Chapter 2. Trait Selection
I stopped walking for a moment.
I held my breath and turned my head to look behind me.
There were no pursuers in sight.
Not even the sound of small footsteps could be heard.
A calmness flowed, bringing peace to my mind.
‘Looks like there are no monsters chasing me.’
Breathing a sigh of relief, I turned my head back and stared at the translucent text floating in the air.
< Congratulations! Labyrinth Drifter ‘Kang Geon,’ you have been chosen as a Labyrinth Explorer! >
I had heard about this when I was transferred to another world.
It was said that those chosen by a transcendent being would see translucent text appear before their eyes.
This text supposedly provided special assistance to the chosen ones.
It could quantify abilities, serve as a life guidepost, allow one to spy on others’ information, and so on.
‘The Warrior of Devotion also said she could see such text.’
In this world, there were countless warriors.
Among them was the Warrior of Devotion, with whom I had a connection.
She, who always lived a life of devotion to others, had once told me this:
「I was born with a special mission. Ever since I was a child, text has always appeared before my eyes, and that text has been giving me various tasks up until now.」
She called it the guidepost of her life.
And she referred to it as the grace of the gods.
「Is the task mandatory? No, it’s not. It says it’s up to me whether or not I complete it.」
「Huh? Then there’s no need to do the tasks, right? If there was no reward, that might be the case… but every time I complete a task, I gain a new spell, so I just can’t bring myself to give it up. Don’t go around telling others about this, okay? I’m only telling you because I trust you, so keep it a secret.」
It was, in a sense, like a game quest.
The text I was seeing now as well.
I thought it might be similar to what she had seen.
‘Last time I transferred, only my body was moved… This time, at least I’m getting this kind of gift.’
Of course, I wasn’t the one chosen.
Strictly speaking, it was just good luck.
Originally, Min Hyeong-seok had been chosen, but since he died and I was the only human left in this labyrinth, I naturally inherited the ability.
‘More importantly, I wonder what kind of help this text will offer me.’
Whatever it was, I welcomed it.
The ability to quantify my stats and instantly raise them would be nice, and the ability to spy on others’ information could be useful for learning about monsters.
I was confident I’d be grateful even if I was just given a useless weapon. It would still be better than the last time I transferred when I received no help at all.
While I was thinking this, the text floating in the air rippled and changed.
< Please select a trait. >
■ The Solitary One
■ The Assisted One
■ The Dominant One
So my text was in the form of granting a special ability?
This didn’t seem too bad.
‘So, I just have to choose one of these?’
Was there any way to check the traits in more detail?
With that in mind, I tapped the text with my finger.
At that moment:
■ The Solitary One
─The Devour ability is activated.
┗ You can devour labyrinth monsters and absorb their abilities. The more monsters you devour, the more your body and mind will become less human and more like a monster.
More detailed information was displayed.
This really works.
I slowly read through the contents of the trait.
The Solitary One.
To sum up this trait in one sentence:
An outsider trait that allows you to overcome all hardships solely by your own strength.
For someone like me, who preferred to act alone, it wasn’t a bad trait at all.
However…
‘…The Solitary One doesn’t seem that great.’
One sentence bothered me.
Both the body and mind will become less human and more like a monster.
In other words, I would have to give up my humanity in exchange for power.
‘If it was just a physical transformation, maybe, but turning into a monster mentally is a bit too much.’
I didn’t need to think long about it.
The Solitary One was out.
I moved on to check the next trait.
■ The Assisted One
─The Taming ability is activated.
┗ By touching a specific part of a labyrinth monster for a certain period, you can tame it through bonding. A tamed monster will become your close friend and will always protect you. Monsters that become your friends will never betray you, no matter what.
─The Summon Assistant ability is activated.
┗ You can receive support from an assistant. However, the support from the assistant is not mandatory.
This one was similar to a monster tamer.
It was a trait that relied entirely on the help of others, completely opposite in nature to The Solitary One.
Since the individual couldn’t become stronger, it had an additional ability.
‘Not bad.’
It was a trait without any noticeable drawbacks.
I decided to keep it in mind and check the next trait.
■ The Dominant One
─The Subjugate ability is activated.
┗ You can subjugate a labyrinth monster when it’s on the brink of death. The subjugated monster will follow your commands absolutely. However, if the dominator’s charisma is significantly lacking, the monsters may rebel. Always maintain your dignity to prevent the monsters from looking down on you.
─The Summon Ally ability is activated.
┗ You can subjugate the ally you summon. However, if the summoned ally’s soul level is higher than that of the dominator, you cannot subjugate it.
This trait was similar to The Assisted One.
The difference was that it forcibly subdued monsters.
‘This must have been the trait Min Hyeong-seok had.’
That was clear.
Thinking back on the situation just before…
Min Hyeong-seok definitely seemed to be forcefully dominating the monsters.
And now I think I know why the monsters betrayed him.
‘His dignity must have dropped because he showed such a pathetic side, causing the subjugation ability to fail.’
Additionally,
I also think I understand why he gave me orders so naturally.
The Summon Ally ability.
That was probably the ability he used to summon me.
Being the one summoned, it would have been natural for me to follow his orders.
