Episode 78 Olympiad.(1)
* * *
What I said about the scorching heat of August is cancelled.
The pleasant environment of Trinity Academy has made me a dark person in the world.
“I’m going to die of heat.”
“You have to get used to it. It was hard when I first came.”
Summer in Prague was unpleasant.
If it had only been hot, these complaints would not have come out.
However, the weather here was like summer after the rainy season had just ended, so everyone was showing signs of hardship.
Except for the professors, Lawrence and Aina.
“What do you do when you are struggling like this? I have to dispatch them to places like your deserts or jungles later.”
“That’s enough for a yangban.”
“Professor Cesar is from the Cosmos Special College. It will be difficult for anyone to go there.”
“Didn’t Alfred say he wanted to work for the Cosmos Special Forces?”
“It was. But not now.”
Everyone burst out laughing at Alfred’s quick change of heart.
Professor Cesar only ate it as if it was a pity.
“Whatever it is, let’s start with the Strach Stadium. I’m glad we got there before the first match starts.”
“How far is it from here?”
“Not very far.”
“Aren’t you asking us to walk?”
“Of course not. Even if it’s close, it’s not close enough to walk.”
When I searched, the distance from Prague International Airport to Strach Stadium was about 15 km.
It’s definitely not that far away, but it’s not even walkable.
“Why do you want to walk?”
“no.”
“It’s no good.”
* * *
The view of Prague from the window gave me familiarity.
Unlike most other cities with a futuristic atmosphere, this city still retains quite a bit of the European look of the past.
what I like
“Have you ever been here?”
“no? never.”
“But you look comfortable, don’t you? It’s like coming back home.”
“Should I say déjà vu? Something is familiar.”
Hearing my answer, Aina makes a subtle expression.
Don’t even feel weird.
It’s because you’re getting used to places where you don’t have a reason to feel familiar.
There’s absolutely no reason to do that.
“You feel it every time, but you look like an old person. I like old people, too.”
“I don’t like old things.”
“Just because you like old things doesn’t necessarily mean you like old people. Because there is also a retro sensibility.”
It was Lawrence who suddenly intervened in our conversation.
When did my back seat come?
“The concept of retro certainly exists, but it’s hard to explain in words that he simply likes retro. I’m from a conservative, old-fashioned family, but I don’t know too much about today’s culture to the point where I wonder if he really comes from the past.”
“So, Chloe and Dean Oscar do you have a preference? You feel the same as yourself.”
At Lawrence’s words, the professors all clenched their teeth and began to hold back their laughter.
Even that Serena.
Even Oscar and Chloe seem to have a scary side in public.
Serena, who has a mindset of ‘f*ck your social life’, makes you pay attention.
“I like old things. I’m used to that too. I especially like that there are a lot of old European scenes left here.”
“I’m not saying it’s wrong, but the fact that it retains the European look of the past is characteristic of most Central European countries, isn’t it?”
“is that so? I didn’t know much about the Czech Republic as it was my first visit to Central Europe, but it’s good.”
“Slovakia is just as wonderful as the Czech Republic. Please come back later.”
Oh, Lawrence was from Slovakia.
Since he is showing interest in the Czech Republic, which is a love-hate relationship, he seems to want to appeal to his country as well.
“What is Slovakia famous for?”
“Several castles and natural landscapes are representative. There are many snowy mountains where you can ski, and it is also famous for its hot springs. In addition, there are quite a few tourist attractions including valleys and waterfalls.”
something familiar
Oh yeah.
It’s like a mix of Hokkaido in Japan and the Highlands in Scotland.
… No advantage at all.
If Japan has a connection with Ainara, and Scotland has a connection with Priscilla, why go to Slovakia without much impression?
“Are you not interested?”
“It’s not like that, Slovakia is a country with little impressions, so I don’t think much of it comes to mind.”
“If that’s the case, don’t.”
I should have been grateful that Alfred, who was not even funny, was here.
Without him, I wouldn’t be able to talk to anyone.
Aina was still a bit squeamish about what had happened before departure, so it was too early to talk to her.
He didn’t want to talk to Serena though.
There’s nothing more tiring than being dried up at her pace.
In the end, all I could do was to counter the boring story of Alfred, the good-living man, and pray that Aina would feel better.
* * *
“Arrived. Let’s get off.”
Is this where the Academy Olympiads are held?
Although the original Strach Stadium was described as spacious, I thought it would be slightly larger than the Trinity Stadium at best.
But, it boasted a majesty that was different from Trinity Stadium.
It’s the biggest building I’ve ever seen in my life.
“What are you staring at? Don’t come in.”
“Ah yes.”
The interior of the Strach Stadium felt much larger than it looked from the outside.
