Chapter 26
Chapter 26
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 26
Chapter Title: Golden Sun Thinks Baseball is Too Easy
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"Woo-hyoo...!!"
"...!!!"
Both sides—enemies and allies alike—were utterly flustered by Geum Seong-muk's dramatic change. The Cheonghyeon High players, who were on the receiving end, were especially shocked.
"What the hell? That guy suddenly throwing balls like that...!?"
"Has he been hiding his power this whole time?"
They'd been chucking nothing but crappy 140 km/h junk, giving up a few runs, and now he was suddenly firing mid-150s heat?
'Oh, you're better than I thought. Guess it's time to get serious?'
No matter how you sliced it, it looked like Geum Seong-muk was toying with them.
This kind of deception was the privilege of the strong. Cheonghyeon High couldn't stomach some no-name rookie from a newbie school acting so cocky against them.
"This bastard dares..."
"Holding back against us?"
His arrogant attitude rubbed the batters the wrong way.
Of course, that didn't mean they could do anything about it.
Thwack!!
"Strike three!"
Cheonghyeon High's star starters stepped up with venom in their eyes, only to melt away like snowflakes against Geum Seong-muk's devastating fastballs. His signature rising fastball soared like it was alive, packing power that could only be described as unreal.
"Woo-hyoo...!!"
In the bottom of the sixth, Geum Seong-muk faced three batters and struck them all out, notching three more Ks. It was a performance that sent shivers through the crowd...
"........."
"........."
But the two women watching from the stands could barely look anywhere else. Their eyes were glued to Geum Seong-muk's lower half, where something was bulging heavily.
Olivia especially covered her eyes with both hands.
"...Eek!"
But then she peeked through her fingers.
Staring at that spot on Seong-muk, she jumped to the wrong conclusion.
'No way... because of the lunch I made him?'
The dish Seong-muk had asked for this time was a stamina-boosting lunchbox to power him through the game.
But as a chef who specialized in "tastier" food, she didn't know much about proper nutritional balance.
"Should I just load it up...?"
In the end, she'd crammed the lunchbox full of ingredients rumored to be great for men.
Now, she interpreted the sight before her like this.
1. The stamina lunchbox worked amazingly!
2. That's why his velocity shot through the roof!
3. And his lower half swelled up as a bonus!
It was a sight too awkward to watch with the naked eye, but she felt a strange sense of accomplishment.
'...Should I add even more next time?'
While Olivia pondered ingredient quantities and kept peeking through her fingers, Do Do-yeon watched the pitching intently without looking away. Of course, her face was beet red.
"...Doesn't it hurt to throw when it's that big?"
She'd never seen one up close, but she'd heard it got hard and made other movements tough. A hypothesis flashed through her mind.
"Wait, that's not the only thing that got bigger...?!"
Do-yeon's head was practically steaming now.
Determined to focus only on baseball, she fanned herself and analyzed Seong-muk's deliveries.
'He was holding back on purpose through the fifth.'
She reached the same conclusion as Cheonghyeon High.
With no way to know about skill awakenings or meridian treatments, it was inevitable.
Then chills ran down her spine.
Even as velocity and spin exploded, there wasn't a hint of change in Geum Seong-muk's pitching mechanics.
'Controlling fastball velocity and spin with perfect form...?!'
It was a trope straight out of comics, so people thought, "Maybe it's possible?" But sports mechanics experts had long debunked it as impossible.
Yet here she was, witnessing it with her own eyes. A man recreating the impossible with miraculous talent.
'What is that kid's gift...!'
The skill-boosted show led Do-yeon to mistake him for a pitcher with unprecedented talent. It was the start of a long misunderstanding that would later drive scouts from every pro team insane.
"Seong-muk, nice pitching!"
"Ahh, thanks."
He finished his stint and headed back to the dugout.
Manager Myeong Sin-u stepped up first to praise his pitching.
"...Ahem."
Of course, the change in Geum Seong-muk's lower half was nagging at him, but he gritted his teeth and looked away.
The other teammates did the same.
"Seong-muk hyung, nice pitching!"
"Seong-muk, good work."
They tossed compliments his way while avoiding that direction as much as possible.
"............"
"............."
Once the cheers died down, an inexplicable tension hung in the air.
Everyone now sensed a whole new aura from Geum Seong-muk.
Thud-
"...!"
Of course, that massive presence down there played a role too. Like the weird respect you feel encountering an elephant in the bathhouse. A few teammates whispered where he couldn't hear.
"That's not a cup, right?"
"You ever seen a protector like that?"
"Oh, yeah."
Realizing it wasn't padding but the real deal—and he'd pitched like that—the team agreed: Geum Seong-muk was nuts, no question.
"Stuck on a team with a freak."
"Tell me about it."
Still, if you're gonna team up with a maniac, better as allies than enemies. Watching Seong-muk flip the mood, the players recalled his earlier words.
'Am I the only one who thinks we can still win?'
The ace had proven his confidence.
A new vibe started spreading through the Munhyeok High batters.
'We might actually pull this off.'
