Perfect World [EN]: Chapter 254

It was the heart of winter. The mountain where the Gods Knights training camp was located had transformed into a white snowfield from the snow that had fallen a few days prior. Beomseok, facing the winter vacation season, chose to remain holed up in the chairman’s office rather than curl up at home. The winter vacation season meant the winter transfer market. Imori and Lazela, whom he had borrowed from Vice Chairman Louis, had returned, so it was necessary to recruit one or two gladiators to supplement the team’s squad.

‘What to do? Who to choose?’

Sitting at his desk, Beomseok skimmed through a few documents with a deeply troubled expression. These were the gladiators on the recruitment list, but he had no idea who to choose. The players with good growth potential and low prices lacked skill, while those with excellent growth potential and skill were ridiculously expensive.

Beomseok initially dismissed the less skilled players. His ambition was to pass this year’s promotion tournament and advance to the Central League next season. Given the situation, he couldn’t bring in promising rookies with an eye to the future. It was better to hand these players over to Lexter and use them as leverage with internal personnel in the Federal Police Agency. Recently, the Inspector had been gaining the trust of high-ranking officials based on the list of promising players Beomseok had given him. Since only information was exchanged without any monetary transactions, there was no fear of getting caught, and the high-ranking official could recruit gladiators who earned huge salaries. There was no safer or better win-win situation than this.

‘Then it narrows down to two.’

The gladiators listed on the two documents were all promising players reaching the Central League level. 310 million krang [currency unit in this world] and 380 million krang each. They were so expensive that he couldn’t recruit them without taking out a bank loan. However, for the sake of the next season, he had no choice but to bring in one of them.

Beomseok tapped the electronic documents with his finger, feeling troubled. Now that Imori and Lazela had left the team, the vanguard, mid-tier, and rearguard were all weakened. This was because Imori had the potential for vanguard and mid-tier, and Lazela had the potential for mid-tier and rearguard. The problem was that all the newly recruited gladiators were specialized in only one position, so there were bound to be significant gaps in one or two areas.

‘Wow. I really can’t come up with a solution. Who should I bring in?’

Before he knew it, Beomseok’s gaze turned to the electronic documents on the bookshelf. It was the document containing the report on Nikita. She was the gladiator the Gods Knights needed most right now. She could handle all positions from vanguard to rearguard, and she could supplement the shield and spear that the Gods Knights lacked. Her professional experience was also appropriate, making her very useful to the promising team, the Gods Knights.

However, she had several major problems.

First, as a World League gladiator, her price was quite high. It was a bit difficult for the current Gods Knights to recruit a gladiator costing over 500 million krang. In fact, with the money to recruit her, it would be better to add a little more and bring in the two promising players he was currently interested in. They were all somewhat complete gladiators, and if they played in the Central League for just two or three years, they could develop the ability to perform in the World League.

Second, her game management was too consistent. It could be evaluated as good because she always performed as much as desired, but it also meant that she didn’t have a special skill that increased her stats in specific situations, so he hesitated to recruit her.

Third, her individual performance was too poor. Nikita played a total of 23 rounds in the first half of the year, recording only 6 kills and 5 deaths. If she were a commander gladiator, it would be a very commendable record, but unfortunately, she was a vanguard. A vanguard with a much higher survival rate than a commander gladiator was unheard of.

‘Hmm. Still, Diana desperately wants this kid.’

In fact, the person whose opinion should be most respected when recruiting a gladiator was the coach. Since they directly lead the gladiator team, they know the gladiator most needed by the team. However, Beomseok had only selected recruitment targets according to his own wishes. He was a gladiator himself, so he knew the team’s situation well, and Diana hadn’t said much about it.

However, this time Diana expressed her opinion for the first time. Naturally, Beomseok couldn’t help but worry.

He took out Nikita’s file and examined the contents.

‘Well, if her potential ability is in the mid-900s, it’s not bad.’

Nikita was 16 years old with 13 years of professional experience. Her potential ability was in the mid-900s, but development was almost complete, so it was difficult to expect a significant increase in stats.

“What to do? This is ambiguous.”

