Perfect World [EN]: Chapter 278

“Hello, viewers. This is Karen. Today is the final match of the promotion tournament between Gods Knights and Fly Wolves. Aren’t you all curious about what the outcome will be? Let’s enjoy watching it together today.”

Watching Karen, who was holding a microphone and acting cute while commentating, Bum-suk wore a surprised expression. She wasn’t just spouting stiff lines like an announcer; she was heightening the atmosphere of the match with her excellent speaking skills. Moreover, she was improvising without a script. As expected of a woman whose talent stat was maxed out, she had considerable entertainment skills.

Karen suddenly looked at him.

“We have Gladiator Oh Bum-suk here today, who you all know well. He’s a very difficult person to invite, but I was lucky enough to meet him in the cafeteria and drag him here. Please welcome him with applause.”

Then, the extras dressed in cheering uniforms sent out enthusiastic applause. Feeling awkward, Bum-suk looked at the camera with the red light on and nodded lightly in greeting.

“Hello? I’m Gladiator Oh Bum-suk, who was dragged here unexpectedly. I’m here to explain the match situation to you in detail today. I ask for your support.”

“So, Bum-suk, which team do you think will win today?”

Bum-suk, who let out a long, dry cough, answered.

“I am certain that the Gods Knights team will win.”

“Why is that?”

He stared blankly at Karen and said.

“Karen, do you think I would say that the Gods Knights team will lose?”

Karen, recalling the relationship between Bum-suk and the Gods Knights, smiled brightly.

“Hehehe. I guess so. It seems like this will be a very biased broadcast today. I wonder if it’ll be okay.”

“It doesn’t matter. It’s up to LKS Broadcasting, who hired me, to handle it.”

Whether it was because Natalie gave a signal or because it was genuinely funny, laughter burst out from the extras.

“It seems like LKS Broadcasting made a mistake.”

“Well, not really. LKS Broadcasting is a broadcasting station in Lima City, so it’s okay if it’s a bit biased.”

“Hehehe. I guess so. By the way, Bum-suk, what kind of game do you think both teams will play today?”

“Well, first, we need to see the results of the 3rd and 4th place match between Forest Oaks and Poison Teeth, who are aiming to advance to the World League.”

“Why is that?”

“Because the will to perform in the match between Fly Wolves and Gods Knights will change depending on who wins that match. If Forest Oaks wins, both teams will have their promotion decided immediately, so they won’t show an active performance in today’s match. If Poison Teeth wins, one of the two teams will be eliminated, so they will approach the match with an active attitude. Of course, the strategy will inevitably change.”

“Oh, I see. Then we need to find out the results of the 3rd and 4th place match of the World League promotion tournament first.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Natalie displayed a live broadcast screen of the World League promotion tournament 3rd and 4th place match. Currently, Forest Oaks was taking a break with 1 win and 1 draw in the Ride score. It was such pleasant news that Bum-suk’s mouth was drawing a noticeable line.

He hurriedly put this news in a mail note and sent it to Diana. It was because there was a need to urgently change the strategy. Originally, the Gods Knights would have adopted an unconventional strategy of sending out their second string in the first round.

Karen explained all the match situations in detail and then turned her eyes to Bum-suk.

“Bum-suk, with these results, what kind of strategic cards do you think both teams will pull out?”

“I think Fly Wolves will avoid an aggressive match.”

“Why is that? Do you think they don’t need to fight because they have a high chance of being automatically promoted?”

Bum-suk shook his head. It was difficult to discuss the direction of the match with the results up to the second round.

“It’s not necessarily that. I think they want to conserve their stamina more.”

“Why?”

“Actually, although Fly Wolves’ strength is greater than Gods Knights, there is one area where they are lacking: the physical aspect. So, if they fight with all their might from now on, there is a high possibility that they will be hit hard by Gods Knights in the second half. In addition, Forest Oaks is occupying a favorable position for promotion right now. Therefore, the Fly Wolves gladiators will be less inclined to feel that they *must* win, so the Fly Wolves coach will try to prevent the decrease in stamina in the second half by playing a somewhat passive game rather than an attack that involves risk, in order to increase the probability of promotion.”

“Ah, is that so? What if Forest Oaks loses then?”

“At that time, the affiliated gladiators will be on their toes, so they will attack Gods Knights based on the stamina they have saved up.”

