Chapter 6

Chapter 6. The Final Piece

A sub quest had suddenly appeared.

To be honest, I was a little confused.

Why did this suddenly appear?

Every quest that had appeared until now had been connected to something written in the diary.

In other words, the quests were related to Father's wishes, emotional wounds he had suffered, or things like that.

Just in case, I checked the diary again, but there was nothing about winning the Bonghwangdaegi Most Home Runs Award.

Then there was only one answer.

So even things Father secretly wanted, things he only wished for in his heart, can appear as quests.

It meant that even if something was not a strong enough experience or emotion to be written in the diary, it could still become a quest.

Something I had failed to achieve.

Or something I had done that disappointed Father.

At the same time, even something small enough for him to simply let it go could apparently become a quest.

That must also be why the penalty for failing this quest is relatively light.

Right now, Father wanted me to win the Most Home Runs Award.

This was the same man who had said he would choose the team's championship over producing the home run king, wins leader, and Rookie of the Year all at once.

Thinking that he had secretly wanted his son to become the home run king made me smile.

Well, what could make a father happier than seeing his son become the home run king?

Maybe he even wanted his son's award more than the team's championship.

That was what fathers were like.

I immediately sent him a message.

[Me: I think I can win the Most Home Runs Award.]

[Father: ?]

[Me: I feel like you want me to.]

[Father: Don't start making hero swings just because you want home runs. Hit properly.]

[Father: And be careful not to get injured.]

I smiled at the way he tried to sound grumpy for no reason.

I put down my phone and checked the quest window again.

The reward for completing this sub quest was, "Ability to Check Success Probability."

It was the only piece of information the quest window had never shown me, so I was very satisfied.

As expected, the quest window never gave useless rewards.

The reward is great, but what's with this failure penalty?

The penalty presented by the quest was "Stutterer."

It was probably a trait that was the complete opposite of the "Speaking Skill" trait I had obtained earlier.

If I get the Stutterer trait, does that mean my speaking ability goes back to how it used to be? That's pretty terrifying.

I was already feeling the effects of Speaking Skill more than enough.

During meetings with the coach, it was hard to find anyone other than me who did not get crushed by him.

For now, its effect was only enough to let me speak smoothly during meetings, but...

Interviews, salary negotiations. There are endless situations where I can use this trait. I absolutely can't lose it.

The more I thought about my past without the Speaking Skill trait, the more I shuddered.

I could still clearly remember how people used to laugh at me.

[Kim Nahan Giving an Interview.avi]

, If you think this guy traded his speaking skills for baseball talent, hit recommend, lol. I'll start, lol.

└ You were really desperate for recommendations, huh?

└ The amazing part is that this is AFTER he went to a speech academy;;

└ Watching this guy makes me realize again how amazing Kang Jihoon, Han Yuseong, and Choi Jiwan are for giving fluent interviews without even attending an academy.

└ KRAAAAAAGH!! Why did the world give birth to me, then Kang Jihoon, Han Yuseong, Choi Jiwan, Lee Myeongsik, and all those other guys too!!

└ Damn, the world gave birth to a lot of people.

"That absolutely cannot happen. Never."

Even though that future would never come again, I still got goosebumps.

I could never lose Speaking Skill.

I immediately went online and checked the home run rankings.

I had hit five home runs during the Bonghwangdaegi.

In a normal year, that would have been more than enough to comfortably become the home run king.

The Bonghwangdaegi did not have nearly as many games as professional baseball.

Also, high school players were not yet fully developed physically or technically.

There had even been years when a player won the Most Home Runs Award with just one home run.

I was also physically unfinished, just like the others.

But my technique was different.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that my technique had gone beyond maturity and reached its peak.

It would be pretty embarrassing to return from the past and still fail to become the home run king of a high school tournament.

I could not hit a home run in every game, but I had once been an MVP.

Failing to become the home run king would be embarrassing.

However, this year was developing in a somewhat interesting direction.

"Huh?"

[High School Baseball Home Run King Race Heats Up]

[Will Dongsin High's Choi Jiwan Defeat Seongsin High's Kim Nahan and Win the Most Home Runs Award?]

Choi Jiwan, who had led Dongsin High to the championship before my regression, had already caught up to me.

He had also hit five home runs.

I never thought I would actually have to worry about winning the home run award.

Ah, right. Choi Jiwan was here. He definitely has the ability to do it.

After finishing his military service, he became a legendary hitter who hit at least thirty home runs every year until his retirement.

He had plenty of potential.

And Choi Jiwan had one especially famous specialty.

He could suddenly hit home runs like a madman over a very short period.

I even lost a home run title because of one of his crazy hot streaks.

There had once been a two home run gap before the final game of the season.

Then the game ended, and somehow the rankings had been reversed.

I still remembered how that felt.

This quest definitely won't be easy.

It did not seem like it would be an easy competition.

Still, I trusted myself.

I had returned to the past with the skills of my future self and a perfectly prepared mindset.

Ding.

My phone suddenly made a sound.

[Father: The foundation of every pitcher is the fastball.]

As expected.

It seemed he really did want to see me win an award at least once.

He was indirectly telling me to hunt for fastballs and hit them out of the park.

A small laugh escaped me.

First, I'll create as much distance as possible in the semifinal.

That was what I decided.

Once a team seriously enters the tournament stage, training is usually not as intense as people might expect.

Working players hard for one or two days would not magically bring back a hitter's missing batting feel.

