Season 2: Chapter 7. Zombie School (1)
Almond had a reason. It was an advertisement from Kingdom's production company, so he chose a related game. In fact, such a choice wouldn't have been special at all if it had been another streamer. However, Kingdom Age meant something different to Almond's viewers.
— You’re back!
— No way no way no way!
— :O
— It’s Christmas for the Kingdom fanboys, LOL.
— Rosenita, Sister T_T I'm finally coming!
Kingdom Age was Almond's first game and the foundation of his fan base. It was also a game that greatly influenced him. He even temporarily increased the game's sales.
Thus, Almond and Kingdom Age had a significant connection. Sadly, it was the game he played for the shortest duration.
That was why many were thrilled about seeing Kingdom Age again. They had always been waiting for the king of Kingdom Age to return.
— The King's return (for real).
— Wow... Almond. After you played, the active users increased a lot, LOL.
— Proud Kingdom is back, huh!
— Why are we so malicious?! Because if we’re not like this... you don’t even give it any attention!
— Kingdom fanboys, assemble!
Kingdom fanboys were a special group of fans. They only chanted about Kingdom Age. Although there weren’t many, they were quite vocal.
Not everyone wanted to watch Kingdom Age because it was quite an old game. Honestly, the majority didn’t want to watch Kingdom Age.
— The Kingdom fanboys are causing a ruckus LOL.
— Why don't you interact with Raina? T_T
— Do you not play LIL anymore?
The game that made Almond really famous wasn't Kingdom, but LIL. Most viewers wanted to watch LIL more than Kingdom Age or they wanted a brand new game.
Originally, Kingdom Age wasn't a popular game. Looking at Almond’s chat full of Kingdom fanboys made it seem like a super popular game because there were so many bandwagons.
— These days, there are a lot of bandwagoners.
— They’re just pretending to like the game.
— It’s so obvious they’re pretending.
— They’re copying each other just because it’s trendy.
— So many kids in the chat.
This was an interesting phenomenon for Almond.
‘They want me to play Kingdom Age even though they’ve never seen it?’
Viewers who had never seen Almond play Kingdom Age, or even watched him in general, suddenly wanted him to play it. Ju-Hyeok thought it was because they wanted to fit in the stream... but that was only his analysis.
Of course, that didn’t influence Almond as he planned on playing a completely different game.
[Zombie School]
— ??? What’s this game?
— Why no Kingdom!? Why no Kingdom!?
— Isn’t this a Kingdom Age ad?
— This nut... tricked us again.
— This is just a test, right?
Almond ignored the desperate chat messages and greeted them with a new loading screen.
“Hi Treevy!”
— Hi Almond!
— HiHi!
— Hello!
The chat quickly scrolled up.
“The preparation took a little longer than expected. I just downloaded it and am opening it for the first time.”
— What game is this?
— Is this an ad?
— Why did you call this game that game?
— Was it just for clickbait?!
The chat quickly went by, but Almond didn’t feel bad because he was being honest from his perspective!
“No, it’s not clickbait.”
— Then explain yourself.
— He doesn’t even have a hint of guilt.
— Tell us the reason!
— Is this clickbait? No, this is Patrick.
“The Kingdom Age developers offered me this game to advertise.”
— Gasp!
— No way!
— For real??
— Wow!
— Is it a new game?
— I checked and it's true, lol.
Everyone was surprised to hear it was an advertisement from the Kingdom Age producers. After all, getting an advertisement directly from a foreign production company was quite difficult.
Moreover, they quickly realized Almond hadn’t received the offer through Punk.
— It's not through Punk?
— Is it a beta test?
— Where is it?
Viewers often wanted to buy and try out the game immediately after watching a streamer play, but they couldn't find it.
"It's not through Punk... uh... hm."
Almond, a partnered streamer with Punk, hesitated to say it was available on HighGames and fumbled for words.
— Is it a HighGames exclusive? lol, crazy.
— LMAO.
— This is insane, lol.
— ??? Buy it on HighGames!
"Eventually, it'll be on Punk too. This advertisement is in preparation for that."
