Perfect World [EN]: Chapter 340

342

Winter had arrived. The world was transformed into a white expanse by the snow that had fallen the previous day. It was mid-December, and despite the winter holiday season, Beomseok was hurrying somewhere with his gladiators: the Avand Gladiator National Team training camp.

Beomseok had a lot on his plate last season. The most important development was that God’s Knights maintained their dominant position at the top of the league in the first half, boasting a record of 17 wins, 1 draw, and 1 loss. They were currently 8 points ahead of Snow Girls, who held second place. Barring a significant slump in the second half of the season, it seemed almost certain that they would win the championship.

Another significant achievement was securing enough shares to safely protect Vermillion’s management rights. Currently, friendly shares consisted of 19% held by the Vermillion family, 5% by the Economic Association, 16% by the Ilsim Society [a private investment group], and 13% by institutions that had expressed firm support.

Combined, these holdings amounted to 53%, meaning that management rights were effectively secured. Beomseok couldn’t have felt more reassured, thanks to the members of the Ilsim Society and the Lewis Vice President’s social club.

The Ilsim Society members raised 100 billion Krang [fictional currency] to significantly boost the White Angel Fund, and Balbar and Wilkins requested cooperation, securing promises of support for the Vermillion Chairman from major institutions.

Interestingly, the Black Society was still unaware that the Ilsim Society held a 16% stake. They had initially tried to cut corners to save money, but after the allegations of corruption at Vermillion were dropped, they were now hurriedly buying up shares at a high price.

It seemed clear that they would suffer enormous financial losses when all was said and done.

Lastly, there was the matter of the negotiation with Chairman Ibrahim. Last fall, Beomseok investigated various avenues to resolve the Angry Bombers situation, suspecting them of being a tool of the Black Society. He eventually approached Chairman Ibrahim to share his concerns and propose solutions.

His proposal included implementing a three-out system in the regulations, stipulating that if Angry Bombers engaged in intentional media manipulation or directly contacted the gladiator in question, they would be immediately expelled from the gladiator world. However, the chairman unexpectedly rejected all of Beomseok’s proposals, stating that there was no need for such measures. Furthermore, he subtly pressured Beomseok, questioning what would happen if the Ilsim Society members engaged in similar behavior as Angry Bombers.

The reason was that Chairman Ibrahim and his faction members were aware of the changing times and had decided to adapt. They were planning to have their successors become the owners of their affiliated Elf gladiators [a specific type of gladiator].

Their plan involved creating a new team based on Lexter’s Bluebird team. While this system would initially be costly, the income from annual salaries would be much greater in the long run, and the backlash from disgruntled Elf enthusiasts could be eliminated.

The problem was that shareholders would strongly object if the teams were sold at a lower price than the market value. Although the owners earned a substantial income from annual salaries, the team’s overall income would decrease, displeasing the shareholders. However, the actions of teams like Angry Bombers changed the equation.

Situations arose where the gladiator in question had to be sold to their team at a dirt-cheap price or sent to a mental hospital. This allowed team owners to buy them cheaply, under the guise of reducing the shareholders’ losses. In other words, Chairman Ibrahim and his faction members profited when teams like Angry Bombers ran wild.

Naturally, they welcomed such chaos.

‘Sigh~ Times are changing.’

It had been six years since Beomseok started the game, and in just two to three weeks, it would be seven years. In this short period, the professional sports world was showing signs of significant change, largely thanks to God’s Knights.

Now, if Chairman Abraham and his faction members’ attempt succeeded, Elf professional players without owners would disappear from this world, and the real-world trade system would gradually take root.

While saving so many Elves was rewarding, it was a significant loss for Beomseok. The more Elf gladiators with owners on rival teams, the stronger those teams would become. The fighting spirit of a regular Elf gladiator and an Elf gladiator serving an owner was fundamentally different.

Still, one fortunate outcome was that a foundation had been laid for the newly started Elf sales business to flourish. Selling to all professional gladiator teams would inevitably generate more income than selling to 80 Ilsim Society members.

“Well, things won’t change much right away, so I don’t need to worry about it yet.”

Beomseok, who had been talking to himself, entered the Avand Gladiator National Team training camp. It felt a bit unfamiliar since it had been four years since his last visit, but it was also strangely welcoming. However, the prospect of facing the obnoxious Coach Clark for a few weeks was a bit annoying.

