Perfect World [EN]: Chapter 53

53

‘That’s really strange. Then she shouldn’t be here at the Elf Market.’

Bumseok wore an expression of utter disbelief. Even if it was a student competition, no professional gladiator team would ignore an elf who had received the Top Gladiator Award in a metropolitan competition, not just a local one. They would have brought a mountain of money to the Elf School to scout her. The headmaster would have to be crazy to send her to this Elf Market. And even if that were the case, no professional team would have left her here this long.

Just then, someone tapped him on the shoulder.

‘Excuse me. Could you move? I called dibs on her a while ago.’

Bumseok, wearing an unpleasant expression, whipped his head around. Who was trying to hit on his elf? He was already planning to buy Matilda, no matter the cost.

‘What are you talking about? I was going to buy her. Get lost…’

Bumseok, who had been speaking roughly, lowered his tone. It was because the person was a beautiful woman.

‘Who is this…?’

Bumseok stared blankly at the blonde woman who had rushed up to him, his eyes filled with lust.

Was she about 165 centimeters tall? Her round, twinkling eyes had deep double eyelids, and her fair skin, like cotton blooming in a field, and her beautiful features were enough to stir his heart. Her figure, revealed in a tight women’s suit, looked quite slender, matching her delicate neckline. In many ways, she was exactly Bumseok’s type.

He opened the information window and checked the details.

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Name: Rebecca Chaplin.

Classification: Modified Human (7 years).

Affiliation: Chaplin Family

Fame: 14.

Notoriety: 0.

Favorability: 32.

H Experience: None.

Stamina: 8200/8200.

Social Skills: 36, Strength: 84, Constitution: 82.

Agility: 83, Balance: 82, Intelligence: 73.

Mental Strength: 77. Judgment: 75, Skill: 74.

Luck: 78.

Current Skill/Potential: 744/889.

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Trait: Power of Affection.

Special Notes: Daughter of Chaplin. Received swordsmanship prodigy education from her father, a former gladiator, since childhood. Currently learning swordsmanship alone due to her father’s busy schedule. Plans to form a gladiator team for the Chaplin family.

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‘Wow. What is it with today? Only amazing people are catching my eye.’

Most of her stats, except for social skills, were at a high level. Her physical abilities, in particular, were outstanding, with most exceeding 80. Frankly, her stats alone were comparable to those of starting gladiators in the Central League. Moreover, her potential of 889 was very rare, and she could play a significant role in the World League depending on her future training.

And Rebecca’s trait, ‘Power of Affection,’ had an option that increased all stats by +7 if there was a lover in sight. Although it was somewhat lower in value than Bumseok’s ‘Great Will,’ it could be activated at any time as long as a lover was present at the arena, making it very useful.

However, considering that she was planning to form a new gladiator team as noted in her special notes, it seemed more likely that she would become a competitor rather than be scouted.

‘I told you, I picked her first.’

Her beautiful voice flowed sweetly, but Bumseok snapped out of it and asked sharply.

‘How are you going to prove you called dibs? Do you have any evidence?’

‘I don’t have evidence, but she knows. Matilda clearly told me earlier that she received the Top Gladiator Award at the Metropolitan Government-sponsored Elf Student Swordsmanship Competition. Ask her.’

It was accurate, and Bumseok felt a pang of guilt. If he asked Matilda and she said yes, he would be in trouble. In the end, he decided to brush it off with intimidation.

‘No, even if that’s true, what does it matter? Why didn’t you buy her then and why are you doing this now?’

‘It’s because I couldn’t believe it. There’s no way someone who received such an award would be at the Elf Market. So I went to check and came back after searching over there.’

‘Then you didn’t want to buy her at the time. The person who decides to buy first is the owner. After being somewhere else, if you come now and ask for it, do you think I’d say, ‘Oh, here, take it’?’

Rebecca bit her lip because he wasn’t wrong. Honestly, you couldn’t ask someone who was heading to the counter with an item at a convenience store to return it because you had called dibs. This was a similar situation, so she was at a significant disadvantage in terms of justification.

But she couldn’t let go of such a talented elf. Rebecca decided to persuade him.

‘Okay. Then, on the condition that I let you have her, I’ll make you her virtual owner. And I’ll acknowledge 10% of the income from her as your property. Would that satisfy you?’

