Perfect World [EN]: Chapter 36

Chapter 36

To compete in the GA Cup’s fourth round, Bumseok and the rest of the God Knights team headed to the Rima City Colosseum. Their opponents for today’s match were the King Krabs, a gladiator team based in Karasco City. They were a strong team, having placed 11th in last year’s Avand Air League, and Bumseok anticipated a significant challenge, estimating their chances of winning at around 50%. Despite his exceptional skills, the team was generally weaker than their opponents, save for a few Elves, making a victory difficult to predict.

However, Bumseok’s assessment was not shared by the public, who largely expected the God Knights to lose. Despite their undefeated streak of 3 wins against amateur teams, it was widely believed that they would struggle against a professional team. As a result, the betting odds for today’s match were set at 6.3 to 1, heavily favoring the King Krabs.

‘Heh heh. Winning means earning 2.5 million Krang [currency unit in this world] from sports betting alone.’

In addition to this, they would also receive 1.2 million Krang in victory rewards from the Gladiator Association, bringing their total income to 3.7 million Krang. Of course, losing would mean a loss of 500,000 Krang considering the betting costs, but he wasn’t too concerned. The potential gains were simply too significant.

Waggle waggle.

Arriving at the dugout, Bumseok smiled contentedly as he observed the scattered groups of spectators. With that many people filling the 11,000-seat Rima City Colosseum, it meant that nearly 20,000 people had come to watch. Moreover, starting from the fourth round, professional rules were being applied, which meant adopting a home-and-away format. This meant that all the revenue from the audience would go to him. With tickets priced at 150 Krang until the seventh round, this amounted to a substantial sum of 3 million Krang.

‘Kekeke. You always have to do things in a big city.’

Rima City was a key city in the Avand regional government, with a population of 7.8 million. Furthermore, with the only professional team, the Great Hyenas, having fallen to the amateur league this spring, the field had been left open for nearly a year. Achieving good results in the promotion tournament next spring and entering the professional league would allow them to secure many gladiator fans. And today was the day to take the first step. Making a strong impression on the home fans in this match would help them secure even more fans when they entered the professional league.

‘Well then. Shall we get ready?’

As Bumseok headed towards the locker room, he noticed Emma sitting at the far end of the dugout bench. Still unable to find a suitable team, she remained with the God Knights. However, her position was awkward, and she remained detached from the team.

Bumseok subtly sat down next to her.

‘Hey, Emma, what’s up?’

‘Ah, um. Bumseok-nim [honorific title].’

‘Don’t look so gloomy. Until you leave the team, you’re still a gladiator of the God Knights. Try to mingle a bit. I’ll tell our Elves to make you feel comfortable.’

‘Ah, no, it’s okay. I’m comfortable as I am.’

Bumseok wore a worried expression. Continuing in this state would not be good in many ways. Her low spirits would prevent any increase in favorability, and she could disrupt the team’s atmosphere. He needed to improve the current situation somehow, and the best way to do that was for Emma to quickly find a suitable team and leave. Then, he could raise her favorability through an away date and complete the conquest, and bringing her back to the team would solve everything.

‘But haven’t you found a team to transfer to yet?’

Emma, looking apologetic, hesitantly moved away. She felt ashamed of staying in this position.

‘Yes. I’m looking into several places. But I haven’t found a suitable team yet.’

‘Really? That’s strange. With the Black Society providing so much support, many teams should want you.’

‘……..’

Emma kept her mouth shut, as if there was an unspeakable story. He couldn’t force her to talk about something she didn’t want to. Bumseok patted her shoulder reassuringly and stood up.

‘Anyway, I won’t rush you to leave. Just be comfortable until then.’

‘Yes.’

He went into the locker room to change into his suit and warmed up, preparing for the upcoming match. Emma’s situation was important, but he needed to focus on how to approach today’s game.

‘I must win all the 1st, 3rd, and 5th rounds, where the main forces are included. We will naturally lose the 2nd and 4th rounds, where we can’t participate.’

However, winning all the 1st, 3rd, and 5th rounds was very difficult. If they were to compete one-on-one, Bumseok, Erpina, and Oscar would be enough to make it worthwhile. But gladiator matches were team battles. With the God Knights’ weak squad, if the main gladiators were thoroughly checked, they could collapse easily. Having gone through three matches, enough data would have been accumulated, so it was clear that Oscar, Daisy, and Erpina would be heavily marked.

‘Still, the good thing is that there won’t be much information about me.’

Bumseok had never made any significant contributions so far. His kill/death record was 2/0, with a total score of 2 points. And there were countless others with similar scores on his team. He probably wouldn’t be checked in the first round, so he could move freely.

‘The problem is the 3rd and 5th rounds. If I perform well in the 1st round, I’ll be checked too.’

Bumseok’s skills were enough to handle about two people. But if there were more than three, the situation would be completely different. No matter how outstanding his skills and speed were, he couldn’t properly block three swords coming at him from all directions at once. If they were mediocre, it might be possible, but today’s opponents were professional gladiators. They would surely unleash organized and precise attacks, and he was likely to be defeated.

‘Still, if we can get 2 wins, 1 draw, and 2 losses, we can win…’

Originally, 2 wins, 1 draw, and 2 losses would result in a tie. However, the GA Cup was a tournament, so they had to determine a winner to proceed to the next stage. Therefore, the tournament rules stipulated that if both teams were tied after the 5th round, they would engage in a showdown to completely settle the match.

And that showdown was very advantageous for the God Knights. Five representative gladiators from each team would come out and compete one-on-one in turn, and the team that incapacitated all of the opposing team would win. Naturally, his team, with its strong main force, had a high chance of winning.

– The match will begin soon, so all participating gladiators please wait at the entrance.

