Season 2: Chapter 17. Battle (1)
After the award ceremony announcement on Treevy, Almond was happy to hear from his past teammates.
[Miho: Everyone, are you attending the award ceremony?]
It was Balloon Stars’ group chat.
[Bubblegum: Yep, of course.]
[Takoyaki: I’m going. Because... I’m a streamer.]
[StrawberryShooter: But why am I not nominated in the female streaming category... I’m sad :(...]
[Miho: ...]
[Bubblegum: Strawberry, there’s no such thing in the first place ^^]
[Takoyaki: Anyway, it’s been a while Almond. What do you think about playing as a duo in LIL? Don’t you want to?]
Tako mentioned Sang-Hyeon perhaps because they often played together as a bottom duo. Sang-Hyeon also felt nostalgic about those times.
[Almond: Ah, apparently, I got invited to the ceremony as well.]
[Bubblegum: Oh, Almond is coming too!]
[Takoyaki: Almond, let’s play LIL. There’s no one to carry me.]
[Almond: I’m actually not planning to play LIL for a while...]
[Takoyaki: Huh!? This is like saying Bubblegum is trying to go pro!]
[Bubblegum: Almond plays Zombie School these days.]
[Takoyaki: What is that?]
[Miho: Wow! You’re coming oppa?? I wasn’t sure because you just started streaming. The nominations usually finish before the tournament...]
As expected, that was usually how it went.
[Almond: I must’ve gotten lucky and just made it. Bubblegum, are you aiming for the big prize this year?]
[Bubblegum: Haha no... I got it last year already. There’s a lot of competition this year.]
[Miho: Swag~]
[StrawberryShooter: Almond oppa! Escort me to the awards! >~<]
[Miho: Ew~]
[Takoyaki: Keep away Strawberry if you don’t want to die.]
[Strawberryshooter: Yes, sir.]
[Miho: LOL so mean~]
[Almond: Hahahaha]
[Bubblegum: LOL]
Perhaps it was because they all had spoken to each other for a while. Almond's lips curled into a smile as he looked at his phone.
"What's so funny?" Ju-Hyeok curiously asked with a hint of jealousy.
"Oh, just chatting with the Balloon Stars team."
"Ah, about the award ceremony, right? I saw that you guys are being nominated for best teamwork."
As Ju-Hyeok said, the entire Balloon Stars team was being nominated for a special teamwork award. The tournament evidently had an impact on the award ceremony.
[Miho: See you all at the award ceremony!]
With that, the group chat quieted down. Some streamers with different schedules went to sleep while others started their broadcasts.
‘I should start my stream too.’
Almond checked the time and headed to the capsule.
***
Almond’s subscribers received a notification at 3 P.M.
[Almond has started streaming!]
[Vote for your favorite streamer in the year-end award ceremony!]
They received an additional notification than usual. A new [Support] button appeared for the [Year-End Award Ceremony].
Viewers could comment on a separate page. Comments ranged from simple complaints about the new year approaching too soon to expressions of support for their favorite streamers.
— Wow, it’s the award ceremony already...
— Mom! Why am I still jobless next year?!
— Time flies...
Several users commented on how quickly the year went by.
— Miho, let’s get an award this year!
— Almond! Almond! Almond! Number one!
└ Almond started too late to get first...
└ 222 Yeah, I don’t know about first...
— Bubblegum deserves the prize!
└ Gum has no luck with prizes...
— For LIL, Balloon Stars needs to get it, no? Their story was insane this year.
Several users also speculated who would receive the awards.
— Who’s going to get the grand prize? Is it going to be PumpkinPie?
└ Cutiepie dumbass
└ Didn’t he get it last year?
— FishCookie has the most viewers by far. He’ll probably get it.
— For the just chat category, it’ll probably be ChirpBird or HornRamen.
— What about ButterflyLake?
└ Unlikely.
└ Nah...
Almond usually blocked video donations and had never even seen clips of the other nominees.
'So many strong contenders.'
Almond began streaming with that thought.
“Hi, Treevy!”
— Hihi
— Hello Mr. Lee!
