Toward 160 km/h (5)
The Velocity Increase — Hard quest had been going smoothly. Just as planned, from day six onward I started bundling two days at a time, and that way I finished through days twelve and thirteen in one go, leaving only the final fourteenth day.
Since the quest would end today, there was no need to force day fourteen into a double session. Rather than drag Daesik out at night and put him through hell again, I decided to just do it at the training center my senior ran. I also needed to stop by once to return the speed gun I'd borrowed.
Beep!
157 km/h
Ding!
You have completed the fourth daily objective of Velocity Increase — Hard!
"Whoa. That ball looks good."
Outside the cage, my senior watched my pitches and let out an impressed sound.
"You throwing more?"
"Yes. I want to throw a few sliders too."
"Okay."
I'd already finished the daily objective, but since it was the last day, I wanted to throw a little longer before I left. Early in the quest, this kind of breathing room would have been unthinkable — but now I had enough rest built in, and once I cleared the quest, Diamond Body would come back. I could throw without fretting.
Whoosh!
Even after two weeks off, my primary weapon — the slider — still cut with that same sharp break. I threw five more sliders and five more cutters, then stepped out of the cage.
"Even on video the cutter looked ridiculous, but seeing it live? Yeah, it's the real deal. The team set you up with that?"
"You remember Coach Kim Taehwan, right?"
"Of course I do. Why?"
"Turns out he's the pitching instructor for the Flyers' developmental squad. I picked it up from him then."
"No way — for real? That's great. I should give the coach a call sometime myself. He doing well?"
"Absolutely. Same as he was in high school."
☑ First Objective: Complete a 10 km run — DONE
☑ Second Objective: 20 long tosses of 90 m or more — DONE
☐ Third Objective: Full-body strength routine, 100 reps each
└ Push-ups: 0 / 100
└ Squats: 100 / 100
└ Sit-ups: 100 / 100
☑ Fourth Objective: Record a max velocity of 157 km/h — DONE
Just the push-ups left once I get home.
I checked the Status Window one last time and said goodbye to my senior, handing over the speed gun with a short bow of the head.
"Get home safe."
"Yes. Thank you."
Even with the midnight date-change trick letting me clear two days at once and squeeze out as much rest as possible, fourteen straight days of that workload had left my body thoroughly worn. Still, the satisfaction of nearly finishing this brutal quest outweighed the fatigue.
When I stepped out of the training center, the sun was already sinking, painting the sky red with sunset. I watched that sky as I started the walk home.
"I'm back."
"Doyoon, is that you?"
Past the entryway, the rich smell of cooked rice filled the whole apartment. My mouth watered on instinct, but my feet carried me past the living room and straight to my room.
"You're working out the second you get home?"
"Yeah — just a bit before dinner."
I left the answer hanging and shut the door. I spread a mat on the floor, stretched a little, then dropped straight into position. It wasn't that I didn't want to rest — I just didn't want to leave something half-finished. Better to knock it out fast and spend the rest of the day with a clear head.
"One."
"Two."
"Three."
I exhaled in a steady rhythm and pushed the floor away with my arms. The burn climbed through my shoulders and the muscles along my sides. Up and down, over and over.
"Ninety-nine."
"…One hundred!"
I finished the last rep and sprawled flat on the floor, arms and legs out.
Ding!
A translucent window rose in front of my eyes.
Day 14 — Complete
You have fully completed the quest Velocity Increase — Hard.
"It's over."
A laugh slipped out of me. Fourteen days of training flashed through my head. It had been brutal, but I'd held on to the end and finished every single objective. My body was heavy, but the relief of being done made my heart feel light.
Ding!
Another window appeared right on top of it.
Would you like to check the result?
I took a moment to steady my breathing, then nodded.
Open it.
Ding!
I hit confirm, and the screen flickered for a second.
Please wait a moment…
Success: 80%. Great Success: 20%.
The odds were low, but I'd put myself through all of this aiming for a Great Success — a +4 km/h jump that would put me at 161. I hadn't ground through this just to land a plain Success, pick up a measly 2 km/h, and sit awkwardly at 159. Coming this far and not hoping for it would have been stranger.
"Hoo… please, Great Success. Please, Great Success…!"
I waited for the box to open, aching for that result, eyes squeezed shut, listening for the familiar chime.
Ding!
"…Did it hit?"
