Season 2: Chapter 249: Each Person’s Role (2)
Five teams, each consisting of three members, were competing to save the most NPCs in the Zombie School challenge. Bubblegum, Almond, and Takoyaki made up Team 3.
"Which team do you think is the favorite to win?"
To stir up the viewers' competitive spirit, the commentators intentionally brought up a provocative topic.
"Team 1 is made up entirely of challenge hunters, right? They even claimed in an interview that they are the best at every challenge."
— ??
— Who are these unheard-of folks? lol
— So they sweat more than Almond in the challenges? lol
— The gamers have gathered, for sure
"Is team one the favorite to win then?"
"Yes, of course. And there’s another team with a rather unique background."
The commentator was referring to Team 2.
"Team 2?"
"Yes. They are foreign players. Originally, they came to G-Star for Civil Empire."
"Why are they suddenly playing Zombie School?"
"They said it looked just like the school from a drama series they were watching..."
— K School lol
— Wow. Is this a Korean school?
— Are they K-drama fans? lol
"Anyway, these players also have exceptional gaming skills. They said they are a national team."
"Oh, a national competition?"
The crowd murmured. Civil Empire wasn't very popular in Korea, so some people didn't know about it.
"There’s a mode in Civil Empire where you fight for the honor of your country. It’s a huge event overseas! They’re pros. No, they’re the elite among pros!"
"Are they a national team?"
"Yes, I heard they came from Denmark. The descendants of Vikings!"
“Oooooh.”
Murmurs of admiration came from the audience at the mention of being Viking descendants.
— Wow lol
— Danish folks wow
— How do you beat Vikings?
— Vikings would tear apart zombies
— What did the zombies do to deserve this? lol
"Wow, that makes me excited. But doesn’t Team 3 have a descendant of Jumong (a famous Korean archer)?"
— A descendant of Jumong lol
— Wow
— Go ahead, wield an axe all day you foreigners, he'll fill you with arrows!
— Are they talking about Almond? lol
— Are the others descendants of Tokugawa or what? lol
"Ah, yes. Almond! This player is also a member of the national competition team."
"Oh, really? Maybe the Vikings joined to scout out Almond?"
"There's one redhead lady here. Maybe she brought everyone because she likes Almond!"
— The ladies can't resist Almond lol
— ??? Why do you think the woman brought them, boy~?
— Wow, redhead beauty wow
"But in this game, it might be easier to find an axe than a bow. The Vikings would have an advantage, wouldn’t they?"
"That could be the case. More importantly, team three has Bubblegum, right? He’s not to be underestimated."
"Underestimated by whom…?"
— By Team 3 lol
— Bubblegum makes Team 3 formidable
— Too much lol wow lol
"Ahem. Anyway! Now the game is really starting!"
"Yes! Currently, a zombie outbreak is occurring for Team 3."
"There’s no other choice but to run once the first zombie appears… Wait! Almond?!"
On all screens, the only one fighting a zombie in the beginning was Almond.
— What is he fighting with?
— Ah lol only a real man would run lol
— ??? As soon as Almond appears, there's no choice but to run away!
— Insane, a box cutter lol
"Almond is disabling a zombie with a box cutter! I have no idea how he's doing it, but he just did!"
The audience felt baffled that Almond used a box cutter to take down a zombie.
"Doesn't Almond feel any fear at all?"
"Ah…! Isn't that ironic!? Was Almond's dream perhaps about encountering a high level zombie!?"
"What are you talking about?"
"Zombie School is a game where you overcome conflicts through experience. The fear of zombies diminishes by frequently encountering them…"
***
Although Almond couldn't hear the commentators' explanation, his experience with Zombie School allowed him to instantly understand why he felt no fear.
'Could it be what I saw in the dream…?'
Almond had already faced a superior zombie in his dreams. Considering Zombie School’s method of acquiring experience, he wouldn’t feel fear toward these basic zombies after already facing a superior zombie.
He had experienced this phenomenon during the early access. To overcome any challenge in this game, one had to continuously confront the source of that problem.
