Perfect World [EN]: Chapter 191

Ring, ring.

Ring, ring.

Bum-suk sat on a long bench in a quiet little park in front of the Siote City Colosseum, holding an electronic notebook that was ringing, and killing time while waiting.

After a while, an elf with pink hair appeared on a small hologram screen floating in the air. He gently waved his hand and greeted her.

“Jeremiah. How have you been?”

Jeremiah, looking happy, glanced around and said in a quiet tone.

“– Yes. I’ve been well. But what brings you here? Bum-suk and I shouldn’t be talking on the phone carelessly. Is there something else you need me to do?”

“Nothing special. I just contacted you because it seems like the time has come.”

“– Time for what?”

“I’m saying it seems like it’s time to recruit you into our God Knights.”

At those words, Jeremiah looked so touched that tears welled up in her eyes. She firmly believed in Bum-suk, but she never imagined that he would approach her so quickly.

“– Are you serious!”

“Yeah. You know that our team has advanced to the promotion tournament for the Deloy Wide League, right?”

“– Yes. I know. So I keep watching the games and cheering for you.”

After crossing his legs, Bum-suk stared intently at the screen.

“If we win the game in three days and confirm the promotion, I’m thinking of bringing you in.”

“– R-really? Then, if we don’t advance to the Wide League, will it be postponed?”

Bum-suk shook his head lightly. Even if they didn’t advance to the Wide League, he was planning to bring Jeremiah in. If she was included in the current squad, winning the Area League next year would be a sure thing.

“Did it sound like that? I’m thinking of bringing you in even if we don’t advance to the Wide League. Of course, the price has to be right.”

Jeremiah sighed in relief. If she had a master, she wouldn’t mind waiting a few years, but she wanted to follow Bum-suk as soon as possible.

“– Bum-suk. I will do my best to serve you.”

“Hehe. Okay. By the way, what’s your price these days?”

“– My current price? I recently found out it’s about 140 million Krang [currency in this world].”

When she was with the Dark Hyenas, Jeremiah’s original price was 410 million Krang. This was halved when she transferred to the Golden Lions due to the drug scandal, and after a year of acting out in a way that would upset the team’s staff, it was lowered to 140 million Krang.

She played in 11 games last year, and in each game, she put the team in crisis by showing erratic behavior, making her a nuisance to the Golden Lions. In addition, she had no kill points and 29 death points, so she was internally judged to be past her prime.

“Your price has dropped quite a bit. You’ve been through a lot.”

“– Then, can I be purchased this summer?”

Bum-suk smiled broadly and nodded. It seemed like he could afford to recruit her at that price.

“Yeah. I’m a little short on funds, but if I get a loan from the bank or include the sales proceeds from next year’s season tickets, I think it’ll be just about right.”

At those words, Jeremiah was so excited that her cheeks flushed, and she bowed deeply. The time to serve her master was just around the corner.

“– Bum-suk. Thank you so much. If you recruit me, I will work hard for the God Knights.”

“Okay. Then, there’s not much time left, so always be careful with your actions. I’ll contact you again before the recruitment, so always be waiting.”

“– Yes. I understand.”

“Then, I’ll hang up now. Goodbye.”

Bum-suk, who saw Jeremiah bowing deeply on the screen, hung up the phone. He wanted to talk more, but he had to avoid talking to her for too long if possible.

He soon went back into the Colosseum and found the audience seats where his teammates were gathered.

“Master. Where have you been?”

Bum-suk, who sat next to Diana, looked around and said.

“Hmm. With Jeremiah for a while. I’m going to recruit her this season.”

Her face was filled with excitement. When she was active in amateur leagues, she had faced Jeremiah, so she knew her strength well.

One of the biggest problems with the current God Knights is that, unlike the vanguard with Rapine and Oscar, there are no outstanding gladiators in the mid-tier where 5-6 gladiators are deployed, except for Bum-suk and Erica. In addition, he often plays free-roll depending on the situation, so he often has to rely on Erica alone. Fortunately, Zelsomina has recently joined, but she has poor positional understanding despite her excellent swordsmanship skills, so it is difficult to use her right away.

“Really?”

“Yeah, I decided to go all-in this time.”

“You made a good decision. If she joins, the worries about the mid-tier will be greatly reduced.”

“Maybe so.”

Diana immediately darkened her face and said.

“But I’m also very worried about the vanguard. Unlike the mid-tier, there are outstanding gladiators such as Oscar and Rapine, but if all the loaned gladiators return to the Dragon Knights, there will be too few resources. Besides them, the only people who can take charge of the vanguard are Master and Matilda. And Matilda also has a strong tendency to be in the mid-tier, so she needs to be professionally trained this summer.”

“Well. That’s right.”

