Season 3: Chapter 10: Surrender (1)
Kim Mango became flustered because he had not anticipated such an event.
"Hey, Mango! Are these really NPCs? What the hell is this rebellion?!"
"... I don't know."
If they had known that there were players mixed in among the Class 3 students they had captured, perhaps they could have anticipated such a situation. However, they didn't know and now it had already happened.
"Ugh! Die! Damn it! Hey, Kim Mango! Are these not NPCs?"
"I don't know. I'm still thinking."
They had never encountered players before, so they hadn't even considered the possibility. Thanks to that, they progressed smoothly without any crises. Now, that very advantage became their downfall.
'Is it that person?'
Bubblegum and Kim Mango's eyes met.
"Are you the player?"
"Yes," BubbleGum retorted as if to say, 'What are you going to do about it?'
"How... did the kids become so aggressive?"
"You guys tormented us so much. The justification was clear, wasn't it? I just kept encouraging them that someday we would rebel."
"Ha... I see."
An external enemy had increased their unity. That was also the problem with ruling through fear. No matter how much it temporarily demoralized them, their solidarity only grew stronger. And when the opportunity came, boosting morale was all too easy.
'Should I have stopped Kim Jin-Hyeok?'
If they had treated the Class 3 NPCs decently, perhaps the unity needed for such a rebellion would not have formed. If there had been just three or four who wanted to join Class 5, then...
"Your plan was well made, but your calculations were off from the start."
"What?"
"You can cause us harm this way, but you can't win. And if you start a rebellion and can't win..."
Class 5 charged in as if on cue, swinging their desk-leg clubs.
"Die."
Bang...!
Bubblegum blocked with his desk, but—
"Ugh!?"
Thud!
He was pushed back and fell over.
"You guys are only twenty even if you surround us. We're over thirty, and the equipment difference is too big."
Thump!
Bang...!
Bubblegum looked around at the bloody fight unfolding. Initially, it seemed like Class 5 was at a disadvantage, but they gradually began to push back the rebels.
"What kind of world has changed!? Nerd bastards!"
"Ugh...!"
Oh Ji-Hoon, who had been at the front, also fell. Almond's team from the stairs was even worse off.
The difference in equipment was too great. Their attacks were futile against the armor made from textbooks, and they could not block the enemy's attacks. Above all, they were utterly exhausted.
"You started such a big fight without even measuring your strength."
Mango's words were spot on. It was as if Class 3 had jumped into this without even a simple calculation.
Class 3 was all sprawled on the ground with only Class 5 still standing.
"Anyway, it was a good try."
Kim Mango smirked. His clothes were still crisp and untouched by battle.
Class 3 had never really broken through the ranks of Class 5.
"Ah. It hurts. Damn it. Just kill all these Class 3 bastards!"
"Uh..."
Those on the outer edges had taken some hits.
Kim Mango looked around at Class 3 and asked, "Decide. Will you join our class or..."
"What do you mean!? Kill them all! Would you raise a dog that bites its owner?!"
His thumb pointed to Kim Jin-Hyeok.
"As this friend says, will you accept the consequences for what you've started?"
A moment of silence passed.
"... Ah. I'm dizzy."
Just then, Bubblegum stretched his neck and stood up again.
"Hey! You! Who said that!?"
"What nonsense?"
"Who! Who said I didn't measure my team's strength!"
"Have you been listening up to now? Maybe you're streaming with a dumb character concept?"
— Correct!
— LOL, he's a ghost
— Lol, Kim Mango is quite likable.
"Hey, do you think numbers are strength!? Just wearing a textbook is strength?"
"Then what?"
What? Not considering the number of fighters or equipment in a fight? What kind of bravado was this?
"Then what is strength?"
Snap!
Bubblegum confidently pointed somewhere toward the basement stairs.
"That."
Someone was coming up from the basement stairs. The front of the stairs was bright, but the basement stairs were dark. It was hard to see anything but the silhouette.
"Hey! Almond! What took you so long to wake up!? I staged a cheerful rebellion because of you! It's not cheerful at all!"
— Translation: Why didn't you join the bus!?
— It's not cheerful because of you
— But where did Almond come from?
"... Almond?"
Kim Mango turned around.
Almond was holding something long. It was a sledgehammer.
Thud...!
Its immense weight could be felt when it struck the floor.
"Almond has appeared!"
"Almond wasn't participating in the fight yet, huh? That explains it!"
"Wow! The player enters! Truly the main character!?"
— Wow!
— Like a phoenix rising!
— The main character entering LOL.
— He's come to end this war.
— (Archery) The star is entering LOL.
Kim Mango's eyes twitched.
Crunch, crunch.
What was Almond eating?
'What's he eating?'
Judging by the shape and size, it seemed to be a chocolate bar.
Zip.
The opponent quickly tossed the last piece of chocolate into his mouth and finally spoke, "I almost passed out because I was so hungry."
— Dae-Hyeok threw it behind him and it rolled down.
— Not fainting while defecating is an achievement, bro.
— But where did the chocolate bar come from??
The chocolate bar had revived the nearly unconscious Almond. When he rolled down to the fire door, someone had thrown a chocolate bar and vitamin drink through the door's letter slot. The combination of a chocolate bar and a vitamin drink packed with sugar and salt was perfect to make a quick recovery.
[Condition alleviated]
[Exhaustion → Tired]
[Hunger → Peckish]
[Self-healing Activated]
[Dizziness → Alertness]
Like a soldier who had taken a psychoactive substance, he felt all his bodily functions returning to normal.
Swoosh.
