Burns felt a bit awkward. One second, he was confidently telling Lance to pick any number he liked, and the next, he was stuck. His authority as a coach crumbled.
Cough, cough.
Burns tactically cleared his throat and flashed a big smile. "Here's the thing, in football, each position has its own responsibilities. We have about 20 different positions and 70-80 players. To help the referees, jersey numbers are regulated."
"Running backs, cornerbacks, and safeties must wear numbers between 20 and 49."
Burns rubbed his hands nervously and glanced at Lance.
"Lance, how about picking one from that range?"
Ah, that explains it.
Lance's attention was caught by something else. "Cornerbacks and safeties?"
Burns eagerly explained, "Humphrey is a cornerback. They're usually positioned at the edges of the defense, closest to the offensive line. Jackson is a safety, and they're stationed near the end zone as the defense's last line of protection."
Lance blinked—
He wasn't good with names.
This wasn't a joke; it was a fact. He often couldn't match names to faces, as if his brain had an eraser that wiped names clean.
A real issue for him.
Lance was about to ask who Humphrey was, but with Burns explaining the positions, it all clicked. That made it easier to remember.
Oh, Humphrey was the guy who missed two tackles and almost ate dirt.
Humphrey: ??? What did I do to deserve this!
After a moment's thought, a number popped into Lance's mind. "How about 23?"
It wasn't because of basketball legend Michael Jordan, but because Lance's seat number in both middle and high school was 23.
Burns exhaled a long sigh of relief. "No problem, 23 it is." He quickly scanned the team's roster and smiled. "Perfect, no one else has claimed that number."
So, Burns filled in Lance's jersey number on the application—
No. 23.
As soon as Burns finished, Lance heard a notification in his mind, like the startup sound of a computer. Was this the system booting up?
So, getting a number meant officially becoming a player. This marked Lance's full entry into the team, making him a formal member of the Crimson Tide.
Lance was getting excited—
What would the system look like?
And what surprises would the newbie gift pack hold?
Now, the reality of starting a whole new life in a new world was finally hitting him.
But Lance didn't rush. He held back his excitement and took the time to ask about key details like training schedules and other important matters to make sure everything was in order. Then, he left the coach's office.
There were still three weeks left of spring training camp. Burns told Lance to head back to his dorm for the day since there were still some final processes to complete. Tomorrow, Lance would officially join the team and begin training.
Burns also gave Lance a critical piece of information: at the end of the spring training camp, the team would play two games.
One was an intrasquad scrimmage, with the starters facing off against the substitutes.
Though it was an internal game, it had become an annual event for Alabama, complete with ticket sales and live broadcasts on ESPN.
The fact that a mere intrasquad scrimmage could be nationally televised showed just how popular college football was. Of course, being a traditional powerhouse like Alabama didn't hurt either, and Saban's influence in the NCAA was undeniable.
The second game was a preseason warm-up.
Saban was still deciding on the opponent for this match, but like the scrimmage, tickets would be sold, and it would be broadcast live on ESPN.
The fact that both games were televised and had ticket sales meant they attracted attention. And thanks to Alabama's prestigious reputation, there was no shortage of teams eager to face off against Saban. The reason Saban hadn't rushed to pick an opponent yet was because this season would bring plenty of challenges, and he needed time to weigh his options.
"We'll train with these two games in mind, and I hope you'll be able to represent the Crimson Tide," Burns said of his plan.
There would definitely be challenges. With only three weeks to prepare, the obstacles were numerous. But Burns was confident, filled with energy and determination.
Lance felt the same way—
Challenges? Bring it on!
But before starting this new journey, Lance had a gift from the universe to open, like a long-awaited package finally arriving. Now, it was time for the highly anticipated unboxing.
Back at the dorm, it was empty. His elusive roommate was nowhere to be seen, but Lance still locked the door. Then, he summoned the system in his mind.
"Football Training System"—
The interface was a clean, unified design with a deep blue background and light blue accents. There were no unnecessary elements, just a sleek, streamlined look. It was finally no longer the blurry gray haze he'd seen before—it was now fully visible.
The interface was incredibly simple, with just three sections.
On the left was a horizontal rectangle labeled "Template."
On the right was a vertical rectangle labeled "Card Slot."
At the bottom was a progress bar.
That was it. It was so simple and clean that Lance was taken aback, full of question marks. Was this supposed to be the system?
After examining it, he found a few small buttons.
The top left button showed personal information.
Name: Lance
Birthday: November 11, 1995
Height: 6'1" (185 cm)
Weight: 216 lbs (98 kg)
Position: Running Back
Jersey Number: 23
Team: Alabama Crimson Tide
That was it.
It wasn't what Lance had imagined. There were no personal stats, no quantified breakdown of his body or abilities. It was unlike any system he'd heard of before.
The top right button opened an inbox, reminding him that there was a newbie gift pack waiting to be claimed.
And… that was it.
Lance didn't hesitate any longer. He clicked on the gift pack, and a ripple of blue light spread across the screen. In the center, three cards appeared, all face-down, waiting to be revealed. Each card had a small question mark in the top right corner. When clicked, it provided the same explanation:
"System rewards may include player templates, functional cards, etc. The odds are random."
Time to test his luck!
Lance jumped up, washed his face and hands, then set the mood with some background music—Beethoven's Fate Symphony blaring through the speakers, building up his excitement. He took a deep breath, steadying himself.
Time to draw!
Without pausing, he flipped all three cards at once. Another ripple of blue light spread, revealing the cards' true forms.
"Card: Double Training Effect (2x)"
"Card: Injury Impact Reduction (-10%)"
"Template: Adrian Peterson (S-Tier)"
JACKPOT!
Seeing the "S-Tier" label, Lance clenched his fist in triumph.
Even someone as inexperienced with games as Lance knew that "S-Tier" meant high quality—possibly even the highest.
This was, without a doubt, a top-tier player template.
Never mind that Lance didn't yet know how to use the template, or how good the other rewards were—just this one template made it all worth it.
But… just how good was Adrian Peterson? Could someone explain that?