Perfect World [EN]: Chapter 207

209

“I guess so. Amelie is definitely hiding a trump card.”

“Yes. Seeing that Amelie isn’t giving it her all right now, I think it’s too early to consider Gladiator Oh Bumseok as her equal.”

The commentator shook his head, disagreeing.

“Well, it seems to me that Gladiator Oh Bumseok isn’t giving his all either.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Right now, Gladiator Oh Bumseok’s swordsmanship doesn’t have the fierce power it used to. One of the characteristics of his play is that his performance fluctuates a lot. Usually, he fights his opponents with mediocre power and speed, but in critical situations, he shows powerful movements that make you feel like his physical abilities suddenly increase. Considering this, I don’t think it’s time to jump to conclusions yet.”

The commentator was referring to Bumseok’s trait, ‘Great Will.’ He wasn’t using the trait right now, and the reason was for a delayed attack. Even though there was only a 10% difference in speed, it was difficult for the opponent to easily respond to the rapidly changing sword speed. Bumseok was planning to launch a counterattack at Amelie’s face when the opportunity arose.

“Is that so? This is interesting. To have *yoyu* [余裕 – Japanese for composure or余裕] in front of the legendary Gladiator Amelie. This makes me look forward to a one-on-one match that might happen.”

“Yes. I also hope to see a one-on-one battle between the two gladiators. Their fight isn’t as exciting in a team-versus-team match.”

The commentator frowned and looked at the arena where the battle was in full swing. Right now, the God Knights had only Bumseok, Lapine, Jelsomina, and Hoomi left, and everyone else was knocked down on the floor. Thanks to this, some of the Chaplin Whisper’s gladiators, who had extra members, were joining the battle between Bumseok and Amelie.

‘Damn it, this is driving me crazy! How can I deal with two more along with Amelie!’

The ones pressuring Bumseok from behind were Kaneloa and Ionis. Both were outstanding gladiators at the World Leaguer and Central Leaguer level, respectively, so Bumseok was being pushed back unilaterally and had to swing his sword frantically. It was fortunate that Amelie was holding back on her attacks, perhaps because her pride was hurt; otherwise, he would have kissed the floor a long time ago.

“Yaat!”

The tip of Ionis’s spear, which had been sweeping the ground, rose sharply as it reached Bumseok, creating a cloud of dust. He tried to step back quickly, but Kaneloa’s sword, slashing horizontally, was flying towards the back of his head. It was embarrassing, but he was barely able to escape their attacks after throwing himself to the left and rolling on the floor.

Clang. Swish. Clang.

“Ah, damn it! This is driving me crazy! Cut it out!”

Another gladiator from Chaplin Whisper joined the fight. This time, it was Hiyas, who used Variable Swordsmanship. Now that Bumseok had to fight against four opponents, he started to move. He couldn’t face all of them in one place, so he needed to disperse their power through quick changes in position.

Amelie’s eyes shook violently as she watched Bumseok’s crisis.

‘I should end it here. There’s no point in continuing this fight.’

As if determined, she gripped the whip handle tightly. She was secretly displeased with the sight of many attacking one. Of course, this kind of thing happened frequently in gladiator matches, but the situation was a bit different now. The audience was now gauging the superiority of her and Bumseok’s skills, so even if four people attacked and knocked him down, they wouldn’t be convinced. And if the match ended like this, there could be an absurd situation in the media where she and he were placed on the same level. It seemed better to end this round early and ask the coach to arrange a one-on-one match.

She soon shrugged her right shoulder, raising the whip high into the sky. Then, she quickly flicked her hand and sent the whip tip towards Bumseok with a strong rotational motion.

Whiriririk.

Bumseok’s eyes widened at the swirling of the whip that stirred the air. It looked like a writhing snake, so he had no idea where it was aiming. Inevitably, he immediately threw himself to avoid the trajectory of the whip. However, the whip tip seemed to have eyes, changing direction and turning towards Bumseok, who was sitting down.

“Damn it. Fine! Let’s do it!”

