Rival
Kang Jihoon was a true ace.
True, true since he had first held a baseball bat.
Every spotlight naturally pointed to him.
To be the object of such attention became something common to Jihoon.
And with that, his ego had continued growing without any limits.
To sum it up, he had grown rather arrogant.
There's nobody better than me.
Since his first year of high school, when Jihoon could throw 150 kilometers per hour, he had never regarded his teammates as his peers.
After all, baseball was a sport which one couldn't play alone.
It was just other people playing alongside him.
Nothing more.
Team members at my level?
I'd probably have to go to the Majors to find those.
After throwing a perfect game in the final of the Golden Lion Tournament, Jihoon became even more sure of it.
Korea seemed too small for him.
And he thought this would always be true.
At least...
Until the Bonghwangdaegi Tournament started.
CRACK!
After hearing the sharp sound of a bunt hit, Jihoon glanced at Nahan who safely reached the second base.
Up until now, Nahan had been nothing more than Third Baseman A.
A regular player, not possessing anything special but an enormous body.
Colorless.
Ordinary.
His game always seemed hasty, like he wasn't sure what he should be doing.
Does this even make sense?
Yet this tournament he played like somebody had swapped his soul.
His uncertain swings now became rhythmic.
He could confront opposing batteries, win the count and get into a good situation.
And with his natural power, Nahan became a hitter capable of being an anchor of the lineup.
Kim Nahan! Kim Nahan!
Pride of Seongsin High, Kim Nahan!!
The crowd kept chanting his name.
Even the scouts, who usually came here to watch Jihoon, became busy writing something down.
Even though Jihoon himself was already standing at the plate.
This is the first time.
It was strange.
Something Jihoon had never encountered while playing baseball.
After all, Jihoon was the main character of each match.
It seemed like it would never change.
However...
Today everything was different.
Still, Jihoon wasn't disturbed.
This is irrelevant to me.
He perfectly understood he was still the best.
Whatever performances Han Yuseong and Kim Nahan gave, Jihoon knew his value was higher.
And this knowledge gave him the space to keep calm.
Jihoon leisurely walked to the plate and assumed his stance.
Umpire whistled, declaring that the game should start.
Play ball!
Han Yuseong, wasn't it?
The ace of Baeam High.
Left-handed pitcher.
High velocity of 151 kilometers per hour.
His slider was said to be good enough to work at the professional level.
These were the pieces of information Coach provided Jihoon.
In other words, Han Yuseong was definitely not an easy pitcher.
However, Jihoon seemed to be rather relaxed.
Meeting me in the Round of 16...
Just consider yourself unlucky.
Human beings were helpless against natural disasters, anyway.
Meanwhile, the pitcher, bitter from an unexpected hit he allowed, gritted his teeth and stabilized his breathing.
Then he went into a large windup.
After the high leg kick, the fastball hurtled towards home plate.
Crack!
Foul!
Jihoon fiercely swung, yet the ball became foul.
His brow frowned a bit from the unfamiliar sensation.
Heavy.
Jihoon had paid little attention to Han Yuseong before, since he wanted to go straight to the Majors after graduation.
However, if Kang Jihoon didn't exist, Han Yuseong was the probable first overall pick.
Even Jihoon with his great hitting skills found it difficult to deal with a fastball of such a level.
And Nahan attacked this pitch that easily?
Jihoon perfectly understood that he himself was a great hitter.
His skills as a pitcher were higher, and he planned to concentrate exclusively on it in his professional career.
But if he converted into a hitter, he was sure he could become an All-Star candidate.
Nevertheless, Kim Nahan managed to hit a pitch which even Jihoon found difficult.
Just how good you should be to do that?
It couldn't be mere luck.
Nahan's statistics in this tournament were saying the opposite.
Jihoon felt a first thought about something.
What if pitcher Kang Jihoon confronted hitter Kim Nahan?
It was the first time Jihoon felt real interest in other players.
We're on the same team, so I can't face him...
Wait.
This method could work.
The pitcher nodded again.
Jihoon got rid of the distracting thought.
Ball.
The slider which was intended to tempt him whizzed past him outside the zone.
