Perfect World [EN]: Chapter 299

301

“So, what am I?”

Zackeed was taken aback by Bum Seok’s question and tried to gloss over it with a general statement.

“You? I don’t know. I think I’ll only know once I face you directly.”

“Heh heh. Then I’ll know in two weeks because that’s when we’ll be fighting.”

“Hmm. I guess so.”

Zackeed poured water from the pitcher into his glass and drank, then looked at Bum Seok and Gelsomina with a subtle gaze. The duel was one thing, but he was really curious about the relationship between these two. Judging from what he had witnessed earlier, Bum Seok and Gelsomina’s relationship seemed to be going beyond a typical friendship.

“By the way, Gelsomina, what’s going on between you and Bum Seok?”

Gelsomina, startled by the words, answered quickly, almost defensively.

“We’re nothing!”

“You’re nothing, but you’re giving each other such passionate kisses?”

“That, that was an accident! I lost my footing and fell, and unfortunately, our lips met.”

“Really? But the kiss lasted for a very long time.”

“I, I was flustered, that’s why. Sometimes when you’re suddenly surprised, you can’t move your body. That’s what happened to us.”

Zackeed, still looking unconvinced, glanced at Bum Seok.

“Well, that can happen, but Bum Seok, is that true?”

Bum Seok hesitated for a moment, then answered cautiously.

“Well, at first, it was an accident. I don’t know about after that, though.”

Gelsomina pinched Bum Seok’s thigh tightly. Even if he had no tact, there was a limit; how could he answer like that? He didn’t explain in detail, but he didn’t deny it either.

As if he expected it, Zackeed gave her a strange look. Judging from the atmosphere, he couldn’t possibly not know that Gelsomina was lying.

“Heh heh. Gelsomina, you don’t have to hide anything from me. Have we only been together for a day or two? If you get a boyfriend, I’ll congratulate you. Would I oppose it?”

Her face turned red as she said,

“I’m telling you, it’s really not like that. And you have so many women you’re dating. Of course, I wouldn’t like you.”

“Huh? You have other women?”

“Yes. That’s right.”

“Why? Has Bum Seok always liked human women?”

“Yes. It’s very famous in the dueling world that you have affection for human women. A concrete article hasn’t come out yet, but you’ve repeatedly told the media that you don’t mind human women.”

He looked at Bum Seok and said,

“Is what Gelsomina said true?”

“Yes, of course.”

At that answer, Zackeed let out a groan. The love line between the two was unexpectedly complicated.

In this era, the law allowed a man to have relationships with several women, even marriage, but it was different from a woman’s perspective. If Bum Seok was thinking of having multiple women, Gelsomina wouldn’t be in a relationship with him, no matter how much she liked him.

Of course, it wouldn’t matter if she was a sexually open woman, but she wasn’t.

However, since the birth of the Elves, most human women had long been transformed into child-bearing machines for the needs of the country and the maintenance of society. This was because men were reluctant to see women themselves as objects of affection.

This was the same for Zackeed. If it was Bum Seok, not his close friend Gelsomina, he would have secretly called him out at night for a drink and persuaded him to give up.

Knowing how unfortunate it was that Gelsomina was missing out on him, given the situation,

Zackeed glanced at her and glossed over the situation with a smile. He judged that it was better to pretend not to know at this time. Thinking back to the scene he saw in the park earlier, he thought that their relationship would naturally develop over time. Honestly, if he hadn’t interfered, history might have been made.

“Hahaha. Let’s stop talking about these difficult things for now. Let’s hear about your recent activities. How have you been?”

Gelsomina was also uncomfortable, so she was secretly glad for the change in conversation.

“I’ve been doing well. I like my colleagues, and the team atmosphere is good. The team dorm is quiet and cozy too.”

“Really? That’s good. Then how is your swordsmanship progressing?”

“Well, I haven’t been very focused on swordsmanship lately. I’m currently focusing on physical training.”

Zackeed nodded as if it was natural.

“Hmm. You should. The basics of swordsmanship are physical ability and mental discipline. You had body modification surgery two years ago, so now is the time to work hard to create the best physical condition.”

“Yes, I know.”