He quickly got up and took out a spare katana, holding two swords. Then, he deflected the whip tip, which had reached close, with the sword in his right hand, and quickly rotated the sword in his left hand, stabbing it into the air between his torso. As the whip wrapped around the sword, he spun his body, moved sideways as if sliding, and pulled out the sword again. If he stayed like this, he could be caught in the whip and have his sword taken away.

The sound of a bang and the gravel scattering in all directions struck Bumseok’s suit countless times. It was because Amelie’s whip tip had collided with the ground right in front of him. Bumseok looked at her with fearful eyes. He had safely avoided the crisis, but he hadn’t completely blocked it. If this kind of attack continued countless times, even he wouldn’t be able to endure it for long.

“W-what is this? This is no joke?”

Amelie was shocked by those words. The technique she had just used was the Tornado Snake, her strongest ultimate skill that had led her to her prime in the past. Although it was cast with one hand, so its power was somewhat reduced, she couldn’t believe that he had blocked it without knowing anything about it. At the time, it had taken competing World League teams three months to figure out this technique and block it for the first time.

She stared at Bumseok with astonished eyes.

“Do you really not know this technique?”

“I wouldn’t be asking if I knew.”

Amelie’s eyes narrowed fiercely. The Tornado Snake was a widely known technique, and if you looked into the past a little, you could have figured it out. In other words, he meant that he had come to this place without doing any research on her at all.

Amelie, who felt thoroughly ignored, stopped Hiyas, who was about to approach Bumseok, and said in an angry voice.

“You’re amazing. To not even consider this Amelie important.”

“It’s not like that. I quite acknowledge you.”

“Then why don’t you know the Tornado Snake technique? This technique was my ultimate skill that made gladiators all over the world tremble in fear during my prime. If you were preparing for a one-on-one match with me, shouldn’t you have definitely figured it out?”

Bumseok scratched his head and said.

“Oh, really? Sorry. I didn’t really feel the need to. I absolutely don’t believe that there is anyone in this world who can surpass me technically. So, I can say that figuring out the opponent’s technique in advance is disrespectful to myself.”

He was reaching the height of arrogance. He had thoroughly analyzed and prepared for today by watching him compete, but the person in question hadn’t investigated him at all. Amelie, who was furious, crossed the whips in both hands and slammed them down on the floor. She wouldn’t be able to relieve this boiling anger unless she flew the whip tip at his face.

“Be prepared. From now on, it will be completely different from what it has been!”

“Good. I’ll look forward to it.”

Bumseok, with a very nervous look, crossed his two swords and prepared for her attack. However, this atmosphere, which had reached its peak, was absurdly subsided. Erpina, the leader, had been attacked by the Chaplin Whisper gladiators and had fallen into a state of incapacitation. Soon, a long whistle signaling the end of the match was heard in the arena, and Bumseok, who sighed in disappointment, had to put the katana in his hand back into its scabbard.

“Amelie. It seems we’ll have to fight next time.”

“You’re lucky. Your humiliating defeat has been postponed until next time.”

“We’ll have to fight to see who gets humiliated. Hehehe.”

Bumseok, who whispered softly, brushed past Amelie and approached Remy, who was lying incapacitated in the distance. He had something urgent to ask her about the Tornado Snake technique he had just witnessed. In fact, Remy’s contribution was very significant in being able to safely block this technique without knowing anything about it.

He approached Remy, who was getting up as the pressure was released, and said quietly.

“Remy. Your ultimate skill is the Snake Sword, right?”

Remy, who brushed the dirt off her suit, nodded.

“Yes. But why are you asking that?”

“It’s nothing much, but your ultimate skill and Amelie’s Tornado Snake are very similar.”

She glanced at Amelie’s back as she returned to her dugout and said.

“Yes. That’s probably right. It’s a technique created by imitating her Tornado Snake.”

Bumseok smiled brightly. If he had imitated the techniques of different weapons and thoroughly made them his own, it meant that he had a high understanding of the Tornado Snake.

“Hoo. Really? Do you know anything about the characteristics of the Tornado Snake? Like its strengths, weaknesses, or unique movements?”

