Perfect World [EN]: Chapter 101

102

At the reception hall, reporters mainly asked about who Rafine was and where she came from. From a sports reporter’s perspective, she was definitely a skilled player worthy of the Central League’s starting lineup. The fact that they didn’t know her name and achievements was absurd.

In response, Beom-seok gave a simple and clear answer based on what Lexter had fabricated. He said that he had purchased her from the Elf Market, which had closed down recently, and that her excellent swordsmanship was the result of self-study. Of course, the reporters didn’t believe him and kept persistently asking questions, but he kept repeating the same thing, hiding the facts. The data also showed that way, and even if the reporters investigated, they wouldn’t find anything.

The owner of that Elf Market and his family had all died in a flying car accident last late spring due to poor maintenance, and because it was such a small store, they didn’t have any employees. Moreover, they had no relatives and hardly interacted with their neighbors, so even if reporters dug around, they wouldn’t find anything.

The next question was about Emma. Although her performance wasn’t good enough to win MVP [Most Valuable Player], she had the highest number of kills in the team, so she inevitably attracted attention. Just as home runs are to baseball and goals are to soccer, kill points were the highlight of a gladiatorial match. In response, Beom-seok ended by turning the microphone over to Emma. Since the Black Society needed to publicize her face and name, it was better to have her on TV as much as possible. Fortunately, she was quite smart and explained today’s impressions and performance in detail and clearly.

And finally, the last question, like a licorice root in medicine [a metaphor for something lingering or essential], was about the secret to today’s victory. To this, Beom-seok simply replied that it was thanks to the teamwork of the team members. It was the most common answer, and it was also a way to boost the morale of the gladiators, so there was nothing wrong with it. And he mentioned one more factor for the victory: the excellence of the equipment. There was no special reason; it was just to promote Chaplin Sports products and receive 210,000 krang [currency]. It may seem like a small amount, but if you save it little by little, it all adds up.

“Sigh~ I’m coming here again.”

After finishing the opening match, Beom-seok, accompanied by Esther and Diana, visited none other than the Rainbow Hotel. The reason was that high-ranking officials from the Avand Pro Gladiator Team were gathering at this place today to hold a banquet. On the surface, it was a place to discuss how to develop the Avand gladiator world, but in reality, it was just another party where reporters and internal and external figures were invited to eat, drink, and have fun.

He didn’t want to participate because he was tired from the match, but he thought it wasn’t necessary to make a bad impression in his first year, so he reluctantly went. Besides, he would meet Gloria, so he thought it wouldn’t be bad to go to improve his favorability. She was a local celebrity and the owner of this hotel. Even if she didn’t attend the event, she was in the same space, so he could meet her.

“Okay. Chairman Oh Beom-seok, please look here.”

As Beom-seok was about to enter the hotel door, he turned his head and heard a loud flash sound. Local reporters who had been waiting in a long line were pointing their cameras and taking photos and videos. He waved his hand lightly and took a photo op for a while. And after a while, he smiled softly when he saw an old gentleman who appeared behind him. If he forced himself to fit it in, he was close to a father-in-law.

“Director Vincent, it’s been a while.”

“Oh. Isn’t it Beom-seok? Nice to see you.”

Director Vincent was the famous director of Dragon Knights who supplied Remy, Oscar, Diana, and Erica to God Knights. He was famous before, but this time he raised the team to the Central League, attracting great attention both locally and globally. He transformed Dragon Knights, which had fallen to the amateur league, into a Central League team with only 160 teams worldwide in 14 years, so his reputation was bound to be great.

Thanks to this, he had to receive an even more intense flash baptism than before, which was almost over. Reporters were eager to film the scene of the Central League team director and Beom-seok, who was ranked among the world’s top five prospects, shaking hands.

“By the way, congratulations. I heard you’ve been promoted to the Central League this time.”

“Congratulations, what congratulations. I’m dying now. I went there today and got crushed with a *three-dae tteok* [archaic Korean expression for being thoroughly defeated]. I can’t stand it.”

“Still, where else can you go but the Central League?”

“No. In fact, the promotion should have been done around next year. The gladiator base is too thin, so what measures can I take?”

Beom-seok nodded immediately. Teams that have just been promoted usually have a hard time adapting to the qualitatively different league games. It was inevitable because they didn’t have useful gladiators and their experience was poor. But the world of professionals is cold. If you can’t survive on your own, you’ll be relegated right away.

“That’s right. It must be difficult. But what can you do? That’s how the professional world is. You have to survive somehow.”