It wasn't wrong to say that because the game would be available on Punk once the exclusivity period ended.
— Irrefutable logic.
— Is this the persuasion skill of a former Ahsung representative?
— lol, he diverted that in less than a second.
— It's truly amazing. I genuinely admire it.
Almond briefly glanced at the chat and nodded. The viewers seemed somewhat convinced. Now it was time to play the game.
"It seems fun."
His heart raced in excitement at playing a new game after a long time. The game's fun concept immensely piqued Almond's curiosity.
"Let me turn the donations back on. I turned it off temporarily so Kingdom fans wouldn’t get upset after thinking this was Kingdom and donating."
— Money time, lol.
— He knew people would get upset!
— He did it on purpose, lol.
— Doing the math, huh?
Donations poured in as soon as he lifted the donation restrictions. Generous donors sent amounts from 100,000 won to millions to celebrate his return. It took him nearly thirty minutes just to thank them all.
Afterward, a Q&A session took place. Many asked about his appearance on Evening Wide, but it was mainly about...
— Are you not playing LIL anymore?? :(
— Did you really abandon Raina?
— If you abandon LIL after taking Raina's lips, the alliance won't stay silent.
They wanted to know if he would play LIL again.
“Ah. LIL's siege mode... I've played it enough and I don't think I can continue like before. I'm considering doing a convoy game in the future."
He hadn't discussed it with Ju-Hyeok, but they had the same thought.
— Raina: Phew...
— He's doing convoy mode, wow.
— Oh! He'd be good at that, maybe even better.
— The convoy mode is mainly about physical combat, the balance will be ruined, lol.
— Thankfully he's playing, phew.
— Now after Kingdom fans, we'll have LIL fans, lol.
— Using it like a reaction game. The fans of Bera vanished, lol.
"First..."
Almond pressed the button that had been hovering in the air since earlier.
"We'll start with this game."
[Zombie School]
[Single Player Mode]
Darkness enveloped him and every sound faded away.
— Go, go, go!
— Let's goooo!
— Mom! I don't want to go to school! Give me Raina!
***
He wondered, 'Why hasn't it started?'
The loading took longer than expected. Floating in a dark space without any sensation didn’t feel very pleasant. He assumed it was because this was a new game.
Almond tried waving here and there just in case.
"... Hmm."
A strange noise could be heard. It sounded like someone sleeping.
"Hey! Number 12!"
Suddenly, a bright light flooded in from every direction, and he opened his eyes.
"Sleeping again? Are you blatantly sleeping in front of me?"
In front of him stood a teacher with a stern expression. Indeed, the game's setting was a school since the title was Zombie School.
"Get up from your seat, Number 12."
The serious teacher had a countryside accent. This teacher seemed like trouble from the start, which was similar to Ran’s story mode... but also entirely different.
"What is this place?"
Almond looked around and was taken aback. The environment felt all too familiar like reality.
"Isn't this a school?"
It was a school. Of course, it was a school. That was obvious.
"It’s completely like a Korean school."
The game recreated a Korean school like the one from Almond's schooldays. He had neither played nor heard of such a game before. It felt like an unexpected surprise.
Gulp.
Almond swallowed his saliva. The situation felt too real, and he suddenly grew tense. Such occurrences were rare for him.
"To recreate a Korean school this accurately..."
The room had a dark green chalkboard, prison-like windows above the students' eye level, hastily painted wobbly walls, and a creaky floor that dust whirled around. A Korean flag stood in the center with a motto below it.
"As the rank gets closer to diamond, life gets closer to bronze."
— Wow, it's so realistic
— This is insane lol
— It really is like a Korean school lol
"That's right... We shouldn't aim for diamond, but challenger..." Almond muttered unknowingly and paused.
He felt a menacing aura.
"Number 12."
The fierce teacher with the countryside accent approached him while growling.
"Yes!"
Almond unknowingly responded as he did during his school days.
— Lol, what's with Almond?
— Almond seems scared of the teacher lol
— He's probably just immersed~~
“What did you just say, Number 12?"
Thud.
The teacher looked like he could kill someone and leaned down at him.
— Why would someone with this physique become a teacher? He should've been a boxer.