Remy, who pondered for a while, said.

“The Tornado Snake involves changes in the snapping phenomenon using the shoulder, wrist, and fingers. So, it’s very difficult to predict which direction it will attack from. If you try to block it by looking at the end of the whip, you’ll never be able to block it.”

“Then where should I look?”

“You have to watch Amelia’s actions. The Tornado Snake causes big changes using the shoulder and wrist, and small changes occur through the wrist and fingers, but there is a certain pattern.”

“What pattern?”

When Bumseok shot a curious look, she immediately replied.

“Actually, there’s not really a pattern. It’s the same with all weapons, but to strike the whip down, you have to swing your shoulder from top to bottom, and to strike it up, you have to swing it from bottom to top, right? And to move to the right, your wrist has to turn from left to right, and to go to the left, the opposite has to happen.”

“Hmm. I guess so.”

“So, if you only look at the shoulder and wrist, you can guess when the big changes will occur.”

Bumseok nodded. No matter how great the technique, it couldn’t deviate from the basic laws, so if you were only faithful to the basics, you could block it.

“I see. How do I block the small changes?”

“Small changes occur from the wrist and finger’s snap phenomenon, so it’s difficult to react by looking at it. But, it’s literally a small change. If you carefully examine her match scenes and adapt to the changes by fighting her several times, you can definitely block it. For reference, no one could face the Tornado Snake right after it came out, but eventually, after three months, it was blocked by an elf gladiator who was a rival in the league.”

A dark shadow was etched on his face. It was because he didn’t have that much time now. There were a total of 4 rounds left. He would have to face Amelie again at least once during these rounds.

“This is a big problem. I might have to fight her again in the 2nd or 3rd round… This time, she will definitely use the Tornado Snake from the beginning.”

Remy waved her hand as if there was no need to worry.

“But, Master has always witnessed my Snake Sword. No, you easily broke it when we first met. The changes in the Snake Sword are very small, but it moves on a similar principle to the Tornado Snake as it is applied to swordsmanship by imitation.”

Bumseok rolled his eyes and then wore a bright expression. He had always watched Remy’s Snake Sword, and he had even tried to learn it for fun. If he made it more flexible and unpredictable in line with the movements of the whip, he might be able to block Amelie’s ultimate skill.

Feeling much more at ease, he patted Remy on the back and moved towards the dugout. It could be said that a countermeasure against the Tornado Snake had now been prepared.

“One-on-one! One-on-one!”

“Director Vincent! You promised! Implement the one-on-one match quickly!”

The one-on-one match request, which started from the God Knights’ supporters, quickly spread to the entire audience. The disappointment of the foreign fans was immense because the fierce battle between Bumseok and Amelie in the first round ended so anticlimactically. Based on the content of the match that had just taken place, there was no way to gauge who was superior at all.

‘Hehehe. Director Vincent. Now you have to set the stage.’

Bumseok, who was sitting on the bench and listening to the cheers filling the Lima City Colosseum, drew a very thick smile on his lips that was noticeable. Because the fans wanted the one-on-one match so eagerly, it was judged that Director Vincent could no longer help it.

Now, all he had to do was lie down under the persimmon tree with his mouth open and taste the falling persimmons [a Korean idiom meaning to wait passively for good fortune].

‘Come on, Amelia. Let’s have another serious fight. I won’t end it as easily as before this time.’

The reason why Bumseok was so eager to fight Amelie was very simple. If he could make her, who was even known as the legend of the gladiator world, kneel before him, the modifier of being the strongest in the world would be attached to him, and at the same time, his fame would rise endlessly. Then, naturally, the number of fans who came to see him would increase, and the team’s income would increase rapidly. And that abundant fund would greatly contribute to the recruitment of gladiators and greatly help the rapid growth of the God Knights team.

In other words, defeating Amelie was the driving force behind the team’s development.

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

I think I’ll be very busy today and tomorrow. I thought I could write comfortably after the end of the year, but the surroundings don’t help. Hahaha.

Then, everyone have a nice day. I’ll step back now.