No, it wasn’t enough to express it with the word “wide”.
Usually, it was appropriate to use the word vast, which is useful when describing a place like a vast plain.
“It’s really spacious here. Much bigger than Trinity Stadium?”
“It’s the biggest stadium in the world.”
“Ah, is this the first time Park Seong-jin has been to the Strach Stadium?”
It’s wide enough to fit several Trinity Stadiums.
I’m fortunate to have experienced the midterm public tournament.
If my first debut was here, I would have run away.
“What academy did you say today’s match will be played against?”
“The Chronicle and Ishmael.”
“Ishmael will win.”
Sitting in the VIP seats, we started to exchange opinions about today’s match.
Except for me.
Unfamiliar academies are rarely mentioned in the film, so I have no way of knowing which academy is the strongest of the Underdogs and which one is exceptionally strong.
So, I quietly listened to other people’s stories.
“In Olympiad, strategy is definitely important. Just watch the first game. Are you going to put in a strong card to control your pace and dodge the baseline? Or are you going to put a discarding plate in it and give it a back heart?”
“I think there is a high chance that our choices will be different. As the challenger, Chronicle wants to save even a single card, so he will throw a discard card. Ishmael, who is relatively relaxed, seems to be able to come out with some strong cadets to subdue the baseline.”
“Perhaps it is.”
While speculation about the first match was circulating for a while, Professor Cesar suddenly turned his head to me and said:
“What do you think of cadet Park Seong-jin?”
“I can’t say much because I don’t know what the power of the academies on both sides is.”
“It’s okay to just explain the tactics, so let me tell you. If you can’t do that, it’s okay to just point the tip of the nib. I’m just curious what you think.”
it’s my opinion
It is true that the first match is important in multiple premises.
However, this is a story that is spoken when the premise is that the performance of each other is similar to the last.
If it is a high-ranking academy with a wide talent pool, or if it is an academy with a tight entry structure, the difference in individual performance will be erratic.
If so, the answer is obvious.
“It depends on the situation, but I think it is better to use the discarding card here. Although it is true that dominating the baseline is important, lower-ranking academies with relatively few strong cadets should conserve cards as much as possible. The only people who will see a positive view of throwing a bet on a high-scoring match just to do a little bit of overpowering the baseline are those who bet on the reverse.”
“Good answer. Tea has been thinking a lot about strategy.”
Is there anything to worry about?
When it comes to sports games, men in modern society are more likely to discuss it harder than the coaches and coaches of the team, but I think it’s just a familiar thing.
“Thank you for the compliment.”
“But there is no guarantee that everything will go as expected. Practice is very different from theory.”
“I am the stronger side in battle.”
“That’s what the outcome of the match will tell you.”
* * *
It was a hot match as it was a big battle!
Rashid was also strong. With this, Ishmael Academy, which belongs to Rashid, who defeated Leopold, goes up!
The match was pretty fun.
In the first place, the funniest thing in the world isn’t a f*cking fight.
It’s always funny to see someone twisting their body to try to win, even if it’s not a f*cking thing, but even if the target is a f*cking sh*t, it’s bound to be endlessly fun.
Still, he was quite serious about the restoration and analysis of the game.
This is because it was very important what strategy each team came up with.
“It is a mistake in the judgment of Chronicle. I invested too much in the first match, a blind match. The exchange rate was the worst.”
“The judgment that Jennifer was put in in the third game is also poor. It was a choice that was no different than just wanting to lose.”
“Still, it wasn’t that Chronicle didn’t have a chance, thanks to Junide’s diligent shoveling.”
“There is no law that says we shouldn’t become chronicles. You have to practice hard for the rest of the schedule.”
It must be one thing to find an opponent to practice with within the Olympiad period.
The professors will have a lot to prepare for in many ways.
“By the way, Park Seong-jin, why are you so ambitious? I don’t know every day it’s bothering. You lived with these two in your mouth.”
“One million dollars.”
No other word can express my heart as concisely as this four-syllable word.
In fact, at this one word, everyone quietly nodded as if they had understood.
After all, money isn’t everything, but there’s nothing more.
“But, is there any reason you are so obsessed with money?”
“The earlier you prepare for old age, the better.”
There is an old saying:
‘It takes three things to make war. Money, money, and more money.’
Yeah, there’s no particular reason why I need a lot of money.
To prepare for the war against the villains in the future.
So, the phrase “preparation for old age” is not wrong.
Once you win the war and survive, you will grow old or not.
You can’t grow old when you die.
Of course, other people couldn’t understand my meaning, so I just thought it was and passed it on lightly.
Except for Aina.
For some reason, she was blushing.
* * *