The next morning, the Detroit team headed to the airport, their spirits obviously shaken. Despite Coach William's attempt at raising morale through his speeches, the team was a little worse for wear.
But who could blame them?
With 162 games in the regular season and over 12 games in the post season, it had been a long year. Many of the players were weary after such a grueling season and losing 3 games in a row.
Game 6 would be held the following night at their home field of Comerica Park, giving them only a single day to rest and recover after 3 back to back games.
Ken slept on the airplane, trying to recover his mental fatigue in preparation for his final Image Training session today. He only needed around 50 home runs to complete the mission and receive his rewards.
While he could have completed it last night, Ken decided to prioritize his rest and recovery. After all, there was still a day left until the next match.
Almost 2 hours later, Ken, Daichi and Rohan arrived back home. They were welcomed by friends and family while Yuki and Naomi were busy in the kitchen.
Just a single glance was enough to know that they were planning a big lunch.
Ken's stomach grumbled in anticipation, but he controlled himself. Planting a kiss on his wife's lips and rubbing her belly affectionately, Ken greeted her.
"How's my family?"
"Tired and hungry…" Ai admitted, poking her tongue out.
"Mmm, me too. Should we go have a nap?" Ken asked.
"You go, I can't lay down for long periods of time anymore since it hurts my back." Ai stated, stretching out her back.
Ken gave her another kiss and bid his farewell. If all went well, he would only need two hours to complete the mission and get his rewards.
2 hours later, Ken stood in the batters box in the middle of Koshien Stadium, his eyes locked onto his AI self on the mound. The pitch came, a slider at breakneck speed.
WHOOOOOOSH
THWACKK!
Ken chased it, getting a hold of the ball and sending it high into the air.
*DING*
Exit velo: 104mph
Trajectory: 19 degrees
Distance: 445 feet
Result: Home Run (Right Outfield)
The sound of the system notification rang out in his mind, causing Ken's body to relax. A big smile crept onto his face as the feeling of accomplishment filled him.
#BATTING MISSIONS:
> Hit 100,000 bunts successfully [0%] - 3,500,000 Major points + Skill: Bunt Aficionado [In Progress]
> Hit 100,000 balls into outfield [92%] - 3,500,000 Major points + Skill: Double Trouble [In Progress]
> Hit 50,000 foul balls [40%] - 1,500,000 Major points + Skil: Foul Demon [In Progress]
> Hit 100,000 sliders [19%] - 4,500,000 Major points + Skill: Slider Demon [In Progress]
> Hit 100,000 curve balls [10%] - 4,500,000 Major points + Skil: Curve Demon [In Progress]
> Hit 100,000 fastballs [31%] - 4,500,000 Major points + Skil: Fastball Demon [In Progress]
> Hit 50,000 home runs [100%]- 10,000,000 Major points + Diamond Lottery ticket + Skill: Home Run King [Claim Rewards]
[Congratulations, you received Skill: Home Run King, 1x Diamond Lottery ticket, 10,000,000 Major points.]
Seeing the rewards appear in front of him, Ken quickly exited the Image Training. He opened his eyes slowly and found himself on his bed. After quickly looking around to make sure no one was here, he opened the system.
Scrolling down to his skills, he looked at his new reward.
Home Run King (Signature Skill): Increases barrel contact range and ideal launch angle consistency. Fastballs thrown in the zone have a 40% greater chance to be hit out of the park.
Ken's eyes shined as he looked at his new signature skill. He wasn't sure what he expected, but reading the description caused his excitement to reach a fever pitch.
'This is incredible…' he thought.
Not only would he have a larger contact range on his bat, it also helped improve his launch angle. This was something that he'd had to work on repeatedly after switching to a wooden bat.
Just these two aspects of the skill were already top tier, but adding on the final sentence made the skill even better.
But Ken didn't settle there. There was still another reward that he'd yet to use from the mission, something that could increase his effectiveness even more.
The Diamond Lottery Ticket.
This time, Ken was completely unsure of what he would receive when using it. He'd received a legendary skill and a system function when he used it before, so what would this one bring?
Moving to his inventory menu, Ken selected the Diamond Lottery ticket and used it without any fanfare. He could hardly contain his anticipation.
Like the other times, no lottery wheel came up.
[Diamond Lottery Ticket consumed.]
[…]
[Congratulations, user has received Skill: Perfect Calibration]
'Perfect Calibration?' Ken questioned.
*DING*
[Balance and Coordination has increased by 1.]
[Congratulations on achieving user's first L grade. You have received 1 x Diamond Lottery Ticket]
'EH!??'
Ken almost squealed in shock. He did not expect this at all.
With a dumbfounded expression, Ken navigated to his skills to see the description of his newest skill.
Perfect Calibration (Legendary): Boosts synchronicity between user's brain and muscles, reducing mechanical flaws and unlocking ultra-smooth execution of high-level actions.
He blinked a few times in incredulity.
'This skill is so useful… I should be able to fully integrate my experience within the Image Training directly into my body now.' He thought in wonder.
It suddenly made sense why his Balance and Coordination had increased by a grade, the skill, Perfect Calibration, likely improved it significantly.
Ken would have been satisfied with just this, but the fact he was gifted another Diamond Lottery Ticket meant he still had more rewards.
'What else can I get?'
[Diamond Lottery Ticket consumed.]
[…]
[Congratulations, user has received Skill: Deadeye Batter]
*DING*
[User has learned 30 skills]
[Congratulations, user has received 1 x L-Grade Physicality Elixir]
'WHAT IS HAPPENING!?' Ken felt as if he had just won big in Vegas with all these notifications and rewards appearing out of nowhere.
After so long of seemingly not improving, he had reached a point of saturation. Yet with these new skills and rewards, things had changed drastically in a single moment.
Ignoring the new skills, the L-Grade Physicality Elixir should bring all of his physical stats into the Legendary grade, something he had given up on previously when no mission had appeared when he joined the Majors.
He couldn't help but smile contently. But this only grew as he looked at his 30th skill.
Deadeye Batter (Legendary): A passive batting skill that highlights the pitch's trajectory just after release. Drastically improves user's ability to recognize pitch type and location.