The Artist Who Paints Dungeon - Chapter 131



Only Noblemtl

Episode 131

Some orphanages, sponsored by governments and associations, are a kind of public institution, and the man came from there.

“Joohyun-ah.”

“Yes, sir.”

According to the orphanage’s rules, the name is Joo-Hyeon, without a surname.

“If you have time, could you run an errand for the association?”

“Okay, I’ll do that. What should I convey this time?”

“Here’s a list of new arrivals, please review it.”

He was born four years before the catastrophe.

In short, he suffered a great disaster when he was around 4 years old, but the child who lost his name was smart and honest, and survived with lots of love from adults and the care of others. That was also the reason he was able to stay in the orphanage.

“Okay, I’ll be back soon.”

“Joohyun is kind, too.”

“It’s something that needs to be done.”

The Association Line’s orphanages generally selected children who were smart, healthy, and honest. Children who grew up here either became hunters and became independent when they awakened, or they were given the opportunity to get a job at the Association.

Joo-Hyeon was one of them, but unlike other orphans who lived however they could, he had ambition.

“Joohyun said she wanted to go to the association research center, right?”

“Yes, even if I awaken, I still like the lab.”

I wanted to make the world a little bit better. I wanted to prevent as many tragedies as possible.

“I can help you, hunters.”

Having experienced the catastrophe with his bare body, he has seen the misery of the world. He has seen how far humans can fall into the abyss.

Among them, Joo-Hyeon was particularly lucky. He wanted to share his good fortune with others so that the same tragedy would not happen to them.

“Joohyun is amazing.”

“thank you.”

“The research lab is always short on manpower, so I’m sure you’ll be able to get a job.”

“I wish that were true.”

If I can share what I have, there is no reason not to share.

“I want to help.”

That was Joohyun’s idea.

It’s embarrassing to say, but it was my own belief. If I can help, I will help, and if I can be with you, I will be with you.

In that mission, even after getting a job at the association, the man did not forget to support the orphanage that raised him.

“I know you’re busy trying to make a living too, but I’m always grateful.”

“It’s all thanks to the director who raised me.”

“That’s my job, so what…?”

“I know that our work must have been difficult for you.”

Joo-hyun was a mixed race child with dark skin. The ‘Guitar Orphanage’ where he stayed was a place where many foreign children like him gathered.

“Most people don’t care about skin color or anything these days, but there was a time when it was really hard.”

“It was right after the disaster, so people were very sensitive.”

“I know, there was a lot of talk about how we have to take care of foreigners when we are busy taking care of Korean children. I remember that.”

“Joohyun, that’s….”

“I know I’m Korean. I was born here. It was just a sensitive time for everyone, just like the director said.”

However, because all records, including nationality, were lost, people at the time were very wary and looked down on anyone who looked even slightly different from an Asian.

The Great Disaster was such a time.

“I understand, but I wonder if the atmosphere from back then still remains the same… Our orphanage still doesn’t receive much support.”

“It’s my fault. Maybe, the people in the association are ignoring you… .”

“I can’t say no. But that’s okay, you know me. If you’re smart and capable like this and behave well, you’ll find a place for yourself in no time.”

The association staff who were hired through the orphanage system were discriminated against, and the orphanage that Joo-Hyeon came from was a place where they were looked down on even more. Promotion was slow.

Of course, I was not able to participate in proper projects. Researchers who were not promoted were essentially no different from odd jobs.

Nevertheless, with his sincerity and hidden cleverness, Joo-Hyeon won the hearts of his colleagues and showed outstanding abilities, drawing the attention of his superiors.

“Why do you work so hard?”

“It’s something I can do, so why shouldn’t I do it?”

“You are sincere. I hope to see you again for a long time.”

While some people liked him, others were worried or sarcastic.

“If you work that hard, you’ll get tired quickly.”

“Thank you for the advice.”

I accepted it because it was true and swallowed it.

