The next morning, Ken woke up nice and early as usual. His muscles felt a little tight, mainly because of the long flight the day before. He gave Ai a kiss on her forehead and got up, changing into some tight fitting clothes for his morning run.
Upon going into the lounge, he saw Steve sleeping soundly, his soft snores filling the room. There was drool dripping out the corner of his mouth, painting a comical sight.
With a small smile, Ken nudged him once, "You coming for a run?"
"I'm up." He said sleepily, sitting up on the spot.
It seemed that living with Ken the past year had conditioned him to waking up quickly and efficiently. He trudged over to the door and grabbed his shoes, placing them on as if he was on autopilot.
They walked onto the street and could already feel a warm breeze beginning to stir. It was not yet dawn, but the light was starting to creep into the sky.
Without a word, Ken broke into his jog, hearing Steve beside him.
It was almost fall, which meant the new academic semester would be starting at college. They would be starting their sophomore year which meant the classes would only get harder. The time had flown by, but one thing had remained constant throughout.
His friend Steve.
While the guy could be rambunctious and cheeky at times, he was truly a good friend. Although he made some questionable decisions at times, Ken could not fault him, for he truly was like family to him.
He turned, only to see Steve digging in his nose with his finger. Whatever good will suddenly vanished and he let out a groan.
"Gross."
The two completed their workout and began to stretch in a park nearby. It was too early for kids to be there, otherwise they might have caught a few suspicious gazes.
Ken had been putting off looking at his mission window ever since he learned of his suspension. Now that he was back in the states, he knew that it was finally time to face the music and try and move on.
They walked back home, taking only a few minutes. Steve entered the house first, only to see Yuki sitting at the table cradling her coffee.
"Good morning Yuki~"
However, she merely looked at him before turning her attention back to her coffee. This time, it was Ken's turn to laugh at his friend's misfortune. It seemed that he didn't know that his mother was a zombie before her morning coffee.
"I'm going to shower…" He mumbled.
Ken felt slightly better and walked out to the front porch and leaned against the rail. His eyes moved to the sky and saw the sun already over the horizon, shining down.
'I guess it's time…' Ken thought, bringing up the system window.
#NEW MISSION: NCAA Division I Tournament.
*Task 1: Hit 20 home runs [27/20] [Completed]
*Task 2: Finish season with best ERA [Completed]
*Task 3: Finish season with greater than 70 RBIs [71/70] [Completed]
*Task 4: Finish on top of Ivy League [Completed]
*Task 5: Win Ivy league Championship [Failed]
*Task 6: Qualify for NCAA Super Regionals [Failed]
*Task 7: Qualify for College World Series [Failed]
*Task 8: Win College World Series [Failed]
*Task 9: Win MVP (Tiered rewards for each Tournament)
REWARDS:
>Task 1 rewards - 50,000 Major points [Claim Rewards]
>Task 2 rewards - 50,000 Major points + Draft stock increase [Claim Rewards]
>Task 3 rewards - 70,000 Major points + Draft stock increase [Claim Rewards]
>Task 4 rewards - 100,000 Major points + Additional Mentee skill slot [Claim Rewards]
>Task 5 rewards - 100,000 Major points + Trait selection [Failed]
>Task 6 rewards - 150,000 Major points + EX-Grade Physical Elixir [Failed]
>Task 7 rewards - 250,000 Major points + EX-Grade Mental Elixir [Failed]
>Task 8 rewards - 250,000 Major points + Diamond Lottery Ticket [Failed]
>Task 9 rewards - [Based on Performance] [Claim Rewards]
Ken let out a defeated sigh. Not wanting to dwell on his failures, he quickly claimed all the rewards.
[Congratulations, you've received:
270,000 Major points
Additional Mentee skill slot
Recovery Elixir x 1]
'Oh? A Recovery Elixir, that's great.' Ken thought with surprise. The others rewards he'd been expecting, but it seemed that task 9 had given him the elixir as a reward.
While he couldn't use it on himself, it was always great to have just in case something happened to someone that he loved. It had already saved his own life, as well as his Grandfather's who was suffering from cancer.
Feeling a little better, Ken brought up his status window.
MAJOR LEAGUE SYSTEM
SYSTEM LEVEL: 5 (659,880/1,000,000 Major points to level up)
NAME: Ken Takagi
AGE: 19
TALENT ASSESSMENT: SSS+
POTENTIAL: EX-
MAJOR POINTS: 659,880
USER MENU:
-STATS
-MISSIONS
-SYSTEM SHOP
-LOTTERY
-IMAGE TRAINING
-IDENTIFY
-TRAINING PLAN
-MENTOR (1)
USER STATS:
>Physical Fitness: SSS+
>Pitching: SSS+
>Fielding: A+
>Game Intelligence: A+
>Mental: EX-
>Skills: 25
>Traits: 3
PHYSICAL FITNESS: (Avg. SSS+)
Balance and Coordination: SSS+
Agility: SSS
Strength: SSS
Stamina: EX-
Apart from his large stock of Major Points, Ken didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. He regretted that he missed out on the EX-Grade Elixirs, especially since he was only a few months away from finishing Mika's training plan.
Once that happened, he could have pushed his body once more with the elixirs.
'Perhaps this is for the best.' Ken tried to tell himself. There was no use in beating himself up about it anymore than he already had.
Shaking his head, Ken turned to the Mentor window.
# 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: 2 (1)
-Fatigue Management
-Slugger
[Please select a skill to impart]
Zone Mastery (Legendary): Grants the ability to perceive the strike zone with absolute clarity, enhancing both pitching and batting accuracy.
Pitching Variety: Grants the user increased proficiency when learning new pitches
'DUDE NO WAY!' Ken almost jumped in fright after seeing the golden hue of the Legendary skill staring at him. He didn't even think twice before selecting it, worried that the system might change its mind.
"ARGH!"
Ken heard a yell from inside the house, causing him to run inside. "What happened?" he asked his mother.
"I—I don't know, it came from the bathroom."
'Oh crap! I've done it again…' Ken cursed inwardly.