Reset Life with Infinite Talents - Chapter 56
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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 56
16. Roster
Early morning, at the stadium where tryouts are being held.
“Flash Thompson, go to Spring Camp.”
“…Yes!”
‘That’s right!’
Among the envious gazes, Flash quickly runs to the dormitory and hugs Mary Thompson.
“Mother! I passed the tryout!”
“…Kyaah! My son! My youngest!”
I knew he would make it. Whose son would fail?
“Th-then you’ll be staying at the camp dormitory from now on?”
“Yeah! See you in 9 days! I’ll call you!”
“Give my regards to Johann!”
“Got it!”
Flash parted with Mary Thompson and headed to Spring Camp.
After asking a coach at the entrance and arriving at the main field, a familiar sound greets him.
Thwack!
“…That’s Johann.”
The sound of a fastball that could burst a mitt, recognizable just by hearing it. Flash turns his head with a bright smile and discovers Johann with someone positioned in front of him, then becomes puzzled.
“Huh? Why does he look so angry?”
It’s the same indifferent expression as usual, but he can tell. Johann is currently extremely pissed off. And he’s pissed off at the person in front of him.
“He shouldn’t be like that, should he?”
Johann still lives by the laws of the wilderness.
Johann restrains himself only because he’s come down to the city, a human world, but hasn’t abandoned the laws he learned in the forest.
The Wolf Boy who hunted bears and wolves and chewed their flesh.
Shiver!
“Oh shit!”
Flash, who noticed Johann’s hand moving, urgently kicked off the ground.
“Gah! Gugh!”
A cold silence descended on the main field.
Johann quietly watches Derek rolling on the ground after being hit in the throat.
‘What should I do.’
First, killing is not allowed.
‘Bursting his eyeballs or breaking his limbs wouldn’t be good either.’
If he uses methods to neutralize enemies, busy Larry gets summoned.
“Th-this monkey bastard dares to…”
Johann nodded while watching Derek forcibly trying to get up.
“Right. Let’s make it so he can’t run his mouth.”
The jaw – it doesn’t show external signs like bleeding, but once injured, it causes permanent disability.
If he smashes the joint, he won’t be able to run his mouth carelessly anymore, let alone chew the most delicious hamburger in the world.
“Hey. Don’t block it.”
If you block it, I’ll have to hit somewhere else.
“I can’t let the hospital bills go up more.”
Johann lightly kicked off the ground and swept Derek’s knee as he was almost standing up.
Crack!
“Argh!”
As Derek screamed and sat down again, Johann indifferently swung his fist toward his jaw.
“Johann! Stop-!”
Flinch!
The fist stopped when it was almost touching.
“…Flash?”
‘Why is he here?’
Already here.
It was the moment Johann was puzzled.
“Stop!”
The pitching coach and catcher coach, who shouted belatedly, began running over.
* * *
“Th-these crazy bastards!”
It’s not like there haven’t been kids who fought over the years.
11 and 12-year-olds whose blood is starting to boil. About 3 percent of those who participate in camp every year get expelled for fighting like this.
But there definitely haven’t been any who threw punches while coaches were watching.
“Johann Jefferson! Derek Johanson! Out!”
“W-wait a minute!”
“What? You think it’s unfair?”
“Yes! I…”
“Hold on!”
“Wait a minute, Coach!”
“…What are you two about now?”
The coaches look at Julio and Flash with dumbfounded faces.
The two who rushed over urgently when Johann caused trouble. After confirming each other, they quickly speak up.
“I’m Flash Thompson, Johann’s friend! My friend Johann isn’t the kind of kid who throws punches carelessly!”
“That’s right! This Derek Johanson here is usually a child obsessed with white supremacist ideology, who frequently makes racist remarks to people of color…”
“Wh-what are you saying! Hey, Julio! Do you have proof?! Coach! I was just beaten one-sidedly by that bastard! You heard me say I was going to appease him!”
“You used that excuse to go to Johann and curse at him!”
“Hey! Don’t frame me!”
‘Tsk.’
The coaches’ expressions worsened at the sight of them pouring out words incoherently and even fighting each other.
At this rate, both Julio and Flash would be expelled from Spring Camp.
Johann sighed and opened his mouth.
“Hey. Did I tell you to speak for me?”
A low but clear voice that seemed to captivate everyone’s ears in an instant.
Everyone’s gaze turned to Johann, and Johann indifferently looked at the coaches and continued speaking.
“Something like an Asian should just listen to what this American says, you monkey bastard. That’s what Derek Johanson said to me just now.”
“…What?”
“Wh-what! Johann Jefferson! Why are you doing this to me!”
“Yesterday he also said, ‘So what? What are you going to do about it if I do, you monkey.’ If you doubt the true meaning of these words, you may use a lie detector. Also, if my statement is proven false, I will quit baseball from that moment on.”
Thud!
The two coaches, shocked as if hit in the back of the head by such an intense statement, look at Derek.
