章節 27: Master Thief

[Hey kid, wake up!]

Shun was sleeping like a princess, but he heard a voice in his head that made him think he was having a nightmare.

"You damn Old Man! Can't you even let me sleep in peace?" - Shun woke up startled, but that feeling quickly turned into anger.

[You've already slept too much, kid! I'm actually surprised. I didn't expect you to complete my mission, so congratulations!]

"Huh?" - Shun was surprised by the Old Man's words. He didn't expect the Old Man to congratulate him. But he quickly noticed something hidden in the Old Man's words.

"You damn Old Man! What do you mean you didn't expect me to complete the mission? If I hadn't completed it, I would've lost the system! I knew it! You're trying to kill me, you don't like me as the system's user, and you're trying to kill me!" - Shun quickly got nervous, realizing that the Old Man had given him an impossible mission just to see him fail.

[Hmph! Who's trying to kill you? I was just testing you! Don't get it twisted, kid. I really didn't think you were worthy of the system, but I didn't lie to you. Now that you've passed my test, I have no more complaints. I'm here to help you from now on.]

"Huh? Help me, my foot! Do you think I'm stupid enough to trust you again??!!"

[You brat... well, I guess there's no helping it. Maybe I was a little too harsh. But kid, I'm serious when I say I'm here to help you now. If you don't believe me, just check the rewards you've earned.]

Shun didn't respond to the Old Man. It's not like he trusted him, but he was really curious to see his rewards. He then opened his inventory.

[Inventory:

-1 legendary pitch (learn)

-1 legendary skill box for runners

-2 random grade C elixirs

-2 bronze mystery boxes]

Since Shun couldn't learn the legendary pitch yet, he moved on to the next item.

[Do you want to open the Legendary Skill Box for Runners?

Yes/No]

"Yes!"

[You have obtained the legendary skill Master Thief]

[Master Thief (SS+)

Gives the user a significant speed boost while running between bases. Increases the success rate for stealing bases.]

"Wow, this is exactly what I needed!" - Shun had been worried about finding ways to be effective on offense, but with this skill, as long as he could reach base, he would definitely be effective. The only problem now was actually getting on base. But Shun decided to think about that later and continued to look at his rewards.

[Do you want to open the random grade C elixir?

Yes/No]

"Yes!"

[You have obtained an Agility Grade C Elixir]

[Do you want to open the random grade C elixir?

Yes/No]

"Yes!"

[You have obtained a Mental Grade C Elixir]

"Ehh, Mental and Agility? These aren't the attributes I need to pitch with the perfect form! Hey, you damn Old Man, didn't you say you were going to start helping me? Why did I get two useless elixirs?" - Shun complained angrily. He had hoped to receive at least one elixir for one of the three characteristics necessary to pitch with the perfect form, but he didn't get any.

[You- you brat! How can you be so shameless?! The reward clearly says random elixir, what do you want me to do about that? Besides, you just got two grade C elixirs, that's going to save you a lot of work! Let me tell you something, not one of these attributes is useless! Plus, a Mental elixir is definitely useful for you, maybe you'll be less stupid after using it!]

"You- you're the stupid one, you damn Old Man!" - Shun got angry after being insulted by the Old Man, but he couldn't help but think the rest of the Old Man's words made some sense. Probably all the attributes were equally important, he was just too focused on getting back to pitching.

Shun then continued to open his rewards.

[Do you want to open the Bronze Mystery Box?

Yes/No]

"Yes!"

[You obtained 1 bronze arena pass]

[Do you want to open the Bronze Mystery Box?

Yes/No]

"Yes!"

[You obtained 1 bronze arena pass]

"Ah, these things again? Hey Old Man, do you know what these passes are for?" - Shun was a little curious about the passes, and even though he didn't like the Old Man, he had to admit that the Old Man knew much more about the system than he did.

[Hmph! Of course I know, they'll be a great help to you when you unlock the arena. But it'll take a while before you unlock it.]

"What a crappy answer! I could've said that just by reading the pass's name, you stupid Old Man!" - Shun had really hoped for a more detailed answer, but it seemed like the Old Man didn't want to or couldn't give him that answer since even after being insulted, the Old Man didn't reply.

"So Old Man, can I use the elixirs now?" - Shun asked curiously.

[Huh? Of course, you can. Do you want to use both at the same time?]

"Ehh, can I do that? It won't hurt, right?" - Shun asked, suspicious.

[Hurt? It won't hurt. It'll at most tickle, but if you're scared, you can use one at a time.]

"Hmph! Who's scared? Just do it already!" - Shun was easily irritated by the Old Man's taunt. He then heard the system's notification in his head.

[DING]

[Do you want to use the Agility Grade C Elixir and the Mental Grade C Elixir?

Yes/No]

"Yes!"

Shun felt a warm, comfortable sensation spread throughout his body. He smiled smugly and thought.

"Hmph! This is nothing." - But almost immediately after he said that, an unbearable pain shot through his entire body. His joints, his muscles, his head, it felt like everything was being burned and torn apart.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!! Old Man, you- you son of a bitch!!" - Shun screamed inside his mind. He wanted to scream out loud too, but the system quickly sealed his mouth so he wouldn't make any noise.

[HAHAHAHAHA!! I told you, kid, you're really stupid! Enjoy that elixir, HAHAHAHAHA!!]