Perfect World [EN]: Chapter 54

On the day of the match, Beomseok visited the Ellaim Arena, located east of Osaha Beach. Having thought it was just a simple tournament to commemorate the opening, Beomseok was overwhelmed by the scale of the event unfolding from the entrance.

In the parking lot, colorful flying buses, seemingly exclusive vehicles for the players, were lined up. Along both sides of the road leading to the two dome-shaped giant stadiums, numerous balloons on strings soared into the sky. Many Elves in revealing outfits, like those worn by racing models, strolled around with rainbow-colored parasols, enlivening the atmosphere. Gladiators and fighters, who appeared to be participating athletes, were busy checking their equipment while sitting on the lawn of the plaza. And in the middle of the main street, drone cameras flew around, adding to the hustle and bustle as families moved about as spectators.

“Whew~ I thought it was just a tournament to celebrate the opening of the arena, but it looks like it’s quite a big deal.”

“Y-yes, it seems so.”

Venus replied in a trembling voice. It seemed that her quiet personality was intimidated by the atmosphere of the arena. Beomseok looked at Venus with a warm smile.

“Don’t be nervous. You’ve competed in front of many spectators at the GA Cup [Galactic Arena Cup] before. It’s the same as then. Just do your best for me in the match. If it goes well, great, and if not, it’ll be another good experience. So, relax and focus on the match.”

“B-but, Master, you really wanted to have that Elf named Matilda, right? What if I get eliminated early and disappoint you…”

“Don’t worry. What I expect from you is to test your abilities by fighting alone against professionals. Getting Matilda is what they expect from me. So, just work hard for each of our goals.”

Whether those words were comforting, Venus’s trembling decreased significantly.

“Yes, I understand. I’ll do my best to show you a good match, Master.”

“Hehe. Good. Then let’s quickly find the arena. There are many things to prepare.”

They parted ways at the fork leading to the two arenas. Venus had to compete in Arena 1 since she was in Group A, and Beomseok had to go to Arena 2 since he was in Group B. He encouraged Venus one more time and moved towards Arena 2.

“Contestants, please prepare. The match will begin soon.”

In the waiting room for contestants, Beomseok, who was among the Elves who appeared to be players, put his helmet down on the floor and continued to adjust the suit he was wearing. His turn was still far off, so he intended to check if there were any issues with his equipment in the meantime. This suit was provided by the organizers, so there might be unnoticed damage.

“Okay. Then, contestants B-01 and B-02, please come to the arena.”

At the words of the event host, the blonde Elf sitting in front of him and the black-haired Elf sitting far to the right stood up and went outside.

At this, the contestants took out their electronic notebooks and displayed hologram videos as if they had made an agreement. Since this tournament was being broadcast by a local TV station that the organizers had paid a large sum to invite, they could watch the matches of the players who had just left. It seemed they were trying to figure out the strengths of unfamiliar opponents through the screen. As expected, they were professionals who did their best in everything. But Beomseok was still busy adjusting his equipment.

The only player he was worried about was Hillis, a gladiator belonging to Group A. She was the starting gladiator of the Black Rose team, based in Osaha and belonging to the Irscentral League [a major regional gladiator league]. He had never faced a Central League gladiator before, so he was a bit nervous.

Wow! Wow!

Hearkening cheers erupted simultaneously from outside the entrance and from the electronic notebooks of other contestants, signaling the start of the first match.

The duration was 3 minutes per round, with a 1-minute break. The maximum play time for the first round, which consisted of a total of 4 rounds, was 16 minutes. However, in gladiator matches, victory or defeat was often determined by a single, well-executed sword strike, so it often ended before that. After a while, the clear metallic sound gradually subsided, and the match ended.

“Okay, then. The second match participants, please come out.”

The waiting line was rapidly decreasing. This was a natural phenomenon since the matches ended in about 2-3 rounds. But Beomseok leaned back against the wall in a relaxed posture. There was no need to be nervous since his first-round opponent was just a starting-level gladiator from a lower-tier Area League team, and he had plenty of time left since he was assigned to the very last match.

– Okay, then we will proceed with the 11th match of Group A. The contestants for this match are Hillis from the Black Rose team, whom you have all been waiting for, and Rebecca, a general participant. Now, please enter the players.