Joo-Hyeon wasn’t exactly a gentleman, but his goal was to make the world a better place, and he found ways to help make it happen as cleverly as possible.

‘You’ve set your goals too high…’

Appropriately, so as not to tire easily.

‘You can do them one by one.’

I wasn’t impatient. I didn’t want fame or anything like that. But I was confident.

He was the smartest of the researchers and a quick learner. Although he was not an awakened person, he was always taking care of himself, so he was in better than average health.

Joo-Hyeon also did a lot of volunteer work.

“From the association?”

“That’s funny, do you need some test subjects?”

“What are you so good at that you’re helping me?”

Those in need of help in the outskirts, or inside and outside, were very wary. Nevertheless, Joo-hyun kept in contact with them and talked to them and interacted with them. After some time, they softened up.

“Thank you for treating me last time.”

“I heard the kid over there is sick….”

“Is there anything else to eat? Why, it’s winter.”

Some of them were genuinely grateful, and some of them treated Juhyun like a chicken that lays eggs. There were those who were often rude, but Juhyun did not give in and continued to serve faithfully.

“… I’m busy.”

But even that was good.

I participated in the association’s research, and in my spare time I studied or volunteered. On both sides, there were rude people everywhere, and there were bound to be times when I got angry. But it was still good.

‘If I gain more experience, I will be able to become a team leader someday. If I become a research team leader, I will be given the time and resources to conduct personal research. Then, I can conduct research on dungeons and monsters.’

It was a time when I was so busy every day.

“…uh?”

“Ah …

“What, what.”

A man ran out and grabbed Juhyun’s ankle.

“Save me, save me, please…!! I was wrong!! I was wrong, I won’t do it again!!”

“Okay, just a minute… .”

“You fucking bastards, spare me, no!! I don’t want to die!! At least not like that…!!!”

“Ugh…!!”

The staff at the research center started to murmur, and soon after, a security force appeared. No, they were chasing the man to catch him, so they immediately subdued him.

As I was standing there dumbfounded, holding onto my cold ankle, the researcher who seemed to have followed me felt sorry.

“Oh, is your ankle okay? It’s not broken?”

“Yes? Oh, yes. Oh… No, I think I need to get treatment.”

“It was our mistake. The association will provide treatment, but we will compensate you separately.”

“But that person earlier…?”

“huh?”

The researcher tilted his head when he saw Joo-hyun’s face.

“Oh, you haven’t worked on a proper project yet?”

“Does that have anything to do with it?”

“I’m a response officer, a response officer. I ran out because I didn’t want to do my job.”

“If you are a response officer….”

I knew it.

“Are you talking about the people who participated in the experiment?”

“In other words, it’s just a test subject, you know.”

“… … .”

“I guess you’re not adjusting well.”

The researcher chuckled.

“I guess it’s just something like that, it’s nothing serious.”

“… As far as I know, I have heard that response personnel are given appropriate treatment and compensation.”

“That also has its own level. I don’t know about Joo-hyun, who has never been involved in a project, but that was more like a lab rat.”

“I think you clearly asked to be spared.”

“I was scared because I was going to go into the red room after meeting the hourglass. I had to take good care of it, but I was surprised because it was stronger than I thought.”

“… An hourglass? A red room?”

“Since Joohyun will be working with us soon anyway, I’ll let you know in advance.”

It was a reward that seemed to reward the efforts made so far, but her heart was pounding and she was sweating so much that she didn’t have time to be thankful. Soon, Joo-hyun was able to see the ‘hourglass’ and ‘red room’ that the researcher had mentioned.

“That is a monster that eats human time. It looks like a fancy hourglass, but if it doesn’t eat human time once a week, the decorations will become simple. When that happens, a strange phenomenon occurs… We’ll learn about that later.”

“… … .”

“You see that room attached to the other side? Joo-hyun must have seen it once or twice when she came and went on errands, but it was put there with the route in mind. The monster living inside is a bright red jewel, and it gets satisfaction by feeding on the blood of the elderly and newborns.”