“That’s right. I have to get through this year somehow. By the way, I saw your team’s game on the way here, and there was a pretty interesting kid who came in. Who is it?”

At Vincent’s sly question, Beom-seok’s eyes tensed. There was no way that guy, whose eyes saw elves better than players, wouldn’t recognize Rafine’s abilities. Since the situation was urgent, it seemed clear that he would ask to borrow her on loan while coveting her.

“Ah. Are you talking about Rafine? She’s not allowed. She learned swordsmanship alone, so she doesn’t even know what an organization is, and her practical experience is poor, so she makes a lot of mistakes. Fortunately, it wasn’t revealed today, but as she plays, the opposing team will notice and come up with appropriate countermeasures.”

Director Vincent tilted his head. In fact, while watching the game, he wondered how she could display such skillful and powerful swordsmanship at the age of nine. Although she lacked some orthodox aspects, the technique she possessed was a mature dual swordsmanship close to a level that had been honed through long practical experience, and her physical skills were also excellent, demonstrating great power in close combat.

“I don’t think she learned it alone at all. No matter how I think about it, the swordsmanship that child displays is not at a level where mistakes come out. No, I even feel like she’s avoiding mistakes. Besides, she’s been fighting with her bare body without equipment, so she was extremely afraid of the opponent’s sword grazing her body. What should I say? It’s like a martial artist with thick bones in the underground arena. Everyone is quiet, but sometimes martial artists from the underground arena debut in the professional gladiator world.”

Beom-seok frowned. To deduce this far after watching one game, he really seemed like an unbearable human being.

“Ah. Is that so? Then I should visit the underground arena too. I’ll see if there’s a good gladiator.”

“Hey. Actually, it’s not worth seeing. They just bring any elf and use them, so there aren’t many with high growth potential. Well, there are some good ones, but the price is very expensive. It’s much cheaper to recruit from a regular gladiator team.”

“Ah. Is that so? Then I can’t. Then I’ll be on my way…….”

After saying that, Vincent grabbed the hem of Beom-seok’s clothes as he was trying to slip away.

“Where are you going? I still have something to say.”

“What is it?”

“What else? I’m asking you to lend it to me for a year. Why are you doing this when you know everything?”

As expected, Beom-seok sighed deeply.

“Sigh~ We were just promoted this year, so we don’t have enough gladiators. It’s when we’re short of one person.”

“Oh. So you crushed the Fire Phoenixes team so miserably today? In my opinion, your team is invincible in the Area League. If you have a thick player base, you can aim for the championship this year, as well as the Wide League. It’s okay if one or two people are missing.”

“If one or two people are missing, there will be a problem. Our team’s squad is weak, so if one person is missing, the impact is that great.”

“Then why don’t you fill it? I’ll lend you a large number of second-team gladiators or reserve gladiators who can’t participate in league games. They’re pretty good in the Area League, so it’ll be okay. How about five?”

About five was a number that could put a lot of vitality into the team. With more power to replace, they could smoothly handle the long league games. Of course, fans may express concern, but since it was a loan and not a complete transfer, there wouldn’t be much of a problem. Besides, the experience and fame gained by Rafine playing in the Central League could not be ignored. If she secured a large fan base in the league and returned, the fan base of God Knights would become even thicker.

“But you know that our team doesn’t use elves without owners, right?”

“Of course. You know that our team doesn’t only have elves without owners.”

“So, are you exchanging Rafine and five for one year?”

“Huhu. It would be even better if we added Oscar to that. He’s still lacking in skills, but he’s suitable for use as a substitute.”

Beom-seok immediately shook his hand. If Oscar was missing, the vanguard of God Knights would collapse. The only gladiators in the team who could stand at the vanguard were himself, Rafine, Oscar, Matilda, and one other person. Besides, Matilda was originally a mid-fielder, and the other one was a reserve-level gladiator. In other words, Beom-seok had to take care of the vanguard alone.

“That doesn’t make sense. If you send Oscar, our team won’t have a reliable vanguard left.”

“No. Four of the guys we’re sending are vanguards. One is a rear guard.”

Then it was worth reconsidering. God Knights was strong in the mid-field, but the vanguard and rear guard were weak. If five suitable resources came in here, the team squad would become that much stronger.

The problem was that he felt like he was losing a lot when he looked at it in terms of salary. There was no way that two gladiators participating in the Central League game would be worse than five Area League-level gladiators.

“Still, it’ll be difficult. We’re not making any money.”

“Can’t we just add about 12 million krang to that? How about it? Is it okay?”

Beom-seok had an interested expression. With that amount, he could roughly fill the gap in the salary difference.

“It’s not bad.”

