Perfect World [EN]: Chapter 96

97

“Match over! Both of you, come over here!”

Reimi and Violet, who had been clashing swords, relaxed and stepped back. They sheathed their swords and approached Beomseok.

“Master, what’s wrong? The test isn’t over yet.”

“Hmm. There’s something I need to check.”

He replied casually and stood in front of Violet.

“You. Are you injured anywhere?”

Violet, horrified, waved her hands frantically. She didn’t know how he sensed it, but she had no choice but to deny it. No matter how close they were to finalizing the deal, if it was revealed that she was hiding an injury while trying to get traded, the Gods Knights could walk away from the negotiation table.

“N, no. An injury? Absolutely not.”

Gordon, his face stiff, stood in front of Beomseok and spoke accusingly.

“Are you bringing up injuries now? I have to ask, does Beomseok not want to make this deal? Why are you so eager to find fault with Violet?”

He pushed Gordon aside and opened Violet’s information window.

————————————————-

Name: Violet.

Category: Elf (5 years old).

Affiliation: Beautiful Harpies GC [Gladiator Clan].

Fame: 1432

Infamy: 203.

H Status: None.

Stamina: 6480/8800 (Injury requiring attention).

Social Skills: 38, Strength: 84, Constitution: 88.

Agility: 82, Balance: 81, Intelligence: 67.

Mental Strength: 81. Judgment: 77, Skill: 49.

Luck: 58.

Current Potential/Potential Ability: 705/917.

————————————————

Trait: Will of the Sword God.

Special Note: Promising player of the Beautiful Harpies GC team. Dissatisfied with the team’s recent demotion from the Central League to the Wide League, but excited about the transfer offer from the Gods Knights team. Currently has an injury requiring attention.

————————————————

‘What is this! How could this happen!’

Violet’s abilities were remarkable. All her physical stats were well over 80, and her mental abilities necessary for gladiatorial combat were also top-notch. Her potential ability was also an uncommon figure, a whopping 917. Moreover, the trait ‘Will of the Sword God’ had a great option that increased all stats by +10 for 150 minutes when wielding a sword and activated.

So why was Beomseok annoyed? It was because of the message about her being injured and the potential ability that had dropped by 1 since he last checked. He immediately closed the information window and glared at her, convinced it was due to the injury she currently had.

“Violet! Take off the suit below your knee!”

She was so startled that she trembled like an aspen.

“W, why all of a sudden……”

“Don’t talk back, just take it off!”

Violet flinched at his roar and fiddled with the right leg of her suit.

“Not that side! The left!”

“B, but here……”

Beomseok pressed her, seeing her hesitate.

“Do you think I’m stupid! I know all about your leg injury. Don’t talk back, just do as I say!”

At his confident tone, Violet wore a look of despair. She thought it was all over now that her injury had been discovered. Tears welled up in her eyes as she slowly unfastened the joints of her suit. She couldn’t help but feel bitter that she had missed the chance to gain an owner due to a momentary mistake. Eventually, she took off her socks and revealed her ankle, which was swollen and blue, and hung her head.

Beomseok glared at Gordon and shouted.

“What the hell is going on!”

Gordon’s face was ashen. Although he hadn’t known about it, there was no justification for denying it with such clear evidence.

Gordon expressed his feelings with an aggrieved expression.

“O, it’s a misunderstanding. I had no idea Violet had such an injury.”

“Who asked about whether you knew about the injury! I’m asking how you manage your gladiators that one of them could get such an injury without you knowing!”

“Th, that’s……”

Gordon shut his mouth, as if he had nothing to say. Even though the team had been demoted to the Wide League and the situation was turbulent, there was no excuse for a professional team not managing its gladiators properly.

Beomseok looked at Reimi and quickly shouted.

“Reimi, hurry to the medical room and tell Susan to bring a floating stretcher here. Tell her there’s an injured person.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Reimi replied briefly and quickly headed to the office building in a driverless vehicle. Soon after she came out with Susan, Beomseok quickly put Violet on the floating stretcher and moved her to the medical room. Although it was unfortunate that her potential ability had dropped by 1, it was necessary to treat her quickly so that no further problems would occur.

Woowoong. Ttaktaktak.

Inside the Second Medical Room, a scanning device was passing over Violet, who was lying on the MRI full-body scanner, emitting ultrasound waves. It was precisely examining her internal condition.

Beomseok, who was pacing anxiously in front of it, focused his gaze on Susan after seeing the words on the hologram screen floating above the control panel.

“How is it? Is it a serious injury?”

