Perfect World [EN]: Chapter 208

210

*Ding.*

As the brief notification chimed from his chest, Beom-seok quickly retrieved his electronic notebook and opened it. It was a text message from Director Vincent himself. He checked the content and smiled broadly. It was a single digit, but it conveyed its meaning perfectly.

“Heh heh. ‘3,’ is it? He’s saying we’ll duel in the 3rd round.”

Beom-seok stood up and walked towards Diana.

“Diana, remove my name from the list of participants for the 2nd round.”

She looked back, concerned. With the fans clamoring for it, Director Vincent might decide to hold the duel at any moment. Removing him for even one round could cause the opportunity to vanish.

“Why? There’s a very high chance that the Chaplin Whisper team will request a duel in the 2nd round.”

“No. It’s definitely not the 2nd round.”

“Why not?”

Beom-seok opened his electronic notebook and showed Diana Director Vincent’s message.

“The duel is in the 3rd round.”

“I see. I understand,” Diana said with a knowing smile, removing Beom-seok from the list of participants for the 2nd round. She figured that Director Vincent wouldn’t send such a message without a good reason, so a duel would definitely occur in the 3rd round.

A little later, the list of participants for the 2nd round appeared on the electronic display board. As expected, Chaplin Whisper did not field Amelie in this round.

The 2nd round was undoubtedly a victory for the Chaplin Whisper team. Jeremiah tried his best and took down Landra, but that was it. One kill point wasn’t enough to compensate for the overall defeat.

He looked bitter, his face etched with a gloomy expression. It was an obvious result, so he understood, but it also highlighted the God’s Knights’ weakness, which worried him about the upcoming league matches.

‘I need to improve our guys’ swordsmanship. Relying only on physical strength makes our strategy too predictable.’

When the time came, Beom-seok got up from his seat. He felt the weight of the upcoming duel with Amelie, and his expression showed his tension. He carefully secured his main weapons, the katanas, on both sides of his waist and calmed his mind with deep breaths.

– I’m very curious to see if a duel will take place between Amelie and Gladiator Oh Beom-seok. Both gladiators have entered this round, so it’s a round to look forward to. What do you think, commentator?

The commentator replied immediately.

– No matter how I look at it, it seems like a duel will happen in this round.

– Oh, really? Why is that?

– It’s very simple. Currently, God’s Knights have a record of two losses. If they lose this round, they can no longer continue the matches. In other words, the only option to have a duel is in the 3rd round.

The announcer asked a somewhat naive question.

– But isn’t there a possibility that Director Vincent isn’t considering a duel?

– That’s impossible. As you can see, the fans’ requests for a duel continue to pour in. Director Vincent is a director famous for keeping his promises. He said he would hold a duel if the fans wanted it, so he will definitely keep his promise.

– Ah. Then this round is very exciting. Yes, I understand.

The excitement in the stands rose with the announcer and commentator’s broadcast. A one-on-one match between Beom-seok and Amelie. Just imagining it was thrilling.

The fans sent fervent cheers towards the God’s Knights and Chaplin Whisper teams as they appeared at the entrance.

“Oh Beom-seok! Make sure to crush Amelie’s pride!”

“Amelie! You must protect the pride of the legend!”

Beom-seok and Amelie, waving their hands in response to the audience, faced the central stage and exchanged fierce glances.

Meanwhile, the teammates of both sides took a few steps back, clearing the space for the duel. As the match began, they quickly retreated to the outskirts of the arena and sat down on the bare floor.

‘Hoo. So, you absolutely can’t lose, huh? Good, I’ll look forward to it. I’ll definitely go all the way down and defeat you.’

Beom-seok’s gaze was fixed on Amelie’s waist. Besides the twin whips, there was another sword that seemed to be a transformation sword [a weapon that can change its form]. Having three weapons would normally be a violation of the rules, but it wasn’t a problem since someone could hand over or pick up a weapon the moment they entered the arena. However, he was looking at her with an interesting expression because her foundation was the One Sword, One Life style [a fighting style focused on mastering a single sword]. If he could make her draw that sword and defeat Amelie, he could consider it a perfect victory.

