The Artist Who Paints Dungeon Chapter 64

Episode 64

“Sister.”

“Yes, my foolish brother.”

“Yes, my foolish brother is here. How is your research going?”

“Not bad.”

My sister raised her head as she wrote something gracefully with a quill made of carved emerald, then put it down.

Her dark, wavy hair, like the deep sea, flowed like waves. She smiled like the ferocious deep sea.

“Of all the dimensions I know, the human race is the most diverse. The technology that utilizes the brain varies greatly from individual to individual, and the range is wide, from appearance to emotions.”

“You really like humans, Sister.”

“What are the limits of humanity? I thought this was the end, but then a crazy entity emerged from another dimension that surpassed those limits… I can’t stop researching.”

“Then, in the end, isn’t there no limit to the human race?”

“There are humans who have become gods in some dimension. However, we cannot say for sure that gods are the final destination for humans. So, isn’t it important to collect samples in one way or another?”

“That would certainly be the case.”

Isser’s sister wanted to know everything about humanity. She even created the creatures of the sun herself with her cold mermaid hands.

Of course, it was more often than not that she would take on a human form. It was also because she hated humans that she was unable to form a complete form.

“But isn’t it really strange?”

“… … .”

“There is one person who cannot be recreated….”

Isser knew.

His sister was a genius who could make the impossible possible, but there was only one person, Giovanni, whom she could neither revive nor clone.

In Isser’s opinion, it seemed that she herself was rejecting it.

“… … .”

The created Giovanni could no longer be called their benefactor.

“… The name of this dimension seems to be Earth. To be exact, it seems to be the name of a planet.”

Isser smiled calmly as always.

It was a loving smile, very much like the human named Giovanni, that sometimes caused both the siblings to feel both longing and discomfort.

“Is there a role for me this time?”

“If things go well, there probably won’t be any. The role of opening the door will be reserved for Earth’s seed, so you don’t have to worry too much.”

“I wasn’t worried.”

He smiled faintly.

“If I did, I would have worried about my sister.”

“Me too.”

Over the dark blue dress, my sister, wearing a strange doctor’s gown, glared.

“Where do you think humanity ends?”

“How could I know something that even you don’t know?”

“Sometimes I get out of breath. It’s because I’ve been running too much.”

“Even if you say that, you will never rest, right?”

“I can’t help but be curious, but still….”

Her red lips were swollen.

“Someday I will be able to stop.”

From a very young age, she wanted to see the limits of humanity.

Now it seemed like there was a purpose to it.

“… … .”

“Isn’t that so?”

If you know the limits of humanity.

Within it, there will definitely be Giovanni, who was a more noble person than anyone else… .

“…yes.”

We were missing him in silence.

“I think so too.”

I prayed to the world to see my deceased mentor, but when I finally saw him again, it would not be as if he were Giovanni.

That’s why the siblings never brought up his name, because they knew that targeting him would be a terrible contradiction.

“… … .”

“… … .”

Still, I was greedy.

“… … .”

“Good morning.”

Like when the sun was trapped in the deep sea.

* * *

“… … .”

“Hey, wait a minute… .”

“Don’t come any closer.”

“I’m sorry, but Geo is part of my party.”

“I told you not to come.”

“We can’t communicate.”

Yoo Seong-un smiled awkwardly. He didn’t know how to react to this difficult situation.

‘She’s not like a mother bird protecting her young.’

Even though their sizes may seem completely different, Eunha, who has the body of an elementary school student, was somehow hugging the fallen Geo tightly.

‘No matter how hard you try with that small body, there’s no way it’ll all be covered.’

It was a truly desperate sight.

“… … .”

Yoo Seong-un also quickly finished assessing the situation.

‘… Judging by that guy’s overreaction, it might be related to one of Geo’s personalities.’

It was already expected that his personality would exist in numerous dimensions as a side story to the central one called ‘Portrait of Geo’.

Considering that, this guy who was showing his teeth while wrapping Geo in such a ridiculous way also seemed to be a humanoid monster from another dimension.

‘Judging by the shape of the teeth, it is definitely not human. If that is the case, then it means that Geo’s personality and this monster in front of me are acquainted… .’

I don’t know whether to call this luck or misfortune.

‘It’s lucky that he doesn’t attack at all even though he looks like the master of this dungeon.’

Yoo Seong-un looked at Eun-ha, who was hugging the fallen Geo with a trembling gaze.

“I don’t think you have any intention of explaining the situation. What’s your name?”

“I’m sorry, but I find this unpleasant. Please stop talking to such insignificant people.”

“Yes, this is the correct reaction for a monster. Thanks to this, I feel like I’m coming back to reality.”