Stabbing Baek Joon-Soo's hand was an example of overcoming the fear associated with him.
'Wait. If everyone had different dreams…'
What about the others if Almond had overcome his fear through the dream?
"Uh, uhaaaa! I can’t move! I can’t moooove!"
Looking at Bubblegum's current state, it seemed he hadn't overcome his fear of zombies. Rather, it became exacerbated.
— Bubblegum, lol
— What is he even doing? lol
— Why is he suddenly doing headspins on the playground?
— Bubblegum what now? LOL.
Paralyzed by fear, Bubblegum was practically breakdancing on the playground.
Almond found this phenomenon strange.
'Even if Bubblegum is bad at games, he shouldn't be this bad.'
Bubblegum was known for his poor gaming skills, but he wouldn’t be flailing about as if he were dancing on a breakdance panel when he should be running away. He was feeling a level of fear that made him lose control over his body. In other words, he was panicking.
During the early access, there were no instances of panicking just from seeing an initial zombie.
'Could it be that everyone has different roles?'
Almond speculated that there was something like character classes. A wizard was weak, but could perform wide-ranging attacks. Bubblegum could be highly susceptible to fear, but perhaps he possessed another ability.
The dream probably contained a clue to that.
"Croooaaarrrgh!"
"Kyaaaah!"
Meanwhile, zombies continued to appear from every direction as Bubblegum was still breakdancing on the ground.
'What now?'
For now, Almond tried to disable as many zombies as possible.
Swoosh! Swoosh!
His box cutter caused the zombies to stagger. Their arms flailed helplessly in the air as they flopped on the ground like Bubblegum.
Almond's movements grew more fluid with no fear to worry about.
Swoosh!
He deftly maneuvered through the zombies, knocking them down.
Thump…! Thoom…!
Zombies whose muscles and joints had been precisely struck began to crumble awkwardly.
“Wait, Team 3. So Bubblegum’s team has Almond killing zombies already??”
“What? But they shouldn't have any weapons!”
“He’s clearing them with a box cutter! You can hardly kill them with guns, and here he is killing them with a box cutter!”
“Isn’t he just going to wipe them out with an initial assault here!?”
— Mount Tai Almond wow
— He’s gonna stop them like this?
— This works?
— Seems like he’d be overwhelmed.
— What even is this? lol
The commentators and viewers alike felt astonished by his remarkable combat skills.
‘This is impossible.’
No matter how great his combat ability was, it was just one box cutter and his body. The limit was clear.
The box cutter naturally hit bone, and every time it did, the blade broke off. In reality, it would have broken without even tearing through human muscles.
Ting…!
Eventually, the blade was worn out and the box cutter could no longer be used.
Tako shouted from beside Almond, “This won’t work anymore, Almond! Run to the main building!”
“The main building?”
“Yes. The main building has the nurse's office and the cafeteria. It's different from the early access!”
How did he know that? Regardless, Almond began to run as Tako instructed. Since the LIL event, it had been ingrained in him that following Tako’s advice usually meant no harm.
His body moved on its own as if he had left something important behind.
“What about Bubblegum?” Almond had run for a while and turned around to ask.
Bubblegum was still breakdancing among the zombies. It seemed like he would get hurt if he kept that up on the hard ground.
— lol
— Dancing with the stars
— A breakdancing team disguised as zombies. Please bring the post down~
Tako realized too late that he had run off without Bubblegum.
“Oh. Damn.”
Thud.
He sighed and put a hand on his forehead where it was supposed to be bald.
“If it’s come to this, the two of us should...!”
They kept running.
— Aren’t you being too quick to judge? lol
— Seems like he was waiting to cut ties lol
— lol
— This is rather good (actually)
“Should we?”
Almond easily accepted it. If that was Tako’s judgment, it had to be right.
— lol
— Waited like he was convinced
— ??? Hey! Who threw gum on the floor!?
Bubblegum was left spinning on the ground, whether he was breakdancing or whatever.
