Perfect World [EN]: Chapter 121

It was a deep, cold winter night, but the food stall in front of the Riccici City team training camp was brightly lit and bustling. The location was so secluded that you wouldn’t expect many customers, but the stall owner had thrown the doors open as if he didn’t care. During the season when the team’s games were held, he earned a decent income from the reporters and cameramen stationed in the press room, who frequently ordered late-night snacks and drinks.

Soon, the stall owner served a bottle of liquor with finely chopped jerky and bacon to the customers who had just arrived.

“Here you go. Please enjoy.”

A man with brown hair took the tray and poured a drink into the glass of the old gentleman sitting next to him.

“Director Vincent, please have a drink.”

“Thank you. You too.”

Vincent took the bottle and filled his glass.

“Thank you.”

“No need to thank me. It’s only natural to exchange drinks at a drinking session. Cheers.”

Vincent clinked glasses, emptied his drink in one go, picked up a piece of bacon, and ate it.

“By the way, Clark, how many years has the national team director been in charge this time?”

“It’s been five years recently.”

“He’s been doing it for quite a while. A man of your caliber should be getting a lot of offers from regular pro teams. Aren’t you interested?”

Clark, who poured the drink with both hands, shook his head.

“Well, I like being the national team director. I have no intention of going to a pro team at all.”

“Huh. That’s unusual. Others try to get out of being in charge of the national team because it’s too much of a burden. And Avand doesn’t pay that much in annual salary, does it?”

“Well, I made a lot of money when I was a pro gladiator. I don’t have much to spend it on, so most of it is left over. No, my salary as a director keeps increasing, and I can’t handle it.”

“Hahaha. Is that so? You were famous for being stingy in the old days, and it seems like you still are.”

“Well, my nature doesn’t change that easily.”

Vincent smacked his lips and began to stare at him silently. Clark, embarrassed, touched his face and asked.

“Why? Is there rice on my face or something?”

“No. I’m just trying to get a closer look at a weirdo.”

“Haha, Director, really. What’s so interesting about my face that you’re doing this?”

“Your appearance isn’t anything special. I’m just curious about what’s going on in that little head of yours.”

Clark looked at him with calm eyes.

“Do you have something to say?”

“Do I have to ask?”

Clark picked up the glass in front of him and gulped it down.

“Is this about Beomseok?”

“That’s right. My kids contacted me and said he’s completely off the national team. Is that true?”

“Well, I guess that’s probably the case.”

“Sigh~ Why are you doing this? What about my position, who recommended him to the national team? Can you at least tell me why?”

Clark quietly clasped his hands together and fixed his gaze on Vincent.

“Before I answer, I have something to ask first. Director Vincent, why did you recommend Beomseok to the national team?”

“I recommended him because he’s good. Frankly, there’s no gladiator in our team who can beat him. That means he’s the best gladiator in Avand. I don’t think there are many who can beat him unless they are world league starting gladiators.”

“No. Maybe even world league starting gladiators would have a hard time against him now.”

“Is that so? Why?”

“His physique improved significantly in the first half of this year. I could tell from his recent matches. Maybe even I in my prime wouldn’t be able to guarantee victory easily.”

Vincent looked quite surprised. Clark was a key gladiator who had been active in the World League in the past, and he was so skilled that he left a clear mark on the history of the gladiatorial world. The fact that he was talking about his prime and expressing his difficulty made Beomseok’s skills seem even more impressive.

“Oh, really? Then we should use him even more for the national team, shouldn’t we?”

“Of course, I want to use him too. He would be a very useful offensive option. However, from the third round of the World Cup, most teams will be filled with Central League-level gladiators with strong muscles. In addition, national team matches inevitably involve fierce physical fights. This is especially true for each team’s aces. But can his current physical abilities withstand the concentrated attacks of those powerful muscle-bound opponents?”

“Are you saying he could get injured if he’s pushed back by force?”

“You know that better than anyone, don’t you? If you were the director, what tactics would you use to stop him?”

