The Hunter

......What an incredible presence.

"Alright everyone, unpack your gear quickly and we'll jump straight into batting practice."

"Yes, Coach!"

Some of the retired players, along with active college and independent league athletes, stepped onto the field wearing the Strongest Monsters' away uniforms—sharp blue bases accented with clean white. The team was made up of pros whose best days in the majors were behind them: the Strongest Monsters.

Next year the squad would be led by the legendary "Baseball God" Kim Sung-geun alongside Lee Seung-yeop, who was taking over as Bears manager. That meant it was better to shut them down hard while I still could and boost our own reputation in the process. In the original story, the handful of high schools and second-tier pro teams that managed to beat the Monsters during the Lee Seung-yeop and Kim Sung-geun era earned themselves titles like "the ultimate rivals." Those labels gave them a permanent edge in future matchups against the Monsters. Since this game would be broadcast, a revenge narrative or redemption arc would pull in viewers, and it would raise the school's profile. Win-win for both sides.

The most notable examples were Seoul's Chungam High, Busan's Gyeongnam High, Chungcheong's Bukil High, and Seoul High—powerhouses that represented their regions. Even though Gyeongnam hadn't made it to this Blue Dragon Flag, they were still part of that elite group.

The Monsters' current record is... two wins against Chungam, one win and one loss against Gyeongnam?

The show got canceled the moment their win rate dropped below seventy percent, so out of thirty games, seven losses was the absolute limit if they wanted to stay on air. They'd already shown three losses on broadcast, and there were a few un-aired games, so I figured they were sitting at roughly four losses total. And now they were playing us twice...

That means three losses already, doesn't it?

Looking at the lineup, it seemed Yoo Hee-kwan was starting for them. Still early in the series, so he probably wouldn't be on a strict pitch count. He'd likely throw two or three innings before they went to the bullpen.

I need to keep an eye on Lee Dae-eun, Song Seung-jun, and Jang Won-sam too.

Lee Dae-eun sat in the low-140s, while Jang Won-sam and Song Seung-jun were crafty veterans who could carve up hitters. They'd all retired due to age, but they were still far too good for high school kids to take lightly. As for Shim Soo-chang... I wasn't too worried, but since I didn't know how much data Epinel had compiled on their pitching staff, I should probably check.

-Thwack!

[121 km/h]

"Nice pitch, Hee-kwan hyung."

"You know it."

-Thwack!

[101 km/h]

Yoo Hee-kwan continued his warm-up tosses, exchanging light words with catcher Lee Hong-gu.

If he weren't a lefty, his reputation would be completely different.

The shade people threw at him wasn't random. They said that if the ABS had existed during Yoo Hee-kwan's prime, he never would have reached 100 wins. His signature "Arirang ball" relied on that slow velocity to paint the strike zone however he wanted. But now ABS was already in use for high school baseball, and it would be introduced to the KBL next year.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

The game had originally been scheduled for Mokdong Baseball Stadium or the Monsters' home field at Noryangjin, but since we were hosting at Haneul High's dome, there was no reason to disable the already-installed ABS system.

"Whoa, that was a ball?!"

Looks like he's still getting used to it.

From the mound, Yoo Hee-kwan was throwing practice pitches and gradually zeroing in on the ABS zone. It was clearly his first time pitching with the system; he looked a little hesitant.

"Man, if we win, people are gonna say we only won because of the ABS."

"Nah, I don't think so. They used it against Chungam High too."

"That's a relief, then."

"Whoa...... Just watching him swing the bat is intimidating as hell!"

Jeong Taehun shrank back, clearly intimidated by Park Yong-taek's menacing practice swings.

......Wow. So this is what a legend looks like.

The Man Who Lives for the Fans, huh... That's such a Park Yong-taek skill.

The more fans cheered for him, the stronger he became. If a franchise star or superstar had that skill, the efficiency would be insane. The "Locked" tag probably meant it couldn't be copied. Unlike Lee Taehyun or Yang Uijin, who simply hadn't awakened their talents yet, Park had already awakened his but it was sealed away due to age.

The only way to get it would be to put on a performance so good it summoned his legend data, just like I had with Choi Dong-won.

"We don't have an official starter today. Since this is also a broadcast, treat it like a practice game rather than an official match. For the first inning, Kim Sihu will start."

"Yes!"

Ah, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠damn.

I'd been hoping to get the ball right ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠away. Guess they took that chance from me. Were they worried about my arm after I threw like a maniac a few days ago?

But it's already healed...

Thanks to the reduced stamina drain from Iron Arm (H), I didn't feel tired at all. Combined with the increased durability effect, I was ready to take the mound anytime.

"The pitching plan is Kim Sihu (2-3 innings), Jeong Woo-jin (1 inning), Lee Hyun-soo (1 inning), Yoo Yong-chan (1 inning), Choi Yong-soo (1 inning), Jeong Taehun (1 inning), and Lee Seojun (1-2 innings)."

The coach really knows how to work the broadcast.

Since we were on TV, he clearly wanted to give as many players as possible some camera time.

"Batting first, Heo Kangmin (3B)!"

"Yes!"

Heo Kangmin took the leadoff spot with a mix of reluctance and excitement at getting the role again after so long.

"Batting second, Oh Jihun (SS)!"

"Yep!"

Oh, Jihun's batting second?

Considering the momentum Oh Jihun had shown lately, it made sense. Hard to believe, but he was playing like a true offensive shortstop—reminded me of the Devils' Oh Ji-hwan or the Heroes' Kang Jung-ho. If he kept it up, he might even make the U-18 WBC roster.

"Batting third, Yang Uijin (C)!"

"Yes!"

After that, senior Jeong Ji-man reclaimed the seventh spot and left field after his recent return. I'd thought I'd get to play center field since I might pitch later, probably in the eighth or ninth, but—

"Batting fourth, Lee Seojun (DH)!"

"...? Got it."

For some reason, Coach had me as the designated hitter.

"Come on, kid. Let me get some camera time too."

"You'll get plenty of spotlight in the batter's box anyway."

"You might not get it since you're a superstar, but when else are we regular high school kids going to show off in front of this many cameras outside of the draft or national tournaments? I gave up the cleanup spot, so just suck it up and DH for me today."

Lee Surin flashed a bright smile as he accepted the fifth spot and center field duties. I felt a little disappointed.

There's nothing to do as DH, though.

Maybe I should beg Yang Uijin to let me catch. On second thought, he'd probably just pick me up and toss me onto the bench.

The players' names began flashing slowly across the scoreboard. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Coach Kim had already been cornered by commentator Kim Seon-woo and caster Jeong Yong-gum for an interview.

Kim Seon-woo is also one of the Blue Dragon Flag commentators.

He already knew. He knew that Haneul High was on a completely different level from other high schools—an absolute monster of a school.

"They call themselves the Monsters? Then let's show them that we're the hunters!"

"""""""Let's gooooooooo!!!"""""""

The Haneul players let out a thunderous roar and charged onto the field. And just like that, the game between monsters and hunters began.