Beomseok’s ears perked up at the sound of the TV broadcast coming from nearby. The match of the player he had been paying attention to was starting.

‘What? Wasn’t Hillis supposed to advance to the second round by default?’

When the last meeting was held, the participants had a simple draw for the bracket. Even then, Beomseok had been watching Hillis, so he clearly saw her being exempted from the first-round match. But suddenly, she was participating in the first-round match. Out of curiosity and to explore strategies, he took out his electronic notebook and displayed the TV hologram video.

Fortunately, the match had not yet started, and Hillis on the screen was just standing on the right side of the round, lightly warming up.

‘Why is she here again?’

When the screen turned to her opponent, Rebecca, Beomseok’s eyes widened. It was the modified human woman he had seen at the Elf market a few days ago. She hadn’t come to the last meeting, so he thought her participation application had been rejected.

‘As expected, the power of money and connections? Seriously, it’s hard for someone without money to live.’

Upon investigation, it turned out that Rebecca’s family, the Chaplins, was a well-established family that had built a considerable business in Arkan, a region right next to the Avend regional government. Their electronics, flying car, and shipbuilding companies were globally recognized as giant corporations, and their professional sportswear, construction, distribution, and food businesses were also relatively well-known. All together, they were ranked around the top 10 in the world’s business rankings. Naturally, with the Chaplin family’s money and connections, it was possible to enter this opening commemorative tournament through back channels.

However, it didn’t seem to matter much. Although this was an opening commemorative tournament, and the organizers had a strong influence, it was difficult to make blatantly biased judgments in a situation where it was being broadcast on TV. Especially in the gladiator division, it was even more so because there were hardly any cases where they drew and went to a judgment.

‘Hehe. Besides, the opponent is a Central League player… Then it’s over.’

Beomseok smiled leisurely, crossed his legs comfortably, and watched the match. Soon after, the gong rang, and Hillis and Rebecca began to glare at each other, holding their swords. Following this, Rebecca’s sword strike cut through the space and flew forward quickly.

Clang. Clang. Clang. Clang.

The clear metallic sounds continued to erupt. Sparks continued to fly between Hillis and her, heightening the atmosphere of the arena.

‘Oh, oh? She’s pretty good.’

The duel between these two women, which had been expected to be one-sided, was progressing almost evenly. They seemed to have equal strength, as neither of them could be seen being pushed back when they faced each other with their swords. And when looking at the sword forms that adorned the sky, it could be said that their sense of swordsmanship from experience was almost the same. However, in terms of technique, Rebecca seemed to be quite ahead. The tip of her sword changed strangely, wriggling up, down, left, and right like a living creature.

‘What? Did they plan something? Hmm. It doesn’t seem like it.’

As the swordplay gradually became chaotic and flowed at a fast tempo, Hillis was very embarrassed and was being pushed back. He wondered if there had been some kind of deal between the two, but based on their current movements, it was definitely not the case. The level they were displaying in the arena was higher than that of Erpina, who had been very active in the Wide League [another regional gladiator league] in the past.

The sound of the bell rang, and the two women returned to their seats with the end of the first round. Rebecca sat comfortably in her chair, while Hillis took off her helmet, looking exhausted, and breathed heavily. If this was acting, Hillis deserved the Academy Award for Best Actress.

“Tsk. It seems Rebecca will be my opponent in the final.”

No one knew the outcome of the match, so it could not be said that Beomseok’s prediction would be accurate. However, based on the results of the first round, Rebecca’s victory was certain. Hillis was not adapting to her bizarre rhythm at all, so even a minor mistake would determine the outcome. Moreover, the time for the match was only 16 minutes. It was very difficult to figure out the identity of that strange swordsmanship within that time.

As expected, Hillis was hit directly in the forehead in the middle of the second round and immediately fell to the ground, incapacitated.

‘I need to be careful too. I could get caught off guard.’

In fact, these two had almost the same strength in terms of basic physical abilities and sword proficiency. However, the reason why the victory or defeat was so easily decided was because of the strange rhythm that Rebecca possessed. The strength and changes of her sword far exceeded expectations, making it very difficult to block accurately. As a result, the opponent gladiator had to move their body excessively, which inevitably led to extreme stamina loss.

With that level of skill, she would be able to reach the final. He foresaw difficulties.

