The Artist Who Paints Dungeon - Chapter 98



Only Noblemtl

Episode 98

Geo continues to check the situation on Earth through the picture frame and looks for a human who will become his ‘new friend’.

Finally, Isser asked.

“Why do you often talk to people you meet and give them gifts instead of just passing them by?”

Geo answered in a gentle yet confident voice.

“If they hadn’t seen me, they might not have known, but they saw me too. If you make eye contact, it’s a battle. You can’t defeat someone without talking to them.”

“If we make eye contact, we have to fight. Earthlings are more aggressive than I thought. Are there any specific rules?”

“The longer we spend facing each other, the more it is perceived as a flirtation or a duel.”

“It’s truly amazing. When I was disguised as a child of Earth before, I was in such a hurry that I couldn’t study properly. But I didn’t know there was such a culture.”

“That’s probably why this teacher can’t just let go of someone he meets eyes with.”

It’s not that I didn’t think that people who met like that would be surprised, but wouldn’t there be a fantasy partner for someone like Geo? And that’s something you wouldn’t know unless you talked to him.

When on earth would you find someone who wouldn’t be afraid of the name ‘Black Cloak’ and would greet you with a lively greeting? But the young man from the mountains of Gangwon-do, who had never been in a relationship because he had been pursuing his own interests until that age, had a strange romanticism.

“If you waste time like this, you will eventually find a new relationship.”

“Oh, yes.”

“And if you talk to her like that, won’t she want to give you a gift?”

“aha….”

“It’s not like I don’t have anything, it’s not like I don’t have time, and it’s not like my parents complain if I give them some gifts.”

Since the three beats were exactly right, there was really no reason not to give it to him. No one could stop Geo from going crazy and wanting to share joy, love, peace, affection, and happiness.

“Isn’t that the most wonderful thing?”

“Do you give gifts to everyone who is kind?”

“This is the teacher’s heart.”

“The child just now wasn’t your disciple… I see. I understand.”

“Don’t suddenly jump to conclusions like you’re going to kill someone. It’s disgusting to be hasty at that age.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Do I have to give a gift to a disciple?”

Those who did cute things always needed a sweet reward. It was a typical Sergio idea, who, even as a high school teacher, always carried snacks in his pocket to give to his students.

“Besides, what I have in abundance right now is time.”

Geo wasn’t impatient.

“There’s Honey, there’s Dana, there’s Father, and there’s Isser and Aria too.”

“… … .”

“I have a suspicious look on my face pretending to be very satisfied, but do you really not like the idea of ​​me looking for a human to be my friend?”

“Yes, I don’t.”

“I see. But even if you are a wonderful disciple, Isser, you can’t stop me from making a pen pal.”

He was too busy exchanging letters with Yoo Seong-un, who was suffocating from the overwork of modern people. Geo needed a new friend.

“No matter how much I live inside a frame, I feel like I have no communication with the world.”

In Geo’s opinion, his current position was that of a grandfather living alone in a remote rural area.

In just 31 years, they have come to be treated as ancestors, but they are in a corner of the house where they cannot communicate with young people even if they try to learn about the world these days.

“So I have no choice but to take the initiative and make friends myself.”

“Can’t we just tell these shallow people who don’t even know the subject to come crawling?”

“Stop trying to keep the teacher locked in this small hut, Isser.”

“It’s not particularly narrow.”

“The country is infinitely small to contain existence.”

“… … .”

Isser nodded, still smiling affectionately.

“So how long do you plan on enjoying this kind of friend-finding adventure?”

“I think I’ll do it whenever I’m bored.”

“… After you got that ‘friend’…?”

“We’ll keep going. Who would put a friend on their nose?”

“Oh, are you planning on putting it on your nose?”

“It meant that that alone was woefully inadequate.”

The more friends you have, the better.

“How boring would it be if I didn’t spend all this time with my friends?”

“We, your faithful disciples, will be with you.”

“Isser needs to learn to be independent. How long are you going to protect this incompetent teacher?”

After being cooped up at home for thousands of years, the kid has become so strange. I thought that if only I could make some friends and go to a karaoke bar, I could ask for nothing more.

‘Isser is a timid child, so I don’t think he would enjoy such an active hobby.’

Geo nodded.

