Once he was done with the food he made his way back up to the room and breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing that the bedding had been changed. He wasn't tired by any means, but the thought of laying in his old sweat was gross.
He opened his laptop and booked his flight tickets and sent his Grandpa a message letting him know of the details. He was looking forward to seeing the man once more, it had been far too long.
And so, Ken went to the hotel gym and worked out after his food had settled, returning to his room shortly after. Even after showering he was not tired which was unsurprising.
With nothing else to do, he got into bed and went into the Image Training.
Once the familiar scene of Koshien Stadium greeted him, Ken let out a contented sigh. No matter how many times he saw this place, it would never get old. The older he got, the more he missed his time in Japan alongside his teammates.
He had two ongoing missions at the moment within the Image training, both were ridiculously difficult and could take years to complete.
#PITCHING MISSIONS:
> Pitch 100,000 strikes - 5,000,000 Major points + Skill: Striker
> Pitch 100,000 breaking balls - 5,000,000 Major points + Skill: Breaker of Balls
> Throw pick-offs 100,000 times - 5,000,000 Major points + Skill: Pick-off Practitioner
> Pitch 100mph 100,000 times - 7,500,000 Major points + Skill: Over the Speed limit
> Strike-out AI (upgradeable) - 10,000,000 Major points + Diamond Lottery ticket
#BATTING MISSIONS:
> Hit 100,000 bunts successfully - 3,500,000 Major points + Skill: Bunt Aficionado
> Hit 100,000 balls into outfield - 3,500,000 Major points + Skill: Double Trouble
> Hit 50,000 foul balls - 1,500,000 Major points + Skil: Foul Demon
> Hit 100,000 sliders - 4,500,000 Major points + Skill: Slider Demon
> Hit 100,000 curve balls - 4,500,000 Major points + Skil: Curve Demon
> Hit 100,000 fastballs - 4,500,000 Major points + Skil: Fastball Demon
> Hit 50,000 home runs - 10,000,000 Major points + Diamond Lottery ticket + Skill: Home Run King
The numbers were hard to look at, and even after almost 6 months of trying, he was not even 5% of the way to completing them. What made it even more difficult was that this was on the toughest difficulty; Major League.
'One step at a time…' Ken thought, diving right into the pitching missions first.
Around 5 hours later, Ken was spent. The drain on his mental facilities while in the Image Training was far too burdensome to last for much longer.
Upon returning to the present, he let out a sigh of relief and got out of bed to use the bathroom. He checked his phone and replied to Ai before getting into bed and using the sleep protocol once more.
'You won't make me sleep another 30 hours right…?' He checked with Mika. Ken had a flight tomorrow morning so he did not want to miss it.
[Mika will wake the user up at 5am as usual.]
Only then did he ascent, slowly falling asleep.
The next morning, Ken packed his gear and made his way back to the airport, catching a plane to Raleigh, the place he would be meeting his grandpa.
After another uncomfortable flight, Ken departed the plane and collected his bag, only to see Mark Williams his grandfather after walking through the arrival doors. The man looked to be in great health, even better than when he'd last seen him 2 years ago.
The two locked gazes and Ken smiled brilliantly.
"Kenny! You're looking fit, fine and in shape." He said with a grin, pulling him into a hug.
"I could say the same for you Grandpa, are you sure you're not aging backwards?"
"Hehe, don't jinx it. I might not look old, but I'm still approaching 70. Come, come, I've been waiting all this time for you to visit me, let's not waste anymore time." He said, motioning for Ken to follow.
The two walked to the car park and got in Mark's car before heading to the house. It took around 30 minutes, but there was not a dull moment during the trip.
When they arrived, Ken saw the gates that led up to a two story house. At a glance it looked cozy, lacking the modern aesthetic that many houses these days had.
Mark parked the car and they went inside. There was a large set of stairs at the front of the house which they climbed and Ken put his bags away in the guest room.
"Those are some pretty harsh stairs, are you sure you should be living here?" Ken asked with some concern.
While his grandfather was indeed healthy, he wouldn't be forever. Just remembering how weak the man was when he had cancer was enough to bring up the concern.
Mark shrugged, "I won't be staying here long…"
"What do you mean?" Ken asked, a little confused.
"Go take a seat, I'll make us some tea." He said, pointing to the brown leather couch in the lounge room.
Ken frowned slightly but did as he was told. The couch was comfy and he sunk into it, waiting for his Grandpa to finish dabbling in the kitchen.
He returned a little later with some tea and sat down on the chair opposite him.
"So, what did you mean by you won't be here long?"
Mark took a sip of his tea, slowly placing it on the coffee table. "I got an offer recently, and I've already taken it." He said.
"Hmm? What kind of offer?"
"A head coach position…" Mark replied, a small smile creeping onto his face.
"Wow, that's amazing. Is it the Under 18 team again?" Ken asked curiously.
However, Mark shook his head, "It's a little more prestigious than that." He said with a chuckle.
Ken frowned, "So at a college? Or… Major League Team?"
His grandfather nodded, "Have you heard of the Detroit Ligers?"
"EH!? Really?" Ken almost spilled his tea in excitement. "Congratulations Grandpa, that's amazing." He said, genuinely happy.
"Hehe, thank you. We have the 3rd pick in the upcoming draft… I have heard rumors they are thinking of selecting you, as long as you're not selected before then."
"Huh?"
Ken's mind was blown.