Pack Opening I
*Sound Effects*
**Language**
'Thoughts'
"Dialogue"
(Point of View)
| Setting |
[System]
A/N: Many packs to open so it's gonna take 2-3 chapters to finish, this at least gives y'all more time to decide on potential skills you'd like to see the main character have!
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| Location: Practice Facility, San Antonio, Texas |
| Date: Tuesday Nov 29, 2005 11:58pm |
(1st person - Javi)
I had just returned to my hotel after dinner with the team. Glancing outside at the night view beside the living room, I settled onto the couch and decided to open the packs here, with the table just in front of me.
After contemplating whether to spend my gold on additional packs to open alongside my current ones, I ultimately chose to stick with the ones I'd earned through rewards. I reasoned that I should continue saving up, reserving the use of the lucky boost for later. After all, the current packs I possessed already guaranteed a certain rarity, making the lucky boost less relevant for them.
I stared at all the current packs that I had.
[1x Bulls Pack]
[1x Garry Payton (Uncommon+)]
[1x Bob Cousy (Uncommon+)]
[1x Oscar Robertson (Uncommon+)]
[1x Isiah Thomas (Uncommon+)]
[1x Jason Kidd (Rare+)]
[1x Reggie Miller (Rare+)]
[1x Yao Ming (Rare+)]
[1x Heat Pack (Rare+)]
[1x Nuggets Pack (Rare+)]
[1x Cavaliers Pack (Rare+)]
[1x Bobcats Pack (Rare+)]
[1x Bulls Pack (Rare+)]
[1x Celtics Pack (Rare+)]
[1x Wizards Pack (Rare+)]
[1x Hawks Pack (Rare+)]
[1x Rockets Pack (Rare+)]
[1x Kings Pack (Rare+)]
[1x Warriors Pack (Rare+)]
[1x Lakers Pack (Rare+)]
[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+)]
[1x Random Pack (Legendary+)]
I noted a pattern: winning my first game against a team yielded a Rare+ pack, whereas subsequent victories only yielded a random pack of that team. Additionally, I had noticed a 'Black Friday' sale in the store yesterday. With packs discounted between 10% and 35%. Assuming there might be more sales for events like Halloween or Christmas, I decided to wait to see if there was a better sale on one of those days.
I eagerly rubbed my hands together in anticipation of the potential skills awaiting me. Deciding on an orderly approach, I resolved to begin with the least promising packs and work my way up to the best ones.
With excitement coursing through me, I retrieved all the packs from my inventory and arranged them on the table, each pack distinguished by its unique color accents denoting rarity.
Starting with the Random 'Bull's Pack,' I took a deep breath before tearing it open and examining each card within.
[Item]
[Luol Deng Bulls Jersey (Common) - Normal Jersey]
[Consumable]
[Speed Drink - Can be consumed to temporarily increase speed and acceleration by 5 for 30 minutes]
'Not bad' I mused, considering the potential of the drink.
[Item]
[White Chicago Bulls T-Shirt(Common) - Normal Shirt]
"Trash," I muttered, unimpressed as I moved on.
[Chicago Bulls Socks (Common) - Normal Socks]
"More trash," I sighed, impatient to uncover the next card, which I hoped would be a skill.
My eyes widened as I beheld an image of Michael Jordan executing a layup.
[Common - Basic Layup (Active): When going for a layup, upon activation, driving layup increased by 2]
[15 second cooldown]
[Integration Requirement: Complete 100 layups on both sides of the glass]
"Damn it!" I exclaimed in frustration. "Why'd it have to do me like that?"
"It's my first active skill, at least," I resignedly acknowledged.
'huh...I wonder why there's no background for this skill...Maybe it's because it's a generic skill?' I pondered before continuing.
Determined to expedite the process, I opted to skip through the remaining items and go straight to the last card in each pack.
[Uncommon - Quick Hands I (Passive) - Slightly Improves player's ability to poke the ball away from opponents and generate steals]
[Effect: Increases steal by 3]
[Integration Requirement: 3 days, obtain 10 steals from opponents in game]
'That's not terrible...' I needed to test it out to see how good it actually was though whenever I unlocked it.
'I guess there are better variants for certain skills, seeing the 'I' at the end of the skill' I thought.
[Uncommon - Dribble Maestro I (Passive) - Slightly Improves ball handling, making it harder for defenders to steal the ball]
[Effect: Increases ball handle by 2]
[Integration Requirement: 3 days, execute 30 crossovers without committing more than 5 turnovers in game]
'Probably won't integrate these skills first, I'll probably get something much better later on with my higher packs' I thought before continuing.
[Uncommon - Mid-Range Maestro I (Passive) - Slightly improves mid-range shot]
[Effect: Increases Mid-Range Shot by 2]
[Integration Requirement: 3 days, score 20 points from mid-range within 3 games]
'Only a +2... damn these are ass," I remarked, acknowledging the limitations of lower rarity packs.
"Only one more uncommon until I reach the Rares, at least," I noted, bracing myself for the next reveal.
