Perfect World [EN]: Chapter 196

“Then why did you guys miss one! No matter how good I am, I don’t have eyes in the back of my head. If you had tried to stop it, you would have been hit right away!”

Gladiator No. 1, who had been watching them bickering from a distance, shouted at the top of his lungs.

“What are you doing! We don’t have time! Form the encirclement quickly!”

Gladiator No. 14 and his fellow gladiators exchanged sharp glances and scattered, forming an encirclement. With the chief gladiator shouting, there was no time for arguments. There were only about three minutes left until the end of the match. They slowly began to move towards Agelia in the north corner.

Clang. Clang. Clang.

Meanwhile, Gladiator No. 33 of the Black Cats was engaged in a fierce battle against Emma. Even though they needed to focus on catching Agelia, they couldn’t ignore Emma, or they could be hit by an unexpected blow from behind. Fortunately, Emma had only been holding a sword for two years, so Gladiator No. 33 believed that even with slightly lesser skills, she could be defeated quickly.

‘What is this? This cyborg… Has she really only been holding a sword for two years!’

However, Gladiator No. 33, facing Emma, had a troubled expression. Emma’s swordsmanship was better than expected.

Previously, the evaluation of Emma by other teams was at best an amateur-level player who was active in the pros with only killer instincts. They couldn’t give more credit to a gladiator from a banker who had no history of holding a sword until two years ago. But as Gladiator No. 33 faced Emma, she greatly exceeded expectations. Although not yet a professional swordsman, she wielded a fairly sharp sword, almost there. In addition, with physical abilities exceeding the Wide Rigger level [a class of gladiator known for their strength], Gladiator No. 33 had to engage in an equal battle, facing crisis situations several times. This was all thanks to Beomseok’s focused training (despite neglecting his favorability) and Raemi’s guidance, which had a 1.5x training effect.

‘Huh. That’s weird. Is she really a pro?’

Emma, stretching out her sword and stepping back, tilted her head. She couldn’t believe she was on par with Gladiator No. 33, who had been active in the pros for years. Until now, Emma had only sparred with Raemi and Erfina, who were experienced and skilled, or Beomseok’s lover elves like Oscar and Rapine, who had tremendous power. She experienced defeat every time and didn’t trust her skills. Also, she always participated in strategies of blending into the team formation and launching surprise attacks, rather than one-on-one battles during matches, so she had no chance to properly gauge her skills.

“Hey. Are you going easy on me? Why are you so weak?”

Gladiator No. 33, frowning, quickly approached and swung her sword down with all her might, succumbing to unintended provocation. She couldn’t help but get angry when someone who had only been holding a sword for two years looked down on her, a pro for many years.

“Tch! I’ll shut that smart mouth of yours!”

The sword of Gladiator No. 33 made a chilling sound as it rained down countless times. It was a powerful, anger-fueled attack, burdensome for Emma to block. However, she soon noticed a break in the movements between the sword strikes, realizing Gladiator No. 33 was overdoing it.

‘If I attack recklessly, I’ll get hit? Doesn’t she know that, even though she’s a pro?’

Emma focused on defense, looking for an opportunity. Gladiator No. 33 still showed gaps, but she needed a more certain timing to take her down at once. If she recklessly attacked and failed, Gladiator No. 33, terrified, would come to her senses, and the favorable opportunity arising from this reckless offensive would disappear.

After a while, the moment she was aiming for came. Gladiator No. 33, who had been pouring out one-sided attacks, seemed to have gained momentum, swinging her sword with all her might after tilting it beyond the upper level. Having fought her so far, Emma judged it a powerful offensive with enough power to control her, and it was too late to turn the sword back. Emma, with a triumphant expression, quickly stepped aside to avoid the roughly planted sword path, then strongly struck her waist.

“Hyat!”

With a loud, heavy sound spreading throughout the arena, Gladiator No. 33 tilted sharply to the side with an unbelievable expression and collapsed to the floor with a thud. Without examining her, Emma looked at the other Black Cats gladiators frantically chasing Agelia’s group.

‘Not yet. They don’t seem to have noticed.’

Emma, at the south wall, sharpened her eyes after confirming the Black Cats gladiators, all with their backs to her. They still didn’t know Gladiator No. 33 had been defeated and were doing their best to chase Agelia.

