Perfect World [EN]: Chapter 496

‘Hmm. Not bad, but is she sick or something?’

Shiran was lying comfortably with a helmet and various mechanical devices on her head, engaged in a virtual reality battle. Her opponent was none other than Beomseok. Even though it wasn’t a real person, the data was derived from his actual matches, so it was only natural that Shiran was being unilaterally defeated.

Beomseok glanced at Erfina.

“Isn’t this a bit too difficult?”

“Yes, it is very high. But Shiran asked if she could fight once, so I gave her special consideration.”

“Even with special consideration, this is meaningless for training. She’s just getting beaten up.”

Erfina sighed deeply.

“Sigh~ So, until recently, I had her spar against appropriate opponents in virtual duels, but she insisted, so I specially allowed it only today.”

“Why?”

“She thinks she’s the best. Shiran is currently the most outstanding child in our Elf School, but her arrogance is even greater. I think it’s necessary to fix it as soon as possible.”

“Even so, I don’t think she’s completely isolated. In my opinion, it would be better to have her actually spar with other kids of similar skill levels rather than this kind of simulation duel.”

“I wish that were possible, but the other children are no match for her at all.”

Beomseok’s eyes widened slightly.

“Really? How good is she?”

“About Y0 level? She has about a 50% win rate against virtual reality opponents of that skill level.”

Beomseok whistled and looked at Shiran with a different gaze. She was just about to graduate from the Elf School. He couldn’t believe she had Y0 level skills.

“Is that true?”

“Yes. We operate with a completely different system than other Elf Schools. Our training facilities are top-notch, and everyone is focused solely on swordsmanship except for basic learning, so their skills are bound to be good.”

Beomseok nodded as if he understood. General Elf Schools taught various academic subjects and sports, so they couldn’t focus on any specific field. In addition, they didn’t have the advanced training facilities that they provided, so their growth rate was extremely low.

“I guess that’s possible. But what about the skills of the other children?”

“They’re all pretty good. The ones graduating this year have at least the skills of upper-level Area League gladiators.”

Beomseok wore a satisfied smile. Then the future business prospects were promising. Right now, not many buyers are coming forward except for Ilsimhoe members and a few team officials because they are not well known, but if they go out into the gladiatorial world and show their skills, scouts from all over the world will flock to them.

“Hehe. Very good. Erfina, you’ve done a great job.”

“It’s nothing. It’s all for Master… and for those children too.”

Erfina looked at Shiran with a proud gaze. If they hadn’t bought them, she would have been sold to some sports team and lived without a master for decades.

If she was lucky, she might have been sold to a regular owner, avoiding the eyes of professional teams, but given Shiran’s potential, this was almost impossible. There was no way such a child wouldn’t have stood out in another Elf School, so school officials would have contacted professional teams in the area to gauge their interest in buying her in order to earn a high income.

Then she would have had to go from one professional team to another for at least 30 years.

But things were different since she came to this school. Beomseok was planning to sell all the Elf students to teams in the nature of private companies, so they didn’t have to live the lives of Elves working for general professional sports teams.

Beomseok looked at the virtual simulation machine and asked Erfina cautiously.

“By the way, how do I turn this off? I want to talk to Shiran…”

“Ah. Would you like me to turn it off for you then?”

When she flipped the switch, Shiran, who was sitting in a reclining chair, took off her helmet and got up, glaring at Erfina beyond the glass partition with a scowl on her face. She was annoyed that it had been turned off in the middle of the fun. But soon, she saw Beomseok standing next to her and hurried towards the door.

“Beomseok-nim!”

Shiran’s eyes were filled with respect. As a prospective professional gladiator, she couldn’t be happier to see Beomseok, the strongest in the world, in person.

When she met him before, she didn’t know anything and just passed by in a daze, and after she realized it later, the Elf School students were strictly prohibited from entering the professional team’s training grounds, so she only saw him from afar.

Beomseok looked at Shiran standing in front of him and scratched his head awkwardly. He was burdened by her staring at him with sparkling eyes.

