"With the conclusion of tonights game, the regular season has come to an end. In the American league, the Houston Arrows, New York Yanks and Detroit Ligers have clinched their division."
"In the National League, the Los Angeles Evaders, Atlanta Bears and St. Louis Reds finished at the top of their respective divisions. We now have word that the Wild Card teams have now been selected."
"New York Metros, San Diego Friars, Miami Blue Mariners, Toronto Doves, Seattle Waves and Tampa Bay Dolphins have all qualified for the post season."
"Let's head over to Bill for some high end analysis coming into this post season."
Ken turned the TV off, stretching on the couch. It had been two months since the All-star break and now the regular season had ended. By now, Ai's belly seemed like it was about to burst at the seams.
The Ligers had played well in the back half of the season, retaining their position at the top of the Central American League division.
Despite improving his pitching, Ken had yet to throw a perfect game, though he had thrown another shutout a few weeks prior.
Ken already knew that he was in for a tough post season. The bracket had already been released for each conference so he knew what to expect.
The Ligers would play the winner of Toronto vs Seattle in a weeks time, and if they managed to move on, it would most likely be against the Yanks for the American League Championship.
They had played the Yanks a total of 8 times this season, and only won two times. However, Ken had faith that they could win in a 7 game series.
BUZZ BUZZ
Ken picked up his phone and saw that there was a message from his wife. He let out a chuckle and got up from the couch, stopping by the fridge.
He pulled out the pickled onions and made his way up the stairs. In his bedroom, Ai was sitting up on the bed, surrounded by pillows, her belly easily visible.
"Special delivery." Ken said with a grin.
"Thanks… Your little offspring are making me eat some weird things." She complained, rubbing her bulging belly.
Ken laughed, scooting into bed with her. "Let's make the most of it for now. Soon it will be very busy in this house."
Ai raised her eyebrow, "And what is it now, if not busy?"
Ken's expression froze, remembering that there were still 8 people living in the house right now. "I guess you're right… Well at least we know they'll also suffer when the crying baby's come."
"Don't say it like that. I'm sure our kids are going to be angels." Ai said, holding her belly.
"Let's hope so." Ken muttered.
Things had started to feel real only recently. Every scan that they went to, Ken could see the baby's more and more. The due date was almost 2 months from now in late November.
Ken snuggled close to his wife, placing his head upon her bulging belly. Almost instantaneously, he received some resistance from the occupants.
He laughed, "I don't think our baby's like me using their home as a pillow."
Ai giggled, giving the twins a little poke in response. "Have you thought of any names?"
"What about Kenji? For our son."
Ai looked thoughtful before nodding, "Can I pick our daughters then?"
"Mmm, of course."
"How about Natsuki?"
"With the Kanji for summer and moon?"
Ai nodded, smiling.
"Okay… Kenji Takagi, Natsuki Takagi. How does that sound?"
The two laid there for a while until it was time to sleep.
With the conclusion of the post season, the Ligers had a week break while their next opponent was decided. Ken had a few things that he needed to do during that time, one of which he'd been waiting for what seemed like forever.
Checking that his wife was fast asleep, Ken moved to his side of the bed and activated his Image Training function. He was not far away from completing the breaking ball mission.
#PITCHING MISSIONS:
> Pitch 100,000 strikes [100%] - 5,000,000 Major points + Skill: Striker [Complete]
> Pitch 100,000 breaking balls [99%] - 5,000,000 Major points + Skill: Breaker of Balls
> Throw pick-offs 100,000 times [0%] - 5,000,000 Major points + Skill: Pick-off Practitioner
> Pitch 100mph 100,000 times [100%] - 7,500,000 Major points + Skill: Over the Speed limit [Complete]
> Strike-out AI (upgradeable) - 10,000,000 Major points + Diamond Lottery ticket
But this was not the biggest thing he would be discovering today. After completing the mission, he'd have enough Major points to finally unlock the final unknown function of the system.
Without wanting to waste anymore time, Ken started pitching right away.
3 hours later, his consciousness reappeared back in the room.
[Congratulations, you have received skill: Breaker of Balls]
[Congratulations, you have received 5,000,000 Major points]
Breaker of Balls (Signature Skill): User's breaking pitches gain extreme movement and sharpness, making them far harder to track and hit. Increases effectiveness of curveballs, sliders, and other off-speed pitches.
Ken's eyes sparkled as he read the new signature skill. With this, his pitching repertoire had grown in effectiveness. With better breaking balls, he'd be able to set up his fastball even better now.
But with that out of the way, Ken's attention turned to the system once more.
MAJOR LEAGUE SYSTEM
SYSTEM LEVEL: 6 (Max)
NAME: Ken Takagi
AGE: 22
TALENT ASSESSMENT: EX+
POTENTIAL: L
MAJOR POINTS: 23,604,880
USER MENU:
-STATS
-MISSIONS
-SYSTEM SHOP
-LOTTERY
-IMAGE TRAINING
-IDENTIFY
-TRAINING PLAN
-MENTOR
-???
He stared at the question marks that had been plaguing him for almost a year and finally opened it.
'Let's see what the hell this thing is.' He mused inwardly.
#???
Choose 1:
>Requires 1,000,000 Major points to unlock
>Requires 20,000,000 Major points to unlock
Ken took a deep breath and pressed the more expensive option.
[Are you sure you wish to spend 20,000,000 Major points to unlock ???]
[Y/N]
Ken hesitated briefly. He wasn't sure what he was doing right now, but he hoped that there would be some answers at the end of this.