Perfect World [EN]: Chapter 55

55.

“Master! Over here!”

Bumseok, who was discussing the afternoon match schedule with the staff, turned his head at the familiar voice. It was Venus. She must have finished her match early in Arena A and come to wait for him.

He waved his hand lightly and looked back at the staff.

“The afternoon match starts at 3 PM. You have about two hours left, so please have a light meal and be in the waiting room by 2:40 PM.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Bumseok, having finished his business, opened the door to the spectator seats and approached Venus. Judging by her bright expression, she must have passed the first round without any trouble.

“Master, did you watch my match? I did well, right?”

Bumseok wore an awkward expression. He had been so focused on Hilleece and Rebecca’s match that he had completely forgotten that he was supposed to watch her match. But if he said he didn’t see it, she would droop her ears and show her disappointment. Bumseok forced a bright expression.

“You did very well. I’m very proud that you’re my Elf. Hahaha.”

Venus smiled brightly, pleased with her master’s praise. And as they left the arena together, she boasted about her match several times. It was a bit annoying, but Bumseok, feeling guilty, just nodded and patted her back.

“What should we eat?”

Outside the Ellaim Arena, Bumseok, out on the street, looked around with a troubled expression. Most of the nearby restaurants were packed with customers who appeared to be spectators.

He was worried that going too far would make him late for the afternoon match. Inevitably, he bought a set lunch box from a nearby convenience store and returned to the Ellaim Arena. He thought it wouldn’t be bad to have a cozy meal with Venus on the grassy field shaded by trees in front of the arena building.

“Okay, let’s eat.”

Bumseok, sitting side by side with Venus on a long bench, opened the lunch box. Potato croquettes, a few pieces of cutlet, vegetable salad, and kimchi. A series of appetizing side dishes were lined up, enough to make his mouth water. The only problem was that it was lukewarm, but it was decent for a 50-krang meal [krang is the currency in this world].

He handed Venus a wooden chopstick and a plastic spoon, then scooped a spoonful of rice, placed a piece of kimchi on top, and put it in his mouth. Bumseok involuntarily exclaimed at the crisp, refreshing sensation.

“It’s quite delicious, isn’t it?”

Venus, with a mouthful of croquette, nodded.

“Yes, it’s delicious.”

At that moment, an old gentleman approached them. Judging by the convenience store lunch box in his hand, he seemed to be planning to have a meal. He sat right next to Bumseok and smiled brightly.

“Oh, who is this? Isn’t it the Goddess of Luck and her master?”

Bumseok slowly turned his head and widened his eyes as he looked at the old gentleman. It was the man who had taught him how to play slot machines at the hotel casino a few days ago. Although they hadn’t had a long conversation at the time, he remembered him well because they had shared the great experience of winning the jackpot.

Bumseok put down his spoon and shook hands with Wilkins, who held out his hand.

“Nice to meet you. But what brings you here?”

“I just came to visit because they introduced me to an interesting event. It’s boring to just hang around in the casino. After all, sports betting is the best gambling, isn’t it?”

“Oh, is that so? Have you won a lot?”

Wilkins opened his lunch box and said.

“Not really. If it weren’t for you, I would have been at a loss.”

“Oh, did you bet on me too?”

“Well, I had to bet on someone I knew. Thanks to you, I made about 40,000 krangs here and made up for the loss.”

If he made 40,000 krangs from his victory, it meant that he had bet the maximum amount of 100,000 krangs per person. It was quite a large sum, so he couldn’t help but be surprised.

“No, what made you bet such a large sum on me?”

“Well, I believed in your luck. Do you think it’s that easy to hit the jackpot on a slot machine?”

Bumseok pointed to Venus and said.

“I didn’t hit the jackpot. Venus here did.”

“Huhu. I guess that’s true. But I didn’t bet on you just because of luck. I had my reasons.”

“Reasons?”

“The betting odds. You’re an amateur, but the betting odds are higher than those of a professional. It’s common sense for the general public to bet on the latter. That means that professional gamblers have bet a lot of money on you. So I invested boldly. In sports betting, following professional gamblers is the shortcut to making money.”

