Monster Taming Broadcast

I paused my steps.

Holding my breath, I turned to glance behind me.

There were no visible pursuers at the moment.

Not even the faintest sound of small footsteps reached my ears.

A calmness washed over me, restoring my peace of mind.

‘It seems there aren’t any monsters chasing after me.’

Letting out a sigh of relief, I turned my head back to look at the translucent letters floating in the air.

[Congratulations! Labyrinth Drifter ‘Kang Geon’ has been chosen as a Labyrinth Explorer!]

I had heard about this when I was transported to another world.

It was said that those chosen by transcendent beings would have translucent letters appear before them.

These letters were supposed to provide special assistance to the chosen ones.

Like quantifying abilities, serving as milestones in life, or spying on others’ information, and so on.

‘The Devoted Warrior said she saw such letters too.’

Countless warriors existed in this world.

Among them, the Devoted Warrior I had a connection with.

Having always lived a life dedicated to others, she had once told me this story.

“I was born with a special mission. Ever since I was a child, letters have appeared before me, and they have given me numerous tasks until now.”

She called it a milestone in life.

And she referred to it as a blessing from the gods.

“Are the tasks mandatory? Not at all. It’s written that it’s up to me whether to perform them or not.”

“Huh? Then I don’t have to do the tasks if I don’t want to? Well, if there were no rewards, I might think that way… but completing tasks allows me to acquire new magic, so I can’t just give up. Just don’t go blabbing about this, okay? It’s a secret because I’m only telling you.”

It was like an ability akin to a game quest.

I had the feeling this letter before me was of a similar nature.

‘Last time I was just transported without anything… but this time I’m getting these gifts.’

Of course, I wasn’t really chosen.

To put it bluntly, I was just lucky.

The original chosen one, Min Hyeong-seok, died, and I was the only human left in this labyrinth space, so it naturally fell to me to inherit these abilities.

‘More importantly, what kind of help will the letters that popped up for me provide?’

Whatever it was, it was welcome.

Quantifying the ability to raise levels for instant attribute boosts sounded nice, and the ability to spy on others could help me figure out information about monsters, which wasn’t bad either.

Even if I was thrown some worthless weapon, I would gladly accept it. It was already an improvement compared to not receiving any help at all before.

As I was lost in thought, the letters in the air shimmered and changed.

[Please choose a trait.]

■Lone One

■Supported One

■Ruler

Is this format granting me a special ability?

This seemed pretty good.

‘So I can only choose one of these?’

Is there no way to check the traits in more detail?

With a hopeful heart, I prodded the letters with my finger.

At that moment.

■Lone One

─The ability to consume is activated.

┗You can consume monsters in the labyrinth to absorb their abilities. The more you consume, the more your body and mind will deviate from being human and become closer to a monster.

More detailed information appeared.

This really worked.

I slowly read through the information about the trait.

Lone One.

To summarize this trait in one sentence:

An outsider trait that overcomes all hardships solely with one’s own strength.

For someone who prefers acting alone like me, it wasn’t a bad trait.

However.

‘…Lone One seems a bit off.’

One sentence caught my attention.

My body and mind would become closer to a monster.

In other words, it meant I would have to give up being human in exchange for becoming stronger.

‘If it was just my body changing, it wouldn’t be so bad, but changing my mind to that of a monster is another matter.’

There was no need to ponder for long.

Lone One, pass.

I moved on to check the details of the next trait.

■Supported One

─Taming Ability is activated.

┗By placing your hands on specific parts of a labyrinth monster for a certain amount of time, you can tame the monster through communion. Tamed monsters will become your close friends and will always protect you. The monsters that become your friends will never betray you, no matter what happens.

─Summon Assistant ability is activated.

┗You can receive support from your assistant. However, support from the assistant is not mandatory.

This was similar to being a monster tamer.

It was a thoroughly supportive ability, completely opposite in nature to the Lone One trait.

As one cannot get strengthened individually, it came with additional abilities.

‘Not bad at all.’

It was a trait without any glaring weaknesses.

I decided to hold off on making a decision and look at the next trait.

■Ruler

─Obedience Ability is activated.

┗You can dominate labyrinth monsters when they are on the brink of death. Domesticated monsters will follow your commands unconditionally. However, if the Ruler’s charisma is significantly diminished, the monsters may rebel. Always maintain your dignity so that the monsters do not look down on you.

─Ally Summoning ability is activated.

┗You can dominate summoned allies. However, if a summoned ally has a higher rank of soul than the Ruler, you cannot dominate them.

This trait was somewhat similar to Supported One.

The difference was that it forced monsters into submission.

‘So this was the trait that Min Hyeong-seok had.’

I was certain of it.

Recalling the previous situation, it felt like Min Hyeong-seok had been dominating the monsters coercively.

And I now understood the reason the monsters had rebelled.

‘His ugly appearance lowered his charisma, hence releasing the domination ability.’

Furthermore, I also understood why he had given me commands as if it was natural.

The Ally Summoning ability.

That must be the ability that summoned me.

