Perfect World [EN]: Chapter 348

After the World Cup team disbanded, Beomseok immediately returned to the Gods Knights training camp. Although there was a disbandment ceremony, there was accumulated work to handle within the team.

In particular, recruiting a new Guardian Gladiator was a very urgent matter. With the third round of the World Cup qualifiers just finished, only a week remained until the end of the winter transfer market.

He looked at Esther, who came to greet him, and spoke quickly.

“So, how are the negotiations going?”

Esther glanced at the unmanned electric vehicle approaching from the parking lot and answered without even unfolding the electronic documents. The information was so important that she had memorized it.

“Mona wants 720 million Krang [currency unit in this world] from her current team. Riber wants 685 million Krang.”

“Really? Their prices are reasonable.”

“We are the only team that has made an offer. But both are outstanding gladiators of W2 grade [gladiator ranking], so if we recruit them, I think it will be a great help to the team.”

Beomseok nodded. If they were W2-class, they would be top-tier players in the team, so if they were recruited, the Gods Knights would become that much stronger.

“That’s right. But there won’t be any future growth, right?”

“Yes. Mona is currently 28 years old, and Riber is 29 years old. You can assume that they have almost completed all their growth.”

“Hmm. Really? What about Bertia?”

“She’s the best. Her technical growth is expected, and she’s also good at skills. But her price is too high, so she’s not particularly attractive to me.”

“Well, 1.9 billion is quite expensive.”

As he said that and got into the parked unmanned electric vehicle, Esther said to him.

“It’s 2 billion Krang now.”

Surprised, Beomseok’s eyes widened. He was taken aback because it had risen by 100 million Krang in just one day.

“It went up another 100 million in the meantime?”

“Yes. Chaplin Whisper raised it again by 100 million.”

“Then it will be difficult for us to buy her?”

“It’s burdensome, but not impossible. They agreed to sell her to us for 1.8 billion Krang.”

Beomseok, seated in the unmanned electric vehicle, began to contemplate. He wondered if he should buy Bertia. But if the Gods Knights aimed to be the strongest, they had to buy her. He couldn’t face the top World League teams by being outstanding alone.

The top World League teams had gladiators evaluated as S-class. They were not comparable to Zakid or Amelie, but they were still included in the top 10 gladiators, so their skills were outstanding.

Even Beomseok would be pushed back if an S-class gladiator was paired with a W0-class gladiator, so their strength was truly great.

‘With the current power, we can’t beat the top World League teams. The main force is weak, and the second-tier is only at the level of the World League’s lower-ranked candidates. Unless we bring in even one skilled player, winning the World League is a distant dream.’

Currently, there were three teams that the Gods Knights had to overcome to win.

The first was Ancient Warriors, owned by Ibrahim, the chairman of the Federal Professional Gladiator Association, which was a strong team that won the World League last year. This team had S-class gladiators Prishika and Levia, and also had a significant number of W0-class and W1-class gladiators, making them worthy of being called the world’s strongest team.

Perhaps if the current Gods Knights fought them, they would likely lose without even winning a single round.

The second was Chaplin Whisper. With Amelie’s presence and the gladiators brought in with massive financial power, they were showing off their strength by rising to second place in this year’s World League, and they could be seen as the final championship competitor for the Gods Knights.

The third was Dark Hyenas. Until recently, they couldn’t escape the stigma of being a weak team, but recently, with the addition of Zakid, the strongest gladiator in history, and the full support of the Hyena Group, they were growing significantly.

Beomseok glanced at Esther and spoke.

“Esther. Are Ancient Warriors, Chaplin Whisper, and Dark Hyenas also participating in this recruitment?”

“Yes. They are all participating.”

He frowned immediately. Then the Gods Knights had no choice but to recruit Bertia. If Bertia went to these teams, their power would increase significantly, which would act as a major obstacle to the Gods Knights’ World League championship ambitions.

“Then recruit Bertia.”

“Why? She’s too expensive. I think it would be better to fill the lacking squad of our team.”

“If the goal is to remain in the World League, that’s fine. But I want our team to be the best. To do that, a gladiator like Bertia must come to us, not a competing team. And the financial problem doesn’t matter. We will secure funds to recruit new gladiators next year.”

