Taming Master

Ian could barely stop himself from grinning like a madman. Hugo, the captain of the punitive force,

approached Ian because he had contributed the most.

“Thank you. Was it Ian?”

“Yes, sir.”

“We could destroy the Campsite without big losses thanks to your help.”

“No, sir. The brave vigilantes completed the mission successfully.”

After he shook hands with Ian, Hugo thanked the rest of the players.

“We have accomplished the mission, so it’s time to go back.”

Hugo then lifted his sword.

“Soldiers, you’ve done well! We’re going back to the Village!”

“Waaaaaa!”

The vigilantes headed toward the Village while Ian sat down on the ground to rest.

‘Should we check the skills I got?’

Both skills sounded very intriguing, therefore, Ian immediately opened his skills window.

[Pet Bestowing Skill]

Category: active skill

Skill Level: Lv.0

Proficiency: 0%

Cooldown Time: 24 hours

– Your pet will receive a random skill.

– 20 Potential points of the pet will be used when giving a skill. If you are going to bestow a new skill

to the pet, the first skill gained will be changed into the new skill.

– A higher level and proficiency of the skill will increase the probability of your pet receiving a high-

class skill.

…

Ian read about the first skill and nodded.

‘Just as I thought, it’s a skill about Potential.’

He was very excited by it.

‘Giving a skill to the pet! I must definitely give Ly a new skill.’

Ian then checked Ly’s Potential.

‘It’s only 6.’

Ly had used 100 Potential points to evolve.

‘I will try giving him a skill when it reaches 20.’

Ian wanted to get 100 Potentials for the next evolution, however, he thought it would be better to give

Ly a skill first.

Ian then moved on to the next skill.

[Twisting Space]

Category: active skill

Skill Level: Lv.0

Proficiency: 0%

Cooldown Time: 3 minutes

– The Summoner will change his or her location with one of the summoned pets.

– It is activated only if you don’t get attacked during its 0.5~1 second of activation time.

– Cooldown time decreases as the skills level and proficiency gets higher.

…

‘I wish I had gotten a skill that could be used to attack or to capture more monsters… but these skills

can still be used well during a fight.’

Ian was satisfied with his new skills as he believed that they were both pretty good.

While Ian organized the skills and items he had gained, Harin came to him.

“Ian, thank you. We finally completed the quest.”

Harin looked exhausted but, at the same time, she had a happy smile on her face.

“Haha, you have done your part.”

“But I would not have been able to do it without you. You have done so much.”

Ian stroke Ly while answering, “He has done much more than me.”

Harin agreed.

“Yes, I was really surprised to see him fight. He is very skilled.”

Harin turned her gaze to Ly. She then smiled brightly while sitting in front of Ly.

“Ly, thank you.”

Ly felt good about this and sweetly growled.

Growl- growl-.

But then, Lukin and his friends, who had been arranging the items they had gotten on the other side,

came to them.

‘What? Are they about to say hello?’

They didn’t look very nice, however, Ian couldn’t just ignore them. Therefore, he got up.

Lukin stretched his hand out to Ian and said, “Nice to meet you. I’m Lukin. The quest kept us busy, so

we could say hello only now.”

Ian took his hand and answered.

“We have been busy, too. Nice to meet you. I’m Ian.”

Lukin carefully got to the point.

“Ian, aren’t you interested in doing one more quest with us?”

“A quest?”

Lukin nodded.

“Yes, we know of a hidden quest related to the Campsite quest.”

Ian’s eyes sparkled for a second, however, nobody took notice of it.

‘The hidden quest related to the Campsite is the Shaman quest…’

Ian already knew about the Shaman quest.

At first, he had given up on doing that quest as it was too hard. However, looking at the levels he just

gained thanks to the Campsite quest, he was thinking about it again. This was when Lukin

approached him.

However, there was something that Ian felt puzzled by.

‘But these players… those two must be at least Lv.50. Why do they even need us?’

Ian had seen Falcon and Milan fight during the battle, so he knew about their levels. Additionally,

Milan was an Archer, therefore, it was even easier for Ian to guess his level by looking at the skills he

used.

‘This doesn’t seem good…’

Ian realized that there was something wrong, however, he still pretended that he knew nothing.

“Oh, there’s a hidden quest?”

Lukin was glad to see Ian’s ‘innocence’.

“Yes, the Goblin Shaman quest. It’s in the tunnel right behind the camp. All we have to do is to kill it.”

Falcon joined him, “It’s weaker than the Chief, but we don’t think we can handle it. Judging from the

way you fight, you must have a strong summoning magic artifact… and we could use a Priest too.”

Falcon said that to check on Ian and find out whether he truly had an artifact, however, this also

revealed their intentions to Ian.

‘Ha, so you think Ly is a pet from a summoning magic artifact?’

