After four grueling hours, Ken's consciousness returned to the real world. His mind was heavy with fatigue, but a smile crept onto his face in the next moment.
[Congratulations, you have received skill: Striker]
[Congratulations, you have received 5,000,000 Major points]
Ken quickly went to his skills menu and looked at the new skill with enthusiasm.
Striker (Signature Skill): A strikeout-focused pitching style that enhances user's ability to finish batters. All pitch types gain a boost in strikeout potential. When the batter has two strikes, user's next pitch gains increased velocity or movement depending on the pitch thrown.
'Holy crap!' Ken's body shot up from the bed in shock as he read the broken skill.
"What's wrong!?" Ai was startled awake by his movements.
"N—Nothing babe. Go back to sleep, I'm going for my morning run." He said, leaning over and planting a kiss on her forehead.
As he got dressed, Ken's heart was singing. The toughest part of striking someone out was always the final pitch. With this new skill, it would make it far easier to finish the job, especially against Major League hitters.
Many hitters were renowned for hitting with 2 strikes. If Ken's pitches were enhanced in this situation, he would no doubt have a great advantage over anyone.
This was his first time seeing something called a signature skill. Instead of golden like the legendary skills, this one was silver. While that could mean it was less valuable than the legendary skills, Ken didn't think so.
'Are all of the skills in the image training signature skills?' he thought with excitement.
"You're looking chipper this morning." A voice called out, breaking him from his thoughts.
Ken made his way down the stairs and saw Rohan and Daichi waiting for him.
"I'm always happy in the morning." Ken replied, grinning.
"Never this happy…" Daichi replied suspiciously.
Ken nudged his brother on the way past, "Don't be a negative nancy, let's go run. Today is going to be a wonderful day."
As Ken waltzed towards the front door, Daichi and Rohan locked gazes, each wearing a bewildered expression on their face. They were both thinking the same thing: What's gotten into Ken?
The man himself was too busy dreaming of the effects of his new skill. He already began his run ahead of the other two, leaving them in the dust.
This good mood stayed with him the whole day, confusing even his mother Yuki who seemed to have also gradually moved into the family house.
As Ken showered, his mind wandered. While the skill was a great addition to his pitching abilities, he still needed to increase his pitching grade.
Ken thought that through pitching more and more it would organically increase, but it seemed like that was not the case.
The last time he'd increased its grade was back when Coach Hanada had taken him through the mechanics of pitching. While it was true his old coach was very good at what he did, he wasn't at the level where Ken could ask for pointers anymore.
So Ken eventually decided that he needed another personal trainer, one that would examine his pitching mechanics and help him make some tweaks. It was only this way that Ken believed he could improve his pitching grade.
'The problem is, where would I find a decent enough coach during the season?' He thoughts, letting the water run down his body.
Most pitching coach's worth their salt would either be employed by a team, or were retired players. To find a decent one during the season would likely be difficult.
While the Ligers had their pitching and catching coach, Coach Michaels, it would be impossible for Ken to receive the one on one training he was aiming for from this man. Not when he had the whole team to consider.
Ken got out of the shower and toweled himself down before heading into his room to get changed.
BUZZ BUZZ
On the bed, his phone began to ring.
"Ken, it's Barry."
"Ah, hello Barry. What can I do for you?" Ken answered.
As usual, the man was not much for small talk, he got right into it.
"We have a some drink companies asking to endorse you. I've narrowed it down to two, Gator-Aid and Pocari. Did you want to go forward with one of them?" He asked casually.
Ken didn't even need to think, "Let's go with Pocari, I used to drink that all the time after practice. Maybe they can send me a few shipments." He said with a smile.
"They're actually not paying that much in comparison to Gator-Aid, is it still something you want to do?" Barry asked.
"I don't care about the money, I'd rather endorse a product I use." Ken stated simply.
Pocari was a Japanese product, of course he would choose it over something like Gator-Aid.
Barry let out a sigh, "Okay sure thing. I'll speak to you when its time to sign the documents."
"Cool, thanks."
"Ah—wait!" Ken shouted.
"What is it?"
Ken suddenly realized that he could ask Barry to handle the issue of finding a coach. Not only did he have connections, but he would also be able to work out the salary and the finer details at the same time.
"You need a pitching coach? What's wrong with the one on your team?" Barry asked, bewildered.
"I need one on one training, Barry. Can you find me one or not?" Ken asked, feigning impatience.
Barry grumbled on the other end, as if the thought of spending money unnecessarily was one that physically hurt him. "Alright, I'll find someone."
"Make sure he's good. If you skimp at all, I'll be upset." Ken said wearing a grin.
"Yeah yeah, goodbye now."
Barry quickly hung up, causing Ken to laugh. Despite not speaking to Barry often, it was always a funny experience when they talked.
Now that he'd set some things in motion, Ken felt much better. He looked at the time and realized that he needed to get to the ballpark soon.