“Still, I will continue to look for my friend.”

“If I may speak from an objective point of view, not my own, if you continue to show up like this, the recognition of the ‘Black Cloak’ on Earth will increase considerably.”

“Iser is right. The world knows that the ‘Black Cloak’ is a monster, so there may be some confusion. I am aware that I am doing something regrettable.”

“… I don’t care if humans are confused, but I’m afraid that you will receive negative attention. They are selfish and fickle by nature. You can’t trust them.”

“There may be such a person. There are only so many humans on Earth. Of course, such a person could exist. But I already have so many good friends that I can’t imagine such an unfortunate future. I believe you will protect me.”

Above all, Geo wanted to create an image that would make ‘Black Cloak’ not something to be taken lightly.

‘That’s why I keep wandering around and showing myself openly, and why I don’t bother explaining myself even when people misunderstand me as a scary person.’

Although minor incidents related to Geo may occur occasionally… .

“I am not a deep thinker.”

Anyway, as long as it’s fun, that’s fine.

* * *

Hunter Association conference room.

“I will conclude this discussion here.”

“Yes, Mr. Chairman.”

“And next is… .”

The association president continued speaking with a neat smile.

“This is a matter regarding the ‘Black Cloak’.”

The president’s lips opened gently.

“This is the first time it has been brought up as an official agenda item, so I’m looking forward to what kind of stories will come out of it.”

“… … .”

“The reason this agenda item was brought up is to ensure the stability of the city, so I think we need to hear the overall atmosphere of the city related to the topic. Team Leader Seo.”

“Yes, Mr. Chairman.”

The head of the information processing team, who collects and organizes information about the city, opened his mouth.

“According to what we have currently identified, multiple citizens have witnessed the Black Cloak. Up until now, we have secured eyewitness accounts from 26 people, including 9 first-class citizens, 11 second-class citizens, 2 third-class citizens, and 4 fourth-class citizens.”

Excluding the 5th class citizens who were not considered human. Even if they had come into contact with the Black Cloak, the Association had no means of confirming it. They were all criminals living in hiding somewhere.

“The common testimony is that they show favor when treated with courtesy by the Black Cloak, or when doing good deeds even if they are not related to him.”

“When you say favor, are these the snacks that were reported before?”

“What has been confirmed so far are baked goods such as cookies, candy, and snacks such as chocolate. Although they appear to be homemade, the ingredients themselves are almost identical to Earth food….”

“They said that although they taste the same as regular snacks, their effects are different.”

“Yes, that’s right. Depending on the recipient, it had a medicinal effect, such as a nutritional supplement, anemia treatment, or pain reliever.”

“What are the side effects?”

“We confirmed that the effect was reduced by half or less when consumed by someone other than the recipient. No other side effects were detected.”

In response to the information processing team leader’s remarks, another employee was asked to speak and ask questions.

“Where have you mostly seen it?”

“The only place where they have been seen is in a slum in the border area, and even then, they have never been found in the exact same place.”

“It sounds like there are no restrictions on space travel. It seems like the standards themselves are different from the existence of a normal source. So, has it ever been discovered overseas?”

“Since the opening of the ‘Deep Sea Country’, the first sighting site of the ‘Black Cloak’, we have been requesting cooperation from associations of each country and receiving information about it, but there have been no reports as of yet.”

“Is it possible that the overseas association did not share the information?”

“According to what the Korean branch of the association has reported, the Black Cloak has not been seen overseas. However, considering the characteristics of the ‘Black Cloak,’ it is possible that it has been seen overseas but simply has not been seen.”

Another employee asked him.

“The most important thing is whether it poses a threat to the safety of the citizens. You said you obtained testimony from 26 witnesses. Was there a case where one of them was attacked by the ‘Black Cloak’?”

“I was among the witnesses testifying, not the witness himself.”

The information processing team leader displayed the information he had organized in front of each team leader’s monitor.

“All 25 citizens ended their contact with ‘Black Cloak’ by receiving gifts from him and parting ways, but as you can see, the situation was significantly different for the third-class citizen who encountered ‘Black Cloak’ in the ‘Jewel Vein’.”

Although the dungeon called ‘Jewel Vein’ was not very famous in the world, it was popular among black hunters who wanted to sell monsters through illegal routes.

