Perfect World [EN]: Chapter 122

124

“Heh heh heh. What? Did you say you’d never leave the national team?”

In the shadows, Klatt, hiding in the shade of the fence, blushed crimson as he listened to Vincent’s mocking tone, unsure of what to do. Beomseok, who had confidently declared he would remain on the national team, was now sneaking out of the training camp over the fence, loitering outside. The approaching flying taxi in the distance made it clear he intended to leave the area completely.

“I can’t just let this happen!”

Just as his anger reached its peak, Vincent grabbed his sleeve.

“What are you going to do?”

“The national Gladiator [a top-tier athlete] is secretly leaving the training camp at night. Are you saying I should just let him go?”

“Of course, you’re right. But didn’t you give him an unlimited leave pass? What if he runs off and then throws the pass back at you? Heh heh heh.”

In that case, Clark would have to accept it and wave goodbye. He bit his lip and retreated back into the shadows. He had no justification to stop him now, so he had no choice but to let him escape.

“Isn’t there any way to stop him?”

“Of course not. How can I be responsible for your blunder? Right now, it’s better to figure out where he’s going and come up with an excuse.”

“Why?”

“Think about it. The reporters have probably noticed the discord between you and Beomseok. Both of you are keeping quiet for now, but if the news gets out that he’s deserted the national team, they’ll pounce on it. The team atmosphere will be ruined, and the third qualifying match will be a lost cause. And the media will try to attribute this defeat to your leadership, not the team’s composition.”

Vincent gestured, drawing his hand across his own neck, implying that Clark might be fired as the national team coach.

“But fortunately, you gave Beomseok an unlimited leave pass. So, if we know where he went, it’s not a big deal. We just tell the reporters that he took a leave pass and went somewhere, and if I persuade him later and we coordinate our stories, it’ll be a simple matter.”

“No, shouldn’t we persuade him now?”

“Hey, that won’t work. Do you think a kid who jumped the fence in anger in the middle of the night will listen to persuasion? We need to give him time to calm down before we proceed. Persuading him now will only backfire.”

Clark nodded in agreement. He was right; what could he say to someone who was furious? It was best to watch quietly for now.

He immediately called for his car in the parking lot. To keep an eye on him, he needed to follow where he was going.

“I understand. Then let’s follow him for now.”

“Good thinking.”

Meanwhile, Beomseok got into the flying taxi that had arrived and disappeared into the dark night sky. Clark and Vincent followed in their own flying car, starting an unexpected chase.

“Heh heh. It’s already morning.”

Beomseok, arriving at the Ube City outer terminal, looked at the dawning sky with a curious expression. He had left around 1 a.m. and traveled for only an hour, but the sun was already rising, and the clock was set to 6 a.m. due to the time difference. It felt like he had slipped through time in a time machine. Perhaps because his body clock was malfunctioning, he felt hungry. With plenty of time to spare, he went to a nearby convenience store for a quick breakfast of instant noodles and a triangular rice ball [Onigiri].

Clark, watching this scene through the glass window, opened his mouth with a dark expression.

“Director Vincent, why did he come all the way here?”

“I don’t know. He seems quite upset. I didn’t think he’d really come all the way to Ube City… He must have no intention of returning to the national team. Otherwise, there’s no reason for him to come to this remote place, out of our sight.”

Clark’s face darkened as he spoke urgently. If Beomseok refused to be drafted into the national team, all his plans would be completely ruined. He had intended to reorganize the team around him.

“W-what should we do now?”

“Hmm~ We need to be very careful. It’ll take some effort to persuade him. But we can’t do anything right now. Let’s follow him and, if he seems to be in a better mood, persuade him to return to the national team. If not, we’ll just find out where he’s staying and go back.”

Clark stared intently at the convenience store. Beomseok was happily joking with the female employee working there.

“He seems to be in a better mood, doesn’t he?”

“Hey, no way. He ran all the way to Ube City; he wouldn’t be in a better mood already. He’s probably just trying to pull himself together.”

“But he doesn’t look angry at all…”

“No, I’m telling you I’m right. If you’re so suspicious, go inside and see for yourself. But! I can’t be responsible for what happens after that.”

Hearing this, Clark didn’t dare to meet Beomseok. If he went in and Beomseok got angry and moved to another area, he would have no way to deal with it. It was better to quietly assess the situation.

“Sigh~ I understand. Let’s wait and see.”

Meanwhile, Beomseok finished his meal, left the convenience store, and headed to the taxi stand outside the terminal. He got into a taxi that was waiting and flew into the sky. Vincent and Clark quickly followed, getting into a taxi and urgently chasing after him.

After driving for 10 minutes, they arrived at their final destination: the Red Foxes team’s training camp. Beomseok left the departing taxi behind and walked towards the training camp’s main gate. He frowned at the firmly closed gate.

‘Damn it. I’m stuck waiting. And it’s freezing…’

It wasn’t even 7 a.m. yet. The training start time was still a long way off, so there was no way the gate would be open. Besides, it was the winter break, when there were no season games.

But he couldn’t go back now. He was supposed to meet Esther in front of the gate in an hour, and there was nowhere else to go during that time. In the end, he entered the flying bus stop nearby, which was enclosed on all sides by acrylic panels. He planned to spend about an hour there.

Wee-ing. Wee-ing.

As Beomseok entered, warm steam flowed from the machine in the bus stop. It was a welcome relief; he no longer had to shiver in the cold outside. In this world, electricity could be produced cheaply through hydrogen and nuclear fusion power, so even a quiet bus stop like this had heating facilities.

Feeling warm, Beomseok leaned back against the bench and leisurely waited.

Thump.

