Chapter 19
Chapter 19
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 19
Chapter Title: Buddha vs. Allah vs. Golden Sun
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Leaving aside Hassan and Seok Un-gang's religious troubles, first we need to figure out why those two ended up forming a battery.
Originally, Seok Un-gang was already a lock for the Munhyeok High baseball team, so he hadn't planned to participate in the Blue-White Game...
Schwing!
"Gahhh...!!"
The catchers taking the test couldn't handle Hassan's pitches at all.
With fastballs in the mid-150s km/h coming in with random control, they were simply impossible to manage.
"...Un-gang, you wanna catch for him?"
"Yes, sir."
Myeong Sin-u, the manager, threw Seok Un-gang in since the game had to go on somehow. He promised the previous catcher a shot later in the game.
Thrown into the catcher's spot on short notice, Un-gang took a few practice pitches from Hassan. The ball didn't tail off behind him, but the control was still all over the place.
'Gotta have a talk with him.'
Un-gang stood and headed to the mound. He started soothing the pitcher.
"Hassan, donor, mind if we chat for a sec?"
"Ah! Sure, I'm good."
"...The Buddha said, 'All is impermanent. Realize this, and you shall escape suffering.' The ball not flowing right now is just impermanent in the grand scheme. Let it go and throw the next one."
This was Un-gang's usual way of calming pitchers.
With a serene expression born of his training, he'd share his enlightenment, and the partner pitcher would unknowingly relax in that tranquility. It was pretty effective.
But the problem was that this pitcher was Hassan.
"...Buddha?"
"Something wrong?"
Hassan paused for a moment. Then he asked back with a serious look.
"Monk, is Buddha a god?"
".........?"
Un-gang was puzzled by the sudden question.
"The Buddha is merely a sage who awakened to the truths of this world. He's not some god in the common sense."
"Oh, I see. Then that won't do."
"Pardon?"
"Sorry. I can't follow words from anyone below Allah."
"......!?"
Hassan had just hit Un-gang with a "Your Buddha's below Allah, right?" He was genuinely asking out of ignorance—if Un-gang had said Buddha was a god, he would've accepted it. But things got weird anyway.
"............"
Steam rising from Un-gang's head.
Having grown up training in the temple since childhood, one might think he'd be all compassion and detachment.
But he was still just a second-year high schooler who needed plenty of training himself. He could brush off most things with a smile, but he wasn't enlightened enough to embrace heretics trying to shake his faith.
"Hassan, donor, you hold misguided views on religion. After the game, let's study the scriptures together. I'll guide you personally."
He was mincing words, but it meant, "You ignorant fool, I'll hammer the Buddha's teachings into your thick skull."
Thus began their conflict, deepening before anyone could stop it.
But it didn't turn physical.
"The Shurangama Sutra says, 'Empty your mind, and you become a tree unshaken even by the wind.' The Buddha emphasized the beauty of emptiness..."
"No. Allah in Quran 5:8 says, 'He who fills his heart through faith shall not be shaken.' Not emptiness, but filling with faith to stand firm..."
Far from fighting, they were spitting religious verses like a rap battle.
Their teammates watching thought:
'Is that really fighting?'
'...Something's seriously off.'
Both had kind hearts by nature, so violence was out of the question. They just wanted to crush the other logically.
That was when it happened.
Geum Seong-muk crashed the mound.
"Oho, having quite the fun time, eh?"
"......!"
Hassan and Un-gang startled by his arrival.
Seong-muk quickly moved to wrap things up.
"Hassan, didn't you wanna play baseball?"
"Yeah, Seong-muk hyung. That's right..."
"You came this far and wanna pack your bags now?"
"!!"
Hassan's eyes went wide. His shoulders soon slumped.
"...Seong-muk hyung, my bad."
As Hassan meekly apologized and backed off, Seong-muk nodded and turned to Un-gang.
"Un-gang, what's with the childish crap? He's a year younger than you—act like the hyung and scold him properly, don't fight along."
"...I have no excuse."
Un-gang felt a strange resonance from Seong-muk's words.
As a temple devotee, he'd thought, "The more advanced practitioner must endure," but viewing it as "he's older, so understand" was new.
It was just Seong-muk's pre-possession Confucian boomer hypocrisy, but intent aside, it struck Un-gang deeply.
"Alright, make up and let's resume. Everyone's waiting."
"My apologies, Hassan donor."
"My fault too, monk."
They bowed deeply in apology.
Un-gang returned to his spot, leaving only Hassan and Seong-muk on the mound.
'Hmm.'
Seong-muk thought: If he just went down now, Hassan's already shaky control would go full scattershot.
Hassan's control stat was C.
Not great, but Seong-muk's own was only C+. With a pilot's mentality and condition, it was manageable for a game.
"Hey, Hassan."
"Y-yes, Seong-muk hyung."
Hassan looked oddly cowed.
Seong-muk patted his shoulder.
"Hassan, I chewed you out 'cause you fought over religion with the others. Not 'cause your faith's wrong. Believing in something truly? That's damn cool."
"Hyung..."
Seong-muk revved up again.
Time to instill some venom in this pure-hearted kid.
"Still thinking Allah's greater than Buddha?"
".........!?"
Hassan flinched. Looked like it was true.
"Allah's watching you, Hassan. This ain't batter vs. you. It's proxy war: Buddha's rep vs. Allah's. Who's stronger."
"Ah...!"
"Prove it. Throw like you're piercing that Un-gang bastard's mitt over there."
Seong-muk slapped Hassan's shoulder.