Next year, there would be income from season ticket sales, so some income was expected. Also, if they advanced to the World League, Chaplin Sports, which had a main sponsor contract, would provide 1 billion Krang, and the ticket price would also increase by about two times, resulting in additional income increase. Certainly, his words were not wrong.

“Well, but with that money, the squad shortage problem that our team has chronically will not be solved at once.”

“It doesn’t matter. There will be unexpected income when we go up to the World League.”

“What kind of income?”

That was the income from ‘Response of Origin’ [special ability].

Beomseok would earn at least 3 billion Krang if he used ‘Response of Origin’ in the early days of next season. With this money, he could recruit one or two useful gladiators. And Renka was also activating ‘Response of Origin’.

She had been maintaining it for a longer period than Beomseok, so her income would be even greater. If all these funds were combined, he could even buy Prishika.

“Hmm. Anyway, there will be a corner where more than 7 billion Krang will come in separately over several years, so don’t worry too much about the funds.”

At those words, Esther’s eyes widened. That amount of money was equivalent to the transfer funds that a top World League team poured in a year. Perhaps they could buy some outstanding gladiators with it.

“If that’s the case, there’s nothing wrong with buying Bertia. If she comes in, the rear will be stable.”

“Okay. Then make an appointment with the trade representative of Devil Spritz right away tomorrow.”

“Yes. I understand.”

Beomseok and Esther, who arrived at the office building, hurriedly entered. Now that they had decided to recruit Bertia, there was no time to sit idly by. The transfer market would end soon, and there was a possibility that another team might snatch her in the meantime.

Devil Spritz was a prestigious gladiator team with a long history and tradition. Currently, their performance was not very good, occupying the mid-tier of the World League, but they were a team to be reckoned with, holding the most World League championship records and GA Cup championship records.

It was all due to Amelie. Her seven consecutive victories before retiring from the World League in the past remained an unprecedented record that had not been broken until now.

Beomseok, who arrived at the Devil Spritz training camp, was meeting a man with Esther. It was Jacob, who was in charge of selling Bertia this time. He was a middle-aged man, and his slightly receding hairline was very impressive.

“Welcome. Gods Knights everyone.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Oh Beomseok, the chairman of Gods Knights.”

“Hello. I’m Esther, the manager.”

Jacob, who smiled brightly, pointed to the entrance door of the office building with both hands.

“Come on in. I hurriedly prepared a seat after hearing the news that you were coming.”

“Yes. Thank you. Then I’ll ask for your help.”

Jacob, heading to the reception room, looked at Beomseok and smiled slightly. His appearance with sunglasses and a hat looked somewhat strange, but it was inevitable due to the nature of Gods Knights, but it was bound to be interesting to him.

“Hehe. You’re having a hard time hiding your identity.”

“Hoo~ I can’t help it. If my face is known, Bertia will cause trouble.”

“Well. I appreciate you being considerate of us, but frankly, isn’t this unnecessary?”

“Why?”

“Coming to me today means that Gods Knights will accept all 1.8 billion Krang that we have offered, right?”

Beomseok nodded at Jacob’s words. Certainly, as he said, if it was 1.8 billion Krang, he was willing to recruit Bertia.

“Yes, that’s right. I’m thinking of taking Bertia with that amount.”

“So, it means it’s unnecessary. Now, only Bertia’s choice remains.”

Beomseok, who roughly understood the meaning, slowly took off his hat and sunglasses. Since Devil Spritz was satisfied with the amount this side was offering, the success of everything depended on Bertia’s choice. It was unlikely, but all responsibility for the breakdown of the transfer with Gods Knights was on her, so there was no reason for mental problems to arise.

“Hehe. That’s right.”

Jacob, who arrived in front of the reception room, pointed to the door and said.

“Well. Then come on in.”

Beomseok shook his head. As a result of negotiating by phone yesterday, Devil Spritz made it clear that they would never trade for less than 1.8 billion. Thanks to that, there was no longer any reason to negotiate, and now the subsequent work was decided by Esther. Her haggling ability was absolute, so there was no need for him to get involved.

“Thinking about it, I don’t think there’s any reason for me to go in.”

