Season 3: Chapter 3: Occupying The Main Building (3)
By this point, the players had mostly caught on.
"Each team is divided into three roles: a strategist, combatant, and leader."
This Zombie School multiplayer mode had designated roles for everyone.
"Yes. This challenge assigned positions based on each player's traits analyzed by AI, but players can probably choose for themselves when the game officially launches or it might be random?"
"That's right."
Applying this information to Team 3, the roles were distributed as followed.
Almond - Combat
Takoyaki - Strategy
Bubblegum - Leader
While only one characteristic of other players had been revealed so far, Almond's attributes were almost entirely understood because combatants had many roles to play in the early stages.
"In the early stages of the game, combat abilities are quite crucial!"
"That’s right. Everyone is emotionally unstable without proper weapons."
Almond did not experience the negative emotional penalties associated with combat and he possessed superior physical stats compared to others.
Almond thought to himself, 'This is my role.'
He believed that he was the only one who could resolve this conflict.
"Three!"
Drrrrrr—
As Almond counted to three, the restroom door opened.
Bang!
As the door opened and hit the wall, he quickly took in the crowd before him.
'So many.'
He had anticipated it, but the full sight of an entire class brought a sense of pressure. However, it was not enough to impact his combat ability.
"Oh. Finally decided to come out?" the student at the front asked with a sneer.
It was hard to tell by just his appearance, but it seemed to be the guy who initially peered through the keyhole judging from the voice. His ID was Radish Kimchi, and he was a member of the challenge hunter team.
"And the kids behind—"
Thump!
As Almond previously instructed, his classmates immediately closed the door again.
"…?"
Radish Kimchi, including other players from Class 1, looked slightly baffled.
"What? Were you abandoned?"
"Ahahahahaha! How are you managing the kids!?"
From their perspective, it seemed like Class 3 had abandoned Almond. It made sense since he came out alone despite their overwhelming numbers. Moreover, the students inside had shut the door. Those who thought he wasn’t abandoned would have to be quite imaginative.
"It’s not like that... our kids are good."
— The kids are good… lol
— The kids are good…
— Yep~ planning to chop up the kids soon~
Class 1 did not believe him.
"If you weren’t abandoned, what was it then? The kids just pushed you out and closed the door behind you?"
"I told them to close it."
“Puhahahahaha.”
Loud laughter echoed out.
"Sure, you'd want to think that."
"But it's true..."
As Almond stalled for time with words, he quietly pulled out some toilet paper and blocked the keyhole.
"Sure, it must be true. So, how about you switch to our class?"
"What?"
"Come join us."
"..."
Radish Kimchi smirked.
'Typical of a player.'
His suspicions changed into certainty that Almond was a player. Eliminating him here would definitely be advantageous.
He wasn’t considering whether or not to eliminate Almond, but how to make the other kids in his group accept it.
'He had to find at least one injury on Almond.'
It would be simple. There could’ve been a scuffle and rolling around usually resulted in minor injuries. He could simply claim those were scratches from a zombie. Wouldn’t that make it quite easy?
"?”
While Radish Kimchi scrutinized Almond's body, his eyes turned into question marks.
'What?'
Why weren’t there any injuries? Could it be that Almond hadn’t been scratched even once while running to the main building?
'There's quite a bit of blood though.'
There was blood. That meant he had fought with zombies, but how come there wasn’t a single tear in his clothes?
'Should I just mention where the blood is?'
This would depend on the sophistication of the NPCs. For ordinary students, it was difficult to distinguish between blood on clothes and actual wounds. The students would probably accept his claim of Almond having wounds if they were realistically programmed. However, they would know that Almond hadn't lost any health if they were set up in a binary AI-like manner to check the opponent's status.
'Let’s put his judgment on hold.'
He still didn't know how the NPCs would interpret the situation. Therefore, he decided to probe Almond further.
"What do you want? If, as you say, you came out intentionally and closed the door... then what was your intent?"
"I came out because you guys have weapons."
"?"
Wasn’t it unusual to come out because the other side had weapons?
— Are you talking in reverse? lol
— The opponent is confused lol
— Nutty speech pattern wow
"I closed it because I wanted those weapons."
"?"
Radish Kimchi's eyes suddenly widened.
Something unexpected flew at him.
Swoosh!
'When?'
The sharp edge of the split mop handle grazed his throat.
[Critical Hit!]
[HP: 70%]
His health plummeted instantly due to a vital spot getting hit, but that wasn’t the only problem.
[Anxiety]
[Critical Injury]
[Severe Bleeding]
[Bacterial Exposure]
Various status abnormalities followed since even a piece of glass embedded in the hand could be fatal in this game.
"Ah, he dodged it," Almond muttered calmly amid the absurd and bewildering situation.
He also checked his own status.
'As expected, nothing.'
True to expectations, his character felt no particular revulsion to attacking others. It was clear that his character was made for combat.
"You bastard!"
Whoosh!
Radish Kimchi vigorously swung his sledgehammer.
Swoosh.
Almond quickly lowered his posture, letting it pass overhead, and thrust upward with the mop handle.
Slash!
"Ugh!"
Radish Kimchi twisted his head to dodge, but the tip of his nose was sheared off. That wasn't the end.
Almond wasn't just aiming for his face. As he dodged forward, he spun around and delivered a powerful low kick.
Thump!
Staggering from the weight of the sledgehammer, Radish Kimchi tumbled to the ground.
Almost simultaneously, Almond's mop handle struck his head.
Bang!
Although it wasn't sharp enough to penetrate the skull, it still caused significant damage.
"!? Cough!”
