The ball went in. It didn't make contact with anything inside the ring. It only just touched the net made from falling down the basket.
The guys who were just normally playing basketball earlier had watched this spectacle with their mouths agape. It was really unbelievable. They wouldn't have believed this far-fetched scene if they hadn't seen it with their own eyes. They didn't know the real explanation of this but they all came up with the same idea.
It was luck. It was definitely just pure luck.
But of course, it's not luck. It's a 'skill' that one can have. And here was Liam, who will prove it to them later.
Liam glanced at all the guys in the court. They were seven people in total including the guy standing on the corner of the court.
"Can I play with you guys, right now?" Liam asked with a hint of excitement in his eyes.
He even smiled while asking because he's eager to play basketball and test his new skill.
"S-sure. We just finished and we lack one person to play a four on four streetball so you can definitely join us." The guy, who caught the ball that Liam threw earlier, immediately accepted his request.
He was a little hesitant earlier but he just thought that there was nothing that could go wrong anyway. He could even have extra money by playing with the normal-looking guy.
Well, that's what he thought.
The guy was taller than him by a head and he was quite a bit muscular compared to the skinny guy.
Liam then walked slowly to the court while looking at all the guys' rigid expression.
"So any new rules?"
He asked the guy that spoke to him earlier.
"My name is Dan. Just a normal streetball rule. But we can bet for 30 dollars per person if you have that little bit of money. First to 30 points. What's your name? You sure you can play? Or is it just a mere luck? Don't bet if you can't." The guy straightforwardly said to Liam with a hint of arrogance in his eyes.
He even wanted to ask him how you can play with that height.
Liam currently has an average height of 172 cm and before he got the Athlete skill he had a mere 167 cm height, it was just Dan who was tall.
He usually didn't play basketball or any kind of sports but when he got the Athlete skill a year ago, he played some sports dozens of times with his classmates or friends from school.
"Of course, I have a lot of money in my pocket right now so don't worry about that. As for the thing about whether I can play or is it just my luck. I'm a bit lucky, but let's just say I have some skills in me. My name is Liam."
Liam made a fake smile as he said that.
He didn't care about someone's arrogance but he would definitely care if someone insulted about his own capabilities. He held back his emotions and decided to remain calm.
Because sooner or later he would definitely show these guys what a strong skill is like and then slap their faces one by one.
"Skills? hahaha. Okay fine. They owe me so they will be our opponent. Team up with them." The guy made dry laugh then pointed out the three guys standing idly in his back with a finger.
"I see. Are they good?" Liam was not sure if he could play with the guys without any mistakes or something like that so he asked Dan.
"Hm. I think so. They were only 15 points lesser than our score so I think they're capable. Oh! You guys, your debt will be forgotten if you win." The guy smirked after bragging in front of Liam and looked at the guys.
'So they're a street bully...'
Liam thought that made him even more irritated by his opponents.
"Your arrogancy is out of this world," Liam said inwardly before he went for his teammates and plan some things.
"Okay. let's play immediately."
A moment later.
Liam's opponent was the first one to play offense so he didn't activate his skill straight off and saved it for later.
And because he also didn't activate the Athlete skill, his moves on defense was just like that of an average player.
He gave off a bad impression to both of his teammates and his opponents.
As they thought,
Where's the skill that you are being proud of earlier?
A player from the opposing team performed a three-point shot and it didn't miss. They were now three points ahead of Liam's team.
"Athletic." As soon as the ball fell down Liam cast his skill by repeating the name with a faint voice.
The ball was on his teammate, who looked like that they will not going to pass the ball to him.
Even after a minute they didn't give Liam a chance to hold the ball because they doubt that he will be able to move forward and shoot.
The guy holding the ball then stepped inside and then immediately shoot the ball but it was likely to miss the ring because he was blocked by Dan and counteracted him.
The two teams all turned around to looked at the thrown ball with different expressions on their faces. Showing both contentment and grief.
Because of it they didn't know that someone was already running behind them.
Liam, who was running fast without being seen, got in the middle and then he jumped.