— This is hell with a physical education teacher like that lol
— What the... He looks like a gangster leader, why is he a teacher? Lol
Even Almond could tell this teacher was no ordinary person.
"Uh... I didn't say anything."
The teacher remained silent and simply glared at Almond. Then he suddenly asked, "Why don't you have a name tag? What's your name?"
It seemed Almond had to say his name here.
"... It's Almond."
"What?"
— Lol, his expression lol
— Doesn't seem to be working.
— Where have you heard of such a name? Lol
— Oh man, this isn't good.
— ??? What? Almond? Are you kidding?
"What's going on?"
Hadn't the teacher asked for his name? In most games, it was natural to name your character like this. However, the teacher’s reaction seemed off.
"Almond?" The teacher's face twisted as if he had been shoved into a furnace. "So, your last name is Al and your first name is Mond?"
Hearty laughter erupted from the kids beside Almond.
"That’s... correct..."
Almond looked around in confusion as all the kids scoffed at him as if it was a joke.
"Why is he acting like that?"
"I don't know. Pfft."
"Here we go again."
The teacher sternly surveyed the surroundings, signaling everyone to quiet down. As a result, the classroom became dead silent. His charismatic eyes, which scanned around 360 degrees, returned to Almond.
"Hey, Number 12."
"...?"
"You playing games with me?"
"No, not at all."
"What's your name? Tell me clearly. I'll ask one more time."
‘What's going on? It's like I don’t get to choose my name.’
Almond tried to understand the situation.
'It’s super realistic... with incredible attention to details... It feels like a game focused on reality.'
This game specialized in realism, so it wouldn't make sense to have a name like Almond in a Korean school.
'Then...'
Almond hesitated before shouting a name, "It's Kim Ju-Hyeok!"
It had to be a Kim for a Korean last name.
The teacher smirked and checked the attendance list. It seemed like the list would immediately turn into a weapon if the name was wrong this time.
"Always wear your name tag. Got it?"
"Yes!"
‘Phew.’
That seemed to work. Only then did the math teacher return to his desk.
— Kim Ju-Hyeok?
— Why did he suddenly say that? LOL.
— Isn't that the name of a nut? His manager...
— Why would he use his manager's name? LOL. Crazy LOL.
For some reason, Almond didn't want to use his real name.
Ding! Ding!
It seemed Ju-Hyeok sent him some messages, but Almond decided to focus on the class.
"Now, where were we? Ah... right, cosine squared..."
Thud.
The teacher wrote on the chalkboard.
'Ah... Darn.'
Almond was having trouble from the start. He felt so sleepy again.
***
"Ouch, hot... damn..."
Without realizing it, PD Jang grimaced when the lit cigarette reached his fingertips. He tossed it away without taking a puff. The cigarette wasn't the issue right now.
"What is this...? This isn't a joke."
Jang had never been that interested in games. He briefly enjoyed VR games when they first came out and dabbled in full-dive games, but soon lost interest.
'The quality wasn't this good back then.'
Perhaps because he didn’t inherently like video games, he quickly lost interest. The primitive nature of early full-dive games also played a part. However, this game called Zombie School made him feel different.
Almond hadn’t even progressed much in the story.
'It's almost indistinguishable from reality. No, it's completely indistinguishable.'
Most games intentionally showed stylized graphics to avoid the uncanny valley phenomenon. Still, this didn't hinder the full dive experience.
Zombie School didn't bother to do that. It took a head-on realistic approach.
Ding~Dong~Dang~Dong~
PD Jang even flinched when the school bell rang. It sounded just like the bell from his old school. Overwhelming memories, nostalgia, excitement from those days, nerve-wracking entrance exams, and sometimes hellish study rooms... all came back to him.
The scent of old desks and the loud laughter of kids. Even through this small screen, it felt so immersive. How immersed would players feel in the actual game?
Plus, it perfectly replicated the Korean school life and brought back nostalgic feelings.
"This... this is good. This is really good."
New ideas flooded PD Jang’s mind. He could see it. A show concept he hadn't done before for a new market. No, a new beginning...!