Diamond No Ace: The Monster

Chapter 6: An Unconventional First Day

The players held their heads high, trying to make their voices as loud and clear as possible.

They wanted to show the coach their enthusiasm and strength.

"Kanemaru Shinji, graduated from Matsukata Senior League, position: third baseman."

With so many names and introductions, Furuya couldn't keep track.

But this boy named Kanemaru was different.

Furuya took a closer look at him.

After Kanemaru introduced himself, it was his good friend Tojo's turn.

But before Tojo could speak, a lithe figure sprinted from the corner towards the group.

He's here!

Seeing the handsome and sunny face, Furuya couldn't help but smile slightly.

However, this boy seemed as foolish as ever.

Next, Furuya heard that annoying voice.

"Come and see, someone actually thinks they can sneak into the team?"

At that voice, everyone turned their heads to look at the boy.

Sawamura stood there, awkwardly frozen like a statue.

The coach's eyes behind his sunglasses seemed like they could kill.

"Are you trying to sneak into the team?"

"I…"

The naive country boy instinctively turned his head, searching for the culprit.

But the culprit, Miyuki, had already run back to the team with a cunning smile.

"Being a person means learning to grow up. This is the first life lesson I, your kind-hearted senpai, am giving you. Don't mention it!"

The naive country boy seemed to understand Miyuki's intention completely.

He even considered killing him.

"Go run! Keep running until the morning practice is over!"

Coach Kataoka's punishments were never lenient.

Because of his mistake, Sawamura resignedly started running.

Of course, those who thought they could escape punishment also didn't avoid the coach's scrutiny.

Miyuki, along with the other two from Dormitory No. 5, also faced the same punishment as Sawamura.

Furuya watched all this with a smile, feeling much better inside.

This was indeed a real world.

Since his transmigration, Furuya had tried many times to assess its reality.

There was no doubt about this.

Because the world was so real, Furuya was very afraid that a single flap of his small wings might cause a drastic change in the entire world.

Now, it seemed he had been worrying unnecessarily.

This was a real world, without a doubt.

And while the world would change to some extent due to his actions, it would not be as dramatic as he feared.

What was his original roommate like?

He no longer remembered.

But one thing he could be 100% sure of was that it was definitely not Miyuki.

Because of his self-recommendation, Director Oota had arranged a new dorm for him.

However, the world itself also had strong inertia.

For instance, despite turning off the alarm, Miyuki and Sawamura still appeared here simultaneously.

"Enjoy your hell mode; I'm about to soar!"

Furuya was not too concerned about the self-introductions.

The advantages of being in a prestigious team included excellent facilities, training systems, competitive opponents, and a great training environment...

These were often only available in top-tier teams.

But, at the same time, there were disadvantages to being in a prestigious team.

One of these was the difficulty of advancing for team players.

In a top team, where there are so many outstanding players, newcomers often find it hard to get opportunities.

The stronger the team, the more evident this issue becomes.

Take the Seidou High School baseball team, for example. As one of the top teams in the nation, its first-year players had no chance of being selected for the first string before the summer tournament selections.

Even before the selections, only those who were exceptionally outstanding and had the potential to lead the team further would be promoted and given opportunities.

This was the tiered development model of prestigious teams.

According to this model, it was almost impossible for the new batch of players to have a chance to represent the first string within three months.

But Furuya, familiar with the plot, knew that this year was an exception.

Although it was not a good thing for the Seidou High School baseball team as a whole, it was a rare opportunity for the first-year newcomers.

It was like the sinking of the Titanic.

For the passengers aboard the Titanic, it was undoubtedly an apocalypse.

But for the fish and shrimp in the sea, it was a miraculous opportunity for life.

Sharing the same ship but with different fates.

The same applied to the first-year players of Seidou High School's baseball team.

Their opportunity was the orientation game.

Of course, before the orientation, there was a small but important test.

Only those who performed exceptionally in this test would get a chance in the orientation game.

After completing morning practice with the seniors and eating three large bowls of rice in the cafeteria, Furuya left for the entrance ceremony.

As they watched Furuya's departing figure, some of the second- and third-year players of Seidou High School's baseball team were thoughtful.

"This guy, on his first day, managed to eat three large bowls?"

There was a sign at the entrance of the Seido High School baseball team's cafeteria.

"Eat three bowls or more!"

This was to ensure the players replenished enough energy.

After all, only with sufficient energy could they withstand the intensity of Seidou High School's training.

But a person's appetite was not something that could be developed in a day.

Aside from some exceptional eaters, most people found it difficult to reach that level on the first day.

Furuya managed it.

From his appearance, he seemed even more relaxed than many second-year players.

"What kind of person is this guy?"

"He doesn't seem very famous…"

While others were puzzled, Kanemaru and Tojo, as outstanding players from the Tokyo area, were especially curious.

In the Tokyo area, Kanemaru and Tojo were familiar with the outstanding peers of their age.

They were certain that the guy they had just seen was definitely not from Tokyo.

"Seems like he's from Hokkaido!"

"He traveled all the way from Hokkaido to Tokyo for school?"

"Is he also a special recruit?"

The questions from behind were of no concern to Furuya.

As for how he could manage to eat three large bowls of rice in a row, it wasn't something that happened overnight.

Before joining Seidou High School's baseball team, Furuya had intentionally trained his appetite.

Additionally, he had improved some of the training methods.

This meant his physical consumption was very high, and he naturally needed more energy to replenish.

In such circumstances, an increased appetite was entirely normal.

On the second day, after the morning run, Director Oota Ota took a megaphone and shouted, "All first-year newcomers, come here for the test!"