The Artist Who Paints Dungeon - Chapter 103



Only Noblemtl

Episode 103

I wonder if it really matters, but the ‘Jewel Vein’ was one of the dungeons that Yoo Seong-un told Geo about.

“Was it considered as if I passed on the information for nothing?”

It was a ‘Portrait of Geo’ that could move freely anywhere.

Giving him information about several interesting and uninhabited dungeons connected to Earth might have been similar to telling a hungry tiger the location of a village.

“… It was only a matter of time though.”

Yoo Seong-un did not regret his actions.

‘This is something that even the Visa Authority agreed to.’

Above all, he was human, but he was not on the side of complete humanity.

It has been said that the best gardeners are bystanders. It is true that they should not just be bystanders, but their mission is to bring balance to the Source and their world.

Chosen as a gardener from a very young age, Yoo Seong-un knew how to be indifferent to the events of life and death.

‘Besides, Geo knows Earth well.’

The meteor cloud only brought forward the period of Geo’s activities, but the portrait’s movements to appear all over the Earth and surprise people were planned.

“The investigation into Gyeongbokgung Palace isn’t even finished yet, and before we can finish anything, another incident has occurred. This is….”

Yoo Seong-un sat on a bench covered in snow and scratched his chin.

“…Is today Christmas?”

Originally, I was going to go to Geo and ask him if he wanted to enjoy the end of the year.

“It must be hard right now.”

It was a sad sight for modern people to have to work overtime on a holiday like this. Yoo Seong-un slowly sighed as he rubbed his sore neck.

According to the will of the garden he was serving, no breath came out.

“good.”

The first thing to check was the interview with the witness.

* * *

F-class hunter.

A level of awakening slightly stronger than that of a healthy adult male civilian.

Those who received a hunter’s license, even though they knew there was a high chance of death when entering a dungeon, often took on the position of ‘porter’.

“Oh, hello.”

“Nice to meet you, Hunter Lee Seon-hoo.”

“I received a call saying you would come today.”

The ‘witness’ that Yoo Seong-un found was a porter with a good impression.

“I think you said you wanted to hear about the black cloak.”

“Yes, to be exact, I came here to hear more about the situation you witnessed that day.”

“I told you over the phone, but I also relayed the situation that day to the association staff.”

“Strictly speaking, what I’m curious about is the information about the frame that Hunter Lee Seon-hoo saw.”

“… Okay, I understand.”

He brought Yoo Seong-un into the house, although he was embarrassed.

“It’s a little shabby, isn’t it? Sorry.”

“No, what are you talking about? I’m the one who came looking for you.”

Yoo Seong-un understood the shallow aversion shown by the witness. In general, third-class citizens tended to feel awkward or burdened when seeing citizens of a higher class than themselves.

‘It’s also an era of great class conflict.’

Nevertheless, the witness treated Yoo Seong-un to warm green tea.

‘That’s an impression Geo would like.’

A portrait of a polite and kind person came to mind. The reason he committed this incident must have been because he liked the character of Lee Seon-hu.

“It’s warm, thank you.”

“I’m sorry, I have nothing else to offer you.”

“I am so grateful that you even agreed to talk to me.”

Yoo Seong-un continued the light conversation and helped ease the tension of the witnesses.

Fortunately, the witness didn’t seem to be the type to harbor ill feelings toward a first-class citizen, so he quickly let his guard down toward Yoo Seong-un and continued the conversation.

It wasn’t until the green tea had almost cooled that we got to the main topic.

“You were curious about the picture frame I saw then?”

“Because it’s a new work by Black Cloak following ‘The Breathing Sea’.”

“Oh, I was surprised by that part too. I didn’t know you could draw a new work like that….”

“While working as a curator and researching various things, I became interested in it.”

Yoo Seong-un didn’t necessarily say that he was looking for the missing Park Eun-gyeom.

‘My goal is to confirm how the Black Cloak showed its hostility rather than to save the human named Park Eun-gyeom… but either way, it won’t sound very good to the person involved.’

If Park Hunter was alive, it was one of Yoo Seong-un’s duties to rescue him.

It would be no good to hear about Yoo Seong-un’s duty to rescue the person who was abandoned and even abused by the missing person this time or to recover the body.

‘… But what’s interesting is that he seems to have a rather friendly attitude towards Black Cloak.’

The witness smiled and said, “I didn’t know you would draw a new work again.” It was like the expression of someone who heard that their favorite artist opened a gallery.

“… … .”

I never thought I would realize that ‘Portrait of Geo’ was painted by a painter.

‘Geo, you have a fan.’

I knew that there was a group of people who strangely idolized the Black Cloak. I had no intention of meeting them or talking to them, but it felt strange to see it for myself.

A witness who did not know Yoo Seong-un’s thoughts asked.

“Will Black Cloak continue to draw like that?”

“… As of now, I think that is highly likely.”

“That’s amazing.”

The witness nodded and continued speaking.

“The work I saw that day was a painting of a gray city. Judging from the fact that the colors were very transparent, I thought it was probably a watercolor painting.”

