After an eventful morning, Ken finally made it to school on time. He saw Ai in the classroom who flashed a small smile in his direction to which he responded in kind.
He had decided to remain friends with Ai, since he actually enjoyed her company. Just remembering her infectious giggles made him feel warm inside.
Slowly but surely, Ken got through the day. Thankfully his mother had not skimped on his lunch today which meant she had forgiven him somewhat for waking her up last night.
When it was time to head to baseball practice, Ken decided to bring up his new Training Plan function once again. This time he used it on Shiro, only for a new window to appear in front of him.
NAME: Shiro Masuda
AGE: 15
TALENT ASSESSMENT: B
POTENTIAL: S+
PLEASE SELECT A TRAINING PLAN FOR TARGET:
>Pitching Regime: Useful for increasing pitching speed and consistency. Will increase from 1-2 grades. [10 Major points] (not recommended)
>Catching Regime: Increase ball coordination and core strength. Will increase from 1-2 grades. [50 Major points] (recommended)
>Strength & Conditioning: Improve strength and stamina. Will increase from 1-3 grades. [100 Major points] (recommended)
Ken's eyes widened. This window was much different than his own which allowed him to target specific skills. Not only this…
'It's so cheap'
Shiro looked over at Ken who was staring at him intently and suddenly felt uncomfortable. He felt as if his friend had bad intentions, one that would involve him in pain.
"K-Ken, why are you looking at me like that?" He asked nervously.
"Shiiiiiro~"
Ken called out Shiro's name sweetly, trying to butter him up. However, this only had the opposite effect, causing him to jump out of his chair and back up as if he had seen a ghost.
Thankfully it was lunch time and there were no teachers present, yet this still caused the students remaining in the classroom to look over confusedly.
"Don't be silly Shiro, come here." Seeing how his sucking up tactics weren't working, he tried a different approach, calling him over with a serious expression.
The short and stocky freshman looked around the classroom, hoping that someone would save him. Unfortunately for him, everyone did not want to be involved. Only after a few moments did he finally accept his fate and walk with his head down back to his seat.
A grin crept onto Ken's face as he pulled out a sheet of paper and wrote down what the system had in store for the poor boy.
After a few moments, Ken was finished.
"Rejoice, for I have made you a training plan to help you level up." He said, passing the sheet of paper to his friend.
"Level up? What is this a game?" Shiro mumbled, pouring his eyes over the contents.
The longer he read what was on the paper, the paler his face got. His body had seized, seemingly losing all cognitive function as he stared in disbelief.
'He wants me to do all this? Will I even survive?'
"That's your daily plan for this week. Next week we'll increase the reps to make use of progressive overloading." Ken said matter-of-factly.
Tears began to form on the corner of Shiro's eyes as he mourned his own impending death.
"Impossible…" he muttered.
"Huh? What was that?" Ken tilted his head, a dangerous look appearing on his face as he looked at his friend intently.
"Eek!"
'I'm gonna die.'
Not long after, the bell for class rang, saving Shiro from Ken's intimidation tactics.
***
At the practice field, Ken was leading the way for the end of practice run. Since his stamina was S grade, he never struggled when it came to running whatever distance.
He passed by Shiro who was panting loudly, after having overlapped half of the team already.
'Maybe I could use the training plan for Shiro on all the other students who are lacking in that area?'
However, Ken shook his head in the next moment. It was the Coach who organized the drills and training regime for the club, he didn't feel entirely comfortable in taking over.
Plus there was also the issue of disparity between players. Since Shiro was rated as C+ in his overall Physical stats, it meant the training plan was tailored to him only. It would likely not have the same effect on anyone else.
It was only now that he felt like he understood how the Training Plan function worked.
Right behind him was Hiroki who seemed in great shape even after a full practice.
Since he'd been focusing on reaching the Ace position, he hadn't had the time to think about his teammates too much. Which meant even after a full month, he had yet to use Identify on any of the first team members.
Now was the perfect time to do so, as long as he was careful not to crash into anyone whilst running again like this morning.
NAME: Hiroki Kondo
AGE: 17
TALENT ASSESSMENT: A+
POTENTIAL: A+
USER STATS:
>Physical Fitness: A+
>Pitching: C+
>Fielding: A+
>Game Intelligence: A+
>Mental: A+
Additional information: Player has reached their potential. No further improvements will be made due to reaching their potential cap.
Ken frowned deeply.
At first glance, Hiroki was the perfect player. Even if he didn't know Hiroki from beforehand, just looking at his well balanced stats was an indication of how hardworking this guy was.
'So why is his potential only an A+?'
Ken didn't understand how potential was graded. Before getting the system, he knew that there were geniuses like Daichi, and others who got to the professionals by sheer grit and hard work.
But now, he found out that there was a thing called potential. A seemingly unassailable wall that could crush someone's dreams for no apparent reason.
To see such a simple thing preventing one of his friends from improving left a sour taste in his mouth.
The whistle from the coach sounded, however Ken's mind was still preoccupied. He slowed down and began to make his way to the center of the field, glancing in the direction of Hiroki whose breath was still rather even.
'Is there a way that I can improve his potential?'