Monster Taming Broadcast

I roughly understood what the ability called Summon Assistant was.

First of all, an Assistant is not an entity that physically comes to support me in the Labyrinth like “summoning comrades.”

Seeing that phrase, it was clear that the Assistant would be someone monitoring me from a safe place while providing support.

“Is it like an internet personal broadcast…?”

I was bemused. Support from the Assistant wasn’t guaranteed.

In other words, I had to win the Assistant’s favor to receive any support.

Should I flatter them to request support?

No, that seems a bit off.

I don’t have the skill to dance for them.

Besides, I couldn’t threaten the Assistant either. They would be watching me from a place beyond my reach.

…Hmm. Let’s not worry too much just yet. It might not be easy to receive support, but if I persuade the Assistant or desperately request it, something will surely come of it.

“More importantly, how is support delivered?”

This time, I thought about the means of support.

I probably wouldn’t be given a special ability like magic. The Assistant who would help me was surely an ordinary human, definitely not someone extraordinary.

How do I know they’re an ordinary human?

There’s no way I wouldn’t know—I sent a summon request to people in my contacts.

“Maybe it’s a method of sending necessary supplies for survival?”

That was all I could think of.

Still, that would be a warm welcome. Modern supply support shouldn’t be overlooked either.

“…Well, when the Assistant comes, I’ll know everything. For now, I’ll keep waiting.”

I sat down on the cold ground in a proper posture and waited aimlessly.

To be honest, I wasn’t optimistic, but I still hoped that at least one person might click the invite message out of curiosity.

*

I held 155 contacts.

Compared to those who are called social butterflies, that number felt pitifully small.

About 100 of them were classmates with whom I exchanged numbers for formality’s sake back in school.

The rest were connections I made during my military service or while working part-time jobs in society.

It was only natural to have a small social network.

After all, I spent half of my twenties in the Other World.

“Well, it’s a relief that I didn’t organize my phonebook until now…”

Most of the people saved in my contacts were… well, nearly all of them were ghost friends.

I had their numbers, but we didn’t keep in touch.

So, it was awkward to even call them acquaintances.

“Even if it’s a close friend, they’d hesitate to click on a strange message from someone they haven’t talked to in a while.”

About two hours must have passed since the message was sent.

Yet still, there was no news.

Of course, it was too early to be disappointed.

There were still 22 hours left until the effects of the invite message would fade. I had plenty of time.

During the remaining time, my only hope was the three people with whom I occasionally exchanged greeting texts.

“First, let’s wait and do something in the meantime.”

I brushed the dirt off my pants and stood up.

I slowly moved my steps, looking at the scattered pebbles on the ground. One of the stones caught my eye—it had a rather sharp edge, and I picked it up immediately.

“Let’s see… the path I came from…”

Among the eight passages, I strode forward towards the narrowest passage.

Then, using the stone I had picked up, I engraved letters onto the wall by the passage.

[Passage No. 1]

After that, I moved to the right and marked each passage sequentially from No. 2 to No. 8.

The reason for marking them was to prevent any possible confusion.

To clearly identify the eight passages, definitive markings were necessary.

“Each passage has different shapes and sizes, making them easy to distinguish, but… it wouldn’t hurt to assign numbers. It’s much clearer to remember them with numbers than trying to memorize their shapes one by one.”

I stood again in front of Passage No. 1 from Passage No. 8 and engraved a phrase below the mark.

[Passage No. 1]

○ The path I first traveled on.

○ There’s a high probability of encountering the giant Skeleton Monster and minions commanded by Min Hyeong-seok, so no passage for the time being.

*

How much time had passed?

Was it around 4 hours?

No, maybe 5 hours?

Or it could have been even more.

I felt my sense of time gradually numbing away.

It was a natural phenomenon.

This place didn’t let even a single ray of sunlight through.

It was impossible to differentiate between day and night.

“I should find something to keep track of time later on.”

Lying flat on the ground, I absently gazed at the stalactites.

The luminous stones that emitted their own light.

While sunlight didn’t seep in here, those were evenly distributed throughout the cave, which was fortunate.

If there were no light, it would have been despairing.

By the way, luminous stone isn’t the official name.

That’s just the name I arbitrarily assigned.

Anything hanging from the ceiling—whether stalactites, rocks, or pebbles—that emitted light would be called a luminous stone.

Regardless, the luminous stones were an essential resource in this place.

To navigate through the unchanging darkness, I wholly relied on the luminous stones.

“But…”

I finished my rest and raised my upper body.

Then, I began to glance around the chamber slowly.

“Are there no monsters coming here? With all these passages, not a single one has appeared.”

Could it be that all the passages aside from No. 1 are dead ends?

I needed to confirm.

