Perfect World [EN]: Chapter 69

“Alright. The regulars will be up next, so keep that in mind.”

As Diana announced the roster for the fourth round, some of the regulars wore dissatisfied expressions. It was extremely rare for the same gladiators to compete for three consecutive rounds, and they had achieved a record of two wins and one draw by the third round. There was no need to risk stamina loss and carry out an unreasonable strategy.

Mireille jumped up from her seat and asked, as if to argue,

“Director, why do our regulars have to go out for the fourth round? I can’t understand why you’re taking such a strategy, even at the cost of stamina depletion.”

“It’s simple. The South Devils team just put in their regulars for the second time in a row. They must be in the same situation as us. It’s highly likely that they’ll send in their second-stringers, including substitutes, in the fourth round, and their regulars in the fifth round. So, we’re going to end today’s game in this fourth round. There’s not much difference in stamina consumption between facing substitutes without rest and fighting regulars after resting for one round.”

It sounded plausible. Regulars were more difficult to deal with than substitutes, so the stamina consumed was bound to be relatively greater. It seemed that whether they played in the fourth round or rested for one round and played in the fifth, it was all the same. However, they only needed one more draw to advance to the round of 16. If their substitutes performed well in the fourth round, the regulars wouldn’t need to go out in the fifth round.

“But, if our substitutes record a draw, we don’t need to play the fifth round. No matter how I look at it, there’s a contradiction in your strategy.”

“Yes, you’re right. If we only consider this game, it’s clear that my choice is wrong. However, many of the substitutes participating in today’s game specialize in swords and shields and are scheduled to play in the quarterfinals. If preserving their stamina today helps them achieve at least one draw against the Great Hyenas’ regulars in the game that might be held a week later, the possibility of dragging it to a shootout increases considerably. Our regulars, who will be competing in the second and fourth rounds, will be able to secure two wins against the Great Hyenas team’s substitutes. And if it goes to a shootout, our team has about a 50% chance of advancing to the semifinals.”

Mireille nodded as if she understood. In a shootout where one-on-one matches were the main event, the skills of the top five players would determine the outcome. Of course, the Great Hyenas team was still threatening, as they could field two Central League regulars and three Wide League regulars. However, they had Beomseok, Oscar, Erpina, Erica, and others. It was a fight worth trying.

“I see. So, it’s a strategy to prepare for the quarterfinals.”

“That’s right.”

Mireille nodded in agreement and sat back down. Then, Beomseok stood up and began to add unnecessary details to Diana’s strategy. There was no particular reason; he was just trying to buy time until five minutes before the roster submission deadline. The strategy she had just mentioned was just an excuse to field the regulars in the fourth round. In reality, he planned to submit a second-string roster instead of the regulars, pretending it was a mistake. To deceive the opponent, it was necessary to create a rushed situation where mistakes could occur.

“By the way, Diana, I don’t know about the other regulars, but Nana and Remy are physically weak, so I don’t think they should participate in the fourth round. If they overexert themselves, they might not be able to perform at their best in the round of 16 or quarterfinals.”

“Hmm, I suppose that’s true. Yes, I’ll do as you say.”

“And since I and Remy are out, we need to include someone from the substitutes in the vacant regular formation. Who would be good?”

“Well, for the center position that Remy is vacating, Emma would be suitable. Her stamina is as good as our regulars. And I’m worried about who to put in the vanguard [front line] position that you’re vacating, Master. Everyone else is a center or rear gladiator.”

Beomseok pointed to Matilda, who was standing behind him. She was in charge of the center position with a strong offensive tendency.

“Then how about putting Matilda in the vanguard and someone else in the center?”

“Yes, that’s not a bad idea. Matilda is a center, but she can also perform the role of the vanguard.”

“Then hurry up and make a new roster.”

Diana, who had suddenly looked at her watch, rushed towards the terminal. It was because there were only about 20 seconds left until the roster submission deadline.

She moved her lips as if she was in a hurry.

“Oh, I don’t think I can make it. There are only 20 seconds left!”

“What! Already! Hurry up and fix the roster and upload it!”

Diana, who had been manipulating the terminal for a while and sent the roster, looked at Beomseok with a tearful expression. She was acting.

“Oh, what should I do? In my haste, I accidentally sent the second-string roster.”

“Really? What should we do then?”

