Perfect World [EN]: Chapter 74

74

The Snow Trolls suffered a crushing disappointment, eliminated in the round of 16 after losing all three matches. Even they, touted as top contenders for promotion with their powerful lineup that had dominated the Great Hyenas team in the past, were ultimately no match. Beom-seok, who watched the matches from beginning to end, left the stadium with a heavy heart. The Snow Trolls’ miserable collapse mirrored his own team’s potential future. God’s Knights were strong enough to contend, but their chances of victory weren’t guaranteed. Even a minor strategic error could send them spiraling back before they reached the gateway to promotion.

He sighed deeply and glanced at Diana, who trailed behind him. She appeared shocked, unable to find her voice.

“Diana, what are your thoughts on today’s match?”

“Hoo~ It’s completely different from watching it on screen. The Great Hyenas team is scary, not just in their strength, but also in their confidence. They seem to believe they’re invincible, displaying their natural skills without any tension. If we can’t break this momentum in the quarterfinals, the match will be incredibly difficult.”

“Really? So, you’re saying that if we can break that momentum, we might have a chance to win?”

“Yes. If that happens, our chances of winning will increase significantly. Most of their starting players are elf gladiators without masters, so if we break their momentum, they’ll revert to being just another strong team, lacking the desperation to win. If we exploit this weakness, we can definitely defeat them.”

Beom-seok showed keen interest in Diana’s words, which hinted at a path to victory.

“Really? Is there a way to break their momentum?”

“There’s a simple, yet difficult way.”

“What is it?”

“It’s to crush the Great Hyenas team’s main force in the first round. Then, the idea of ‘defeat’ will be ingrained in their minds, and they’ll lose their fighting spirit. The shock of seeing their trusted main force fall, combined with the psychological impact of the gladiator world’s jinx, will severely damage their morale.”

She was likely referring to the superstition that losing the first round meant losing the entire match.

In fact, this saying was more than just a jinx. Statistically, the team that wins the first round wins the match over 70% of the time.

The reason was simple. Winning the first round meant needing only two more wins, all draws, or one win and two draws to secure victory. Conversely, the team that loses the first round had to win three of the remaining four rounds or achieve a record of two wins and two draws or better to win. Moreover, losing in the first round, where the main players clashed, suggested either extreme bad luck or a lack of skill. If it was the latter, the same result was likely in subsequent rounds, inevitably decreasing their odds of winning.

“Hoo~ But is that even possible? If the main players face off, just achieving a draw would be a blessing.”

“Yes, I’m well aware of that. That’s why it’s so difficult. If it’s purely skill against skill, we’ll definitely be pushed back. Maybe it’s better to stick to our initial plan of aiming for draws and settling it in the showdown.”

Discouraged, Beom-seok stared silently at the crowd exiting the Colosseum. Most wore spotted T-shirts and smiled, clearly fans of the Great Hyenas team. They were the people who would fill his pockets in the quarterfinals, but they were also becoming his enemies, making it hard to view them favorably.

‘Well, what can you do? The Great Hyenas team is a fixture in Lima City.’

Soon, Aaron drove up to the north square where he was parked, and he ushered all the team members inside. With only three days left until the quarterfinals, they needed to return and rest. Proper rest significantly boosted the team’s performance.

Just as he was about to ascend the stairs, a loud call came through his communicator. Beom-seok retrieved his electronic notepad and checked the caller on Aaron’s main camera. It was her.

He frowned and connected the call.

“What’s with this weird behavior? You could have just told me directly.”

– Hohoho. It’s a very important matter. I wanted to have a private conversation with Master.

Beom-seok paused on the first step and stepped back down.

“What is it?”

– I just received some valuable information. It’s very helpful for Master.

“Really? What kind of information?”

– A little while ago, I was peeking into the Great Hyenas team’s dressing room with the built-in parking bird camera, and I saw a team member leaving without permission.

He bit his lip. Aaron’s bad habit had resurfaced. Unlike a machine, she had a strong fondness for women and often used the built-in camera to peek into the opposing team’s dressing room and secretly take pictures. He had erased the data and warned her repeatedly, but she seemed to have done it again today.