“And the rear is also a problem. Currently, there are no useful players in the rear except for Erpina, Venus, Agelia, Silvia, and Polia, and among them, Polia is old and will have to retire as soon as this season ends, so I think it is necessary to urgently replenish one person.”

Bum-suk scratched his head as if he was in trouble. The mid-tier is weak in terms of power. The vanguard is short in number. In addition, if the rear also needs to replenish gladiators urgently, it means that the entire team is faltering. In this situation, it was doubtful whether it was a miracle that the God Knights had reached the 3rd and 4th place match of the promotion tournament.

“Diana. Do we not have any abundant positions at all?”

“No. Only the free-roll is very abundant. Including Master, Zelsomina, and Rapine. I’m really worried about who to send out for the free-roll.”

“Hahaha. That’s a relief.”

Bum-suk is smiling, but he is not really smiling. The free-roll is a position with a lot of volatility that can or cannot be operated strategically. There are only too many resources in this area, so it was not comforting. However, the characteristic of those who perform the free-roll is that they have excellent individual abilities. It meant that the team’s level had improved that much, so it was a relief in a way.

He put aside his worries for a while and tried to focus on today’s game. He looked at the clock on the electronic display and the empty stadium, then tilted his head.

“What? Isn’t it time for the second round to be in full swing? It seems like about 5 minutes have passed, but why hasn’t the game started yet? Was there an accident?”

Diana answered with a serious face.

“The second round has already ended with Chaplin Whisper’s victory.”

Bum-suk, surprised, moved his lips.

“What are you talking about? The game wasn’t going on even when I came back into the stadium. Then, it means it ended right after it started? No matter how strong Chaplin Whisper is, that can’t be. The reason why the Black Cats were so absurdly defeated in the first round was because they were hit by an unexpected blow.”

“Yes. That’s right. But, the fact that the Black Cats can never beat Chaplin Whisper in this game remains unchanged. And Coach Lobs, who is experienced, can’t not know this.”

“So?”

“The Black Cats formed a team with a large number of substitutes in the second round and sent them out. And they were unilaterally defeated to the point where it was obvious, and the round ended a little over a minute.”

Bum-suk gripped the armrest of the chair tightly.

“Don’t tell me?”

“Yes. It seems that Coach Lobs has given up on this game. He’s probably trying to save his stamina by ending the game early and then aiming for promotion through the final battle with us.”

He gritted his teeth and looked at Diana.

“In the end. It means that the reward for giving up the semi-final has been halved.”

“Yes. That’s right. But, you don’t have to be disappointed. It’s not like we don’t have any gains at all.”

“Gain? What gain do we have?”

“It was broadcast on TV when Master wasn’t here, but the gladiator who was injured in the first round severely injured his wrist and can’t participate in the remaining games.”

Bum-suk, who was about to smirk, put on a nonchalant expression again. The gladiator who was injured in the first round was one of the top five strongest players in the Black Cats team, so if he was out, the prospects for the 3rd and 4th place match would be greatly brightened, but he felt uneasy for some reason.

“Is it a fracture? Is it a dislocation? Or is it a sprain?”

“Well. I don’t know because they didn’t reveal the details.”

“Then, make a strategy under the assumption that the injured gladiator will participate normally.”

“But why?”

“It’s simple. Coach Lobs is a schemer who doesn’t care about means and methods for the sake of his goals, and he’s also a veteran who has gone through a lot of hardships. He probably saw the situation in the early stages of the first round where his team was unilaterally pushed back, and he immediately judged that this game would not work. And he would have come up with various strategies in his head to prepare for the next game with us. For example, he would have one of the gladiators who is in a state of incapacitation pretend to be injured, intending to confuse our response strategy.”

Diana shook her hand as if it didn’t make sense.

“Oh, come on. No way.”

“I wish that were the case, but it might not be. Think about the fact that there was a certain time gap between the time the injury occurred in the first round and the time the medical staff went to the stadium.”

Diana nodded as if she agreed. When the injury occurred due to the whip attack earlier, the Black Cats’ medical staff did not come out immediately. The time they appeared on the field was when about half of the team members were incapacitated. No matter how unilaterally pushed back the situation was and how confused they were, it was a bit late.

“Now that I think about it, it’s not impossible. Yes. I understand. I’ll make a strategy under the assumption that the Black Cats team’s starting lineup is perfectly formed and will participate.”

“Okay. I’m asking.”

While Bum-suk and Diana were having an in-depth conversation, the third round began. The Black Cats were playing the game again by forming a team with substitute resources and putting the starters in the empty spots. He, who had secretly hoped for a fierce battle, got up from his seat with all his teammates, as if there was no need to watch anymore. Bum-suk came to this Colosseum today to grasp the power of the opponent in the 3rd and 4th place match, not to watch a corpse play.

And before he even reached the stand entrance hall, he confirmed that the game was over and frowned.

‘Black Cats. I’ll definitely beat you up!’