Perfect World [EN]: Chapter 66

Above the Lima City Colosseum, Aron slowly descended towards the ground, having halted his advance. Inside, Beomseok watched with a slightly nervous expression. Today marked the first match of the God Knights team’s promotion tournament to the Area League, the round of 32. As the first step towards promotion, they needed to start strong.

‘We need to win decisively today and carry this momentum into the quarterfinals to defeat the Great Hyenas team.’

As Aron landed in the south parking lot, Beomseok and the God Knights team members disembarked and walked towards the Colosseum. Spectators looked on with curiosity, and soon approached with autograph requests and pens. It seemed the God Knights had made a name for themselves among Lima City gladiator fans through their activities over the past year. Oscar and Erpina, who had competed in the Deloy Wide League for half a year, had gained considerable fame and were receiving a lot of attention.

After a while, Beomseok checked his watch and addressed the gathering fans. The match was still some time away, but preparations were needed, so they had to hurry.

“We have an important match, so we must be going now. We sincerely apologize for not being able to fulfill all autograph requests, as we didn’t anticipate this turnout. We will hold a brief autograph session after the match, so please watch the game and wait a little longer.”

Some fans stepped back with disappointed expressions, having missed out on autographs. However, the promise of a post-match session offered another opportunity. They willingly made way for the God Knights team.

Weaving through the crowd, Beomseok led his team members into the Colosseum.

“Welcome, God Knights team gladiators. Please come this way.”

Guided by the event staff, the God Knights team members headed to their dugout. They had been there a few times during the GA Cup and the Avand Semi-Pro Cup, so they knew the way, but it was better to get help from the staff in case there were any special instructions.

Soon, they arrived at the east dugout, organized their luggage in a tool room prepared on one side, and changed into their suits. They needed to warm up before the match. They watched the crowd gathering under the stands and lightly warmed up, preparing for the upcoming round of 32.

‘Today, the question isn’t whether we win or lose, but *how* we win. We need to crush them completely to boost the team’s morale.’

Beomseok, who was leisurely stretching his waist to check his condition, widened his eyes as he looked at the electronic display board. He checked the betting odds for today’s match out of habit, but the numbers were absurd.

3. 7 to 1.

Of course, the God Knights’ odds were higher, but considering the difference in power between them and the South Devils, whom they were facing today, and the fact that this was their home ground, the Lima City Colosseum, the betting odds were ridiculous. He had expected it to be at least over 7 to 1, as the South Devils team had been miserably defeated by them with a score of 3 to 0 in the past Semi-Pro Cup tournament.

Sensing something was amiss, Beomseok quickly looked at Erica. She had a talent for team analysis, so she would be able to quickly grasp the current situation.

“Erica! Come here!”

“Yes, Master.”

“Analyze the South Devils team’s strength right away.”

“Why? You said they were a team not even worth looking at before.”

“The situation has changed. Something is strange, so figure it out quickly.”

At these words, Erica quickly put down the equipment she was holding and ran to the dugout to start gathering information on the South Devils team. Before long, she came running back with a pale face.

“M-Master. We’re in big trouble!”

As expected, Beomseok looked at her with a serious expression.

“What’s the big deal?”

“Since the last match, the South Devils team’s main gladiators have been massively replaced. A total of 12 new members have joined, and all of them were gladiators who used to play for the Hyena Group’s Area Pro team until recently.”

Annoyed, Beomseok gritted his teeth. He was sure Julian was behind this again.

Amateur teams were free to add and remove players, so they could recruit new team members at any time during the tournament. This was a consideration from the Amateur Association to prevent damage to the entire team when members left due to personal reasons or unavoidable circumstances. Julian seemed to have taken advantage of this loophole to have the Hyena Group’s gladiators participate on God Knights’ rival team.

‘This is driving me crazy. It’s not against the amateur rules, so I can’t complain to the association… And even if I did, it wouldn’t do any good.’