“Okay, then, contestants B-63 and B-64, please come to the arena.”

At the host’s call, Beomseok organized his equipment and got up from his seat. The player B-64 was him. He tilted the katana he was wearing on his waist and walked towards the entrance.

Wow! Wow!

The audience, who were packed into the arena, shouted as the players appeared. The lights hanging from the dome-shaped ceiling illuminated the central arena with an intensely bright light. Various lasers adorned the sky along the paths, and highlight videos of the players’ performances were being played in the space directly above the entrance.

Beomseok, who was heading towards the arena, suddenly raised his head. It was because the betting results were displayed on the screen. 1.8:1. It was a disadvantageous betting amount for him, but he was satisfied. If they had seen his match footage, no foolish gamblers would have bet on his opponent. He guessed that there were more general family outing spectators in the arena today than gamblers. Thanks to this, the total amount of money he would earn from this victory was 390,000 Krang [currency]. It could be said that it was quite substantial.

‘Hmm. 390,000 Krang is something. Hehe.’

Beomseok, who had stepped onto the square ring, went to the center of the arena and looked at the opponent coming up. It was an Elf named Ellaya, a starting-level gladiator from the Thunder Zeus team belonging to the Area League. He hadn’t gathered information in advance, but judging from the weapons she was carrying, it seemed that she mainly used a two-handed sword.

As she came up, the referee approached and placed them in the center of the ring.

“Be careful, if you go out of the ring 3 times, you will be disqualified.”

There were no ropes blocking the four sides of the gladiator tournament. This was because there was a possibility of getting caught when swinging the sword. There was nothing more ridiculous than losing because the sword got caught on the ring.

Instead, the front of the spectator seats was blocked with a sturdy transparent reinforced acrylic panel, as a sword missed by mistake could injure the audience.

“Then fight!”

The referee, who announced the start of the match, quickly slipped out of the ring. Following this, blue flames erupted in all directions. It was because Beomseok had blocked the sword that Ellaya had extended in a surprise attack.

Clang. Clang. Clang.

The audience stood up from their seats as she continued her one-sided attack. Although Beomseok had almost twice as many bets, most of the spectators had bet on Ellaya, who was from this region. Only some wealthy professional gamblers had bet on him.

‘Hmm. Did I hype up the atmosphere too much?’

Beomseok, who had been pushed to the corner, brushed past her and pushed her out with his shoulder. Ellaya, who went out of the ring while staggering, immediately received a warning from the referee.

“Ellaya. Warning 1!”

With a dark face, she hesitated and returned to the ring. She had expected him to be quite strong after watching the video before the match, and she was right. No matter how she looked at it, the scene where he easily defeated five core-level gladiators from the 11th-ranked professional team in the region last year in the GA 4th round was by no means a coincidence.

However, as a professional gladiator, she could not be defeated by an amateur. She had to win. The audience did not yet know what kind of skilled person Beomseok was, so if she lost, considerable jeers would pour out.

Ellaya, who had received the referee’s signal to resume the match, was carefully circling the ring. Since her initial surprise attack had failed, she was now trying to aim for the opponent’s mistake as a siege.

‘Hmm. Is she trying to go slow this time?’

However, Beomseok did not want that at all. This tournament had a tight schedule of having to play 7 matches in 3 days, so stamina management was very important. There was no need to waste mental strength and stamina by unnecessarily dragging out the time.

Beomseok quickly lunged his katana towards her.

“?!”

Ellaya, who stepped back and dodged, attacked him by drawing a small trajectory with the longsword she was holding. Beomseok, who confirmed that her waist was slightly open, pushed her with a nimble shoulder charge. And in the moment when she lost her balance, he immediately raised his katana and struck her accurately in the neck.

Ellaya’s body, which was gradually falling into a state of stiffness, leaned forward. Beomseok, realizing that the match was over, stepped back. Touching a fallen opponent was considered an unsportsmanlike act and could result in a penalty loss, so he needed to appeal to the referee that he had no intention of doing so.

Soon after, the referee jumped out, blocked the two, and announced the end of the match.

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

I’m barely managing to upload. I barely finished this episode yesterday. ^^;;;; I need to focus when Kingpanwol is over soon. Good days will come in August. Hahaha.

Then I’ll see you again on Monday morning. Have a good weekend.