Perfect World [EN]: Chapter 302

304

“Okay. Here I come!”

Jakid risked taking a hit and swung his sword fiercely at Beomseok several times. It was a calculated move, deliberately showing openings to bait out a desperate strike. As expected, Beomseok’s stance opened up significantly. He had taken an exaggerated stroke motion to deliver a powerful blow.

Jakid saw his chance, quickly reversing his spinning sword and thrusting it towards Beomseok’s chest with all his might.

*Shweeeek*. *Clang*.

His sword was blocked. Beomseok had hastily twisted his waist and sword to defend. It was an unfortunate moment, but not without its merits. The sudden defensive move had destabilized Beomseok, causing him to lose his balance.

Now having gained the upper hand, Jakid began to rush in, pressuring him.

“Heh heh. Now it’s over! Prepare yourself!”

As the sword strikes continued, Beomseok’s form steadily crumbled. It was incredibly difficult to fend off Jakid’s storm-like onslaught with an unstable stance. He desperately flailed his sword, struggling to maintain his balance.

‘Damn it. What is this? Could Jakid be right about the problems with my swordsmanship?’

A bead of sweat trickled down Beomseok’s brow. Jakid’s tactic was a simple feint.

Pretending to show an opening to bait the opponent’s attack was a common trick in duels. Beomseok had plenty of experience with this and possessed the skill to respond appropriately. But the result was him being constantly pushed back.

Even though Jakid’s overall stats were higher, Beomseok didn’t think it would be to this extent.

But now was not the time for such thoughts. If he didn’t escape this predicament immediately, he would face an irreversible crisis.

“No way! It won’t be that easy!”

Beomseok forcefully pushed away the clashing sword and slid to the side, kicking a stone under his feet with all his might. He was trying to overcome this crisis through the powerful strength and combat sense derived from ‘Berserker of Fury’ [a skill that enhances strength but impairs judgment]. Jakid had no choice but to deflect the stone with his pushed-back sword, and Beomseok was able to escape his offensive.

‘Tsk tsk. I momentarily forgot about his strength and experience. Mistake. Mistake. Come on, Jakid, focus. Beomseok is no pushover. The moment you let your guard down, you’re done for.’

Jakid clicked his tongue regretfully and stepped back. It was an opportunity to defeat Beomseok, but he had missed it due to a momentary lapse in concentration. He shook his head, mentally rearming himself. Although he had identified a weakness, his opponent was Beomseok. Easy attacks would never work.

He said with an awkward expression.

“Oh, I’m sorry. It seems I underestimated you too much.”

Beomseok adjusted his stance and breathing, looking at Jakid with a relaxed gaze. Even though he was being pushed back, he didn’t want to show any weakness.

“Well, I guess I underestimated Jakid too. That attack earlier gave me quite a scare. I’ll have to be really careful from now on.”

Jakid waved his hand.

“Don’t praise me too much. It’s not because I’m good, but because you’re bad. You’re full of openings; I don’t know where *not* to attack.”

Beomseok’s brow twitched while still smiling.

“We’ll see about that.”

“If you really don’t believe me, come at me again. I’ll cook you this time for sure. Real nice and tasty.”

At Jakid’s finger-pointing, Beomseok slowly moved forward, extremely cautious, as he couldn’t repeat the same mistake as before.

‘Heh heh. He still doesn’t know his own habits. Well, good for me.’

In that instant, Jakid leaped forward with all his might, delivering a powerful blow. He was trying to draw out Beomseok’s overextension with the same pattern as before. But unlike before, Beomseok didn’t easily commit to an unreasonable attack. The image of himself in crisis was vividly etched in his mind, so he was extremely wary of reckless attacks.

‘Oh, is he not falling for it this time? But Beomseok’s weakness isn’t just this one. Just keep defending and get beaten to a pulp.’

*Clang*. *Clang*. *Clang*.

Several exchanges clashed at rapid speed. Jakid poured out attacks, pushing Beomseok with aggressive strikes as Beomseok remained on the defensive and cowered.

“How are you going to face me being so intimidated! Come at me with some fire! Hahaha.”

