Chapter 399: Astonishing Gains

Strength: 64, plus one point.

Throwing Power: 81, plus one point.

Explosiveness: 72, plus one point.

That was everything. After completing all the daily training tasks for the second four-week cycle, his physical attributes had improved by that much. Adding the one-point increase to his Spiritual Quality, he had gained a total of four basic points, exactly half the increase from the first cycle.

The downward trend was quite clear, but Lu Ke wasn’t surprised in the least.

Six months of training before had only yielded one or two points. Now, just four weeks of intensive training resulted in visible improvement. Lu Ke was already quite satisfied with these results.

As long as he persevered, he wouldn’t stop moving forward. It was a stark contrast to high school and college, where he had hit a ceiling and couldn’t see any improvement no matter how hard he trained. Compared to that frustrating and stifling feeling, his current situation couldn’t be better.

He gave the daily training tasks a quick browse. The individual items had some minor changes, but the overall trend remained the same. This meant he had to continue his strength training. Even with the system, two short months of strength training were obviously not enough to completely transform Lu Ke’s physique.

So, he would continue with the strength training. And with the playbook and game film.

Time. That was what Lu Ke was shortest on. Fortunately, with his basic enhancement, he gained an extra four hours to watch game film, which was barely enough to keep up with the grueling pace of the regular season.

On the path to becoming a top quarterback, Lu Ke needed to be more focused, work harder, and fight with everything he had. It was like rowing a boat against the current; if you don’t advance, you fall behind.

Over the past four weeks, Lu Ke had completed two more cycles of daily training tasks, earning two basic points.

In the past two games, there were no special or hidden missions. The objective missions still required more time to accumulate and weren’t ready to be settled yet. That left only the game missions.

In Week 8 of the regular season, against the Cleveland Browns, Lu Ke threw four touchdowns. Including other missions, he earned a total of nine basic points.

In Week 9 of the regular season, against the Washington Redskins, he threw three touchdowns. Including other missions, he earned a total of eight basic points.

As expected, winning was still the best way to accumulate basic points and continuously improve his strength. After clearing all the missions, Lu Ke had collected a grand total of nineteen basic points.

Nineteen basic points. Lu Ke was already seriously considering how to allocate them. If used well, they could once again trigger a qualitative leap in his abilities, which would undoubtedly boost his confidence for the upcoming game against the New York Giants.

DING. A notification sound echoed in his mind, interrupting Lu Ke’s thoughts. He didn’t panic. Instead, he habitually opened his inbox, saw the unread message, and tapped it open to read carefully.

“Congratulations on completing the Hidden Mission: Break the regular season rookie quarterback passing touchdown record.”

Lu Ke’s eyebrow twitched in surprise. He hadn’t realized that he had unknowingly broken another Alliance record.

The last time, reporters had reminded Lu Ke that he was close to breaking one of Kurt Warner’s records: fourteen touchdown passes in the first four games of the season. In the end, Lu Ke unfortunately didn’t break the record. He only managed to tie it, and they lost to the Philadelphia Eagles.

This time, however, the reporters hadn’t given him any warning at all. ‘Could it be… even they didn’t see this coming?’

“Hidden Mission: Break Peyton Manning’s historical record.

Mission Description: Future Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning of the NFL set an Alliance record during his rookie season by scoring twenty-six touchdowns. To this day, no other rookie quarterback has been able to break it, leaving his mark on the history books.

Mission Requirement: Tie or break Peyton Manning’s record.

Mission Reward: Choose one of two: Unlock the Hidden Attribute ‘Luck’ and add five special points; or, an upgraded Point Lottery Ticket.

Failure Penalty: None. This is a passively triggered mission.

Additional Note: As the host triggered and completed this Hidden Mission ahead of schedule, completely rewriting Alliance history, the mission reward is doubled. Unlocking the Hidden Attribute ‘Luck’ and adding eight special points; simultaneously, you will receive one upgraded Point Lottery Ticket.”

For a moment, it was a lot of information to take in. Lu Ke needed a second to process it all.

A famous saying once circulated throughout the Alliance: “When a rookie quarterback stands on the field, he doesn’t do anything but panic and look around. I don’t pray for him to execute the play, I just pray he doesn’t fumble or throw an interception—but that’s obviously wishful thinking. So, why would anyone ever want to send a creature like a rookie quarterback out there?”

It was a famous saying, but also a joke. Still, it revealed the Alliance’s general opinion of rookie quarterbacks.