— Everyone, please vote!
— Vote for your favorite Almond!
—Hey, I voted for Miho!
“There’s a new support system?”
— This guy is advertising himself.
— He’s telling us to vote indirectly.
— Is this the abilities of Ahsung?
Almond genuinely didn't know and asked, but they misunderstood him.
"No, I'm really asking because I've never seen it before."
— Yeah and my first crush is my wife.
— Don’t worry. We’re cheering for you.
— I already voted.
They spoke past each other. At this point, Almond pointed out the viewers’ mischief from yesterday.
"But you guys lie even better, don't you?"
— LOL
— I saw the clip
— Hahaha
— Oh no! Almond holds grudges!?
Only then did the viewers stop teasing Almond. After all, they still had a conscience.
"Let’s cut to the chase and start the game. Ah..."
Almond seemed to recall something.
"Did you see the capsule's performance yesterday? It logged out in less than a second and operated without any malfunction."
— Yeah, for real.
— The capsule was impressive.
— I thought it was cool too.
—Hey boss, this is an ad, right?
— Everyone just types the same thing.
"Anyway... it's just amazing."
— Almond doesn’t understand how to say no.
— I thought you were going to show us some gameplay!
— This crazy nut.
Almond mentioned the Nova capsule out of gratitude for the tip he received from Ju-Hyeok today.
"Now, moving on. Today's game is~~~"
— It's~~~
— King~~~dom!
— LIL! Life is Legend!
— Life is Legend!!
— Don't mention Zombie School while gritting your teeth.
— I want to see the zombies panic
— Please play the zombie game! It was so fun!
"Zombie School!"
***
Almond returned as his avatar Kim Ju-Hyeok in Zombie School. The avatar had the expression of someone who had been caught during a private moment.
— LMAO look at this expression.
— Hahaha
— What’s going on, LOL
Moments later, the avatar regained his composure.
"Ahem."
After a day, Almond tried moving his avatar Kim Ju-Hyeok around and walked toward the restroom door.
Thud! Thud!
"... Ah, I forgot the zombies were outside."
Almond was about to unintentionally open the door and paused.
— Right!
— What's with his memory?
— Did he reset?
Almond tried to summarize the current situation.
"So I was holding down the snack bar. Suddenly, I needed to use the restroom and broke through the zombies. Then I handled my business in the restroom..."
— He "handled" it!
— It sounds weirder in summary.
"... And now I need to return to the snack bar. Remember, this game is a real survival game where even using the restroom matters."
— You should remember that.
— Ultimate survival.
— I wonder what will happen next.
"It seems zombies are right in front of the restroom door. Maybe the noise attracted them?"
He needed to break through them again to return to the snack bar, but could he dodge all of them?
Almond quickly peeked out the door.
“Rawwwwr!”
“Keuuugh!”
Thud!
He immediately closed the door.
"... There seem to be more of them now. Or is it just me?"
He recalled counting just over ten before.
— More must've come after hearing the noise.
— They seem to have come from the floors above.
— There seems to be almost twenty now.
— He's doomed!
— He might have to kill them now.
It was no longer feasible to dodge so many zombies.
'Even if I can get halfway, if they continue to swarm...'
The zombies had a simple attack pattern, but if they attacked from all sides simultaneously? He couldn't dodge all of them without eyes in the back of his head.
"I need to kill the zombies, but I can't do it with a box cutter."
— Agreed.
— A box cutter can’t even kill a normal person.
— No, a box cutter won’t work.
— What are you going to do when you get out?
“I need a weapon that I can use with strength.”
The box cutter had such a short grip that stabbing with it would likely hurt his own hand. He needed something bigger and sharper.
Then, something flashed in Almond's mind.
‘Oh.’
He spotted something in the mirror when he looked at the bathroom stall earlier.
[Cleaning Closet]
He headed toward the cleaning closet. Typically, the cleaning closet in a bathroom was the furthest stall and locked from the outside.
Almond went to the stall next to it, climbed on the toilet, and found the tool he wanted.
"... It's here."
