Without waiting any longer, he brought up his new stats and stared at them with glee.
USER STATS:
>Physical Fitness: A+
>Pitching: B
>Fielding: B-
>Game Intelligence: B-
>Mental: A+
>Skills: 13
PHYSICAL FITNESS: (Avg. A+)
Balance and Coordination: S
Agility: A+
Strength: A
Stamina: S
'It looks like my pitching has returned to the B grade.' Ken commented inwardly.
Since he had not properly pitched in the past year, this was actually one of the areas that had fallen behind. However, he was not disheartened at all.
With his disciplinarian skill and the Image training provided by the system, it would only be a matter of time before his pitching was upgraded a few times.
"Kenny! It's almost time for the doctors." His mothers voice snapped him out of his train of thought.
"Coming!"
As Ken stepped out of the bathroom, Yuki performed a double-take.
"Kenny?" She asked curiously, almost not even recognizing her own son.
Ken's jaw seemed sharper and his eyes more determined. The frame which used to be long and wiry now seemed better proportioned, boasting a calculated strength within.
Yuki could only look at him dumbfounded for a few moments, trying to match up the man in front of her with the boy she had been raising all of these years.
"Sorry mom, I'll be ready in 5 minutes." Ken said apologetically, hurrying up the stairs to get changed.
Ken's mother just stood and watched him go upstairs in a daze, still not understanding what was happening.
"Honey what's wrong?" Chris saw his wife staring off into the distance and approached her with concern.
Instead of answering, she asked a question softly.
"When did our son grow up so much?"
Chris didn't respond for a while. Since he had yet to see Ken since this morning, he had yet to see the subtle transformation.
"I don't know." He answered simply, shaking his head.
Ever since this time last year, he had noticed a tremendous change in the way Ken acted. It was as if the argumentative and complacent teenager had been replaced overnight.
Since he had been enjoying being close to his son once again, Chris had overlooked the situation and just living in the moment. However, now that his wife had mentioned something, his mind began to pour over their interactions in the past year.
Ken was no longer rash, his maturity levels having increased by leaps and bounds. He was disciplined, never missing training for even a single day apart from today when he was sick.
Chris had even noticed that it felt like talking to another adult whenever they interacted.
Yet he shook his head in the next moment before responding. "He's just turned 16 not long ago, adolescence is a mysterious thing. One moment they're still kids and the next moment they're adults like us."
He placed his hand on Yuki's shoulder, comforting her. It seemed as if these words had done the trick as she felt herself calm down considerably.
"Yeah you're right." She replied, turning around and embracing her husband.
A smile formed on Chris's face, showing just how happy he was.
Still embracing his wife, he saw a man walk out of Ken's room and make his way down the stairs towards him, startling him greatly.
With one swift movement, he moved Yuki behind him and took a defensive stance.
"Who are you!?" His voice was deep and menacing, unknowingly speaking out in English.
"Huh!?" Ken looked at his father who was now in front of him, looking as if he wanted to incite violence.
"Dad, what are you doing?" Ken's voice came out deeper than usual, causing him to stop for a moment.
"Kenny?" Chris paused, moving closer a little to inspect the person.
Now that he was out of the light, he could finally see his sons features up close, causing him to let out a sigh of relief. Yet even though the anxiety had disappeared, he was inwardly shocked at just how different his son looked.
"What happened to you? Why do you look so… grown up?" Chris said after a while, inspecting his son from top to bottom.
"See, this is what I was talking about!" Yuki finally felt vindicated after seeing her husbands reaction. She too had a hard time believing the changes in Ken.
"W-What?" Ken started to feel nervous for some reason.
'Could it be that my 24 year old body has appeared now for some reason?' His mind raced and he quickly ran to the bathroom in order to use the mirror.
Since he had just showered, the mirror was all fogged up. So only after a few moments was he able to see the reflection staring back at him.
His eyes widened, seeing the visage staring back at him from the mirror. While he still held some youthful charm, his eyes and jawline made him look like a young adult.
His body which had not changed too much over the past year of intensive training suddenly looked to have filled out. He was no longer scrawny, showing clear and powerful muscles that would make most teenagers jealous.
While it would not be too noticeable to others, his parents who saw him everyday would easily be able to notice the difference.
'Is this because I reached S grade in stamina?' Ken thought for a moment, thinking it was the most likely scenario.
He never knew that reaching S grade would cause such dramatic circumstances.
Ken walked out of the bathroom and was at a loss for words. He stared at his parents, wearing a confused expression.
"Ah, there's my son." She said, seeing the silly look on his face and letting out a giggle.
"HAHAHA, I see it now." Chris joined in on the laughter and smacked Ken's back with joy.
Ken stood awkwardly for a few moments, not exactly enjoying the poking and prodding he was receiving from his parents. However, there was a smile on his face.
Thankfully they didn't ask too many questions since he did not have a good explanation for the changes to his body.
After a while, Chris said that it was time to go.
"Which clinic are we going to?" Ken asked, hopping into the family car.
Chris shook his head.
"We're going to the Yokohama Warriors facility. They have one of the best sports physicians in Japan, he'll be able to give us a straight answer about your injury."
Ken's eyes widened, feeling his heart beat in excitement.