Reset Life with Infinite Talents - Chapter 19

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Infinite Talent Reset Life Episode 19

 

 

6. At the Broadcasting Station

 

 

Vrooom!

The next morning, inside Larry’s car heading to Fairmont School.

“My goodness.”

“Pfft! You calculated it again?”

“It still feels like a dream.”

Even setting aside the animal hides that showed no signs of selling, when he added up the money received from returning Edward Sherman’s wallet (Emily’s father), the money extorted from the reporters, the money received from H&M’s chief photographer Henri Robert, and the money he would receive this time, it became an amount that even ‘The One Who Became a Star’ had never managed to save.

Of course, he hadn’t chosen where to sign a contract yet, but if a second article came out, his value would jump once more, so they decided to wait a little longer. Still, even at the minimum estimate, it was enough to eat hamburgers for almost 20 years and still have money left over.

Money that he had thought would naturally come as a byproduct of gaining various experiences and expanding his capacity limits. He still thought that way now, but with this amount, it couldn’t help but be shocking.

‘This is recognition.’

Proof that the world acknowledged him.

His current value as recognized by the world.

That’s why he kept calculating. Looking at those numbers made him smile.

‘But I can’t be satisfied here.’

He had no intention of moving for money’s sake, but the desire to receive even more recognition surged within him.

‘To do that…’

“Larry.”

“Yeah?”

“I want to sign a contract with you.”

He had to tie up this issue first.

Johann, who still hadn’t signed a contract with Rocky Management.

Screech!

Larry, who had pulled the car over to the shoulder, looked at Johann.

“Whew. Johann, you’re my son. What parent in the world would take money from their child…”

“I’m causing disruptions to the staff members’ work because of me.”

Dissatisfied employees might emerge. Perhaps they already had.

“My goodness. That can’t be true.”

He said that, but it hit the mark.

However, he couldn’t say that.

“Larry, I want to pay a fair price and use Rocky’s services.”

‘Then the staff will move more proactively too.’

The employees who had worked hard because he was the CEO’s son, but probably thought it was just assigned work, would now work as fiercely as they did for other affiliated artists.

‘The more they do that, the more opportunities I’ll have for various experiences.’

“Even if it means I can no longer drive you to school?”

If they signed a contract, they would have to provide that much support and service. Assigning a dedicated manager was one of those things.

“Larry can be my chief manager, right?”

“…Haha! Alright. Let’s sign the contract when you get home from school today.”

Those eyes that seemed impossible to dissuade. He didn’t like it, but since Johann wanted it, he had no choice but to comply.

‘Is this what they mean when they say parents can’t win against their children?’

He felt like he understood his parents’ feelings a little.

“Oh, and I want to try playing baseball.”

The conclusion he had reached after thinking about it yesterday and the day before.

Just the simple act of throwing a ball had been enjoyable, so how much more fun would it be to compete while engaging in psychological warfare with opponents?

What kind of emotion would it be when teammates hugged each other?

He was extremely curious about those things.

“Would that be okay?”

“…I’ll need to buy a baseball bat and glove too.”

This was a first. Not responding to situational demands, but being the first to say he wanted to try something.

Larry, feeling that the wall between him and Johann had grown a little thinner, smiled warmly as his chest grew tight with emotion.

“We’ve arrived.”

“I’ll be going. See you after school.”

“You remember what Ada said, right?”

Don’t leave witnesses or evidence.

“Don’t worry.”

‘That’s The One Who Became a Star’s specialty, after all.’

The experience of community service assigned as punishment was enough just once.

If anyone picked a fight with him again in the future, Johann resolved to make full use of ‘The One Who Became a Star’s’ experience as he got out of the car.

“Oh, Johann! I was waiting for you.”

“Teacher?”

It was his homeroom teacher.

“Good morning, Mr. Jefferson.”

Was it common for a homeroom teacher to come out to greet students at the school gate? Larry, who had gotten out of the car, looked puzzled and worried.

“Did something happen?”

“Oh, it’s nothing to worry about. I was just waiting because Johann did something wonderful yesterday.”

He understood what she meant.

“Where should I park the car?”

“Follow me. There’s a separate faculty parking lot.”

They headed to the principal’s office like that.

 

Back in the principal’s office.

“Johann!”

Flash, who had been dozing off, straightened up.

“You came quickly?”

“Yeah… Dad has to go to work.”

That’s why the morning had been a little earlier.

“What about your mother?”

“Mom works. She only comes on weekends.”

“Ah.”

Johann nodded and looked at Flash’s father.

“…Please continue to be good friends with him.”

His son, who had caused an unbelievable incident just a few days ago, had not only done something wonderful and good, but had also said he would change going forward.