Almond tossed the chocolate bar wrapper to the floor and grasped the sledgehammer again.
"Gulp."
Swallowing sounds came from several places.
'Wow, a chocolate bar...'
'What is that? Almond's chocolate bar?'
'It's snickers. Where did it come from?'
No one there wasn't hungry. Sure, the chocolate bar was enviable. Even Kim Mango, a player, was salivating.
'But...'
He looked back at the kids from Class 3. Their eyes were alive again.
'Why is the atmosphere changing just because one person shows up?'
Even if their morale had increased again, the numbers were still overwhelmingly against them. Half of Class 3 was lying on the ground and they were in a far worse situation than when the rebellion started, yet Bubblegum was still blustering.
"Kim Jin-Hyeok! Lee Sang-Ho! Park Ji-Yeon! Almond! Listen up! Kim Jin-Hyeok! Lee Sang-Ho! Park Ji-Yeon!" Bubblegum started shouting his blacklisted names during this crisis. "These guys can't be treated nicely!"
"?"
— WTF are you talking about, seriously LOL.
— Sure, Almond is doing the cleanup while you're just listing names LOL.
— ???: What nonsense, bro...
— Lol, I love it LOL.
Why were they so confident of victory? Kim Mango found it difficult to understand. It was even annoying. How much were they underestimating him?
Then, it happened.
"Hey, Mango. Doesn't that guy look like Almond?" another player whispered to Kim Mango.
"Huh?"
"Yeah. It's Almond, right? He looks like him, and he's ridiculously handsome. Totally different from the others..."
"Oh... Almond?"
"Yeah. Don't you know him?"
"I know the name."
Almond was a streamer whose stock had been soaring recently. Kim Mango couldn't possibly not know him when they were in the same industry.
"He does look similar."
It seemed possible now that he thought about it, but Kim Mango hadn't seen Almond in the challenger queue.
"Almond wasn't on the list—"
Bang!
Without any warning, one of the Class 5 students was sent flying down the corridor.
"Oh... So it's this powerful."
It was just a test swing from Almond's sledgehammer.
Kim Mango hadn't even realized when Almond had entered battle mode. In an instant, one of their fighters went down.
"... He must be Almond."
"Shit."
"Whhooooaaaa!"
As Kim Mango's team grimaced, all of Class 3 charged again.
"What, what! Why is everyone freaking out! It's just one guy!" Kim Jin-Hyeok screamed, unable to understand.
Boom!
Soon, he and his friends were lying side by side in the corridor and forced to understand.
"Wow! One swing sends three people flying!?"
"My stomach hurts!!!"
— Bruh, three at a time LOL.
— Wow LOL.
— That's a real bug LOL.
Kim Mango urgently shouted, "The sledgehammer is slow! Surround and press him!"
It was the right tactic, but would Almond be so successful if such a simple tactic could work?
"Class 5 is on the defense!"
"But Almond...! Breaks through with a dribble!"
Whoosh.
For some reason, Class 5's attacks with the desk-legs all missed.
Almond, without even needing to swing the sledgehammer, knocked down those who were too close with his bare hands.
Crack!
A jaw broke under his fist and his foot instantly kicked another student's abdomen.
Boom!
"Ugh...!"
The Class 5 students flew back, spitting saliva.
"Don't... push!"
"Ah, I'm not going!"
For the ones retreating in shock, Almond generously offered them a rest by swinging the sledgehammer again.
Bang!
More Class 5 members went flying.
"Almond! How many is that now!?"
"Almond has knocked out eight by himself!"
"Is Class 5 just going to take this? Their fighters need to step up!"
"Looks like they're stepping up now!"
"Ah, damn... I'll go!"
Class 5's combatant, Park Apple tied up her long hair and rushed forward. Her agile movements with the desk leg showed a level of skill clearly above the other students.
Whoosh—
"Oh...!"
"That, that's dangerous—"
Boom!
She was sent flying into the bathroom by a counter-strike from the sledgehammer. A level higher was not enough.
"Insane!"
"Even a fellow combatant player can't stand against him!?"
"That was a perfect counter! Like a pro fighter!"
Kim Mango muttered almost incredulously, "... Every strike precisely hits the weak spots with maximum force at the smallest intervals."
The machine in front of him swinging a sledgehammer was not human. It was a machine built solely for combat.
***
Meanwhile, it looked like a factory as the Class 5 students ran up like they were on a conveyor belt. And that cold-hearted machine, as if assembling simple products, took them down one by one.
Bang!
Bang!
"Almond! Almond!! Another one down!"
"Another! Almond! Keeps going! He doesn't stop! Another sweep!"
"Dodge and counter!"
Boom!!!
Bang!
Only a few Class 5 students remained standing.
'Ah...'
Kim Mango gradually realized that they had been defeated. With that realization, the psychological damage set in.
"Whahahahaha! See!? This is a delightful rebellion! Right? Did you see, Oh Ji-Hoon!" Bubblegum stuck out his belly and laughed uproariously from the back.
'We won.'
It was well deserved. All of Class 5 were on the ground with only Kim Mango still left standing.
"I surrender," Kim Mango raised his hands and acknowledged defeat.
— Wow.
— Almond actually won.
— It really doesn't feel good to play, huh LOL.
— See? Bubblegum gave them mental damage at the end to make them surrender
— Wow, Bubblegum must be having so much fun LOL.
— Really, you should buy Almond a meal Bubblegum.
***
[Beginner's Tip: In Zombie School, the more trials you endure, the stronger you become. Assuming you're still alive, that is.]