The feeling was so amazing. I knew that if I threw the improved cutter right now it would be a perfect strike.
I clenched my fists once again, my fingertips felt tingly.
'Okay. Now that that's out of the way. Max, can you show me my stats?'
[Of course, User]
The blue screen then changed to a new window.
USER STATS:
>Physical Fitness: D
>Pitching: F > C-
>Batting: E
>Fielding: E
>Game Intelligence: C
>Mental: A+
Skills: 4
"Huh? What the hell?" I exclaimed. 'Max, how come the stats seem better than I thought they would be? And how come I have 4 skills already?'
[User has transmigrated into the body of Sawamura Eijun. You may be in his body but you now have the memories of two lives. Despite you quitting baseball in your past life, you were a prodigy southpaw pitcher in middle school. Also, User may be unaware due to depression and self loathing, you still had the mental will to keep living despite your hardships. Even if you didn't realise it yourself. At the end of your life, your sheer determination and will to want to have another chance has created these changes in your stats.]
I stared deeply at Max's message.
I thought back to my hardships of my past life. Despite everything that happened to me, I was never suicidal. Not once. Purely because I knew my family wouldn't want that for me.
I still hated myself though, so I never took care of myself properly, only the bare minimum to keep myself alive.
'So, because I kept myself alive through those isolated and self-loathing times and through my cancer, my mental stat rose pretty high.'
[As for the change in the pitching stat. Sawamura's pitching stat was originally F at this stage but after you integrated with his body and was given the Improved Cutter skill, your pitching stat has also been changed.]
'Ahh, that makes sense.' I thought, thinking about the differences between original Sawamura and the Sawamura with a cutter.
[As for the 4 skills in your arsenal. I think it'll be better if I show you.]
Then screen changed again to a new window.
USER SKILLS:
-Extremely Flexible Joints (Passive)
-Ace's Indomitable Will (Active Skill)
-Moving Fastball: 75% Mastery
-Sawamura's Improved Cutter: 50% Mastery
'Ahhhhh. I see. So, it not that I gained new skills, these are the skills that Sawamura had at this point of the story, is that right Max? Also why is the Improved Cutter skill only at 50% mastery?'
[ The Improved Cutter Skill is only at 50% Mastery because the user is yet to ingrain it into his body, the user has metal mastery over the skill however you will need to train it regularly to form muscle memory for the skill.]
'Okay that makes sense. It wouldn't be good if I got too good too quickly. I need to take things slow in order not to rush anything and become overconfident.'
[That is correct User. As for your other query, Sawamura may have been a no-name pitcher at this point in the story. However, because of these skills, he was able to capture the attention of Seido's scout. The skill which helped a lot was Ace's Indomitable Will.]
I instantly clicked on the skill to get the information of it.
Ace's Indomitable Will (Active Skill):
When the Ace is in a tough situation whilst on the mound, the Ace's will and determination will greatly enhance his abilities in pitching for one at bat.
Effect: User's pitching stat will increase by one letter throughout the chosen at bat.
Cool Down: One full rotation of a team's batters.
'My god! That's an incredible skill!' I thought.
Just thinking about the possibilities that the skill could be used in was incredible.
'Definitely a skill that should be used against a clean-up batter… But I should also not use it immediately and keep it available for when I need it as well in case a tough situation came up… hmmm…'
I was thinking deeply and strategically about baseball for the first time after so many years.
It was so engrossing and euphoric that Max needed to interrupt my thoughts to snap me out of it.
[User still hasn't seen his Physical Fitness stats yet.]
'Oh right, there was that as well.'
I clicked on the Physical Fitness stat and new page came up.
PHYSICAL FITNESS: (Avg. D)
Balance and Coordination: D+
Agility: D-
Strength: D-
Stamina: C-
"Pretty average stats. Lower than average in fact." I remarked, a slight frown turning on my face.
'It makes sense though. Sawamura never started developing his fitness until he was already at Seido.'
[That is correct User. However, that doesn't mean that the User has to follow the same path he did. Please check out the unread mission in the menu.]
I went back to the User Menu and clicked on the unread mission.
MISSIONS:
# NEW MISSION: Get into shape and develop a habit - Daily Mission
*Task 1: Run 10km a day
*Task 2: Complete 100 sit-ups a day
*Task 3: Complete 100 push-ups a day
*Task 4: Complete flexibility enhancing regime every day
***
REWARDS:
>C-grade random elixir (daily reward for one week)
>Bronze tier Lottery Ticket (only rewarded after a weeks' worth of completing the daily mission)
>5 Ace Points (only rewarded after a weeks' worth of completing the daily mission)
PUNISHMENT: (In case of failure)
>No increase in your physical fitness stats no matter how much you train (Duration: 2 weeks)
[ACCEPT: YES/NO]
'Well, I said I wasn't going to waste this opportunity. And I'd be damned if I gave up on the first hurdle.' I instantly pressed the yes option on the mission with determination.
[That's the spirit, User.]