Perfect World [EN]: Chapter 1

It was a beautiful, sunny day. Under the warm May sun, the trees and grass in the fields showed off their vibrant green. Butterflies fluttered, adorning the sky as they searched for brightly blooming flowers.

Not far away, however, a massive, futuristic city dominated the horizon.

Hundreds of skyscrapers pierced the sky, and between them, gravity-defying flying cars zipped through the air in organized lanes. High above, 3D laser advertisements for corporate products flickered, and on the triple-tiered sidewalks, crowds of people strolled in groups of twos and threes.

In the sky above this bustling metropolis, a yellow flying car sped along. Inside, a black-haired man sat, seemingly not driving as he was engrossed in a magazine. Soon, the flying car began to descend slowly in front of a circular arena constructed from massive steel frames, located in a corner of the entertainment district. Once it landed, the doors opened automatically, and a male voice, synthesized with electronic tones, announced:

“Customer. You have arrived at Rima City Colosseum. The fare is 42 crang.”

The black-haired man closed his magazine and tapped a button on his electronic notepad.

“Payment completed. We wish you good luck with your business. Have a nice day.”

As the man stepped out, the doors closed, and the flying taxi soared back into the sky. After watching it for a moment, he turned his gaze to the circular arena, staring intently.

“So, this is the Colosseum.”

Muttering to himself, the man spotted vending machines near the entrance stairs and slowly walked towards them. He stopped at a coffee vending machine and rummaged through his pockets, pulling out a coin marked with ‘5 crang’ [the local currency]. He inserted it into the coin slot and pressed the button labeled ‘Milk Coffee.’

Instantly, the machine whirred and spat out two ‘1 crang’ coins in change. He pocketed the change and picked up the warmly heated coffee.

“Hmm, smells pretty good for vending machine coffee.”

Savoring the aroma, the man walked to a bench near the roadside and sat down comfortably. Then, he took a sip of coffee and gazed up at the clear, blue sky.

This man’s name was Oh Beom-seok. He was a gamer playing ‘Perfect World,’ a newly released 19+ [adults only] life simulation package game from World Corporation. From now on, he had to live in this virtual space, designing his life and achieving his dreams.

“I should check my information.”

Beom-seok slowly opened his information window. He had been so busy getting his bearings that he had forgotten, but checking his stats was essential for progressing in the game. World Corporation games often granted decent special abilities when creating a random character, so he always rolled characters randomly. Naturally, he had no idea about his character’s specifics until he checked.

—————–

Name: Oh Beom-seok.

Classification: Modified Human (0 years).

Affiliation: None.

Fame: 0.

Notoriety: 0.

Stamina: 5200/5200.

Social Skills: 64, Strength: 61, Constitution: 52.

Agility: 92, Balance: 71, Intelligence: 46.

Mental Strength: 52. Judgment: 72, Skill: 44.

Luck: 62.

Current Skill/Potential: 616/1000.

—————–

Trait: Great Will.

Special Note: A rookie who has newly entered society as the main character in the game. Does not yet possess an ‘Elf.’

—————–

The first thing that caught his eye was that Beom-seok’s classification was ‘Modified Human.’ These were humans with enhanced bodies, a status obtained by spending a significant amount of money – one of the basic options given to players at the start of the game.

But why provide players with such expensive bodies? It was to ensure fair competition with the Elves, who were members of the game’s society and naturally possessed superior physical capabilities.

Without this initial advantage, players would inevitably be forced into choosing only office or service jobs, due to being physically inferior to the Elves. This would lead to a simplistic and unbalanced gameplay experience.

‘Hmm, not bad, all things considered.’

Beom-seok lowered his gaze to check the stats and made a satisfied expression. The intelligence and skill stats, at 46 and 44 respectively, were lower than he’d hoped, but the rest were decent. In particular, agility at 92 seemed very promising for tasks requiring nimble movements.

‘Heh heh. Should I become a track and field athlete?’

After a brief chuckle, Beom-seok tapped the trait section with his finger to open a detailed information window. It was labeled ‘Great Will,’ but he needed more information to understand its specific effects.

—————–

Great Will.

Classification: Rare.

Activation Time: 150 minutes (deactivated for 3 days after use).

Function: All stats +10.

—————–

Judging from this, it was an active, rare-grade trait with activation and usage limits. It was a shame he didn’t roll a legendary trait, but this wasn’t too bad. The fact that all stat values increased by +10 was comparable to some legendary-grade traits.

The only downside was the 150-minute limit. However, if he chose his job carefully, he should be able to compensate for this limitation.

Beom-seok opened the next menu and read the contents.

—————–

Team Name: GodsKnightsGC.

Classification: Gladiator.

Fame: 0.

Roster: 0.

Staff: 0.

Current Funds: 5,000,000 crang.

Special Note: An amateur club based in Rima City. Cannot participate in tournaments immediately because the roster and staff are not fully equipped.

—————–

This time, it was information about the gladiator team called GodsKnightsGC that he owned. There wasn’t much information since the roster and staff weren’t yet filled, but the starting funds of 5 million crang caught his attention. It was a considerable sum, enough to buy a medium-sized apartment in the city, but woefully insufficient to recruit top-tier team members. Beom-seok would have to steadily build the team using this money as a foundation.

“Alright. Shall we head in now?”

He dusted off his pants and stood up. Judging by the increasing number of people entering the arena, the match was likely to start soon. He wanted to secure a seat with a good view, so he needed to hurry.

