Pack Opening Finale

*Sound Effects*

**Language**

'Thoughts'

"Dialogue"

(Point of View)

| Setting |

[System]

....

I took a deep breathe as I picked up the card. Upon seeing a familiar face, I nearly flipped over the table accidentally

.....

[Legendary - Mamba's Footwork (Passive) - Channels the unparalleled footwork of Kobe Bryant, elevating the user's agility and precision on the court to unmatched levels]

[Effect: Enhances the user's footwork to mirror that of Kobe Bryant's legendary moves. The user gains exceptional agility, allowing them to maneuver past defenders with fluidity and finesse. Whether executing jab steps, pivots or fadeaway jumpers, the user's movements become seamless and unpredictable]

Background: Inspired by Kobe Bryant's meticulous attention to detail and relentless pursuit of perfection, enables the user to emulate the footwork mastery that defined Bryant's illustrious career]

[Integration Requirement: Record a minimum of 50 made baskets using footwork-inspired moves throughout 5 games while shooting at least 60% from the field. Additionally, study and replicate Kobe Bryant's footwork techniques for a total of 30 hours, analyzing footage of his games and practicing his signature moves diligently]

"...that's really good...but the requirements..." I thought with a sigh.

I couldn't really complain when it probably took Kobe years and years of practice to get his footwork to such a level. If I had to guess, this skill was definitely on the higher end of the Legendary skills based on the requirements.

Footwork was crucial in basketball; every shot started from the base. If one's feet weren't set properly, then the shot would lack fluidity, which could result in a lack of power. Of course, the better one got, the more this could be bent. This is where the origins of off-balance shots come in, such as the fadeaway, which required much more skill than just a normal jump shot.

After considering all the possibilities, I continued onto my next pack, the 'Walt Frazier Pack'. I didn't know too much about Walt Frazier, so I didn't know what to expect.

As I pulled the pack, I couldn't help but think that this didn't help his case, as it was extremely underwhelming for an epic skill. I wasn't sure if it was because the skill set was very limited back when he played.

Not allowing the pack to dampen my mood, I rubbed my hands together as I got ready for the finale.

[Random Pack (Legendary+)]

Seeing as I had gotten Legendary skills from Epic+ packs, I had my hopes up for possibly getting a Mythic skill.

I attempted to calm my hopes as I pulled the card. As I looked at the card, I was lost for words...

Looking at the card, the first thing I saw was the image of Kareem on the front. It was a Legendary card, but most interesting was that it appeared to be different from the other Legendary cards. Upon further inspection, I saw 'Signature Move' on the bottom.

Turning the card around, I saw the following description:

[Legendary - Sky Hook (Active) - Unleashes Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's iconic sky hook shot, a virtually unstoppable offensive weapon]

[Effect: When activated, the user channels Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's legendary sky hook shot, executing a high-arcing hook shot with impeccable precision. The shot is nearly impossible to block and has a high probability of scoring, especially when executed near the basket]

[Cooldown: 1 minute]

[Background: The Sky Hook skill is deeply rooted in the basketball heritage of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, one of the most dominant players in the history of the sport. Abdul-Jabbar's sky hook shot became his signature move, allowing him to score over defenders with its unblockable trajectory]

[Integration Requirement: Watch and analyze at least 10 hours of footage showcasing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's sky hook shot, paying close attention to his footwork, positioning, and shooting mechanics. Additionally, successfully execute 100 hook shots during practice sessions, focusing on replicating Kareem's shooting form and mastering the technique]

'...'

'Breh... How am I supposed to use this!?' I was a point guard, and an undersized one at that. Though it says it's nearly impossible to block, I don't know if that would be the case for me.

'Maybe I really did use up all my luck,' I thought with a sigh. However, I didn't let it keep me down for long, as I had gotten some extremely good skills that I'd be needing to integrate in the future. I looked through each skill and decided on the order I'd integrate the skills.

I decided to first integrate 'Penny's Scoring Surge' as it was a quick way to get an immediate boost in my scoring abilities until I got more skills and my stats increased. I hoped that this only impacted my active skills and not my passive skills when using as then I'd lose my other boons, but I'd need to test it out more.

Following that, I'd like to integrate 'Skybound Soar' as I struggled with explosiveness and, plus, who doesn't want to be able to dunk? 

Next, I'd integrate 'On the Laces' as it helped immensely with getting my teammates active by increasing their shooting percentages after receiving a pass.

Then I'd like 'Pippen's Defensive Instinct' to increase my defensive presence, which was lacking currently.

Finally, I'd like to integrate Mamba's Footwork. The reason I didn't put it higher was because I could just use Penny's skill at the moment if I needed to get more scoring. Of course, it couldn't beat Mamba's Footwork, which was a passive that I didn't need to worry about cooldowns on. However, I was pretty sure this wouldn't just allow me to use all of Kobe's moves as it only helped with footwork, not the actual mechanics of the shot.

As of right now, my skill set revolved around my mid-range scoring; we already had a great facilitator in Tony, so I didn't need to worry so much about doing that, but rather being some additional firepower off the bench to help the starters rest for longer.

I'd integrate more of the other skills later, but as of right now, these were my top skills that I wanted to integrate.

Thinking about facing defeat against Kobe again and again, I couldn't help but smile in anticipation thinking about facing off against him once I integrated all these skills. I was sure that I might actually have a chance with it.

However, thinking about it made me feel slightly bad, almost like I was a cheater. However, I reasoned with myself, 'I need to help the team win a championship. If I didn't get these skills now, it would have been too late with how long some of these integration requirements take.'

'Plus it's not like I'm not working for the skills, I don't get them instantly, I really have to put in work in order to obtain them,' I further reasoned.

Despite brushing it off, I knew deep down I was just making excuses.

I still couldn't help but smirk thinking about the surprises that I'd bring to the league utilizing these new skills.

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A/N: Some of these skills may have been better to integrate first, but I tried to best explain the reasoning behind waiting to integrate Kobe's footwork as it would need a lot of practice to get the jump shot mechanics down despite having the base from the footwork.

From now on would yall like to see Javi opening up packs as soon as he get's them from the simulations? Or do yall like the idea of huge pack openings. Let me know your thoughts!