The reason why the Amateur Association did not regulate this possibility of unfair events, even though it existed, was very simple. It was difficult for amateur teams with limited funds to rent professional players, and even if they spent a lot of money to rent professional players, there was no problem. This tournament was a place to select teams to advance to the professional leagues. It was only natural for skilled and financially capable teams to advance. Therefore, the Amateur Association did not impose any restrictions on team composition during the tournament, except for players who had participated in the same year’s promotion tournament.

‘But if it’s just 12 people, they’re clearly trying to deplete our team’s stamina. If I were Julian, that’s what I would be aiming for.’

The reason Beomseok thought this was very simple. No matter how professional-level the gladiators who had been active in the Area League were, 12 people alone could not be a match for the God Knights. Moreover, his team had a thin roster, so there were not many suitable members to replace them in case of extreme stamina consumption, and the promotion tournament had a tight schedule with games twice a week. It was a scheme that Julian could have easily come up with.

“Diana, come here.”

Beomseok called Diana. Now that things had come to this, they couldn’t just blame others. It was important to come up with self-help measures to avoid falling for Julian’s intentions.

He explained the current situation and consulted Diana.

“What should we do? It’s not like we’ll lose just because 12 more professional-level gladiators have joined, but there’s a high possibility that our stamina will be depleted. We need to maintain our best condition to prepare for the quarterfinals.”

“Then let’s do this. Have the main players play in the 2nd, 4th, and 5th rounds, and the substitutes play in the 1st and 3rd rounds. They’ll definitely deploy their main players in the 1st, 3rd, and 5th rounds, so we only have to fight their main players in the 5th round.”

Beomseok said with a worried look.

“Will it be okay? We could end up losing if we fall behind in round wins. And our main players will be playing in the 4th and 5th rounds in a row, so the stamina loss could be that much greater.”

“But our team’s substitutes are also formidable. All seven of them are quite skilled, and the remaining five will be filled by our starters. With this level of strength, we can definitely compete against lower-tier professional teams. Besides, they haven’t been on the team for more than three days. It’s difficult to build teamwork in that time. If we can exploit that gap, we’ll never lose. And it doesn’t seem like there will be any problems with our main players playing in the 4th and 5th rounds at the same time. If we can defeat the opponent’s non-starters in the 4th round early, we’ll have less stamina consumption and a longer rest period.”

Beomseok nodded in agreement. Gladiator matches lasted 20 minutes per round, for a total of 100 minutes over 5 rounds. And there was a 10-minute break in the middle of each round, so each game took a total of 140 minutes. Therefore, if they defeated all the opponents in the 4th round in 5 minutes, they would have about 25 minutes to rest until the start of the 5th round, so they could replenish their stamina sufficiently. In addition, if the substitutes and some of the starters playing in the 1st and 3rd rounds won even once or drew all the rounds, they wouldn’t have to play in the 5th round.

“Okay, let’s do that. Then, after stretching, call everyone together and explain the changed strategy.”

“Yes, I understand.”

After finishing the conversation, Beomseok started warming up again. Since they were only changing the rounds they were playing in without changing positions or special strategies, there was no need to hold a detailed meeting. It wouldn’t be too late to explain the changed strategy after all the stretching was done.

“Everyone knows what we’re talking about, right? Make sure there are no misunderstandings. We must never be fooled by the Great Hyenas team’s tricks.”

At Diana’s words, the God Knights team members in the dugout gritted their teeth and nodded. They were well aware that the Great Hyenas team was keeping them in check. In particular, the prank call a few days ago was something they could never tolerate. They didn’t mind if it was just them, but they were deeply angered that their master had been mocked as well. They were determined to win today and hurried back to their seats to prepare for the match.

Seeing this, Beomseok, along with Diana, sent the list of first-round participants that they had prepared in advance to the organizing committee’s office via terminal. Then, feeling sorry, he approached Emma, who was hanging her head on one side of the bench.

“What are you doing now?”

Emma looked at him with an apologetic expression.

“I’m sorry. The God Knights team is even getting involved because of me…”

“It doesn’t matter. It’s not your fault. It’s all because that damn Julian is doing strange things.”

“B-But if it weren’t for the Black Society’s affairs…”

Beomseok shook his head as if it didn’t matter at all.