He jumped and successfully grabbed the ball, that was going to miss sooner, then moved it towards the ring with a strong force.
SLAM!
Liam dunked in front of his opponents and his own teammates.
He got up from falling down then looked at his back. They were all stunned by a spectacle that he made once again.
"You guys can pass the ball to me at any time." Liam knew that his teammates won't pass him the ball if he doesn't perform a good play. So he decided to do it.
Dan, who was frozen-stiff, looked at Liam with a bit of a puzzled expression forming on his face.
He didn't even see him moving inside. And also how can this small guy jumped so high, even if the ring isn't as tall as the official one?
They were all still and thinking the same while looking at Liam, but they regain their composure when he clapped once.
"Okay, let's go!"
Liam shouted to break their thoughts.
A moment later, Dan's team was doing a good play of passing the ball. They planned to do another three-point shot so they were trying to mess up their opponents' position.
As soon as they saw the other team was messed up they passed the ball to Dan.
Dan moved forward inside than his opponent followed him, he sidestepped and turned around then passed the ball to his teammate, who he believed was going to shoot the three-point shot.
He passed the ball at an incredible speed. The ball was fast enough that no one can quickly react to it if they were not prepared.
In terms of speed and strength, he was the best in his team, but when it comes to shooting he's probably one of the worst.
He was proud of his speed and they were always winning in a streetball because of it.
The ball was moving in a straight line and in the middle of a wide way to pass the ball. It was possible for the opponent to catch that ball but Dan doubt that someone will be able to move that fast.
While he was already rejoicing in his own mind, Liam was running as he planned to stop and catch the ball.
The guy who was guarding him earlier didn't react quickly and let him move away and now he was hurrying inside to move towards the ball.
THWACK!
Liam moved in the middle between Dan and the other guy, then he grabbed the ball, turned around, moved outside, avoided everyone's blocking by doing a side step, done a crossover, and turned around again, he then leaped.
He did that all in just a mere 5 seconds. It was incredible even for the casual players nowadays.
He used to watch all kinds of moves from the "REAL" NBA two hundred years ago. And now he have done one of the moves with his own body and not just in his imagination.
In the short time that he was jumping he whispered.
"Accurate Throw."
The ball then moved away from his hand as it flew towards the ring.
SWOOSH
It was three points!
Liam's teammates were happy in their minds but they cannot express their joy and thank him out of nowhere because it will be embarrassing as they remembered what have they done to him in the first round of the game. They didn't care about how he did it, the important thing was that they now have hope that they can win this match.
They have been playing for an hour just to pay the sixty dollars debt that they owe to Dan because of a bet by playing some games before but they lost once again, making a sum of a hundred and twenty dollars. And now that they have a chance to win. How can they not be happy?
"H-how?" Someone from the other team asked reflexively.
Liam's teammates were happy inside but his opponents were obviously the opposite. How can they be happy with this?
This guy was fast. Faster than Dan but why? Why and how was he still so accurate at shooting?
Dan's team was all confused. They have a mindset that if one was fast and strong in offense and defense then he isn't that much accurate when shooting a ball. Then how can they explain this?
It was Dan who asked Liam as he also has that mindset.
"Oh, it's the skills that I mentioned earlier," Liam said to Dan with a smile on his face.
The others may think he was lying but it's actually not. In fact, what he said was the complete truth.
He was using the skills that he received from the system. Of course, the others don't know that.
"Let's start again."
A few moments have passed. Liam was playing well with his teammates. Or was he just toying with his opponents? Anyone would think that if you watched the match since the second round of the game.
His teammates barely even shot a ball. He did many shots until now and out of all of it the ball did not touch the backboard once. A three-point shot, A layup, and he even did a hard move called the hook shot.
Liam's team currently has a score that was way above their opponents score. The opponents only score because he didn't use his athlete skill when it deactivated and it's not their time to point.
15-28
15 was the score of the opponent and 28 was the score of Liam's team. They were leading it and the other team didn't get the chance to catch up.
Liam was currently rushing inside the ring as soon as he got the chance then his teammate passed him the ball. He got the ball but then three people moved in front of him to make him stop.
