Stat Points Rise

Sun-ah seemed to know I wouldn't be the manager next year. She was waiting for me to say my final goodbyes to the players and step away from my managerial days.

"You worked hard. Now you can finally have some fun, right?"

Seeing her bright smile melted away my melancholy and sadness like snow in the sun.

"Yeah. Let's go. Vacation time."

I naturally draped my arm around Sun-ah's shoulders as we walked. But then I suddenly stopped.

I'd remembered something I still hadn't done.

When we got eliminated from the semi-playoffs in the fall ball season, right after the game ended, I'd heard that voice again.

It was something like that. Sounded like I could boost the players' stats.

At first, now that my manager days were over, it felt a bit wasteful to use it on the players. I didn't know if I'd manage somewhere else or go back to coaching, but I figured I'd save it for whatever team I ended up with.

But after my final goodbyes to the players and meeting up with Sun-ah, my mind changed.

I wanted to leave them one last gift before hanging up my manager hat.

"Sun-ah, hold on a sec. I forgot something. Be right back."

"Okay. I'll wait."

Her face flushed pink, probably from my arm on her shoulder.

I left her in front of the stadium and dashed back inside.

The first person I ran into was Lee Dong-gun.

"Hyung, where's Hyun-jun?"

"Hyun-jun? I think he went ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to the locker room after saying goodbye to you."

My title had shifted back to "hyung," but Lee Dong-gun still saw me as his ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠manager. It touched me, and I was tempted to use the points on him, but I felt they should go to a promising rookie instead.

I hurried to the locker room. Inside, Kang Hyun-jun was crying alone.

"H-Huh? Manager, you haven't left yet?"

He wiped his tears in surprise when I walked in.

What a good kid... Seeing him crying because he was sad I was leaving convinced me the points were meant for him.

Looking at Kang Hyun-jun brought up his status window. My contract wasn't fully over yet, so it still showed like he was my player. Thank goodness—I'd worried that after the goodbyes, it might vanish like it had with Yi Hak-jae before.

But how did I use these points?

"Manager, what's up?"

Hyun-jun looked flustered under my gaze.

Figuring I needed to get close to the window, I pulled him into a hug. He buried his face in my chest and started sobbing.

It was touching, but I focused on reaching for his status window. No reaction, no matter what.

Damn... If you're gonna give powers, make it user-friendly. No manual? What the hell.

I had no idea where this ability came from, but it was annoyingly clunky. Flailing my hand around, I froze.

In the mirror, I saw my own status window floating up—something I'd never seen before.

I rubbed my eyes. Yep, it was real.

I gently pushed Hyun-jun away.

"Hyun-jun, keep working hard. We'll meet again for sure."

His feelings were genuine, so I gave him sincere well-wishes and bolted to the bathroom. Anyone watching might think I had to take a dump, but I didn't care.

In the mirror, my status window came into clear view.

Pathetic stats. The "unknown" growth potential was baffling. But the 70 points in the notes confirmed what I'd heard wasn't a hallucination.

I'd looked in mirrors plenty after fall ball ended, but it hadn't shown up then. Maybe focusing on Hyun-jun's window had triggered mine.

Now that I could see it, I could toggle it on and off at will, just like anyone else's. Both batter and pitcher stats appeared for me.

Batter overall: 9. Pitcher: 6. No talent at all.

But those points could change everything. I reached for the batter Contact stat. A prompt appeared: Increase Contact? Consumes 1 Stat Point. Y / N.

My hand hovered over Y, and it felt like pressing a button. Contact jumped from 4 to 5.

Suddenly, my playing days might not be over after all.

With only 70 points, I wouldn't become a star anytime soon. From all the players I'd scanned as manager, I had a rough sense of the scales.

Under 20: Can't survive in KBO.

20-30: Second army fodder, occasional first-team call-ups.

30-50: Backup in first army.

50-70: Starter/ace level.

70+: MLB potential.

I was nowhere close. But if I kept managing and racked up points steadily?

Manager wasn't just an option anymore—it was essential for my future.

To succeed right away, I should pump Intelligence. High baseball IQ was key for managers.

Reaching for it: Increase Intelligence? Consumes 3 Stat Points. Y / N.

Contact cost 1, but mid-20s Intelligence cost 3. Baserunning in the teens cost 2. Higher stats cost more—got it.

I desperately wanted to manage again, to farm points. But by the time I got another shot, I'd be too old to play.

It felt like a tease—giving power but not enough to swing it big.

Still, for managerial growth, I dumped the remaining 69 points into Intelligence, pushing it to 41.

Time to plan my path to manager.

I toggled off my window and splashed water on my face. My head cleared a bit.

Heading back to Sun-ah—she'd been waiting a while.

She greeted me with that same bright smile, cheering me up.

I had to push forward, for her sake.

"We're really going overseas, right?"

I nodded. Kang Seung-yeon had hooked me up with a 300 million won incentive plus 200 million severance—felt bad for me, apparently. If he was that generous, why not keep me on...?

Shaking off the thought, Sun-ah and I headed to a café to plan our trip. She really wanted to go abroad with me.

After nonstop grinding, I needed this recharge. Plenty to think about, too.