Emma soon set her course for Gladiator No. 27 and started sprinting. She was currently in the far right part of the encirclement, and her skills were significantly lower than others. If she ambushed her well, she could take her down instantly.

“What? Be careful of the back?”

Gladiator No. 1, receiving an urgent call from the dugout, quickly looked back. However, Emma was already right behind Gladiator No. 27, wielding her sword. It takes only about 5 seconds for a cyborg to run 100 meters. There was no way communication between the staff and the gladiators could be properly achieved in the time it took to travel half that distance.

Thwack!

Gladiator No. 1, confirming Gladiator No. 27 collapsing powerlessly, frowned and gestured to Gladiator No. 4 next to him. Three colleagues had been defeated by Emma in this round. No one knew how many more would be sacrificed if things continued like this.

“Go and mark her! You have to catch her!”

“Okay. Don’t worry.”

Gladiator No. 4 waved his beloved spear and ran towards Emma. However, she quickly left the battle area and avoided the fight. She knew Gladiator No. 4 was a fairly strong opponent.

Meanwhile, Agelia, Matilda, and Violet were running well. Thanks to Emma’s performance, only seven Black Cats gladiators chased them. They roamed the entire arena more comfortably than before.

After some time, Agelia, running while breathing heavily, stopped. She confirmed the second hand of the electronic display board was almost at the end. She smiled, looking at the Black Cats gladiators chasing after her with all their might.

Beeeep!

Waaaaah!

The God Knights cheering squad stood up and cheered at the sound of the round 2 end horn. The result of the draw in this round was clear.

Currently, after two rounds, the God Knights had a record of 1 win and 1 draw. They had a high number of round wins, and Beomseok, Erica, Hestia, Gelsomina, and others, the main force, rested well in the 2nd round, so they could participate in all of the remaining 3 rounds. On the other hand, the main force of the Black Cats ran around with all their might to win this round, consuming their stamina to the extreme, and they had lost their manager and two talented gladiators in the previous round. It was thought that the God Knights had a very high chance of winning today’s game.

“Well done! Agelia! As expected of a promising athlete from the track and field world!”

“Emma did a great job too! Please continue to play like that in the future!”

Agelia and Emma, the two main characters of this round, waved to the fans who sent them support and entered the dugout. While their colleagues welcomed them, Beomseok approached and praised them.

“Agelia, you worked very hard. Thanks to you, the upcoming games will be much easier.”

Agelia showed humility, embarrassed. She had performed well in the second half but worried about the mistake she had made earlier that had put the team in a big crisis.

“No. I made a mistake in the middle of the game, and I was able to avoid the difficulties with the help of other colleagues. This draw was the result of everyone doing well.”

“Huhu. Well, that’s true. Erfina, thank you for your hard work.”

Erfina, who followed, lightly bowed her head and smiled. She didn’t know what to do with her master’s praise.

“No. It’s the result of everyone working hard.”

Beomseok, patting her on the shoulder, now looked at Emma. He was worried that she was a member of the Black Society [a criminal organization], but she made a big contribution to the draw in this round by earning 3 kill points. Of course, Beomseok couldn’t help but be very happy. If she had ruined today’s game with clumsy play under Lucas’s orders, her disappointment would have been beyond words.

“Emma, you did a good job. If you keep doing as you do today, you won’t have to worry about a place for you on the team.”

“Really?”

Beomseok nodded, looking at Emma’s face, which was full of color.

“Of course. Which team would ignore a gladiator who gets 3 kill points in one round? I’ll say it again, you have excellent qualities. If you work hard and hone your skills, you will grow into an excellent gladiator that you can show off anywhere. So, please continue to work hard in the future.”

“Yes. I understand. I will do my best to focus on training.”

“Okay. Then go to the bench and rest comfortably. You’ll have to participate in the 4th or 5th round once more.”

Emma deeply bowed her waist with a lively gesture and returned to her seat to take out her sword and groom it. She was already looking forward to the next round she would participate in. She had no choice but to pick up a sword because the Black Society’s survival was at stake, but she was already deeply immersed in the charm of gladiator competition and was sincerely enjoying her gladiator life.