“Heyyyyy! Come with us! What do you think will happen if just the two of you go? Huh?!”
— Anything can happen, bro.
— Yes! It seems likely!
— Just quietly sacrifice yourself…
Even while spinning around, Bubblegum somehow noticed that they were abandoning him and began screaming.
“Take me with you! I want to win the challenge too! Pleaseeee!”
The player would not be considered a winner if they dropped out mid-challenge. Bubblegum’s goal had always been to give gifts to his viewers, so he screamed desperately.
“Ughhhhh! Please!”
— He’s pulling all the aggro lol
— Zombies, here! Here!
— That’s why adults say not to throw gum on the ground tsk tsk
— Skill: Zombie Gathering!
While zombies were scattered all over the playground, they started converging at one point after hearing Bubblegum’s screams.
“Yeah. We really should leave him now,” Tako muttered and scratched his head that was supposed to be bald.
Then, something astonishing happened. It wasn’t as astonishing as a genie lamp popping out from Tako’s head, but still.
Thud thud thud thud!
The students suddenly started running in the opposite direction.
“Phew, Bubblegum!”
“Hey! Bubblegum! What are you doing there!”
“Come on! Where’s the loyalty of Class 3!? Are you going to leave behind Bubblegum, the man of fiery loyalty!?”
— ???
— What's this?
— Is this the streamer?
— Are the kids going too??
— Holy, are they going to finish everything off?
The students ran back to save Bubblegum.
"Uh?"
Tako was bewildered.
Leaving Bubblegum was one thing, but if all the kids went back? They had to save as many students as possible. If the students went back to the incoming zombies, they wouldn't be safe.
"Hey, kids! Don't go to save him! Give up!"
— Give up, seriously lol
— Bubblegum Kaiju what? lol
— So he gave all his hair...
— As expected of a real pro lol
"Takoyaki! This coward! Are you crazy!? It's Bubblegum!"
"We're teammates!"
"You'll go bald behaving so selfishly!"
Despite Tako's attempts to stop them, the students continued running to Bubblegum and shouted phrases out of a boys' manga.
— Tako's bald lol seems like some students are prophetic wow
— They're going to save him?
— Bubblegum... how many snacks has he bought them?
Tako tried his best to block them, but…
"Move it!"
"Why are you blocking us!"
"Ugh..."
Tako couldn't stop all these students from running back.
"Almond. Should we save him?"
It only seemed right to try and save Bubblegum now.
"But I don’t have a box cutter anymore..."
However, they didn’t have a viable solution. After all, who wouldn’t save him if they could? They only intended to leave because the situation was that dire.
"I can't hold them back anymore!"
Thud.
After Tako fell...
“Aaaaaahhhh!”
Bubblegum's commotion attracted a horde of zombies as the students tried to save him.
"Aaaaah!"
"Save Bubblegum!"
“At Bubblegum's single call for help, the students rushed in like mad! Is this some kind of ability?!”
“Ah, ah! Team 3!? Are they doomed now!?”
— Is team mode based on individual abilities?
— lol lol
— Bubblegum's ability seems great!
— The ability to turn people into a shield!
— The ability to fight with his mouth lol
— Bubblegum's Mouth Typhoon Technique!
Team 3 would be doomed like this. Bubblegum needed to stop convulsing or all the incoming zombies needed to be killed.
"Ah."
The former seemed easier to anyone watching.
Almond dashed over as if he thought of a suitable solution.
"Take me with—"
He kicked the back of Bubblegum's head like a soccer ball.
Thwack!
— Crazy lol
— ??? A soccer kick!
— Almond Heung-Min wow
— Popcorn: He told me to take him lol
— ??? When I was in the athlete village, a senior told me this and that about a soccer kick~
— lol Such a simple solution
— Almond Heung-Min seriously lol
***
[Team 1 Survivors: 40]
[Team 2 Survivors: 38]
[Team 3 Survivors: 32]
[Team 4 Survivors: 37]
[Team 5 Survivors: 35]