The Monster Has Appeared
The sharp crack split the air.
“Oh, the ball feels really good today?”
[159 km/h]
I stared at the system window with a satisfied grin.
Copy Earl (L), Lucky Shot (R), Professor (L), Iron Arm (H), God of Baseball (H) (Locked), Fireball (L), Revolver (E)
Iron Arm (H)
Greatly reduces stamina consumption. All stats (except stamina) rise dramatically as stamina decreases.
Overall durability of the arm and body increases. Injury probability decreases significantly.
Revolver (E)
Sacrifices a large amount of stamina to throw pitches with a high probability of inducing pop-ups, whiffs, or ground balls.
This skill was actually pretty damn useful. It lived up to its reputation as a lower-tier version of those intimidating spirit-type skills like Captain (H) or Intimidation (L) that lowered the opponent’s chance of getting a hit.
“Whoa, looks like Seojun’s about to set a new record today.”
The all-time high school record for strikeouts in a single Blue Dragon Flag game was fifteen Ks in nine innings. I couldn’t remember the player’s name, but the number was clear.
Alright. Shall we go for a new record?
The combination of Revolver (E) and Iron Arm (H) had my pitches showing off truly insane movement and velocity right now.
At this level… it might actually work in the pros too.
With that thought in mind, I hunted down the batters who stepped up determined to stop my historic performance. The game continued without pause.
It was an absurdly clean game.
Blue Dragon Flag round of 32, Sancheon Mechanical High versus Haneul High. Both teams boasted powerful lineups, so everyone expected a fierce slugfest. The result, however, was downright shocking.
“Strike! Batter out!”
The game ended. Players from both schools exchanged quick greetings at the stands and headed off to pack their gear. The scouts, however, remained glued to their seats in the stands, mouths opening and closing without sound.
The number [159 km/h] still burned on the scoreboard. A perfect game through nine innings, yet he was still touching that velocity. Every single one of them was thinking the exact same thing.
What the hell kind of monster is that kid?
And the LA Dodgers scouts were no exception.
“Johnson, tell me I didn’t just hallucinate what I saw. Yesterday that Korean kid showed insane batting talent and ridiculous defensive range. Today he comes in as a pitcher, gets two groundouts, and strikes out everyone else!”
“Nick, I saw it too, so could you please quiet down a little…?”
“No, Johnson, this doesn’t make any sense! That boy can’t be explained unless he’s some kind of fusion of Choo, BK, and Ryu!”
“I agree the kid is incredible, but comparing him to Choo—the greatest hitter in Korean history—and BK, who had the biggest short-term impact among Korean pitchers? Really?”
“Johnson, that Korean kid is seventeen. Seventeen!”
“………Are you going to recommend him to the GM?”
When Johnson asked, Nick shouted without hesitation.
“Of course! That Korean kid is the greatest raw talent in the history of Korean baseball.”
Johnson, used to Nick’s shouting, plugged one ear and quietly added Lee Seojun’s name to the top-priority scouting list in his notebook.
“Sigh… If only we could bring that Korean kid in when Ohtani’s contract with the Angels is up. I wonder if the money will be there.”
“If we need to, I’ll sell my house to help pay his signing bonus. But first we have to see what he does when he fully blooms at nineteen.”
“…Still, shouldn’t we at least give the kid our business card? The other Korean scouts are already moving fast.”
“Damn it, what are we waiting for? Grab your bag and let’s go!”
Johnson and Nick sprinted to hand over their blue Dodgers cards before Haneul High’s bus could leave the Sancheon Mechanical High field, but—
-Thud.
“Hey! We’re scouts from the LA Dodgers—”
“We are aware. Lee Seojun is a player sponsored by the GL Devils and belongs to Haneul High. The owner has instructed us to inform you that he will absolutely not be handed over to any other organization.”
The security guards completely blocked the only path to the Haneul High bus. In the end, the Dodgers’ blue business card never reached Lee Seojun’s hand.
“Nick, the WBC is being held in Japan… Couldn’t we give him the card there?”
“Johnson, that’s exactly it!”
The two of them hadn’t given up just yet.
“Wow, the highlight reel’s already up?”
“Right? Guess our school’s game got more attention than I thought.”
On the Haneul High bus, I was riding back with Epinel when the highlight video was uploaded. The main focus was my strikeout show—every out except two ground balls was a K.
Feels like I’m watching a KBL strikeout compilation.
It would have been perfect with some mad-movie background music, but there wasn’t any. Just the broadcast team marveling and cheering at every pitch I threw.
The Newtube reactions were pretty much the same—most people were losing their minds over my pitching.
Hmm… Are the Oceans really that desperate?
I had watched their recent highlights. The main clips were the defense’s historic comedy show and the foreign pitcher serving up meatballs so deliciously that the only thing missing was soy sauce. So yeah… the Oceans were in rough shape.
Sorry, Coach Choi Dong-il…!
Unless Lee Taehyun, Kim Sihu, Park Minhu, Yang Uijin, and the rest of those guys all joined the Oceans, the team was going to stay… rough.
Even here Gu Chang-mo is known as a glass body?
The Dinosaurs… I should probably avoid them. If I went there I might end up carrying the entire rotation with just me and the foreign pitchers.
Imagining the rotation—Lee Seojun, Foreigner 1, Lee Seojun, Foreigner 2, Lee Seojun, replacement starter (for games we throw)—made my chest tighten.
Theoretically, if I pitched in forty to fifty games and won them all, I could become the first pitcher in KBL history to record forty or even fifty wins.
Since Ohtani had done fifty homers and fifty steals… if I managed 40 wins, 40 homers, 40 steals, 400 strikeouts, and a .400 batting average…
Wow. I can already hear the sound of my arms and legs being shredded from here.
Even with Iron Arm (H), it seemed like an impossible feat unless my stamina broke past 90.
Still, if the condition for unlocking God of Baseball (H) really is 40-40…
40-40. The grand record only one player—Thames—had ever achieved in KBL history.
Would I be able to show the same dominance I was currently enjoying in high school once I turned pro?
I was dominating high school baseball, sure, but plenty of monsters in high school became salary thieves in the pros. On the flip side, some unknown practice squad player could suddenly put up two hundred hits. Even the legend Jang Jong-hun had entered as a trainee, earned his number retired, and gained the title of “Trainee Legend.” So not that many people put blind faith in high school stats.
…Ah, whatever.
Still, if not during high school baseball, where else could I advertise myself to the teams?
“Hey! Seojun!”
A voice called from the front of the bus.
“We’re playing the Monsters next, did you hear?”
“Huh?”
What? Is the system bugged?