Global Awakening: Only I Can Respawn

"This sword feels more like a club now," YuWon shook his head, tossing the sword aside. "To think it got dull so soon. At least I got some gold and respawn points from hunting."

[Respawn points remaining: 762/1000]

[Gold: 5880]

YuWon entered another classroom, but the interior remained the same... filled with half-eaten corpses and blood. Ignoring all that, YuWon grabbed a chair and dragged it outside.

"Something is weird..." he mumbled, sitting down.

As he glanced out of the corridor window, YuWon noticed something. Although his watch showed that hours had passed since the nightmare began, yet the sun remained frozen in place, unwilling to budge.

Did Earth stop moving?

That was the first thought in YuWon's mind, but he quickly shut that possibility down. If that happened, they'd be dead even before the goblins could hunt them down.

"The time... seems to be stuck outside the campus," YuWon mumbled, leaning further in the chair. "It's the only explanation I got."

Even though the time had stopped, it didn't mean he didn't feel any fatigue. Earlier he was respawning often, so he didn't get tired. But now that he had been fighting non-stop for over two hours, his body had begun complaining about it.

"Taking a break won't hurt anyone," YuWon said, closing his eyes. "In the worst scenario, I'll just respawn."

He had barely fallen asleep when he heard strange footsteps. At first, he thought another goblin scout party had found him. However, he realized that wasn't the case.

The goblins weren't careless enough to make so much noise. Quickly hiding behind the wall, YuWon peeked towards the stairs.

Is that a skeleton?

YuWon blinked twice and even pinched himself. But he wasn't dreaming. It really was a skeleton, roughly the same size as the goblins he had been fighting so far. Not only that, it also carried the same dagger as those goblins.

It seems to be looking for something, or just looking around to ensure it's alone.

Although he seemed calm, YuWon was taken aback. So far, he had only seen goblins, fought them, and killed them. In other words, he had gotten used to fighting them and could predict their moves. But he had never encountered a skeleton before.

But then a weird thought popped up in his head. What if the skeleton is the zone monster and finding it was difficult because, well... it seemed to move all over the place?

Zone boss or not, I should kill it for the rewards, at least.

He crouched lower, using the wall as cover, and noiselessly picked up the chair.

[Achievement: You killed a monster with that!? is in effect.]

[Awakener's Strength, Endurance, and Defense increased by 20%]

"This chair might just be better than that damned sword either way."

As soon as the skeleton turned its back towards YuWon, he charged at it with the chair. Upon hearing his footsteps, the skeleton turned and raised its dagger, but it was too late.

YuWon swung the chair with all his might. The metallic back of the chair banged against the skeleton's head, shattering it into pieces. A moment later, the skeleton's bones crumbled to the ground in a heap.

With a smile, YuWon waited for some achievement or gold, but strangely, nothing happened. There was no notification, nothing.

"What the hell? I got nothing?" YuWon stood there staring at the fallen bones.

"What did you do to Mickey!?"

Someone yelled, prompting YuWon to look down the stairs. Just a few steps below was a girl in a tracksuit with a scythe strapped to her back.

But she wasn't alone. Around her were seven more skeletons, staring at him with their empty eyes... or at least where their eyes would have been. The girl pushed past him, her blonde ponytail waving around as she did.

All the while, YuWon stood there, confused. Why were those skeletons following her, but more importantly, why weren't they attacking them? After all, they were monsters! It was their job to hunt humans.

"Are these... yours?" YuWon asked, scratching his head.

"Of course, they are mine, fucking dumbass!" the girl replied, holding the broken bones. "Why did you kill him?"

"Him?" YuWon mumbled, looking at the skeleton's pelvis. "It looks like a they/them situation to me."

The girl shot him a dirty look before pulling out her weapon. "Why did you kill him!?"

"Why? Look around!" YuWon replied, raising his hands. "There are monsters everywhere. How the fuck was I supposed to know your Mickey wouldn't kill me?"

The girl sighed, shaking her head. For the moment, she didn't seem angry, just upset at the loss of a... skeleton. YuWon didn't know what would happen next. However, the next moment, her intentions became obvious.

The skeletons surrounded him, their weapons at the ready. The girl slowly walked up to him before staring at him with crimson eyes.

"You killed my puppet," she hissed. "So you'll be the one to replace it."

"Skeleton puppets? So you are a necromancer..."

The girl sighed loudly. But a moment later she raised her scythe, pointing it directly at YuWon.

"How do you know about my class?"

However, YuWon didn't reply. Instead, he rushed forward before the girl could react. She tried swinging the scythe, but YuWon quickly disarmed her.

"How—" the girl said but was interrupted when YuWon grabbed her by the neck from behind.

"Relax, will you?" he whispered in her ear. "Ever heard about Yolo leveling? It's quite famous Webtoon and the protagonist there has similar powers to yours."

He continued, "Besides, you're the one advertising your class with the skeletons and scythe. Why are you getting mad at me for it?"

"…"

A second later, he released her and, like loyal pets, the skeletons jumped between them, ready to strike.

"Can you call off your Mickeys before I destroy more of them?" YuWon said, picking up two of Mickey's bones and taking a swing. "Also, I'm taking this. I kinda need a weapon."

"What's your name?" the girl asked, instructing the skeletons to stand down.

"...you're better off not knowing it," YuWon replied before throwing the bone past her, hitting a Goblin in the head. "There. Consider us even. A fresh corpse for you to raise a new Mickey. Goodbye."