About ten minutes passed. As the clock struck exactly 7 a.m., the Red Foxes team’s training camp gate swung open. Beomseok, who had briefly lifted his butt, sat back down. The trade manager was scheduled to arrive at 8 a.m., so there was no need to go in early.

‘If I go in and wait, it might look like I’m desperate. That could hurt the deal. I have to meet Esther anyway, so it’s better to wait here.’

He dismissed the thought and turned his gaze towards the Citizen’s Sports Park in the distance. Just then, he saw an elf walking out from inside. He couldn’t see clearly because she was far away, but he could tell that she was a tall elf with blonde hair braided up on her head.

‘Hmm. Agelia also has blonde hair. And it’s braided up too.’

Blonde hair was quite common among elves, and gladiators, being athletes, often braided their hair in a similar way. However, her exceptionally long legs and slender figure were so similar to Agelia’s that he couldn’t help but wonder.

‘What should I do? Should I meet Agelia for a moment?’

Beomseok shook his head. Meeting a gladiator while negotiating a contract with the team was against the trade rules provided by the Professional Association. Especially in the case of Gods Knights, approaching a gladiator first to express interest in signing them could lead to significant gains, so the penalties for illegal transfer negotiations would be even greater. Elven gladiators without owners, like Agelia, could do anything to join Gods Knights, and they could easily cause incidents that would greatly trouble their current team. In this situation, if he met Agelia before the transfer negotiations and it became known, Gods Knights would face considerable difficulties. It might appear that he was the one instigating the trouble she was causing within the team.

However, on second thought, it seemed fine if he hid his identity. He had brought a hat, mask, and sunglasses in his bag, just in case he needed to make a quick escape. If he covered his face with these, no one would recognize him.

Beomseok soon disguised himself thoroughly and went outside.

‘Oh. It really is Agelia.’

Agelia was standing on the side of the jogging path, warming up. She was wearing specialized running shoes and stretching properly, as if she was determined to run.

Beomseok pulled his hat down low and secretly approached her from behind to check her information window. He wanted to see how much she had improved in the meantime.

————————————————-

Name: Agelia.

Classification: Elf (6 years).

Affiliation: Red Foxes GC.

Fame: 4469.

Notoriety: 0.

H Status: No.

Stamina: 8099/8100.

Sociability: 58, Strength: 82, Constitution: 81.

Agility: 87+10, Balance: 87, Intelligence: 78.

Mental Strength: 75. Judgment: 73, Skill: 61.

Luck: 64.

Current Skill/Potential: 746/979.

————————————————

Trait: Wind Spirit.

Special Notes: Former sprinter affiliated with Darwin Pharmaceuticals. Acquired by Red Foxes GC of the Hyrn Central League last summer and is active as a second-string gladiator.

————————————————

‘Oh. She’s improved a lot. The Red Foxes team must have trained her properly. Now it will be difficult for me to catch up with Agelia in terms of speed. Hahaha.’

Her strength and constitution, which had been in the early 70s before, were now in the early 80s, and her agility and balance had also increased by nearly 10, recording 87. Her other mental abilities had also grown evenly to a level that satisfied Beomseok, and her potential remained at 979, indicating that she had not suffered any major injuries.

However, based on the stats alone, Agelia didn’t seem faster than Beomseok. His current maximum agility was 93+10. Agelia’s current agility stat was no match for him. But the ‘Wind Spirit’ trait made all the difference. This trait usually increased agility by +10, but when activated, it had the ability to add +9 to all stats for 150 minutes. In other words, her agility could instantly increase by +19, reaching 106. It was a truly amazing trait, and if properly developed, she could become the strongest in the world in terms of speed.

‘Hehehe. If a kid like her becomes a captain gladiator… that would be awesome. She could become the best runner.’

‘Runner’ was a gladiator slang term for a fast captain gladiator. Gladiator matches could only be won by capturing the captain gladiator, so having a runner on the team was a huge headache for the opposing team. Even after investing a lot of time to gain the upper hand, the runner could evade capture by darting around the 100-meter diameter arena, causing the team to lose a hard-won match.

Of course, they could prepare a large number of capture tools like nets, but the restriction of not being able to carry more than two types of weapons made it difficult to change tactics. Moreover, nets were difficult to retrieve after being thrown, and well-developed runners could easily avoid such net throws, so there was no guarantee of catching them.

However, Agelia was not only the best in terms of runner ability, but also excelled in other abilities. If she specialized in a particular weapon and gained a lot of match experience, and firmly secured the position of captain for the Gods Knights, there would be nothing more reassuring.

Closing the information window with a satisfied expression, Beomseok approached Agelia and spoke casually.

“Hey. What are you doing there?”

Agelia, who was loosening her hip joints, blinked her big eyes and stared at him. Because his face was completely covered with sunglasses, a hat, and a mask, she couldn’t recognize him as Beomseok.

“Why do you ask?”

“Because I need to pass by, but you’re blocking the way.”

She looked around. The jogging path was wide enough for several people to walk shoulder to shoulder. There was plenty of room to walk around.

However, she thought it would be confrontational to argue, so she stepped aside.

“Okay. Go ahead.”

Beomseok pretended to pass by, then turned back and asked.

“Wait a minute. Looking at your outfit, you seem to be a gladiator from the Red Foxes team, right?”

“Yes, I am. But why are you asking?”

“Why else? Because a gladiator is wearing specialized sprinter spikes.”

At that, Agelia looked at Beomseok with quite surprised eyes. It was very difficult for an ordinary person to distinguish between ordinary jogging shoes and specialized sprinter spikes. Of course, there were significant differences in the soles and curves if you observed closely, but he had only glanced at them as he passed by.

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

ㅠㅠ. No baseball today. I waited a long time ;;;;;;; I realized it was Monday late. Hahaha.

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