Perfect World [EN]: Chapter 373

As the sun set, Esther, wearing a pleasant smile, entered the chairman’s office with electronic documents tucked under her arm. Beomseok, who was already seated, saw her and stood up to greet her warmly.

“Esther, welcome. Sit here.”

Esther sat on the reception sofa and looked at Beomseok, who sat across from her. She then presented the electronic documents, saying,

“Here are the accounting records you asked for. Please take a look.”

Beomseok carefully examined the top-level list on the displayed electronic document screen.

“The total amount carried over is 2.31566 billion Krang [Krang is the currency in this fictional world]?”

“Yes. With the promotion to the World League, Chaplin Electronics, our main sponsor, provided 1 billion Krang. Combining that with the GA Cup [a fictional cup competition] and League Cup revenue, general admission ticket sales from the second half of the season, and the prize money from the promotion tournament, that’s the total.”

He smiled contentedly. This amount seemed to solve a significant portion of the funds needed to acquire Rezaris, whom they were currently targeting.

Originally, her price was 1.8 billion Krang. Recently, with five teams competing, it had soared to about 2.6 billion, but he could acquire her with just an additional 300 million Krang. This could be easily covered by season ticket sales and team emblem merchandise sales.

“Hmm, not bad. Good. Then, how is the revenue since the end of the season?”

“Very good. Revenue has increased significantly.”

“Really? How much?”

“So far, 26,000 season tickets have been sold, generating a total revenue of 563.16 million Krang after taxes.”

Beomseok smiled brightly. Even with only 26,000 tickets sold, they had already exceeded 500 million Krang in revenue. It was indeed a World League-level income.

“What’s next?”

“Team emblems have been selling in large quantities, generating a total revenue of 148 million Krang. Revenue has increased threefold compared to last year.”

“Hahaha. Of course, it should be. The Central League and the top league, the World League, can’t be the same.”

“Yes. I think so too. Hahaha.”

With a satisfied expression, Beomseok asked another question.

“How about other sponsorship fees?”

“Yes, of course, that list has also increased significantly. We’ve generated 180 million Krang so far.”

“Huhu. So, the total revenue is close to 900 million Krang.”

“Not quite. We need to increase it a bit more.”

“What do you mean? Is there another source of income?”

“Yes. The medical corporation run by Susan Unni [Unni is a Korean term for older sister or close female friend] generated a net income of 110 million Krang last season. So, the total revenue exceeds 1 billion Krang.”

That meant the God Knights currently had 3.31682 billion Krang. This was more than enough to purchase Rezaris. However, with income, there were also expenses, and these lists needed to be checked.

“What about the expense list?”

“Unfortunately, expenses have increased a lot compared to last year. Because of the promotion to the World League, the funds required have increased.”

Esther began to list the expenses. The biggest expense was, of course, the gladiators’ salaries. Due to the 25% automatic salary increase option resulting from the promotion, 137.13 million Krang was spent on all salaried gladiators. However, compared to the current funds, it wasn’t a significant burden.

The next largest expense was event costs, with 60 million Krang allocated. As they had advanced to the World League and revenue had increased, they needed to provide more services and attractions to the audience, so this level of expense was acceptable. Staff salaries were allocated 20.2 million Krang, and gladiator maintenance costs were allocated 20 million Krang. An additional 14 million Krang was spent on stadium rental and other operating expenses.

“So, a total of 251.33 million Krang will be spent this year.”

“Yes, that’s right. But there are also external expenses.”

“What is it?”

“The Elf School and Elf Market have been completed. A total of 24 million Krang per year is spent on personnel and costs for these.”

The Elf School and Elf Market were the God Knights’ future growth engines and Beomseok’s new source of income. 24 million Krang was a worthwhile investment.

“So, the amount to be invested in this summer transfer market is a little over 3 billion Krang.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

That was enough. The gladiator Beomseok was currently targeting was Rezaris. With the funds currently available, they would have about 400 million Krang left over even after acquiring her.

“Good. Thank you for your hard work.”

