Perfect World [EN]: Chapter 175

Returning to the command vehicle, Bumseok retrieved the storage chip containing the camera footage and handed it to Margaret. This was her moment to shine. Her task was simple but critical: to place all the blame on Gade. A misstep here would create a major headache, demanding meticulous execution.

While en route in the command vehicle, Margaret meticulously edited the footage, removing any trace of Bumseok’s involvement. Then, she uploaded the doctored video to Gade’s home system, ensuring its distribution to broadcasting stations, media outlets, and major websites worldwide.

Further solidifying Gade’s guilt, she stashed all the incriminating items used in the day’s events—except for the suit—in the trunk of Gade’s car and moved the vehicle back to his residence. Once the police discovered this evidence, Gade would undoubtedly be branded as the culprit.

With the final touches complete, Bumseok checked the results of the God’s Knights’ matches against the Peace Griffins. God’s Knights had won with a score of 2 wins, 2 draws, and 1 loss, securing second place in the league. This qualified them for the promotion tournament leading to the Wide League in ten days. He grinned, thoroughly pleased, all the way back to Avon. However, his shoulder injury from earlier in the day lingered as a concern. The upcoming promotion tournament would feature formidable teams from the Area Leagues within the Deloy Metropolitan Government, and sitting out due to injury would severely hamper their chances.

However, an even more bittersweet event awaited him upon his return to Avon. He learned that Gloria had given birth to a beautiful daughter. He had promised to be there for her, but she had to give birth alone, leaving him with a pang of guilt and regret.

To alleviate the situation, Bumseok urgently contacted Chairman Wilkins, seeking an excuse to discuss support for Rainbow Group. It would sound far better to announce that Wilkins Financial Holdings would soon be providing a substantial investment than to admit he’d been scrambling for funds due to financial woes.

Initially, Chairman Wilkins greeted Bumseok’s news of money from Chairman Balbar with skepticism. He found it hard to believe that the notoriously stingy old man had opened his coffers for someone he barely knew. Bumseok then showed him the video he had recorded while obtaining the funds. The chairman watched intently, his expression serious, until the scene where Bumseok acquired the 3 Clangs [Clang: the currency in this world]. At that point, he burst into laughter, clutching his stomach. He then pledged to honor his agreement with Bumseok, even if it required somewhat unorthodox methods. Chairman Wilkins had only instructed him to obtain the money by any means necessary, stopping short of explicitly forbidding extortion.

Greatly relieved, Bumseok rushed to the hospital to see Gloria. Fortunately, she greeted him warmly, seemingly understanding the situation. While she didn’t know all the details, she knew that Bumseok had been meeting with financial figures to save Rainbow Group. Even though he hadn’t kept his promise to be there, she couldn’t fault someone working so hard for her sake. Still, being a woman, she harbored a touch of resentment, but upon hearing that Chairman Wilkins had promised significant financial support, her resentment melted away like snow in spring. Nothing could be more joyful than knowing that the company she had dedicated her life to building would be saved.

That day, Bumseok took one last look at his daughter lying in the newborn nursery, the sight completely washing away the day’s fatigue. The baby wiggled slightly with her eyes closed, an incredibly adorable sight.

The next day, Bumseok, his shoulder in a cast, sat on a bench outside the training arena, observing his gladiators’ tactical training. A worried expression etched itself on his face, largely due to the looming promotion tournament. Qualifying as the league’s second-place team was a victory, but their current strength painted a bleak picture. He had been diagnosed with a three-week recovery period for the injury sustained in the LHN headquarters building fight, and Rapine and Oscar, who had returned safely after the season, were ineligible for the tournament as they weren’t registered. With such a limited lineup, achieving success in the promotion tournament, where the strongest teams from the Deloy Metropolitan Government would clash, seemed impossible. He was deeply concerned.

Fortunately, Vincent, the director of Dragon Knights, agreed to extend the loan of their gladiators until the promotion tournament, preventing them from becoming mere spectators.

“Sigh~ I’m still worried. We can barely maintain parity even if we do well…”

A total of 16 teams from 8 leagues would compete in the promotion tournament for a chance to enter the Wide League. On average, only three teams would be promoted. Achieving this required at least three consecutive wins, with only one loss permitted in the semi-finals, assuming they won the 3rd and 4th place match. Breaking through such intense competition with their current precarious strength seemed daunting. Bumseok felt that a special measure was needed.

‘Maybe I have no choice but to participate, even if it’s a strain?’

Currently, he couldn’t use his left arm at all, but if he took painkillers, he might be able to participate in the tournament ten days later. The problem was Susan’s likely vehement opposition. Their relationship was already strained, and ignoring her and the team doctor’s advice to participate in the match would undoubtedly damage her opinion of him.

However, it might be the only way to get through the promotion tournament. With a little effort from him, God’s Knights could transform into a Wide League team next year.

“Okay. Then let’s at least do some physical training. Susan wouldn’t object to leg exercises.”

Bumseok rose from the bench and slowly stood up. As he walked along the path, where spring flowers were blooming, towards the training building with the gym, he suddenly turned to the side. Esther was hurrying down the path leading to the office building, an electronic document in her hand.

“Chairman! Please take a look at this for a moment!”

Bumseok stopped and stared as she approached.

“What’s wrong? I don’t deal with office work during training hours.”

“Yes, I know. But it’s a bit urgent.”

“No. What kind of urgent office work could there be lately? Is it about processing next season’s budget? I told you yesterday that it has to wait until the promotion tournament is over. There’s a big difference in income and expenses between participating in the Wide League and participating in the Area League. So, I can’t decide now.”

Esther, catching her breath, replied, “It’s not that. It’s about recruiting gladiators.”

Bumseok scoffed, finding it absurd.