This was because it was the habitat of the ‘Anticat’, which was popular for its beautiful and cute appearance, and ‘Black Cloak’ was spotted in that ‘Jewel Vein’.

“The witness who cooperated with the association’s Q&A was identified as Hunter Lee Seon-hu, his rank was F-rank, and his team position was porter. He was not the person who was attacked by the ‘Black Cloak’.”

“Then what happens to the personal information of the person attacked by the ‘Black Cloak’?”

“The victim who was attacked by the ‘Black Cloak’ was Hunter Park Eun-gyeom, his rank was B, and his team position was Leader. The witness said that the victim, Hunter Park Eun-gyeom, tried to leave him in the dungeon.”

“These kinds of incidents keep coming up and I can’t stop thinking about them….”

Clearing a dungeon consumes a considerable amount of resources in itself. Porters, in particular, are not helpful in battle, and are easily abandoned when they are unable to even carry a load.

It doesn’t help, but there are more mouths to feed.

“This kind of thing rarely happened in the past.”

“I guess a lot of things are different now than when we were there.”

“Because you don’t see your colleagues as colleagues….”

The information processing team leader continued speaking as he looked at the elders who looked a little tired.

“… ‘Jewel’s Vein’ is a dungeon that other hunters don’t visit often, so the witness, who judged that he would starve to death if left alone, clung to Hunter Park. In the process of getting the witness away, Hunter Park Eun-gyeom used violence.”

and.

“It is believed that the scene was witnessed by ‘Black Cloak’.”

The witness was almost worshipping the black cloak.

“The ‘black cloak’ in the testimony is said to have existed in the form of a picture frame. Due to the nature of the dungeon ‘Jewel Vein’, the field of vision is not very good, so neither of them noticed the picture frame at first, but when the missing hunter Park Eun-gyeom committed violence, they intervened and exerted their influence.”

“wait for a sec.”

The elder, who was almost old, asked.

“Missing person? You’re saying that he wasn’t injured or found dead, or that he just wasn’t found at all?”

“Yes, the witness testified that Hunter Park Eun-gyeom was dragged into the frame.”

“I’ve never heard of someone being able to enter a frame… How were they dragged in? Did ‘Black Cloak’ grab them by the collar and drag them in?”

“It is said that the appearance of the ‘Black Cloak’ was never directly observed. It was only in a frame… .”

The information processing team leader unconsciously frowned faintly. It was because he had to report vague information that did not fit his position.

“There is testimony that several transparent hands crawled out and kidnapped the missing person.”

“…many transparent hands?”

It was a voice filled with doubt.

“How did you know that there were multiple people if they were transparent, and how did you know that they were hands? If they were in the F-class porter position, it would have been difficult to identify such a figure.”

“The witness only explained what he felt, and it seemed that he himself had difficulty expressing it logically. However, he said that he definitely saw that the person was wearing a suit.”

“A suit… He’s wearing clothes, but his hands are transparent. Are you trying to say that you’ve seen a transparent person?”

The president of the association then opened his mouth.

“It’s not impossible. It’s only been 32 years since the Hunter era began, so we shouldn’t be proud that we know everything. We recognize the possibility and define it as a monster.”

“Yes, Mr. Chairman.”

“Yes, Mr. Chairman.”

As the words of immediate acceptance came out, the association president looked at the information processing team leader again.

“During that process, wasn’t the ‘Black Cloak’ witnessed?”

“Yes, but based on the characteristics of the frame and the strong testimony of the witness, I concluded that this incident was related to the ‘Black Cloak’.”

“Is there anything else to report?”

“All reports on the phenomenon of the ‘Black Cloak’ have been completed. No exceptional circumstances other than the Park Eun-gyeom Hunter incident have been identified. Please check the report for more details.”

“I see, thank you for your hard work.”

The association president nodded.

“You can freely express your opinions without any restrictions.”

One of the staff members gathered in the conference room was given the floor to speak.

“So I think it would be good to talk about what we define as a ‘black cloak.’”

“It does show non-standard behavior in many areas.”

The elder accepted the opinion and continued speaking.

“I would like to hear the thoughts of Kang Woo-ri, a gardener and research team leader at the Seoul Branch 1, on this matter.”

