Although the game depicted her appearance from when she was seventeen, her distinctive red hair and emerald eyes remained. A combination of colors that was rarely encountered in Asians. The woman with that color combination also recognized him.

"Almond!?"

How many possibilities were left? No matter how indifferent Almond was, he couldn't be unaware. After all, she was the benefactor who had saved his

Civil Empire

rank game.

"It's a gift."

Almond still remembered when she offered him a bunch of arrows like a bouquet.

"Jessie…?"

Yes, she was the friend he made in

Civil Empire

, a player with the username Wackjassey. Although she looked unfamiliar in her blood-splattered school uniform, it seemed to be Jessie no matter how much he scrutinized.

— Who's Jessie?

— Jessie??

— lol crazy, it's wackjassey ~~

— Who are these noobs who don’t know Queen Jessie~~?

— ??? Bro! Who's that girl!?

— "Here comes my first love."

Jessie wore an expression she had never shown throughout the game. She was that pleased to see him.

"Wow! I thought I might meet you if I came to Korea!"

However…

Whoosh!

‘Huh?’

Even though she spoke with great excitement, she was still swinging her weapon.

"Are… Are you crazy?"

Clang!

Almond looked perplexed, but managed to block it nonetheless.

"Surprised? An enemy is an enemy."

"… True."

"Is that your face from high school?"

Shhhhh──!

With that question, Jessie thrust her spear again. It was as sharp as she said. When she had been ambushed before, she had not attacked this precisely.

"Your teenager face is cute too."

Chick!

Almond’s clothes became scratched.

[Scratched]

The elation that momentarily lifted Almond's spirits disappeared as he was quickly dragged back into the fight.

‘I'm being pushed back.’

In close combat, Jessie was superior. Even though Almond possessed faster reaction speed, it seemed like he was enchanted and unable to block effectively.

‘She's different indeed.’

Perhaps the secret was in the choice of her positioning. Not just the person's positioning, but the angle at which the spear moved made it so that it blocked attacks as it advanced.

‘Liechtenauer…’

It was clearly based on the sword fighting technique Bread had mentioned that Westerners often used.

"Unless you're familiar with this martial art, you don’t stand much chance in close quarters. It's like a grappling style of sword fighting like jujitsu."

If one didn’t know, they were doomed to lose to it. That was the essence of Liechtenauer martial arts. If the opponent didn’t understand the technique, they would be overwhelmed like now.

Kiiiiing…!

Jessie’s blade that blocked Almond’s sword suddenly slid in threateningly.

Chick!

He received another scratch.

“Why not just step aside? I don’t want to hurt that face,” Jessie suggested with a smile.

Obviously, it was more of a taunt than a real suggestion.

“You seem to still not quite get it.”

That was correct. He didn’t know how to properly counter it, but he wasn’t completely clueless about how to respond.

"An out-boxer style of fighting, attacking from a distance, is your best bet."

Kagagang!

Almond created some distance and flicked off her spear with the tip of his blade.

"With your reaction speed, you should be able to handle it."

Yes, as long as he could prevent her from entering the fourth floor.

***

'Huh?'

Jessie flinched.

Almond's positioning was sharp. Moreover, she was taking too much time.

'I should have killed him three times over by now.'

His understanding was clearly lacking, yet strangely, he wasn't being defeated. In close combat, the skill difference should have been double or triple or almost more than ten times. At least, that was how it seemed the first time Jessie had seen him.

"!"

Clang!

Again, he blocked it.

Clang!

Another attempt also failed.

'Why can't I break through?'

It was strange. How was he doing so well? Such an improvement in skill in such a short time was unbelievable.

"What's happened to you?"

Almond just shrugged.

"Your skills aren't cute at all. Time for a change in strategy."

She decided to change her strategy and suddenly turned to run away.

***

“Eeeee?!”

“Jessie is running the opposite way!?”

Almond felt a moment of alarm.

'A window!?'

Crash!

She had broken through a small window in the stairwell corner and escaped.

“She went through the window and jumped out!?”

— ???

— What the heck

— Are we in a movie??

— Wow

— Is she going to climb the railing now?

Click!

She barely caught a pipe.

“She didn't fall! She’s hanging on and moving sideways now!”

Jessie began to climb up the pipe. Her agile movements looked almost unbelievable to the eye.

“What incredible movement! Jessie is climbing the wall to the fourth floor!!”

