Perfect World [EN]: Chapter 38

“Okay. From now on, Erpina, Reimi, Oscar, Stephanie, and I will rest for the showdown. And Emma!”

Emma, who had been sitting in a corner of the bench, jumped up in surprise.

“Yes, yes!”

“I’ll have you compete in the next 4th and 5th rounds, so be prepared.”

Her eyes widened in surprise. She couldn’t believe that she, a novice, would be put in such an important game.

“Um, can I really compete? As you know, I’ve only been holding a sword for two months.”

“It doesn’t matter. Our Venus has a similar background to you, and she’s been competing a lot.”

Venus was a Dual Shielder focused solely on defense. She only needed to perform simple shield-blocking actions, so she was able to build up her skills enough to compete in that short amount of time. But Emma was a different story. She had to learn swordsmanship that required complex forms and various techniques, so she couldn’t reach a satisfactory level in a month. All she had trained so far were basic sword stances and a few sparring sessions.

“Venus and I are different. I’m learning swordsmanship. I haven’t built up enough skill to go out yet.”

“It’s okay. I don’t intend to win in the 4th and 5th rounds, so feel free to play the game.”

Emma, who had been hesitating, eventually nodded. It was very burdensome, but it seemed okay to participate since she didn’t care about winning or losing. And the fact that she was playing in the 4th round of the GA Cup [Gladiator Association Cup], the grand festival of gladiators, was a great honor. Just participating would greatly enhance her reputation among the Black Society seniors and peers.

“Yes. I understand. I’ll do my best.”

Emma, wearing a helmet, began to carefully groom her longsword. In response, Beomseok selected only team members with few appearances and created a new roster.

“Okay, everyone. Don’t feel pressured, but do your best. It’s okay to lose, but we amateurs don’t have many opportunities to play in a place like this.”

The God Knights gladiators who would be in the 4th round were burning with fighting spirit. Even if he didn’t say it, they knew that today’s game was the best opportunity for self-promotion. If they did well, the road to becoming a pro would be wide open. And unlike the 2nd round, they could fight in an offensive formation rather than a defensive one, so they could show off their skills to their heart’s content.

They ran towards the stadium for the team and for the owner who would be cheering in the stands.

‘Hoo~ As expected.’

However, their inherent skills could not be overcome with fighting spirit. The God Knights, whose stamina was running low, were extremely weak. Starting with Emma, they fell into a state of incapacitation one by one, and in less than 10 minutes, they had to bear the burden of defeat.

The girls, who returned powerlessly, were again sent to the 5th round at Beomseok’s urging, and this time they lost even faster. In the end, both teams drew, and the victory or defeat of today’s game was decided in a showdown.

‘Good, it’s a showdown.’

Beomseok was in the middle of the stadium with Erpina, Reimi, Oscar, and Stephanie. A broad smile was on his face, but it seemed that he was enjoying the situation rather than being confident. It was because the time had come for him to be in the spotlight. He had already secured the game MVP with his past performance, but in this showdown, he planned to defeat all five of the opposing gladiators alone and greatly appeal his name to the media and fans. So, he volunteered for the vanguard position and was preparing to face the opponent first.

Beomseok, who had his katana slung over his shoulder, leaned on one leg and turned his gaze to the King Crab’s No. 3 gladiator who was approaching.

“Yo. Welcome. The first sacrifice.”

Whether she understood the meaning, she shouted angrily.

“I know you’re great, but I’m not that easy! I was caught off guard earlier, but it’ll be different now, so be prepared.”

“Oh, scary. But it’s not difficult to be prepared, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to see that skill.”

The No. 3 gladiator, who was angry, gripped the longsword in her hand tightly. And with the start signal of the showdown, she raised her sword and ran towards Beomseok.

“?!”

With a short cry, the trajectory of the longsword reached near Beomseok’s waist. He lightly blocked it with his katana and pushed the No. 3 gladiator’s chest with his shoulder. Staggering back, she quickly regained her composure and stabbed her sword deeply.

Whiririk. Beomseok, who avoided the tip of the sword that was flying with a sharp tearing sound just by shifting the center of his body, strongly struck the No. 3 gladiator’s waist with the katana he was holding.

Bang.

Her body tilted forward with a pitiful sound, and she looked at Beomseok with an absurd expression, but his gaze was directed at the King Crab’s gladiator with the number 6, who was the 2nd in the next match. She had come to this place because she was also the best in the team, but she had the worst skills among them.

“Wh, who are you? Why are you like you staying an amateur?”