“Aaron, I told you never to do that again! If you keep doing this, I’m going to replace your system!”

– W-wait, you can’t do that! How much effort do I put in for Master?

“Then you should do what I tell you not to do!”

– I haven’t been doing it lately. Please believe me.

“Then why were you looking at their dressing room?”

– I didn’t have any ulterior motives. I was just trying to gather information in case it would be helpful to Master.

Beom-seok narrowed his eyes at her image on the screen.

“Are you sure?”

– Yes, that’s right. I only did it for Master’s sake. You haven’t been feeling well lately, and I thought it was probably because of those guys. It seems like there’s a spy in the team too.

His eyes widened. The only ones who knew about the spy were himself, Emma, and his elves. He had never told Aaron.

“You. Where did you hear that?”

– I accidentally overheard Master and Emma talking at the stadium. Hohoho.

Beom-seok covered his forehead and glared at her.

“You. Are you stalking me now? Are you even interested in men now?”

– Absolutely not. I’m only interested in pure elves. I wouldn’t even take a truck if it was a man [meaning she wouldn’t be interested even if offered a lot].

Indeed, Aaron’s love for elves was excessive. She was by no means inclined to homosexuality. However, that didn’t excuse her behavior. Even though she was just a machine, he felt uneasy at the thought of her having impure thoughts about his elves.

“Don’t tell me you’re hitting on my elves, are you?”

The image on the screen frantically waved her hands. She was very interested, more than just a little, but self-preservation was paramount. From what she had observed, Beom-seok never tolerated anyone who touched his women. If she showed interest in the wrong way, she would be immediately formatted and a new system installed.

– Absolutely not. No. I know my life is precious.

“Really? Okay, I’ll believe you for now. But if you get caught, you’re done for.”

– Y-yes. I understand. Don’t worry.

“And don’t spy on the opposing team’s elves either! If you get caught, our team will face a huge penalty. Got it?”

– …….

Aaron paused. She couldn’t help it. No matter how many times she swore not to, the bird camera would inevitably end up pointing at the opposing team’s dressing room.

Beom-seok repeated his question, urging her.

“Got it! Or not!”

– Yes. O-okay. Instead, please attach a long-range small bug camera. Then I won’t have to peek into the opposing team’s dressing room.

Beom-seok gave her a suspicious look. If he attached a long-range small bug camera, her voyeurism would have an even wider scope.

“You. What’s your intention in asking for such equipment?”

– It’s nothing. I just want to watch the natural scenery of the training camp when I’m bored, and also observe the city on game days. Honestly, the only reason I was peeking into other teams’ dressing rooms was because there was nowhere else to go with the current bird camera.

“Are you sure? Then if I attach a long-range small bug camera, you won’t go to other teams’ dressing rooms and take hidden cameras, right?”

– Of course. That will never happen.

“Okay. I’ll get a few ready when the team goes pro later. But be prepared if something like today happens again.”

– Yes. Don’t worry. I will never peek into the dressing room in the Colosseum again. I want to love nature now.

Aaron smiled triumphantly. With a long-range small bug camera, she wouldn’t have to risk going to the opposing team’s dressing room and exposing her voyeurism. The world was vast, and there were many elves.

Unaware of her true intentions, Beom-seok started walking towards Aaron’s main body. He had wasted too much time on unnecessary talk and needed to return quickly.

– W-wait a minute. Master. Are you just going to leave?

“Then I have to go. What are you doing here?”

– I told you earlier. An elf gladiator from the Great Hyenas team secretly left the team.

“Did they run away to find freedom? If so, that’s very good news.”

– Hmm, it’s not like that, but they’re walking alone towards the outdoor food stalls right now.

“Then they must be trying to buy something to eat. I’m busy and don’t have time to pay attention to such things one by one.”

– But they’re alone. Alone. It’s a good opportunity for us to plant a spy in their midst.

His eyes widened at the implication of those words.