Monsters are basically monsters that hate humans, so Geo, who always treated humans in a gentlemanly manner, was rather strange.

‘Just looking at the way Eunha is responding to my words, it seems like she’s very moderate.’

In this bewildering situation where you’ve been suddenly caught in a virtual dungeon, isn’t there a way out?

Yoo Seong-un had hope.

“Anyway, the name Eunha is probably a pseudonym. What should I call you?”

“It’s not a pseudonym.”

“Then that’s your real name?”

“I created it by borrowing the form of the Earth and taking the meaning of my name… .”

“That’s a pseudonym.”

The contradictory response of consistently giving sincere answers despite revealing this was very interesting.

‘It doesn’t seem like he’s particularly bad at hating humans. If that’s the case, then maybe he’s answering because of Geo.’

Yoo Seong-un, who was once the research team leader of the association, looked at the other person without making him uncomfortable. Feeling this kind of interest in a situation where the lives of others, including his own, were at risk was a chronic habit of Yoo Seong-un, a gardener.

‘I don’t know what kind of relationship Geo and this monster had…’

This guy also had eyes, so he would know that Yoo Seong-un and Geo were acting together on Earth.

‘They looked friendly enough that even a passerby who didn’t know anything wouldn’t find it strange.’

I think you have to be patient with that in mind.

‘In that case, it means that this monster is looking into Geo’s feelings.’

In short, it meant that Geo was of a higher rank than this monster.

“… Ah, I’m tired.”

I desperately wanted to leave work.

‘As time passes, people are gradually calming down, but the atmosphere is still uneasy as if they know they have been dragged into the dungeon. Many of the people I saw at the event are nowhere to be seen… .’

Yoo Seong-un looked around and asked.

“Did you bring everyone who was at the event?”

There’s no way I can pretend not to know now.

‘On the subject of humans, he also said some pretty monster-like things.’

As if he was planning to reveal his identity right after the incident, Eunha was openly showing off that he was the owner of this place.

‘It seems like other people are so confused by being suddenly dragged in that they don’t even think about checking this side.’

At least, it was impossible to fool the eyes of Yoo Seong-un, a Class A Hunter.

The owner of this virtual dungeon and the main culprit who brought the people at the event here was the blue-haired kid in front of me.

“The condition was everyone within the Temple of the Sun?”

“… … .”

“… Ugh… .”

Are monsters really monsters?

‘Life is so hard.’

It was such a murderous intent that I wondered how he could have acted like such a sweet kid on Earth.

Her eyes, as white as pearls, were bloodshot to the point of appearing red, and just meeting her gaze was enough to tire Yoo Seong-un mentally.

He felt awkward.

‘I don’t want to provoke the temper of a man who is the master of such a terrifying dungeon…’

Unfortunately, the only hunters in this group were Yoo Seong-un, who was an A-class, a man, who was a C-class, and a woman who was just below C-class. If Yoo Seong-un, who was an all-rounder, were to somehow cover for it, there was nothing he couldn’t do… .

‘No, I can’t.’

This is all going to end in death.

‘It might be possible to run away alone, but I can’t do that leaving Geo behind.’

It was not natural to worry about Geo’s safety. Yoo Seong-un was not the subject of concern for the safety of this unconscious portrait.

He just didn’t want to see the cries of the Bisabul who lost one of his works, he didn’t want to lose Geo, the special material related to the source, and lastly, he was worried that ‘Geo’s Portrait’ might cause some ridiculous disaster while it was left unattended by Yoo Seong-un.

‘I can’t just leave the existence of an unfathomable, bizarre source in this crazy dungeon and run away. It’s like planting a bomb.’

If there was one thing that was fortunate, it was that the monster’s murderous intent was noticeably weakened after seeing Geo’s face.

‘It seems like the pressure unique to dungeons has eased a little…’

I had to find a way out of this dungeon, but I couldn’t upset the master who had finally found peace.

“… … .”

Since it was difficult to expect cooperation from the monster, Yoo Seong-un spoke more indirectly, using Geo as a weapon.

“… I think you know Geo, and you know what? Geo hates evil and rude people.”

“… … .”

“I don’t know how you and Geo know each other, but that’s how Geo is now. If Geo had that kind of personality in the past, then maybe you weren’t that evil or rude back then.”

“But now he is evil and rude.”

The monster continued speaking with an expressionless face that gave everyone who saw it the creeps.

“I don’t think he would approve of me as I am now. I’m not arrogant like you guys.”

“Oh, right. Geo was like that back then too, but now that it’s come to this, don’t you think you should try being a little kinder to humans?”

“… … .”

The monster answered silently, then raised its head and faced the meteor cloud.

