Global Awakening: Only I Can Respawn

"Where do you think you're going?" Gina asked, her arms crossed. "You're not thinking of going out there alone, are you?"

"You should take someone with you. It's too dangerous to hunt on your own." Lysandra nodded in agreement, her vines moving around her feet.

YuWon could get why Gina was acting up. But Lysandra too? She knew he could respawn, but still urged him to take someone along. Only then did it click for him.

Both of them were his wives. Since Gina was acting all worried, Lysandra didn't want to lose to her. So she joined Gina, acting the part of a devoted wife despite knowing the truth.

"I need you two to stay here and protect the base," he said, caressing their cheeks. "Don't worry. I won't be gone long. Just need to check a few things here and there."

"You better come back in one piece," Gina narrowed her eyes, not convinced by his argument but letting him go either way.

"Really?" YuWon replied. "You think some random beast will kill me?"

Lysandra said nothing, but cleared her throat loudly.

"...alright, I'll be careful," YuWon shot her a look before walking away.

Even though he said that, only he knew how many times he had his head severed or died in the open. However, hunting wasn't the only reason for him to leave the base.

He needed to check his Phantom Bag and see if the items inside were still good to consume. If not, he would empty everything rather than fill the space with useless goods.

***

YuWon found a secluded alley, his back resting on the cold brick wall. With a sigh, he opened the phantom bag again and pulled out some raw meat he had stored before.

At first, the meat remained fresh, in its prime state, ready to be cooked. But soon enough, the fresh meat got discolored. Eventually, it turned slimy and gooey, rotting right before his eyes.

"It's the same shit again," YuWon sighed, dumping the meat onto the pile of discarded goods. "As soon as it touches anything outside the bag, it goes bad."

YuWon sighed and began dumping everything out. But then a wild thought entered his head.

"What if... I need to try this."

He squatted down and grabbed some rotten meat and placed it into the phantom bag. He waited for a moment, then reached in again, taking the meat out.

YuWon didn't expect the trick to work, but it did. The rotten meat had turned fresh, as if it had never been rotten. Although it was a brilliant discovery, the joy didn't last long.

It doesn't matter if it's fresh. It'll rot away soon.

The only solution was to eat the meat raw while it lasted. But that wasn't possible. Even raw meat needed some prep and if he bothered to get it ready for safe consumption, it would rot away.

"Even with an endless supply of food, I can't do much if I can't even prep it." YuWon sighed, scratching his head.

He looked at the meat again, turning it over in his hands before it started rotting again. He shoved it back into the Phantom Bag before getting up.

While hunting was the way to go, YuWon wanted to have some secondary source of food that didn't leave him at the mercy of the gods or sponsors or whatever they called themselves.

"Wait a minute..." YuWon smiled, shaking his head. "Maybe the stores have something to help me?"

It took him a while, but he eventually found another a store. Although someone had already found it before, so he won't get the additional free draw.

Inside, the store was mostly bare. The shelves were knocked over and everything else was scattered across the floor. But at the back of the room was the slot machine he was looking for.

***

"For fuck's sake!"

YuWon gritted his teeth as he got another trash item from the slot machine. It was a book where if he wrote someone's name, they would get a lot of food.

YuWon wrote his own name, but instead of food, all he got was a pile of rotten flesh. He threw the notebook in the phantom bag and continued.

The notebook was the reward from his seventh draw. Earlier he got some gold from the machine and some stat points, so he was fine with having them.

But since the last four draws, his luck had taken a nosedive. First, it was an indestructible umbrella. It couldn't be broken, burned, or cut. But that was about it.

It was indestructible, which made it a perfect shield. But it was useless. Why you ask? Because it could only be used during rain, since it remained closed until it was raining, making it useless.

Then was a coin that one could never lose. When someone did, it would teleport back into his pocket. That was it. The coin had no actual value either, so he couldn't use it for trading or anything.

The third thing was a pillow that was as heavy as a boulder but turned into a soft, harmless pillow when it touched anything. And finally, was the notebook.

It almost felt like the machine was playing a cruel joke on him.

One last pull... then I'll return no matter what it gives me.

YuWon closed his eyes and pulled the lever. The machine whirled into action. A moment later, there was a thudding sound, like someone had dropped something heavy on the floor.

YuWon opened his eyes and found a black cooking pot next to his feet. He picked up the pot and looked at it.

[Item: Iron Pot]

[Rank: Uncommon]

[Effect: Cleanse]

[Cleanse: Can cook rotten flesh into edible food. Taste is poor, but safe to eat.]

"Well, it's not exactly what I wanted, but it's better than nothing," he said, keeping the pot inside the phantom bag. "I guess that'll have to do for now."

However, as he was about to leave, he heard some footsteps headed his way.

Fucking hell! This shit again? It feels like I'm stuck in some third-rate novel!