Hassan's eyes now blazed.
"Seong-muk hyung, I'll do it!"
The kid fired up and took the mound.
Seong-muk's motivation worked better than expected.
Thwack!!
"Strike three!"
A sound like ripping the mitt echoed through the field relentlessly. Batters couldn't touch the ones down the middle.
Top speed: 156 km/h.
Allah's Magic Wand (A) had returned to Munhyeok High.
'Kya, too easy!'
Just like a pure fanatic, super useful. Seong-muk grinned slyly.
Manager Myeong Sin-u beamed, but one person looked subtly displeased.
"...Banish delusions, banish delusions."
Un-gang felt oddly hot despite things wrapping up fine earlier. He muttered as he stepped to the plate, blaming lingering heart demons.
Un-gang's opponent: Ri Dong-hyeok.
He'd decided one thing before pitching today.
'If anyone gets even one hit off me today, I'll join Geum Seong-muk's team.'
He came for the test, but to evaluate the school's talent too!
With the risks of transferring, they needed decent chops.
Thus began the Ri Dong-hyeok challenge. Disappointing so far—mostly grounders or whiffs on his sinker.
'Let's see what Seok Un-gang's got.'
He reared back for the first pitch: a high fastball rising into the zone.
Conventional wisdom said righty underhand was tough on righty hitters—but,
Crack—
".........!!"
Seok Un-gang smashed it without hesitation.
Ri Dong-hyeok's heart sank. This was gone, no doubt.
Thud—
It sailed far, slamming the screen's top. Massive homer.
Seong-muk watching hurriedly pulled up Un-gang's status.
⚔ STATUS ⚔ ⚾ # Seok Un-gang Batter Stats (*Potential) / Right Throw Right Hit 💥 Power: A+ → S (*S) 🎯 Contact: C+ → B 🏃 Speed: D 👁️ Eye: B → C+ 🛡️ Defense: S (*S+) 💪 Shoulder: S (*S+) Skill / Demon Monk (S) [Currently Active!]
> : When enraged, Power and Contact rise one rank.
>Eye decreases one rank. "Whoa..."
The S-rank skill "Demon Monk" that seemed like it'd never trigger had activated. Rage from the earlier mess boiled up, subsided, but lingered for a while.
'This guy's useful...'
Seong-muk had told them not to fight over religion, but now knowing it triggered skills, he figured pitting them occasionally was fine.
While Seong-muk schemed devilishly behind the scenes, the game progressed smoothly.
Do Do-jin went 2-for-2 with two walks, dominating. Choi Adam notched three hits and four steals (thanks to not facing Un-gang as catcher).
Hassan walked a few but kept it scoreless. Ri Dong-hyeok pitched three innings without more runs. Even basketball ace Seo Kyung-su got a hit.
Seong-muk's picks impressed the manager deeply, ending the Blue-White Game and tests.
"Alright, passing players."
All eyes locked on. Tension split faces into joy and despair.
"...Yu Hui-gyeol, Seo Kyung-su, Do Do-jin, Choi Adam, Park Sung-jun. That's all 13 batters."
"Yesssh...!!"
"Woooah!!"
Some jumped in joy, others hung heads. Half of 26 batter applicants passed: 13.
"Next, pitchers."
Ten pitcher applicants.
Seong-muk, watching from afar, predicted the outcome.
Probably just the two he'd scouted; the rest wiped out.
"Hassan Iqbal, Ri Dong-hyeok."
'As expected...'
"And Park Chan-jun. That's all three pitchers."
"Huh?"
An unknown pitcher called.
Rare for game vet Seong-muk unless like Do Do-jin. Curious, he checked Park Chan-jun's status.
⚙ STATUS ⚙ Name: Park Chan-jun Nationality: South Korea Age: 20 Height: 184 cm Skill / Yard Dog (B)
>: Fatigue decreases in back-to-back pitching. Potential Keyword: Iron Stamina (A+) Pitcher Stats (*Potential) / Right Throw Three-Quarter 💪 Stamina: A (*A+) 🎯 Control: B ⚡ Fastball: C 💥 Power: C+ 🔄 Breaking Ball: C "Hmm..."
Nothing standout but stamina—a generic arm.
But Seong-muk got why Manager Myeong picked him.
'Need innings-eaters.'
For spring and summer tournaments pushing deep, pitchers needed volume.
Bullpen guys for blowouts or implosions were key. Park's A stamina was a big plus.
Having left other picks to the manager, Seong-muk dropped interest.
Now only passers left at the public ballpark.
Manager Myeong Sin-u scanned them.
"I sincerely welcome all 18 of you to the Munhyeok High baseball team!"
Clap clap—!
Thunderous applause from the players.
Myeong cleared his throat.
"Our road's long! No winter training like other schools, little time till spring tourney!"
"With no time, what's our shortcut? Real games!"
Thwack!
He slammed his bat down hard. Grinning, he declared:
"Next week, Munhyeok High faces powerhouse Cheonghyeon High in a friendly!"
"“……………!!”"
Eyes bulged.
No baseball kid didn't know Cheonghyeon. Even slumping lately, its history was legit.
Amid the shock, one grinned wickedly: Geum Seong-muk, naturally. He'd influenced the matchup.
Why Cheonghyeon among many?
Munhyeok lacked outfielders vs. infield. Cheonghyeon had a five-tool center fielder mistreated.
Plan: Sweet-talk him into transferring.
'Time to poach some Cheonghyeon talent!'
Coveting others' goods was Golden Sun's virtue.
He licked his lips and smirked slyly.