Since the second round, the other team focused on Liam and only him. They didn't care about his other teammates anymore as they were just like a noob to them. But he was entirely different just from his moves so they decided to stop him from shooting but he still always slipped through and did another incredible move to point.
And right now, they cornered Liam. With one from each side and one from his front. He got nowhere to go.
But even so, he still was rushing forward despite the bad situation he's in.
The guys, who were blocking him, became anxious as he was still running towards the ring. The guys at the side followed his steps and came into their thoughts.
What move will this guy will do again?
Dan was the one blocking Liam in front. He was furious. He felt like he was just being played by him so he stands still and preparing to block the man rushing forward with his strength.
Liam, who was running towards the ring, didn't give a f*ck about everything right now.
He only cared about toying Dan and his arrogance.
He accomplished it a long time ago now but he just remembered about the bet. He didn't really have money in his pocket but he played because he was certain that he would win by using his two skills. And winning a lot of money was good for him too as he always do that for almost a year since then.
Liam jumped. He jumped really high. His pose while jumping was truly incredible. He has also seen this movie two hundred plus years ago when a man named Michael Jordan jumped high and made a spectacular move for a slam dunk.
His knees hit Dan making him fall on his butt. The other guys from the side can't do anything too. The three watched him flying in the air. All of them are watching him flying through the air.
Liam was now falling down. He stretched his hand, which was carrying the ball up in the air and as soon as he was falling down he also moved his hands towards the basket making it contained more force and more speed.
SLAM!
He was still grabbing and holding at the ring. He let go of the ring and fell to the ground like a king. And just from standing the angels would sing.
That's what his teammates thought because they have won! They have won! They have won!
Liam's teammates thought important things should be repeated three times.
"Where's the money. Don't you lose your face right now."
Liam immediately asked the money to Dan because he knew that something was going to go wrong just by looking at his face.
"You're a professional player aren't you? You're just toying with us right?" Dan asked furiously.
He really wouldn't think of something like that even after years. Professional players can't go outside and play with strangers. But because he doesn't want to be embarrassed by him from losing and being arrogant he thought that this man is a professional then he made it as an excuse.
"Professional? Are you kidding me? Did your arrogance ate you earlier eh? Did you turn stupid after losing? Why would a professional play with a random arrogant man like you." Liam said without holding back at all.
He knew that trouble would come up at any time if he didn't say anything.
"You mother f*ckin' Liar!" Dan shouted to him then he ran forward to Liam.
'F*ck this guy is crazy!'
"Athlete. Athlete. Athlete...!" He already said something to cast his skill but his state didn't change one bit.
He didn't move at his place and just watched a fist flying towards his face.
PHWACK
Liam was punched on the face. The others immediately run. His teammates earlier run away and his opponents earlier are running towards him.
PHWACK
Another fist hit Liam. The fist landed on his stomach. He spat a mouthful of blood, after all receiving a punch from the strongest guy on their group was really scary.
He turned around to run away but he got cornered by the rest of the guys. He got nowhere to go now.
"You played well. So are you a pro? hehe... HUAHAHAHA!" Dan laughed as he looked at Liam with blood on his mouth.
"You picked the wrong group, fool!" He became serious again then he moved his fist towards Liam's face.
Before the guy hit his face. Liam whispered something.
"Athlete."
PHWACK
Liam has been hit once again but he did not step back. He looked at the guy again with a fearless look. He smirked as he raised his middle finger in front of Dan's face.
"F*ck you!" Liam shouted then immediately punched the face of Dan.
With a quick turn he saw the guy behind rushing towards him. He dodged the incoming punched then he kicked the guy from behind, making him lose balance and fell over to the ground.
He turned around to all of the guys.
"Come to me you motherf*ckers! I'm not a pro but like I said..."
Liam glanced at every single one of them.
"I have a f*cking skill... TO BEAT ALL OF YOU! I'LL F*CK EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU SHITTY BASTARDS!" Liam shouted furiously.
It's not every day when he gets angry but right now, he was literally furious.