After calling out for a while, Ken realized that Mika was gone. For a few moments, he felt lost. Ken dropped to his knees, struggling with the weight of what he'd just been told.
His mind poured over everything that had been revealed. No matter how many times he thought about it, it was still hard to believe.
'My undying will to make it to the Majors is what got me this far…' He mused inwardly.
'What did she mean by that?'
Was his final wish before succumbing to his overdose so strong that he was brought to this universe? Did it also create the system? Or was it Mika herself that brought him here?
There were too many questions, none of which he had the answers for.
He slowly got up to his feet and looked at himself in the bathroom mirror. Compared to what he'd seen in the hospital earlier, it was like the difference between night and day. Yet, Ken found it hard to look at his own reflection.
He felt a range of emotions, guilt the most prevalent.
'Why now? What has changed that would make this universe unstable?'
Ken frowned, his thoughts deepening.
When he was at the restaurant with Ai, he remembered hearing the sound of glass shattering in his mind before he suddenly felt dizzy and drowsy. Could it have been back then?
Ken closed his eyes and used memory recall, playing back the moment.
"Nonsense. My number 1 priority is providing for you and our future family, baseball is just a means to that end."
Right after saying this, the glass shattered.
'Is it because baseball was no longer my number 1 priority?' Ken thought, frowning.
But then he remembered Mika's words. That his undying will to make it to the Majors was what got him this far.
'Did she mean that literally? Was that the thing holding me here?' Now that he thought about it, it was certainly a possibility. This meant that he was the one who caused her to disappear.
Guilt suddenly crept into his heart. Mika was someone he trusted, someone he relied on. Yet now he may never talk to her again because of his actions.
But Ken decided not to linger on this for long. The damage had already been done, and it didn't seem like there was anything that could reverse such effects, at least in the short term.
'I don't know how much fame I need to stabilize this universe… But I will need to try everything in my power to increase my fame.' He thought inwardly.
He had no choice after all, not if he wanted to protect those close to him.
Ken made his way out of the bathroom and gazed at Ai's sleeping figure. He hardened his resolve.
'I'll protect you all… No matter what it takes.'
As he got into bed, Ken opened up his system.
MAJOR LEAGUE SYSTEM
SYSTEM LEVEL: 6 (Max)
NAME: Ken Takagi
AGE: 21
TALENT ASSESSMENT: EX
POTENTIAL: L
MAJOR POINTS: 8,604,880
USER MENU:
-STATS
-MISSIONS
-SYSTEM SHOP
-LOTTERY
-IMAGE TRAINING
-IDENTIFY
-TRAINING PLAN
-MENTOR
-???
USER STATS:
>Physical Fitness: EX
>Pitching: SSS+
>Fielding: A+
>Game Intelligence: SSS
>Mental: EX-
>Skills: 25
>Traits: 4
PHYSICAL FITNESS: (Avg. EX)
Balance and Coordination: EX
Agility: EX-
Strength: EX
Stamina: EX+
#???
Choose 1:
>Requires 1,000,000 Major points to unlock
>Requires 20,000,000 Major points to unlock
With the completion of the Triple-A missions, he had quite a lot of Major Points saved up. Unfortunately, it was not enough to choose the higher option out of his unknown function.
For a brief moment he considered choosing the lesser option, but he quickly shook his head.
'I still have ways to gain more Major points, I shouldn't be hasty.' He thought.
He returned back to his status window and gazed through all his grades. There were many points that could be improved, but one stood out glaringly.
'My pitching is still low, even though its my main position. I will need to find a way to improve it.' Ken mused. The last time it had upgraded was a long time ago, he couldn't even remember now.
'It's time for Image training.'
With that, he selected the Image Training function and soon his vision darkened. He was transported to the familiar Koshien stadium in Osaka, somewhere he'd been many times both here and real life.
#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
He glanced at the missions, trying to find the quickest way to get Major Points. Outside of the season missions this was how he would get enough points to unlock the 20 million option in the unknown function.
He had tried to strike out the AI before, but always fell short. The professional version of Daichi was just too difficult to go against, at least at his current level.
'I could either throw 100,000 breaking balls as strikes, or 100,000 pitches over 100mph as strikes. That way I can get two rewards at the same time.' He thought.
Of course if he could throw breaking balls above 100mph, he'd be able to complete 3 missions at once. But unfortunately, that was almost impossible.
'If I can pitch 1 ball every 10 seconds, and last for about 4 hours… I should be able to pitch close to 1400 balls in that time. As long as I can do that, I can complete those missions in just over 2 months.'
It was a massive undertaking, but Ken had no choice. He had a feeling that the unknown function would assist him in gaining the fame he needed to keep this universe from destruction.
Not only that, the skills as rewards would help him tremendously.
"Let's do this…"