He and his teammates boarded the unmanned electric vehicles lined up in front and headed to the office building.

“Coach. It’s been a while. How have you been?”

Beomseok, who entered the coach’s office without knocking, waved his hand as he saw Clark working at his desk. Clark lowered the screen floating in the air and stared at Beomseok silently.

“You have no manners. Isn’t it common courtesy to knock before entering someone else’s office?”

At Clark’s dry tone, Beomseok burst into a bright smile and plopped down on the chair in front of the desk.

“Hahaha. What need is there for manners between you and me?”

Clark placed his forearms on the desk and clasped his hands together. The last time they had met was during the third qualifying round of the World Cup four years ago. Since the next third qualifying round of the World Cup, which would be held a year and a half later, was approaching, it meant that exactly four years had passed. In the meantime, Beomseok had skipped all of the previous World Cup qualifying matches under the pretext of injury, so there hadn’t been any opportunity to become close.

“As far as I know, we met for the first time four years ago, and this is the first time we’ve met this year.”

“Hahaha. Isn’t it more poignant because we’ve been apart for so long? Actually, I really wanted to see you, Coach.”

Clark snorted deeply and slowly rose from his seat. The third qualifying round of the World Cup would begin in a week, so he didn’t have time for jokes. He was determined to advance to the finals in this World Cup, and to do so, he had to save every second. Although the Avand national team’s strength had been greatly enhanced by the growth of God’s Knights, that was no reason to be complacent.

“Stop with the nonsense. Has everyone arrived?”

“Yes. Everyone who was called from the team has arrived.”

The gladiators from God’s Knights who were called to the national team were 20 in total, including Beomseok, Emma, Rebecca, Oscar, Matilda, Rafine, Violet, Nikita, Cazela, Lenka, Reimei, Hestia, Jermia, Lynn, Iphis, Herse, Seiya, Venus, Agelia, and Cassie. In addition, Gelsomina and Shaila were also called, but they did not attend because they had decided to represent their home country, Temoria.

Clark, who looked around, frowned slightly. He was inwardly disappointed by Shaila’s absence, even though he understood about Gelsomina. If she had come, he could have formed a more stable vanguard. Currently, most of the main force of the Avand national gladiators were members of the God’s Knights team, and they were mostly young gladiators with little match experience.

“Shaila and Gelsomina still can’t come?”

“Yes. It’s their personal decision, so there’s nothing we can do.”

Clark nodded. To be honest, he hadn’t expected Shaila to join the Avand national team. In fact, he had to be grateful for the current situation alone. He believed that he could pass the upcoming third qualifying round of the World Cup with just these members.

He approached Beomseok and patted him on the shoulder.

“You’ve raised the team well. Thanks to you, we can now look forward to the World Cup finals.”

The opponents that the Avand national team had to face in the third round of the World Cup were the national teams of Merjan, Wellingham, and Silonia. Among these, Merjan was mainly composed of gladiators from the Forest Oaks team, which was in the lower ranks of the World League, so caution was advised. The others were insignificant teams that didn’t warrant much attention.

It was a luxury that he could not have imagined four years ago, but with Beomseok and the God’s Knights team members, Clark could comfortably prepare for the third qualifying round of this World Cup.

This was something that Beomseok was well aware of. He boastfully showed off.

“Originally, I’m good at both swordsmanship and team management.”

“Well, I guess that’s true. But your physical abilities have declined somewhat recently. What’s the reason for that? Looking at the match results, your physical abilities seemed to be better in the early part of last year… Don’t tell me you’re already getting old?”

He was such an unlikable person. He had only met him a short time ago, but he was already starting to nag. But his words were not entirely wrong. Beomseok had been continuously activating the ‘Response of Origin’ trait recently, preventing him from using other stat-boosting traits. That’s why he was playing with lower physical abilities than last year.

“Ah. I was a bit shaken after fighting a guy named Zakid before. I’ll probably recover soon.”

“Well, you were miserably defeated to the point where I felt relieved. But please don’t do that in the national team matches. It’s a nuisance to the supporting citizens.”

Beomseok frowned slightly as if he was annoyed. He couldn’t have felt good about Clark constantly scratching at his nerves.