Diana, wearing an apologetic expression, lowered her head.

“I, I’m sorry. It seems like the second-stringers will have to participate this time. Even if I try to fix it, the roster submission deadline has already passed.”

“Then what about the quarterfinals strategy?”

“Well, the big picture won’t change, but I think we’ll have to rethink the details.”

Soon, Beomseok slowly turned his eyes to the electronic display board showing the fourth-round roster. He wished in his heart that their acting would not be in vain. He would feel very sad if he found out that a team member he had been with had betrayed them.

However, soon the South Devils team’s regular roster appeared on the electronic display board again, and Beomseok realized that his wish had been completely missed.

He clenched his fist tightly, his eyes trembling.

‘Damn it. I sent the roster five minutes before the deadline, so it’s definitely not an issue with the organizing committee. There’s a high possibility that there’s a spy in the team, just like Diana said. Otherwise, there’s no reason for South Devils to operate the game like this now.’

Due to the special nature of this round, they should never have sent out the regulars. In a game where even one draw would result in a loss, they couldn’t let their substitutes face off against their regulars. Of course, if they intended to send the regulars out for four consecutive rounds, it was a possible strategy, but that would put them under extreme physical strain in the final round when they faced the God Knights’ regulars. It would have been much better to accumulate wins in this round with a second-string vs. second-string match and aim for the last chance with a regular vs. regular match in the fifth round.

Beomseok erased the worry etched on his face and put on a smiling face. There was no need to deliberately reveal to the outside that he had noticed the situation. If he made unnecessary moves, the spy, whoever it was, might notice and erase their tracks, and the method of leaking reverse information to lead the game favorably would also disappear. For now, pretending not to know was the best policy.

“Hehe. Diana, thanks to your mistake, we’re comfortable now. They sent out their regulars again this time.”

Diana said with an awkward smile.

“Yes, that’s right. But I don’t understand why they sent out their regulars in this round. It must be very physically demanding for them.”

“Well, the South Devils team must have their own reasons. We just need to worry about how to solve this round.”

“Yes, it’s better to do that.”

Diana immediately looked at her teammates and entered a brief strategy meeting.

The gladiators who would be participating this time were some of the team’s substitutes and rearguards, as well as some regulars. Although South Devils had sent out regulars composed only of professionals, it was still a fight worth trying. They had played the last two rounds in a row, so they were very tired, but they had only played one game and had rested for a considerable amount of time. In addition, with Diana’s special ability, ‘Great Leader,’ all stats were increased by +3, so they weren’t far behind in terms of stats. If they wanted a draw, they could achieve their goal.

“Alright, everyone knows, right? We’re going for a draw this round. Let’s all work hard and secure our spot in the round of 16 this round.”

“Yes!”

The participating gladiators all put on their helmets and rushed out of the dugout. Waiting at the entrance for a while, they stepped onto the center of the arena as soon as the entrance signal was given. And they aimed the tips of their weapons, which gave off a cool feeling, at the South Devils’ gladiators, who were looking at them with bewildered expressions.

Soon, the fourth round began, and the God Knights’ gladiators formed a phalanx [a rectangular mass military formation], holding up their shields.

‘Hehehe. Good, keep it up.’

The draw operation was proceeding smoothly. Erpina was excellently commanding the participating gladiators, appropriately keeping the South Devils team’s regulars in check so that they could not cross the river.

However, they were in a position where they had to win this round. After a while, they recklessly crossed the river and launched an all-out attack.

“Everyone, form a circular formation.”

Although they could have taken the opportunity to eliminate a few, Erpina pulled the gladiators back and formed a circular formation. The goal of this round was a draw. If they recklessly attacked and suffered damage, it would greatly disrupt the strategy. It was better to invest time in forming a circular formation, which was an extremely defensive formation.

Clang. Thwack. Clang.

The power of the circular formation formed by the God Knights was very great. As the attack group, consisting of two spearmen and one archer surrounded by eight sword-and-shield users, kept them in check, the South Devils team’s gladiators did not dare to attempt to enter. Whenever they tried to attack, their path was blocked by shields, and at the same time, spear tips and arrows flew mercilessly.

In the end, the South Devils team lost some of their fellow gladiators through numerous attempts to enter and entered a state of self-abandonment. There was no way that they, who had only known each other for three days, would have the organizational skills to break through the circular formation commanded by Erpina. Soon, this round ended in a draw, and the God Knights secured their place in the round of 16.