Since I would be making this my base, I had to know where each passage led.

“Let’s check it out now.”

Slowly getting up from my spot.

It was something I had to do sooner or later.

Since I was thinking about it, I decided to act right away.

I didn’t hesitate to choose which passage to go to.

I had no means of figuring out which one was less dangerous.

How could I judge solely from their shapes and sizes?

So, I figured it’d be best to explore them in numerical order.

I moved straight to Passage No. 2.

Unlike Passage No. 1, which opened naturally with organic curves, Passage No. 2 had a well-crafted, almost artificially-made square shape. It was a perfectly square passage.

“I’m a bit nervous.”

I took a deep breath and swallowed hard.

Then, I gripped my sweaty hands tightly.

“…For now, if I encounter a monster, I won’t show off my bravado and just run away.”

Currently, I was just an ordinary person.

There are not many monsters that a typical adult male can handle.

No matter how small a monster may be, I still needed to be cautious and alert.

Monsters wield strange powers, not your everyday animals littering the Earth.

“I’m mentally prepared now… Let’s slowly move.”

I maintained an appropriate level of tension as I took a step into Passage No. 2.

*

As I continued deeper into Passage No. 2…

［Siiiik, siiiik!］

［Siiik!］

An ear-piercing noise filled my ears.

The source of the noise came from just beyond the corner ahead.

Without turning the corner, I pressed my back against the wall and cautiously peeked out.

［Siiii.］

［Siiiiii?］

Spider-type monsters came into view.

Their size was roughly that of a small dog.

Their appearance was so cute it seemed ripped from a kids’ animated series.

“Why are these spiders so ridiculously cute?”

I’ve seen spider monsters before, but these fellows were completely new to me.

They weren’t even in the Monster Index I had diligently read in the Other World.

They appeared docile and harmless.

In fact, they seemed weak and easy to handle too.

But even if they looked like that, I could tell they were a pretty strong type of monster.

Why? Because I had a special ability.

“Maybe they’re around B-rank.”

I assessed the gap between the monsters and myself.

Thanks to my instinct, I could gauge how strong they were relative to me.

It was more of an instinctual survival ability than an actual skill.

It wasn’t an ability I obtained in the Other World; I had it from birth.

Of course, it wasn’t entirely precise.

Regardless, according to my instincts, those spiders were equivalent to B-rank monsters.

“This is troublesome. Just like earlier, why is the Labyrinth’s level so high? B-rank should only be within the capabilities of high-level adventurers, so there’s no way I can take them on in this state.”

While pondering, I observed the spider monsters closely.

At that moment, I noticed something peculiar.

“…Huh? Spots?”

Right in front of my eyes were three spiders.

They each bore strange red circular spots on their bodies.

Could it be a result of the ability I gained today?

I instinctively realized what they were.

Those spots indicated the “specific areas” where I had to touch to tame a monster.

The location of the spots varied—one spider had a spot on its back, one on its face, and another on its side.

So, even among the same species, the spots seemed to appear on different parts, and the sizes varied too.

“All I have to do is touch those…”

I didn’t plan to attempt it right now.

For now, I’d think of a way to get back to my Hideout and devise how to touch the spiders’ bodies.

After all, they wouldn’t readily accept my touch.

“Those types tend to have aggressive personalities, so I need to act safely.”

With that, I decided to end my exploration of Passage No. 2.

Since I confirmed there were monsters here, it was best to head back.

Just as I was about to turn…

“Wait a second.”

Suddenly, I noticed spider eggs tucked away in a corner that I hadn’t seen before. I turned back and squinted at the eggs.

About twenty eggs, slightly larger than normal, were present.

Among them, only one egg had a spot marked on it.

Why does only that one have a mark?

Is it perhaps an egg about to hatch soon?

The reason didn’t particularly matter right now.

What mattered was that this egg had a mark, unlike the others.

“If I focus on that, I might be able to tame it more safely than the other monsters.”

Currently, like the egg over there, it would be wise to aim for monsters that can resist as little as possible.

I still had no idea how long it would take to tame a monster. It could be a matter of seconds or even minutes.

Of course, taming an egg comes with its own risks.

I’d need to stealthily take the egg without alerting the spider’s gaze.

Anyway, I dismissed the idea of returning to my Hideout.

I decided to settle down here and wait for an opportunity to strike.

“They’ll probably leave some of their numbers behind to guard their eggs even if they go searching for food.”

I had only one opportunity arising.

That was when those spiders were sleeping.

“I really hope they’re not a well-organized group that takes shifts for guard duty.”

Also, I had to hope that their intelligence levels were low.

Just then, as I was cautiously looking for an opportunity, suddenly…

Fwoosh!

Suddenly, a text appeared before my eyes.

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