Global Awakening: Only I Can Respawn

YuWon hesitated for a moment before taking it. He opened it and saw the bag was filled with several makeshift Molotov cocktails.

"What's this for?" YuWon asked in Korean.

Yeji opened her mouth to translate, but the woman raised her hand, stopping her, and smiled.

"You're going to need those if you want to make it to the train," the woman replied in Korean.

With that, she turned to leave. But YuWon called her back.

"How do you know so much about this place?" he asked, his eyes narrowing.

The woman didn't bother to turn and just shrugged, walking away. YuWon watched her for a moment. Something about her irked him. Especially by the way she talked, it felt like she had known him for a long time.

Just then, a notification appeared before his eyes.

[Head Hunter Contract engaged!]

[Target: John Switch.]

[Threat level: Low.]

[Time Limit: 16 hours]

[Known Weakness: None discovered.]

[Reward: Unknown]

[Punishment: Unknown]

YuWon blinked, staring at the notification. Eventually, he glanced at the group of Americans, and the mark appeared over the short guy's head.

Something had been off about them and the sudden contract he got felt a bit too convenient. Then there was the woman, acting all mysterious. Everything about them yelled problem.

But before he could dwell on it, a loud clattering noise brought him back to the present. Everyone brought their weapons out and moved towards the noise. Meanwhile, YuWon handed the bag to Yeji and moved ahead.

Suddenly, a large, snail-like creature appeared ahead. At first, it moved slowly, like walking around the park, leaving a slimy trail behind. The snail was roughly three feet high.

But then, when it noticed the onlooker, the snail rushed at them like a car. Its sudden burst of speed startled one of the Portuguese, and she fell. She tried to get up, but it was too late.

The snail was already on her, sucking her under its weight. Her terrified screams were the only thing the rest of them heard as the snail devoured her. A few seconds later... there was an eerie silence.

"What the hell just happened?" Yeji mumbled, covering her mouth.

To their surprise, the snail grew even more, now standing at four feet. When it moved again, there wasn't even a trace of the woman left. The creature had swallowed her whole with bone and blood.

Now it makes sense why this place is so barren.

The snail-creatures were the reason. They must have devoured everything—every human, every creature that was there. Even the ogres they had fought earlier were probably running from the snails.

Suddenly, the redhead stepped forward, reaching into a bag and pulling out a Molotov. Without a word, she lit the fuse and threw it at the snail.

The bottle shattered, hitting the snail's back. Within seconds, it got engulfed in flames. It must have hurt, terribly so, but all of it was deserved.

The snail twisted and turned, trying to extinguish the flames, but to no avail. Soon it shriveled up into a charred husk, nothing more. The woman then turned to YuWon and smirked.

"I told you we'd need them," she said and moved ahead.

Any doubts YuWon had about the woman disappeared in that instant. She was a respawner like him. Either that or she had foresight.

As everyone left, Yuna tried absorbing the husk. But her ability failed. The creature was far too gone for her skill to recover anything.

"This is bullshit!"

Yuna cursed, but YuWon's attention was on the woman.

***

The group slowly moved deeper into the subway station. Strangely enough, they hadn't come across many of the giant snails—only seven had appeared, and they'd dealt with them quickly using the Molotovs.

Still, there was no sign of the train.

"This way," the redhead mumbled, taking them down another flight of stairs.

All the while, YuWon was looking at her. She was quite useful, and he wanted to recruit her. It was also the reason he wasn't in a rush to kill the guy next to her. Though he would have to kill him, eventually.

As they were going down the stairs, they finally spotted it. A rusty old train was waiting for them on the tracks. They all sighed in relief, but none were happier than the Portuguese group that rushed ahead. But the redhead called them back.

"Wait!" she yelled. "Don't be stupid."

"Why?" one girl asked.

"Just watch."

The redhead pulled out a chunk of meat from her Phantom Bag and threw it down the stairs. At first, nothing happened, but then the ground trembled.

Out of nowhere, hundreds of the snail-like monsters emerged from nowhere fighting for the piece of meat. Wasting no time, she lit up the Molotovs and threw them at the snails.

"Use these to make a path through the swarm!" she yelled.

Everyone pulled out the Molotovs and began throwing them at the snails. Like before, they slowly turned into husks. However, they didn't have enough Molotovs to kill them all. That's why the redhead asked them to make a path instead.

"Use the husks as stepping stones and run!" the redhead shouted. "Jump your way to the train! Go, go, go!"

With that, the girl and the Americans rushed ahead, followed by the Portuguese. YuWon led his group as they jumped over the snails. Soon they were past the snail, ready to board.

But not everyone was so lucky. Three people slipped, or the snails dragged them down. The redhead lost the other girl in her group, along with the tall guy. However, she didn't even bother looking at them.

As everyone entered, YuWon was the last to board the train. But a moment later, the redhead shoved him out of the train.

"You're not coming with us," she smirked.

"What the hell are you talking about?" YuWon shot back. "Move!"

But the woman didn't budge, crossing her arms and looking down at him.

"In my past life, I trusted you," she said. "It was the worst mistake of my life. But this time, I'll make sure you never reach the next stage."

Past life? Shit! I knew it!

The moment the girl touched him, the pendant activated, giving YuWon her information. But his eyes were fixated on her class: Regressor.

Now it all made sense how she knew about the snails and the secret shopkeeper. She had lived this life before, gone through these trials.

During one of those times, the future version of him had done something so terrible that she wasn't taking any chances on him.

Meanwhile, Gina and Yeji were trying to fight their way through, but were stopped by everyone inside. Even Yuna couldn't move. YuWon had no choice but to wear his innocent face and beg for mercy.

"I don't know what happened between us in your past life," YuWon said calmly, "but I have done nothing to you in this one."

The redhead scoffed, "I know, and you'll never be able to do anything to me if I kill you first."

With no other way, YuWon was about to use [Soul Bind] to make the woman move, but she read his face and laughed.

"Don't bother, my dear," she mumbled. "Even your [Soul Bind] won't make me move this time."