Johann also looks at Derek.
Eyes that say if you’re confident, you should also stake your baseball life.
‘Cr-crazy bastard!’
Although lie detectors weren’t devices that could definitively determine truth from falsehood, Derek, an elementary school student who didn’t know this fact, couldn’t make any excuses.
“I, I…”
Derek turns pale and can’t continue speaking.
The two coaches’ faces contort with anger.
“Derek Johanson, you’re out. A racist like you has no right to play baseball.”p>
“C-Coach!”
“If you don’t want to lose your player qualifications too, quietly pack your things and get lost.”
“…Ugh!”
“And Johann Jefferson, you too… Hmm.”
According to regulations, Johann should also be expelled without question. Even if he’s an innocent victim, he started the disturbance first, so expulsion.
But that pitch from just now flashes before their eyes.
‘That looked like 80 miles per hour.’
Plus that dynamic movement that’s rarely seen in Little League.
‘With this pitch…’
They could get one step closer to the World Series.
“Just wait here for a moment.”
“What should we do?”
“We need to contact the Manager.”
As the two coaches take out their mobile phones and leave, Johann looks at Flash and Julio.
“…Sigh. Hey, robot Johann.”
“Sorry.”
“Don’t apologize if you’re not really sorry. Honestly, you don’t need to be sorry either.”
“Right. If I had found out about this later, I would have crushed that bastard Derek.”
“What did you say? Rodriguez, what right do you have?”
“Didn’t you know? I’m Johann’s friend too.”
“What bullshit! I never heard that?!”
“Just because you didn’t hear it doesn’t make the truth disappear.”
Johann looked puzzled as he watched the two suddenly start fighting.
-…That’s how the situation unfolded.
Bill Claymer, who just received the report of what happened, grabs his forehead.
‘Of all times!’
Did Johann, who made such a powerful impact yesterday, cause trouble?
But rules are rules. Even if it was justified self-defense against racial discrimination.
“There’s no choice. Johann Jefferson is…”
“What was the velocity?”
“Manager.”
-It looked like at least 80 miles per hour.
Bill Claymer, who was trying to stop George Huntington, closes his mouth.
’80 miles per hour?’
George Huntington glances at the flustered Bill Claymer and twists his lips.
‘So this was why Mr. Pregosi recommended him.’
“Then let’s do this.”
Bill Claymer and the two coaches showed surprised expressions at George Huntington’s following words.
* * *
Murmur murmur!
Players whisper while looking at Johann as the test stops after the two coaches left.
Flash, who had no choice but to accept Julio as a friend, makes a sullen expression, while Julio grins as if hoping they’ll get along well from now on.
“So you passed the tryout?”
“Of course!”
That’s why he came to Spring Camp.
“And I passed first too!”
First among all positions.
“Wow! Congratulations, Flash!”
“Call me Thompson for now!”
“But that feels distant.”
“Let’s stay a bit distant, us!”
“Hahaha!”
‘Like oil and water.’
It’s all because Flash feels awkward.
But soon he’ll accept Julio as part of the group.
“Good job. I knew you’d come.”
He knew Johann would keep his promise.
“Yeah…”
It was a moment when his shoulders lifted at Johann’s unwavering trust.
“Everyone, attention!”
The two coaches approach with stiffly hardened faces.
“We will announce the disciplinary action for Johann Jefferson who caused trouble!”
All eyes of everyone gathered on the Main Field focus on them.
“Expulsion is postponed for now!”
“Ah…!”
“But we will conduct a test for expulsion!”
‘Huh?’
Words that are somewhat hard to understand.
“Johann Jefferson, from now on you will compete against me.”
As pitcher versus batter.
If he gets out, Johann stays, but if he allows a hit, he’s expelled.
“You can throw a maximum of 6 balls.”
Meaning 4 balls won’t work either.
“Gasp!”
“Good heavens.”
A game against an adult. And not just any ordinary person, but a single-game match against a coach who was a Triple-A minor leaguer.
In other words, telling him to leave on his own.
All the players who were watching had no choice but to turn pale.
“Any complaints?”
“…No.”
It’s an opportunity that Flash and Julio, who were prepared for expulsion, created for him.
“Good. Stand on the Mound. And the Catcher to receive the balls…”
“I’ll do it. Flash Thompson.”
Flash raised his hand and stepped forward.
“Good. Both of you take your positions.”
As the Catcher Coach heads to the Batter’s Box, Flash looks at Johann.
“Trust me this time too.”
“Yeah.”
Johann quietly watches Flash heading to Home Plate, then turns and heads to the Mound.
‘Minor leaguer.’
The Catcher Coach takes his stance holding a Metal Bat, apparently finished with practice. Flash crouching down looks particularly small.
“Play ball!”
At the Pitching Coach’s shout from behind Flash like an Umpire, heavy tension descends on the Main Field, and the young players watch with clenched fists.
Flash grits his teeth and extends his Mitt, perhaps feeling the pressure.