Ian’s lips curled up.

‘Artifacts are expensive, so you want to hunt me and gain a fortune…’

If Ian had been a naïve beginner, he would have accepted their offer without any doubts. However, he

was a veteran user who had seen countless times things like this. To want to fool Ian, Lukin’s group

was too careless.

‘Should I teach them a lesson?’

Ian made up his mind and sent Harin a message.

– Ian: Harin.

Harin was startled at receiving a message so suddenly, however, she wasn’t stupid. Therefore, she

replied to the message right away.

– Harin: Yes, Ian. Why are you sending me a message?”

– Ian: Just a second…

Lukin would get suspicious if Ian didn’t answer for too long, so Ian smiled brightly and said, “I would

love it, but I must ask my party member. Could you wait for a minute?”

Lukin nodded.

“Of course.”

Ian then went back to Harin.

“Harin, you’ve heard what Lukin said, right? What do you think?”

“Um… I…”

Ian sent another message as he spoke.

– Ian: Harin, I think they’re trying to PK us.

– Harin: What? PK?

– Ian: Yes. They will seek an opportunity to kill us during the Shaman quest.

More accurately, they were targeting only him and not ‘us’

– Harin: Then what should we do?

– Ian: First, just say yes to my question.

Harin was panicking at finding herself in an unexpected situation, however, looking at Ian’s calmness,

she was able to quickly gather her thoughts and went along with Ian.

“Yes. How could I say no when they are offering to share a hidden quest with us?”

Harin nodded and said ‘yes’ while she sent another message.

– Harin: What are you going to do?

– Ian: We should make these idiots pay.

– Harin: What? Is that a good idea?

– Ian: Don’t worry. I know what I’m doing.

Ian reassured Harin and went back to chat with Lukin.

“Harin thinks it would be great as well.”

“Haha, I knew you would say yes. Thank you.”

In order to comfort Lukin, Ian showed even more gratitude, “We should be the ones thanking you for

sharing the hidden quest. If we get a piece of the Shaman Set, we will just give it to you.”

“Haha… you really don’t have to…”

Lukin felt excited, ‘You idiot… Keke, you are rich enough to own a summoning magic artifact, of

course, the Shaman Set would be nothing to you.’

The Shaman Set was a gear set for Sorcerer players at Lv. 40~50. It was worth five hundred to eight

hundred Gold per piece. They were luxurious items.

Unlike Lukin, Ian felt anger boil in his heart.

‘What should I do with these fools?’

He could just attack them first and finish them off, however, he was planning to use a better way,

since he didn’t need to take the risk.

‘They are not worthy of my Evil Fame…’

Finally, Ian came up with a great idea, ‘Yes, this plan would work.’

Satisfied by the plan, he silently laughed.

An evil smile was on his lips.

…

“Kailan’s clear air is always refreshing.”

A middle-aged man, in his fifties, was sitting on a huge rock.

“I really admire the scientists who created this great virtual reality.”

He was on Merkan Peak, the highest peak of Lobos Mountains.

The landscape was magnificent.

High cliffs, mysterious rocks, waterfalls and red autumn trees.

“I must convince my hiking club’s members and hike together in Kailan.”

He took out his lunch out from his bag and began to eat.

It was Kimbap from the Trumbon Food Market, famous for its deliciousness and the low price.

He savored every bite and enjoyed the view.

But then, he shouted, “Wolfy, summon!”

A black wolf had appeared.

Awuuuu-!

It howled and sat by his side. It rested its head on the man’s laps.

“Wolfy, eat this.”

He gave it a piece of deer’s meat he had hunted on his way to the Peak. The wolf happily took a bite

and started to chew.

“This is so relaxing.”

He thought, ‘Kailan isn’t just a game. It’s another world! True virtual reality!’

He wasn’t a scientist who studied virtual reality. In fact, he studied the social and cultural impact of

virtual reality and its potentials.

He was professor Lee Jinuk, the head of the Korea University’s Virtual Reality Department.

“Wolfy, shall we go down?”

Growl- Growl-!

In the real world, he loved hiking, nature and animals. In Kailan, there was a class that perfectly suited

him, the Summoner.

“I wish to climb the Polanian Peak next time, but there are dangerous monsters at Lv. 17.”

Jinuk saw Wolfy following him and smiled affectionately.

It was a precious pet he had captured by grilling his assistants who played Kailan.

“Wolfy, let’s level-up quickly and hike the Polanian Peak!”

Growl- Growl-!

Wolfy jumped up to show its excitement.

Jinuk moved with light feet. Then he recalled the freshman who had boldly offered to make a bet.

‘That liar must be playing now as well. Should I have asked about his class?’

Jinuk walked as he thought. The sky in Kailan was even clearer today.