As the announcement played, Bumseok and the God Knights team members who would be participating in the first round headed to the tunnel near the entrance. And with the entrance signal, they walked to the stream flowing through the center of the arena.

Beeeep!

– The match begins!

With the starting signal, the vanguard of the God Knights, including Oscar, immediately crossed the stream in the center and charged in. The King Krabs gladiators were surprised and disrupted their formation. Weak teams usually form a defensive line and try to defeat opponents one by one. But unlike expectations, the God Knights were forming an offensive line and attacking first, as if they were demonstrating that they were the strong team. Those who had prepared for a defensive line were inevitably taken aback.

‘Everyone! They’re coming! Change the plan!’

With a loud noise, the King Krabs’ line shook violently. Having been hit directly by Oscar’s greatsword, which contained all of his strength, they had no choice but to take damage. Still, like professionals, they did not allow a breakthrough.

‘Focus and block! That Oscar guy is no joke!’

The gladiators wearing numbers 3 and 12 of the King Krabs jumped out and began to mark Oscar. Her sword was large and powerful, but her attack speed was slow. If they let her run wild, she would cause great damage to the formation, but if they checked her and aimed for openings, they could easily defeat her.

However, Bumseok was well aware of this. He immediately cut between Oscar and Gladiator number 3, brushing past the waist of Gladiator number 3.

Thwack!

With a loud impact, the body of Gladiator number 3 collapsed. She looked at the back of Bumseok running behind her with an incredulous expression. Although she had shown a slight opening while focusing on Oscar, she was not so easy to deal with that she could be incapacitated in one blow.

– Gladiator Oh Bumseok. Amazing. He knocks out King Krabs’ Gladiator number 3 in one blow and charges in all directions!

Bumseok, who had reached the front of the King Krabs’ formation, swung his sword as if to probe them. It was to isolate Gladiator number 12, who was separated. If they could eliminate her, the God Knights could easily lead this round with a 12 to 10 advantage.

Knowing his intentions, Hera thrust her long spear deeply, striking the abdomen of Gladiator number 12, who was being unilaterally pushed back by Oscar.

‘Bumseok-nim, I took care of it!’

As soon as he heard those words, Bumseok stepped back, and Oscar filled the space, unleashing a bizarre sword storm and ravaging the King Krabs’ formation. Having lost two gladiators due to the failed plan, they immediately formed a defensive line, as if they wanted to draw this round.

‘Everyone. Hold your positions. Never be pushed back!’

However, that cry was buried by Oscar’s sword, which emitted an eerie sound. With a single strike that split the line in half, Stephanie charged in. As the midfielders followed and completely widened the gap, the King Krabs’ gladiators were split exactly in half. It was a moment that clearly demonstrated that defense alone could never stop Oscar.

Bumseok shouted, thinking this was the time.

‘Take care of the ones that are separated! There’s still plenty of time!’

Stephanie grabbed Gladiator number 7, who had failed to dodge, with the hook at the end of her Azure Dragon Blade and knocked her down. Seeing this, Bumseok immediately struck with his sword and eliminated her, then dashed towards the leader of the King Krabs, who was staggering far behind.

‘The leader is in danger. Shield gladiators, block him!’

The gladiators wearing numbers 2 and 4 rushed to block him with their shields. However, this was a mistake by the King Krabs team. With three gladiators assigned to Bumseok, the remaining six had to block the eleven God Knights team gladiators. No matter how professional they were, they could not properly face nearly twice their strength. Gradually, one by one, they were taken care of, and eventually, all the King Krabs gladiators except for the rearguard were lying on the cold floor, unable to move.

‘Hah, hah.’

Bumseok was breathing heavily as he fought fiercely with the rearguard. Although shield-sword gladiators had weak attack power, it was very difficult to face three of them alone.

He handed them over to the other God Knights team gladiators who were approaching from behind and retreated to rest. As Bumseok’s stamina dropped particularly quickly, he needed to conserve his stamina in preparation for the rounds that would continue.

‘Well. Our other guys will take care of the rest anyway.’

With him out, it was now 11 to 3. No matter how specialized the shield-sword was in defense, it was almost impossible to overcome a four-fold difference. Before a few minutes had passed, the leader gladiator of the King Krabs was hit in the waist by Oscar’s greatsword and flew into the sky.

Beeeep!

– A, amazing! I, it’s unbelievable! Against all expectations, the first round ends with a one-sided victory for the God Knights team. H, how could this happen!

– Yes. It’s because the King Krabs gladiators were swayed by Gladiator Oh Bumseok. The two gladiators who went in to mark Oscar in the beginning were both defeated by Gladiator Oh Bumseok’s charge, so they were outnumbered. But it didn’t stop there, and the King Krabs made another mistake. They formed a defensive line in front of that powerful, monstrous Oscar gladiator. As we have repeatedly said, if you just leave her alone, the line is already useless. It is necessary to have a mark on her…

Woaaaaah! Woaaaaah!

The cheers of the fans were so loud that the commentator’s long-winded explanation was drowned out. Although the God Knights were amateurs, they were a gladiator team based in Rima City. Against all expectations, the local team had won a one-sided victory against the powerful King Krabs, so they couldn’t help but feel exhilarated and happy.

‘Well done! God Knights! Keep it up!’

‘Be sure to win this game!’

Bumseok and the God Knights team members entered the dugout, responding to the fans’ cheers one by one.

Meanwhile, the 2,000 away fans located on the east side were dissatisfied with their team’s absurd defeat and shouted and booed loudly. In response, the King Krabs gladiators could not dare to lift their faces and quietly left the arena. The fact that they, as professionals, had been completely defeated by an amateur team could not be excused for any reason.

—–

Next time again.