‘I must find out who the spy is.’

As soon as he returned that day, Beomseok secretly discussed this matter with Emma and asked for help from the Black Society. He believed that their intelligence capabilities would be sufficient to identify the spy. To do such a thing, there must have been considerable money or benefits exchanged with the owner, so there must be suspicious aspects.

And he performed one more task. It was to find a gladiator to join the team. If there was a spy, they needed a team member to participate in the matches in their place, and in order to move up to the professional level, they had to have twice as many gladiators as they did now.

Beomseok looked through the recruitment list that he and Erpina had diligently compiled whenever they had free time, and sent recruitment offer emails to the respective teams all at once. And the next day, he received one positive reply.

‘Hmm. Remy is willing to sell for 7.4 million Krons… But her price has dropped a lot since I last saw her. I gave up before because she asked for 11 million Krons.’

Remy was a 4-year-old elf belonging to the Black Swan team based in the city of Calir. Her potential growth ability was 838, so if she was trained properly, she could grow to be a World League substitute, so he had been quite tempted before. However, the problem was that her overall stats were low, and her intelligence stat was too low, so her growth rate was very slow. Still, her price was very low compared to her growth ability, and her lack of intelligence could be improved through learning, so it was worth recruiting her.

He immediately made an appointment with the person in charge and flew to Calir on Aaron. Most of the other teams had immediately sent cancellation messages due to the low price offered, so Remy was the only recruitment target at the moment.

‘Hmm. That’s the place.’

The Black Swan team’s training camp, like other sports teams, was located on the outskirts of the city. There was a long sidewalk nearby, but there were hardly any people walking around. There was no way there would be pedestrians in this desolate field. He landed Aaron in the parking space on the left side of the training camp and set foot on the ground.

An elf who appeared to be a security guard approached him on an electric car.

“Excuse me, what brings you to our training camp?”

Beomseok immediately replied to the security elf’s words.

“I am the chairman of the God Knights team. I came to meet the person in charge to trade a gladiator.”

“Oh, is that so? Then can I check for a moment?”

“Um. Do as you please.”

The security elf immediately sent a message to the office to confirm the facts. And after briefly communicating with the trade manager, he immediately bent over and greeted him.

“Welcome, Mr. Beomseok. Please follow me, I will guide you to Mr. Kyle.”

“Um. Then I’ll ask for your help.”

The security elf took him on the electric car and headed to the office building. Kyle was already waiting in front of the door, having received the message. Even though the transfer season was approaching, he couldn’t carelessly pass over a transaction involving millions of Krons. He swept back his long hair and extended his right hand.

“Welcome, Mr. Beomseok. This is the first time we’ve met in person, right?”

It was certainly the first time they had met face to face. He had only inquired about her price by email after seeing Remy for the first time in an under-8 match.

Beomseok shook hands calmly and nodded.

“Yes. That’s right. We’ve only exchanged emails a couple of times.”

“Hahaha. I see. Anyway, let’s talk about the details inside. It seems there will be a lot to coordinate since the prices we’ve offered are so different.”

“Ah, yes. I suppose so.”

Beomseok nodded in agreement and followed him. Currently, he had offered 6 million Krons for Remy, and the Black Swan team had offered 7.4 million Krons. To reach an agreement, they had to overcome a difference of 1.4 million Krons, but in fact, he only had about 6.26 million Krons in cash assets. In addition, the fact that he needed to recruit her as soon as possible was also expected to be difficult. It was clear that they needed to narrow the gap through in-depth discussions.

“Here it is. Please go in first. I’ll bring Remy back.”

Kyle led him to a room that looked like a small conference room. A white board that looked like an electronic whiteboard was hanging on a tripod, and in front of it were a table and chairs that could seat about six people. Beomseok sat alone on the right side of the electronic whiteboard and waited for him and Remy to come.

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

Ah. I’m terribly late. I went down to the countryside and only managed to come up this morning. I started writing in a hurry, but in the end, I’m posting it now. ^^;; The problem is that the next chapter will probably be a bit late too. OTL……. Even if I start writing now, I don’t think I’ll be able to finish it by midnight. Anyway, please understand, and I’ll try to upload it as soon as possible. Have a good day.