Champion?

*Sound Effects*

**Language**

'Thoughts'

"Dialogue"

(Point of View)

[System]

[Congratulations for achieving the ultimate victory!]

I couldn't even form words looking at the prompt. I quickly clicked on the next window to see under my Seasonal quest that I could claim the reward. I immediately claimed the reward for the Champions pack and 1M gold.

'Thanks guys' I thought as a smile graced my face. I hesitated momentarily before opening the pack as I felt like I didn't deserve it. However, I couldn't just let go of this oppotunity when I needed to think about my family and getting better.

'I'll pay ya'll back' I thought, promising to use it to help the team go after more championships.

I looked at the pack that had a trophy in the middle just under a basketball net along with a purple background. Near the bottom of the pack, in small print it read [Guaranteed Legendary or higher] on it.

I couldn't help but smile before taking a moment and opening the pack like I was a kid opening a Christmas gift.

I was taken aback when I saw the first card because it featured an image of a shoe. The shoe was a vibrant, multi-colored sneaker with a variety of textures and hues. 'That's new' I thought as I hadn't gotten a shoe before. However, looking at the description is what really shocked me.

[Item]

[Nike Dunk Low Cowboy (Epic) - +2 to all stats when equipped]

'2 to all stats! That's amazing for me' I thought. I definitely needed to wear these when I started playing my games in the NBA. I quickly made my way to the second card.

[Consumable]

[Healing Drink (Epic) - When consumed, Injuries heal at 12x rate for 2 days]

'Another Epic, nice' I thought before thinking of saving the red colored drink for a special case. I wasn't sure if these items could only be used by me or other people, I'd have to look more into it later.

I made my way on to the next card.

[Boost]

[Lucky Clover (Epic) - When activated, Increases all pack chances by 5%]

'Yes!' I thought, this was just what I needed, with the pack percentages being so low for the higher rarities, I'd need to use this wisely. 'I should save up on my packs before opening them all at once' I thought as I made my way onto the fourth card.

The next card I saw another type I had never seen before, it had a basketball with signatures decorating it.

[Relic]

[Signed Magic Johnson Ball (Epic) - Basketball signed by Magic Johnson after winning the NBA Championship with the Los Angeles Lakers in 1987]

"I can't handle this anymore," I silently pleaded with the system. The value of something like this was uncertain, but one thing was clear—it was far from inexpensive. It could be worth tens of thousands of dollars, or perhaps even more depending on the quality.

'For now, I'll hold onto it. Money isn't a as much of an issue now, and after all, Magic Johnson is a legend,' I reasoned to myself.

I was finally on the last card, before I revealed the next card, I took a moment before I hesitantly pulled the card. I had my fingers crossed for a mythic card.

I pulled the card and I saw an image of Larry Bird and the words legendary at the top in Red. I was slightly disappointed, however only the tiniest bit since I knew that a legendary was plenty for me right now.

I turned the card around to read the information. On the back I could see a bird flying and the following description:

[Legendary - Bird's Motivation (Conditional Passive) - Increases shooting by 5 for the remainder of the game when being trash talked.]

[Condition: Only activated in response to trash talk from opponents. Can't be activated when initiating the trash talk]

[Background: Larry Bird was known for his incredible performances when confronted with trash talk from opponents. Larry Bird's ability to elevate his game and deliver outstanding shooting performances in response to taunts and challenges has become an iconic part of his legacy in the world of basketball]

[Integration Requirement - 14 days, Win 100 of any match while being trash talked without talking trash back.]

'An extra 5 to shooting! That covers mid-range, three-point, and free throws!' I exclaimed with excitement in my thoughts.

I was initially thrilled by the potential of this skill, but my excitement waned as I examined the requirements. "Could be worse," I reassured myself, thinking about how I could head to the park and grind it out over a few weeks. However, when I saw the Legendary requirements, I couldn't help but ponder what it would have taken to embody the Mamba Mentality.

Based on what I've seen so far, It's highly likely that I would have had to fulfill requirements closely related with the skill itself. When I imagined what might have been the requirements needed for the Mamba Mentality's pain resistance skill, a shiver ran down my spine.

I smiled while I pressed integrate on the Larry Bird Card. I could only assume that I could integrate one card at a time unfortunately. However, that was still enough for me. I made a note to go to the park everyday from now on when I got the chance to get the conditions fulfilled.

However, before I could close the system I noticed another feature,

[Simulation] it read.

I clicked it confusedly before reading the description.

[Play in History games to gain rewards!]

[Historic games may only be played once per week]

I closed the prompt and began scrolling through the options, and to say I was surprised would be an understatement. I could compete against players I had only seen during my childhood, all of whom had long retired, like John Stockton and even Michael Jordan. Some of the challenges involved playing the final 4 minutes of a quarter and securing victory to earn cards and gold while others were playing the entire game. A bright smile crossed my face; this would be a valuable addition to my weekly quests.

Even more exciting was the opportunity to face players I'd never have a chance to encounter in real life. The most enticing matchups were those against Michael Jordan. Now, I had the means to gauge just how exceptional Jordan was in his prime and test my skills against his legacy. Of course, it wouldn't be wise to attempt those games right away, considering how thoroughly Kobe had shit on me. I decided to start with the easier ones and clicked on a game to learn more about it.

[Game 5, 1980 NBA Finals - Los Angeles Lakers vs. Philadelphia 76ers:

Magic Johnson played center in place of the injured Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and had a triple-double, leading the Lakers to the championship.

Challenge - Win the championship in Magic's place.

Reward - Magic Johnson Card (Guaranteed Legendary or higher), 4M Gold

Difficulty - S]

"Wow," I marveled as I reviewed the list of potentially historic games I could engage in. My attention was drawn to an information symbol, prompting me to click it. To my revelation, the difficulty of these games was tailored to my current stats, meaning that as I improved, the challenge would decrease. However, there was a trade-off, as the rewards would also diminish. If I honed my stats and exceeded my current abilities, the reward would likely be no more than a rare or higher Magic Johnson card, accompanied by a reduced gold bonus.

However, the counter play was the simulation's didn't account for skills, meaning if I had some overpowered skills, I may be able to squeeze away a higher difficulty match.

Furthermore, the difficulties were categorized from the highest to the lowest as follows:

???

SSS

SS

S

A

B

C

D

E

F

with plus and minus modifiers in between. For instance, S- was considered higher than A+. It brought to mind the grading scale in high school, though with a wider range of grades.

Out of curiosity I clicked another game that featured Michael Jordan as the cover.

[Game 6, 1998 NBA Finals - Chicago Bulls vs. Utah Jazz: Michael Jordan's famous game-winning shot to secure his sixth NBA championship

Challenge - Prevent Jordan from securing his second three-peat.

Reward - Michael Jordan Card (Guaranteed Mythic or higher), 100M Gold

Difficulty - SSS+]

'Well shit...The difficulty is still so high even though he was 35 at the time?" I pondered. My eyes couldn't help but fixate on the enticing rewards, yet I was well aware that the task ahead was nearly impossible for me to conquer at the moment.

However, not all my hopes were lost as some games had a fixed reward no matter how much the difficulty went down. I decided to complete these games last and try to complete the ones that reduced the rewards first.

I exited the system mentally, ever since I had unlocked the main features with my contract, I could consciously open/close and operate the screen, however it felt weird so I mainly just used the touch feature when I wasn't in a game.

Just as I was about to close I received a prompt

[Would you like to equip the 'Champion' title?]

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 A/N: Hope you like this new feature! As the main character gets better he will be able to challenge other things as well! Let me know your thoughts and if you like the story, please consider leaving a review and dropping some stones down below.