It was a somewhat understandable explanation. If an attack was carried out by affiliated gladiators with a lack of will to win, there was a risk of being put in a crisis due to disharmony among colleagues. Rather, it was much better to preserve stamina with a draw strategy now and eliminate the anxiety factors that would appear in the second half of the game.

“But if Gods Knights attacks, it’s meaningless, right?”

“Hehe. In any war, the defending side, which is thoroughly prepared, is more advantageous than the attacking side. Gladiator matches are also matches that incorporate ancient wars, so they do not deviate significantly from this definition. The reason why weak teams often play a defensive battle through a defensive formation against strong teams is precisely because of this. But Gods Knights, whose strength is falling, is attacking? Then Fly Wolves will be grateful.”

“I see. But I have a question. If defense is more advantageous, why don’t all professional gladiator teams consistently defend? When you look at strong teams, they try to break through the opponent’s defensive formation, but there’s no need to do that at all.”

Bum-suk smiled and explained the reason.

“Hehe. Well, if both teams consistently defend, the game becomes boring. Then professional gladiator matches will be shunned by fans.”

Karen tilted her head as if she still didn’t understand.

“But if you still watch TV, weak teams still consistently defend. Then isn’t it only the strong teams that lose out?”

“Yes, that’s right. That’s why the Professional Gladiator Association is implementing a promotion and relegation system [a system where teams move between leagues based on performance].”

“Promotion and relegation system? So the promotion and relegation system prevents games that are only defensive?”

“Of course. As Karen also knows, if you get promoted, the team can gain immense wealth and honor. But in order to get promoted, you have to be in the top 1 or 2 in the league at least, and in order to get such a result, you need to score high, so you have to aim for 3 points from a win rather than 1 point from a draw. That’s why strong teams who want to be promoted recruit good gladiators and steadily strengthen their strength. On the other hand, weak teams are swayed by such strong teams and fall into the risk of being relegated because they can’t get points.”

“Oh, the promotion and relegation system had such a deep meaning. Then do you know what happens to sports leagues that don’t adopt the promotion and relegation system?”

It was a very difficult question for someone living here. All sports games in this era adopt the promotion and relegation system, so it is not easy to grasp the harm when there is no such system. But Bum-suk knew very well because he had always watched professional sports games without the promotion and relegation system in reality with pity.

“First, as I said earlier, if you consistently play a defensive game, the game becomes loose, so fans lose interest. Then the entrance revenue, team emblem revenue, and TV broadcasting revenue fall, so the financial condition of the professional teams in the league deteriorates. Second, in the long term, the level of the sports league deteriorates qualitatively.”

“Ah? I know that too. Is it because you can’t make money right away? If you don’t have money, you won’t be able to recruit good players.”

Karen was showing off as if she had a rough idea. But the content that Bum-suk wanted to say was quite different.

“Hmm. There are those aspects, but there are other aspects as well.”

“What is it?”

“That’s because the importance of attackers decreases in a defensive game. Therefore, the overall skill of the attackers stagnates or inevitably declines.”

“But instead, players who focus on defense are treated preferentially, right?”

“That’s true, but in the long run, the skills of players who focus on defense also deteriorate qualitatively.”

Karen tilted her head as if she couldn’t understand.

“Why is that?”

“It’s according to the principle of survival of the fittest. Just as the evolution of herbivores is slow in a natural world without predators, there is no solid defense without a strong attack. In other words, defenders who have experienced weak attackers for a long time naturally lose their skills.”

“Ah, that could be true. I understand. Are there any other harms?”

There were countless, but Bum-suk decided to say only one more thing and end it here. The game was about to start, so he couldn’t just focus on the explanation.

“There are several others, but let me say one more thing last: the possibility that the players in the league will fall into illegal sports gambling increases.”

“Why?”

“It’s simple. Because there is no income due to the alienation of fans, the team cannot give a high salary to the players who belong to it. Then the players whose pockets have become lighter easily fall for the temptation of brokers who encourage illegal sports gambling. Here’s another thing: even if you intentionally make a mistake and lose, the team will not be relegated, so there is no financial loss to the player due to a salary cut due to an option contract or a major damage to a colleague, and there is even moral carelessness, so they are more vulnerable to temptation.”