Beep beep!

Beomseok, who didn’t feel the need to answer, raised his sword with the start signal. After exchanging swords once and struggling, they engaged in a close battle with several sword strikes going back and forth. The 6th gladiator, feeling that it wouldn’t work, focused only on defense. She thought it would be better to exhaust his strength as much as possible to create a favorable situation for the rearguard runners, since she couldn’t win.

Chang. Chang. Chang.

Along with the smell of burning metal, bright red flames splattered everywhere. Although she was extremely pushed back, the 6th gladiator was putting up a good fight against Beomseok. However, due to the clear difference in agility and swordsmanship, she allowed his sword strikes several times and became unable to use one arm and one leg.

Beomseok frowned. It was because the opponent, who was no match for him, was making all kinds of struggles and bothering him. Now, she was even using her immobile limbs as a shield to block his sword.

“Oh, you’re struggling.”

“I, I’m second place.”

The role of the second place was to withstand 5 minutes against a strong opponent to draw a draw, or if that wasn’t possible, to exhaust their stamina. The current tactic could be seen as natural. This was a fact that Beomseok also knew well. Without saying anything more, he mercilessly sprayed the tip of his sword.

Thud.

The 6th gladiator, who was hit hard on the head with his sword hilt, rolled on the ground. Perhaps because she was out of her mind from the shock, she staggered and barely stood up, then shook her head wildly. Beomseok, thinking this was the time, swung his sword briefly and cut off her right arm.

The longsword fell to the ground with a thud. The 6th gladiator, who could no longer use both arms, wore a desperate expression. It was because the last resort to block Beomseok’s attack had disappeared.

“Good job.”

Beomseok, who gave a light compliment, struck down hard with his katana. He felt proud of her fighting spirit, which made him swing his sword about 20 times.

The 6th gladiator, who was stiffened by the action of the physical reaction suit, collapsed and looked at the remaining colleagues. As if to say, this is it for me, please take care of the rest.

Waaaaaa! Waaaaaa!

The audience, who were watching, jumped up from their seats and cheered. The game, which they had already won, continued to the showdown, and they wondered if they would lose, but their team’s vanguard had already defeated two of the King Crab’s gladiators with a unilateral offensive. If they continued in this way, victory was a sure thing.

“Okay. You have to come out next.”

This time it was the 9th gladiator. She was a giant elf who wielded a long spear, and her appearance was bizarre because she had a cone attached to the forehead of her helmet. She stood in front of Beomseok and jumped in place as if to show off her strength. And as soon as the match started, she immediately threw away her equipment and tackled him. She intended to drag out the time by making him unable to move with her strong strength since she couldn’t do it with her skills. Judging from the current situation, if she couldn’t get rid of him this time, the team would have to bear the burden of defeat.

“You fool.”

However, Beomseok was also confident in martial arts. He had raised a martial artist character several times, and when he was bored, he went out to the field and played with monsters while wrestling. He immediately grabbed the 9th gladiator’s arms and performed a shoulder throw. And he immediately and boldly cut her neck with his sword while she was lying down in a flustered state.

Leaving the 9th gladiator, who had fallen into a state of stiffness, Beomseok looked at the next opponent gladiators again. Now, they were only the 14th gladiator and the 1st gladiator left. They wore tense expressions through their face shields. It was because they had to face an opponent who they could never beat 1v1, so they felt despair. But they couldn’t give up like this without trying anything. They slowly got up and stepped forward.

Waaaaaa! Waaaa!

In the showdown, Beomseok single-handedly defeated all five of King Crab’s representative gladiators, and the match was over. It was truly an amazing event that could be featured prominently in local newspapers. The fact that an amateur had won against a professional was also surprising, but the gladiator Beomseok, who had appeared like a comet, single-handedly defeated all five professional gladiators belonging to the Air League with just a few gestures in the showdown.

Naturally, the reporters had no choice but to pay attention to the God Knights, and he and his teammates were guided by the event staff to a press conference hall set up on one side of the Colosseum.

——–

This episode is the last. I was originally going to end it with episode 37, but there were about 2 pages left in this episode, so I finished writing it and uploaded it like this.

And one thing, I’m going to stop working on Perfect World here for now and focus on Kingpanwol according to the request. Thank you all for your understanding.

Then have a good day.

Oh, by the way… It seems that many people are curious about Stephanie. She is an elf who was briefly mentioned by name in the ‘Entry Test’ chapter and serves another owner. She will disappear soon, so don’t pay much attention to her.