He nodded with a bitter smile. If Beomseok was on the opposing team, he would disregard appearances and use several of his team’s gladiators with superior strength to tackle him roughly and immobilize him before eliminating him. This is because, while he is technically accomplished, he shows weaknesses in his physical aspects. There would be no point in assigning a marker to him, as they would soon be fighting at a numerical disadvantage.

“They’d try to overpower him. But there’s no guarantee he’ll get injured, is there? After all, gladiatorial matches are about knocking each other down, so there’s always a risk of injury.”

“Yes. You’re not wrong. But the problem is that he’s only been a modified human for just over a year. Now is the time for him to develop, not to take on the high risk of injury and play in the World Cup.”

“But he’s different. I don’t know where he learned it, but his swordsmanship alone is the best in the world. It’s hard to develop any further from here.”

Clark made an annoyed expression.

“I’m talking about the physical aspect!”

Vincent closed his mouth as if he had eaten honey. Certainly, there was nothing to say when it came to Beomseok’s physical abilities.

Clark continued.

“His swordsmanship is excellent, but his physical growth potential is also amazing. As a result of spending the last half-season in the league, his physical abilities have improved to the level of a wide league gladiator, and when he’s in good condition, he sometimes shows abilities that go beyond that. In other words, if he continues to grow like this, he will become an unprecedented gladiator with no physical shortcomings in a few years. I can’t recklessly let him participate in the World Cup now and get caught up in the high-level and rough physical fights between national teams. If he gets injured, the period required for growth will be even longer.”

“Okay, I understand a hundred times over. But you’re the national team director, not the director of the pro team that has him. What do you gain when Beomseok achieves satisfactory growth?”

Clark answered immediately with a serious expression.

“Qualifying for the World Cup finals.”

Vincent groaned and snorted. Clark was the best gladiator Avand had ever produced, but he had one regret he couldn’t tell anyone. He had never qualified for the World Cup finals. No matter how skilled he was and how motivated he was, the people around him couldn’t support him, so he was thoroughly checked whenever he went out to a match, and in the end, he had to retreat with the bitter taste of defeat.

Vincent knew this very well, as he had watched him struggle alone as a national team coach for some time.

“So, you’re giving up on this World Cup and aiming for the next one.”

“Yes. Even though Dragon Knights has moved up to the Central League and a large number of highly skilled gladiators have been brought in, in terms of strength, we are only the third strongest team in the third qualifying round. Even if we barely pass through here, it is almost impossible to advance to the finals by competing with the powerful gladiatorial teams from other regions who have advanced to the fourth qualifying round. It’s better to aim for the next World Cup.”

The fourth qualifying round was a qualifying round in which the national teams of 64 regional governments out of 512 regional governments participated. In other words, it was a place where the strongest one out of ten national teams survived and competed. The relatively weak Avand national team needed a near-miracle to pass through here and advance to the finals.

“Then is it possible next World Cup?”

“Yes. If Dragon Knights continues to stay in the Central League and the Gods Knights team, including Beomseok, grows, there is a good chance.”

Vincent nodded. Many of the gladiators belonging to Gods Knights had tremendous growth potential that even he was amazed by. Oscar and Rapine, who are currently on loan from Dragon Knights, as well as Venus, Matilda, Violet, Lin, etc. If they grow well and team up with the Dragon Knights gladiators who have been active in the Central League for several years, a truly complete gladiatorial national team could be formed. Qualifying for the World Cup finals was not just a dream.

“That’s right. It’s possible. The Gods Knights kids have strangely good potential for growth.”

“Besides, Beomseok is a modified human and a man. He’s the best captain that elves can’t help but follow instinctively. Imagine the team uniting around him and going out to a match? The power will be doubled.”

Vincent picked up a fork and stirred the snacks, saying.

“Hmm. I understand your intentions well enough. Then why did you bother accepting Beomseok into the national team? If you didn’t intend to have him participate in the game anyway, you could have just left him on his team…”

“I wanted to watch him from the side. To see how much he grows in two months. And I’m going to use this as a basis to plan for the next World Cup.”

Vincent sighed deeply and said.

“But if that’s what you’re thinking, why bother scratching his nerves?”

“I’m only saying this now, but Beomseok is very proud and can’t stand to lose. So the more you push him down, the more he bounces back up. But in Gods Knights, he’s the king. There’s no one to stimulate him. So I decided to do it.”