Beom-seok slowly moved, crossing the iron bridge on the left and heading towards the Chaplin Whisper’s area. Then, Amelie smiled faintly and spoke to him.

“You’re really brave to try to duel with me. You don’t actually expect to win, do you?”

“Isn’t it the same for you? You don’t think you’ll lose either, do you?”

“Hoh hoh hoh. That’s a given. I guarantee that you will be the one collapsing in this place today.”

Beom-seok let out a sneer and said.

“Heh heh heh. That’s quite a severe delusion. Most elves are humble, but you don’t seem to be.”

“Being considerate of a clueless rookie isn’t called humility.”

At the blunt reply, he touched the sword at his waist. He felt it was necessary to correct her manners, no matter what.

“Stop the nonsense and start quickly. I don’t have time.”

Amelie glanced at the clock on the electronic display board and replied.

“What? There are still 19 minutes left. That’s enough time to knock you down several times over.”

Beom-seok burst into laughter and drew the katana from his waist. It was the first time he had met an elf who made him so angry. But even if she was an elf, she couldn’t beat him in a war of words.

“Hahaha. I don’t know who your idiotic master is, but they’ve raised an elf with no manners. I can’t find any at all.”

Instantly, Amelie’s face twisted severely, and she gripped the whips in her trembling hands. No elf would tolerate insults against their master.

She bit her lip and shouted.

“How dare you insult our master! You’re going to be severely punished!”

Soon, the twin whips, forming extreme curves and soaring high into the sky, shot towards Beom-seok like venomous cobras. Filled with furious and fierce energy, he quickly retreated, moving out of range. Beom-seok’s strength was too weak to face Amelie head-on.

*Chwaaak! Chwaaak!*

The whip marks were clearly etched in the places they struck. It was clear that getting hit by a proper blow would knock him out. Beom-seok took out another katana with a very nervous look and held it in his empty left hand.

‘She’s definitely furious. Even though it’s just a preliminary, she’s unleashing such powerful attacks.’

Whips originally had a large contact area, making it very difficult to inflict fatal damage without considerable force. Also, due to the long airtime from mid-range, it was possible to block them without difficulty if one adapted to their unique and unpredictable attacks. However, the whipping that Amelie had just unleashed was so fast and powerful that it seemed to ignore these principles, making it difficult to react. The depth of each scar on the floor was significant, and the attacks were being poured out continuously to the point where it was impossible to counterattack, which was enough to understand the danger.

As expected of a legendary gladiator. He completely erased any contempt he might have had in his heart and focused on Amelie’s whip techniques.

*Whiririk! Chwaaak!*

Beom-seok, who was desperately blocking the relentless offensive, found a very small gap in her movements. In the momentary instant when the tip of the whip that had attacked returned and soared into the air, there was a slight delay.

It was a timing that Beom-seok could aim for, and it seemed possible to end the match early if he did well. However, he couldn’t even think about counterattacking. He could feel an even more intense energy from that small gap than any of the whip strikes that had been poured out so far. As a gladiator who had reached the peak of experience, he knew he needed to be careful, as he didn’t know what kind of trap she might have set up and be waiting for him.

‘That fox. She’s creating gaps very cleverly. She’s probably trying to trick me.’

Beom-seok, gritting his teeth, began to time his moves. He was planning to deliberately fall into the trap once. It was a very dangerous thing to do, but he decided to take the risk as it was also an opportunity to gauge her skills. Soon, at the moment when Amelie’s right whip was turning, he penetrated the gap with a quick movement. However, when he saw the extreme undulation from the handle, he quickly pulled his body back. It was a typical feint, and he didn’t need to confirm it until the end. Soon, a powerful whip strike that had never been seen before struck down on the floor in Beom-seok’s path.

“It seems that tricks don’t work.”

Beom-seok nodded his head at Amelie’s softly echoing voice.