He really seemed to be talking about some author’s work.

“Actually, when I first saw it, I judged it to be gray, but it wasn’t completely gray.”

“Well then?”

“Rather, I think it was a completely colorless work. It was amazing, the shapes of the buildings in the drawn city were colorful, and the glass windows and such… It was a very vivid description.”

“It’s amazing how vivid the depiction can be with watercolors, which are easily blurred and have dull colors.”

“There were some that were completely black, and some that were completely white. There were no strong colors like red or yellow, so I don’t know how they caught my eye.”

The witness seemed to be someone with some knowledge of art. I would say he was definitely not an expert, but he was at least able to look at the work and enjoy it in his own way.

‘So maybe I’m more sympathetic to Black Cloak.’

Yoo Seong-un asked, gathering his thoughts.

“I envy you for seeing such a work. Have you ever seen it anywhere other than ‘The Vein of Jewels’?”

“Ah… That, unfortunately, is not there. I only encountered it once in the dungeon that day. And even that disappeared quickly.”

“okay.”

I didn’t feel any lies.

“I wanted to see it with my own eyes, but it’s too bad.”

Yoo Seong-un had to find the frame and see what Hunter Park Eun-gyeom had become.

“I guess I have no choice but to go around the dungeon myself….”

“That, that place.”

The witness hesitated for a moment and then continued speaking.

“Among my friends… there’s one who is an Awakened, but he’s an F-class like me and hasn’t received a Hunter’s ID.”

“Oh, yes.”

“I heard that he also saw a picture frame just like mine.”

“…the same frame?”

“Actually, he was the one who saw the picture frame before I did. At first, I was so out of it that I didn’t notice it, but when I was left alone in front of the picture frame… I realized that it was the picture frame he had been talking about.”

“… … .”

Even if you are an Awakened Person, if you do not receive a Hunter’s ID, you are just a civilian.

‘Especially if it’s an F-class.’

Unlike Hunters who were required to write reports and thus had easy access to information, this also explained why the Association did not know about this fact if they were civilians.

But there was something curious. I wondered why this fact was not reported to the association, but more than anything… .

“Civilians won’t be able to enter the dungeon?”

“Yes, that’s right. He said he saw it near Gyeongbokgung Palace, not in the dungeon….”

“Gyeongbokgung Palace?”

“So I guess it doesn’t only appear in dungeons.”

“oh….”

If what I say is true, then there is no pattern to the appearance of the ’empty city’.

‘I’m screwed.’

Now it seemed like I really had no choice but to run.

* * *

“yes?”

Geo was startled, a look that didn’t match his gloomy and calm face at all.

“Are you saying that my child has been running away from home without me knowing?”

“I think it’s a bit much to call it running away, mainly because of the word choice.”

Aria continued speaking, wearing a large doctor’s gown and waving the flowing sleeves.

“Since the teacher has so much love for the Earth, what can we do? We studied in various ways. Last time, we just thought about making the Earth chaotic and leaving, so we didn’t really know anything.”

“Considering that, you’ve done a pretty good job of cleaning it up, Aria. I’ve heard that the Seoul branch of the Temple of the Sun is still in the middle of a cleanup. I think that means that our mermaid students have caused quite a bit of chaos.”

“That is a most honorable testimony, gentleman. As a child of the deep who hates the sun and its children, I could not be happier. Anyway, this is what I found out while studying the situation on Earth…”

Aria shrugged.

“It seems that the ‘Empty City’ has been sighted very rarely in an area called Seoul recently.”

“This father has never heard such words from the void….”

“Void? Is that the nickname for your dungeon? You have very unique tastes, sir.”

“I don’t know what’s so special about calling my child by his/her name.”

“It’s okay if you don’t know. After all, what I wanted to tell you was that without you knowing, your dungeon was roaming the planet called Earth.”

“It’s still such embarrassing news to hear again.”

I felt guilty, as if I had lost my sense of responsibility as a parent.

“This is probably because I haven’t paid enough attention to him for so long, and he’s become twisted. Parents don’t even realize that their child is born, and they’re busy enjoying their own lives. So even if they’ve only recently started paying a little attention to him, his lonely heart won’t go away.”

“… … .”

“That’s why I should have treated him well since he was little…. Since home is not a stable and peaceful place for a emptiness, isn’t that why he goes outside? But even so, I never imagined that a picture frame that was so well kept in the warehouse would go out on its own.”

Why couldn’t he have imagined that even the dungeon would be like a child and escape the frame on its own?

‘I think it’s possible with that level of creativity and inclusiveness.’

Aria was momentarily skeptical, but soon answered Geo’s words.

“… It certainly doesn’t look like a typical dungeon. It doesn’t look like something you’d see in a typical item or artifact. Since the dungeon’s owner isn’t inside, it feels like they’re just wandering around feeling light.”

Geo lamented.

“It’s because Dad isn’t home.”

“When did you say this was home?”

“But I confirmed that there was a lot of emptiness in my warehouse….”

