Li Wei watched Travis's confident expression and took an indifferent bite of the flour-heavy fried chicken.
Damn, it feels like half of this is breadcrumbs! Li Wei grumbled to himself, then quickly swallowed the chicken.
"Trust me, I played in an amateur youth league in Brooklyn," Travis said in a low voice, pointing toward the area of the cafeteria where the loudest, most energetic athletes were gathered. "Those guys are all assholes. They like picking on rookies, especially Asians like you. Stick behind me during the tryout later. I'll protect you."
Li Wei smiled but didn't argue.
At 2 p.m., the late-August sun in New York was still scorching, and the air was filled with the smell of dry dust mingled with the fresh grass cut by the lawn mower.
The walls around Franklin K. Lane High School's athletic field were covered in layers of graffiti, making it look more like a prison than a high school.
[You have arrived at the "Duel Court"]
[This is a place to uphold a knight's honor and settle disputes. Conflicts often break out here in the name of knightly glory.]
"Bam!"
Li Wei and Travis watched as two Black teenagers, each built like a tower, slammed into each other in the middle of the field. The sound of their helmets colliding rang especially harshly across the open grounds.
Li Wei recognized one of the fully geared-up teenagers. It was Manu, the defensive tackle he had encountered at the gym.
"Hey! You two! What are you doing here?"
A middle-aged Black man wearing a gray athletic tank top and a whistle around his neck emerged from a group of football players beneath a sunshade.
His skin was dark, and old, bulging muscles lined his arms. His eyes, behind his sunglasses, swept over Li Wei and Travis with displeasure.
"If you don't have a reason to be here, don't interrupt our practice," he said rudely. "Or are you here to try out?"
"Travis Watson! I want to try out as a running back or a safety!" Travis called out. "I played in a Brooklyn youth league before."
"I remember you. You look familiar," Coach Miller said, sizing Travis up. "You're exempt from the tryout. You can join the team directly and start practicing officially once school begins."
"As for you..." He turned to look at Li Wei, then slapped his forehead. "Kid, this isn't the math team for the International Mathematical Olympiad. I don't need some nerd who only knows how to wipe his nose with a tissue."
The football players in pads behind him burst into laughter.
"My name's Li Wei," Li Wei said calmly. "I want to try out as a quarterback."
At that, the athletes watching for a laugh erupted into even louder laughter. Even Coach Miller couldn't help snorting.
Simply put, football was divided into offense and defense. Both teams fought for possession of the ball, hoping their players could carry it into the opposing team's end zone to score.
Manu's position was defensive tackle. His job was to hold off the opposing offense head-on and keep its players out of his side of the field. It was the position that demanded the most strength and size on the team.
Travis's position was running back, an offensive role focused on breaking through the defense. It demanded more strength and speed.
The quarterback was unquestionably the core of the entire team. The position demanded a broader range of abilities. The quarterback directed the team's plays, deciding who would cover whom and who would break through. He was the team's brain and, when necessary, could carry the ball himself and break through the opposing defense.
Coach Miller laughed for a while before finally stopping.
"Hmm... kid," he said, looking at Li Wei's compact, muscular build. "Have you played football before?"
Li Wei shook his head.
"But you still want to try out as a quarterback?"
Li Wei nodded.
"Listen, you have no record, and you've never played quarterback before," Coach Miller said, trying to hold back his laughter. "There's no way I'd let you take over the team just like that."
"Then can you give me a chance?" Li Wei asked, completely unfazed. "How do I prove myself?"
Coach Miller turned toward the field, took the whistle hanging around his neck, and blew hard. He summoned several starting defensive players built like iron towers, a cruel smile curling at the corner of his mouth.
"On my team, a quarterback needs to do more than throw the ball. He has to survive in front of beasts weighing over 120 kilograms." Miller tucked his clipboard under his arm. "Since you think you can do it, we'll keep it simple. Red-zone offense, last five yards. You carry the ball. If you can get into the end zone, I'll give you a chance."
[You have triggered the quest "Triumphant Return!" at the "Duel Court"]
[A knight must use his true strength to silence those who doubt him. Triumph!]
[Quest reward: +0.1 free attribute points]
[Hidden reward: depending on how well you perform, you may earn up to an additional 0.1 free attribute points.]
Travis's eyes widened at the outrageous demand, and he was about to speak when Li Wei stopped him.
"Isn't this racial discrimination?" Li Wei looked over the several guys, each twice his size. "As far as I know, quarterbacks don't need to be good at breaking through tackles."
"Discrimination? No. Prove your strength and I'll treat every damn race the same. If you're a spineless wimp, I'll kick your ass," Miller said with a shrug. "This is my team! I make the rules here. Even the principal can't change my decision."
"Fuck you, you dumbass Black bastard."
Li Wei said calmly in Chinese.
"But you said it yourself, right? If I score, I make the team?"
He switched back to English.
"That's right," Miller said. He knew Li Wei had insulted him, but didn't care. He was actually enjoying himself. "I keep my word."
"Wait, Coach, I need to go!" Manu suddenly recognized Li Wei, his face changing dramatically. He immediately raised his hand. "Coach, I need to use the bathroom!"
"You idiot, you're always running off to take a piss or shit. Get lost!" Miller snapped. Then he picked a defensive tackle a little smaller than Manu. "Tony, you're up!"
"Do you have any spare gear?" Li Wei readily agreed. "You can't expect me to take them on barehanded, can you?"
Though Coach Miller looked down on Li Wei, even he wouldn't let him onto the field without protective gear. He had one of the players bring Li Wei a spare set of equipment to put on, and even gave him a brand-new mouthguard.
Then he lined up three defensive tackles along the five-yard line. Standing shoulder to shoulder, they blocked nearly all the sunlight from Li Wei's view.
The instant Miller brought the whistle to his lips, Li Wei activated [Berserk]!
[Strength 1.8]--[Strength 3.6]
[Constitution 1.5]--[Constitution 3.0]
[Agility 1.6]--[Agility 3.2]
"Thump—thump—thump—"
Li Wei could clearly hear his own heartbeat. His whole body felt like it had been set ablaze, and the blood rushing through his veins roared like a mighty river.
"Go!"
At Coach Miller's whistle, Li Wei shot forward like a blazing cannonball, clutching the ball and charging straight into the middle of the defensive line. He took the most direct route, charging head-on, following the simple logic that the shortest distance between two points was a straight line.
Tony's vision blurred. Before he could react, he felt himself flying through the air, his body hurtling uncontrollably to the side.
He weighed over 120 kilograms, but against Li Wei, he was like a man made of paper, knocked aside without mercy and leaving a gap in the line.
The two tackles beside him saw what happened and lunged in from the flanks. One wrapped his arms around Li Wei's waist, while the other jumped up and hung onto his shoulders, trying to drag him down.
This was a common football tactic: pile on top of the ball carrier to bring him down and stop the attack.
Yet under the crushing weight, Li Wei's steps faltered for less than half a second.
With his strength boosted to 3.6, he had already surpassed the limits of human ability. His legs pumped like hydraulic pistons, and he became a bulldozer at full power, driving the two "mountains of flesh" backward.
No matter how hard the two tackles, weighing over 500 pounds combined, tried to stop him, they couldn't. Even with their cleats dug into the grass, they were as helpless against Li Wei's strength as mantises trying to stop a chariot.
One step! Two steps! Three steps!
On his final step, Li Wei leaned forward and crashed hard over the white line in the end zone, still carrying the two men clinging to him. The entire field fell deathly silent.
[Quest completed: Triumphant Return!]
[This was a perfect, overwhelming victory!]
[Reward: +0.2 free attribute points]
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