The Artist Who Paints Dungeon - Chapter 75



Only Noblemtl

Episode 75

I was lost on the street.

“Fuck, where the hell am I…?”

It wasn’t called ‘country’ for nothing, the ‘Deep Sea Country’ was incredibly large even for an entry dungeon.

However, that doesn’t mean the monsters were weak. I was able to somehow get through stages 1 and 2, but once I entered stage 3, where the shape of the temple began to be revealed, it was difficult to even breathe.

“The map, the map… the map… .”

Unfortunately, this was a new dungeon with not even a basic understanding of its structure.

“… … .”

All of the hunter’s companions who were wandering the road now are dead.

“… What should I do… .”

What can I do? What can I do? I have no choice but to die.

The hunter sat down on the street, mocking himself inwardly. The water scales on the ceiling of his pupils, rippling coldly, felt like the shadow of a monster, and it was so eerie.

“… I asked you to come for nothing.”

When I was left alone, all sorts of thoughts came to mind.

In fact, it was not he but the team leader who had strongly requested that he come here, but he couldn’t help but feel guilty for being left alone after all his colleagues had died. The man tried to swallow his tears and moved his feet.

“Fuck, is this a temple or a cave… The path is complicated too…”

They all look similar, but they never find the same path.

It was true that I was moving, but it felt like I was heading deeper than the exit. But if I stopped and hid somewhere, there were dangerous monsters and traps everywhere.

“See… .”

I held back my tears and grumbled for no reason.

‘The country needs to survive before it can apply for rehabilitation.’

When a guild-affiliated hunter dies in a dungeon, the guild usually steps in to collect the remains, but this does not apply to freelance hunters or civilians.

If a freelance hunter wanted to recover the remains of a colleague, he or she had to personally prove his or her identity and apply to the Hunter Association.

‘I, I don’t have the ability to train… .’

The only reason he’s still alive is because of the man’s stealth skill.

“I have to survive first, yeah, and get paid… anything…”

It was a time when I was trying to calm my mind by thinking about the benefits of escaping.

“… … .”

A portrait caught the man’s eye.

“… … ?”

It was a portrait smeared with black paint so that the face could not be seen.

It was creepy.

“… What, what is this?”

If it had been just any ordinary object, I would have guessed it was one of the decorations in the dungeon, but this portrait seemed so out of place in the background of the temple, which seemed to be filled with the same pictures over and over again.

A portrait in which one can sense a gaze even though the eyes are covered and cannot be seen at all.

“… … .”

Just passed by.

‘It could be a dangerous item. A monster that looks like a portrait…’

The portrait itself had a creepy, heavy atmosphere. Unlike the pure white stone of the temple or the pupil, it was framed in wood.

It seemed to be covered in gold, but it had a warm feel to it that was completely different from the dungeon, and because of that warmth, I didn’t want to approach it even more. The feeling of discomfort was too great.

“… … .”

But when I came to my senses and looked around, the picture frame was there again.

“… It wasn’t here, it wasn’t here… .”

It wasn’t once or twice.

“You were in the hallway earlier.”

I still felt the gaze.

It felt as if the portrait was following me.

“… … .”

Maybe that was right.

His hands and feet were shaking and his breathing was getting harder and harder, but still, a ray of hope appeared in the mind of the hunter who had been pushed to his limit. He knew that it was a strange trend, but he couldn’t help it.

It was a phenomenon that no one could say was positive, but he thought about it stubbornly. It seemed like he just wanted to believe it.

‘Is this… an item that is the key to escape?’

In dungeons where the story was important, one item like this could be effective and help in clearing the battle. Even so, it wouldn’t increase the chances of survival, but the hunter, whose thinking ability had been reduced, approached the portrait.

“I wish I had emotional skills… This is…”

“hello.”

“… … .”

Pause.

The hunter stepped back.

“… Uh, uh uh… ?”

“I am a portrait.”

“uh…?”

“What is your name?”

“… … .”

“I wonder what your name is.”

The lips of the lower body, not covered in black paint, bit again.

“Would you like to talk to me?”

“…now….”

What is this?

