Global Awakening: Only I Can Respawn

"Fuck!"

YuWon tried forcing his way inside, but Anna, the regressor, stood firm. He put all his strength to stop the doors, but it only slowed them. It didn't take long for him to realize he was fighting a losing battle.

But he wasn't going down without a fight. Just as the doors were about to close, YuWon retrieved the sword and threw it inside, aiming for Anna's head.

She dodged it, but the guy behind her wasn't that lucky. The sword got buried in the man's chest and he collapsed on the ground.

Anna's expression turned sour. She looked at YuWon with rage, but stood firm, not letting YuWon board the train. However, as the man collapsed, Gina got free and lunged at Anna.

Yeji didn't stay behind, and Yuna joined them, too. All three of them tried to pull Anna off the door. Unfortunately, they ran out of time, and the train zoomed into a tunnel.

YuWon tried holding on, but an invisible force shoved him aside, and he fell on the platform. Even then, he wasn't worried. Sure he failed this time, but he will respawn and when he does, he would figure out a way to deal with the bitch once and for all.

However, a moment later, all his plans turned sour when a notification appeared before him.

[Trial failed.]

[As punishment, you will now be teleported to the penalty zone.]

[May you rot in hell for all eternity.]

YuWon's heart sank for a second as a strange mist surrounded him.

***

YuWon clutched his head as the mist finally dissipated. He was lying in the middle of the road, and not in the subway station anymore.

A moment later, another notification appeared before his eyes. Only this time, the screen flickered and appeared to be broken.

[Quest: Penalty Zone]

[Task: Kill the Charred Ghoul]

[Reward: You'll regain your status as an Awakener.]

[Punishment for failure: Death.]

[Quick save complete!]

[You can access earlier checkpoints after leaving the penalty zone.]

[Till then, you can only respawn at this location.]

"Well, Fuck me..."

YuWon closed the prompts and sighed. He was in some deep shit this time. No wonder that Anna was so confident that he won't respawn.

...fuck that bitch, too!

After a deep breath, YuWon calmed down a bit. It wasn't Anna who got him there, but his foolishness. There were a lot of things he could have done to survive, but he panicked and now he was stuck in a strange place.

He looked around himself to find where he was. The area looked familiar to him, as if he had been there before, but the place had changed a bit. It took him a couple of seconds to figure out where he was.

"The park near the college..." he mumbled.

Yet the place was different. It didn't have the buildings that were located around the park, and nature completely overran the few buildings that were there.

It was as if he got teleported hundreds of years into the future or a post-apocalyptic world. Not to mention, everything was exceptionally dark there. Had it not been for some flickering lights, he would be completely blind there.

Not like it would be a bad thing. I already know the layout of this place by heart.

The park was a place YuWon often used to visit after being shunned by everyone. But he wondered why was it a penalty zone?

However, he couldn't think about it for long. He heard the sounds of someone running behind him. But by the time he turned around, whatever the thing was, it had already vanished into the darkness.

"Come on... what are you waiting for?" YuWon clenched his fists because he stupidly threw his sword away.

He could feel he wasn't alone there. However, thanks to the dark, he couldn't see anything as he walked into under the flickering streetlight.

[A ghoul has caught on to your smell.]

"Ghouls? Great... now I'm fighting zombies."

Suddenly, YuWon noticed something from the corner of his eyes and jumped back. What he saw scared him shitless. The creature was covered in blood and decaying flesh, but there was no question about it.

"Jaehwan?"

YuWon asked as the creature stood at the edge of the streetlight's range. The creature looked like Jaehwan, yet it had clear animal-like traits, like long fangs that stuck out of its mouth, similar to a saber-toothed tiger.

The body was covered in blood and ash, with parts of flesh rotting away and falling apart. The ghoul also had claws in place of fingers, which once again were like that of the feline species.

"Even in death you fucker won't leave me alone, huh?" YuWon scoffed as he recognized the two ghouls behind Jaehwan.

Suddenly, all three of them rushed at him. YuWon kicked the nearest ghoul in the chest. Seeing their ally fall, the two remaining ghouls immediately charged ahead, but stopped as YuWon stepped back into the light.

"They hate the light... I could use it to my advantage."

But that was easier said than done. He didn't have any weapons to use, and they would not step into the light. It was a stalemate and a situation YuWon hated the more.

He looked around and noticed a concrete block with a steel rebar sticking out of it, lying a few feet away from the ghouls. It was the only thing he could use as a weapon for now.

Without hesitation, YuWon rushed ahead, leaving the safety of the light. The ghouls swung their claws at him as he rushed past them.

He ducked under one swipe, barely missing the sharp claws, and then rolled out of the way as another ghoul reached to grab him. He reached the concrete block and grabbed the steel rebar sticking out of it.

"Hmph!"

[Title Effect: You killed a monster with that!? has been activated.]

[The awakener will deal bonus damage.]

With a grunt, he lifted the makeshift weapon and swung it with all his strength. The heavy block slammed into the side of the nearest ghoul's head and crushed its skull, killing Jaehwan's lackey again.

"Tsk, you're even weaker in the afterlife," YuWon mumbled, looking at the other two. "Who's next?"