“What goes around comes around. I received help from the Black Society recently, and today I’m repaying it. It’s a bit of a bad deal, but I have to accept it.”

“T-Then will you continue to accept me as a team member?”

“Of course. I can’t lower my pride and move the way that Julian wants. I have to break his nose somehow.”

Emma looked somewhat relieved. She had been a little worried that Beomseok might kick her out. He didn’t seem like that kind of person, but Julian’s sabotage was that blatant. He could have closed his eyes and kicked her out of the team under the goal of advancing to the professional leagues.

“Thank you so much.”

“Hehe. If you’re that grateful, let’s have a cozy dinner together sometime. You seem to be too focused on training lately. You need to enjoy life a little too.”

“Hahaha. Not for a while. I need to improve my skills quickly so that I won’t be ashamed to go out to matches. I can’t keep being a burden to the team.”

Beomseok waved his hand as if that wasn’t the case at all. She had made quite a bit of progress through constant effort and Raymi’s guidance. Her swordsmanship was still lacking, but her physical abilities, which had grown based on her high potential, more than made up for it, and her tactical understanding was also high, which was expected to be of considerable help to team play. Looking at this, there was no problem putting her on the God Knights team’s substitute list right away.

“No, your skills have improved a lot. Enough to be used as a substitute with confidence.”

But she had one big flaw. That was that she didn’t properly understand her own level.

“Hey. I know you’re just saying that to make me feel good.”

“What are you talking about? If that weren’t the case, would I have put you on the substitute list on an important day like today?”

Emma stared at him blankly. This was because she was still firmly convinced that she was participating because of Beomseok’s consideration.

“T-Then. You’re not putting me in the game as a substitute because of your loyalty to the Black Society?”

“Of course not. Even though it’s the first match, it’s the round of 32. You can’t underestimate your opponent too much. Especially in a tournament where you’re eliminated if you lose once.”

Emma smiled slightly. Praise was always a good thing, no matter the reason. Just as she was about to express her gratitude, someone bumped her shoulder and passed by. It was Andrea.

“I’m sorry, Emma.”

“It’s okay. But where are you going?”

She said, showing the electronic notebook in her hand.

“Yes. I got a call from Master, so I’m going out to talk for a while.”

“Ah. Okay. Go ahead.”

Beomseok also said a word.

“Andrea. The first round will start soon, so you have to come back quickly. Even though you’re playing from the second round, you have to watch the first round and keep an eye on the opponent’s strategy.”

“Yes. I’ll be right back. It’s just a call to say good luck in the match, so it won’t take long.”

“Okay. Go ahead.”

Andrea bowed and quickly left the dugout. Beomseok, who had been watching this for a while, turned his gaze back to Emma.

“So. Emma. Don’t be too discouraged. Lack of confidence doesn’t help in matches at all. Gladiator matches are about defeating your opponent. If you don’t have faith in yourself, you’ll never beat your opponent. It’s okay to make mistakes, and it’s okay to be incapacitated quickly, but if you go out to a match, you have to fight to your heart’s content without regrets. Got it?”

Emma nodded with a determined face.

“Yes. I understand. I’ll fight to my heart’s content as you said.”

“Hmm. Okay. But don’t fight so recklessly that you team kill [attack your own teammates]. Hehehe.”

Knowing it was a joke, she smiled brightly.

“Yes. Don’t worry. I’m not colorblind, so I can distinguish team colors.”

“Okay. Then, the first round. I’m counting on you.”

After saying this, Beomseok got up from his seat and looked at Chiria, who was sitting far away on the left bench. She seemed very sorry that she had tried to leave the team because of the prank call incident a few days ago, and she continued to act distant from the team. She was the most outstanding gladiator among the elves owned by other masters, so if he left her like this, it would be a big loss to the team’s strength. He needed to coax and appease her somehow.

He approached Chiria and cheered her up with all sorts of jokes and consolations.

After a while, she, looking cheerful, sat next to her best friend Mirri and was having a pleasant conversation. Now that she knew that Chairman Beomseok was not angry about what had happened in the past, there was no need to worry.

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

Well, then I’ll see you again tomorrow. Have a good summer.