“Then it would be a clone or another entrance.”

Since the dungeon is a single world, it does not have only one entrance.

“There’s more than just one way to invade Earth. If the dungeon owner wants to, they can create as many entrances as they want.”

“I never intended to.”

“That’s why I came to ask you this. Are you finally planning to destroy the humans and have the entrance open?”

“I’ve never had such a horrible thought. After all, who will talk to me when humans are destroyed? Who will roast sweet potatoes for me?”

“We can do it.”

“I refuse. As I told Isser, you need to develop your independence. Anything more than this much attention and affection will make things difficult for you, Master.”

“I try to control myself.”

Aria nodded.

“Even if the teacher didn’t intend to do that, it’s still not hard to understand why the ‘Empty City’ is like this.”

“Is it because I’m going through puberty…? Because I have a bad father…? Because I had a miserable childhood…?”

“You keep saying that the dungeon is a world. Anywhere can be the entrance and exit, and even you, the owner, are always in this portrait and at the same time, you are very interested in Earth.”

Moreover, the place he frequently appears is Seoul.

“If you say Seoul, isn’t it an area you visit often these days?”

“I’m trying to find a pen pal.”

“Since dungeons and their owners have the nature of becoming one, it wouldn’t be strange for them to visit the dimension with the most traces of their owner.”

“You’re wandering around this vast and harsh Seoul alone, looking for this worthless father…?”

“… Yeah, if you understand it that way, the context is roughly correct.”

Of course, it was a lighter situation than that. If you really assume that the dungeon has self-awareness, it is closer to the appearance of ‘a mischievous child who goes to his father’s workplace without any reason and begs him to play’ rather than ‘a boy who leaves to find his father who rarely comes home’.

‘But if the teacher puts effort into the dungeon like this, it’s better for us.’

After all, a dungeon is a dungeon. It was a game board for catching and eating something.

As long as Geo was interested in Earth, humans would continue to be eaten, so the more the dungeon was managed, the more reassured the mermaids would be.

‘Because the teacher’s work and this cabin are connected.’

However, there was one thing that was questionable.

“That ‘empty city’.”

“yes.”

“Have you ever been connected to Earth separately?”

“…yes?”

“There isn’t any.”

Aria felt that the ‘Deep Sea Country’ and the ‘Breathing Sea’ had somehow become connected on the day Geo risked his life to talk to the mermaids. Since then, picture frames connected to the ‘Breathing Sea’ have started to float in the ‘Deep Sea Country’.

Well, it’s not that strange since the ‘Breathing Sea’ was originally a part of the ‘Deep Sea Country’. At least that day, it was certain that the mermaid temple and Geo’s ‘picture frame’ were connected.

‘But even without such measures, the teacher’s picture frame is floating around in Seoul, an area on Earth.’

What is the reason?

“… I guess the teacher really likes the Earth?”

“There was no need to hate my hometown without any particular reason.”

“Aha, this is my hometown.”

Then I understand.

“It was connected from the beginning.”

Since the roots of the soul are on that planet, it was natural that there was no need for a separate connection like the ‘Deep Sea Country’ and the ‘Breathing Sea’. To that ‘Empty City’, Earth is like the hometown where my father was born.

“But then I feel a little jealous….”

“Oh, Sun, the mermaid’s jealousy. Can I refuse?”

“What can I do if you reject me? It’s just my one-sided feelings.”

Somehow, Geo’s roots are in the same dimension where those humans are running around.

‘Strictly speaking, the deep sea country is also our hometown.’

What on earth had happened in the meantime that Geo’s roots had migrated to that narrow and barren dimension? Aria clicked her tongue and pondered, holding her chin.

“…Can’t the roots be moved?”

“You’re moving the roots? Are you thinking of making a bonsai tree?”

“Well, maybe.”

“I’m good at that. Do you need help?”

“I’ll take care of it for now.”

“That kind of independence is really admirable.”

“It is an honor, Master.”

I felt I had to think about how I could move the roots of my soul to my sea. Giovanni was the most beautiful human being when he was at sea.

‘Of course, before that, I have to think about how I can take responsibility for that and be fully accepted by the teacher…’

Aria continued speaking calmly, as if she hadn’t thought about anything.

“Anyway, pay some attention to the ‘Empty City’.”

“It seems that simply creating residents wasn’t enough.”

“That’s not bad, but whatever.”

Aria knew instinctively.

‘The world that the teacher drew with the Earth as the subject has a door that opens there.’

So, the more Geo’s drawings are of Earth, or the more his works are complete and do not belong to another dimension, the more their roots are embedded in Earth and they torment humans.

‘I don’t have any hostility towards the dungeon’s owner, so I’m not sure if the speed will be that leisurely…’

When have natural disasters been hostile and afflicted humans?

“When are you going to draw the next picture?”

“…And on the day you want to?”

“I see.”

Aria smiled with satisfaction.

‘I guess it’s just a matter of time.’

I hoped that the dimension where humans teem would one day enter Geo’s stomach.