“Of course. If I were skilled enough to fall for such tricks, I wouldn’t have dueled with you.”

“I guess so. Well then, now that I’ve warmed up, I’ll show you my true skills. This is the first time I’m showing my full power since my return, so you should be prepared.”

At those words, Beom-seok had an awkward smile on his face. He braced himself for the Tornado Snake [Amelie’s signature move] to come.

He wondered if he could properly endure the powerful attack, even though the general offensive so far had been difficult.

However, he couldn’t show a discouraged appearance. He shouted, infusing his whole body with fighting spirit.

“Good. Come at me as much as you want!”

Amelie added a soft curve to the two whips and lifted them into the air, then twisted her waist to the side as if it would burst. And, as if performing a Samulnori spin [a traditional Korean percussion performance], she unleashed a whip attack on Beom-seok with movements that were so rhythmic that it was impossible to identify.

“Tornadoes Impact!”

It was the moment when her new ultimate move appeared. Beom-seok was speechless as he watched the storm of whips approaching every moment.

Tornado Snakes were being demonstrated in each of her hands, and the huge rotation using her waist was combining these two, causing a new form of extreme change. It felt like watching a spectacle of nature where several bizarre and magnificent tornadoes were merging with each other.

He hurriedly crossed his twin swords and took a defensive stance. Because the two whips were colliding irregularly in the air, sending the whip tips flying at angles completely different from his body movements, he couldn’t predict which direction to block. This meant that the countermeasures for the Tornado Snake mentioned by Raymi were no longer effective, and now he had to face Amelie with only his reflexes.

Locked in the storm of extreme whips, Beom-seok began to struggle against the Tornado Impact, wielding the swords he held close to his body.

– What is this! A new technique that I have never seen before is coming out of Amelie! How can there be a whip technique that causes such a change! I wonder if Gladiator Oh Beom-seok can properly block it!

– Yes. This is beyond expectations! Beyond upgrading the Tornado Snake, it’s fair to say that she has created a completely new technique. As expected, the legend did not just return. Amelie is indeed Amelie.

Unlike the excited broadcasting booth, the atmosphere in the stands was as quiet as a mouse. They were so surprised by Amelie’s advanced new technique that they couldn’t even think of opening their mouths. Although Beom-seok was also thought to be an excellent gladiator, he was just a small boat sailing in a rough storm in front of her.

“T, this, I think we’ve gone too far. To dare to ask Amelie to show us a duel.”

“I know, right. Gladiator Oh Beom-seok is no match at all. I think he’ll soon face an absurd ending.”

However, contrary to expectations, Beom-seok was struggling, but he was somehow enduring. No matter how much his physical condition was inferior and he was in a difficult situation with unfamiliar techniques, he was now focusing all his mind on defense. Because he had experience overcoming numerous crisis situations through many games, he was not easily defeated.

‘Ugh! I have to endure! If I collapse like this, it’s a complete disgrace!’

Beom-seok desperately struggled and barely fended off the countless whip tips that were pouring down. His palms, gripping the swords, were throbbing as if they would explode from the intense whipping, but he never gave up and fought back. He had made so much noise before the duel with Amelie that if he was defeated like this, he would become the most foolish person in the world. He had to show a performance that the fans and Gladiator Association officials could accept.

In the end, he had to use even the last resort. No matter how hungry a farmer is, he doesn’t cook rice with seed grains [a Korean proverb meaning to avoid using one’s last valuable resource], but now he had no choice but to activate ‘Great Will’. If he saved his traits for a counterattack, he would be the one to suffer.

“Great Will!”

At the same time as the shout, all of Beom-seok’s stats soared. Amelie’s offensive was still overwhelming, but the situation had improved somewhat. At least the trembling of the sword, which seemed about to fall off, had been greatly reduced.

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

I took the subway for nearly 4 hours round trip, and my joints are all sore. I think I need to exercise a bit.

Then, everyone, have a pleasant weekend. I’ll see you again next time.