Global Awakening: Only I Can Respawn

YuWon walked towards the sign and instinctively reached out. The moment he touched the icon, the coin disappeared, replaced by a slot machine.

[You are the first to discover this Newbie Shop!]

[You have earned a free reward spin!]

YuWon couldn't help but smile. It was the shop the angel had told them about. He quickly opened the status page and checked his luck.

"24 points..." he mumbled, dumping the two unallocated points he had in there. "How much luck do you two have?"

Gina looked confused and shrugged. It was then that YuWon realized the system indeed treated her like a monster. Gina didn't have a system or stats like them, which made him turn to Yeji.

"45..." Yeji said, looking dejected.

You got so much luck and still ended up in this shitty situation? It makes me wonder how bad I would be in her position.

YuWon ignored the thoughts in his head and turned toward the machine. It looked like one of those slot machines in casinos. And since his luck has been pretty shitty, he wasn't keen on using the machine.

"Three wheels and eight symbols, so there should be 512 combinations," Yeji mumbled. "It'll be foolish to expect the grand jackpot. But if we are lucky, we might get the minor jackpot, or at least a basic win."

"How do you know all this?" YuWon raised an eyebrow.

"...I used to visit some places with Hoon."

"The valedictorian was a gambler? Ouch! What will your parents think about you?"

"I... I never played, just gave Hoon some money to bet..."

YuWon sighed. He had thought after what he had done to Hoon, the bastard's name wouldn't trouble him anymore. But he was wrong. The hate had diminished a lot, but remnants of it were still there.

Let's focus on the slot machine first.

YuWon touched the lever, intending to use the free spin he got. But just then, a prompt appeared before him.

[Please select a reward tier.]

[—Beginner Moron (1000 gold/spin)]

[—Talented Protégé (3000 gold/spin)]

[—Gambling Addict (5000 gold/spin)]

[Note: Each tier has different rewards and punishments based on the selected tier. Awakeners can either use gold or free spin tickets to use the machine.]

"Of course, there had to be a catch," YuWon sighed.

The angel's words echoed in his head. They were there to entertain the sponsors. How could they entertain them if they got handed rewards for free?

The vending machine offered both reward and punishment. Using the machine could either spell a disaster or give them the greatest reward. The more YuWon thought about it, the less he wanted to use the machine.

"...I can't remove my hand now?"

Unfortunately, when YuWon touched the lever, he attempted to use the machine. Now he had to play whether he got a reward for it or not.

Not wanting to take the risk with the highest tier, YuWon selected the [Talented Protégé] and pulled the lever. The machine whirled into life with the three wheels spinning.

The first wheel stopped at the symbol of a gold-filled bag. It was the same as the second. However, the third one stopped at the symbol of a skull.

[You have won a minor payout!]

[Hunt the golden goblin to receive your reward!]

[Time limit: 15 minutes.]

[Should the Awakener fail the hunt, 3000 gold will be deducted as disappointment cost.]

"Just a goblin? It should be easy." YuWon smirked.

After having hunted hundreds of goblins, hunting another wouldn't make much difference for him. With a burst of blinding light, a small, golden goblin appeared in front of them, standing on the slot machine.

"Alright, let's get this over with," YuWon said.

However, the moment YuWon took a step toward the goblin, it bolted deeper into the store. The three sprinted after the goblin, weaving through the shelves and fallen items.

Even though the goblin had tiny legs, it was faster than all of them. Not only that, with its size, it could slip through the objects they couldn't. Every time they thought they were close, the goblin either sped up or fooled them into a corner.

"Too fast..." Gina panted, slowing down for a moment. "How are we supposed to catch it?"

"We can't keep up with it like this," YuWon replied. "We need a plan. You two go left, and I'll go right. I'll chase it towards you guys. The rest is on you."

"That's... the plan?" Gina mumbled.

She had expected something grander from him, as always. But it seemed the time crunch had put him on edge. With no time to waste, they split up.

YuWon ran to the right where the goblin had disappeared. After a second, he could see the goblin running between the clothes aisle. It occasionally looked around, and when it noticed YuWon, it stuck its tongue out before running away.

"...this fucking piece of shit monster!"

Meanwhile, Yeji and Gina hid behind the checkout counters, waiting for YuWon. Soon, Yeji spotted the beast, followed by YuWon.

"They are here!" she whispered.

The goblin, unaware of the trap, continued running their way. Just as it was about to cross the counter, Yeji jumped, her arms outstretched. But the goblin wasn't so easy to fool and stepped on her head to jump over the counter.

"Ugh, come on!" she groaned but stayed down as YuWon did the same thing as the goblin. "...brother touched my head!"

"Fucking weirdo," YuWon mumbled, looking at her before running after the goblin.

Gina knew Yeji's plan would fail, so she already left the spot before the goblin appeared. Instead, she hid behind the crates and kicked them over to block the goblin's path.

As the crates came crashing down, the goblin skidded to a stop. It turned to the side, intending to run that way. But Gina was faster and threw more crates there. Frustrated, the goblin looked behind, only to see YuWon standing behind.

"Nowhere to run now," YuWon said, grabbing the creature by its neck.

The goblin squirmed and thrashed, but YuWon held on tight until it disappeared, leaving a gold pendant behind in his hand.

[Hunt successful!]

[You have received your reward: Overseer's Pendant!]

Before he could see the reward's details, the sound of screeching tires interrupted him. But what were cars doing there? Did another group clear the tutorial and have the same idea as them and loot the supermarket?

"Stay close," YuWon mumbled, throwing the pendant into his inventory. "They could be trouble."