Just as Beomseok was expressing his difficult feelings to himself, someone was knocking on the chairman’s office door.

He answered in a loud voice.

“Come in!”

The door opened and Esther entered. She had a somewhat troubled look on her face, and as soon as she saw Beomseok, she approached him and said.

“Chairman. Something embarrassing has happened.”

“Embarrassing? What is it?”

“Well, the chairman of the Gods Knights fan club has come to request a meeting with you.”

The chairman of the Gods Knights fan club was Jacob, an ordinary company employee in his 40s. However, one unique thing was that his workplace was Rainbow Group. When the Gods Knights first rose to the professional level, Gloria had him form a fan club. Thanks to this, the Gods Knights team had been getting along well with the fan club, which was made up of radical Lima City fans. This was because Jacob was doing a good job of mediating in the middle.

“Really? For what reason?”

“Perhaps he has something to suggest regarding team management.”

Beomseok frowned. He wasn’t too happy about the fan club’s interference in team management, which hadn’t happened until now. But he couldn’t just send them back because he felt bad. Once the relationship with the fan club was broken, several troublesome problems would arise.

“Okay. Tell him to come in.”

Esther went outside and soon brought in a blonde man as if guiding him. It was Jacob. Beomseok sat him down on the reception sofa and told Esther to have the staff prepare refreshments.

Beomseok quietly looked at Jacob and said.

“So, what brings you here, Chairman?”

“Actually, there have been complaints from the fan club recently, so I came to make a few suggestions.”

Beomseok, who had clasped his fingers together, tilted his head. There was nothing for the fan club to complain about right now. The Gods Knights were in first place in the mid-season standings, and no gladiators belonging to the team were causing trouble.

“Complaints from the fan club? I don’t understand. As you know, the Gods Knights are currently in first place in the league. And there are no gladiators causing trouble with the fans. What’s the problem?”

“It’s the chairman’s misappropriation of team funds.”

“Misappropriation of team funds? By me?”

“Yes. That’s right.”

Jacob, who nodded slowly, continued his explanation. Beomseok had recently transferred a significant amount of the team’s funds to the outside. This was to prevent the Rainbow Group from being forcibly merged by the Black Society. At this time, the funds taken out of the team were approximately 1.1 billion krang. The fans believed that he was blinded by his own personal gain and had personally misappropriated a large amount of team funds.

Although it was all true, Beomseok felt that something was wrong. The incident at the time was made known to the outside through the LKS broadcasting program, but it did not include the exact details of the funds. But he couldn’t understand how the fan club knew that 1.1 billion had been misappropriated.

“Really? But how do they believe that I misappropriated 1.1 billion krang?”

“Some fan club members had access to the Gods Knights’ bank transaction history. They saw the details and found out that 1.1 billion krang had flowed into LHN Bank and had not returned.”

Beomseok, who had a rough idea, sighed deeply. There was no way that an ordinary individual would have access to the Gods Knights’ bank transaction history. It seemed clear that someone among the people he was hostile to had played a petty trick.

‘Tsk. So you’re going to do it this way, huh.’

But he was annoyed because he couldn’t pinpoint who it was. The Black Society was very likely, but the Economic Association was not very trustworthy either. For now, it was better to grit his teeth and solve the current problem. He couldn’t recklessly attack both camps without knowing the culprit.

Beomseok, who took a sip of the coffee that the staff had brought, turned his gaze to Jacob.

“Let’s say it’s true, what’s the big deal? The Gods Knights is not a corporation but my personal company. As long as I pay my taxes diligently, there’s no problem with how I use the funds.”

“Yes. I know that too. But the problem is that the fans don’t understand at all. They think the Gods Knights team is their team.”

Indeed, if you were to name the most demanding consumers in a capitalist society, it would be sports fans. They believe that the team belongs to them because they bought tickets. So, if the management makes a mistake in running the team, they often pour out excessive criticism.

However, it wasn’t all bad for the team’s management. If they used the psychology of these fans well, they could earn huge revenues. Humans never spare their affection for their own possessions.