He saw somewhere the monster’s eyes, like pearls. The eyes had vertically slit pupils, as if they were predators, and they were also jagged like diamonds struck by sunlight.

‘Oh, no.’

Should I call it a hunter’s intuition?

Yoo Seong-un instinctively knew what that meant.

‘I’m thinking about whether to kill him.’

It was clear that he was thinking of killing everyone before Geo woke up, and then dealing with the situation after the accident happened.

‘That’s strange.’

It was like that just a moment ago, but now those pearl-colored eyes were sparkling even more clearly. They resembled the eyes of a beast that gleamed in the evening.

Perhaps the monster had a habit of having its eyes glow like water scales when it was angry or had murderous intentions.

‘… Then this side too.’

I can’t just sit there and die.

‘No matter how many times I die, I’m only here to collect Geo.’

It was when Yoo Seong-un gathered cold air in his hands, foreseeing how many people would die here in the future.

“… Ugh… .”

“! Geo.”

“! teacher!”

teacher?

“Ah, that… .”

Eunha looked flustered even after I brought it up. Her expression was like she realized belatedly that she was not in a position to call Geo ‘teacher’ in any way.

‘What on earth is this sloppiness?’

Yoo Seong-un felt like his trust, which had never been there before, was hit rock bottom as he saw a face that looked completely different from the one just before, which had been so venomous but now looked sincere.

“G, Geo-ssi.”

“… … .”

“Are you okay? You just lost consciousness….”

Is this monster acting coy?

‘… Humanoid monsters are inherently coy towards humans, but that is part of a strategy to catch and kill their prey by making them let their guard down… .’

As he looked at the face of the child who seemed like a devout priest, Yoo Seong-un felt his energy drain away. Suddenly, the murderous intent that had been softening was suddenly relieved.

Geo, who seemed to have a headache, sat up and looked around.

“… … .”

“… … .”

“… … ?”

Although it was hard to see because of the hood, the current Geo was definitely ‘Sergio’ judging by the black hair that was peeking out. He seemed to be wondering where he was and why he had fallen.

Galaxy must have noticed that too, because he asked Geo with a childish face.

“Mr. Geo, this is a dungeon. Do you remember what happened before you collapsed?”

“… before collapsing… .”

Surprisingly, Geo nodded.

“I spoke to the student, Galaxy.”

“ah….”

Eunha seemed a little disappointed, but also a little relieved.

Yoo Seong-un also roughly understood the situation.

‘… I think your personality is in disarray.’

Geo remembered the fact that he had spoken to Eunha, but he called her ‘student’.

This was Sergio’s way, so it seemed to mean that he had memories, but his personality was not that of the ‘Geo’ that the galaxy knew.

“… … .”

Geo sat there for a long time with his head held high. Yoo Seong-un asked with concern, as it was an extremely exceptional situation for a portrait to show the essence of the being.

“…Do you have a headache?”

“…yes.”

Geo answered in a rare, cloudy tone.

“I feel dizzy both physically and mentally.”

At those words, Yoo Seong-un recalled the situation when he had just been led to the dungeon.

‘… At that moment, Geo had the high status seen in the portrait.’

Could it be that the restrictions that had been in place during the process of moving from dimension to dimension were released?

‘Is that restricted again now?’

It was difficult to accurately interpret Geo’s condition since they still had not yet figured out his true identity, but there was one thing that was clear to Yoo Seong-un.

“… … .”

“… … .”

The gazes of the meteor and the galaxy crossed.

‘… This brat, it seems like the dungeon’s environment is affecting Geo’s personality… .’

To be honest, it wasn’t a very pleasant story for Yoo Seong-un.

‘I don’t know what kind of relationship Geo and Galaxy had in the past.’

With such a vicious dungeon full of humanoid monsters, how could one welcome a change in Geo’s personality, who was already a disaster in itself?

‘If you’re not careful, people might break Geo’s rules that have become sensitive and get attacked, or Geo, who favors his old connections, might side with the monsters in the galaxy. Either way, it’ll be a very disadvantageous situation for humans.’

It was clear that the galaxy had similar thoughts.

“… … .”

“What the heck?”

Eunha used her small body to burrow into Geo’s arms. It was clear that she knew Geo was weak to young creatures and wanted to take advantage of that.

“Galaxy, aren’t you falling? I didn’t look at you like that because I thought you were a polite guy, but this is really no joke.”

“I don’t really understand what you are saying.”

“I’ve never been this annoyed when I fought guys like you.”

“How immature of you.”

“I’m going crazy.”

Anyway, one thing was certain.

‘The longer he stays here, the closer he keeps this brat around… Geo’s personality changes.’

I have a goal.

I had to escape quickly with the time bomb called Geo.