“Sigh~ What if he rebels and runs out of the national team?”

“That will never happen. I’ve instilled in him the obsession that he’ll lose to me the moment he leaves the national team dorm, so he’ll obediently train and stay quiet.”

“How?”

“Since we’re on the subject, I immediately cut off his unlimited outing pass on the spot. He’ll definitely think I’m trying to kick him out of the national team.”

“Tsk, tsk, tsk. What a wicked mind…”

Vincent clicked his tongue loud enough to be heard and inadvertently cast his gaze into the darkness far away. And when he saw a figure climbing over the fence of the national team training camp, he fidgeted in his chair.

“Wait a minute. What’s that?”

Clark looked at where he was pointing and widened his eyes. It was hard to see because it was far away, but it was clear that someone was climbing over the fence from inside the training camp and coming out.

“A thief?”

“It’s not a thief. Doesn’t he have anything in his hand? Besides, he jumped out, but instead of running away, he’s just standing there staring blankly at the sky?”

Vincent’s words seemed right. His behavior was a bit strange for a thief. Besides, the national team training camp had a thorough external security system. The moment someone invaded from the outside, the elf guards would be dispatched immediately and arrest them. It wasn’t so sloppy that an outside intruder could do his business and come out so leisurely.

“It seems like a team deserter.”

“I guess so. When I was a national team coach, elves would occasionally try to escape like that because they wanted to see their owners. So what are we going to do?”

“What do you mean? We have to catch him first. He might be a spy sent by another team. And even if he’s a team deserter, we can’t just let him go.”

“I guess so. Let’s go. He’s standing there asking to be caught; we can’t miss him.”

Clark threw a 500-krang [currency] bill to the stall owner and slowly moved his steps. Although he was old and his physical abilities were declining, he was the strongest gladiator in Avand’s history. He wasn’t going to be defeated by an ordinary petty thief. And Vincent also had a history of rolling around in the pro league for a considerable period of time.

“Aish. Why aren’t you coming? People will be in trouble if they see me.”

Beomseok, who was standing in front of the fence of the Avand training camp, stamped his feet in place and looked at the distant sky. The call taxi he had requested before climbing over the fence was not coming even though the scheduled time had passed.

‘Damn it. If it weren’t for Agelia…’

Yesterday, he heard from Lexter that Agelia was on the release list. Beomseok, who coveted her very much, immediately inquired about purchasing her from his team, the Red Foxes. But unexpectedly, the Red Foxes’ reaction was very enthusiastic. He didn’t know if they couldn’t keep her on the team because she was experiencing mental problems, or if they were burdened by the elf-loving groups protesting in front of the door, but they contacted him today to proceed with the trade immediately. If Agelia was an ordinary elf, he would have just entrusted the recruitment to Esther, but she was an elf with outstanding growth potential and characteristics that would allow her to become the strongest commander gladiator if she was raised well. It was necessary for him to participate in the transaction himself and thoroughly deal with any possible variables.

The problem was that he was having an invisible war of nerves with the national team director right now. He knew exactly what kind of expression the director would give him the moment he left the training camp, so he couldn’t cut off his outing pass and go out. On the day he was discharged from the national team, he had to throw a bundle of unused outing passes in front of his face.

‘But it’s a relief. Red Foxes is in Ubeicity.’

Ubeicity is in the same central government as Avand, but it is located at the eastern end, so the time difference is about 4 hours faster. In other words, even though it’s almost 1 a.m. in Avand now, it’s 5 a.m. in Ubeicity. Besides, if you take the night express flying bus, it’s less than an hour away, so you’ll arrive around 6 a.m. local time. Then, after wandering around the area for about 2 hours, he would go in with Esther, who would arrive at 8 a.m. sharp, and conduct the transfer negotiations, and then return immediately, and it would be morning in Avand. After that, if he came in through the main gate pretending to go out for a morning exercise, nothing would have happened.

For this operation, Beomseok went to the security office during his break today to find out the location of the CCTV and the charging standby time of the surveillance bird camera, and then attempted to climb over the fence at the most appropriate time and location.