Beom-seok quickly ran up the stairs and approached the ticket booth, where about four or five people were lined up. When it was his turn, he paid 150 crang and purchased a ticket.

“Whew. It’s incredibly vast.”

Stepping inside the Colosseum, Beom-seok couldn’t help but be amazed. The grandstand with 100,000 seats, the wide-open circular arena with a diameter of about 100 meters, and the advertising videos on the 3D electronic displays adorning the sky were a sight to behold.

“So, gladiator matches are held here.”

Gladiator matches. A sports game where a total of 24 gladiators, 12 from each team, fight each other in a dedicated arena called the Colosseum. The team that first knocks down an opponent’s gladiator carrying a small flag wins. It is a game modeled after the gladiator games of the Roman era, adapted for modern sensibilities, and considered one of the world’s three major sports in the game.

But why was Beom-seok watching this game? As mentioned in the information he had just checked, he had chosen to pursue a career as a gladiator and the chairman of a professional gladiator team. The reason was simple: he had become intimately familiar with swordsmanship through countless virtual reality MMORPGs [Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games] he had experienced. Of course, unlike other games, this game didn’t feature special powers such as skills, realms, or mana, so he couldn’t wield godlike power. However, the understanding of the sword that he had accumulated over hundreds of hours in other games wouldn’t simply disappear; it would undoubtedly be a significant advantage.

“That front row looks perfect.”

Beom-seok’s chosen seat was right next to the player entrance, in the very front row of the arena. He wanted to observe the gladiator match up close and also get a good look at the gladiators participating in the match.

He picked the most suitable seat and sat quietly, waiting for the game to begin.

Buzzing.

After a while, spectators began to flood into the arena. Most of them wore spotted shirts and had scarves of the same color around their necks; occasionally, some people wore strangely shaped suits. They were clearly fans of the Great Hyenas team, the home team for today’s match.

They gathered and sat down, then began to jeer at the spectators entering the opposite side of the stands. These fans were wearing black uniforms and were definitely supporters of the Black Cats team, the away team. Despite being far fewer in number, they boldly provoked the home fans by flipping them off.

‘Tsk. What are they doing?’

Beom-seok, who had no particular team allegiance, sat silently and watched their antics. After a while, the advertising videos on the 3D stereoscopic displays floating in the air stopped abruptly. Beom-seok, intuitively realizing that the game was about to begin, stood up and looked towards the passage next to the stands.

“Attention, all! The gladiators are about to enter!”

Wow!

As the announcer declared the entrance of the gladiators, deafening shouts echoed through the arena. Beom-seok picked at his ear with his little finger and slowly watched the gladiators emerge from the passage. Everyone was wearing strange suits reminiscent of the protagonists of tokusatsu [Japanese special effects television] shows, and they carried helmets on their shoulders. Each of them also held blunt swords, spears, and other weapons.

However, what truly caught his attention was the appearance of the gladiators themselves, rather than their unusual attire.

“Ah. So, those are the Elves.”

The pointed ears that were sticking up and their graceful figures. The idealized beauty that human women could never achieve. Their strong bodies and quick movements. And their unwavering obedience to their owners, even to the point of sharing death. All of these were characteristics of the Elves, and because of this, they were extremely popular among many men.

The only catch was that they couldn’t be courted through romance like human women; they had to be purchased for a large sum of money.

‘Sigh. How much do I have to work to afford one?’

Elves don’t experience the typical growth cycle of being born as babies and growing up. They are simply born as adults in huge culture tubes, taught basic literacy and speech, and then released into the Elf Market.

Humans buy them for a large sum of money; even the lowest-grade Elf costs more than 1 million crang. It was a considerable amount of money, equivalent to five years’ worth of an average man’s salary, making them a significant investment.

However, they weren’t only useful for erotic companionship but also for industrial or economic activities, bringing significant financial gains to their owners. More than half of the gladiators entering the arena now were Elves with owners, and their owners were clearly wealthy. Beom-seok also planned to create a harem gladiator team consisting of his own Elves, as much as his resources would allow.

“The gladiators from both teams salute the fans!”

The gladiators, who had moved to the center of the arena, brought their weapon-filled hands to their chests and bowed to their respective fans. The cheers erupted again. The fans were shouting at the top of their lungs, trying to energize their teams.

“Wow! Fight, Great Hyenas! You must win today!”

“Black Cats! Looking at those losers, there’s no need to be lenient. Just demote them!”

The atmosphere in the Great Hyenas camp suddenly turned bleak at the shout of the Black Cats fan. It was because they had touched a sore spot. Currently, the Great Hyenas had a total record of 37 matches, with 6 wins, 3 draws, and 28 losses, ranking 18th in the area league. They were half a game behind 17th place. If they failed to win today’s game, the last game of the season, they would be demoted.

Naturally, the home fans were in a desperate mood and wouldn’t appreciate the opposing team’s fans making fun of them. Soon, some Great Hyenas fans went around the stands and attacked the Black Cats cheering squad, and the arena became so noisy that the game couldn’t proceed.

—

As promised, I will upload a new work. However, since it is a sports genre and close to SF set in the future, I am a little scared because I don’t know if it will please the readers.

Anyway, please give me a lot of love. And even if you don’t understand, please read it with a little patience. It is such an unfamiliar subject that I have to add a lot of explanations, but I can’t consistently explain from the beginning. Additional explanations about the world view will be added later.

Then have a good day.