‘Does a portrait speak? Does a portrait speak?’

Even in a world where superpowers are a part of everyday life, a portrait that speaks is not something you see very often. At least, this is the first time the Hunter, who is currently trapped in the ‘Deep Sea Country’, has seen such a portrait.

“Who, who….”

“I am a portrait.”

Same voice, same lines.

“… … .”

I got goosebumps.

The voice, which was so perfect that it sounded terrible, was incredibly sweet and gentle. It was as if the devil were speaking to him, but the hunter barely managed to come to his senses and answer.

“Park Yoon-shin… is… .”

I was aware of the dangers of telling my true name, but I was too absent-minded to think about it. All I could think about was that I had to obey the being in front of me.

I felt fear and mercy.

“Yes, that’s Park Yoon-shin. Park Yoon-shin…”

“Nice to meet you, Park Yoon-shin.”

“… You are… a portrait?”

“Yes.”

The pale lower body continued speaking.

“I am a portrait.”

“… … .”

Only then did the hunter realize that no monsters were approaching him.

‘… Things are taking a strange turn… .’

I felt like I was possessed by something.

The portrait, which was just a painting, had a heavy atmosphere that was so bizarre that it was almost uncanny. It was qualitatively different from the atmosphere of the temple. It felt like I was invited to the Pope’s funeral. I had such a strange feeling.

“… … .”

It was around the time when I became so dazed.

“Excuse me.”

“yes yes?”

The black paint began to pop out as if it was wrapping something.

As the hunter stepped back in shock, a human figure wrapped in a pitch-black cloak appeared right in front of the portrait. The portrait was hung halfway up the wall, so even though the figure fell down, there was no sound of footsteps on the floor.

“ah….”

Just a rustling sound.

“… … .”

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Park Yoon-shin.”

I heard footsteps.

It was so human-like.

“… … .”

No, the footsteps are like that, so why do I think it’s human?

‘Am I crazy? Am I under the influence of a brainwashing skill?’

While he was in confusion, something occurred to the hunter.

“Ah, ah, ah…!”

Black cloak.

“That, black, black cloak… cloak.”

“Yes, I am wearing a black cloak.”

“… Black Cloak… .”

It was clearly a monster that the association had put a bounty on for information.

‘…This is a monster?’

A question suddenly occurred to me.

‘this…?’

The hunter hesitated and looked at the black cloak again.

It was wearing a pitch-black cloak that was pulled down like a grim reaper. When the cloak was slightly removed around the shoulders, the body inside was revealed to be wearing a pitch-black suit and shirt, but it was strangely dark.

“… … .”

It definitely has a shape, so when it wears a cloak, it would have a round head like that.

‘… The hand… is pale, but you can see the skin. That means there’s a human body inside… .’

Still, it didn’t seem like there would be a face inside.

‘No, just.’

It seemed like there was nothing at all.

“… … .”

“Ms. Park Yoon-shin.”

“… Over there, yes, over there…”

If this calls my name three times, will I die?

‘They say that if the grim reaper calls your name three times, you die.’

I didn’t really think that the black cloak and the grim reaper were the same being, but it was true that there was an atmosphere that was terribly close to death.

The hunter lowered his head, feeling confused and awe-struck at the sight of something he could not dare look at.

“Wake up, sorry for waking you up. I just…”

“You are a good person.”

It was a kind of declaration, a granting of something. At first glance it sounded divine, like a prophecy from God.

“… … .”

“So let me help you.”

The black cloak held out something.

“… This, this is…”

It was a round bead that seemed to be made of gold. It was quite heavy and gave off a strong, brain-boosting scent.

“What is this…?”

“It’s an apology for surprising you, and a gift to you for your suffering.”

“gift…?”

“It’s yours.”

“…that….”

“Please eat.”

Eat it?

‘This?’

It didn’t look like something you could eat at all. But still, I felt a strong desire to put it in my mouth and make it mine. It was such a beautiful bead.

I want to eat.

“… … .”

The hunter, entranced by the scent, put the bead in his mouth.

‘ah.’

An ecstatic sweetness gently swept over my whole body.