“Why?”

“You decided to sell for 1.8 billion Krang, and I’m willing to accept it. Don’t you know what I mean?”

At those words, Jacob’s expression bloomed. The optimal opponent for Devil Spritz to recruit Bertia was Gods Knights.

Of course, they were also a very strong team, so it was somewhat uncomfortable to send her, but frankly, they were better than other teams. The leading teams to take her were strong World League championship candidates such as Ancient Warriors, Chaplin Whisper, and Dark Hyenas.

Gods Knights had Beomseok, but when looking at the overall power, they were evaluated as far behind Devil Spritz.

“Hahaha. Is that so? This is great. I like that things are fast.”

“So, I’m saying, finish the transfer negotiations with Esther here, and I’m going to meet Bertia. Is that okay?”

Jacob, who was contemplating for a while, nodded. It would be a big deal if the negotiations broke down, but Beomseok clearly stated his willingness to provide 1.8 billion Krang, so there was no problem at all.

“Please do so. I’ll attach a guide, so meet her once.”

“Thank you for your consideration.”

Beomseok left all negotiations to Esther and followed the clerk called by Jacob to the indoor training center. He wanted to quickly check Bestia’s abilities. He thought that she had high abilities and ability increase characteristics when he saw Erfina’s report and the game scene, but he didn’t know the details.

“That’s her. The child with blue hair, holding a trident and shield.”

The clerk pointed to a place where an elf with blue hair was standing, receiving instructions from the coach.

‘Hooh. Better than the picture.’

Bertia’s appearance was exceeding Beomseok’s expectations. Was she about 180 centimeters tall? He couldn’t check her figure because she was wearing a suit, but her long blue hair and white face were quite impressive. Her slender neck and features flowed in a beautiful shape, and her deep eyes were so clear and clean that he wanted to fall into them.

Beomseok, who moved closer to her, opened the information window.

————————————————-

Name: Bertia.

Classification: Elf (19 years old).

Affiliation: Devil Spritz GC.

Fame: 39342.

Notoriety: 14.

H Status: None.

Stamina: 9812/10000.

Sociability: 97, Strength: 100, Stamina: 100.

Agility: 100, Balance: 100, Intelligence: 97.

Mental Strength: 98. Judgment: 100, Skill: 95.

Luck: 95.

Current Skill/Potential: 982/982.

————————————————

Characteristic: Will of the Guardian.

Special Note: A key gladiator for Devil Spritz, a prestigious World League team. She maintains physical perfection, and her skills and game management abilities are also excellent. She has firmly established herself as a Guardian Gladiator and has the qualities of a veteran. She is specialized in spears and shields, and also handles swords and shields well.

————————————————

‘Wow. This is no joke.’

Beomseok was very surprised by Bertia’s abilities, which were better than expected. He knew that her current skill and potential of 982 were well known and expected, but her characteristics were unexpectedly great.

‘Will of the Guardian’ had an option to increase all stats by +10 for 150 minutes when activated, and additionally, it had a bizarre option to increase all stats by +2 for the opponent she had to protect. As the best rare characteristic for a Guardian Gladiator or bodyguard, Beomseok naturally coveted it.

If he combined her characteristics with those of the director, Diana, the captain of Gods Knights would have all stats +5.

‘Jackpot. It’s harder to find a child with an option to improve other people’s stats than a legendary characteristic. This is not worth 1.8 billion at all. Hehehe.’

Beomseok had no doubt that his decision was right. By recruiting Bertia, a huge amount of 1.8 billion Krang was spent, but he had achieved one earnest wish.

It was that the difference in basic stats with Zakid had disappeared. If he copied Shayla’s characteristics and spent a passionate night, it would be all stats +15, and with her and Diana’s characteristics +5, it would be a total of 20.

This was not only not inferior to Zakid’s legendary characteristic, ‘Heavenly Divine Overlord’, and physical enhancement ability, but also significantly ahead in terms of mental aspects, so it could be said to be a great advantage in terms of overall stats.

Beomseok, who had a triumphant expression, called Bertia.

============================ Work Afterword ============================

Ego ego, I’m busy every weekend. Hahaha. It’s always this late. Ah. Was yesterday Monday?

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