Currently, Zakid was playing as a gladiator for his home country, Temoria, along with Shaila and Gelsomina. This team belonged to the Laponi Central Government, so there was no need to worry about facing them in the qualifiers.

Besides, it didn’t matter even if they did face each other. Beomseok could never tolerate two defeats.

He was determined to avenge that day if he met Zakid again.

“Don’t worry. That will never happen. I will definitely defeat Mr. Zakid next time.”

“Huhu. You were defeated so badly before, so is that really possible?”

“Of course. I was defeated before only because of a lack of physical ability and insufficient data. But it’s different now. Recently, I’ve been constantly improving my physical abilities and thoroughly analyzing Mr. Zakid’s fighting style. It will be completely different next time.”

Clark was somewhat sympathetic to those words. In the early days, Zakid had shown bizarre performances and raised his team, Dark Hyenas, to the World League, but recently, he had been somewhat sluggish.

This was because rival teams had thoroughly analyzed his past matches and found appropriate countermeasures. It was still unknown what would happen since Beomseok’s physical abilities were lacking, but it was not thought that the next match would be an easy one.

“Huhu. Good. I look forward to meeting him in the World Cup finals.”

“You won’t be disappointed.”

Clark nodded and looked at Oscar, Rafine, and Nikita.

“You have to play as the main vanguard for the national team. So be prepared.”

“Yes.”

“And Nikita may occasionally play as a guardian gladiator in the rear, so be prepared.”

“Yes.”

Clark now pointed to Cazela, Lenka, Jermia, Iphis, Herse, and Seiya.

“You will play in the main vanguard. However, if you show even the slightest sign of disarray, you will be demoted to the reserve, so keep your wits about you.”

“Yes.”

“And Seiya, you can play as the captain, so you must participate in the strategy meeting. Got it?”

“Yes.”

Clark called out Cassie, Agelia, and Venus and let out a long sigh. The biggest weakness of the Avand national team was the rear. In fact, Clark made them the starters to give them experience in preparation for the upcoming World Cup finals, not because they were particularly skilled.

Fortunately, Nikita was there, but if not, it would have been truly bleak.

“You are the main rear guard. But don’t get too comfortable just because you’re the main force. You can be replaced by other professional team representatives at any time, so it’s better for your well-being not to have any arrogance.”

“Yes.”

They answered in a mosquito-like voice. They were happy to be the main force, but it seemed that the others except for Cassie were not yet at the stage where they could rest assured.

Clark pointed to the rest one by one and spoke.

“And Emma, Rebecca, Matilda, Violet, Reimei, Hestia, and Lynn will play as reserves. No complaints, right?”

They showed disappointed expressions, but they nodded in agreement. They couldn’t have been unaware that their skills were inferior in terms of skill or team performance.

“Yes. I understand.”

“Okay. Then everyone should be aware of their roles and do their best in their assigned tasks.”

“Yes!”

At this point, Beomseok slyly stepped forward. There was no mention of him at all. He pointed to himself with his finger and quietly asked a question.

“Coach. What about me?”

“I’ll put you on as a substitute or free-roaming player, so be prepared to play whenever I call you.”

Beomseok made a dissatisfied expression. He was much better off than he was four years ago, but Clark was still ignoring him. In any case, he had risen to become one of the tacitly acknowledged top three gladiators in the gladiator world.

“Tsk. Isn’t that too much of a waste of talent? If you only use me as a substitute or free-roaming player, there will be a lot of complaints from the fans.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll let you play enough so that the fans won’t complain.”

“Ah. Yes. Is that so? I don’t know how to thank you enough.”

“If you know, hurry up and lead everyone to prepare for training. If I go out in a little while and see a disorganized appearance, I will hold you responsible, so be prepared. Got it?”

“Yes. Yes. I understand. Okay, everyone, let’s go!”

Beomseok, who was leading everyone out of the coach’s office, smiled slightly. He was fully aware of Coach Clark’s intentions. The person who led the team members and was responsible for preparing for training was the captain. Although he kept provoking him from close range, in reality, the coach was planning to give him an important role.

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

The disappointing weekend is coming to an end. The weather was really nice. It can be said that it was a day when I felt the sorrow of being single.

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