“It wasn’t originally a serious injury. However, the wound has worsened a lot because it was left untreated for a long time and she overexerted herself. Moreover, there are signs of inflammation, so the treatment period will be a bit longer.”

“How long?”

“About 3 to 4 weeks.”

In 3 to 4 weeks, the regular league would be starting. If they pushed her, they might be able to get her to participate in the opening game, but he couldn’t send her to the game without solidifying the team’s organization. They wouldn’t be in sync, there would be discord, and this would lead to a decline in performance.

‘Damn it. That means none of the kids I brought in this transfer season can be used in the opening game.’

The gladiators Beomseok had brought in this time were Lapine and Violet. But one was lying in the medical room next door, and the other was being sentenced to 3 weeks of treatment here. It was truly frustrating for him.

However, an even bigger problem was the decline in Violet’s potential ability. It had only dropped by 1, but he was so bothered by the lingering feeling. To put it simply, it was the feeling he got when he obtained the Supreme Sword but it had 1 less attack power than others’.

Frowning, he asked again.

“Hmm. Is there any risk of aftereffects?”

“Yes. Judging from the traces of neglect over the past few days, the possibility is not small. No matter how small the injury, the probability of aftereffects is very high if it is not treated immediately.”

As he thought, he hadn’t misjudged. Her potential ability had definitely decreased. But Violet wasn’t the only problem. Thinking about it, Venus had also neglected an injury for a long time before. And Lapine had also fought many matches in the fierce underground arena, so her potential ability might have decreased somewhat.

“So, that means Venus could also have aftereffects?”

“Yes, probably. That child was in a similar situation, and the degree of injury was severe, so there would definitely have been aftereffects.”

“But why didn’t you tell me then?”

Susan wore a troubled expression at his questioning.

“In fact, unlike athletes who work in sports, ordinary elves have no problem in their daily lives even if they have some aftereffects. There’s no reason to cure the aftereffects with professional treatment. That’s why general treatment centers don’t offer aftereffect treatment in conjunction with regular treatment.”

“Why not? Wouldn’t it be better to do it if the price is the same?”

“The problem is that the price isn’t the same. The cost of aftereffect treatment is so high that it’s difficult for ordinary people to afford.”

Beomseok, who roughly understood, looked at her with a nervous look.

“Roughly how much does it cost?”

“It varies from treatment center to treatment center, but no matter how cheap it is, the examination fee alone costs 50,000 krang [currency], and one aftereffect recovery procedure costs about 600,000 krang. And if the aftereffects are severe, you have to undergo the procedure several times, so the cost can be several times higher.”

Beomseok let out a rough cough. There was no way an ordinary person would spend that much money just to recover a little potential ability. It would be much better to add a little more and buy another elf at the elf market or Walker Auction Market. The only people who would spend that money to treat an elf’s aftereffects were a few tycoons and sports teams with expensive elves.

“Hmm. Why is it so expensive?”

“Because it requires specialized equipment and medicine, and high-level medical personnel are involved. And the number of users is limited.”

“What kind of equipment and medicine do you need?”

Susan took out her electronic notepad, brought up a virtual document, and showed it to Beomseok.

“The items in this document are the equipment and medicine.”

The items needed for aftereffect examination and treatment included P-Cure, CamSolution, a precision MRI full-body scanner, and a body recovery capsule.

P-Cure was an injectable that prevented the body from moving for a day, but had a 10% chance of increasing damaged potential ability by +1. The precision MRI full-body scanner had the function of a regular MRI full-body scanner, as well as a diagnostic function that accurately detected and informed the degree and location of aftereffects. And the body recovery capsule had the effect of increasing treatment efficiency by +30% if you stayed inside it for a day. CamSolution was the solution that went into the body recovery capsule.

Beomseok suddenly thought of the sports professional medical corporation that Susan had mentioned earlier. If these items were included, he could save a lot of money.

“Susan, didn’t we talk about a sports professional medical corporation earlier? Are these drugs and equipment included?”

“No. It’s too expensive to include. The equipment and drugs I mentioned earlier are just items needed to diagnose the disease and reduce the severity of the aftereffects. They can’t recover it.”

Beomseok, wearing a regretful expression, asked cautiously.

“I, is that so? Then how much does it cost to purchase these equipment and drugs?”

“As far as I know, a precision MRI full-body scanner costs about 9 million krang. A body recovery capsule costs 12 million krang. P-Cure and CamSolution cost 10,000 and 20,000 krang per dose, respectively.”

It was a very burdensome amount, so Beomseok shook his head. With that much money, he could buy one more Violet. Naturally, he had no choice but to hesitate to purchase.