The feeling of each and every cell stabilizing was vivid. I even felt joy at the sensation, which was like the spring breeze in the afternoon as it was fading away.

The freshness, as if the juice was condensed into a fruit, went very well with the gentle golden beads.

“… Huh, huh?”

“Has the bleeding stopped?”

“This, this… yes, how is this. Why.”

“okay.”

“… … .”

The black cloak looked down at the hunter with an inorganic gaze, like a researcher who had expected a set value to be given. He cringed in a sense of discomfort that was definitely not human, but at the same time, he felt embarrassed for some reason.

I was glad that he showed me the value I expected. It was a feeling I didn’t realize myself and couldn’t understand.

“Do you want to go out?”

“…Are you going out?”

My bowed head was lifted on its own.

“Can I go out?”

“I can send it to you.”

“ah….”

It was only then that I remembered the information that had been posted on the association’s website.

‘It is said that the first discoverer escaped the deep sea country with the help of the black cloak.’

It was when I suddenly looked up at the part where the face was with hope.

“… … .”

“… … .”

Our eyes met.

eye?

Yes, it’s an eye. I can see the pupil and the iris.

But it wasn’t a sphere. Was it flat? No, maybe it was three-dimensional. But I saw lines. I saw those flowing lines. It wasn’t one. It was many, intertwined like the roots of a tree, but at the same time it looked like one.

What color is it? Gold? No, it’s dark. It’s so dark that it looks bright. Then black? But it’s closer to silver. Where did the silver thing come from? It’s so dark. It’s so bright. What the hell am I looking at?

‘Is it okay for me to look at it in the first place?’

It was a time when I was so bewitched that I couldn’t even feel fear.

“Ms. Park Yoon-shin.”

“… … .”

“I have a question.”

“…question…?”

Oh, yeah, I have something to ask.

“Yes, yes, yes. Yes… of course.”

“Can I draw you?”

“… You’re drawing a picture of me…?”

I don’t remember much after that.

My mind was in a state of utter confusion, incomparable to when I first saw the black cloak. I had lost the awareness that I was a living being.

My whole body was melting, but there was no fear in it, and I felt a sense of comfort, as if I were lying in the middle of a forest with a spring breeze blowing.

And when I came to, I was in the middle of the city.

“… … .”

It was only then that I realized that this was a miracle.

* * *

“… This is it… .”

Park Yoon-shin continued speaking in front of the researchers.

“This is something that happened to me.”

“They say you can make people into paint and use it to paint pictures.”

“At the time, I didn’t really think anything was strange.”

Park Yoon-shin said in a bewildered voice.

“The fact that you can talk to monsters in the first place… is a very rare thing, and I know that, but I wasn’t really surprised by it. It just felt like a wise and intelligent being that seemed to know everything about the world, including me…”

The researcher asked.

“Do you feel a desire to adore him?”

“… a little bit. That guy showed a miracle.”

“It was a miracle that turned people into paint. There was no pain involved.”

“After I came to my senses… I was very confused.”

A human being with a sane self became paint and a painting, and then returned to being a human again. The aftereffects were bound to be small, as he was forced to perceive the perspective of an inanimate object that he could never have imagined.

“… But I don’t have any negative feelings towards Black Cloak… .”

It was just scary, dizzying, and wonderful.

“It’s so, so beautiful….”

Even though it was a life that could not be said to have been lived close to art, I was able to see that this was art and a work of art.

The vast presence and geometric and splendid structure, which felt sacred and noble, were enough to make the heart beat.

“Black Cloak is definitely kind to humans. No, it’s more like mercy than kindness. He shows mercy. He doesn’t take anything in return.”

“Yes, thank you for taking the time to interview me.”

The researcher nodded.

“Thank you for your information on the Black Cloak. You can receive your rewards right away at the Association Lobby Counter. If you have any further information or inquiries, please contact the counter at any time.”

“hey.”

“Yes, Hunter Park Yoon-shin.”

“Is that guy a monster?”

“… … .”

The researcher asked.

“Hunter Park Yoon-shin refers to it as a ‘person’.”

The conversation ended there.

The painter who draws dungeons