The reason I wasn’t subjugated was likely that my soul level was higher than Min Hyeong-seok’s. I don’t know what a soul level is, though.
Judging by how flustered Min Hyeong-seok was, he probably had never encountered someone like me before.
Anyway,
I felt uneasy about choosing this trait.
Having subordinates who follow any command would be convenient, but there was always the possibility of betrayal.
I was sick of being betrayed.
In the other world, where betrayal was a daily occurrence, I’d had enough of it.
I checked The Assisted One again.
‘Companions who never betray… Looking at it again, there’s no better trait than this. Unlike the subjugation ability, it doesn’t require monsters to be on the brink of death.’
In the end, the choices narrowed down to one.
***
< Trait selection completed! >
The Assisted One.
As soon as I chose that trait,
< Make the most of your trait and become the ruler of the Ancient Labyrinth! >
A vague goal was given.
Become the ruler.
It was a goal so broad that I couldn’t grasp what I was supposed to do.
Still, I had no complaints.
At least I was given a goal.
Previously, I didn’t even have that.
Back then, I was just a stranger from another world.
Nothing more, nothing less.
Because of that, I had to set my own goal.
With the purpose of returning to my original world, I went through all kinds of hardships to find a dimensional mage.
And this time, my ultimate goal was, of course, to return to my original world. There’s no place as good to live as that.
‘But didn’t they say earlier that I’m the only human in this labyrinth?’
There could be a world outside the labyrinth.
There might even be humans there… but…
This place might be a world where only the labyrinth exists.
‘If that’s the case, it’ll be impossible to find a dimensional mage like I did last time… Even if there is an outside world, it might be a world without humans, let alone mages.’
As I considered the worst-case scenario, I shook my head vigorously to clear my thoughts.
Enough.
No more negative thinking.
For now, I needed to focus on how I was going to survive.
If I kept surviving and exploring the labyrinth, eventually, I might find a clue to returning home.
Think positively, think positively.
Finding a dimensional mage isn’t the only answer, right?
Becoming the ruler of the labyrinth might reveal a way to return, or there might even be a monster with the ability to shift dimensions.
***
At the end of a narrow crevice, a massive cavity awaited.
It seemed that the crevice I just passed through was indeed a passageway connected to another space.
‘What kind of place is this?’
The walls of the cavity had several large and small passageways spaced at regular intervals.
Including the one I came through, there were a total of eight passageways.
It felt like this might be the central area that connected all the spaces of the cave.
‘It’s so spacious, but there’s not a single monster here.’
It was perfect as a first hideout.
The top priority for a hideout was safety.
A place like this,
devoid of monsters, was the ideal hideout.
‘Then, let’s try using my ability here.’
I sat down on the ground.
And as the Warrior of Devotion had told me,
I created an imaginary point in the air, focused my vision on it, and stared intently until a square window floated up.
< Kang Geon – The Assisted One >
◎Tamed Monster List
◎Summon Assistant (Low Grade)
◎Block Assistance [on/off]
◎Block Assistant
There were no stats displayed.
There was no quest either.
It was to be expected.
The help provided by the text varied from person to person.
‘The block assistance is set to off. That means it’s not blocked, right?’
I didn’t know what this feature was.
I didn’t understand what Block Assistant meant, and I also didn’t know the difference between Summon Ally and Summon Assistant.
Well, I’d figure it out as I used it.
I lightly tapped my finger on Summon Assistant.
< Requesting Low-Grade Support >
▷ Number of Invitation Tickets: 0
What the heck? No invitation tickets?
How am I supposed to get them?
While I was pondering that question…
「You have used the Summon Assistant for the first time.」
A mechanical voice rang out once again.
This time, it wasn’t a voice that echoed through the cave but rather one that seemed to resonate only inside my head.
「Synchronizing with Kang Geon’s SNS…」
「No SNS found. Synchronization canceled.」
「Synchronizing with the contact list on Kang Geon’s mobile device.」
「Successfully synchronized 155 contacts!」
「155 invitation tickets have been issued for free!」
「Generating random invitation message.」
====================
Kang Geon has requested support!
Labyrinth Explorer Kang Geon currently needs an assistant! Please respond to Kang Geon’s insincere support request and become his assistant!
★Kang Geon’s Heart-Pounding Survival in the Labyrinth!★
♥Now airing live!♥
Join now ▶Click◀
Hurry! If no one becomes an assistant within 24 hours, Kang Geon’s support request will be canceled!
====================
Did Min Hyeong-seok also send invitations this way?
The Summon Assistant ability seemed similar to the Summon Ally ability.
‘The Summon Assistant lasts 24 hours, not 10 minutes. But more importantly…’
My brow furrowed as I read the message.
I didn’t like the wording.
It was even more childish and chaotic than the message Min Hyeong-seok had sent.
No, this reads like spam, doesn’t it?
Even if a message was sent from my number, who would click on something like this without any suspicion?
No one in their right mind would pay attention to a message like this. They’d definitely ignore it.
‘…’
…Anyway.
Just as I was about to check if I could edit the message to make it seem less suspicious,
「Sending invitation messages to 155 contacts.」
The message was sent before I could do anything.