She was clearly heading toward a window leading to the fourth floor corridor.

“Ah, no, I never imagined this! What is she planning?!”

“Looks like she's going to break into the fourth floor corridor window from the outside!”

“She's going to open the fourth floor door by getting in from the outside!? That, that's trouble!”

If she opened the fourth floor fire door, all sorts of zombies would enter the stairwell and Class 3 would end up being attacked from both sides. Zombies from the top of the stairs and humans from the bottom. That was the worst possible scenario and exactly what Class 2 hoped for.

“Almond! What's your call!? Can't you stop it from the inside?!”

Almond had two options. To just block with force from the inside or to follow Jessie outside and make her fall.

“Well, unless we build a barricade, just breaking the handle a bit will allow the zombies to push the door open!”

Blocking from the inside had clear limits. Jessie’s weapon could easily break the lock. If she just called the zombies, a breach was inevitable.

Then, there was only one choice left.

“You need to make a decision fast.”

Almond didn't hesitate for long.

Whoosh──

He immediately followed Jessie, jumping through the broken window and hanging below her.

Thwack!

“Yeah! He’s following her!”

“Oh wow, just watching makes me dizzy!”

The landscape spreading out beneath his feet felt dizzying. Even though it was only the third floor, a fall would likely result in multiple fractures.

"Following me?"

Jessie looked down with a smile. She had already climbed up a bit.

"Has the situation reversed now?"

"…!"

Now, Jessie was on top and Almond was below. This was the opposite of their situation on the stairs.

"Sorry, but can you fall off!?"

Thump!

Jessie's foot began to kick Almond's face.

— ??? Kick him more!

— You call that sorry? lol

— lol

— Wow, industry reward

[Bleeding]

[Bruising]

Although Almond sustained damage, he gritted his teeth and somehow climbed up.

“Almond! He's climbing up! Despite Jessie's kicking, he's not giving up!”

Almond finally made it up. Now, they were at the same height.

'Finally.'

Just as Almond felt it was becoming manageable, he had to duck immediately.

Clang──!

Jessie's weapon struck the brick, sending sparks flying. It had just missed his head.

"Damn. You climbed up? You’re really persistent, huh?"

"You're one to talk."

Almond, still gripping the pipe tightly, swung his sword.

Whoosh!

Jessie's hair was cut.

“Both are now dueling while hanging from the railing!!”

“Wow! This is like Romeo and Juliet! The last dance!”

— lmao

— Why Romeo and Juliet all of a sudden? lol

— You watched a weird version of the movie lol

— Last dance lol

— So it's the last dance because they'll die if they fall?

“Jessie! Aim for the hands!”

“They're both holding weapons! They’re hanging by one hand!”

Almond’s right hand was the only thing keeping him attached to the wall. If his hand were cut, he would likely die. The same was true for Jessie.

"!"

Clang──!

Their swords collided in midair.

“There’s a great sense of urgency because they're fighting while hanging on the wall!”

“Yes! No kidding!”

— lol I jumped lol

— The commentators are so hyped because the fight is intense

— Yum!

The exchange of sword strikes aimed at each other’s hands continued.

Clang!

Clang!

The key was who could climb higher.

“Jessie climbs a bit higher!”

“Almond follows!”

“They need to land a hit somehow!”

Almond launched a fierce attack to prevent her from climbing any higher, but it was all blocked. That couldn't be helped.

“Ah! There are only so few angles to attack from! That’s why attacks keep getting blocked!”

“It's basically a Maple Story fight right now! It’s two dimensional!”

— Maple lol

— Seriously lol

— Side-scrolling fight lol

— Only up, down, middle lol

Just as the commentators said, fighting while stuck to the wall meant there was no concept of left or right. Only up, down, and middle existed. Even though they swung their weapons earnestly, being defensive was too advantageous.

Clang!

Clang!

Their blades kept clashing.

“But they can't just stop attacking!”

“You fall off! No, you fall off!”

“But this makes it advantageous for Almond, right?”

Almond was intentionally drawing out a war of attrition since time was on his side.

“If this continues, Jessie’s forces will be wiped out!”

“Indeed, she needs to be decisive!”

"Damn it! Hurry up!"

Jessie, having put a weapon in her mouth, suddenly swung her body like a pendulum and kicked with both feet.

Boom!