[Uncommon - Inspirational Leader I (Active) ]
[Condition: Can be activated by the user during timeouts or breaks in play]
[Effect: For 5 minutes, slightly increases the attributes of teammates on the floor, such as shooting accuracy, defensive prowess, and overall energy]
[Cooldown: 45 min]
[Background: Modeled after Isiah 'Zeke' Thomas's renowned leadership qualities, Inspirational Leader empowers the player to rally their teammates and elevate their performance in critical moments]
[Integration Requirement: 4 days, record at least 30 assists and lead the team to victory in 3 consecutive matches]
"Damn, that's actually really good," I marveled, recognizing its potential to directly benefit my teammates, even if it is only slightly. "I'll need to unlock this one soon."
'Hopefully I can get a better version later down the road' I thought.
'Now I really can't wait to see what I get from the next packs' I thought as I got ready to open the Rare+ packs starting with the Jason Kidd Pack.
Looking at the card I saw an image of Jason Kidd passing the ball with the following description on the back:
[Rare - Enhanced Court Vision (Passive) - Enhances court vision, allowing the player to spot open teammates more easily]
[Effect: Enhances the user's field of view and visual acuity, extending their range of sight]
[Integration Requirement: 7 days, Achieve at least 50 assists in total across 7 games]
"That's very helpful. I wonder what an increased field of view will even be like?" I pondered for a moment before continuing.
I picked up the card with an image of Reggie Miller shooting a 3-pointer. Looking at the back, I saw:
[Rare - Sniper's Touch (Active) - Increases accuracy when shooting from beyond the arc temporarily]
[Effect: Enhances user's Three-Point Shot by 5 for 5 minutes]
[Cooldown: 30 min]
[Integration Requirement: 10 days, Make at least 20 three-pointers in total across 5 consecutive matches]
"Nice, I can use this with 'Bird's Motivation' to get my 3-point shot to 92," I noted.
I grabbed the next card which had an image of Yao Ming talking at what appeared to be a press conference. Looking at the back I saw:
[Rare - Chinese Linguist (Passive) - Allows the player to fluently speak Mandarin Chinese]
[Integration Requirement: 10 day, complete at least 5 lessons in Mandarin Chinese]
"...what the..." I thought, confused. This was the first time I'd seen a skill that didn't revolve around basketball. I really hoped that wouldn't happen often, as I didn't want my chances to get a good skill to go down.
"I guess it's not all bad; being able to speak another language opens up more markets," I thought before continuing.
Finally reaching my Rare+ team packs, I eagerly began with the Heat, hoping for something amazing.
I saw an image of Alonzo Mourning in a defensive stance on the front and the following description on the back:
[Rare - Defensive Wall II (Active) - Temporarily increases the player's shot-blocking ability, making it significantly harder for opponents to score in the paint]
[Effect: Upon activation, the player gains a substantial boost to shot-blocking effectiveness for 5 minutes. This skill improves the player's timing, elevation, and positioning, allowing them to swat away shots with greater success and disrupt scoring attempts]
[Cooldown: 30 min]
[Integration Requirement: 10 day, Practice shot-blocking drills for 10 hours over the course of 7 days]
"I definitely need some good defensive skills, though my defense stat is at 80, it doesn't really correlate as much due to my height," I mused.
'I'm sure an 80 on defense was much stronger for somebody at 6'7" and above as they had more height to utilize their defense with.'
I moved on to my next rare pack, eager to see what awaited.
I saw an image of a basketball player going up for a dunk. Immediately I started smiling upon seeing the rarity of the pack. I quickly turned over the card to see the description:
[Legendary - Skybound Soar (Passive) - Elevates the player's athleticism to extraordinary heights, granting an exceptional vertical leap]
[Effect: Skybound Soar unlocks the user's full potential for high-flying athleticism, allowing them to achieve a maximum vertical leap of 48 inches when running and 44 inches when standing]
[Background: Inspired by David Thompson's legendary leaping ability, Skybound Soar empowers the player to reach unprecedented heights on the basketball court]
[Integration Requirement: 15 day, Complete workout routine of: 100 box jumps at 24 inches or higher, 100 depth jumps, 100 tuck jumps for 7 consecutive days]
"Let's go!" I yelled out in excitement as I rose from the couch and celebrated.
'I actually got a legendary from a rare pack, holy shit!' I thought.
'I guess background is only given for skills unique to a player...' I comprehended.
This was a great passive, it would be able to enhance my athleticism which would help in all areas. Not just my vertical, it will make myself more explosive in general, meaning I could use this to zoom past people.
I noticed that my first step wasn't the best so I relied on counter moves to create space which wasn't the most efficient. Now I can beat people off the dribble to create more space.
'Surely this skill has to increase my stats even though it doesn't mention it right?' I pondered.
'Wait...'
'Won't this let me dunk?'
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A/N: Damn, that's a lot of packs lol. I hope you've enjoyed the skills so far, more skills to come in the next chapter and we will even get into our Epic+ and Legendary+ packs! Let me know your thoughts so far about the story!