It was difficult to understand.

“…Eating time means, well… .”

“It’s hard to find a newborn or an old person these days, so we just make them old and put them in.”

“… Then both the monster called the hourglass and the monster called the red room will be satisfied. Right?”

“I understand. I think Joo-hyun will adapt well. I’m really grateful.”

“haha….”

In short, it was a sacrifice to be offered to the monster.

“Is that okay? Is there a problem or something?”

“The responder who just arrived was a level 5 citizen.”

The researcher added as if he knew what he was talking about.

“Don’t worry too much.”

He’s a murderer who’s killed dozens of people. The researcher said that, tapped Joo-hyun’s shoulder a couple of times, and then disappeared.

Joo-Hyeon saw numerous researchers moving around the endless rooms of monsters, talking to each other, or entering each room.

I felt left alone even though I was in a crowd.

“… … .”

Joohyun soon came to his senses and did what he had to do.

I was faithful to my assigned duties, went out to volunteer and talked to the abandoned citizens, and even asked the president of the association to talk to me. But nothing got better. Everything was the same. It was the same everyday life.

The orphanage family and friends on the street asked.

“You look really tired these days.”

Joo-hyun was comforted by him.

“The things that happen in the lab aren’t as… sublime as I thought.”

“If only the association itself were noble, then that would be amazing in its own right.”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

I pulled myself together.

“Thank you for listening to my story.”

I was able to get back on my feet because I had family and friends.

‘I have survived the catastrophe. I can survive this time too, and I must find a better way.’

So he tried to do more. After gaining authority, Joo-hyun even used himself as a test subject and showed results.

But all he saw was the tragedy he hated so much, recurring over and over again, despite all the work he had done to avoid seeing it happen again.

“… … .”

“You’ve overdone it. I’ll give you a vacation, so take a month to recuperate and come back.”

“…but….”

“I know what you want, but in your current state, you won’t be able to even do the job you’ve been given properly.”

“…All right.”

It was something that the association president personally recommended after seeing Joo-hyun working too hard, perhaps because he had been feeling it since their conversation the previous day.

Joo-hyun was about to be stubborn for a moment, but soon realized that her mind and body were very disturbed and gave in. She didn’t want to be stubborn without a plan.

“I’ll take a little rest.”

But that shouldn’t have happened.

“… … .”

When I returned after recovering until my body had somewhat recovered, I found my hometown in flames.

Some of his friends on the street were nowhere to be seen, and something was a bit messy. Ju-hyeon couldn’t even get over his embarrassment and ran around trying to figure out the situation.

“yes?”

And then he soon realized that the cause was within himself.

“Because of me?”

“I guess some people who are dissatisfied with you have done something.”

“Complaints? What on earth are you talking about…?”

“They were all over the place?”

It is said that everyone at the orphanage he considered his hometown, some of the friends he considered close on the street, and some of the staff at the research institute he considered capable colleagues all hated Joo-Hyeon.

It’s not like Joo-hyun didn’t know about those feelings at all. The conflict that arose from jealousy, envy, disgust, and differences in ideology. Knowing that, he was more careful, but in the end, things happened.

“Actually, I didn’t think it was that good either.”

“… … .”

“You seem to be the only one pretending to be clean, don’t you?”

That’s a bit.

“…haha.”

It sounded terrible.

As for why I didn’t hear the news before, the research team leader in charge of Joo-Hyeon said that he did it to kill his spirit, as if he had some strange ulterior motive. He said that he couldn’t work with someone who had strange ideas.

Did I really stand out that much? Well, I didn’t.

‘I think I was careful.’

I tried to understand the thoughts of my colleagues as much as possible. There were many times when I agreed with them. However, there were also times when I made suggestions. Perhaps these small, trivial details came together to create this ridiculous ‘reporting ceremony’.

