Global Awakening: Only I Can Respawn

As usual, no one had an answer. YuWon thought once they crossed the finish line, the trial would be over. But that wasn't the case. They weren't in the desert anymore. In fact, they were standing before a subway.

But from one look, they knew they weren't back in their world, yet. Even though the location was familiar to them, there was something different about the place.

"It's way less crowded," YuWon mumbled, looking around. "But there's no mistaking it. This is Gangnam station... or, well, a replica."

Gangnam station was the busiest station in all of Korea. That's why seeing it so empty was bizarre. But that wasn't the only thing. As YuWon looked around, he noticed none of the people he had saved were with him.

Besides Yuna, Yeji, and Gina, who all crossed the finish line together, everyone else was gone. Where? YuWon did not know.

In their place, we got these... foreigners.

Three groups of four. All of whom looked different. First was YuWon's group. A moment later, another group appeared beside them out of nowhere.

It didn't take long for him to recognize them as Westerners, probably Americans. Two tall, muscular guys stood there, wearing tank tops and cargo pants. One had short blonde hair, while the other had a shaved head.

Beside them were two girls. One had dark brown hair in a ponytail, and the other had bright red hair with tattoos all over her arms.

YuWon was looking at them when another group appeared. This group only had women, and they were speaking in Portuguese, or so Yuna told him.

They opted for light clothing, unlike the Americans, possibly to move around quickly. One girl had curly, dark brown hair that bounced as she moved, while another had long, straight black hair tied back in a braid.

The third girl had tanned skin and a certain aloofness in her. While the last girl was shorter, but looked fierce, as if she had been fighting all her life.

"Who are they?" Gina whispered, her fangs showing.

"No idea," YuWon replied, watching the Americans and the Portuguese-speakers with caution.

[Quest: Subway Surfers]

[Task: Catch the train docked at ?? platform.]

[Reward: Unknown.]

[Penalty for failure: Unknown.]

Once again, they got a simple task. But obviously, it would not be that simple. Everyone thought the same thing, so no one took a step toward the station, waiting for the other groups to step up first.

"Let's go," YuWon instructed.

But as he walked ahead, the bubbly girl from the third group approached them. She said something, but YuWon couldn't understand. That's when Yuna stepped up and carried on the conversation.

YuWon didn't understand a word they were saying. But since they were smiling, it had to have been good. After a minute, the two shook hands and parted ways.

"What was that about?" Yeji asked Yuna, still on edge around her.

"Oh, nothing much." Yuna dismissively waved her hand. "She just wanted to tell us to stay out of their way. So I told her the same. That's all."

Yeji narrowed her eyes, wondering if Yuna was telling the truth. When she did, Yuna wrapped herself around YuWon's arm.

"Oppa~ Your sister is a meanie—"

Before she could even complete the sentence, YuWon pushed her back, staring right at her.

"Let me make two things clear. First, I hate that word," he said, retrieving his sword. "Second, get ready to fight."

Just as he said that, loud footsteps echoed out of the subway. A second later, three dozen ogres rushed out of the gates, straight toward them, with a dozen ogres heading for each group.

The closest ogre swung its massive blade, aiming straight for YuWon's head. He dodged to the side with ease. They were ogres, but they were no berserking ogre.

As the ogre rushed past him, YuWon slashed at the ogre's arm. Unlike before, this time, the blade cut through the thick flesh, severing the ogre's hand in a single strike.

But he didn't stop there. He slashed at the creature's leg. The ogre collapsed to the ground. Since neither Yuna nor Yeji could fight them, it was up to Gina and him to deal with the ugly bastards and that's what he was doing.

Simultaneously, Gina grabbed the ogre's fallen blade and used the first ogre's body as a stepping stone. While in the air, she swung the blade in a wide arc, severing the head of an ogre. The head fell to the ground with a loud thud as the ogre's massive body slumped lifelessly.

"You take half, I'll deal with the rest," YuWon instructed and Gina left, nodding.

YuWon then turned to Yuna. Unlike Yeji, she had the talent to grow as a fighter, and right now, he needed all the hands he could get.

"Absorb the corpses," he told her, finishing the first ogre. "I'm not carrying your ass through this trial."

"Just so you know," Yuna replied, raising her hand. "If you ever want to carry my ass, I'd rock your world."

YuWon looked at her brazen declaration before rolling his eyes. He didn't even bother replying to her as he rushed to kill another ogre.

Meanwhile, Yuna's hand glowed faintly as the dead ogres' bodies disintegrated and their essence flowed into her. She closed her eyes as she felt herself getting stronger.

"Oh, yeah... that's the stuff. YuWon give me more!"

"Stop playing around!" YuWon hissed back.

Just then, another ogre swung its club at him, but YuWon ducked and slashed the creature's leg. Before the ogre could recover, YuWon quickly activated [Soul Bind] to control the damn creature.

The ogre froze for a moment, unable to shake it off. Then it turned around and swung its club at one of its own. The other ogre didn't have time to react. The club smashed into its side, sending it crashing to the ground.

That was all it took for chaos to break out. Confused, the ogres started attacking one another. YuWon smirked as the controlled ogre swung again, forcing another fight.

While the ogres were distracted, YuWon, Gina, and even Yuna started eliminating the ogres one after another. The infighting created the perfect opening for them to pick the monsters off with ease.