It was obvious, but he was very surprised that he had deduced that far based solely on the betting odds. Bumseok, thinking that he was no ordinary person, opened his information window to check.

‘Oh, he’s the chairman of Wilkins Financial Group…….’

Wilkins Financial Group was a huge financial company ranked second in the financial sector. It had a series of well-known financial companies such as Wilkins Bank and Wilkins Investment Securities, and it was one of the few large capital companies that showed interest in the sale of TNB Bank, which had entered court receivership.

Moreover, Wilkins’ abilities were also astonishing. His physical strength was at rock bottom, but his judgment and luck, as well as other stats, were generally at their peak. He felt that his future plays would be difficult if he was disliked.

Bumseok quickly closed the information window and answered as politely as possible.

“Hahaha. It’s amazing that you found a chance to make money in a situation that you would have just passed over.”

“Huhu. What’s so amazing about that? It’s nothing compared to you.”

Bumseok, with wide eyes, said.

“What do you mean by that?”

“Isn’t it obvious? Even though you’re in the lower league, you defeated a professional gladiator so easily. I was so worried that I felt pathetic.”

“Hahaha. It’s nothing. I was just lucky.”

Wilkins shook his hand as if it were absurd.

“Lucky? I was so intrigued that I looked into it, and you seem to be quite skilled. You’ve even brought an amateur team to the GA Cup 6th round.”

“Ah, that’s all thanks to my Elves. The kids I have are quite skilled.”

“Hmm. I don’t think that’s the only reason. I’m a gladiator enthusiast. In my opinion, judging from your skills in the showdown in the GA Cup 4th round and today’s results, you’re definitely not ordinary.”

If he had investigated this far, it would be rude to be humble any longer. So Bumseok laughed heartily and said.

“Hahaha. Yes, I’m quite skilled. If a person only digs one well, the hole gets deeper, doesn’t it? I just kept digging swords, and I rose to this level of skill. There’s always a reward for effort, isn’t there?”

“Huhu. That’s right. Especially when it comes to honing oneself. That’s why I like you.”

“I don’t know what to do with myself for being seen in such a good light. Hahaha.”

Wilkins, with a gentle smile, said.

“But you don’t get any professional offers? I imagine you get a lot…….”

“Yes, I get a lot. It’s quite annoying.”

“But why didn’t you go pro? Is learning swordsmanship just for self-satisfaction?”

“No. I’m also aiming to go pro. However, the reason why I’m refusing the offers from professional teams is because I want to create my own professional team. So I’m planning to enter my team in the promotion tournament next year.”

“Really? What are the chances of promotion?”

“Quite good. The industry currently ranks our team as the number one candidate for promotion.”

“Hmm. Then you should start preparing for the funding process. It’ll be too late after you get promoted.”

Bumseok shook his head. He had no intention of making the team a corporation.

“No. I’m going to run the team as a sole proprietorship.”

“Why not?”

“Because I won’t use Elves without owners.”

“No. Then you’ll have to pay them a lot of money, which will cause a big problem in the team’s operation? Are you okay with that?”

“That’s why I’m going to do it as a sole proprietorship. Then I can scout Elves from other teams and make them my Elves. Then the worry about salary will be greatly reduced, won’t it?”

Wilkins lightly stroked his chin and looked at him with suspicious eyes. He had been involved in the funding of professional teams in his younger days, so he knew how absurd Bumseok’s words were.

Of course, it would be different if he had a lot of money.

“Do you have the funds to build a team?”

“I currently have about 75 million krangs in total assets.”

As soon as he heard that, Wilkins immediately shook his head. It was a large sum, but it was not enough.

“Then you can’t go pro. It’s not easy to create a professional team. I think you need to have at least 200 million krangs… Do you have a training camp that meets the professional league regulations? If you take out a loan from the bank with that as collateral, you might be able to do it.”

