After the team had gorged themselves on ramen, they finally arrived back at the residence as the sun was setting. It seemed as if their adrenaline from the win had all dried up, resulting in a distinct lack of energy on anyone's faces.
Despite winning easily on paper, most of them were worn out since their nerves had been on edge while being stared at by thousands of people in a packed stadium.
As they were all still teenagers, it wasn't weird that they would be more affected than others when it came to the current situation.
There weren't may sports that had as much attention on high schoolers, at least in Japan.
Most of the players headed straight for the showers and prepared for bed with a full belly, looking forward to the sweet embrace of sleep. Ken was amongst them, feeling the mental fatigue of the game beginning to effect him.
There was also something weighing on his mind since he threw the final pitch of the innings. He had no doubt that he'd heard a system notification, yet there was no time to check on it just yet.
He felt like an addict, being forced to wait to access the system until others weren't around.
As he jumped into the shower, he couldn't help but open the system window and take a peak.
MISSION: Summer National Tournament
*Task 1: Strike out 50 players [27/50]
*Task 2: Hit 6 home runs [2/6]
*Task 3: Make the Quarter Finals of Koshien
*Task 4: Make the Semi Finals of Koshien
*Task 5: Make the Finals of Koshien
*Task 6: Win the National Tournament
*Task 7: Win player of the Tournament
REWARDS:
>Task 1 rewards - 3000 Major points
>Task 2 rewards - 3000 Major points
>Task 3 rewards - 7000 Major points
>Task 4 rewards - 7,000 Major points + Gold Lottery ticket
>Task 5 rewards - 10,000 Major points + Gold Lottery ticket
>Task 6 rewards - 15,000 Major points + SS-Grade Physicality Elixir
>Task 7 rewards - 15,000 Major points + SS-Grade Mental Elixir
Hidden Task: ??? - 1 x Platinum ticket
*DING*
[Congratulations, user has completed Hidden Task: Throw a Shutout]
[Received: 1 x Platinum Ticket]
[Detected that user has exceeded task, providing additional rewards]
[Calculating…]
[Received: 1 x Skill Selection Ticket]
Ken's eyes widened at the wall of text that appeared in front of him, feeling his tired body begin to heat up in anticipation. There was nothing like receiving rewards from the system, especially when they were unexpected.
He had never seen either the Skill selection ticket, nor the Platinum ticket before and didn't hesitate to check the description.
Platinum Ticket: Gives the user an ability.
Skill Selection Ticket: Select from a list of skills
While the description for the Skill selection ticket was simple, the Platinum Ticket still seemed to be shrouded in mystery. Yet Ken still felt a high level of excitement. He had never been able to select his own skill before.
Since everything was selected at random via spinning the silver and gold wheels, he had been forced to take whatever he could get. Yet now he had the opportunity to take luck out of the equation, selecting what he needed most.
Ken quickly finished up in the shower and got ready for bed. By the time he arrived in the room, half the team was already heading to bed.
However it was only around an hour later that it was dark enough to use the system. He wouldn't want people seeing him poke at the air in front of him.
Without wasting anymore time, he went to the inventory and used the Skill Selection Ticket.
[Skill Selection Ticket used]
Please select 1 skill from the below:
Eagle Eye: Allows user to see the path of incoming pitches, improving pitch recognition and decision-making in the batters box
Perfect Throw: Increases fielding by 2 when attempting to throw out a runner
Stealth Baserunner: Increases Agility by 1 when stealing a base. User is less likely to be spotted by the fielders
Leadership Presence: Increases team coordination and cohesion while user is on the field
Pitching Variety: Grants the user increased proficiency when learning new pitches
Ken's eyes widened as he went over the skills that appeared on the system window. He could see benefits to all of them, yet there were a few clear winners that would be far more useful to him right now.
He immediately ruled out the Perfect Throw and Stealth Baserunner skills. He was a pitcher and a clean up batter, his goal was always to either strikeout the batter, or hit a home run.
In his entire high school career so far, he'd only been on base 2 times.
Which led to his next line of thought. Eagle Eye would allow him to pick pitches far easier and therefore hit more home runs, it was a perfect skill for his current situation.
However, thinking from a longevity standpoint it didn't make sense. While he was a two-way player right now, most professional organizations would allow a player to only focus on one.
Ken still thought of himself as a pitcher first and foremost, therefore he reluctantly discarded this skill.
This left two remaining skills, Leadership Presence and Pitching Variety.
While he had unconsciously become a leading figure in his teammates eyes, it was never his intention to do so. He still wasn't too keen on taking on such a responsibility, especially when he needed to focus on getting better.
Pitching Variety however, looked to be the best pick of the bunch by a large margin. He currently only had his killer fastball and the forkball which he didn't use that often since it strained his arm when used too much.
With his 100mph fastball as his primary weapon, adding in some change ups and breaking balls would be deadly to his arsenal. This was especially the case since the level of his competition would only increase with time.
Not to mention the long term benefits the skill would bring him in the future when he eventually went pro.
'There's no better choice.' Ken told himself, reaching up and selecting the skill.