Beomseok, watching Emma’s appearance with a satisfied expression, put on his helmet when the time came and left the dugout. Now, the time had come to put an end to today’s game.

“Okay. Let’s go! We’ll finish the promotion in this round!”

The God Knights gladiators who entered the 3rd round immediately sensed victory. Although the Black Cats put out their main force this time as well, the atmosphere was so depressed that they couldn’t properly see their will to fight. Morale had dropped sharply due to the injury of two colleagues due to bad luck and the manager’s dismissal. In addition, the disastrous result of 1 win and 1 draw was added.

In the end, the Black Cats were caught up in Beomseok and Gelsomina’s free-roll strategy throughout the game and eventually collapsed so easily that it was absurd, and had to move to their home base with the disastrous result of failing to be promoted, losing even the 4th round in a row.

“Hoh ho ho. It’s promotion. Promotion. Now my salary will go up a lot.”

“Yes. The master will be very happy.”

The God Knights team members, walking through the restricted area for outsiders at the Ellington Colosseum, enjoyed today’s victory with cheerful expressions. In particular, the elves who had other masters, such as Chiria and Sylvia, were very happy because they were looking forward to a salary increase and a bonus. The contract included an option to increase the salary by 25% upon promotion and a bonus option equivalent to 30% of the existing salary.

Beomseok, looking at them, was filled with satisfaction. Although some money would be spent, it was a drop in the bucket compared to the funds that would come in from entering the Wide League. However, this feeling did not last long. Lucas was waiting for them in the hallway over there.

‘What? Why is that guy here?’

Beomseok, frowning, gestured to Diana to send her away first, then approached him.

“How can I be so sorry? We’re the only ones going up, and the Black Cats have fallen right off. But there will be another chance next year, so don’t be too disappointed.”

Lucas glared at his comfort, which was mixed with ridicule.

“You. How can you do this? I clearly told you to take care of it earlier, didn’t I?”

Beomseok, with a fully bloomed smile, scratched his head.

“Ah. Chairman Lucas knows that I couldn’t help it either, right? You gave me such a call while I was in the referee’s room. Well, I glossed over it as a joke, but if we had used some tricks to lose, we would have been suspected without a doubt. Please understand.”

“I know that too. But, what happened in the first round? According to Manager Lobs, it seems that you used some cowardly tricks. It seems a bit suspicious to me too.”

“Hahaha. Then you’re mistaken. How can I, a gladiator, use subtle joint techniques to injure my opponent? It’s all a coincidence. A coincidence.”

Well, Manager Lobs was not confident about this point either. Beomseok occasionally used martial arts during matches, but he didn’t think he was at the level to use high-level fouls while avoiding the gaze of numerous cameras. His original swordsmanship was already monstrous, but if his martial arts skills had reached that level, he could not be called a human. In this world, Beomseok was just a newcomer who had just turned 20.

“Okay. Let’s put aside the injury of our team’s gladiator. Why did you react so strongly to the scene where Manager Lobs pushed you? You can’t say this wasn’t intentional, can you?”

“Hahaha. That’s a mistake. I didn’t originally intend to do that, but I was so angry at Manager Lobs for being so stubborn that my body automatically reacted.”

Lucas looked at him with narrowed eyes.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. Really. I have a bit of a temper, so there are times when I can’t control myself. But, Manager Lobs was too much. It was obvious that it was an accident, but he kept poking me. Please give him a stern scolding on this point, Chairman.”

Lucas quietly nodded his head. He knew other gladiators would show the same reaction if they faced similar situations to win. Manager Lobs made a big mistake today.

“Okay. I’ll do that.”

“Hahaha. Yes. Thank you. Then I have to go now. Everyone is waiting.”

Lucas, looking at the God Knights team members waiting for Beomseok far away in the hallway, opened his mouth with a frowning expression.

“Okay. Go ahead.”

“Yes. Then I’ll be waiting in the Deloy Wide League, so please tell Manager Lobs that I told him to see you in the league next year. Then, please take care.”

Beomseok, walking away quickly, glanced back once and immediately ran towards his team members. Lucas, who stared at this for a long time, tilted his head. He felt a sense of hostility in his tone and actions. Thinking he needed to find out, he cast a shadow between his eyebrows and left the place.

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

Then have a good day. I’ll see you again tomorrow.