"Congrats, Host, for smashing the fourth-stage weight-loss challenge!
The 'Terminator Gift Pack' has been sent to your exclusive inventory. Click here to check out what's inside.
The fifth-stage weight-loss challenge is now live!
Here's what you'll score in the fifth stage: Unlock the Peak System, and your future mid-range shooting potential goes up by 3, plus your three-point potential gets a 3-point boost.
Oh, and one more thing—after you conquer the fifth stage, the system will unlock a one-time-only Model Tuner.
This bad boy can be used once the Peak System is activated. It'll gradually add 2 cm to your height and 3 cm to your wingspan over three months, all without messing with your coordination or other physical stats and potential.
It's your call whether to use the Tuner or not."
---
Seven days after the Kawa Valley Streetball Tournament wrapped up, Zack was practically buzzing with energy. He'd dropped his weight to 160 kilos and nailed the fourth-stage challenge set by the [Peak] System.
As he scrolled through the system interface, Zack noticed something different. Starting with the fifth stage, the rewards for his future potential had shifted from physical attributes to technical skills.
"To activate the Peak System, I gotta get my weight under 120 kilos," he muttered. "The system hands out a reward every 5 kilos I lose. That means I'll rack up 12 potential boosts by the time I hit the Peak System. The first four were all physical attributes, so… does that mean the next four will be technical skills?"
After some quick mental math, Zack couldn't wait any longer. He tapped open the "Terminator Gift Pack" and claimed his rewards.
"Host's paint-finishing ability has been boosted by 5.
Congrats, Host, for unlocking the [Paint Zone Tensai] and [I Am Sakuragi Hanamichi] badges! Head to the Badge Wall to check their effects."
In his past life, Zack had heard a hilarious joke about NBA 2K. Apparently, some folks thought it was ridiculous that the game gave a separate stat for finishing at the rim—something even regular people could do with near-perfect accuracy. Like, come on, how hard could it be?
Yeah, well, those people clearly didn't get basketball. Finishing in the paint in a real game? That's a legit skill, one that screams talent. Take a simple example: Wang Zhizhi might be taller than Tim Duncan, but would anyone dare say Wang's paint game was stronger than Duncan's? No way.
Basketball's brutal like that—every skill hinges on talent. Without it, you could train for a hundred years and still not hit that next level.
Zack knew his height and wingspan meant he'd likely be stuck playing inside during college. So this "Terminator Gift Pack" from the fourth-stage challenge? It was like a gift from the hoops gods, exactly what he needed right now.
Especially after he clicked over to the Badge Wall and saw what those two badges actually did.
A dizzying rush hit him, and suddenly, a virtual wall shimmered into existence in his mind. On it hung two badges: one with a paint zone design and another showing Sakuragi Hanamichi slamming home a putback dunk.
Zack stepped closer and touched each badge. A split second later, their effects popped into his head.
"[Paint Zone Tensai]: This badge slightly boosts the Host's reaction speed for spotting gaps in the defense when finishing in the paint.
Badge Level: Rookie.
Experience needed to level up to Pro: 10,000.
Note: Every paint finish in an official game adds experience toward upgrading this badge."
"[I Am Sakuragi Hanamichi]: This badge enhances the Host's ability to read the landing spot for alley-oop passes from teammates and predict the fall of offensive rebounds.
Badge Level: Rookie.
Experience needed to level up to Pro: 50,000.
Note: Every alley-oop or offensive rebound in an official game adds experience toward upgrading this badge."
After checking out his two new badges, Zack was already itching to hit the court that afternoon to test how much they'd boost his game.
"What a haul!" he grinned.
Instead of closing the system, he lingered on the fifth-stage challenge rewards. The Model Tuner? Adding 2 cm to his height and 3 cm to his wingspan without screwing up his physical attributes? That was a no-brainer.
As Sakuragi would say, "One inch taller, one inch stronger!"
Zack had measured his height and wingspan just a few days ago. Doing some quick math in his head, he murmured, "If I don't grow any more naturally, the Tuner would push me to 208 cm tall with a 228 cm wingspan."
Okay, maybe the [Peak] System had some weird obsession with perfect numbers, but who cared? Extra height and reach without losing anything? That was a slam dunk in his book.
The [Peak] System's stage rewards were like shots of adrenaline, fueling his drive to keep shedding weight.
---
That afternoon, Zack used his buddy C.J. as a sparring partner to get a feel for the [Paint Zone Tensai] badge.
"Whoa, this is wild!" he exclaimed.
It was tough to put into words. Basically, when C.J. made the right defensive move, Zack found himself reacting just a hair faster, getting his shot off before C.J. could fully counter. Sure, the massive height and weight gap between them made it hard to gauge the badge's full power, but Zack could tell he was way smoother in the paint than before.
As for the [I Am Sakuragi Hanamichi] badge? That was a whole different beast.
Unlike the hard-to-describe [Paint Zone Tensai], this badge felt like straight-up cheating. When Paul tossed him an alley-oop and the badge kicked in, a green frame appeared in Zack's vision—visible only to him. That frame marked the perfect spot to catch the ball.
After a few tries, Zack realized something insane: if he caught the ball in that green frame, his alley-oop finish was smoother than a Sakuragi slam. But if he caught it outside the frame, even if he made the finish, his body felt awkward, like he was fighting himself.
Out of caution for his knees, Zack didn't push to test the badge's alley-oop trigger rate just yet. Instead, over the next few days, he planned to run a ton of tests and maybe even build a math model to figure out the badge's trigger rate for offensive rebounds.
Because, yeah, the [I Am Sakuragi Hanamichi] badge worked for those too. When it triggered, that same green frame appeared the instant a teammate's shot went up, showing Zack exactly where the offensive rebound would land.
Heaven and earth, what kind of busted ability was this?!
To Zack, it was like having a cheat code to predict offensive rebounds. If he could level up the badge and boost its trigger rate to something reliable, he'd basically be a prophet on the boards.
Right now, Zack felt like he was holding an invincible cheat code.
"Man, being this OP can get kinda lonely," he smirked to himself on the outdoor court, channeling his inner Sakuragi.
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