'If we scrape together just two runs somehow, Seong-muk hyung's got our back...?'
In the end, the Munhyeok High hitters embraced a "Let's give it a shot!" mindset.
And that healthy attitude led to real changes at the plate.
Ting-!
"Foul...!"
The bottom of the order was already fouling off eight pitches each from Im Tae-yul.
"Tch, these scrubs can't even hit it clean."
They couldn't square it up, but they clung on like they were determined to grind him down. His pitch count was climbing.
Crack!
"Safe at first!"
Im Tae-yul finally wrapped the inning after about 24 pitches.
No runs, no hits—but something felt off.
"Ugh, such a pain."
"Tae-yul, want me to pull you?"
The manager checked with his ace.
The game was getting weird, but no need to leave your top guy in too long against a newbie school's practice game. Normally, Im Tae-yul would've agreed without hesitation.
"Nah, I'm good for now."
"...!"
"Still got one more guy to fix."
Im Tae-yul glared at Geum Seong-muk prepping on the mound. Next inning, he'd face him for sure.
And he was dead set on striking him out.
Thwack---!!
"Strike three!"
"Woo-hyoo......!!"
Regardless of Im Tae-yul, Geum Seong-muk kept dealing.
No one could touch his post-awakening peak stuff, smoothly adding three more Ks.
That wrapped Munhyeok High's bottom of the seventh defense.
Top of the eighth, they headed to the plate again.
"Alright, we got this!"
The lineup cycled back to leadoff hitter Choi Adam.
This nobody strutting like he could hit him? It grated on Im Tae-yul.
'This shorty punk. Got this my ass. Like you can touch my stuff...!'
Im Tae-yul fired his first pitch. That instant—
"...!"
Choi Adam leveled his bat horizontally.
Safety bunt setup.
Ting-!
Perfectly deadened, the ball trickled up the third-base line.
It slowed to a near stop between third and home.
"Hold!"
Im Tae-yul stopped the third baseman and watched.
The ball rolled to a halt.
"Fair...!"
Inside the foul line.
Choi Adam's textbook safety bunt turned into an infield single.
"Yes...!!"
He unleashed an uppercut celebration toward the dugout.
Munhyeok High's bench heated up even more.
Next up: No. 2 hitter Do Do-jin.
Do-jin stepped in, eyes locked on the dugout.
"........."
Manager Myeong's sign came down.
He trusted Do-jin endlessly, touching parts of his body to signal.
'Ugh, Do-jin. You're my only hope.'
A batter's dream was the homer, a pitcher's the K. A manager's? Outsmarting the other team with tactics.
But he'd had no chance to call plays so far.
'What kind of team is full of blockheads...!'
Half his guys couldn't even memorize signs.
No sign-stealing scandals, sure—but was that a silver lining? Manager Myeong was bummed.
Do Do-jin, sharp and tactical, was his sole beacon.
'Make 'em squirm, Do-jin!'
Clack!
Manager Myeong Sin-u bumped his fists for the final sign.
Do-jin nodded and set up to hit.
First pitch. Im Tae-yul went into motion.
Do Do-jin dropped the bat.
"...!"
Pop!
"Ball!"
Faking a sac bunt, then pulling back. Do-jin repeated it through pitch three.
'Bunt or nah? Bunt or nah?'
'Nah, not feeling the bunt.'
Like he was taunting them, Do-jin faked a few times per the manager's orders, needling the battery.
Fourth pitch. Catcher signaled to ignore it. Im Tae-yul wound up.
Pat-pat-!
Choi Adam at first took off for second.
Problem: Im Tae-yul's heater and the catcher's cannon arm.
Pop--!
'Got this...!'
The catcher snatched it, expecting an easy out.
But he couldn't throw.
Whoosh!
Do Do-jin whiffed a beat late.
Catcher hesitated in shock. Choi Adam slid safe into second.
A perfectly timed late whiff on what should've been routine.
The catcher muttered low so the ump couldn't hear.
"Snake in the grass. Nasty swing."
"Haha, misunderstanding. I was swinging for real."
"Tch..."
Do-jin grinned. Catcher had nothing.
No rule against it anyway.
No outs, runner on second.
Two strikes, two balls.
Ting-!
Do Do-jin went sac bunt.
Perfectly placed toward first. Im Tae-yul fielded and tossed for the out at first.
One out, runner on third.
Down a run—perfect scoring chance.
Do-jin headed back, walking toward next batter Seong-muk.
"Hyung. Swing free. Grounder or fly to the outfield ties it."
"Got it, good work."
Seong-muk patted Do-jin's helmet and stepped in.
As he settled, he murmured quietly.
"Switch."
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Solar God Meridian (EX) stat changes have been reset! Power Stat: B+ → A Power Stat: A → A+ Contact Stat: C+ → B Contact Stat: B → B+ Tremendous power surged from his bulging lower body throughout his frame. For a brief moment, Seong-muk wielded high-school elite-level batting power.
'Gonna send it.'
Seong-muk had zero interest in a single run.
His mind was all homers, homers, homers.