Monster Taming Broadcast

One day.

A message arrived.

‘What the…?’

It wasn’t spam.

Checking the number, it was a message from someone I knew.

‘Is this a game invitation message?’

Suddenly, I furrowed my brows.

I couldn’t help but feel annoyed.

‘I didn’t think we were close enough for him to send a message like this.’

Min Hyeong-seok.

We hadn’t exchanged a single message since graduating high school.

We had each other’s numbers, but we weren’t close enough to call each other friends.

Acquaintances… No, high school classmates.

That was all we were.

Despite not having exchanged greetings and suddenly sending a game invitation message, he was still the same inconsiderate guy as before.

‘…Or maybe he’s been hacked?’

That thought crossed my mind for a moment.

Maybe he had been hacked.

Thinking back to my school days, Min Hyeong-seok had zero interest in games.

I couldn’t remember much else, but I clearly recalled how he’d cringe at the suggestion of playing games with his friends.

‘But getting hacked seems far-fetched, doesn’t it?’

I pondered again.

To be fair, a hacker wouldn’t go out of their way to send a game invitation message. Unless they were like me, with too much free time.

Well, he probably just got into gaming late.

People’s tastes change over time, after all.

Anyway.

I was bored, so this was perfect.

On a normal day, I would have ignored it flat out.

But today was different.

I was just about to go insane from boredom.

I was literally hiding in the closet playing hide-and-seek with myself.

‘I’ve been looking for a game to play, so should I give this a shot?’

If a guy who had zero interest in games was getting hooked, it had to be a pretty fun game. I decided it wouldn’t hurt to try it out a bit.

I gingerly placed my finger on the phone screen.

‘There’s no way I’ll get hacked just for accessing the link, right?’

As I was about to click, a tiny worry started to bubble up.

What if it was a hacking link disguised as a game invitation message?

Or promoting some illegal site?

‘…Whatever. I really don’t have much to lose in life anyway.’

I quickly shook off the worry.

If I get hacked, then I get hacked.

I’ll think about that later.

With that thought, I boldly clicked the link.

*

Min Hyeong-seok was what you’d call a bully.

He was part of the type that enjoyed tormenting others.

Of course, even though he looked down on me, he never really bullied me. I was bigger than most of the guys. Thanks to my size, I managed to maintain a smooth relationship with the bullies without any trouble.

But I disliked Min Hyeong-seok.

He confessed to and dated the girl I had a crush on.

It was a feeling of defeat.

A primal jealousy ingrained in the male psyche.

The past was just the past.

I obviously had no feelings for it now.

Looking back, those feelings were pathetic and childish.

Yet…

Seeing Min Hyeong-seok’s face again stirred the old jealousy back to life.

“Wow, you came!”

He still looked damn handsome.

No wonder girls were all over him.

After admiring his face, I slowly turned my head to scan the surroundings.

This wasn’t the closet I just curled up in.

The place laid out before me was a gigantic cave.

And the cave was not dark.

Countless stalactites hanging from the high ceiling shimmered with a gentle light.

‘…’

I was a bit taken aback, but I wasn’t panicking.

Where the heck was this? Why was I suddenly moved to this place? And why was Min Hyeong-seok here?

That would be a normal reaction for someone in my situation…

But I was the exception.

‘Could this possibly be another isekai transfer?’

I accepted the current circumstances calmly.

The environment was unfamiliar, but the situation wasn’t.

I had already been through this once.

I had once been transported to another world and spent half of my twenties rolling around there, before returning to Earth about 2 to 3 years ago.

‘No, how long has it been since I returned…’

I scratched my head and sighed.

Then I shifted my gaze towards where Min Hyeong-seok was standing.

Around him, numerous creatures were present.

Monsters, grotesque and deformed.

‘If there are monsters, it’s definitely not Earth.’

The monsters were protecting Min Hyeong-seok.

It was obvious that he was commanding them.

Kind of like a monster tamer.

‘…And it seems like we’re in the middle of a battle right now.’

Min Hyeong-seok and his monsters were facing off against a gigantic monster, nearly touching its head against the stalactites.

I looked up at the enormous creature.

An undead monster made entirely of bones.

Its eyes burned like hellfire, and twisted horns sprouted from its skull, reminiscent of a scorched tree.