Esther suddenly began to read his expression. She clearly had something important to say.

“Um, Chairman. I have a suggestion.”

“Hmm. Go ahead and say it.”

“Chilia’s current salary is 4.75 million Krang.”

Beomseok nodded. Chilia was an I0-level gladiator. She deserved that much salary.

“Hmm. Everyone usually gets that much. But why?”

“I’m saying that Chilia isn’t worth 4.75 million Krang to our team. She didn’t play in any league games last season.”

Beomseok, with his arms crossed, looked at Esther with a serious gaze. He couldn’t possibly misunderstand her meaning. Although her salary matched her skills, they couldn’t continue to keep her if she wasn’t needed by the team.

“I see. So, what do you want to do?”

“I’d like to release her. That way, we can save some team funds.”

It was a cruel thing to say, but it was understandable. The God Knights weren’t a charity, so they couldn’t continue to support Chilia.

Even though it seemed cold, releasing her would benefit the team. And not being able to play in league games meant she wouldn’t receive any allowances. For Chilia to earn more income, it would be better for her to go to a lower-level Central League or Wide League team where she could play.

“Hmm. I guess we have no choice. We can’t keep someone we can’t use.”

“Yes. You’ve made a good decision.”

Beomseok created a somber atmosphere. Although they had decided to release Chilia for the team’s benefit, she had been with the God Knights since the beginning. Even though she wasn’t an elf under his command, he couldn’t help but feel sorry.

“But will there be a team for Chilia to go to? If not, let’s keep her a little longer.”

“Don’t worry about that. She’s still a good gladiator. There have been teams offering to recruit her, so a gladiator team will come forward to transfer her.”

“Okay. Then do as you think best.”

“Yes. Oh, and I’m also thinking of promoting Siya’s transfer. What do you think?”

Siya was the God Knights’ reserve guardian gladiator. She was currently ranked as a C3-level player, and it would be difficult to use her in the World League, where C1-C0 level players were the mainstream, even as a reserve for a lower-ranked team. However, the God Knights were currently somewhat short on rear gladiators.

Currently, the team only had Bertia, Venus, Agelia, and Cassie as rear gladiators. Although Seyia and Nikita could be rotated, it was better to have some professional rearguards.

“Let’s wait a little longer on that. If we can’t acquire Rezaris this time and transfer Siya as well, our rear will become very weak.”

“Still, Siya can’t be put into the game anyway. Even if we can’t acquire Rezaris, it’s better to recruit another rear gladiator to fill the gap. Judging from the fact that her skills haven’t improved at all since she was recruited, we can’t expect any further growth from her.”

Beomseok calmly agreed. Esther’s words were not wrong at all.

The God Knights, a World League team, couldn’t continue to keep a C3-level gladiator with no growth potential. And currently, the rearguards Bertia, Venus, Agelia, and Cassie were W1, C0, C1, and W2 level gladiators, respectively. Compared to them, Siya’s level was too low.

“Sigh~ Okay. Let’s transfer Siya this time too.”

“Yes. That’s the right decision.”

“Then, is there anything else to say?”

“No. There’s still one more thing left.”

“What is it this time?”

“It’s about Erica.”

Beomseok flinched. He wondered why she hadn’t been mentioned. Erica was an I1-level gladiator who had only played in one game last year. It was highly likely that she would be classified as a gladiator with no value at all this season.

“You know that Erica is my lover elf and cannot be sold, right?”

“Yes. I know. But our God Knights are a World League team. We should have already had a professional information analysis team. You said before that she was good at power analysis. I think we can turn her in that direction.”

Indeed, Beomseok had recruited Erica because he valued her value as an information analyst more than her value as a gladiator. Certainly, as Esther said, it was better to use her for her original purpose now.

“Sigh~ Okay. Tell Erica to retire.”

“That’s a good decision. Then I’ll make a plan to create an information analysis team.”

“Okay. Is that it now?”

“Yes. There’s nothing else.”