Virtual owner. In short, it was a legal system created to allow women to purchase elves. Only men could be recognized as owners by elves. However, it was impossible to make them the sole property of men when they were engaged in economic activities and earning money for their owners. If left unattended, the gap between the rich and the poor would widen significantly between men and women. Although a lot of money was paid for the initial purchase cost, the difference between one person earning money and two people earning money was bound to be significant.

However, giving women the same ownership rights as men would be a terrible thing for the elves. The despair of having to live without an owner for the rest of their lives was a serious matter that could drive them to death. Therefore, according to the Elf Protection Act, when a woman buys an elf, she must designate a man as a virtual owner. And the limit of the compensation was capped at 10% of the total income earned from the elf.

Rebecca was offering Bumseok the maximum amount allowed by law.

However, he naturally couldn’t accept the offer. He couldn’t hand over an elf who could be of great help to the team in exchange for a mere 10% of the income.

‘Are you kidding me? Do you think I’d hand her over to you just to receive those rights? I’m willing to be her owner, no matter the cost, and I have the money.’

Rebecca shook her head and took out an electronic notepad from the bag she was carrying on her right shoulder.

‘Okay. Then how much would satisfy you? 5 million krang [currency]? 10 million krang? Name your price.’

At those words, Bumseok wore an absurd expression, his mouth agape. He couldn’t understand how she could offer such a large sum of money on the spot. But Matilda’s talent was worth buying with all the assets he had. He couldn’t give in to the money.

‘Do you think I’m doing this for money? You don’t seem to know Matilda’s value yet. She’s worth at least tens of millions of krang.’

Bumseok grabbed Matilda’s wrist and headed to the counter. Then Rebecca suddenly blocked his path with an unbelievable expression. Even though she had received the Top Gladiator Award at the Metropolitan Government-sponsored Elf Student Swordsmanship Competition, that amount was too excessive.

‘Wh-what did you say? Tens of millions of krang? Are you aware that you can buy a core-level gladiator from the Wide League for that amount?’

Bumseok patted the suit he was wearing and said,

‘Of course I know. I’m someone who’s been in this business for a while. Why?’

At that moment, the employee who had returned to the counter shouted at them with a frustrated expression.

‘Customers. Don’t touch Matilda. Her owner has already been decided.’

For a moment, Bumseok and Rebecca, who had been arguing, stood there blankly, then quickly snapped out of it and rushed to the counter employee.

‘Wh-what are you talking about? Are you saying she has an owner? She still has odd eyes, so she shouldn’t have an owner yet.’

The counter employee looked at Bumseok, whose face had turned pale, and said,

‘Yes. She doesn’t have an owner yet, but the owner has been decided.’

‘Who is it?’

The counter employee raised his thumb and pointed to a poster behind him. It read ‘Ellaim Arena Opening Commemorative Tournament,’ and Matilda was prominently featured as the prize for the gladiator division.

A tournament. In short, it was a competition where two players came out and fought one-on-one to determine the winner. However, unlike the underground arena that Venus had experienced, it was legally approved with safety regulations in place.

However, the tournament was divided into two categories. One was a martial arts tournament where they competed with bare fists, and the other was a gladiator tournament where they fought with weapons such as swords.

‘W-wait a minute? So Matilda is a tournament prize? Do you even know how much she’s worth?’

‘Yes. I heard it from the boss, so I know it in detail. Our boss’s father owns the Elf School that Matilda attended and this Elf Market. And according to him, all the professional teams in this area came to buy her. Some offered as little as 7 million krang, and others offered as much as 20 million krang.’

‘Then why didn’t you sell her to them?’

‘It’s because of the arena that will be newly opened this time. Our chairman wants to make Ellaim Arena the best arena in the world where world-class tournaments are held. So, for promotional purposes, he spent a lot of money to recruit famous players to participate in the opening tournament. However, while he was able to gather a large number of famous martial arts players, finding players to participate in the gladiator division was almost impossible. All the players with outstanding skills and fame had been scouted by professional gladiator teams with abundant funds. Eventually, the chairman put Matilda up as a prize. Because in order to get that child, famous active gladiators from each gladiator pro team will participate in droves. Thanks to that, we have benefited quite a bit. Nearly 90 gladiators above the professional level have participated. For reference, there is also a Central League starting player here.’