Radish Kimchi collapsed, spewing bubbles of blood and lost consciousness as blood streamed from his nose.
[Knocked Out]
— Wow, that’s refreshing!
— Seeing Radish Kimchi's juices flow sure fits his name!
— That's freaking satisfying lol
— Ah, refreshing, that's the Almond we know
Class 1 was in dismay as they saw Radish Kimchi quickly go down.
"... Crazy."
"What just happened?"
"Huh, Radish Kimchi?"
Seeing such a seemingly strong guy knocked out so easily felt bewildering.
— Radish Kimchi isn't living up to his name lol
— Is this the kimchi of Joseon?
Unknowingly, the students stepped back. That was when it happened.
"Crazy bastard! Starting with a sucker punch!? Good! Kill him!!" someone who played the role of the leader shouted from the back.
Now, they had a clear cause. His words changed the look in the students’ eyes.
"Coward!"
"They're trying to kill us!?"
"Class 3 kids suck at soccer anyway!"
— Soccer what? lol
— Ah, can't stand not being good at soccer lol
— ??? Our ball possession rate is high though?
The students charged at him while hurling personal insults.
"Aaaargh!"
The lead student swung a metal pipe.
'Left.'
Whoosh!
As expected, it missed and Almond's counterattack naturally hit its mark.
Slash!
The cut went deep and blood splattered.
'Even a scratch here is almost as good as a kill.'
Causing injuries rather than killing could be even more demoralizing. They would have to get new bandages and continually treat them, wasting more resources.
"This, this bastard!"
"Stab him!"
A joint attack came from both sides almost simultaneously.
'Left and right at the same time.'
Thump!
The mop handle Almond held blocked both attacks at once.
"...!"
— Wow
— That's it
— The end of the human era has arrived! The era of nuts is here!
— lol
— That pose really marks the end of the human era, doesn't it? lol
Whoosh.
He disrupted the counterbalance of their power and, instead of retreating, charged toward the students while swinging his mop handle.
Slash!
Slash!
"Aaargh!"
"Wha, what!?"
He stirred up a frenzy even though it was one against forty.
“Wait a minute. What's happening on Team 3's screen!?”
Even the commentators, who had been looking elsewhere, widened their eyes in surprise.
“Right now, Almond is fighting alone against Team 1, the strongest contenders to win!!!”
“Is this some third-rate academy action film!? There's no consistency in the combat!”
— Park Tae-Joon style action lol
— Factory style movie action... but it's real.
— This is crazy
— So this is a game where the zombies team up and need to beat Almond?
— lol
Several quickly fell to the ground as Almond attacked the swarming students.
Thump!
Almond used not only the mop handle, but also his elbows, knees, and fists to beat down the kids.
Thump! Thump!
"Cough!"
"Grab him! Fuck, grab his arms and legs!"
It wasn’t that they didn't resist. At first, hadn't they tried to fight back fiercely while wielding brooms?
Thump...!
That damn mop handle blocked whatever they swung at him and whenever they tried to grab him, he slipped away like an eel. Their will to fight simply vanished.
Crack—
"Aaaargh!"
Slowly, the students started to realize. The ones who initiated the attack had their jaws shattered. Showing off could mean they would be next.
"Cough...!"
"I'm not, I won’t fight... urgh!"
Almond's fists or elbows precisely jabbed into their jaw joints.
"You bastards! Are you gonna run away!?"
Those with courage fell first. When everyone thought this way, no one dared to take the initiative.
"What, what? Run away?! Didn't you just see?"
"You go out and fight!"
— You go girl
— Class 1 sucks lol
— These kids’ faces lol
These kids weren't soldiers. Of course, they would hesitate if the only reward for courage was death.
“It's not good to keep ordering them to do something they think they can't! It lowers morale!”
“Just because it's one person doesn't mean the kids aren’t scared!”
War wasn’t just about numbers. A many-on-one fight wasn’t just decided by numbers. Trained organization and the courage to maintain composure were fundamental in large-scale battles. Skills like wielding a sword more cleanly were just extra.
Of course, Almond was well-versed in these extras and had a different understanding of large-scale combat. He could calculate quickly that it was actually advantageous to dive into this group of forty.
“No, Almond! I've heard, but is this guy really crazy!? He's pushing back that crowd!!!”
“Is Class 1 really retreating against just Almond!?”
The commentators felt extremely excited. One player was pushing back a group of forty. One against forty seemed miraculous, yet it also appeared inevitable when closely examined.
“Not yet! They haven't retreated yet!”
“Yes, but forty running away doesn't make sense! From Class 1's perspective, they could just push back and take out all ten students inside!”
Class 1 seemed to hold out because of pride. They appeared to endure even if a few went mad. It couldn’t be helped. They gritted their teeth and held on in hopes of solidifying their resolve, but…
"Arrrrgh!"
A pivotal event occurred.
"Grrr...!"
A sound came from the end of the corridor. It echoed through human vocal cords, but did not sound human.
"Kyyyaaaahhhhhhh!"
“Zombies! Zombies are here!”
“And they're all running! There are quite a few of them!?”
Almond stood in front of the students and behind them were zombies. Class 1 inadvertently became the filling in a sandwich. Eventually, they made a humiliating decision.
"Damn...! Run! To the second floor!"
The forty people decided to retreat against one Almond. That was their decision.
“Is this real!? They're retreating!! They're actually retreating!?”
“Now if Almond has a son, he can always brag! Dad fought forty to one in his school days and won!”
— lol
— School days~
— School days (in virtual reality) lol
— Memories of 0s and 1s...
***
[Beginner's Tip: Zombies respond more to hearing than to sight.]