“Right? But there’s another option here.”

“Another option?”

“That’s right, you give us 10 million krang. Then I’ll add one more prospect that I recruited from our team last winter. With a complete transfer.”

At those words, his eyes flickered greatly. If Director Vincent was referring to a prospect, it was worth buying with confidence.

“Is he a good kid?”

“Needless to say. He’s still young and only at the level of being able to be put into Area League games, but his growth potential is very high. You’ll have no choice but to covet him if you see him.”

“Really? But why are you selling such a kid to our team?”

“In fact, the power needed in our team is gladiators who can be sent to league games right away. So, we have to recruit one more starting-level gladiator within the remaining transfer period. But now we’re a little short on money, so we have to sell all the resources we can sell. We can find prospects again, but once we’re relegated from the league, it’s too difficult to get back up.”

Well, if there was a cliff called relegation right in front of him, he couldn’t walk while looking up at the stars shining far in the sky. Even if he was in Vincent’s position, he would have done the same.

“I see. Okay. Then I’ll make a decision after seeing the kid later. Please send him to our team when you have time.”

“Okay. I’ll do that. Well, let’s go in. Today’s meeting is a bit annoying, but you can eat and drink a lot. And the important thing is that it’s free. Huhu.”

“Ah. Is that so? Free is good. Let’s go in.”

As Beom-seok and Director Vincent entered the hotel, reporters were busy moving and urgently contacting their news agencies. The contents of the agreement between God Knights and Dragon Knights that they had overheard were hot news that was enough to be published on the front page of a sports newspaper.

“Director Vincent. Come this way.”

Numerous people were passing through the lobby under the open high ceiling. The fountain spraying water gave off a cool feeling, and the subtle lighting transformed the interior space into a splendid one.

It was a completely different atmosphere from when he first came, and the previous desolation had disappeared, and a luxurious and dynamic feeling was emanating. When he came because of the hostage incident caused by Rafine, it felt eerie because people weren’t passing by.

Vincent followed him and threw a word.

“You. Have you ever been here? You know the geography pretty well.”

“Hahaha. Yes. I know the chairman of this hotel well.”

“Oh, really? You mean you know Gloria well?”

“That’s right. She’s also giving our team 5 million krang in sponsorship support.”

Vincent had an admiring look. The main sponsor of God Knights was Zeus Group. Then it must be a sub-sponsor, but 5 million krang in sponsorship support was excessive.

“That’s amazing. An Area League team is receiving such sub-sponsor support. No, it’s amazing that a professional gladiator team received sponsorship support from Gloria. You must be quite close.”

“Well. That’s right.”

Beom-seok put Diana, Esther, and Vincent in the elevator in the center of the lobby and pressed the 6th floor button. Today’s opening after-party will be held in the grand ballroom on the 6th floor.

============================ Author’s Note ============================

Today, I will explain the contents of elves being sold to consumers.

1. Elf Nursery: This is a factory that creates elves. Elves are cultivated in a place called a culture capsule, and the elves born here go straight to the elf school.

2. Elf School: They teach newly born elves words and writing. And how to live in human society and how to be loved by their owners. Elves who have lived here for 3 years are sold at the elf market.

3. Elf Market: This is a place where elves supplied from elf schools are sold. There are large stores like Osaha, and small stores that sell only a few elves.

If the above three steps are not followed, it will be subject to sanctions by the authorities for being illegal under the Elf Protection Act. However, professional teams very often bring talented elves directly to their teams as soon as they graduate from elf school. The reason is very simple. Professional teams are also acquiring licenses for the three elf markets. For this reason, it is illegal, but by using this loophole, elves can be held in the team even without an owner. The professional team is the elf market, and the elves without owners are just unsold inventory.

So, the federal government enacted a law to abolish elf markets that do not have sales revenue for a certain period of time in order to impose sanctions, but it became ineffective. If you sell a trade or an old elf at the Walker Auction Market, that’s it.

The problem is that Beom-seok’s team is largely caught up here. In order to bring elves from the elf school, you must acquire the elf market qualification, but even if you acquire it, you cannot sell it, so the qualification will be canceled after a certain period of time. I haven’t explained it yet, but this is one of the reasons why Beom-seok can’t hang around the elf school. I was originally going to explain it separately later, but I’ll mention it first because there are so many people who are curious.

But the federal government is also stupid, right? If they enact a law that prevents professional teams from acquiring elf market qualifications. But that’s how the world is. The elf-loving nationalists are making a fuss, so they pretend to do it on the outside, but because there are vested interests, they are doing nothing on the inside. Hahaha.

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