But my family and friends were not fifth-class citizens. They were ‘innocent citizens.’ Even in a world where human rights and such are hard to find, this was absurd.

‘Why didn’t anyone stop me? Why isn’t anyone feeling guilty? Why am I the only one suffering?’

Someone said this:

“If that’s the case, if you’re not careful, even Joo-Hyeon could become a response agent.”

“Is that possible?”

“If there is a shortage of personnel, researchers are also deployed as response personnel.”

“I always hear that there is a shortage of research personnel.”

“First of all, Joohyun has already served as a test subject.”

“Is that a problem?”

“I don’t know what the problem is, but it could be an excuse.”

“…I understand.”

Someone else got angry.

“Fuck, I knew this would happen. This is why you shouldn’t trust those Association brats!”

“No, I….”

“My friends died because of you! What about those invisible guys? Did you drag them in as test subjects?”

“… That’s not it… .”

“You hypocrite, you pretend to be nice to me and then get stabbed in the back of the head. Do you feel good about that? It’s so dirty… .”

“… … .”

I was tired.

“… … .”

I wish I was just tired, but I was angry. It was a sequence that I didn’t quite understand, but it was hard to think rationally about this tired anger.

I’m so angry that I want to burn all this anger on myself… .

‘…That could be the case.’

Since humans are naturally fickle and self-centered, this kind of thing could happen. Ingratitude is one of the characteristics of the human species. They quickly forget what they have received and are sensitive to losses.

I started this knowing all of that. There were countless times when I was hurt by that. But I wanted to make the world a better place, I didn’t want to see the same tragedy, and that was my belief, so I lived with a smile.

‘That could be possible.’

But then it occurred to me that I was human too.

“…therefore….”

When he came to, he was holding the sign of the evil spirit in his hand.

He created a sign for Sankalut, one of the evil gods.

“… This could happen.”

I haven’t written it yet.

Sankalut was said to be the evil spirit of blood and honor. If you offered the blood of a newborn or an old person who died in terrible pain, he would grant your wish and send the soul of the person who died in the process to paradise.

The reason he hadn’t summoned the evil spirit yet was not because Joo-Hyeon was kind or thought he could endure it this time. He just hadn’t thought about who to kill or what wish to make.

‘… I don’t understand why you’re thinking of getting angry when you don’t even want anything. Was I always this stupid?’

I feel like something is empty.

“… The person who dies will just come out.”

I felt like a puppet tied to a thin thread, not of my own free will.

He was granted access to the ‘Hourglass’, a monster that eats away at human time, but he’s been through a lot, so I’m not sure if he still has that authority.

“But I guess I can still summon the evil spirits.”

That’s fine.

“The wish is… um.”

What should I pray for?

‘Should I ask my dead family members to come back to life?’

Joo-Hyeon entered the orphanage, which had been reduced to ruins by the fire, in a daze.

The bodies were all collected, but the abandoned building in the dark location was not even demolished. Joo-hyun silently entered the children’s blackened rooms. In the rooms that were still intact, traces of the children were visible.

“… This is… .”

There was also an unidentified painting that was barely burnt but still charred.

“Did you draw a black cloak?”

It was quite famous at the time.

‘There are quite a few children who talk about or draw pictures of the Black Cloak.’

Joo-hyun, who was staring at the painting with lifeless eyes, soon dropped it roughly down. There was a sound of it hitting the floor.

He sat on the smelly bed with his body tired. It was then that he looked into the sign of the evil spirit he had created.

“… … .”

“… … .”

“That’s cool.”

An exclamation of wicked interest.

He realized there was someone at the entrance to the room.

“It’s a jewel that smells of blood and wealth, isn’t it?”

“…what….”

“If you give it to me, I can give you a more beautiful and valuable jewel.”

“Where are you now…?”

“Hey, gentleman. Let me guess what you’re thinking right now.”

A man in a black suit was leaning against a gold-leafed picture frame.

“Aren’t you hungry?”

“…yes?”

It was a sudden remark.