Global Awakening: Only I Can Respawn

Min-Joon limped through the door, leaning on one of Soo-Ah's skeleton soldiers. He was covered in bruises and winced with every step he took. YuWon followed behind, smirking.

Although he marked a checkpoint, thinking Min-Joon would die at the hands of the ogre, Min-Joon exceeded his expectations. Not only did he kill the ogre, he did it within the time limit, with two seconds to spare.

He's better than I thought he was.

YuWon felt proud, like a parent as they walked inside. Yeji, who was fiddling with her status page, saw Min-Joon's sorry state first and rushed over.

"What happened to you?" she asked.

"He's alive," YuWon casually replied. "Just got superficial injuries while training."

Yeji stared at Min-Joon, and his injuries were anything but superficial. His arm was bent in the wrong direction, for heaven's sake. With a sigh, she motioned for Min-Joon to sit on the couch.

"Why am I not surprised?" she muttered.

As Yeji began healing Min-Joon, YuWon wandered off, stepping onto the balcony. Gina was there, leaning against the railing. Her long hair swayed slightly in the evening breeze. She didn't notice him until he approached quietly, slipping something around her neck.

Startled, Gina turned, her hand instinctively reaching for his arm to throw him off. But YuWon quickly grabbed her wrists and pinned her gently against the wall.

"Husband...?" she mumbled.

"You almost threw me off the balcony," YuWon chuckled, letting her go.

As soon as she was free, he touched her neck. Her fingers brushed against the smooth metal of the necklace he had placed around her neck.

"A necklace?" she mumbled.

"Not just a necklace. Try pouring some mana into it."

Curious, Gina nodded as she channeled her mana through her fingers. The moment she did, the metal around her neck shimmered. It fell apart, traveling down her hands as it reshaped into diamond-like claws.

Gina gasped, holding her hands up to inspect her new claws. They sparkled like starlight in the dark sky.

"This is... amazing," she said, amazed. "How did you—"

"Consider it my wedding gift to you." YuWon cut her off.

The sudden romantic gesture took her aback, and her face flushed. But then she remembered something.

"I-I didn't get you anything."

"You did," YuWon said, leaning closer. "You're the gift."

Gina shook her head. She couldn't accept such a lame response. But before she could protest, YuWon planted a kiss on her forehead. Gina gasped. Her reaction made him chuckle.

Unbeknownst to them, someone was glaring at them. Yeji worked on healing Min-Joon's injuries, but her focus was outside.

She glanced toward the balcony, catching a glimpse of YuWon kissing Gina. Her jaw tightened as a hint of irritation appeared in her eyes. Yeji's emotions made her magic falter, and Min-Joon winced in pain.

"Ow! Watch it!" he snapped.

"Stop whining," Yeji smacked him. "You're distracting me."

The skeleton soldier beside him clacked its teeth as if laughing.

"You're the one hitting the patient!" Min-Joon yelped. "What kind of healer are you?"

"The kind that can kill you."

Min-Joon turned stiff like a statue, not daring to talk back.

***

Meanwhile, Soo-Ah was taking a hot shower while she could. She wasn't delusional in thinking things would get normal anymore. At first, she had hoped so, but now living such a life seemed impossible.

As the water droplets traced her perfect curves, her thoughts went back to YuWon. Not only did he help her, but he also helped everyone they came across. His kindness had taken root in her heart. .net

Absentmindedly, her hand moved between her legs, but she immediately took hold of her emotions. YuWon was great, but he had a wife. Even though she was a goblin, Gina was beautiful and Soo-Ah didn't think YuWon would accept her.

Even if he does... I don't want to cause any grief to Gina.

But the harder she tried to throw YuWon out of her head, the stronger his grip on her heart got. She didn't know that at that moment Lilith was outside the shower, using her magic to amplify Soo-Ah emotions.

"Sweet angel," Lilith smiled. "Listen to your heart. My master has enough space inside his chest and between his legs for a concubine. Isn't that what you want too?"

***

Later that night, YuWon found himself back on the balcony. He could see Soo-Ah's skeletons patrolling around the apartment, looking for stray monsters. The life was comfortable for now. But he wondered how long it'll last.

He was curious if others had already moved to the Namsan Tower. Although he wanted to cultivate people, he couldn't accept a horde of people like he did in the past.

Instead of amassing an army, YuWon wanted to make a capable assault group. They would take on the missions and clear them efficiently. Still, he did what he could for the rest. How they survived was up to them.

"Couldn't sleep?" Soo-Ah asked.

"Yeah," YuWon replied, leaning on the railing.

"I can't blame you," she smiled. "It's... been a strange day."

"Tell me about it."

The two stood there in silence, watching the skeletons subdue the monsters.

"Shouldn't we head towards Namsan Tower too?" Soo-Ah asked. "Clearing missions and earning gold is important, right?"

YuWon smiled and nodded. He couldn't help but notice Soo-Ah's adaptability to the situation.

Unlike him, Lilith, and Yeji, she didn't have the memories of her past life. Neither was she a monster like Gina, yet she was too calm. He wanted to ask her about it, but changed his mind.

"Clearing missions is important," YuWon mumbled. "But rushing into things is a fool's job."

Soo-Ah looked at YuWon, puzzled. Wasn't clearing quests the entire point?

"Fourteen days. Why do you think they gave us that much time?" YuWon dropped a hint.

It was like a light bulb went off in Soo-Ah's head. She quickly checked the mission prompt and realized it.

"The difficulty rating is higher than the tutorial."

YuWon nodded. They needed to get stronger first. If anyone rushed to the tower without thinking through it, they'd die in vain. YuWon didn't want to make that mistake.

"There's a lot we need to do before heading to the tower."