“You must be having a hard time too. I had a hard time with physical training too. After doing it for almost 8 years, I get nauseous just looking at the exercise equipment. Hahaha.”

“Hoh ho ho. But I only have to do it for about 4 years. You’ve assigned me a competent physical coach.”

Zackeed stared at her with wide eyes.

“R, really?”

“Yes. There’s an Elf coach named Ellin, and honestly, her teachings are better than my master’s when it comes to physical training. As proof, my physical abilities are already at the World League level.”

He kept casting envious glances. If he had a physical coach like Ellin, his social advancement would have been at least a few years faster. He playfully gnashed his teeth and complained about his master.

“Ah. I should have entered society sooner. If I had met such a coach, I would have already reached the top of the world! Ah. It’s such a waste.”

“But there’s nothing you can do about it. My master wanted you to become a duelist who doesn’t know defeat. No matter how good your swordsmanship is, if your physical abilities are poor, you can be defeated by a World League-level duelist. No matter how deeply they haven’t learned swordsmanship, you can’t ignore the decades of practical experience they’ve accumulated.”

Zackeed readily admitted that. Honestly, even today, he had struggled against Amelie, hadn’t he? He hadn’t lost, but it was coming as a great shock to him.

“Well, after playing today’s game, I realized that duelists are not to be ignored. I learned for the first time that even minor skills can have skills comparable to traditional swordsmen if they are combined with long experience and sincerity.”

“Yes, that’s right. But the reason you struggled today was simply because you lacked practical experience, not because you were less skilled than Amelie. With today’s experience, you’ll be able to defeat her next time.”

“Of course. Actually, I was organizing my luggage and came up with a rough strategy.”

“How?”

At Gelsomina’s question, Bum Seok, who was next to her, perked up his ears and concentrated. He thought that if he did well, he could get a big gain.

“It’s simple. Instead of parrying Amelie’s sword, I can block it and look for opportunities. Then the repulsive force won’t be so great, so the sword force won’t be doubled.”

Gelsomina clapped her hands without realizing it.

“Then the Tornadoes Impact will stop.”

“That’s right. If you aim for that gap, you can subdue her enough.”

Bum Seok chuckled. It was a plausible story, but there were some flaws.

“Heh heh. Don’t you think you’re thinking too easily? I saw earlier that it’s hard enough to block the Tornadoes Impact, so would there be time to throw a hidden weapon? And according to the dueling rules, if it’s a hidden weapon less than 15 cm [approximately 6 inches], you can wear up to 5 at the cost of sacrificing one weapon, but if the first shot fails, it’s over. Amelie will operate the Tornadoes Impact while preparing for a hidden weapon attack. Also, even if the first shot succeeds and stops the Tornadoes Impact, are you confident that you can subdue her at once? I believe that Amelie can overcome that crisis enough.

Of course, if you’re lucky, you might be able to overcome this difficulty and subdue her. But you can’t say that you’re superior to Amelie with just one victory. Dueling matches continue steadily until retirement, and Zackeed will have to face her countless times. Amelie will probably make thorough preparations based on one defeat, so Zackeed’s hidden weapon attack will never work next time. Then fans and dueling officials will attribute the previous victory to chance or Amelie’s carelessness, so its meaning will be greatly diminished.”

Zackeed scratched his head awkwardly. Certainly, there was some truth to that. As Bum Seok said, there were many difficulties in that method. In fact, it was questionable whether he, an orthodox swordsman, could properly throw a hidden weapon. Zackeed had never used a hidden weapon even once.

“Hmm. Well, that’s true. But you don’t have a different way to deal with Amelie, do you?”

Bum Seok answered confidently. He had gotten a hint from the method Zackeed had suggested earlier and found a way to effectively deal with Amelie.

“Yes. There is a way to definitely break the Tornadoes Impact.”

“How?”

“By using a trick to break her balance.”

Zackeed made an absurd expression. Bum Seok was now giving him back exactly what he had said.

“You said that method wouldn’t work just now!”

“No. I said hidden weapons wouldn’t work. I didn’t say tricks wouldn’t work.”

“Tricks? What tricks?”

Bum Seok, with a faint smile on his lips, raised his index finger and shook it.

“Well, it’s a secret, so I can’t tell you. Even if I told you, I doubt Zackeed could do it.”