Almond blocked with the flat side of his blade, but he was pushed back due to the weight.

“Wow! What an incredible kick!?”

“We've been pushed back!”

Then, she sped upward after attacking like mad. Climbing with both hands made it much faster.

“Now, just ignore everything and go up!”

“Almond! You've been pushed down a bit before, can't you catch up!?”

Jessie, thinking this was her moment, climbed up frantically.

“From Jessie's perspective, it’s an opportunity! Just keep climbing up! She can't be caught… Oh no!?”

From below, Almond ascended at a terrifying speed with a sword in his mouth.

“What, how is he so fast!?”

Jessie hadn't anticipated he would come up so quickly and only focused on climbing up.

𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

“Ah, Almond is almost catching up!”

“But the distance is a bit too far for a sword strike!”

They grew closer, but Jessie was already near the fourth floor.

“Jessie is going in!”

Jessie tried to insert her upper body through a fourth floor window.

“Aaaaah! Almond! He's running!? He’s running along the wall!!?”

Almond decided to gamble everything.

Tatatatat!

His hands let go and he ran directly on the wall with his feet. Of course, one could only run like this briefly. Soon, he fell heavily. He had thrown himself for just one moment.

— Is this perseverance!?

— Wow

— Wow

— Almond, the ninja from Nut Village!

Whooosh!

He kicked off the wall several times in an instant and flew through the air.

“!?”

Jessie, seeing his shadow beside her, turned and gasped.

‘Crazy.’

He flew in like that?

Almond had held the sword in his mouth and now wielded it in his hand. His body spun in the air and the blade fiercely whipped around.

Whoooosh!

Jessie's upper body would be severely slashed.

“Ah, aaaaah!”

She twisted her whole body to minimize the damage.

Chaaaack──!

Sacrificing her legs was the best she could do instead of being split in two.

“

Aaaaaah!

Well, you can say she blocked it!”

“It's a severe injury! She's practically dead!”

Bright red blood sprayed from a white leg. It was a deep wound that nearly severed her leg.

“Ugh… ugh!”

Thud!

Nonetheless, she managed to enter the fourth floor and immediately shouted,

“Yaaaaaaa!!!”

Her scream echoed thunderously throughout the hallway.

“It's not over until you're dead! The mission is still feasible!”

"Here, you zombie bastards!!!"

At the far end of the corridor, the zombies aimlessly wandering nearby all turned their heads simultaneously.

“Grrrrrrr!”

They began to rush forward. Among the zombies were chargers, catchers, and other special types.

“

Aaaaah!

They’re screwed! Jessie has called all the zombies there!!”

Seeing the zombies approaching, Jessie headed toward the fourth floor fire door.

“Jessie! She’s limping, but still heading toward the fourth floor fire door!”

“It will take a while for Almond to arrive due to the aftermath of his gamble!”

Jessie's weapon was a modified cutter, so wasn't it considerably heavy?

Bang! Crash!

She quickly overcame the door handle.

“Finally! It’s opened!!”

As if Jessie had finished her duties, she collapsed to the floor.

Thud…

***

[Excessive bleeding]

[Ligament rupture]

[Exhaustion]

[Dizziness]

A complete set of various status ailments clouded her vision.

“

Ha…

I won.”

She had won, but it was the end for her too.

“Have you just arrived?”

Jessie, smiling weakly, looked up at Almond who just arrived.

“Hah… Hah…”

He was panting heavily after rushing over.

“Are you going to kill me?”

Almond silently adjusted his grip on the sword.

“No mercy.”

Jessie was in no state to resist anyway. Thinking she was about to die, she tightly closed her eyes in preparation.

‘Hmm?’

She squinted and saw Almond's back blocking the corridor.

“Who says you won?” His back faced the zombies as he aimed his sword at them and said, “If I stop them, we win.”

“What…?”

He intended to stop the zombies? Was he sane? Those dozens of zombies weren’t just ordinary ones, but included special zombies too.

They crowded the corridor and charged in.

“Kraaaaaaaah……!”

“Graaaaah!!!”

[Fear]

Even the two combatants felt fear due to the sheer number, yet Almond believed he would win.

Woooooong!

At this moment, light burst forth from the text.

[Fear → Resolve]

The combatant’s special ability began to activate.

***

[Beginner’s Tip: Surprisingly, humans are at their weakest when they live only for themselves.]