In fact, God’s Knights suffered a significant loss whenever they recruited a gladiator. This was because Beom-seok immediately took a cut of their earnings, reducing their value to less than a third of their original price. However, despite this major disadvantage, there were also advantages: the elves’ high loyalty and willingness to participate in matches, and the fact that they had become the number one team that other teams’ elf gladiators desperately wanted to transfer to.

Even Raymei initially disliked the amateur team, but when he told her about the team’s characteristics, her attitude immediately changed, and she even threatened the trade manager to facilitate her transfer. This stemmed from the elves’ instinct to gain a master. The same applied to other elf gladiators. If asked to perform spy work as a condition of recruitment, they would gladly cooperate.

“Aaron, who is the elf gladiator from the Great Hyenas who is walking around alone?”

– After comparing the videos, it’s determined to be Jeremia.

As soon as he heard those words, Beom-seok frowned. The worst possible opponent had become the target of the operation. Jeremia was a second-tier gladiator from the Dark Hyenas team in the World League. He admired her appearance and potential and had considered recruiting her, but he had given up due to her exorbitant price tag of 410 million Krang [currency]. Since this operation was contingent on recruitment, the huge transfer fee would be a burden.

However, the price could be reduced to half or even a quarter if he induced her to cause a few incidents, so there seemed to be no need to worry. Of course, if he did this often, he would be suspected by the association or the opposing team and suffer greatly in the future, but if the opponent had used dirty tricks like this time, the situation was different. If he played his cards right, he wouldn’t get caught, and even if they suspected something, they wouldn’t take action unless they were willing to risk exposure themselves because they also had secrets to hide.

Beom-seok, having made up his mind, looked at Aaron in hologram form. He wasn’t kind enough to pass up the opportunity to inflict considerable losses on the Hyena Group and ensure his team’s safe promotion. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. The old saying of giving a 되 [unit of measurement] and receiving a 말 [larger unit of measurement, meaning to get back much more than you give] was Beom-seok’s life motto.

“Okay. You said Jeremia is near the food stalls, right?”

– Yes. She’s standing in front of the hot dog stall with a desperate look on her face, drooling, but I don’t know why.

He burst out laughing. He knew from the information window that she loved hot dogs. She must have liked them so much that it was written in the short special notes section.

“Okay. I’ll go meet Jeremia. Guide me.”

– Yes. I understand.

Beom-seok followed the bird camera that had detached from Aaron’s body and headed north. Soon, he arrived at the outdoor food stall street and spotted Jeremia lingering in front of the hot dog stand in the distance.

“Aaron. I found her. Take the team members and go back to the training camp first. Andrea shouldn’t know about my whereabouts.”

– Yes. I understand.

Beom-seok, having finished his business with Aaron, strolled towards the hot dog stand. He ordered from the stall owner, pretending not to see Jeremia nearby.

“How much is one hot dog?”

“It’s 20 Krang per piece.”

He immediately took out two 100 Krang bills from his wallet and said,

“Then give me 10.”

“Oh my, that’s a lot. Then I’ll give you one more as a service.”

The stall owner, delighted to have a big customer after a long time, carefully wrapped the hot dog sandwiches containing handmade sausage and put them in a bag. Beom-seok glanced sideways at Jeremia, who was lingering behind him. He worried she would recognize him and run away. However, she didn’t seem to know who he was, and she was just staring enviously at the bag full of hot dog sandwiches with wide eyes.

‘Hey! Am I worse than a hot dog!’

She was an enemy he had to defeat in the quarterfinals, but he felt a little sad that she was so engrossed in hot dogs that she didn’t even recognize him, even though he was right next to her. He even worried that if he played this right, she might become the first elf to sell out her master for hot dogs.

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

. This chapter is getting very long. It’s already been over 10 episodes. I don’t know if it’s going to be 20 episodes. I shouldn’t have chosen the title wrong, so the subtitle section looks bad. Decorating it beautifully is one of my writing hobbies. ㅠㅠ.

Then everyone have a good weekend. I’ll see you at the same time tomorrow.