“Esther, are you feeling alright? It’s mid-May. Don’t you know that the gladiator transfer market doesn’t open until July 1st?”

“Yes, of course, I know. But this isn’t a transfer; it’s a rookie draft.”

Bumseok looked even more puzzled. The rookie draft was a system where young athletes who excelled in school sports were assigned to professional teams according to specific rules.

However, in this world, only modified humans and elves could compete as professional athletes. Therefore, there were almost no instances of athletes transitioning from school sports to professional teams, and naturally, no such thing as a rookie draft. This was because the body modification surgery cost tens of millions of Clangs, a price not everyone could afford. Elves also had active school sports, but they were simply bought and sold, with no precedent of entering professional teams through a draft.

“Don’t be ridiculous. There’s no way a rookie draft system exists in this era.”

“But it’s been created this year. And on a large scale.”

Still skeptical, Bumseok narrowed his eyes and asked, “Really? How many?”

“In gladiatorial combat alone, 50 men and 50 women, a total of 100.”

“That many? How could such a thing happen? Were there that many sons and daughters of the wealthy among the athletes who graduated this year?”

“No. It all happened because of you, Chairman.”

“No. Why? What does it have to do with me?”

“You are a special case of becoming a modified human as a pilot project of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.”

Esther explained the situation in detail. Bumseok had gained considerable fame the previous year by being recognized as one of the world’s top 5 promising players by WBS [World Broadcasting System]. This recognition attracted attention from numerous famous professional gladiator teams, and his past performances, boasting considerable value, further fueled the interest.

Therefore, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, encouraged by his success, decided to significantly expand this pilot project. However, the high cost of modifying humans posed a problem. Even with government funding, the expense of creating a single modified human was substantial, hindering the project’s implementation.

As the new project teetered on the brink of stagnation, someone recalled the long-dormant rookie draft system and suggested reviving it to raise funds. The idea was to modify outstanding human athletes in school sports who aspired to go pro, and in return, receive funds from the professional teams that needed them. It was a win-win-win situation: professional teams could acquire cheap and talented players, school sports athletes could realize their professional dreams through modification surgery, and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism could secure funding to promote the new project and potentially earn additional income.

‘Hahaha. Oh my. Is this incident getting so big because of the lie I told before?’

Regardless, Bumseok thought it was worth participating in. Gladiators who had been active in school sports were expected to possess considerable swordsmanship skills, unlike elf rookie gladiators. Elves only entered the professional world after completing a three-year elf school course, but these rookies were elite talents selected from 100 school sports athletes worldwide who had been practicing swordsmanship and gladiatorial combat for over a decade. Even securing one with good growth potential would have a significant impact.

Bumseok quickly took the document Esther was holding and read the details.

‘What? They charge money even to participate in the draft? These damn thieves!’

The first thing that caught his eye was the requirement for teams participating in the rookie draft to pay 100,000 Clangs to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. While not a crippling amount for a team, if all professional teams worldwide participated, it could generate 1 billion Clangs from gladiator teams alone. Even if they included supplementary items and screened the teams, selecting only about 300 per sport, it would still equate to earning 30 million Clangs for free.

“100,000 Clangs… Isn’t this public institution getting too greedy?”

“Still, you must participate. It’s an opportunity to recruit gladiators with excellent swordsmanship skills at a very low price. With a probability of more than 30% too.”

Bumseok nodded, recognizing the opportunity.

“Well, I guess so. But 300 teams… How did our team get included in this? There are over 10,000 professional gladiator teams around the world.”

“Yes. According to the person in charge who sent the application form, you were included as a special case because you are the first graduate of this pilot project. But, in my opinion, they probably want to use you as a figurehead to show to other professional teams that are participating. They want to increase the purchasing desire of other professional teams by making them aware that a prominent rookie like you has been produced through this project.”

Bumseok agreed, finding the explanation plausible. Since it was the first pilot project, they would want it to succeed at all costs and would likely position him as a marketing asset.

“I guess so. We were very lucky. We wouldn’t have had a place to participate under normal circumstances. But how much will it cost to bring in a gladiator through this event?”

Esther pointed to an item in the middle of the next page and said, “First of all, since there are few rookies being produced this year, each team can select five gladiators and consult with them, and only one gladiator can be taken from here. And 1 million Clangs must be paid uniformly to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, which is the organizer, and additional annual salaries and contract fees must be negotiated with the gladiator to be recruited.”

Bumseok looked at the contents with a troubled expression, realizing the potential for exploitation.

The success rate of body modification surgery is influenced by the doctor’s skill, but it’s largely random. This meant that among the rookies, there might be gladiators with growth potential exceeding 900, but also plenty with shabby growth potential below 600. Despite their swordsmanship skills, having to offer a contract fee and annual salary in addition to the 1 million Clangs recruitment fee for such a rookie was a burden.

‘But, I don’t care. Because I can check by looking at the information window.’

With about 100 rookie gladiators this year, checking their information wouldn’t take even half an hour. Other teams might be in the dark, but Bumseok had no reason to worry.

He returned to the first page and checked the next item.

‘Mutual understanding between the rookie player and the professional team must be established in order to conclude a contract…?’

That meant it wasn’t a designated system like in reality. Then the contract fee and annual salary will rise significantly when recruiting gladiators. It was questionable whether he could secure competitiveness against large professional teams. God’s Knights, an Area League team, could not have the same financial resources as Central League or World League teams. Looking at this, Bumseok was likely to remain only as a figurehead and return empty-handed.

However, upon closer reflection, it wasn’t entirely disadvantageous. Professional teams tend not to invest heavily in unproven gladiators. As with any sport, gladiatorial combat places great importance on physical ability, but the rookies who have just emerged haven’t proven themselves in that regard. Other professional teams would likely express concern about this point.