Beomseok felt dizzy, trapped in the sword strikes that whistled around him, creating bizarre air-splitting sounds. The onslaught Jakid was unleashing was so powerful and destructive that he had never experienced anything like it since he started this game.

It felt like a charging bison wildly swinging its long horns. If he hadn’t drastically increased his strength with the activation of ‘Berserker of Fury’, he would have been tossed around and ultimately defeated.

‘This is no joke. I’m going to get hit at this rate.’

He quickly stepped and tried his best to move to the side. There was no need to face this barrage head-on. But Jakid wouldn’t let him get away with it.

He immediately deployed extreme footwork and quickly caught up to Beomseok. With a difference of about 20 points in agility stats, he had the speed to easily catch up if he focused.

‘He’s going down soon. I should think of a nice victory speech.’

Jakid was confident that Beomseok wouldn’t be able to withstand his swordplay for much longer. He could tell from the tension that was being expressed externally.

His face shield was full of anxiety, and his body was shrinking more and more as time passed. Moreover, his feet were tangled, and he almost lost his balance several times, and he couldn’t even dream of an offensive. The reason Beomseok was still barely able to maintain the situation was thanks to his long experience and skill.

Jakid judged that it was time to finish it and dug deep into Beomseok’s chest. Then, he pushed him with his body and swung his sword violently from side to side.

“Okay. This is the end! Prepare yourself!”

In that instant, a surprised Beomseok blocked by bending his sword backward, but he couldn’t avoid Jakid’s low kick and was directly hit in the joint area. Beomseok, with a dumbfounded expression, tilted to the side, blocking Jakid’s heavy swordplay that was drawn up and down, and fell to the floor. But it was just a last-ditch effort, and his eyes were trembling, as if he sensed defeat.

It was too distant to face Jakid in a fallen state.

The following chilling air-splitting sound. Soon, a thudding sound was heard, and countless grains of dirt splattered on Beomseok’s face shield. Beomseok, judging that it was over, closed his eyes tightly, listening to the commentators’ remarks echoing through the arena.

– What is going on? Despite the good fight, Gladiator Oh Beomseok has been pushed back by Gladiator Jakid and has fallen to the floor. It seems that there is nothing that can be done with the lack of experience and less mature physical abilities.

After the announcer’s remarks in a regrettable tone, the commentator’s voice was heard. He also sighed deeply, as if he was disappointed.

– Sigh~ Yes. That’s right. Gladiator Oh Beomseok made a big mistake this time due to lack of experience. He should not have let Gladiator Jakid continue to attack like that. He should not have forgotten the gladiator’s saying that you can never beat your opponent by defending.

– But isn’t that all because Gladiator Jakid is so great? He is pushing hard and not giving him a chance to counterattack, so isn’t it inevitable even for Gladiator Oh Beomseok?

– Yes. That’s also true. Anyway, Gladiator Jakid, who appeared like a comet, is also scary. He finally defeated Gladiator Oh Beomseok, who had never lost a one-on-one match, after a close battle. This will be an opportunity to widely publicize that Amelie’s draw was by no means a coincidence.

– Of course. He has shown outstanding skills in today’s game, along with the previous two games, so who would doubt it? Anyway, he is a gladiator that I am really looking forward to in the future. I want to see him play in the World League soon.

The commentators, who had been talking for a long time, widened their eyes and stared straight at the arena. Beomseok, who should have been incapacitated, was dusting off his face shield and standing up.

They soon looked at the video information sent by the bird camera and put a bewildered look on their faces. It was because the place where Jakid’s sword was stuck was the bare floor.

The commentators closed their mouths tightly, as if they had forgotten what to say. There was no precedent for this kind of thing happening in the history of the gladiator world in their memory.

Beomseok, who had been staring at the sword stuck in the floor for a while, raised his head and glared at Jakid. There was no way he could have made a mistake, so it was definitely intentional.

“Why are you doing this? Are you trying to make fun of me?”

“No. I just thought you wouldn’t believe me. It’s easy to attribute a defeat to coincidence or a simple mistake. Humans are always lenient with themselves. Isn’t that right?”

Beomseok gritted his teeth and clenched his sword tightly. It didn’t matter what weaknesses he had now. Right now, he was dying to land a solid blow on that arrogant face.

