100 The Meeting

[A Sudden Quest Has Been Created]

[Quest Description: Win Koshien]

[Quest Reward: ???]

[Penalty: 2 Skills Removed]

**Ting**

Rei was suddenly startled from his slumber by a jarring noise, causing him to let out a wide yawn and reflexively rub his ears. As he slowly opened his eyes, he was greeted by a series of vivid blue screens hovering in front of him. His heart began to race with a mix of curiosity and excitement as he eagerly scanned through each slide, his eyes growing wider and wider with each passing moment. And then, there it was - the Quest reward that he had been hoping for. He couldn't believe his luck. This was truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, a unique experience that the system had never offered before.

As Rei found himself lost in contemplation about the potential spoils that awaited him, he suddenly remembered that he had yet to uncover the previous reward he had earned from his previous endeavor. Acting promptly, he clicked on the reward to reveal its contents and was taken aback to discover a sizable gift box adorned with a vibrant red ribbon that appeared out of nowhere and landed neatly on his lap.

"A gift?", said Rei confused. Even so, curiosity filled his heart, and he slowly untied the ribbon opening the packaging.

4 Blue screens popped up in front of Rei's face as he opened the box. Glancing at each slide Rei gasped in shock.

[Changeup: A type of pitch. 2 points of each stat are needed]

[Insight: Knowing your opponent's movement beforehand.]

[Pro Pitching Control: A Skill where you have a 90% chance of hitting the target area.]

[Slider: A type of pitch. 2 points of each stat are needed]

[Please Choose One.]

"This reward is so cool!", Rei exclaimed. He had never expected something like this. He thought he would have to choose from the store himself. Nevertheless, all the options were great, but the problem was how was he supposed to choose only one.

Rei glanced at his wrist to check the time since he didn't want to be late for the meeting. "There's still a few minutes left", he muttered. He knew this decision was important and if he wanted to complete the new quest, he had to consider other factors. He sighed and furrowed his brows in confusion.

After 10 minutes, Rei still couldn't come to a decision. He had been staring at the screens without even blinking. What was he supposed to do? "How would I use each skill in the match? and what am I lacking?", he questioned himself. As he answered these questions, the decision automatically came to him.

Clicking on one of the blue screens Rei exhaled in relief.

[You have successfully selected a skill]

[It is now available to use.]

Now that Rei had decided his reward, it was time to go to the meeting and see his teammates. He wondered how they were feeling after winning the Quarterfinals. He was sure they were going to be celebrating and laughing out loudly--especially Raichi.

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The Hotel Auditorium was bustling with activity, with numerous baseball teams gathering there to enjoy a meal and engage in lively conversations. Amidst the hustle and bustle, one particular table stood out with a few vacant seats and an air of solemnity that was hard to ignore.

Players of Yakushi High were enveloped in a serene shade of blue, their hands holding onto newspapers and magazines as they perused through the pages.

"Where am I?", Mishima muttered scrambling through the pages of the magazine he held.

While Raichi in the corner sullenly rolled his finger on the ground in a circular motion. Sanada who noticed him wondered if someone had broken him. He honestly couldn't believe they had won the Quarterfinals, which meant they had only two more matches to go until they won the championship! He couldn't help but grin at the thought.

Despite the group's gloomy mood, Kazuma's excitement for the upcoming match was undeniable. He couldn't sit still, his eagerness radiating from him.

Upon entering the auditorium, Rei was immediately taken aback by the unusual behavior of his team members. Sanada's unnerving grin sent shivers down his spine, Raichi was hiding away in the corner, and Mishima seemed to be in a state of despair with his head resting on the table. Rei couldn't help but feel frustrated and confused as to what was going on. He couldn't help but wonder where Raizou was, as they were scheduled to discuss the team's strategy for the Semi-Finals.

Even though Rei didn't want to admit it, they were paired with the worst team possible for the Semi-Finals. Hakuryu High School had some skills that they had to discuss a counter for. Sighing frustratingly Rei walked up to their table needing to know what had happened to the team.

The team members who were lost in their tasks were alarmed sensing a figure shadowing over them. Mishima who had the magazine hovering over his face looked up to find Rei staring at him. He flinched almost dropping the magazine. "W-what are you doing here?", he asked as if oblivious about the meeting.

"Do you want me to punch you?", asked Rei nonchalantly threatening him. Mishima put the magazine on the table and snapped out all his other members from their thoughts. Rei couldn't believe what had happened to the team overnight, were they shocked that they won? The biggest nightmare of Rei's has come true! Or was something else going on? How would he know if these dreamers don't pay attention? They had to start the meeting soon.

Rei had to fix this even though he didn't have enough time. Since tomorrow is the Semi-Finals, he has to make them get in shape today! Even after Mishima tried waking up his other team members, they weren't listening. He had to take out the big guns.

After a few minutes, Rei crossed his arms overlooking the table. Waiting for something to happen. The next second, the hotel staff carrying tubs of water appeared from the sides and dumped all the water on the team members. Rei smiled knowing that this would freshen them up.

The Yakushi team members gasped as they came back to reality. The sleeping members shivered feeling the cold water on their bodies. Mishima slammed his forehead, if he knew Rei was going to do this, he could have stopped him, but he was busy waking them up. Raichi also broke out of his slum in the corner. While Sanada just chuckled witnessing this scene.

Hearing the chuckling, Rei glanced at Sanada. "You weren't sleeping or lost in thought? Then why weren't you helping me?", he asked.

"I just liked watching you plan this out", Sanada replied shrugging.

Rei shook his head disappointedly, "Not cool, not cool…".

All the players were now finally paying their full attention to Rei. "Now tell me what was the cause of this? You were lost in your dream, and you were broken?", he said pointing fingers at each player.

Mishima silently pursed his lips and opened a specific page of the magazine in front of him. He picked up the magazine and showed it to Rei.

As he looked through the pages of the magazine, Rei felt a mix of emotions that left him feeling both happy and sad. However, he couldn't help but feel a surge of joy that prompted him to cheer and smile at his teammates.

"I knew this was going to happen", muttered Kazuma slightly chuckling. He wasn't feeling down about this rather he felt even more fired up. The more Rei did better the more the team will improve.

The page on the magazine that Mishima showed to Rei had a large picture of Rei pitching on the mound. It was published in the magazine which was big enough for everyone to see.

Rei knew now what was going on--everyone was disappointed that their pictures weren't posted in the newspaper or the magazine. But what can he do, he is better than them. "Was this the reason you guys were sulking?", he asked holding the magazine.

As Raichi spoke, everyone nodded in agreement. However, he appeared disappointed and confused as he asked, "I hit a home run, but why wasn't my picture published?" Raichi held high expectations for himself, and his disappointment showed as he frowned and glared resentfully at Rei.

"So, let's discuss Hakuryu High School now, We will get to see Mima--things keep getting better", said Sanada excited about the next match, his heartbeat rose as he thought about it. He knew he wasn't going to pitch in the next match, but he was still going to be batting which was enough to excite him.

Sanada made the atmosphere change to a more serious conversation. The group nodded in agreement and prepared to discuss strategies for counterattacking Hakuryu's playstyle.

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Author's Note: Hi, Guys I thought I would have time to write at least one more chapter but my flight is in a few hours. Unfortunately, I couldn't but I will see you with more content in August. I sincerely Thank you, guys, for reading.