'Did you use Identify on him Mika?' Ken asked, resuming his walk back out of the airport.
[Affirmative]
Ken learned his lesson and decided to stop in place before opening up the system window and taking a look. Back in the U18 World Cup, he had still been a little cautious using his system too much.
This was why he didn't use Identify on Leo back then, which he now regretted. But since he had been given this opportunity once more, he wouldn't miss out.
NAME: Leo Cameron
AGE: 21
TALENT ASSESSMENT: EX+
POTENTIAL: L
USER STATS:
>Physical Fitness: EX+
>Pitching: A
>Fielding: EX
>Game Intelligence: L
>Mental: EX-
'Now that's just unfair…' Ken thought. His motivation faltering momentarily. To see such a disparity in abilities was almost disheartening.
But then a surge of competitive spirit assaulted him, causing his body to thrum with excitement. He knew that Leo was an amazing player, but even he had underestimated his capabilities.
'This is the first time I've seen a Legendary grade…' He thought, clenching his fists tightly. This monster would be unleashed into the Majors this year, and yet Ken still felt he was so far behind his level.
He soon left the airport with a whole lot of motivation to improve. However, he didn't want to rush things, especially since it could cause injuries if he overworked himself.
Ken had calmed down from his ridiculous training style back in Japan. It was only now that he properly understood just what kind of risk he was putting on himself back then. The problem was, the sport was so competitive back home that kids were driven to the brink by not only themselves, but the coach's as well.
Just one mistake and baseball could be taken from them for the rest of their lives, just like it had happened in his previous life.
So Ken caught a taxi and returned to his dorm. He had a few ways that he could improve, but by far the best way was to complete the mission tasks and claim the rewards. With the tickets and Elixirs, he would be able to take the next leap in his physical grade.
Upon returning to Columbia, he noticed that it was basically deserted since it was Summer break, which suited him just fine. Ken enjoyed the quiet atmosphere since there were less distractions.
But as he was walking along the path to his dorm, a woman caught his eye. Dressed in a flowing white sun dress, Amelia was walking in his direction, causing a knot to form in his stomach.
Every time he'd spoken to her, it felt awkward. There was some clear mutual attraction between the two, but with Ken's chaste and loyal heart, he essentially shut her out.
The beautiful woman raised her head, wearing a gorgeous smile briefly, before it froze upon seeing him. She lowered her head almost immediately and continued walking.
For some reason Ken felt some sorrow after seeing such a confident woman act like this. But even as she walked straight past him, he didn't speak. It was not his place to speak, especially since he had basically blocked off any form of interaction with her.
He let out a silent sigh and continued on, trying to put it to the back of his mind. He had too much to worry about instead of this.
Walking into his dorm room, Ken looked around and saw that Steve was not here. It wasn't uncommon for the guy to go missing every now and then so he thought nothing of it.
He placed his bag down and wanted to have a shower. On his way to the closet he jumped in fright, seeing Steve laying on the floor staring up at the ceiling.
"Dude what the hell!?" Ken exclaimed.
Steve merely groaned in response, looking as if he was sulking.
Only now did Ken remember that the guy had been at dinner with Tara's parents 2 nights before. He had been too absorbed in spending time with Ai before her trip to Japan to check in with him.
"That bad huh?" Ken queried, taking a seat on the bed.
"Man… Don't get me started." Steve replied half-heartedly.
Ken shrugged, "It's cool if you don't wanna talk abo—"
"So get this, Tara's dad works in real estate right? The guy was talking about investment properties for half the damn dinner. Between that and Tara being pissed at me, it was practically torture." Steve said, cutting him off.
"I don't care about real estate man…" He said finally, letting out a sigh.
"Mhmm, and what about Tara's mom?" Ken asked.
"Oh she's lovely." Steve replied simply. "I could see her starting to get annoyed with her husband for talking so much, it was kind of funny."
Ken laughed, "It doesn't sound too bad. Tara's dad was probably just wanting to help you set up for the future. Having him help you make some good investments with your Major League salary might not be such a bad thing."
Steve was silent for a few moments, as if contemplating his words. "You're right… If he's my agent then he'll basically be my employee!" He said, shooting to his feet.
"That's not what I meant…" Ken replied, feeling a headache coming along.
However, Steve didn't listen and began to explain how he would use this dynamic in the future.
"So? Did Tara forgive you for the storm you caused?" Ken asked, cutting his monologue short.
"Yeah we're fine, but she told me that I needed to attend lessons from some public relations lady this summer. Can you believe it? It's summer break and I'll have to attend class… I agreed, but I'm not happy about it." He said, crossing his arms in a huff like a child.
"She's right man. You can't just run your mouth like that on TV. Even if you don't do it now, teams will make you do some media training in the Majors, otherwise they might not even sign you."