“Well. I guess so. But there’s one thing the fan club should know. I have never received a salary while playing for the Gods Knights. And I don’t intend to receive one in the future. Frankly speaking, do you know how much I would receive if I left the Gods Knights and went to another World League team?”

Right now, World League teams regarded Beomseok as one of the few options to compete against Amelie. Naturally, they were tempting him by offering salaries amounting to hundreds of millions of krang.

Jacob nodded as if he understood.

“Yes. I know that too. But the other fan club members are too reckless, so it’s difficult for me. They don’t try to understand that you are dedicated to the team. Right now, the only thing the fan club members see is the missing 1.1 billion.”

“Is that so? I’m disappointed, but I can’t help it. Humans are selfish animals. So, what do you want me to do?”

“Well. The best way is to bring the 1.1 billion krang back into the team.”

Beomseok, who crunched on the refreshments, stared at him. Jacob was an employee of the Rainbow Group, so there was no way he wouldn’t know the current situation.

“You know that’s a bit difficult. To get the 1.1 billion krang back, I’d have to sell a significant portion of Rainbow Group’s stock. Then the same M&A [mergers and acquisitions] situation as before might happen again.”

“Yes. I know. But since there’s a little leeway, isn’t it possible to sell some stock? If you create an event that fans would be excited about based on that money, I can smooth over this situation.”

Currently, Ilsimhoe’s stake in Rainbow Group was approximately 53.5%. Selling some would not significantly affect the control of management rights. The problem was what kind of event to prepare. It wasn’t easy to create an event that would smooth over 1.1 billion krang.

“Well. Then what kind of event would be good?”

Jacob answered without any hesitation.

“I think it would be resolved if you brought in a famous gladiator. Then I can use that as an excuse to persuade the fan club.”

“Would that be possible?”

“Yes. Of course. It can be easily resolved.”

Jacob’s way to persuade the fan club was this. Beomseok was already planning to recruit an excellent gladiator to grow the Gods Knights. And the reason he turned 1.1 billion krang to the outside was simply because he had no choice but to help a close acquaintance, and if things got better starting this time, he planned to gradually return the funds to the team.

“If you explain the contents that Beomseok explained a little while ago step by step, they will understand. They will be full of expectations for the newly recruited gladiator, so their minds will be broadened.”

“I guess so.”

Beomseok nodded. People tend to overlook most things when they are in a good mood. So, when he was in school, he always checked his parents’ mood before showing them his report card.

Beomseok, who was lost in thought for a moment, soon went to his desk, brought a document, and spread it out in front of the reception table. It was the data on Nikita. Although he wasn’t very happy with it, the team’s situation was like that, and Diana wanted it, and it was a good card to smooth over this situation, so he decided to recruit her even if it was a bit of a stretch.

“How is it? She’s the player we’re secretly planning to recruit in this winter transfer market.”

Jacob, who picked up the document, widened his eyes. Nikita of Menex Odinz was a gladiator who was treated as a starter in the World League. It was unbelievable that a Wide League team would recruit an active World Leaguer.

“Are you really planning to recruit Nikita?”

“Yes. She’s helpful to our team in many ways. She can fill the lacking vanguard and rearguard, and we can prepare for the promotion tournament and the Central League next year, which may or may not happen.”

Jacob immediately decided to end all discussions. The frozen hearts of the fan club members would melt away at once with just the name card of an active World Leaguer. Perhaps as soon as he told them this, they would be so excited that they would have sleepless nights.

“Okay. Then leave the rest to me.”

“Yes. Instead, when you explain to the fan club, don’t mention Menex Odinz and Nikita. If it becomes known to the media, I will have no choice but to cancel this trade.”

Jacob, who knew the situation very well, nodded and stood up from his seat.

“Don’t worry. There are no Gods Knights fan club members who don’t know that fact.”

“Thank you. Then please take care of it.”

Beomseok, who also stood up, shook hands with him. Jacob was helping the Gods Knights as the head of the fan club, so it was necessary to be polite. Beomseok went to the parking lot to see him off.

============================ Author’s Note ============================

Ha ha ha. I’m late. I just got here. I’m sorry.

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