With a flash, Ken almost ran into the bathroom, turning the tap on and waiting for the water to heat up. He eagerly discarded his sweaty clothes and threw them to the side, scrunching up his face from the smell.
'Finally…' He thought, taking a deep breath. For some reason he was starting to feel nervous, wondering if this 18 months off had regressed his abilities or something.
He even used to have bad dreams where his potential reduced to an F rating. Of course there was no way that was possible, right?
Taking a step into the shower, Ken willed the system to open and was greeted with the familiar and nostalgic status screen.
MAJOR LEAGUE SYSTEM
SYSTEM LEVEL: 5 (64,880/1,000,000 Major points to level up)
NAME: Ken Takagi
AGE: 18
TALENT ASSESSMENT: SS
POTENTIAL: EX-
MAJOR POINTS: 64,880
USER MENU:
-STATS
-MISSIONS
-SYSTEM SHOP
-LOTTERY (Locked)
-IMAGE TRAINING
-IDENTIFY
-TRAINING PLAN
-MENTOR
USER STATS:
>Physical Fitness: SS
>Pitching: SSS+
>Fielding: A+
>Game Intelligence: A
>Mental: SSS-
>Skills: 21
>Traits: 2
PHYSICAL FITNESS: (Avg. SS)
Balance and Coordination: SS+
Agility: SS-
Strength: SS
Stamina: SS+
"EX-? What does that mean?" He mumbled.
The first thing that he noticed was the new grade next to his potential, instantly throwing him into confusion. However, in the next moment, it dawned on him.
'Is that the grade above SSS!?' A wave of happiness assaulted him, causing him to almost slip on the tiles. He took a moment to steady himself before continuing down the list.
'Pitching SSS+, Mental SSS-. I swear they weren't this good before the system started its upgrade.' He mused.
The only thing he could think of was because he improved his pitching form before the system returned. Since it was a mechanical change, the system should have changed the grading accordingly. Or at least that's what he thought.
As for his mental… He had gone through a traumatic experience with Tetsuhiro and the gangs, perhaps that helped him harden his mental faculties.
However, upon seeing his physical fitness grades, he frowned slightly. They had remained the same, despite all of the training he had been doing.
But in the next moment he shrugged. It was a lot better than the alternative of the grades regressing.
Ken stood underneath the shower for a long time, staring at the status screen he'd been missing for 18 months. It was a surreal experience, making him realize that he had taken it for advantage.
Once his mind thought to this, he suddenly remembered someone else he had taken advantage of…
'Mika… Are you still mad at me?' He asked warily.
[Mad? I am merely an Artificial Intelligence. I do not experience such trivial emotions…]
Though the voice sounded monotonous in his mind, Ken could almost taste the venom dripping from her words. If he knew anything about women—which he didn't—this meant that she was indeed still mad at him.
'Hey, I'm sorry I didn't speak to you right away okay? It was my first day of school and I got a bit busy.' Ken said, trying to placate her.
[…]
After a few moments of silence, Ken let out a sigh.
'Well, I missed having you around. It's good to have you back.' He said, his thoughts genuine. It had indeed been tough without Mika's help, not only for his workouts, but also his sleeping schedule.
Of course he would never say this to her, lest he hurt her feelings, or code? He wasn't sure.
[It's… Good to be back.]
Ken's eyes widened in surprise, not expecting such a response from Mika. For a moment, her voice sounded almost human.
However, not wanting to press the issue, Ken left it.
'Hey Mika, I have a few questions if you don't mind answering?' He asked politely.
[Sure.]
Ken breathed a sigh of relief. There had been a few things that were plaguing him throughout the 18 months of radio silence without the system, things that he had regretted not asking Mika about back then.
'Thank you. First, why did the system take so long to upgrade? Is this something that will increase as the level gets higher?'
Ken's face turned serious as he awaited the answer. If this was the case, then he would have to think carefully whether or not it was worth leveling up the system in the future. If he made it to the Majors one day, his dip in performance without the system could cost him his position.
[Answer: User's body had not matured enough to experience any further growth without sustaining long term damage. The bones, tendons and muscles needed to naturally grow and adapt to the increased levels of strength.]
Ken was hit with a bombshell right off the bat. He had not considered this at all, merely thinking that the system needed a hell of a lot of time to upgrade on its own.
[Now that user has almost reached maturity, the system will no longer require such a lengthy time to upgrade. However, this may change depending on various factors.]
"Mmm." Ken nodded in satisfaction. This was the news that he most wanted to hear.
'Thank you Mika. Next question, what are the grades beyond SSS+?'
[Answer: the grades following SSS are EX and L. Each only have one iteration and are incredibly difficult to ascend to.]
'EX and L?' Ken thought for a moment, trying to figure out why it would be called such. However, he was interrupted by Mika who gave him the answer without prompting.
[Extraordinary followed by Legendary.]
"Ah, makes sense…" Ken muttered.
Yet this only gave him additional questions. 'Mika, do you know which players have Legendary grades in this world?'
[Apologies, until user has used "Identify" on these people, Mika cannot give out such information.]
Ken nodded in understanding. Basically Mika was saying that she knew such people existed, but wasn't going to tell him. Ken understood that he was being a little greedy, but at the end of the day, even if he learned the information it wouldn't help him.