It was all thanks to Johann.

“Yes.”

“Ahem!”

The principal cleared his throat to gather attention and looked at Johann and Flash.

‘To think these troublemakers would bring honor to the school…’

Something he couldn’t have imagined just last week.

“Now that all the parties involved are here, I’ll explain why I called you here today.”

People looked toward the principal’s mouth.

 

* * *

 

“Well then, listen well in class.”

“Drive safely.”

“Dad, have a good day!”

As Larry and Flash’s Father leave, Flash pinches his cheek.

“Ow.”

It’s not a dream.

“Jo, Johann! Am I really going to be in the school newspaper?”

The principal said he would feature this heartwarming story in the school newspaper.

He also said he’d give him a certificate of commendation and a small scholarship.

‘I have more hamburgers now.’

It seems like he could buy a bat and glove with the scholarship money.

“Didn’t you say the school newspaper was boring?”

“That’s different from this!”

Thinking that other children would learn about what he did made his heart race and his face feel hot.

“Don’t you feel the same?”

“…I do too.”

A different kind of excitement from when he looked at the H&M catalog.

His body fidgets for no reason.

“Oh, was there any trouble yesterday?”

“Yesterday? No?”

All the upperclassmen who had looked at him unfavorably just on Saturday now greeted him warmly, and helped him a lot during volunteer work.

He didn’t see that 11th grader either.

“And after the volunteer work ended, I learned how to throw from Andy!”

Andy Clark had advised him to use his body’s elasticity.

Yesterday in that clearing, they threw the ball back and forth until sunset.

“He seemed a bit disappointed that you didn’t come… That’s right!”

“Hm?”

“Johann, won’t you really play baseball? I’m not pestering you because there’s a monster at our rival school, but because your talent is too precious to waste!”

“I’m going to do it.”

“You’re not even wearing baseball cleats… What?”

“I said I’m going to do it. I got Larry’s permission too.”

Flash, eyes wide, looks at his wristwatch.

“…Let’s go!”

“Huh? There’s less than 30 minutes until class starts?”

“That’s enough!”

Johann’s wrist is grabbed by Flash.

He reflexively flinched, but soon shrugged his shoulders and began following along as if being dragged.

 

“Hello, Teacher Swagger.”

“Good morning.”

A pot-bellied white man in his 40s crosses the school grounds exchanging greetings with teachers, then looks up at the blue sky and lights a cigarette.

“School’s starting…”

‘Soon that small baseball field will be bustling with children too.’

Children who genuinely want to play baseball, children who registered out of curiosity, children who came in due to parental pressure.

Thinking of the baseball field that would become noisy, a smile appears on the lips of Bob Lee Swagger, director of Fairmont School’s baseball club, the Fairmont Little Pumas, and one of the physical education teachers.

‘That’s how baseball should be.’

Enjoyably. Fun.

“The problem is everyone has too much fun…”

The Fairmont Little Pumas could be said to be almost last place in the league.

He was tired of seeing the principal and chairman’s cold smiles.

Of course, all the sports clubs at Fairmont School were operated for the purpose of fun that would pass during school days, so they didn’t pressure about performance, but still, losing all the time couldn’t help but hurt.

“The first one to come will probably be… Flash?”

Flash Thompson, who couldn’t be called a good student in many ways, but was serious about baseball.

His red complexion becomes even redder.

‘He’ll probably burst through that door when school ends.’

Bang!

“Teacher!”

“Just like that… Flash?!”

“This is a friend who wants to join the club! Please test him!”

There wasn’t really an entrance test for the Fairmont Little Pumas, but there was no need to dampen Flash’s excitement when he was so thrilled he was wearing baseball cleats and even a catcher’s mitt.

Bob Lee Swagger smiled and gestured for them to come up, and Flash ran to home plate.

“Johann! Throw it like you did that time?!”

“I got it.”

Johann’s eyes close and open.

‘Ha.’

The earthy smell being drawn into his nostrils, the solid mound tilted forward, and the baseball cleats fixing his feet firmly while pressing down on that mound.

His emotions began to rise, but Johann calmly warmed up his body first. That’s how you avoid injury.

Johann stretched his legs and arms thoroughly to warm up his body, then nodded at Flash, and Flash hurriedly got into position.

“Play ball!”

“Hup!”

Johann’s arm spreads like a wing as he releases the ball.

Whoooosh!

“…Oh, goddamn.”

The jaw of Bob Lee Swagger, who had once stepped up to the threshold of the AAA league, dropped to the ground.

 

* * *

 

“Crazy!”

His thinking was right. The speed was higher than the day before yesterday.

“Of course wearing baseball cleats makes you throw faster!”

