Checkpoint!
It was a usual day when they received the message about picking classes. Most of them thought it was a prank by the new teacher. But within seconds, an explosion shook the ground, clearing any doubts they had.
Before they could gather themselves after that, the corridors were filled with screams as goblins descended upon the unprepared students and teachers. The shock factor gave the monsters plenty of time to attack and kill people.
Within moments, the walls were smeared with blood. Limbs and half-eaten corpses could be seen everywhere. But the girls had it worse. While the males were killed, most women were dragged into unknown corners, their fates remained unknown.
In one classroom, a group of students had hastily constructed a makeshift barrier in front of the door. The students hastily piled desks and chairs high, creating a flimsy blockade.
A few students stood guard nearby, holding whatever weapons they could find—broom handles, broken chair legs, and even a fire extinguisher.
The rest of the students, who didn't pick a class in time, had huddled in the corner, their faces pale with fear. They switched off the lights and all appliances to avoid getting the goblin's attention on them.
But it wasn't the appliances that would get their attention. Among them were several corpses, both belonging to humans and goblins. Their blood was enough to attract monsters.
Meanwhile, the wounded were on the floor, wrapped with torn cloth as makeshift bandages. But they needed professional help if they were going to survive.
The crude first aid applied to them was barely effective against the deep, festering wounds left by the goblins' weapons.
"We need to wait for the police or army," said a tall boy named Min-Joon, who had taken charge.
Even though he was the one in charge, his voice trembled as he tried to sound brave.
"We can't let the monsters get in again."
The others nodded, but deep down they knew it was only a matter of time before their barrier collapsed, and the goblin would have a field day killing them all.
As if on cue, they heard goblins outside the door, trying to break in. The barrier shook as the goblins pounded against it, growling as the scent of blood made them frantic.
"They're coming!" a girl cried, gripping her broom handle tighter, channeling the only skill she had into her broom.
"Stay strong," Min-Joon ordered, though his own hands were shaking.
Eventually, the barrier gave way, and the students with weapons braced themselves for the inevitable. Just as the barrier collapsed and the goblins poured in, a figure appeared behind them.
It was YuWon. He moved between the goblins, dodging the attacks like he knew when and where those green bastards would attack him.
Not only that, he was dispatching the goblins with ease with a sword. Goblins fell left and right as they could not keep up with his strikes.
YuWon's presence came as a surprise to the students. He was well known as a pariah and rarely anyone had been kind to him. So why was he going to such an extent and saving them?
Moreover, he seemed to have done this a hundred times before. For the rest of the students, killing a single goblin was a herculean task, but YuWon couldn't have made it look easier. He finished the last goblin by severing its head and turned to face the students.
While everyone in the class looked relieved, Min-Joon looked at YuWon with suspicion.
"Why are you here?" he asked.
Without a word, YuWon grabbed a goblin dagger from the floor and threw it with incredible accuracy. The dagger flew past Min-Joon and embedded itself in the goblin's head, killing it instantly.
The goblin fell back out of the window, and Min-Joon turned around, his eyes wide in horror. If YuWon had hesitated in throwing the dagger even for a second, Min-Joon would be having lunch with his ancestors.
"You... you knew it was there?" he stammered, looking back at YuWon.
The students stared at YuWon, their fear momentarily replaced by awe and gratitude. So far, they had only been hiding away, and it was the first time they had seen someone fight with those creatures so easily.
But despite their pitiful look, YuWon didn't bother replying and headed inside. Everyone was looking at him, but he couldn't be bothered by them.
Min-Joon stepped forward. Despite whatever rumors there were about YuWon before, he couldn't just ignore the man who had saved him.
"Thank you," he said. "We were... we didn't know what to do."
YuWon gave a brief nod, staring out of the window to check for more monsters. Sure enough, he could see packs of goblins roaming around, looking for prey.
Remaining inside is the obvious choice here. But, I'm confident this zone boss isn't hiding in this building.
"Can you say something—" Min-Joon mumbled.
"If you want to survive, don't stay in one place for long," YuWon advised, looking into his stats. "And learn how to fight first. Not everyone would come rushing to your rescue."
[Would you like to create a checkpoint here? It will consume 50 respawn points.]
[Yes/No]
"Yes."
[Remaining Respawn Points: 702/1000]
[You checkpoint set. The host will respawn here upon dying.]
YuWon breathed a sigh of relief. It had been a hassle to get here, and he died over a dozen times, just to make this checkpoint. But despite that, he was still worried.
Although he had managed to reduce [Respawn] skill cost to 8 points, he was dying too often and the 3 points he got for killing the beginner monsters wasn't cutting it anymore. He wanted to upgrade his skills more, but couldn't because of the level limit.
At least I can look for Hoon and his bastard lackeys now. But where do I start?
As YuWon turned to leave, Min-Joon got into his face.
"Would you—"
"No," YuWon interrupted.
It was obvious what Min-Joon wanted to talk about. They had a lot of injured people and safely moving around with them wasn't possible. Min-Joon probably wanted YuWon's help either to protect them or to get some supplies for them.
However, he wasn't interested in that. Why would he be helping others? None of them ever helped him and treated him like absolute filth.
The only reason he even saved them was because they were in the right place and had built up decent defenses.
Plus, if the goblins attacked, they would go after the weaker ones first, giving YuWon plenty of time to sneak up or attack. In other words, it was a safe place for him to use as a checkpoint.
"Come on! You need to help—" Min-Joon instinctively grabbed YuWon's arm and pulled him back.
"Alright, I'll help you."
"Thank—"
"But what's in it for me?"
"Eh? What do you mean? In time of need, we should stick together."
Upon hearing that, YuWon couldn't hold back any longer and laughed hysterically. Everyone looked around puzzled, thinking something was wrong with him.
But then the next moment, YuWon grabbed Min-Joon's collar and effortlessly lifted him into the air.
"Listen up, you righteous piece of shit," YuWon whispered in his ears. "This isn't the world you're thinking of. Here, the weak will die, and you will too if you keep dragging them along."
He continued, "It's called survival of the fittest for a reason. So if you want my help, you better make it worth my time, or you're on your own."
Min-Joon stared at him in disbelief and so did everyone else. They were there, trying to help each other survive and there was YuWon, who couldn't care less about anyone but himself.
"I should have known better than to expect anything from the likes of you," Min-Joon retorted, looking at YuWon with disgust.
However, instead of being offended, YuWon laughed and dropped Min-Joon on the ground.
"It'll be interesting to see how long you stick to your morals," he said, shaking his head. "But now, if you don't mind, I've got monsters to kill."
"You bastard!"
With that, he was about to leave when Min-Joon jumped back up and kicked YuWon, aiming for his head. However, YuWon grabbed his leg without flinching and sighed.
"Big mistake."
With no hesitation, YuWon shoved Min-Joon out of the window, holding him by his leg so he dangled in the air.
"Let's see if killing people gets me any rewards," YuWon growled.