‘Center field?’
Heh!
Should I say that’s just like the tyrant Flash.
Johann chuckled and nodded his head as he lifted his leg.
“Hup!”
His body twisted intensely as his arm whipped around.
The ball left his hand and flew toward Flash’s mitt.
Thwack!
‘…Definitely powerful.’
The movement felt even more wicked when observed up close.
Even if he were still active, this was a threatening pitch that would give him quite a bit of trouble. Being a right-handed batter facing a right-handed sidearm pitcher made it feel even more so.
‘But look at these guys?’
He had placed it right in the center of the zone.
They had properly exploited the psychological blind spot of thinking there was no way they’d throw right down the middle of the zone from the start against an adult, a coach who had been a minor leaguer.
Seeing Johann nod, it was a collaboration with Flash the catcher. These guys had incredible nerve.
“But…!”
Crack! Clang!
Everyone’s eyes followed the ball.
“Ah!”
Unfortunately foul. The timing was slightly off.
“This won’t be enough.”
It was certainly powerful.
But in Triple-A, where pitchers throwing 100 mph, 105 mph appeared quite regularly, there were many more powerful pitches than this.
‘They just can’t get called up to the Major League because their control isn’t there.’
Having experienced such pitches, no matter how wicked the movement was, a ball that was only 80 mph felt rather bland to him.
This was the difference between an adult and a child.
‘What kind of pitch will come next.’
Will it be a ball? Or a pitch in the zone?
Johann, having finished exchanging signs, prepared to throw.
His leg stepped forward greatly as his short arm whipped around.
‘It’s over.’
Same location as before. Similar velocity.
It seemed they were targeting the psychological blind spot of wondering if they’d really put the ball in the zone all three times, but unfortunately for them.
‘See you next year, Johann Jefferson.’
The catcher coach stepped forward and swung his bat.
Whoosh!
The bat rushed toward the incoming ball.
‘This is a home run.’
That’s what he thought in that moment.
‘Huh?’
The ball passed under the bat.
Thwack!
The catcher coach hurriedly turned his head to see Flash’s mitt stretched far to the lower right before returning, with the ball lodged inside it.
The ball that should have been flying toward the bat had writhed once more at the crucial moment, then darted away diagonally downward.
“Sli… der?”
Slider. And it was a high-speed slider so fast it seemed only about 5 mph different from the fastball.
“What? I thought that kid only had one pitch?”
Flash twisted his lips as if everything had gone according to plan, and Johann’s lips also twitched.
‘A one-inning magician couldn’t possibly have just one pitch.’
No matter how much it was just one-inning closing pitching, the Major League wasn’t such an easy stage that you could get by with just a fastball.
A place filled only with carefully selected monsters, a place crawling with monsters who could hit home runs off even 105 mph pitches after seeing them a few times.
The high-speed slider was one of ‘Rack, Dennis Eckersley’s’ weapons for catching such monsters.
“St-strike! Out!”
“…Woooooah!”
At the erupting cheers, Johann gave Flash a thumbs up.
As expected of his partner. A friend he could trust.
Flash also took off his mask and smiled brightly.
* * *
“A 75 mph slider?”
“We’d need to check with a speed gun to know the exact velocity, but it looked to be about that fast.”
Unlike Derek, Flash Thompson had not only caught that powerful pitch easily but had even called the game. A new genius had joined through the tryout.
“So, you’re saying at least an 80 mph fastball and at least a 75 mph slider? And sidearm?”
“Yes. Plus, the pitching form for both pitches was identical…”
Upon checking, the location and angle where he planted his foot were also identical. It meant his form was complete.
‘What kind of demon is that?’
That was the first thought that came to the minds of the coaching staff, including Bill Claymer.
An 80 mph fastball. Even with violent movement, it wasn’t impossible to attack.
But what if he alternated with a slider that was only 5 mph different? And if the pitching form was identical too?
Limited to the early season, they could guarantee it. Very few batters would be able to touch Johann armed with this combination.
Neither in the minors. Nor in the majors.
‘Wait. Am I thinking about adult leagues right now…?’
Chills!
Bill Claymer and the coaches, eyes wide, looked at George Huntington, who had made the decision to give Johann another chance—a decision that until just moments ago they had thought was a cruel death sentence.
“Di-did you expect this to happen…?”
Plop!
The cigarette George Huntington was holding fell.
Looking closely, he had a dazed expression.
“You didn’t.”
“I thought there must be something since Mr. Fregosi recommended him, but…”
He never expected a slider to come out of nowhere.
Usually, when it came to breaking balls in Little League, most were just curveballs. They generally didn’t teach them to protect young players’ arms.
What he didn’t know was that Jim Fregosi was also unaware of the slider’s existence.
‘This was a predator among predators.’
Last season that unfortunately ended in third place.
This season seemed worth looking forward to.
George Huntington’s eyes gleamed behind his sunglasses.
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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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