“No, I don’t. Didn’t I just tell you that my total assets are 75 million krangs?”

Wilkins stared blankly at Bumseok. No matter how much a young man should have dreams, this was too reckless. A professional team was not child’s play… It couldn’t be made with just dreams.

“Then what will you do if you pass this year’s promotion tournament and can’t go up to the professional team because you don’t have money? Will you still keep your current thoughts?”

“Yes. I will never make the team a corporation. I’ll just take the prize money and stay down for a year.”

Wilkins, holding his forehead, sighed deeply. He thought that a huge incident would happen in the sports world next year. No amateur team had ever given up on going pro, which could make a lot of money if they just got funding. It was clear that it would be a hot topic on news channels around the world for at least a day.

“Hey, are you crazy? Do you hate money? If the team goes pro, you’ll have a lot of money in your pocket.”

“Hahaha. Who doesn’t like money? It’s just a matter of priority. I just like living with my Elves more than money.”

Wilkins fell into thought again. He wasn’t the type to be nosy, but he was trying to save this poor soul.

The author’s total assets are 75 million krangs. With the recent economic situation, he might be able to buy a decent training camp with this money. But the maximum amount he could borrow when using it as collateral was about 50 million krangs. No matter how he looked at it, he couldn’t make a professional team with this money. If he lent him money, he would end up living a life struggling with debt.

Of course, the story would be different if he was promoted to a professional team. If it was a sole proprietorship, he wouldn’t have to distribute dividends to shareholders, so he would have plenty of funds left over. Then he would have enough to cover the interest even if he had a lot of debt.

However, there was a reason why they were funding amateur teams when they went pro. No financial institution would lend a huge amount of money to a newly promoted team that was at risk of being relegated. If they were relegated, there would be no way to get money, so how would they cover the interest and repay the principal? That’s why everyone was funding to minimize the risk.

‘There’s no way. There’s no way…….’

Suddenly, Wilkins’ mind flashed. He remembered buying a large amount of shares in Micro Engineering a few days ago. The company’s stock was strategically planned to be bought by his securities company, so there was a high possibility that it would rise sharply soon.

“Did you buy shares in Micro Engineering before?”

“Yes, I did.”

“If you don’t mind, can I ask how many shares you have?”

Bumseok answered immediately because there was nothing to hide.

“Yes, I currently have exactly 460,000 shares.”

Wilkins wore a puzzled expression. The number of shares he held was more than he expected, but it was too ambiguous. It was difficult to lend him money based on this, as he didn’t know exactly how much it would rise.

In the end, he shook his head and took out a business card from his pocket and handed it to Bumseok. He thought that he couldn’t help him now, so he should contact him if he had the means to do so in the future. He was going to save a poor soul, but he didn’t have to go out of his way to help him.

“Here, this is my business card.”

Bumseok politely accepted it and pretended to be surprised. He knew Wilkins’ identity, but there was no reason to reveal that fact.

“Oh, are you really the chairman of Wilkins Group?”

“Don’t ask about that. There’s something you need to know now.”

“Yes, please tell me anything.”

“Contact me if you need money later. Then I’ll introduce you to my staff. But I can’t lend you more than 70% of your real estate and financial assets. Keep that in mind.”

Bumseok, who couldn’t live with debt, didn’t care at all. But he couldn’t refuse the favor right in front of his face.

“Ah. Yes, I understand. I’ll let you know if I need funds.”

“Okay. And one more thing. Don’t sell those Micro Engineering shares until the end of the year.”

“Ah. Yes, I’m thinking of doing that too.”

“Good. Then the business is over, so let’s eat. I’m hungry because I used my head for nothing.”

Wilkins picked up his spoon and scooped up the lunch box. Bumseok and Venus followed suit and ate.

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

I’ve been watching anime on Pandora TV yesterday and today, so my reserves have dried up. ㅠㅠ. But there was a gain. I’ve come up with a new worldview. If I can organize it, it will be born as a useful material.

Then I’ll see you next time. Have a nice day, everyone.