“Are you Shiran?”

“Yes, I’m Shiran.”

“Hmm. Yes. I heard from Erfina that you are quite skilled.”

Shiran shook her head so hard that her ears fluttered. It wasn’t her usual behavior, but she couldn’t help it now. She knew very well that boasting about her height in front of a giant tree was something only an idiot would do. Just now, Shiran had been utterly destroyed by Beomseok’s avatar in the virtual simulation.

“Ah, no. I’m still far from it. I think I need to put in a lot more effort to become a great gladiator.”

Beomseok glanced at Erfina subtly. It wasn’t at all like she was showing off.

“Really? Why do you think so?”

“I just fought Beomseok-nim’s virtual avatar, and I was no match for him at all. That means I’m still lacking.”

“Hmm. I see. But where do you think you’re lacking?”

Shiran blinked her eyes severely. Now that he was pressing her, she had nothing to say. She had been beaten so badly that she couldn’t even resist, so she couldn’t find anything specific that she was lacking.

“Well, I think it’s everything.”

“Which part is the most lacking?”

“That… that’s… not really…”

Beomseok crossed his arms and stared at her intently. As expected, this training was meaningless.

“I guess you didn’t find anything. Let me ask you one thing. Why did you do this virtual duel in the first place? It seems like you didn’t gain anything from it?”

“Well, there’s no one in the Elf School who can match me.”

“Of course, I understand that, but there was no need to choose my avatar in today’s virtual duel. It’s not like there isn’t an opponent that suits you. Even though you’re young, it’s not good to waste time like this.”

Shiran, who had become sullen, lowered her chin. She had met a gladiator she admired, but the first words were scolding. She couldn’t help but be disappointed.

“I’m sorry.”

“What are you sorry for?”

“For choosing an opponent that didn’t match my skills.”

“That’s right. But you may not need to be sorry. Do you know about that?”

Shiran gave him a bewildered look.

“What do you mean? Did I do something wrong? Or did I not do something wrong?”

“That depends on your mental state during this training. Shiran, what was the purpose of this duel today?”

“Well, that’s. I wanted to fight Beomseok-nim once.”

“Why? For the development of your skills? Or because it seemed fun? Or for some other reason?”

Shiran tilted her head from side to side and pondered, then answered honestly.

“I was curious. I wanted to see what the skills of Beomseok-nim, the strongest of all time, were like.”

“Curious? You mean you did it for fun?”

“If you have to say it, yes.”

“Then I can’t say that your training today was completely ineffective.”

“Yes? What do you mean?”

The reason was very simple. If you do it for fun, nothing is bad.

The reason Beomseok has his current skills is because of the many games he has experienced. And the reason he played games was for fun. There was no other special purpose. That’s why he faced countless ridiculous monsters, and the reason he was able to acquire his current skills was because he was beaten and broken and searched for strategies. Of course, Beomseok couldn’t blame Shiran for fighting his avatar for fun.

“In fact, the reason I’ve risen to the top as the strongest gladiator is because I found swordsmanship fun. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to reach the top like today.”

“Really? Why?”

“Fun leads to the purest effort, which leads to the best learning effect. In that sense, you can be said to have very valuable qualities as a gladiator.”

Shiran smiled broadly at the sudden praise. No one would feel bad about being told that they had the best qualities from the strongest man.

“Then can I continue this kind of training?”

“Of course not. Even if you’re having fun with gladiatorial combat, that’s not enough. There must be another one to aim for the top.”

“Really? What is that?”

“It’s competitiveness. The will to win against the opponent.”

Shiran tilted her head. It wasn’t that she didn’t understand, but it didn’t connect with the fact that she shouldn’t fight Beomseok’s avatar.

“Hmm. I don’t understand. Please explain it in an easy-to-understand way.”

“Before that, let me ask you a question first. What do you need to do now to beat me?”

“Of course, I need to build up my skills.”

“That’s right. But fighting my avatar recklessly for fun is meaningless. In order to build up your skills now, you need to find an appropriate opponent and follow the procedure, but my avatar is not the target. No, you should avoid it at all costs. Because you may fall into despair and your passion for gladiatorial combat may fade.”