Beomseok leaned back in his chair and stared blankly at the ceiling. Although they were gladiators who were not needed in the team, three of them were leaving the squad. Soon, it would be necessary to recruit and fill in some useful gladiators.

At that moment, a loud siren echoed throughout the training camp. It meant that the security system had been activated, and it was certain that an intruder had infiltrated the training camp from the outside.

Occasionally, patients who visited Susan’s medical center would trespass out of curiosity or by mistake, causing the alarm to sound, but Beomseok couldn’t help but react sensitively. He still remembered being kidnapped with Margaret.

The Black Society had tried to kill him once, so there was no reason why they couldn’t do it again.

He immediately jumped up from his seat, grabbed the katana from the cabinet, and rushed outside.

“The intruder is running north! Chase them quickly!”

Beomseok’s eyes, which had come out in front of the office building, saw guards and bird cameras chasing someone in the thick darkness. He told Esther, who followed him, to go to the dormitory building, and then ran towards the intruder. He had to catch them before they harmed anyone on the team.

‘What? It’s not a man.’

The intruder was not a man. Although it was difficult to see in the darkness, it was clear that she was a woman, judging from her blue hair that reached her waist and her unique curvy figure. Moreover, the ears that soared high into the sky were one of the physical characteristics of elves.

‘No, why on earth would an elf infiltrate our training camp?’

The reason was currently unknown. The Black Society may have seduced an elf and sent her as an assassin, or she may have come to the medical center for treatment and gotten lost. But what was certain was that it wasn’t the latter.

Because ordinary elves couldn’t be that fast. The intruder’s current running speed was the kind of speed that would only come from a World League-level gladiator.

“How can someone be so fast!”

The guard elves were already far behind. Beomseok was slowly catching up, but there was a risk of losing her in the darkness. The infiltrating elf was no ordinary elf.

Annoyed, Beomseok shouted. He was going to have to run around in the middle of the night until his feet were sweating.

“Hey! Stop right there!”

At the same time, the unidentified elf stopped. If she stopped when told to stop, she was clearly not a thief or an assassin, so Beomseok approached with the tip of his sword lowered.

“H-Hello, are you Beomseok-nim [Nim is a Korean honorific suffix]?”

Beomseok tilted his head at the sudden beautiful voice. She wasn’t an elf under his command, but it was a voice he had heard somewhere.

“You. Who are you?”

“I’m Eirene.”

Beomseok, who had come closer and saw her face, rubbed his face. It was Eirene. She was a gladiator belonging to the Dragon Knights, who were relegated to the Wide League this year. He had often played with her in the World Cup qualifiers, and he had seen her several times in the league over the past two years, so he vividly remembered her face.

“Geez. Eirene. What are you doing here at this hour?”

“I, I came to see Beomseok-nim.”

Beomseok gestured to the elf guards who had followed him to stop and approached her.

“Why are you here to see me?”

“I have something important to tell you.”

He let out a long sigh with a dumbfounded expression.

“If you have something to say, you can come with your managers during the day tomorrow. Why are you making such a fuss in the middle of the night?”

“It’s something the managers can’t hear.”

“What is it?”

Eirene, who was hesitant as if she had no shame, plucked up her courage and answered.

“Please let me take the recruitment test. I can do really well if I go to the God Knights. So please, I beg you.”

Beomseok grabbed his forehead as if his head was throbbing. He had been thinking of recruiting Eirene, but not like this. If the fact that he had conducted a physical test on her without the knowledge of her team, the Dragon Knights, was revealed to the outside world, the God Knights would be heavily penalized. The current situation was that serious.

“You. You know what kind of disadvantages this could bring to our team, right?”

“I know. But we can do it secretly. I’m confident that I can please Beomseok-nim if I just take the test.”

Beomseok pointed to the elf guards who had followed him with his thumb. They were originally outsiders. The situation that Eirene had caused today could easily leak out through their mouths. The current situation was that serious.

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

There are people who have inquired about the development of gladiators, so we will be updating it soon. We will upload it within a few days, so please wait.

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