Being in the position of being summoned, it was natural for me to follow his commands.

The reason I wasn’t dominated was probably due to my soul rank being higher than Min Hyeong-seok’s. I had no clue what soul rank was, but based on the way Min Hyeong-seok had panicked, it seemed like I was a unique case.

In any case.

I felt a little uneasy about choosing this trait.

While it would be convenient to have loyal subordinates, there’s always a risk of betrayal.

I was sick and tired of betrayal.

Having suffered enough in this world where betrayal was a norm.

I checked the second trait again.

‘Absolutely no betrayal from a friend… Looking at it again, this trait seems unbeatable. Unlike the obedience ability, I don’t even need to bring any monsters to the brink of death.’

In the end, my choices narrowed down to one.

*

[Trait selection completed!]

Supported One.

The moment I chose that trait.

[Utilize your trait actively and become the Ruler of the Ancient Labyrinth!]

I was given a vague goal.

Become a Ruler.

What that meant, I couldn’t figure it out.

Yet, I had no complaints.

At least they provided me with a goal.

Previously, I had none at all.

At that time, I was an outsider from another world.

Nothing more, nothing less.

Because of that, I had to set my own goals.

Originally, I aimed to return to my world, suffering greatly to find a dimensional magician.

And this time, my ultimate goal was naturally to return to my original world as well. There’s simply no better place to live than there.

‘But didn’t it say earlier that I was the only human in this labyrinth?’

The outside world existed.

Humans could be there, but…

This place might be a world that only exists as a labyrinth space.

‘If that’s the case, searching for a dimensional magician like last time would be impossible. Even if an outer world exists, it may well be without wizards or humans.’

I shook my head vigorously to dispel the grim thoughts.

That’s enough.

Time to stop the negative thinking.

First, I should think about how to survive.

If I keep surviving and exploring the labyrinth, I might find a clue to return someday.

Let’s think positively, positively.

Just because I’m not specifically looking for a dimensional magician doesn’t mean that’s the only solution, right?

If I become the Ruler of the labyrinth, I might find out how to return, or perhaps a monster with dimensional travel abilities might exist.

*

At the end of the narrow passage, a vast chasm lay.

The gap I just passed through must have led to another space.

‘What kind of space is this?’

The walls of the chasm had multiple large and small passages at regular intervals.

Including the place I had come from, there were a total of eight passages.

Perhaps this is the hub connecting all spaces of the cave.

‘It’s so spacious, yet there’s not a single monster around.’

It was just perfect to use as my first hideout.

The top priority for a hideout is safety.

This monster-less space could be dubbed the optimal hiding spot.

‘Then should I try using my ability here for the time being?’

I settled down onto the ground.

Then, just as I had heard from the Devoted Warrior.

I created a virtual dot in the air, focusing my eyes on it, and a square window floated up.

[Kang Geon - Supported One]

◎Tamed Monster List

◎Summon Assistant (Lower)

◎Support Block [on/off]

◎Block Assistant

No stats displayed.

No quests either.

That was only natural.

The assistance provided by the letters varies for everyone.

‘Support block is in the off state. That means it’s not blocked?’

I had no idea what these functions meant.

I didn’t understand what blocking an assistant meant, nor the difference between summoning an ally and calling an assistant.

Well, I’d figure it out as I used it.

I raised my finger and lightly clicked on Summon Assistant.

[Lower Support Request]

▷Available Invitation Cards: 0

What? No invitation cards?

How do I get invitation cards?

As I pondered this, a mechanical voice echoed again.

“You have used the Summon Assistant for the first time.”

This voice was not echoing throughout the cave, but seemed to resonate only in my mind.

“Syncing Kang Geon’s SNS…”

“SNS does not exist. Canceling sync.”

“Syncing contacts from the mobile device Kang Geon used.”

“Successfully synced 155 contacts!”

“155 invitation cards have been granted for free!”

“Generating invitation message randomly.”

====================

Kang Geon has requested support!

Labyrinth Explorer Kang Geon needs an assistant urgently! Please become a helper to respond to Kang Geon’s lackluster support request!

★Help Kang Geon survive in the labyrinth!★

♥Currently broadcasting in full swing!♥

Click here now! CLICK

Hurry up! If you don’t become an assistant within 24 hours, Kang Geon’s support request will be canceled!

====================

Was this how Min Hyeong-seok made his invitations?

It appeared that the ally-summoning ability and assistant-calling ability had a similar essence.

‘The assistant call lasts 24 hours instead of 10. More importantly…’

As I checked the message content, my eyebrows furrowed.

I didn’t like the wording.

The phrasing was even more childish and messy than the one Min Hyeong-seok had sent.

No, this looked like a spam message!

No matter that it’s sent from my number, who in their right mind would click on this without suspicion?

Anyone with their wits about them would certainly ignore such a message.

‘…Ahem.’

In any case.

Just as I was about to see if I could modify the content so it wouldn’t look suspicious, at that moment.

“Sending invitation messages to 155 contacts.”

Before I could do anything, the message was dispatched.

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