He pulled out a long pole that turned out to be a mop handle.
***
A moment later, the bathroom door opened. The worn sliding door made a creaking noise, drawing the zombies’ attention.
"Raaaaaah!"
The closest zombie to the bathroom door charged at him.
“Raaaaah!”
Thick saliva dropped from its wide open mouth.
Whoosh!
Almond thrust the mop handle he sharpened with the box cutter into a spear.
"!?"
The zombie could no longer advance and helplessly flailed its limbs.
"Ah. It works," Almond muttered.
“Kraaah!”
“Kyeaaah!”
The other zombies charged at him, but he swiftly used his foot to slide the door closed.
Thud! Thud!
The zombies heavily crashed against the door. Only the zombie he just speared could get in. Almond backed away and stabbed it again through a narrow gap.
"Graaaargh!"
Blood spurted from the wound. The attack was effective...
"Raaaaah!"
The zombie vomited blood and charged again. These creatures didn’t know how to retreat. They only attacked, so Almond stabbed again.
Whoosh!
He repeated this a few times, but...
"Graaaargh! Graaargh!"
The struggle grew louder, and the noise drew more zombies.
"It won’t die."
He couldn't kill it.
Thud! Thud!
More zombies started to bang on the slightly opened sliding door, which ominously creaked.
"Uh...?"
Suddenly...
"Damn."
The bathroom door collapsed.
"Raaaaaah!"
“Raaaah!”
At least three or four zombies entered the bathroom. Almond quickly kicked the closest zombie, withdrew his spear, and swung it sideways. This threw the zombies charging from both sides off balance.
‘It doesn't cut them.’
The shape of the wooden spear he fashioned with the box cutter wasn't meant to be used as a slashing weapon. Nevertheless, the unharmed zombies charged again.
"Raaaaah!"
Almond quickly struck them with the other end of the weapon.
The zombies momentarily lost their balance, so he quickly turned the spear around and jabbed one in the leg.
Whoosh!
The zombie began to wobble... and fell. Unable to use one of its legs, it lost its balance and tumbled down.
‘Is this it?’
A realization crossed his mind. However, almost five zombies were blocking his way. He had to knock them all down like this.
Almond's eyes sparkled as everything around him seemed to slow down. Then—
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
In a split second, he stabbed out four times with the spear.
Thump.
Four zombies simultaneously staggered and fell, each with the same hole punctured through them.
— ???
— What the...
— That was awesome!
— Wow...
Swish.
Almond spun his spear around to shake off the flesh and blood. Then, he stepped over the fallen zombies and thrust his wooden spear toward five more incoming zombies.
Splat!
Blood instantly sprayed out like a mist.
“Grraaah!”
Another wave of zombies stepped over the previous ones. Almond thrust his spear again.
Splat...!
Yet another group of zombies climbed over those corpses, and the same situation repeated.
Splat splat splat...!!!
As if possessed, his every breath and movement merged into a seamless spear thrust.
"Hah... Whew..."
Only his steady breathing and the resonating sound of the swift and precise spear could be heard.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Even the chat remained silent. Everyone just held their breath and watched.
***
“Wh... What... Is the bread boy dead?”
The store clerk felt guilty about closing the door and cried while leaning against it.
Zombies had stopped banging on the store's door for some time now. They all went after Almond, so they were likely devouring his corpse already.
“What do we do, pizza bread? Do you think the two of us can survive here?”
The clerk sobbed and asked, but the chubby student nicknamed Pizza Bread just silently pointed toward the door.
“... Huh?”
The clerk looked puzzled, asking what he meant. Then, they heard something.
Knock. Knock.
It sounded distinctly different from the zombies' banging. It sounded like someone knocking.
“Open the door. It's me.”
“Who are you?” the clerk jumped in surprise and asked.
“The guy who went to the restroom earlier.”
“Oh! Bread boy? Is that really you?!”
Creak.
The clerk cautiously unlocked and opened the door.
Squeak.
She couldn't help but gasp as the door opened wider and revealed the hallway beyond.
“Wh... What...?”
All the zombies lay motionless on the floor.