While this pitch was going on, Nahan, who stood at second base, succeeded in stealing third.
His timing was so good that even the catcher didn't try to throw the ball.
The scouts became busy again.
Two outs.
Runner at third.
One hit was enough to score the first run.
I'm getting him home somehow.
Whether Kim Nahan attracted attention or not didn't matter.
However...
It might be necessary to remind everybody about something once.
The best player in this team...
The ace...
Was him.
The fact that I'm the best is important.
Han Yuseong exchanged signs with the catcher and went into his windup again.
The pitch came in.
Tap!
The ball initially flew the same route as a four-seam fastball before falling near the strike zone.
Changeup.
Jihoon didn't care.
He made a highly technical correction.
Using a nice wrist movement, he gently directed the ball into play.
It was a fine example of bat control.
The ball passed between the shortstop and second baseman before landing in front of the center fielder.
For the first time, Jihoon felt the wave of excitement.
Just as I expected, Han Yuseong threw the fastball as his first pitch.
It was basically his signature pitch.
The player who was considered worthy of the first overall pick naturally had a strong ego.
And on the day when his condition was especially good?
He'll want to overpower me with his fastball.
That was how pitchers were.
They always believed they were the best.
That the world revolved around them.
Not that there was anything wrong with that.
In any case, due to this characteristic, I managed to reach the second base.
However, what's the matter with him?
The expression in Kang Jihoon's eyes as he walked to the plate seemed to be unusual.
There was a reason why he had been nicknamed The Machine in my previous life.
His eyes were always cold.
His face rarely showed any emotions.
But right now, he was looking straight at me.
It lasted only for a moment.
After the game started again, he concentrated on his confrontation with the pitcher.
Can Kang Jihoon hit for extra bases here?
Sure, his hitting talent was good.
However, against today's Han Yuseong, I wasn't sure.
Han Yuseong not only had his slider.
Also his changeup and curveball were above average, thus making it hard to choose what to sit on.
Even my double was partly luck.
I need a different strategy next time.
It was obvious that this game would be low-scorring.
Thus, there was only one thing I needed to do.
Increase the probability of scoring as much as possible.
Certainly, the team had higher chances to score with two outs and a runner on third than with two outs and a runner on second.
On the second pitch, I stole the timing of Han Yuseong completely and reached the third base.
Then I came home on the single from Kang Jihoon.
Huaaaah!
That was when Kang Jihoon reached the first base, clenched both fists and cried.
My teammates, who had come out of the dugout to congratulate me, all opened their eyes and looked at first base.
What the hell?
Did I hear that right?
What is this? Did somebody swap Kang Jihoon with a look-alike?
Roar of Kang Jihoon after hitting a single?
Witnessing Buddha committing road rage would've been more believable.
This was a guy who could hit a grand slam without showing any emotion.
There was even a popular meme in which Kang Jihoon's expressionless face was pasted over every possible emotion.
Always he seemed to think, Of course. This is the expected result.
During matches, he scarcely celebrated.
Forget about celebration, it was rare to see him displaying any emotion.
But right now his cheeks were flushed.
He was breathing heavily.
And he was still looking at me.
Uh, Nahan. You didn't do something to Jihoon, did you?
No...? I can count the number of times we've talked in three years on one hand.
Then why is he looking at you as if he plans to stab you tonight?
How would I know? He'll stop eventually.
Discussion about Kang Jihoon quickly faded away.
We were too excited with the fact that we scored first against Han Yuseong, the ace of championship favorite Baeam High.
The next hitter struck out, but our morale remained high.
Baeam High, just like us, was considered a team which had strong pitching but a relatively weak lineup.
Thus, each run mattered.
And scoring first was especially important.
Making the lead in the very first inning was enough to uplift the morale of everyone.
As expected, the rest of the game became a pitchers' duel.
Strike! Out!
Han Yuseong seemed to catch fire.
He cut down our hitters with a combination of high-velocity fastballs and sliders.
Our pitcher, Jo Daemyeong, escaped from several dangerous situations, but somehow managed not to allow any runs.