“You. Is this how you’re going to be unfair?”

“Unfair? Didn’t you say earlier that a swordsman like us has his own way? I totally agree, so I’m not telling you. If you follow me, your sword force might be disrupted.”

Since he had said it himself, Zackeed just smacked his lips.

“Okay, then I won’t follow you, so just give me a hint. I can’t stand being curious.”

“Well, if you really want to, I can show you, but please grant me one request.”

“What request?”

“Please have a separate match with me in the match that will be held in two weeks. I want you to play as a free role like today.”

He could roughly understand Bum Seok’s intentions. The God Knights were much weaker in overall strength than the Dark Hyenas, so they didn’t have much chance of winning. The only way they could hope to win was for Bum Seok to defeat him early and push through with numerical superiority.

But Zackeed readily nodded. It was something that would help his competitor, but he didn’t need to worry about it much. In fact, he didn’t have much dueling experience, so he would be playing as a free role for the time being. Anyway, it would happen as he wanted, so there was no problem in allowing it.

“Well, okay. I’ll play as a free role.”

“Heh heh. Thank you.”

Bum Seok got up from his seat with a faint smile on his lips. With this, the Dark Hyenas’ strategy was clearly an offensive strategy based on the free role, so Diana could make plans much more easily.

He picked up the knife on the table and gave a simple swordsmanship demonstration.

“Well, you can do it like this.”

Bum Seok jumped up from his seat. Then, he kicked the floor hard with his feet and continued to drag, performing bizarre swordsmanship movements. The sight was so bizarre and absurd that Zackeed frowned. Bum Seok’s movement was a simple block, but there was too much force in his lower body.

“What are you doing? Are you kidding me? Why do you need such unnecessary lower body movements to block?”

He stopped the movement and sat back in his seat with a relaxed expression.

“Heh heh. The lower body movement I just showed you is the trick. This floor is a marble floor, so I can’t make the attack I want, but it’s different if it’s the Colosseum where the dueling match is held. It’s roughly a dirt floor.”

Zackeed opened his mouth wide as if he was horrified. Certainly, if this restaurant floor was a dirt floor, countless piles of dirt would have been flying around.

“You, you mean?”

“Yes. I’m going to keep spraying dirt on Amelie’s face with this foot-stamping motion. It’s a bit cowardly, but there’s no problem with the rules.”

Well, when he looked at the game footage, he had seen several scenes where he kicked stones or weapons on the floor to attack his opponent.

Zackeed swallowed hard. Although his eyes were covered by a face shield, he wouldn’t get dirt in his eyes, but if he received this kind of attack, his vision would be disturbed for a while. It would be one thing if it was just once or twice, but if it poured in countless times like the movement just now, he would have a hard time.

“But is that kind of attack possible?”

“Well, it’s a continuous movement, so it will take a lot of practice, but I’ll be able to do it. I’ve done it a lot before.”

“W, when did you do that?”

This method was one of the tricks that Bum Seok had accumulated while conquering other online virtual reality games in the past. If he blinded the mob, hunting became easier and leveling up was faster.

That’s why he couldn’t tell the truth to his question. Even if he talked about reality, he wouldn’t understand, and even if he did, it would bring about the collapse of the current game system.

“I just did it a few times when I was bored when I was young. If you blind your opponent in a duel, it’s as good as winning. However, dueling matches require helmets and other colleagues provide support, so I didn’t use it because it wasn’t very effective.”

“Tsk. You’ve done all sorts of useless things.”

He dismissed it as nothing, but Zackeed was quite afraid of Bum Seok’s free fighting style. Perhaps he expected considerable difficulties when facing him in two weeks. He didn’t know what kind of attack would come, so he had considerable difficulties in dealing with it.

He soon had a meal brought in by the restaurant’s employee and continued to talk to Bum Seok about swordsmanship. He was interested in him because he was a different type of swordsman.

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

Ah. I’m sorry. This has become a day off to commemorate the 300th episode. ;;;; The work was a bit late, so I couldn’t upload it yesterday unexpectedly. I will apologize with a series of chapters in the future. ^^ Then everyone have a nice day. I’ll see you again tomorrow.