strategy game. He would need to choose skills before each game based on his opponent and objectives.
He examined the other orbs.
"Accurate Shooter," "Magic Pass," and "Quick Recovery." All were Common-level, with 3-star, 3-star, and 1-star proficiencies respectively.
For now, these would do.
Oliver exited the system interface and lay back on his bed.
Tomorrow was graduation day. He'd played two intense games, and his body was sore.
Before long, he fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.
...
"Beep, beep, beep—click."
The next morning, the alarm woke him up at 8 a.m.
Oliver yawned, slapped the snooze button, and dragged himself out of bed.
Today, he was officially graduating from Wako Junior High School.
"Good morning."
"Good morning, brother!"
Oliver trudged out of his room, still half-asleep. In the kitchen, Chika was already busy. The aroma of fried eggs, crispy toast, and hot milk greeted him.
"Looks amazing..."
After washing up, Oliver sat at the table and began devouring his breakfast.
"Slow down, no one's stealing your food," Chika pouted, sipping her milk slowly.
"I know, I know. But it's just too good! My hands can't help themselves."
"Hehe, really? Here, have my egg too!"
Chika pushed her plate over. Oliver didn't argue and scarfed it down. Despite her age, Chika's cooking was top-tier, heavily influenced by her gourmet father.
"Brother, I have school today so I can't attend your ceremony. I'll come see you afterward."
"Sure thing. I'll probably be on the playground training."
"Okay!"
After the meal, Oliver put on his school uniform and left for Wako Junior High.
The school was a short 15-minute walk away. As he neared the gate, he noticed a small group of delinquents clustered around a familiar redhead.
"Wait... that redhead..."
Oliver squinted.
"Isn't that Sakuragi Hanamichi!?"
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