Han Yuseong remained on the mound until the top of the ninth.
Probably, it was due to his competitive spirit.
He stubbornly kept challenging me and in the end, gave up a double and another single.
However, by the top of the ninth, he finally gave up and calmly walked me.
It made me laugh.
Even the first baseman of Baeam High seemed annoyed.
Hey. Calm down, would you? You're really irritating. Don't you feel sorry for Yuseong?
What about me? I've spent my whole third year playing like garbage. Don't you feel sorry for me?
Ahem.
Top of the ninth ended.
Probably realizing that this would be his last high school appearance, Han Yuseong remained on the mound for some time.
Looking at the sky, I thought I saw tears in his eyes.
Before we took the field for the bottom of the ninth, Coach gathered us and said some words.
You've done well until now. Even if we lose here, I'll still be proud of every one of you. You all worked hard.
Coach, isn't that the kind of speech the losing team makes?
You little brat. If your coach says something, just understand what I mean and move on. Why do you always have to argue?
Ah! Ahhh! I'm sorry, Coach! If you injure me now, I won't be able to play!
This amusing scene relieved our tension.
Our morale increased even more.
Let's finish this properly!
Three more outs!
We're almost in the quarterfinals!
Bottom of the ninth.
Our closer entered the game amid cheers of fielders.
Then he recorded the final out.
Wooooaaaah!!
Nice!! Great job!!
Let's go all the way and win this thing!!
We rushed to the mound and embraced each other, enjoying the victory.
After barely beating Baeam High and advancing to the quarterfinals, the next game became easier.
POP!
Strike! Out!
Why it became easy, was obvious.
Kang Jihoon was pitching.
The fastball of 157 kilometers per hour attacked the upper border of the strike zone.
The hitter could do nothing but strike out.
Jihoon struck out all three hitters in the inning and headed towards the dugout.
While he was moving to it, he glanced at me.
What the hell is his problem?
Up until now, Jihoon had always been pitching efficiently.
There was no need to pitch at full strength since he could dominate the game without doing it.
But today...
Maybe, he ate something strange.
From the beginning of the game, he constantly hurled blazing fastballs.
Moreover, he kept glancing at me secretly, as if he thought I didn't notice.
Wow... 157 kilometers per hour. Isn't it cheating to throw something like that?
Once he gets proper training, he'll definitely reach 160.
Think it'll work in the Majors?
Come on. The question is not whether his stuff will work in the Majors. The question is whether he needs two years in the minors or less.
Everybody in the stadium was paying attention to Kang Jihoon.
Each time he struck somebody out using pure velocity, exclamations erupted from the crowd.
Each time he used his great bat control to produce an elegant hit, applause followed.
Really.
I'm basically an extra in his movie.
Though I had already produced one home run and two other hits in this game, I wasn't the main character.
Kang Jihoon was.
He dominated the whole game, striking out fourteen hitters in nine innings.
Well, at least I've played in front of all the scouts who came to watch Jihoon.
So, it doesn't matter.
Seongsin High won comfortably.
After I finished my cooldown stretches, I sat at the desk in our lodging and opened the diary.
Main Quest 2: Erase Page 15 of the diary.
Failure Penalty: Regression will be canceled.
Quest Time Limit: 26D 3H 35M
Success Reward: Star Quality I
Success Probability: ?
The progress of the second Main Quest, Get drafted within the first four rounds, seemed to be going fine.
My sudden improvement certainly caught the scouts' attention.
Thus, getting selected within the first four rounds didn't seem to be difficult.
However, there was one irritating thing.
Success Probability: ?
Success Probability.
The field showed a question mark ever since this quest appeared.
First, I supposed it was done just to demonstrate the difficulty of the quest.
However...
If I could see an actual number, wouldn't I be able to assess my progress?
Maybe it was done for some other reason.
And then it happened.
Ding.
Sub Quest 1: Become the Tournament Home Run King.
Failure Penalty: Stuttering
Quest Time Limit: 4D 3H 35M
Success Reward: Values of Success Probability will become visible.
Success Probability: ?
New quest notification appeared before my eyes.
Almost like tempting me.
