***
The next morning, Ken awoke in his new room, letting out a big stretch. He was about to get up, but he saw a flashing red icon in the corner of his vision.
'A notification?'
Ken quickly opened the system and had a brief look.
MAJOR LEAGUE SYSTEM
SYSTEM LEVEL: 5 (389,880/1,000,000 Major points to level up)
NAME: Ken Takagi
AGE: 19
TALENT ASSESSMENT: SSS+
POTENTIAL: EX-
MAJOR POINTS: 389,880
USER MENU:
-STATS
-MISSIONS
-SYSTEM SHOP
-LOTTERY (Locked)
-IMAGE TRAINING
-IDENTIFY
-TRAINING PLAN
-MENTOR (1)
USER STATS:
>Physical Fitness: SSS+
>Pitching: SSS+
>Fielding: A+
>Game Intelligence: A
>Mental: EX-
>Skills: 22
>Traits: 2
PHYSICAL FITNESS: (Avg. SSS+)
Balance and Coordination: SSS+
Agility: SSS
Strength: SSS
Stamina: EX-
Everything was as he expected, apart from the red flashing number next to his Mentor option. He clicked on it with curiosity.
# MENTEE LIST:
>Shiro Masuda
>Stephen Adams (1)
NAME: Steve Adams
AGE: 19
TALENT ASSESSMENT: SSS
POTENTIAL: EX
USER STATS:
>Physical Fitness: SS
>Pitching: C
>Fielding: SSS+
>Game Intelligence: SS
>Mental: SSS-
Skills: 1 (1)
[Please select a skill to impart]
Doryoku: You are rewarded based on the effort you put in. Increases training benefits up to 20% when giving it your all.
Slugger: Increase strength by 4 grades when the ball is struck with the middle of the bat
Pitching Variety: Grants the user increased proficiency when learning new pitches
Stealth Runner: Enhances user's base-running instincts. Grants +2 grade to Agility when attempting to steal bases or take extra leads.
Ken's eyes widened when given the options from the system, not expecting to see some of his better skills present.
'They even included the skill I got from my pitching missions.' He mused, looking at the most recent addition to his arsenal of skills: Stealth Runner.
Pitching Variety was useless to Steve, so he quickly discarded it, however he wasn't sure what to give his friend. After thinking for a while, Ken closed the window. He would discuss this with Steve this morning before making a decision.
"Alright, time for morning training." Ken stated, jumping off the bed and heading over to Steve on the other side of the room.
"Get up, we're going in 2 minutes." He said, nudging the guy.
"I—I'm up!" Steve exclaimed, shooting up off the bed. Ever since Ken had played the prank on him during the WWBA tournament, the guy had never slept in around him again.
The two got changed and left the dorms before beginning their jog. Since the sun had yet to appear on the horizon, there was no one out and about at this time. At least that's what they thought.
Ken uncharacteristically slowed down to a stop as he saw someone appear around the corner. The guy was dressed in a shiny suit and was currently barefoot, holding his shoes as he stumbled towards the dorms.
"Captain Tristan?"
"OHhhhh, hey guys." He mumbled, waving emphatically. "Didn't I tell ya to get some shleep?"
"Uh, it's 5am. We already slept." Ken said, wondering why the guy was slurring.
"I see… Well, keep up the good work. Hic~" He stumbled past, making his long trip back towards the dorms, leaving both Ken and Steve mystified.
"Was there alcohol at the dinner last night?" Ken asked in confusion.
Steve shook his head, "They probably brought their own."
"Right… Well let's get back to it."
The two continued their morning run, only finishing after 6:30. Out the front of the dorms, the two did some stretching and began to chat.
"Hey, if you had a choice between being good at stealing bases, or hitting bombs? What would you choose?" Ken asked, trying not to sound suspicious.
"Hmm? What kind of question is that? Of course I'd wanna hit bombs. There's nothing more satisfying than hitting a homer." Steve replied with ease.
Ken nodded. He probably should have known that the guy would say this, but at least it made it easier for him to decide now. Steve lacked power, which was why he didn't have many home runs to his name.
With the addition of the Slugger skill, he should be able to change that rather quickly.
Ken made up his mind as they returned to the dorms.
"I'm gonna shower first." Steve said, beating Ken to the bathroom.
Ken didn't mind too much, he still needed to select the skill for Steve anyway. As the guy showered, Ken brought up the menu and finally selected the Slugger skill.
[User has selected Slugger Skill]
[Imparting…]
[Success.]
THUD
'OH CRAP!'
Ken stood up in a panic, suddenly remembering that selecting a skill would cause the person in question to get light headed or faint.
He ran to the bathroom door and opened it, only to see the figure of his friend on the floor of the shower, looking far from presentable.
As he was about to step forward to help, the door on the other side of the bathroom opened, revealing the girl he'd met yesterday.
"What happened?" Tara asked, peering into the bathroom.
Her face faltered in the next moment after seeing Steve's exposed state. She looked at Ken briefly before closing the door slowly, acting as if nothing had happened. "I'll leave it to you." She said.
Ken didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but he shook his head in the next moment. He decided not to tell Steve that their attractive neighbor had seen him in his most vulnerable state, at least for now.
Around 10 minutes later, Steve awoke on the floor of the apartment, now covered in a towel. He sat up, rubbing his head and looking around in confusion.
"What the hell happened?" He asked, seeing Ken sitting on the floor across from him.
"You passed out in the shower. Maybe you had it too hot or something." He said, activating his poker face.
"Right… So you got me out of there?" He asked, lifting the towel and realizing that he was in fact still naked.
"Yes… Nice piercing by the way." Ken said.
"What? Piercing!?." Steve replied, lifting his towel once again and inspecting his junk frantically. A look of realization soon appeared on his face after hearing the immature laughter coming out of Ken's mouth.