Ken was forced to suffer through the ramblings of a teenager in love for the next 30 minutes. There were a few times when he tried to insist that he was tired, yet his brother always found a way to start the conversation again.
Only when he heard the soft snores of Daichi did he finally breathe out a sigh of relief. He grabbed his phone and checked the time, only to let out a groan in disbelief.
'This guy kept yapping for an entire 2 hours?' He complained inwardly.
Just as he was about to close the phone, he saw that he had a message from Ai.
"Not sure what time it is there, but good luck against South Korea tomorrow, I'll be rooting for you xo"
Ken felt his irritation subside significantly as he read through the message. It felt nice to have someone think about him, even if they were so far away.
He quickly replied to her and gave a quick update of what time he was playing.
BUZZ BUZZ
A few moments after he hit the send button, he felt his phone vibrate as another message showed up. The words "Mom" showed up on the screen as the sender.
'I don't have time for this.' He said inwardly, quickly putting his phone away.
Yet he felt a sudden wave of guilt threaten to overwhelm him. How many times had he done the exact same thing in his previous life?
No matter how many times his mother called or messaged him, he would always dismiss it with the excuse of calling her back later.
"Ugh." Ken let out a groan before bringing his phone out once more and viewing the message.
"Hi Kenny, I just arrived in Los Angeles. I'll see you tomorrow before the game, have a great sleep, I love you."
"Man… Am I just an A-hole?" Ken muttered after reading the wholesome message from his mother.
He quickly typed back, doing his best to hold onto his fraying patience.
After finishing, he let out a sigh.
BUZZ BUZZ
"W-WHAT THE HELL!?" He yelled in a tiny whisper, feeling his frustration mount once again.
He grumbled and opened his phone once more.
"Complete the survey for your chance to win a share in ¥1,000,000."
"…"
Without any fanfare, Ken switched off his phone and resisted the urge to throw it across the room.
'No more interruptions…'
He quickly opened up the system window and let out a cry of joy after seeing the brand new mission pop up.
#NEW MISSION: U18 Baseball World Cup
*Task 1: Get onto base 15 times
*Task 2: Hit 8 home runs
*Task 3: Do not drop a single catch
*Task 4: Advance to Super Round
*Task 5: Finish top 2 in Super Round
*Task 6: Win the World Cup
*Task 7: Win player of the Tournament
*Hidden Task: ???
REWARDS:
>Task 1 rewards - 5,000 Major points
>Task 2 rewards - 5,000 Major points
>Task 3 rewards - 7,000 Major points + Fielding Boost
>Task 4 rewards - 10,000 Major points + Skill Selection ticket
>Task 5 rewards - 15,000 Major points + Potential Booster
>Task 6 rewards - 25,000 Major points + SSS-Grade Physicality Elixir
>Task 7 rewards - 25,000 Major points + SSS-Grade Mental Elixir
>Hidden Task rewards - Trait: Academic
'The wait was worth it…' Ken thought as he ran his eyes over the new mission laid out before him.
Not only was the mission tailored to his role on the team, the rewards were out of this world. Ken had never seen an SSS-Grade Elixir, not even in the system shop which he rarely used.
The Potential Booster was something that he'd received before as a reward from the Gold Lottery wheel, yet he still needed more. He wasn't like Hiroki and Daichi who could catapult themselves directly into the next realm.
"Hehehe."
Ken couldn't help but grin and laugh with joy. The system knew just what to do to get him motivated before a big tournament.
Only after re-reading the tasks and rewards a few more times did he ask Mika to enact the sleep protocol. If he wanted to perform well tomorrow, he would need some good rest.
***
The next day, the team promptly arrived at Rodgers stadium at the appointed time. Unlike yesterday, there were some spectators gathering outside, yet at one glance it was obvious that it wasn't many.
There were three games being played today, South Korea vs Japan, Cuba vs Dominican Republic and Chinese Taipei vs Canada.
Of those games, Japan and South Korea were playing first at 10am.
"Will this game be broadcast on TV?" Aki asked, as the team made their way to the locker rooms.
"I heard that it will just be streamed online until the finals."
"Eh? No way. Even Koshien is broadcast on National TV."
"Hehehe, what did I tell you before? Don't expect a large audience." Coach Takashi said from the front of the pack. He seemed rather pleased with himself.
Aki raised an eyebrow in confusion.
"Isn't America the home of baseball? Why isn't it as popular here as it is back home?"
His concerns were genuine.
Baseball used to be referred to as America's favorite pastime, yet the sport had been declining with the rise of both the NFL and NBA.
In fact, out of the top 50 most viewed sport events in America in the past year, baseball games only made the list 3 times. Overshadowed by even College Basketball games.
Therefore the Japanese players expectations of the home country of baseball began to waver.
Yet everything was quickly forgotten as the players finally arrived in the state of the art locker rooms.
"Whoa…"
Gasps were heard from the players as they took a look around. Each of the locker rooms on display were shiny and had their own light source, complete with drawers and wooden cupboards.
The chairs looked luxurious and the open floor was complete with a few decadent looking leather couches.
Suddenly, those who were having second thoughts about their dream to play baseball in America swiftly changed their minds.
"I could get used to this." Ken muttered.