Bumseok wanted to see the chairman’s face. He was amazed by his boldness and business acumen. Matilda’s highest bid was 20 million krang. It was a lot of money, but when divided by 90, it was only 220,000 krang. With the league games being so fierce right now, it was impossible to invite a professional gladiator with outstanding skills for that money. He could feel that he was no ordinary person.

He then looked at Matilda. He wanted to ask why she had hidden that fact from him. But he sighed deeply and turned his gaze to the poster. An elf would do anything to get an owner. She definitely didn’t want to become a prize in that tournament and become the property of a professional gladiator team.

‘The tournament starts in five days… Fortunately, the registration deadline is today. Okay, I’ll participate too.’

Bumseok’s decision was quick. He didn’t know how far he could go, but having seen Matilda’s potential, he couldn’t give up.

‘Okay, I’ll participate too. Where do I register?’

Rebecca followed suit.

‘I’ll participate too. Sign me up.’

Bumseok glared at her with sharp eyes. He was displeased with her persistence.

The counter employee, who had been watching the two of them, wore a troubled expression.

‘Ah. Is that so? We do registration here… But what should we do? The players who can participate in this tournament must be gladiators from famous professional teams or have skills comparable to them. Are you professional gladiators?’

Bumseok shook his head and immediately replied.

‘I’m not a professional. But I’m confident that I have skills beyond those of a professional gladiator.’

‘That’s not enough. We need data that we can refer to. We can’t just accept anyone and lower the quality of the tournament that we’ve worked so hard to raise.’

The data to prove his skills was stored in the Professional Gladiator Association. Bumseok pulled Venus, who was next to him, closer and said with a smile.

‘My amateur team made it to the 6th round of this year’s GA Cup [Gladiator Association Cup]. Of course, Venus and I also participated then.’

If the GA Cup, a tournament that brings together amateurs and professionals, reached the 6th round, it could be considered a fairly skilled team.

‘Oh, really? That’s great. Then let’s take a look at the game footage. Please wait a moment.’

‘Yes. The team name is Gods Knights, and my name is Oh Bumseok. Please search for it.’

The counter employee immediately brought up the internet on the hologram video and went to the Professional Gladiator Association website to watch the game highlights from the 4th round of the Gods Knights team. From this point on, they were playing against professionals, so it was a good example to gauge their skills.

And as soon as he saw the decisive battle in the second half, he immediately lowered the screen. The scene showed him knocking down five mid-tier professional gladiators from the Area League without much effort, and there was no need to hesitate. And although Venus’s performance was a bit weak, her unique role as a dual-shielder seemed to attract a lot of attention from the audience and the TV broadcasting team that was invited.

‘Okay. I’ll accept the registration for Bumseok and Venus. The match is in 5 days. It’s at Ellaim Arena. And there will be a meeting for the participating players at the arena office the day after tomorrow, so please be sure to attend.’

‘Yes. Of course, I’ll attend.’

The counter employee now looked at Rebecca.

‘You said you would participate too, right? If you have any data to refer to, please tell me.’

‘I, I don’t have any data like that. Is it really necessary?’

‘Yes. That’s right. As I told that person, this tournament is very high level. We can never send a gladiator whose skills have not been verified to the game.’

‘But I’m skilled enough too.’

‘Who can’t say anything with words? If I accept the young lady’s registration and the game ends absurdly, I’ll be scolded by the boss. Don’t say anything else and just go back.’

‘I’m really confident. Please give me a chance to show my skills just once. Then you’ll know.’

Watching them argue, Bumseok left the Elf Market. The game was in three days. There were many things to prepare. He had to extend his stay at the hotel and improve Venus’s attack ability, who was participating with him. And he had forgotten for a moment, but he also had to thank Emma for the funds he had obtained today.

============================ Author’s Notes ============================

Huh. The sun is shining a bit today. It’s very hot. If it’s like this for a few more days, the heat will be in full swing. I just wish the cloudy weather would continue… That’s my wish…

Then everyone, be careful of the upcoming heat. I’ll see you again on Friday at dawn.