Ken arrived at school on time and made his way to class. He had already gotten used to the looks from those around him which were only exacerbated by the fact he was so tall and had some foreign features.
Adding on his Charismatic Air skill, he could only be described as a "head turner."
"Morning Ken!"
A cheery voice rang out from beside him, gaining his attention.
Shiro seemed like a completely different person this morning, almost glowing as he walked to class.
Since Shiro's physical grade had started on the low end, he was the person most affected by the grueling training they had been going through over the past few months.
This led to him coming to school in a zombie-like state, always exhausted. Unfortunately for Shiro, this had led to him being known as the "White Zombie."
(Shiro in Japanese translates to the color white.)
But seeing the exaggerated changes, Ken felt a little worried. He quickly used Identify on Shiro, only for his jaw to drop a moment later.
NAME: Shiro Masuda
AGE: 16
TALENT ASSESSMENT: B
POTENTIAL: SS-
USER STATS:
>Physical Fitness: A
>Pitching: D
>Fielding: A+
>Game Intelligence: B-
>Mental: B+
'W-What the hell is this?'
The first thing that Ken noticed was that Shiro had increased his Physical Fitness to A and his Fielding to A+ which was fantastic for only a few months of targeted training.
However, that was not the most amazing thing.
'How did his potential increase!?'
Shiro had S+ when he first met him, yet right in front of him it was showing SS-, meaning it had gone up a single grade out of nowhere.
'Could it be because of the training plan we all did for Hiroki?'
Now that he thought about it, Shiro was one of the first people he dragged into the training with Hiroki in order to keep an eye on him.
If this was the case, did that mean others may have also improved their potential?
Ken's eyes sparkled in anticipation. If people like Yusuke, Yuta and Makoto had also benefited from the training, perhaps he could start a whole new wave of talents in Japan to take over the Major League in the future.
"Heh hehe"
His head filled with such a vision, Ken couldn't help but let out an evil laugh at the prospect of a national "invasion".
Shiro who had been chipper moments earlier, suddenly saw Ken's perverted expression and instantly felt his heart drop.
"N-No… I know that look"
'Training demon…'
He quickly sped through the halls and into the classroom, hoping to evade his friend's dreaded alter ego.
Ken on the other hand didn't even notice the disappearance of his friend. This new revelation seemed to have triggered a whole new wave of possibilities in the future.
Yet it still brought with it a few questions.
Just what was potential?
The system had said Hiroki had reached his potential and could not progress any further, yet it was able to create a training program in order to break through that ceiling.
He had seen Hiroki and Shiro both pushed to their limits every day for almost 2 months. Did that mean the way to improve your potential was to constantly reach your limits over a certain period of time?
Ken shook his head, he didn't have enough information yet to come to a definitive conclusion. He would need to use Identify on his teammates and see if their potential had improved.
If this was the case, then the benefits that could be gained were outrageous.
While he was deep in thought, he felt someone brush up against him, nudging him slightly.
"Hmm?"
"Hey stranger, what are you thinking about so deeply this early in the morning?"
Ai's sweet voice was like a treat to his ears as she spoke with more familiarity than he was used to.
"Hey, just the usual of course." Ken replied with a wry smile.
"Ah yes, I forgot that you've always got baseball on your mind."
She let out a small chuckle, clearly amused.
"Ha ha."
He also thought it was funny, even in his previous life all he thought about was baseball. Of course that was in between chasing after Ai back then.
As they walked to the classroom, Ken could feel a shift in the atmosphere. All of the eyes that were usually trained on him thanks to his Charismatic Air were now talking in a hushed whisper among themselves.
If it was only a few people then he might not have noticed, however it seemed that everybody in the halls was doing the same thing.
Ken looked at Ai, but she didn't seem to notice the stares and whispers.
"Hey, does it seem like everyone is staring?" He asked.
"Hmm?"
Ai looked around, only for everyone to turn their heads in response.
"I'm kind of used to being stared at." She admitted, albeit a bit somberly.
'Ah that's right, Ai was always popular in both middle school and high school.' Ken thought. He was also probably one of the ones who had given her unwanted attention in his previous life.
He suddenly felt a little guilty for his previous actions.
While the stares didn't bother him too much, he didn't like the fact that Ai was also being subjected to it. So he began to glare at everyone, receiving some looks of shock in response.
By the time they reached the classroom, Ken had intimidated most of the offenders, leaving him with a satisfied smile.
Ai stopped at the classroom door with her hand on the handle.
"Don't forget our deal." She said softly, not turning her head.
Before Ken could answer, she opened the door and made her way inside, leaving him to watch her retreating figure.
Ken blinked a few times, before a smile graced his lips. He headed into the classroom and located his friend at the back.
'Oh no! He's still got that smile on his face.' Shiro despaired, seeing the innocent looking grin that Ken was sporting.