After his tryout, Ken was surprisingly well received by his new teammates. The bulky Captain, Max Blair was one of the first to approach him, welcoming him to the team.
He met a few of the other players, but in all honesty, Ken forgot their names almost immediately. It wasn’t that they weren’t memorable, just that he had already met quite a lot of people today since it was his first day at school.
“Alright, let’s give the new guy some space.” Steve said, wearing his trademark grin.
He walked in between the players and separated Ken from them all. “You guys know Ryan Smith right?” Steve said, looking at the players expectantly.
They seemed a little taken aback at the sudden change in subject, but still answered.
“Of course, he’s the number 1 recruit who just committed to Kansas State… Why?” Max responded. He seemed to have great knowledge of the baseball circuit.
Hearing this, Ken’s eyes widened. ‘Ryan already got a scholarship?’ He thought, feeling the forgotten rivalry begin to rekindle.
It wasn’t that he didn’t think Ryan was good enough, only that it had slipped his mind. Ryan was a year older than him and in his Senior year, it made sense that he would commit to a college.
If his previous life was anything to go by, Ryan would only stay in College for a year before getting drafted.
“Hehe, I’m glad you asked.” Steve responded, placing a hand on Ken’s shoulder.
“This guy right here actually beat Ryan.” He boasted, waiting to hear the cries of shock and awe from his teammates. However, he was left wanting, since no one even reacted.
“Yeah, right… And I was Ryan’s personal chef.” One of the players called out, resulting in a few chuckles of laughter. Ken’s gaze fell on him, trying to remember his name, however he came up blank.
“Didn’t he say that he’s from Japan? How would he play against Ryan anyway?”
However, the moment he said that, everyone in the surroundings froze.
Finally getting a reaction that he liked, Steve broke out into a hollow laugh. “Anyone remember the Japanese Ace who sent both Ryan Smith and Leo Cameron to the jaws of defeat? Well, you’re looking at him.”
The penny finally dropped. If they looked at Ken like he was a freak before, now it was even more intense.
Ken shifted a little uncomfortably, but he tried to look on the positive side. If the team knew his skill level and resume, they might respect him more and follow his lead. Now that he had the system back, it meant his Training Demon skill was back in full force.
Just thinking of all his buffs made caused a dark grin to form on the corner of his mouth.
To the players looking at him, his smirk made him look devilish. They all felt a shiver run down their spine, as if they were in the presence of something truly evil.
“Alright you lot, we’ve got some training to do, no slacking.” Coach Wyatt approached, noticing the weird atmosphere, but he quickly changed the subject.
Ken’s ears perked up. He had been doing solo training for the last month, so the thought of actual baseball training was quite appealing.
With great enthusiasm, he entered the field and waited for directions. However, after around an hour of various drills, the coach called an end to the training session.
Ken looked around seeing the players sweating lightly and busy chatting amongst each other. A frown formed on his face shortly after, feeling that the training was inadequate.
This was like a light warm up compared to what he was used to in Japan.
“Coach, are we done already?” Ken asked.
“Hmm? Yeah we’ve finished for the day.” He stated simply, “We all got families to go back to kid.”
Ken couldn’t really refute those words, but it left him feeling a little miffed.
As if feeling his frustration, Steve wrapped his arm around Ken’s shoulders and laughed, “Don’t worry man, this is only our daily training. On the weekends when we’re not playing in a tournament or scrimmage, it gets more intense.”
However, Ken was unmoved. It might be okay for the other players to get by with this, but not him who had dreams of becoming a pro in the future.
It was clear that he would need to take things into his own hands down the line. As for who would join him… Ken looked at Steve, his eyes flashing with malice.
“Eh?” Steve felt a cold sweat suddenly drip down his back, but he didn’t know why.
“Hey Steve. You look like you’ve got some energy left to burn.” Ken crooned, trying to act innocent. However, the twisted expression on his face was the complete opposite.
“I—I… What do you mean?” Steve instinctively backed up, feeling a sense of danger.
Eventually, Ken managed to sink his claws in, having Steve join him for some follow up training on the field. Apparently the bus left every 30 minutes back to the school, so Ken decided to just do an extra hour of training this time.
The players saw Ken and Steve begin to run around the field while they were busy packing up and getting ready to leave. Most of them felt it was a little weird, but there were some who were feeling inspired.
Max hesitated, feeling the urge to join them. However, he remembered that he had already told his mother he would be home by a certain time. If it wasn’t for the spontaneity of the situation, he might have joined them.
Another was Latrell, he had dark skin and dreads with an athletic build. He stopped in place before dropping his equipment on the ground and heading onto the field. Without a word, he joined the duo in their run.
Ken was a little surprised, but he smiled in response, his gaze moving to the group of players leaving.
‘Soon you’ll all be running alongside me.’ Ken thought, smirking.
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