I carefully opened my eyes, and—
The Great Success I'd been praying for was waiting for me.
…It hit.
Name:Han Doyoon
Position:Starting Pitcher
– Stuff: 65
└ Fastball: 70+5
└ Slider: 60
└ Changeup: 55
└ Cutter: 60+5
– Movement: 60
– Control: 65
– Stamina: 65
– Pickoff: 55
I opened the Status Window right away to check. Naturally, Stuff, Movement, and Control were all unchanged.
Only one thing was different.
Max Velocity: 161 km/h
"IT HIIIIIT!!!!!!!!!!"
A shout of pure joy tore out of me before I could stop it. Instantly the door slammed open and Mom burst in.
"Doyoon! What happened?!"
She stood there with a worried look on her face.
"Ah — nothing!"
"Nothing? You screamed like that."
"It's really nothing. I just… I just pulled a good item in a game. Haha."
Mom stared at me for a long beat, then narrowed her eyes in suspicion.
"A game?"
"Yeah. You know, the one I've been playing lately."
A brief silence. Then a sigh mixed into her reply.
"Don't yell out of nowhere like that — you scared me. Dinner's ready, so come out already."
"Ah, okay."
Mom shook her head once more, closed the door, and left. Only after the latch clicked did I drop back onto the bed.
I carefully brought the Status Window up again.
Max Velocity: 161 km/h
This time, instead of shouting, I clenched my fist tight. My heart was still racing a little.
And then—
◈ Accumulated fatigue in the shoulder rotator cuff is being cleared.
◈ Strain built up on the medial elbow is being eased.
…
◈ Micro-tension in the lower-body muscles is being released.
With the quest over, the skill reactivated. The stiffness and fatigue wrapping my whole body vanished like a lie under the effect of Diamond Body — the one I'd been waiting for most.
Ha. I want to throw already.
I steadied my breathing and closed the window. Mom's cooking was always good, but somehow I had a feeling it would taste even better tonight.
The three of us sat facing each other around the table. Steaming rice, soup, and side dishes were set out one after another.
"Game five tonight," Dad said, picking up the remote.
"Busan and Daejeon — this should wrap it up."
Player intro graphics rolled across the TV screen.
"If they lose here, it's over, right?"
"Yeah. Tonight's the real last one."
Dad scanned the Busan lineup and nodded.
"Solid starter. The Mariners are going to push hard."
"The Titans are good too. Moon Sanghyeon's a real pain."
I said it as I picked up my spoon. Then Dad ambushed me with a jab straight at a sore memory.
"Ah — the guy who hit that home run off you?"
"Kh—!"
I barely managed to keep the rice in my mouth from going down the wrong way.
"No. Why are you bringing that up all of a sudden. That was a mistake pitch."
Dad laughed and nodded.
"Those kinds of hitters are tough, though, right?"
"Yeah… good eye, good at fouling stuff off. Power too."
That was when Mom, who'd been listening quietly beside us, cut in.
"Against hitters like that, you need a real put-away pitch, don't you?"
"Th-th… that's… right?"
I stammered, not quite sure I'd heard her correctly. My mom was the kind of person who knew the basic rules of baseball and not much more. But what had just come out of her mouth actually sounded pretty solid.
"A changeup would be nice against lefties. You stopped throwing that all of a sudden, didn't you?"
"…Huh?"
And the line that followed left me outright stunned. Even if the put-away pitch talk could be chalked up to something she'd overheard from a broadcast, I never expected an actual pitch name to come out of her mouth.
Dad had stopped mid-spoonful and was staring at her too.
"Honey… did you study baseball?"
"Mm. A little?"
Mom grinned.
"Our son's a baseball player. I can't just know the rules vaguely forever. So I studied a bit."
"What? This whole time you said it was too hard and you couldn't learn it — what got into you all of a sudden?"
At Dad's words, Mom shrugged.
"It was easy once Haeun taught me."
"…Haeun?"
Dad looked completely lost.
"Who's Haeun?"
"You know. The one who lives a couple floors up — Doyoon's fan."
Dad nodded like it clicked right away.
"Ah, that pretty young lady?"
"Mm-hm."
Mom continued like it was nothing.
"She said she lives alone, so I invited her over a few times and fed her. We watched baseball together while we were at it, and she explains things really well."
Without me noticing, Mom and Park Haeun had gotten a lot closer than I'd thought.