Karen, who now understood the meaning of the existence of the promotion and relegation system, nodded her head. She thought it was just a system for running the league, but it had a deep meaning in its own way.

“Ah. So that’s why all modern sports games are adopting the promotion and relegation system. There’s no fool who wouldn’t do such a good system.”

Bum-suk scratched his head and muttered softly.

“That’s not true. There are always fools who are content with the comfort of the moment and cannot see the future.”

At that time, Karen quickly got up and looked at the stadium spread out outside the VIP seat window. It was because both teams of gladiators were coming out of the entrance tunnel.

“Ah! It looks like the game is about to start.”

Bum-suk, who slyly turned his head and checked the number on the back of the Gods Knights player, smiled faintly. It was because Diana had sent out the starting gladiator. Now the first round was easily tied. The only case where Fly Wolves would consistently attack was when Gods Knights sent out their second string. The extreme difference in power was bound to ignite the opponent’s will to attack, and they couldn’t help but think about the second round when the main force would come out.

“I see.”

“It seems that the game ahead will be exciting, what do you think?”

Bum-suk replied in a subtle voice.

“Exciting? As I said earlier, this round will be a boring game. Both teams will go on the defensive.”

“R, really? Then it won’t be fun?”

“Hehe. That’s not true.”

“Why not?”

“Because this game is an important game that determines promotion. Both teams will experience heaven and hell to an extent that cannot be compared to league matches, so a nerve-wracking battle of wits will continue endlessly. Fans who have watched gladiator matches to some extent will inevitably feel that energy and be nervous. Don’t you feel it, Karen?”

Karen wore an awkward expression. She wasn’t a fan of gladiator matches, so there was no way she could feel that atmosphere. But now she was on the air, so she had to respond to Bum-suk’s question.

“I see. Somehow, the energy emanating from both teams doesn’t seem to be a joke. I’m sweating in my hands.”

“Hehe. Of course, that’s right.”

Soon, the whistle sounded and the game began. As expected, Bum-suk’s prediction was correct: both teams were in a defensive formation and were just glaring at each other as if checking each other. No, it could be said that they were in a stagnant state with no widening or narrowing of the gap. In response, some spectators shouted loudly to urge them to do their best, but it was buried in the tense silence that hung over the stadium.

Karen looked at Natalie, the responsible producer, and shrugged her shoulders. There was nothing to broadcast, so she had nothing to say. But she didn’t need to worry. Right now, the broadcast screen was being replaced with videos sent by the filming staff who were out in the cheering section of the Gods Knights supporters. Because it was a show-style program, there was a possibility that problems would arise later if only the broadcast screen was sent.

In the meantime, Bum-suk watched the game situation of Forest Oaks.

‘This time, they’re really sticking together.’

Poison Teeth launched an aggressive offensive and pressured Forest Oaks. With one loss, they needed to add one more win to get the game back on track in order to be promoted. But they couldn’t easily break through the enemy camp, which was maintaining its defensive formation and entering a hardening phase. Forest Oaks had to be desperate to protect this one win for promotion.

Karen slyly poked her head out.

“Oppa [an affectionate Korean term for ‘older brother’ used by females], who do you think will win?”

“Well, it’s so close that it’s hard to predict. But as a result, Forest Oaks will be more advantageous.”

“Why?”

“They’re saving their stamina by consistently defending. On the other hand, Poison Teeth is the exact opposite. And Poison Teeth is overdoing it too much. If they do that, they might get hit by an unexpected blow.”

As soon as those words came out, Poison Teeth’s number 7 gladiator, who was boldly digging into the inside of the defensive formation, was hit in the solar plexus by the tip of a spear and slowly stiffened his body. Now in a situation of 12 to 11, the chief gladiator of Poison Teeth had no choice but to issue a retreat order all at once. If they continued to attack in this state, there was a high possibility that they would lose due to numerical inferiority. Rather than adding another loss, it was better to stick to a draw strategy this time and aim for a chance to win in the next round.

In response, Forest Oaks only silently watched the opponent retreat, and did not think of launching an attack based on numerical superiority. It seemed that they didn’t want to overdo it with one win.

In the end, the 3rd round match between Forest Oaks and Poison Teeth ended in a draw. Likewise, the 1st round match between Gods Knights and Fly Wolves also recorded a draw without any particular damage to both teams.

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

Have a nice day everyone. I’ll see you again tomorrow.