Ken planted his lead leg, twisting his body and generating immense torque as he began his swing. His eyes were transfixed on the ball, his entire being focused on sending it on its way.
WHOOOOSH
DOOOONG!
The metallic sound of the bat hitting the ball echoed throughout the field, sounding like someone had belted a Chinese gong with all their might. The ball sailed into the outfield, right over where the right fielder would be.
It didn't take long for everyone to understand that one of them would have to go searching for that ball later.
Ken watched the ball fly away, his body filled with satisfaction.
'Damn that felt good…' He said in his heart.
His batting was the most affected with the system going offline, since it was so difficult to train his balance and coordination. This home run felt a little different however, from both the form and follow through.
Ken thought back to his intensive training with his father for those couple of months and felt a warm sensation rise from within. He had polished his form and was now reaping the benefits with the help of the system.
It took a few moments for everyone to react to the hit, but Coach Wyatt was by far the most enthusiastic.
"Holy crap! What have you been eating boy?" He exclaimed, almost tossing his cap into the air with great enthusiasm.
Once again the Gladiator players were stunned into silence. It was one thing being a kickass pitcher or batter, but another thing entirely to be good at both.
Brett on the other hand was silent. He had literally thrown his best ball, yet it was easily taken care of by the newcomer, shattering whatever confidence he had in his own abilities.
However, there was a fire that suddenly lit in his eyes.
'I can't give up now…' He said in his heart, gritting his teeth. A part of him believed that it was a lucky hit, but he dared not say anything aloud.
"Again…"
His voice was too quiet, so nobody heard him. He looked up to see the coach practically doing a celebratory dance.
"AGAIN!" He shouted, drawing everyone's attention.
Everyone turned their head towards Brett who looked like he was in a bad state. The clenched fists and defiant expression on his face only elicited looks of sympathy.
Seeing this, Coach Wyatt seemed to have recognized his mistake. He had been so caught up in Ken's abilities that he hadn't thought how his actions would affect Brett, who was also one of his players.
He cleared his throat and turned to Ken, "Are you willing to face some more pitches?" the coach asked Ken respectfully.
According to him, Ken had already ticked all the boxes and passed the tryouts. Ultimately it was up to him if he wanted to continue to face Brett's pitches or not.
Ken turned towards Brett and could empathize what the guy was going through. Of course he could refuse, but he didn't mind hitting some more balls, especially since he didn't want to lose the feeling he had just grasped.
"Okay, I'll take as many pitches as you want." Ken said calmly, getting back into position.
Steve's expression softened upon hearing this. Though he had only met Ken today, he could already tell that he was a kind and gentle man with his own principles.
He grabbed another ball from the bucket close by and threw it to Brett on the mound. Throughout his time at the Gladiators, he'd played with Brett for a couple of years. Though they weren't great friends, there was some mutual respect between them.
Steve squatted down, taking another glance at Ken.
'He really is a good guy.' He thought before turning his attention back to Brett.
He decided to call for a fastball this time on the inside. Since he'd already seen the slider, it would be best to try and jam Ken and save Brett some face. If he had guessed accurately, Ken would probably dial it down a little in this at-bat.
Seeing the lead, Brett nodded once more and quickly entered his wind up. He was intent on striking the new guy out and regaining some of the respect that he felt was lost in the last exchange.
'Don't look down on me!' He shouted in his heart.
The ball flew out, its trajectory spot on. Although it was accurate, Ken could see the course with ease, almost as if there was a trail through the air.
From first glance, the fastball was about 85mph. While it was a decent speed, it was nowhere near the peak that he'd experienced back in Japan, let alone the tricky bombs that Ryan would throw.
Ken twisted his body once more, keeping his wrists relaxed. Since he already knew it was an inside ball, the rest was history. To him, the result was already a foregone conclusion.
WHOOOOOSH
DOOONG
Once again, the ball was sent into the air, this time into the left outfield. Much like the previous ball, it found itself over the fence, waiting to be found by the unfortunate soul tasked with collecting them later.
Steve stared blankly at the ball go over the fence and couldn't help but wear a wry smile.
'I guess he's not as nice as I first thought…' He said inwardly.
However, his mischievous smile returned shortly after. It made sense why Ken would go for broke, after all, he didn't care about the team politics. It was clear that he was here for one thing… To play baseball and win.
After seeing what he was capable of, Steve felt that it wouldn't be impossible for the guy to turn pro as early as next year. Of course he couldn't say first hand, but it was just a feeling.
Instead of jumping for joy like last time, Coach Wyatt quietly walked over to the mound and patted Brett on the shoulder, whispering some words into his ear.
Meanwhile, Ken nodded inwardly, happy with his performance. Now that he had secured his position on the team, he only wanted to one thing…
'I want to see my status window…' He complained inwardly.