This wasn’t prejudice, but fact. Faced with a massive playbook and a complex game, rookie quarterbacks often struggle to keep up with the pace of the game, stumbling along the way. Their first year is for paying their dues, whether they’re on the field or on the sidelines as a backup.

The rookie quarterbacks who have had outstanding debut seasons either had a dominant, Alliance-leading steel Defense Team like Ben Roethlisberger, or they had a brain that could master the entire playbook like Peyton Manning. Otherwise, they ended up like this year’s Cam Newton—undeniably talented and often spectacular, but ultimately unable to lead his team to victory.

Currently, almost all the Alliance’s rookie quarterback records were held by Big Ben and Big Manning.

Best rookie season completion percentage (66.4%) and best rookie season quarterback rating (98.1) were Big Ben’s records. The rookie season passing yards record (3,739 yards) and touchdown record (26) belonged to Big Manning.

In the long annals of history, Big Manning threw twenty-six touchdowns in his 1998 rookie season, a record that topped the list and has remained unbroken—unapproached, even—to this day.

In 1948, New York Giants legend Charlie Connelly threw twenty-two touchdowns in his rookie season, placing him second on the all-time list.

In 1983, Miami Dolphins Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Marino threw twenty touchdowns in his rookie season, ranking third all-time.

And that was it. Those were the best touchdown performances by rookie quarterbacks in their debut seasons.

So, you couldn’t blame the coaches and experts for being harsh and skeptical of rookie quarterbacks. Even if a rookie performed exceptionally for a few games, it was often impossible to maintain that form consistently and lead a team to a better record from start to finish.

As for the touchdown record for veteran quarterbacks, that was on another level entirely. The current regular season passing touchdown record was held by Tom Brady, who threw a staggering fifty touchdowns during his undefeated 2007 season, leaving everyone else in the dust. The gap between rookies and veterans was plain to see.

And now, there was Lu Ke.

After nine weeks of the regular season—one of which was a bye week—Lu Ke’s touchdown total had already reached twenty-eight. His hot streak was simply dumbfounding. Not even halfway through the season, Lu Ke had officially broken Big Manning’s rookie season touchdown record. What’s more, if he could maintain this form in the second half, he even had a chance to challenge Brady’s single-season touchdown record.

Twenty-eight. A full twenty-eight touchdowns.

It was so shocking and unexpected precisely because the rookie touchdown record had been gathering dust for so many years. It had been twenty-eight years since a rookie had even surpassed twenty touchdowns, let alone challenged Big Manning’s record. Consequently, not a single reporter or staff member had noticed.

Even the Alliance office missed it, a beat behind the action. They didn’t formally announce the news until the official media day on Wednesday, belatedly sending another tsunami of shockwaves through the entire Alliance. Of course, that’s a story for another time.

Even Lu Ke himself was completely stunned.

Judging by the system’s mission reward and the additional note, Lu Ke’s reaction was perfectly normal. In just nine weeks, he had successfully surpassed a milestone that other rookies couldn’t reach in a full seventeen-game season. It had to be said, Lu Ke had truly been firing on all cylinders for the first half of the season.

Lu Ke could only spread his hands in a gesture of helplessness. As an undrafted rookie, he was constantly on the edge of a cliff, on pins and needles every moment. Every second on the field, he was firing on all cylinders and giving it his all, holding nothing back. He hadn’t expected this result himself.

Now, Lu Ke was more worried about something else: what if, after such a ferocious first half of the season, his performance suddenly fizzled out in the second half?

‘Double the training. What else is there to do?’

The aftershocks of surprise and shock lingered for a while before he finally calmed down. His gaze fell back to the mission reward. Because he had completed the mission ahead of schedule and exceeded its requirements, the reward was doubled. This meant he didn’t have to choose between the two options; he got both. He could not only officially unlock the ‘Luck’ Hidden Attribute but also receive a Point Lottery Ticket.

Having been through a Hidden Mission before, Lu Ke was familiar with the process. Without hesitation, he expertly opened the upgraded Point Lottery Ticket first.

“Congratulations. You have opened the Point Lottery Ticket and won: eight basic points and one special point.”

‘Looks like my luck is just average today. Or maybe I used it all up on the Hidden Mission.’ It made sense when he thought about it. An undrafted rookie breaking Big Manning’s record in just nine weeks must have taken every ounce of cosmic power he had. Naturally, the reward from the Point Lottery Ticket was a bit lackluster.

‘Can’t be too greedy.’

Lu Ke immediately adjusted his mindset and shifted his gaze to the newly unlocked Hidden Attribute.