It had a chilling face that reminded one of a demon.

Just facing it sent shivers down my spine.

‘Have I lost my edge because I’ve been wrapped up in peace…?’

I slowly lowered my gaze.

Sharp spikes jutted out from its back.

A body that looked solid and armored.

A human skull was mounted on its shoulder like a trophy.

Its overall appearance seemed to blend human and beast features.

‘There’s no way I can win against this thing.’

As I stood there, entranced by the monster, a loud voice echoed through the cave.

“Hey! Don’t just stand there, come here quick!”

Min Hyeong-seok’s booming voice reverberated off the cave walls.

Seeing him look at me, it seemed he was talking to me.

Why is he issuing commands like that? It’s annoying.

“I’m not some suicide squad, why would I go over there?”

“What?”

“And if you’re calling someone to a place like this, shouldn’t you at least explain the situation first? I came to help and you’re barking orders at me?”

“Stop talking nonsense! You were summoned by me, so just follow my orders! Now hurry and jump over here to be eaten by my monster! That way, my monster can evolve!”

Was he out of his mind?

He wasn’t just asking for help, he was asking me to be eaten by his monster?

Spitting out such a nonsensical request without even asking nicely.

I raised my middle finger at Min Hyeong-seok.

“What the hell, you idiot.”

Was this not what he was expecting?

Min Hyeong-seok’s expression turned to one of shock in an instant.

What is he doing?

“What, what’s wrong! Why aren’t you obeying—”

WHOOM!

The gigantic skeleton swung its arm down on the ground.

Min Hyeong-seok quickly dodged, barely avoiding the attack.

Yet.

“GRAAAAAGH!!!”

His dodge wasn’t perfect.

His right leg, which he failed to evade in time, was crushed.

“It hurts, it hurts!!!”

Just as Min Hyeong-seok screamed in pain, a series of noises echoed.

GRRRR…

SIZZLE, SIZZLE!

GYOOUU.

KRUNG…

The gaze of the monsters he commanded changed.

Could you say they sparked to life?

It was like they abruptly recovered from being drugged.

The monsters surrounding Min Hyeong-seok, along with those attacking the giant skeleton, all became enraged and started lumbering toward Min Hyeong-seok, who was collapsed on the ground.

After encircling him.

CRACK!

“AAAAAGH!!!”

They began tearing into Min Hyeong-seok’s body without mercy.

‘…What? Why did the monsters betray him all of a sudden? Did his control weaken because his mental state fell apart?’

The reason didn’t matter.

Thanks to that, the monsters were fully focused on Min Hyeong-seok.

Not a single monster took notice of me.

Even the giant skeleton paused, observing this bizarre turn of events slowly.

‘Whatever the reason, I’ll just run away for now.’

Staying here would put my life in danger too.

I glanced ahead and slowly backed away.

“P-please… help me…”

Min Hyeong-seok reached out desperately.

I felt no sympathy at all.

I had no intention of helping him, of course.

That was all his karma.

Had he not told me to be monster chow, I might have tried to save him in some way.

Of course.

Even if I tried, saving him would be impossible.

I was just an ordinary person with no powers.

“Please…”

I can’t die like this.

I am the chosen protagonist.

Min Hyeong-seok rambled on like a delusional man, then ultimately met his end as his head was torn off.

I offered a brief internal tribute.

After all, he was a classmate, even if we were only acquaintances.

As Min Hyeong-seok bought me time, I discovered a crack in the cave wall, slipped inside, and hid my body.

‘This looks like it’s connected to another path… Those monsters might come after me, so I’ll need to keep moving this way.’

While advancing, pressing my hand against the wall, a mechanical voice suddenly echoed from somewhere.

「The Labyrinth Explorer has died.」

It resonated throughout the entire cave.

「Searching for a new Labyrinth Explorer to select.」

The odd voice made me flinch and stop in my tracks.

「Priority is given to humans located in the labyrinth. If no humans exist in the labyrinth, the search range will expand to all dimensions.」

「Currently, a human drifting in the labyrinth has been located. Drifting human: 1.」

「Selection complete.」

CLUNK—

The voice cut off.

In that moment, translucent text shimmered before my eyes.

‘Kang Geon’ was my name.

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