Baseball cleats that firmly fix your feet and a mound tilted forward. These are all devices that increase a pitcher’s speed.

As a result, the speed was a whopping 72 mph, 115 km/h.

This was the result measured by the shocked Bob Lee Swagger who brought a speed gun.

He naturally passed the entrance test. Now Johann was a member of the Fairmont Little Pumas.

‘I threw that without using full strength…’

Even if he had thrown with full power, it wouldn’t have reached the speed of ‘Rack, Dennis Eckersley’s’ prime, but this was just the beginning.

The longer he absorbed ‘Rack, Dennis Eckersley’, the more his body would change to match.

‘My height too!’

When he searched, Dennis Eckersley had reached a height of 188cm.

The days of suffering because of his height would soon be over.

‘But…’

Throwing again, he could tell for certain.

A fragment of ‘Talking Mannequin, Ines de Fressange’ had attached to his pitching form.

‘I could fix it if I set my mind to it, but…’

He didn’t feel particularly uncomfortable. It didn’t seem to affect his speed much either, so leaving it as is might not be bad.

No, it was actually interesting. The fact that such a tiny fragment influenced other talents and experiences.

‘If fragments are like this, what would happen if I absorbed multiple talents simultaneously?’

He was excited to see what kind of influence it would have.

‘I want to increase my capacity limit quickly!’

He wanted to see that sight as soon as possible, even if just a day earlier.

“You said Little Pumas is a county league team, right?”

“Oh, yeah!”

Little League, which operates as a regional league because it targets children under 13, so long-distance travel is inevitably restricted.

A-AA-AAA- MAJORS.

A through AAA are called the minor leagues, where A League is also known as School League or House League, referring to leagues where schools within the same county or city compete against each other.

Among these, 2 to 3 teams get promoted to AA League, which is the County League where they compete against A League representative teams from surrounding counties and cities within a metropolitan area, or schools that were promoted based on skill.

This is the league that the Fairmont Little Baseball Club belongs to, and up to this point, it’s almost like a hobby.

Taking Orange County as an example, they compete against schools within the LA metropolitan area including LA and Orange County. The level of both leagues is similar, and many teams go back and forth each year.

Below A League are TEE BALL and ROOKIE leagues, where most participating players are children 8 years old and under.

“They’ve even made it to AAA League before!”

Starting from AAA League, which is the state league mostly consisting of 12-year-old players, you could say it’s almost exclusively travel teams that play baseball professionally, and from this point on, they gather the most promising kids from the region to compete.

California state league is divided into western and northern divisions.

MAJORS is a league consisting only of all-stars representing each state, where the US is divided into 6 regions and state representatives compete against each other.

“Wow…”

Even though I already knew this information, hearing it like this makes me realize anew just how massive the scale of America’s Little League is.

“By the way, when spring season starts, I’ll go through tryouts and join the County League representative team!”

It’s called a tryout, but since he was selected last year, he’ll probably be selected this year too.

And he’ll compete in AAA League games against representative teams from other regional leagues in western California.

“Huh? So the school league ends with spring season?”

“No. It’s just that I won’t be there, but the league continues. And…”

Every August, the Little League Baseball World Series, LLBWS, is held where the championship teams from the US division and International division compete against each other. Little League all-stars from around the world face off.

“Ah…”

‘The whole world?’

Suddenly I feel a surge of excitement.

“…Flash, let me ask you one thing. How many Little League baseball clubs are registered in America?”

“Well… 20,000?”

Johann’s eyes waver.

‘20,000?’

20,000 opponents, 20,000 experiences.

Of course, I’ll only face some of them, but still, I’m glad I registered with the Fairmont Little Pumas once more.

“Anyway, let’s go buy baseball equipment this weekend! I’ll show you a good place!”

“Ah, sorry. I already promised to go with Larry.”

“Oh, really? Then should I tell you where the store is?”

“No? We can just meet up that day. Right?”

“…Yeah! Then see you at lunch!”

Flash waved and walked away, and Johann, checking the time, also quickened his pace. Class was about to start.

 

“Everyone knows that this week is the elective course correction period, right?”

“Yes!”

Fairmont School allows students to choose elective courses each semester so they can have more diverse experiences.

“I’m sure you’ve all decided, but think about it once more… Johann?”

“Yes, teacher.”

“Since Johann is a transfer student, don’t come to regular classes this week, and just attend the elective course classes.”

Johann had already chosen and submitted his courses.

But the homeroom teacher thought it would be better for Johann to try out the elective courses first before deciding what to study for a semester.

“Huh? Oh, yes.”

‘Experience it first, then decide…’

Good advice.

Johann ignored Emily beside him whispering ‘Cheerleading, cheerleading’ and fell into thought.

 

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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