However, there was also something strange. Although expensive equipment and drugs were involved, the examination fee of 50,000 krang and the treatment cost of 600,000 krang were too excessive. Of course, it cost a lot to purchase a precision MRI full-body scanner and a body recovery capsule, but once they were installed, they could be used semi-permanently. Then the cost was the drug cost of 30,000 krang. In other words, the sports professional treatment center was charging 20 times the cost for treatment. Thinking about it, there was no such thing as this kind of profiteering.

“The price of the equipment is very expensive, but isn’t this too much profiteering by the sports professional treatment center?”

“Of course, but professional personnel are involved and there is a high possibility of failure in the procedure. The probability of alleviating aftereffect symptoms with P-Cure is only 10%, and even if you use a body recovery capsule, it’s only 40%. Even if you accurately find the area of aftereffects with a precision MRI full-body scanner and inject the drug, it’s only 70%. In other words, there are many cases where you have to administer it more than twice, so the cost increases accordingly.”

Still, it was more than 10 times. Even the cheapest professional sports treatment center was like that, so there was nothing more to say. However, he decided to reluctantly accept it because there was professionalism and the number of users was limited. Now was not the time to waste time on such useless talk. It was better to find a way to increase Violet’s damaged potential ability.

“Susan, no matter how I look at it, I don’t think I can afford to bring in those equipment. So please introduce me to a suitable professional sports treatment center.”

Susan, who had been fidgeting for a long time, opened her tightly closed mouth.

“Please let me treat her.”

At those words, Beomseok wore a troubled expression. Her expression of will now was the same as saying, ‘Please buy me that expensive equipment.’

“Didn’t I tell you? I don’t have the ability to invest that much money.”

“You don’t have to invest that much. You can just convert one of the MRI full-body scanners that you said you would buy before into a precision MRI full-body scanner.”

In an instant, Beomseok’s mind flashed so brightly that it tingled. The price of one normal MRI full-body scanner was 3.5 million krang. If he converted this equipment and purchased it as a precision MRI full-body scanner, it would only cost an additional 5.5 million krang.

But even with this equipment alone, he could see efficiency close to that of a professional sports treatment center as long as Susan was there. It was thanks to her trait, ‘Benevolent Medical Skill,’ which increased the success rate of treatment by 50% during the procedure.

The probability of raising the damaged potential ability 1 with P-Cure was 10%, and if it was administered to the accurate area of aftereffects with a precision MRI full-body scanner, the probability became 40%. If the Gift of Healing was included here, it would increase to 60%, so it could be said that the efficiency was not bad. Moreover, since he didn’t use the body recovery capsule, there was no reason for CamSolution to be consumed. In other words, the cost was reduced to 1/3.

‘Even if you calculate it based on probability, it’s not that bad. Also, considering that I have to look at whether other gladiators have aftereffects, 5.5 million krang is money I can gladly invest.’

The team members who were expected to have damaged potential ability right now were Venus, Lapine, etc. In particular, Venus had suffered a severe injury that was close to death, and there were circumstances in which she had been neglected for a long time at the time, so it was expected that a considerable amount had been cut. In order to recover this, he didn’t know how many procedures he would have to undergo, so it seemed like he would have to spend at least several million krang.

Rather than doing that, he thought it would be better to close his eyes and invest 5.5 million krang this time. If he prepared this equipment, he could check not only Venus but also the presence or absence of aftereffects in other gladiators who had played in harsh environments, so he could increase the team’s growth potential through treatment.

“Okay. I will purchase it. Change the plan you mentioned earlier and report it.”

“Yes. I will investigate and let you know soon.”

After saying this, Susan called the nurse elf next to her and put Violet on the floating stretcher. The examination was over, so it was time to move to the medical room and start treatment.

Beomseok, who had been watching her for a while, turned his gaze to Gordon. It seemed that Violet’s case would be resolved, so it was now necessary to conclude the transfer negotiations that were nearing the end.

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

Today, I’ll take this opportunity to explain the settings for the degree of injury.

1. Minor injury: Bruises, skin lacerations, and colds fall into this category. There is no danger to life.

2. Injury requiring attention: Ligaments are stretched and muscles are damaged. There is almost no danger to life, but aftereffects occasionally occur.

3. Serious injury: This includes broken bones or dislocations. There is almost no danger to life, but aftereffects are expected.

4. Major injury: An injury that is life-threatening if left unattended. Aftereffects occur, reducing a significant amount of potential ability.

5. Critical injury: A state in which life is at stake. Severe bleeding, cardiac arrest, or respiratory failure fall into this category. A rapid decline in potential ability occurs.

Then, everyone, have a happy Chuseok [Korean harvest festival]. I’ll see you again tomorrow.