“… Before attending this meeting, I did a lot of research and study to come to a conclusion, but unfortunately, I haven’t been able to come to a definition yet.”

“… I guess that means he’s not an easy being… .”

“Yes, it is a contradictory being that cannot make judgments.”

The research team leader displayed information on a monitor in front of each attendee.

“Here is a table of common gods, monsters, and children of the Origin. As you can see, ‘Black Cloak’ can belong to any of these areas, or conversely, it may not belong to any of them.”

There are too many impurities other than divinity to be called a god. There is no hatred towards humans to be called a monster, and there is too much interest in humans to be called a child of the origin.

And yet, it had all those characteristics in one body.

“If there’s one thing we can be sure of, it’s that the ‘Black Cloak’ is a being that belongs to the source. It also has its own rules.”

“If it’s your own rule… is that it?”

“Yes, it means affirming what is good and denying what is evil.”

“I guess you decide the standard of good and evil yourself.”

“It certainly seems that way, but nothing is certain yet. However, based on the circumstances so far, it seems that the standard is not that different from that of us humans.”

However, that brutality could be evaluated as being befitting of the original being. After witnessing the scene of violence, the perpetrator was kidnapped somewhere.

This proves that even if the ‘Black Cloak’ is friendly to humans, he is ultimately not interested in the rules created by humans. It was a high-risk course of action as the current status of the missing person is unknown.

“What is noteworthy here is that the actions of these ‘black cloaks’ do not seem to symbolize punishment.”

“If rewarding the good and denying the wicked is not punishment, what is it?”

“It seemed more like a matter of personal taste. It’s not like other humanoid monsters are authoritarian or have a sense of superiority, but rather a guy who was just born that way.”

The president of the association added his remarks.

“It is definitely a trait close to that of a child of the origin.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

If the ‘Black Cloak’ had the meaning of ‘punishment’ and dealt with the villain, it would have shown that appearance. However, in the Park Eun-gyeom Hunter case, the ‘Black Cloak’ was framed and did not reveal its appearance until the end.

It’s as if you’ve just removed something you don’t like looking at from your sight.

“There has been no clear intention revealed in the actions of the ‘Black Cloak’ so far. However, judging from the direction of the actions, it can be assumed that there is a rule that affirms good and denies evil.”

Actually, it was a little different from the real situation.

Geo didn’t even know that a frame like ‘Empty City’ was running wild, or that someone was being dragged into his frame.

However, it was closer to the ‘Empty City’, which had its own self-consciousness, getting rid of ‘something’ that my parents would hate.

It was the same reason that Honey, who had first appeared in modern society a while ago, swallowed up the evil man she had seen at Gyeongbokgung Palace. Geo’s children only wanted to see good things about their parents and always wanted them to be happy.

“… … .”

“… … .”

Of course, for those who didn’t know about the situation, everything felt like it was ‘Black Cloak’s’ intention.

Some of the association’s staff felt a sense of chill and wariness at the fact that ‘Black Cloak’ had no ill intentions despite causing a person to disappear.

“…and there are no restrictions on movement.”

Judging from the fact that it was even seen in the dungeon, the ‘Black Cloak’ could literally go anywhere.

“I am very interested in human life.”

“… … .”

“Blessings to the good, despair to the wicked.”

The smiling employee continued speaking in a light tone.

“It’s just like an Easter egg in a game.”

If we compare life, dungeon raiding, and things like that to games.

An Easter egg is a piece of content hidden in various media as a joke by the creators.

Since the ‘creator’ ‘hides’ it as a ‘joke’, it may or may not be related to the content of the game. If you find it, you’re lucky, and if you don’t, it doesn’t affect the game’s progress.

“Isn’t this a rare and fun event that only happens once in a while?”

“It would be difficult to call this a ‘fun event’ given the obvious missing person.”

“It looks like he’s some kind of trash… If everyone just lived well, there wouldn’t be a problem.”

“It is the job of the Association and the government to create good people and punish evil people, so we should not rely on an unidentified source.”

“Yes, I will refrain from doing so. I admit that my remarks were reckless.”

“And at this point, the question that arises again is….”

One of the elders continued speaking.

“What happened to the hunter who was dragged into the frame?”

Accordingly, it would be possible to understand the dangers of the ‘Black Cloak’.

The painter who draws dungeons