[Hahahahahahahahaha so, kid? Who the hell is the child-deceiver now, huh?] - The old man laughed loudly before approaching Shun with an intimidating expression.
"You... AHHH" - Shun pretended to be scared while watching the old man approach him, but the moment the old man got close enough, Shun leaped toward his neck.
The boy didn't trust the system or the old man at all, so he decided to defend himself first. After all, who could guarantee that this old man wasn't a ghost trying to steal his body or something like that?
[Huh?] - The old man was surprised by Shun's sudden attack, he was just trying to scare the boy for fun and didn't expect Shun to jump directly at his neck without hesitation.
POFT
[HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA you're really the best brat! You really thought you could hit me? What kind of idiot tries to hit a ghost?] - The old man started clutching his belly from laughing so hard. In an instant, the boy who had jumped at him passed through his body as if he wasn't there and fell straight to the ground.
"Fuck!" - Shun cursed loudly. He felt the pain of hitting the ground directly while listening to the old man laugh at him.
[Haha, alright, enough fun! You still need to do the Training Center mission, boy.] - The old man tried his best to stop laughing and spoke.
"Huh? Who's having fun..." - Shun grumbled as he got up. Before he could say anything else, he heard the system notification.
[DING]
[The user has accepted the Training Center unlock mission! Please complete the mission to be able to use all the functions of the Training Center.]
[Training Center Unlock Mission
Make 1 million swings, following your coach's instructions (0/1000000)
Time limit: 1 month
Rewards: Unlock all functions of the Training Center, Improve Batting statistic by 3 grades, 1 silver arena pass, and an S- grade Stamina elixir.
Failure Penalty: Lose the Training Center forever, all user statistics decrease by 3 grades.]
"One- one- one million? How the hell am I going to make one million swings in 1 month?" - Shun fell to his knees in despair, he wanted to scream but simply didn't have the strength for it. He looked at the Failure Penalty and felt his soul shatter at the thought of losing 3 grades in all his statistics.
[Hahaha, do you see anyone else here?] - The old man gave a big smile while looking at Shun, he was clearly enjoying the situation.
"God, why me?" - Shun looked up and asked. He didn't even bother to reply to the old man. The boy quickly grabbed a bat and found a place spacious enough.
WOOSH
[Your leg is too open!]
WOOSH
[Now it's too closed!]
WOOSH
[It's too open again!]
WOOSH
[It's still too open, you idiot!]
WOOSH
...
They were 12 long hours for Shun, as he swung at the air, trying his best to obey his coach's endless instructions. The boy thought many times about giving up, but after remembering all the feelings he had after today's defeat, he kept swinging.
He had promised that he wouldn't lose anymore, he had promised that he would get better. So what if it was 1 million swings in a month? He would finish!
It was 12 mentally exhausting hours, so Shun felt one of the greatest sensations of relief in his entire life when he finished and heard the system notification.
[DING]
[Activating deep sleep mode]