“Okay. Since you’re giving me a chance, let’s do it again. But you’d better be prepared. If you happen to lose to me, it’ll be the biggest embarrassment ever.”

He set the tip of his sword in the middle again. Then, he kicked off the ground and ran, swinging with all his might. He couldn’t possibly not know that his defeat was due to his defensive actions.

Knowing that he couldn’t beat Jakid with defense, he had to launch an offensive. But Beomseok was now in a state where his composure was greatly shaken by anger. It was the virtue that a swordsman should avoid the most, but the humiliating defeat and Jakid’s absurd composure were greatly shaking his mood.

In this state, no one could show their true skills.

*Clang*. *Clang*. *Whoosh*. *Clang*.

Jakid, who was naturally blocking Beomseok’s continued attacks, glanced at him. Judging from the rather unstable posture that continued, it was expected that he would be able to easily draw out his weakness. That is, an unreasonable final blow.

Jakid smiled and swung his sword briefly and concisely. He was trying to lay the groundwork to lead Beomseok into a trap.

‘Originally, excited wild animals only know clumsy attacks. That’s why they are easily hunted by hunters… Heh heh.’

After dozens of exchanges, a strange light flashed in Jakid’s eyes. He felt that he was slowly finding an opportunity. Beomseok was now attacking recklessly, losing his reason. Jakid confronted him with a few more preliminary motions, then swung his sword-wielding arms with all his might.

*Woong*. *Kang*.

Jakid’s sword strike was accurately blocked. But the smile on his lips did not disappear. This attack seemed powerful, but in reality, it was a trick. In other words, he was fully prepared for the powerful blow that would follow.

“Okay! Here I come!”

Beomseok, believing that he had seized an opportunity, vigorously stretched the tip of his sword towards his waist. Having lost his reason, he failed to properly read the illusory flaws.

‘Hahaha. He’s here.’

Jakid, who had been waiting for this one move like gold, immediately turned his sword backwards to block and bounce it off, then pushed Beomseok’s chest with his shoulder. And just as he lost his balance and staggered backwards, he immediately stabbed the tip of his sword into his abdomen.

*Thwack*.

Beomseok knelt down with a shocked expression. He couldn’t believe that he had been defeated so absurdly. Not just once, but twice. He barely stretched out his slowly paralyzing arm and grabbed Jakid’s ankle.

“H, how could this happen…”

Jakid, who was turning his foot, turned around and answered calmly to Beomseok’s question.

“Hehehe. I told you clearly before. You have a weakness.”

“W, what is it?”

“You are too perfect as a warrior. But you are definitely not a gladiator. Even though gladiator matches are based on real combat, general sparring and deadly battles where you kill each other cannot be the same. I advise you to erase your bloodlust and find a way to strike your opponent efficiently. Then you can become a better gladiator than you are now.”

Jakid patted Beomseok’s shoulder, who was sitting down and had completely stopped moving. He was trying to comfort him, perhaps feeling a little sorry for having easily won by exploiting his weakness. But this was clearly a mistake. In a gladiator match, intentionally contacting an opponent who is incapacitated in any case would result in immediate disqualification.

– *Beeeeeep*. Jakid! Disqualification!

At the in-house broadcast, Jakid jumped up and waved his hands wildly at the referee’s seat. He was trying to protest that it was not intentional. But he had touched Beomseok’s body even while sitting down during the battle, so there was no way to deny it.

The game was soon stopped, and he had to be dragged out of the arena by the referees who had popped out. In fact, Jakid had not properly accumulated experience in gladiator matches.

On this day, Gods Knights recorded 3 losses and lost. Although Dark Hyenas’ Jakid suffered the misfortune of being disqualified, it could not be helped because the overall power was greatly reduced.

In addition, even Beomseok, the team’s ace, was unable to participate in the remaining games due to the penalty of ‘Berserker of Fury’ and the nightmare of a miserable defeat, so it was even worse.

In the end, the Gods Knights team members did not accept the reporters’ interview requests and returned to the training camp as they were.

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

There was a somewhat short remake. The content has changed from the second half of page 11 of episode 302, so please refer to it. Then, everyone, have a nice day. I’ll see you again tomorrow.