It would not suddenly fix a pitcher's control when his pitches were scattered like shotgun pellets either.

In a single elimination match, maintaining physical condition was more important.

That was why training usually consisted only of light cooldown exercises and warmups.

An old fashioned coach might force struggling hitters to take extra batting practice, but our coach was far from that type.

In other words, we had a lot of free time.

Even after finishing the team meeting and doing our own opponent analysis, we still had time left.

After that, we simply had to spend our time without harming our condition.

Some players did individual training.

"Anyone want coffee?"

"Me."

"Hmm. Don't they have sports drinks?"

Others quenched their thirst at cafés like this.

I was planning to go alone. Why are these guys here?

I had only planned to quietly buy some coffee and return, but somehow I ended up with company.

The first was Kang Jihoon.

"Make mine weak, with three pumps of syrup."

The second was Kim Minseok.

"Hmm... I got one hit yesterday, so maybe sparkling water should be okay..."

It was a truly ridiculous combination.

We were not particularly close in the first place.

I had become somewhat closer to Minseok because we were roommates during this tournament.

But Kang Jihoon constantly sticking around me was unexpected.

Ever since the Round of 16, he had kept staring at me with an intense look.

It was extremely uncomfortable.

He was not picking fights or getting in my way, so I had left him alone.

Still, I felt like I needed to do something about it.

The back of my head kept tingling from his stare.

"Just shut up and drink your coffee."

"Normally I shouldn't, but since Jihoon threw a complete game shutout yesterday, I guess I can drink it. If you combine your performance and mine, it becomes exactly two servings."

"Sure. You grounded into a double play with runners on first and second and nobody out, and you also made a fielding error, but you did get a hit. So drink."

"Thanks. I got a hit, so let's have a drink."

"?"

Jihoon was subtly mocking him, while Minseok did not care whether he was being mocked or not.

Looking at them like this, maybe they actually made a good pair.

There were occasional moments of silence.

However, when three talkative nineteen year old guys gathered together, those silences never lasted long.

Naturally, the topic was obvious.

When three baseball players gathered, they eventually talked about baseball.

We talked about the performances of our favorite professional teams.

We discussed key players and analyzed their playing styles.

After going all the way to Major League Baseball, the topic finally turned to tomorrow's semifinal.

"So, are you confident about tomorrow's game?"

"Of course. Tomorrow I'm carrying the team, then we're having a crazy drink party."

"Hmm. Bugun High is definitely weaker than Baeam High. We should be able to win."

Before my regression, Kang Jihoon would have said something like, "Win? Without me? You guys?"

But Kang Jihoon in this life had changed at least a little.

Of course, the change was probably only from "Person A gathered here to play baseball with me" to "Player A who isn't good enough, but is technically on the same team as me."

Still, he had always lived believing he was better than everyone else.

For him to acknowledge others even this much was a big change.

"Maybe it's because he's young. He changes fast."

"What are you talking about?"

"Nothing. Just talking to myself."

"Nahan does that sometimes these days. Anyone watching would think he's a forty year old man."

Jihoon, who had been talking with a serious expression, suddenly asked me a question.

"Hey. How did you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Your skill. How did you suddenly improve so much?"

He was naturally talented, so he must have noticed long ago that I had completely transformed.

He probably was not talking about visible results.

He meant things like my training methods, playing style, and the tiny details ordinary people would have difficulty noticing.

There's a reason this guy eventually enters the Hall of Fame.

Jihoon had asked the question, but Minseok also looked interested.

He even finished chewing all the ice in his cup before placing it on the table.

Tap.

"Tell me the secret too."

"Why do you need it? I don't think you need my help."

It was not because I did not want to share my methods, or because I hated seeing other people succeed.

His current results were already good enough for him to get drafted.

Even if I left him alone, he would establish himself in professional baseball eventually.

There was no reason to take unnecessary risks.

"If I succeed using your method, I can drink whatever I want every day."

"Then just drink it."

"There is a saying, 'He who does not work shall not eat.'"

"That comparison feels a little strange. Won't you get diabetes if you drink that much?"

"My family has had strong pancreatic function for generations, so it's fine."

Maybe he had become half consumed by his own strange concept.

He said it with such a serious expression that I could not relate at all.

Even Kang Jihoon was frowning and tilting his head.

Being called weird by Jihoon?

That was not easy.

"Your playing style is completely different from mine in the first place. My method probably won't suit you."

I was the type who aggressively swung if I thought a pitch was entering the zone.

Minseok, on the other hand, created his own strike zone and only swung when the ball entered it.

Our approaches were basically complete opposites.

If he tried to imitate me for no reason, he could ruin himself.

"Tch. Really? That's disappointing."

Honestly, I thought he first needed to settle those inconsistent standards of his.

Some days he drank sweet drinks because he got one hit.

Other days he only drank plain water because he failed to draw a walk.

Even the coach, who had initially tried to force him to drink something, eventually gave up.

"Anyway, to answer your question, Jihoon, I just studied hard and trained a lot. Then I got better."

"So you have no intention of telling me honestly."

Well, I could not exactly tell him that I had regressed through time.

Unfortunately, I would probably never be able to tell him my real secret.

His stare became even more obvious afterward, but what could I do?

Since I had returned to the past, I had to accept things like this.

"Ah, Jihoon. Can I ask you for a favor?"

"What?"

"Go buy me a sports drink from the convenience store. This really feels like it might be my last supper."

Jihoon's expression twisted.