Abilities Stacked

Jeff Austin. After getting home, Link searched online for information about the guy. Sure enough, this Austin was indeed the superagent Link remembered!

In countless lists of the top ten agents or the top five NBA agents, Jeff Austin was always introduced first. In other words, whether people were listing the top ten or the top five agents, they always seemed to put him in last place.

Though he was always "last," there was one thing worth noting: no reporter covering the NBA's top agents could leave Jeff Austin's name off the list. That showed just how influential and well-known he was in basketball circles.

Austin represented plenty of players, including countless stars. Every year, he earned over a million dollars just from commissions—a figure that even surpassed the earnings of some NBA players.

Which "superstars" did Austin represent? The familiar Stephen Curry was one of his clients. If not for Austin, Curry might have been sent to the Grizzlies or New York in the draft. But on either of those teams, Curry might not have achieved what he did later.

Besides Curry, two of the league's top forwards, LaMarcus Aldridge and Blake Griffin, were also represented by Jeff Austin.

Of course, the biggest difference between Jeff Austin and other agents was that he was especially keen to work with international players. He might have been the agent who embraced the NBA's globalization strategy most thoroughly.

International players such as Spanish big man Marc Gasol and "British Jordan" Luol Deng had both chosen to trust Jeff Austin. And Link knew that, in the future, the "Greek Freak," Giannis Antetokounmpo, would also come to the NBA's attention thanks to Austin.

Strictly speaking, Link wasn't an international player, but he did have some of the same unusual qualities. It was no wonder Jeff Austin had been so eager to get in touch.

As a time traveler, Link naturally knew which agents were famous and which weren't. But choosing Carl Jones had been a move of desperation. After all, no famous agent had thought he was worth representing at the time.

In Link's imagination, Carl Jones would help him establish himself in the NBA, while Link would take Carl from obscurity to worldwide fame. It would be like the story of Rich Paul meeting LeBron James at an airport, setting the two of them on their path through the NBA.

But reality had slapped Link hard across the face. His fantasy had been far too naive and rosy.

Things were different now. A genuinely famous agent had come knocking. As a superagent earning a million dollars a year, Jeff Austin couldn't possibly care about the money Link's ten-day contract might bring him, nor would he send Link to low-end commercial events.

The only thing Austin might be interested in was the vast Chinese market behind Link. But to fully tap into that market, Jeff Austin would have to help Link establish himself in the NBA.

After his experience with Carl Jones, Link now thought things through far more carefully. Even after analyzing all the advantages of working with Jeff Austin, he didn't rush into a decision.

The world of professional basketball was vicious. Nobody offered you an olive branch for no reason. If he wanted to survive in that brutal world of basketball, he'd better be cautious.

And more important to Link right now than signing with an agent was the little white bar he'd been trying to fill. It was almost full.

※※※

Hard work had always been Link's calling card. So when Conner walked into the training gym early in the morning and saw Link already working out, he wasn't surprised.

But Conner didn't know that the reason Link was pushing himself so hard wasn't just the NBA.

Link glanced at the progress bar. As long as he finished today's workout, it would be full. The abilities of Grant Hill from the 2009–10 season were about to be injected into Link's body.

As a die-hard Grant Hill fan, Link knew that there wasn't much difference between Hill in the 2009–10 season and Hill in 2010–11. He was in the twilight of his career in both seasons; at most, he'd been a little tougher in 2009–10 when it came to physical play.

After all, Grant Hill had made the playoffs in the 2009–10 season.

Though the difference wasn't great, Link still wanted to level up as soon as possible. Only after leveling up to Hill's 2009–10 abilities could he possibly advance further and gain Grant Hill's 2008–09 abilities.

So what made Grant Hill's 2008–09 season special?

That year, Hill played all 82 games of the regular season for the first time in his career. It was arguably the healthiest his body had been since his major injury. That year, Hill shot 52.3 percent, the highest percentage among all guards and small forwards in the league.

Hill's shooting was incredibly consistent that season. More importantly, his athleticism hadn't completely declined yet.

He could soar in for a huge block, throw down a dunk over a defender, and blow past people with a crossover.

If Link got another chance to enter the NBA, he definitely didn't want to play another ten-day stint and then come back. He wanted to stay in that super league and sign a guaranteed contract. And if he could get the shooting consistency and improved athleticism of Grant Hill from the 2008–09 season, Link believed it wouldn't be hard to establish himself in the NBA.

After all, several teams, including the Lakers, had fought over Grant Hill on the free-agent market that year. In the end, Hill chose to stay in Phoenix. Link wasn't expecting teams to fight over him; he just wanted to make the roster.

Thinking about all this gave Link more and more energy as he trained. And leveling up faster would also help him find out sooner whether his abilities stacked or simply changed.

If he trained until he had a reliable shot, would he still keep that shooting ability after gaining the abilities of a younger Hill?

As the little white bar gradually filled, Link felt he was getting closer and closer to the answer.

※※※

"Link, I'm heading out. You should go home early today, too. Be careful on your way."

Jon Brockman waved to Link, then closed the training gym door. That left Link alone inside the Blue Team's training facility.

Ever since Upshaw died, Link and Brockman had put their differences aside. They'd gone from being rivals to becoming good partners who supported each other.

Link could help Brockman finish plays on the court, while Brockman could watch Link's back.

Aside from Link's 52 points in their previous game against the Vipers, Brockman's 16 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 blocks had also been impressive. Two of his three blocks had come from helping Link on defense. Even Conner found how quickly they'd developed chemistry astonishing.

Brockman had stayed late to practice with Link that day, too. But by seven in the evening, he just couldn't keep going. So now Link was alone in the gym.

After waving goodbye to Brockman, Link glanced at his phone. He'd been about to call Jeff Austin, but then he reconsidered. He had to maintain the initiative in this matter; he couldn't come across as desperate for Austin.

So Link put down his phone, picked up a basketball, and kept practicing.

As the minutes passed, the little white bar before Link's eyes gradually filled. Half an hour later, he finally filled the last sliver of the progress bar.

The moment the bar filled, Link felt a warm current flow through his whole body. It lasted only a few seconds, but the sensation was intense.

Once that warm current merged with Link's blood and settled, a short line of text appeared before his eyes.

"Grant Hill's 2009–10 abilities have stacked."

After those simple words, another empty progress bar appeared. The description on it was just as simple: "Grant Hill's 2008–09 abilities."

Link sighed. The system he'd gotten was so crude, nothing like the systems he'd read about in novels.

Then Link picked up the ball again and took a few shots. He didn't notice any obvious difference. The only thing that felt different was that his body seemed lighter on its feet. After all, he'd gotten "younger" by a year.

Link scratched his head and thought carefully about the words that had just appeared before him.

Grant Hill's 2009–10 abilities have stacked.

"Wait!?" Link suddenly widened his eyes and looked down at his hands.

The abilities had stacked. Stacked. Stack... stack!