“Then who should I fight?”

“About a lower-level Central Leaguer would be appropriate. An opponent that you can barely fight, but can win if you do well. That’s the opponent you should be aiming for.”

She nodded her head repeatedly.

“Yes. I understand. I’ll do as Beomseok-nim says.”

He patted Shiran on the shoulder and gave her a warm smile.

“Yes. If you keep climbing the stairs like that, you’ll become a great gladiator in the future.”

“Yes. I’ll train hard and become a skilled person who can beat Beomseok-nim.”

It was a truly great ambition and laughable, but Beomseok smiled brightly. He would have scolded the other children, but Shiran was still a growing sprout. Anyway, if you live as a gladiator, you’ll know more than just the sweet and bitter tastes. There was no need to kill her spirit from the start.

“Hehe. Be sure to do that.”

“Yes. Then I’ll go back to training. Thank you so much for your advice today.”

While Shiran was entering the virtual simulation room again, Beomseok quietly opened her information window. He had seen it in the past, but he hadn’t seen it for a long time, so he didn’t know how much she had developed.

————————————————-

Name: Shiran.

Classification: Elf (2 years).

Affiliation: Gods Knights GC [Gods Knights Gladiator Club].

Fame: 2.

Notoriety: 12.

H Status: None.

Stamina: 8800/8800.

Sociability: 72, Strength: 89, Stamina: 88.

Agility: 83, Balance: 82, Intelligence: 97+10.

Mental Strength: 81+10. Judgment: 82, Skill: 15.

Luck: 58.

Current Skill/Potential: 747/988.

————————————————

Trait: Sword Saint of Passion.

Special Notes: A student at Godsknights’ Elf School. She is showing rapid growth with high intellectual ability, and currently has the best skills among her peers. She is specialized in the vanguard [front-line fighter], but is also building up the qualities of a mid-level player. She has chosen the katana as her main weapon.

————————————————

‘Kyaa~ She’s really an amazing kid no matter how many times I see her.’

Beomseok had a proud expression on his face. Top-notch growth potential of 988 and strength and stamina marking the late 80s. In addition, agility, balance, and mental strength were reaching 80, and intelligence was at 97. She was worthy of being evaluated as a truly great prospect.

In addition, the ‘Sword Saint of Passion’ trait had the function of raising all stats by +10 for 150 minutes when activated, and additionally included options to increase learning effect by +50% and intelligence and mental strength by +10 even in normal times. Considering that intelligence has a great influence on development, Shiran’s growth was expected to be very rapid.

‘Good. Very good. She’s developing properly. Hehehe.’

Beomseok was now relieved. If such promising players were added to the team one after another, they could easily fend off the attacks of large capital teams. No, someday in the distant future, they might come to him with regret and try to take the gladiators away. Now, all that was left for him to do was wait.

Beomseok looked at Erfina with an admirable gaze. Currently, Shiran’s stats were at the level of a mid-level Central Leaguer. As a result, her efforts could be seen as successful.

“Erfina. I’ll say it again, you’ve really done a great job. Shiran… I’m really looking forward to that child.”

“No. It’s the result of everyone’s hard work.”

Beomseok, who nodded his head, stared at Shiran beyond the glass partition and said.

“Yes. By the way, when will Shiran graduate?”

“Hmm. She’ll graduate before the start of next season. She’ll be three years old then.”

The graduation period for Elves was exactly three years from the date of their birth. This is because the production period varies greatly and buyers are not concentrated in one period.

“I see. Then don’t sign a sales contract with any other team until then. Bring her to me. Got it?”

“Yes. I was going to do that anyway.”

“Okay. Then I’ll go check on the other children, so keep up the good work.”

“Yes. Master.”

After that, Beomseok, who came out of the virtual simulation control room, went around every corner of the Elf School. It was very important to mark his future Elves.

============================ Author’s Afterword ============================

Everyone have a nice day. I’ll see you again tomorrow.