The Artist Who Paints Dungeon Chapter 66

Episode 66

It was perhaps natural that the Cha family’s situation had become like this.

‘Why is it a virtual dungeon where I have no choice in participating?’

Eunhyuk Cha, who was hiding under the desk while guarding his two younger brothers, had a distorted expression on his face, filled with disillusionment with the world.

‘I’m one of the few adults left, but I’m not a hunter. And it’s obvious that this piglet, Chaara, won’t be of much help. But I can’t ask the remaining reserve priests to spare my life…’

I don’t know what the conditions were, but the virtual dungeon forcibly drags everyone who meets the conditions into it.

In situations like now where there are no proper hunters, it was common for all participants to be wiped out.

“… … .”

“… … .”

Eunhyuk Cha and Ara Cha, who were sweating profusely, exchanged glances without saying a word. Eunhyuk Cha nodded.

‘You are the only hunter here.’

‘Ah, okay.’

‘That’s what happened.’

But there was nothing he could do. They called them ‘reserve’ priests for nothing. The young priests here were no different from civilians, not hunters. The only hunter in this pupil was Chaara.

Eunhyuk Cha, who confirmed that there were no monsters nearby, whispered in a faint voice that could not be heard from far away.

“Hey, F-class porter.”

“Please, tell me.”

“Isn’t there a way to deal with this situation? Something that hunters learn….”

“I think now is the best time.”

The center recommends that if the situation is very bad, you do not stay in one place. That way, if something happens, you will not be easily wiped out, and if you spread out here and there, your survival rate will increase.

“… That’s not just a bait tactic… .”

“Anyway, objectively speaking, it’s the method with the highest survival rate.”

“That’s true, but.”

I felt as uncomfortable as a dog.

‘You’re telling me to scatter and pray that other people besides me get caught.’

It was a coping method that the Cha family, who had a strong bloodline of Hogu, did not like, but they did not act rashly. They had no ability, and the only way to save people was to become bait themselves.

“… … .”

Cha Ara, who realized once again how wonderful the situation was, hid the youngest child behind her even further inside.

“Hey, Chaisol. Come in further. Further.”

“There is no more room to go….”

“How can you be so small? Get better quickly.”

“Ugh… .”

“Don’t make any noise.”

The place where they hid was under the stainless steel desks installed regularly throughout the pupil. Perhaps because there were quite a few of them installed, it seemed that the novice priests who were still alive were also hiding under the desks like them.

Even if you hide like that, I don’t know how long you’ll be able to avoid being caught by monsters roaming freely everywhere… .

‘At least Chaisol will be safe while Nana Oppa is causing trouble.’

The youngest, who was so skinny that he had nothing to eat, would have died instantly if he had been bitten once.

It may be selfish, but I couldn’t help wishing that my younger brother would live longer than the other children.

“Sister… .”

“Hey, stop being cute and be serious.”

“Wow, no, that’s not cute. I feel wronged.”

“Use it.”

Cha Eun-hyeok, who was sitting at the outermost part of the desk, looked at his younger siblings’ grumbling as if it was absurd.

‘Have you ever seen anything so tensionless?’

In fact, he already knew that it wasn’t that he wasn’t nervous, but that he was so nervous that he was pretending to be okay. Cha Eun-hyeok looked around with a stiff face and a cold sweat dripping down his face.

A monster was approaching with a sloshing sound.

“… … .”

“Stomach, stomach, stomach, stomach, stomach… I’m hungry… stomach… .”

“… … .”

Did you get possessed by a ghost because you didn’t eat?

‘So that’s why we have to set up a table for ancestral rites. If we die here, it will be because the world has become so cruel that it won’t even set up a table for ancestral rites…’

It was nonsense, but Cha Eun-hyeok pressed his younger siblings back, taking the wisdom of his ancestors to heart.

The youngest, who was already curled up at the end, had nowhere else to go, so a rustling sound could be heard as he was being suppressed. It was surprising that he barely made a sound, as if he heard the monster approaching.

“Stomach? Stomach. Stomach. Stomach, stomach, I’m hungry. Stomach…”

“… … .”

The monster, whose form he had not yet seen properly, was approaching him. Thanks to this, Eunhyuk Cha was able to see the wet legs of the monster without any desire to see them.

‘Is it time for me to turn back?’

At least let’s save our piglet and the youngest. Please remember me as the one who baked the cheapest and most delicious bungeoppang in Korea.

It was when I made up my mind like that.

“―You bastards!!!”

Hwaaaaaaaah!!!

The monsters were burned and turned to ash one by one.

“Uh, uh…?”

It happened so quickly that it almost felt unrealistic.

Instead of the sloshing sound, a soft, falling ash sound was heard, and the eerieness of my pupils was forcibly consumed by the heat of the fire.

“… … .”

“… … .”

The Cha family was embarrassed and looked back at the entrance to the pupil that they had not even noticed.

“Burrji… ??”

“Burr… .”

“Oh, wait a minute.”

Cha Eun-hyeok realized belatedly who the owner of the ‘You bastards’ who had been loudly ringing his bell was.

“… Priest Kang Seo-dam?”

Kang Seo-dam, a priest with long, wavy blond hair and pale green eyes, was standing out with a disheveled appearance and grumbling.

The eyes of Kang Seo-dam, whose face was bulging with veins as if she was so angry, and Cha Eun-hyeok, who was quietly sweating, met. It was like they had come across something taboo that should not be seen.

“… … .”

“… … .”

Kang Seo-dam, who had returned from the face of an evil spirit to that of a priest, asked in a clean tone.

“Are you okay?”

“No, I just told you to throw it away….”

“If you don’t call a burr a burr, what else can you call it?”

“and.”

“I apologize for suddenly hearing you swear at me when you must have been scared.”

If I hadn’t heard that distinctly accented ‘you bastards’, I would have been purely moved by the kind response from Father Kang Seo-dam, who calmly continued to speak.

“I too was dragged into a virtual dungeon out of nowhere and was a bit out of my mind, but I feel good because it seems like there are still a lot of survivors.”

Kang Seo-dam, whose once clean priestly robes were now tattered, looked around as if he had been through a lot.

Cha Eun-hyeok also looked around the pupils only then, but there was not a single monster left, no matter what Kang Seo-dam had done just now.

“hmm.”

Kang Seo-dam quietly drew the sign with his characteristically cold, expressionless face.

“The goddess took care of it.”

“… … .”

I bet you took care of it.

‘Is it true that among the hunters, except for our pig, there is no one in their right mind?’

A priest who could officiate an initiation ceremony had to be at least a B-class hunter. Judging by his skill in burning and killing all the monsters in the pupil in an instant, he was probably an A-class or near-S-class, which made Cha Eun-hyeok feel a little relieved.

I have no other merits besides being physically strong, so I was relieved to have found a strong person whom I could entrust my younger siblings with even if I died.

‘…thank god.’

Cha Eun-hyeok exhaled deeply and wiped his face. He could breathe a little easier now.

“Oh, my lord… .”

“Hhhhhh… .”

“Father Kang Seo-dam…!”

Only then did the prospective priests who had been hiding here and there crawl out.

“Yes, Father Kang Seodam is here. If there are any surviving brothers, please gather around me.”

Familiar with the tearful clinging of such survivors, Father Kang Seo-dam skillfully sorted out the situation.

He looked back at Cha Eun-hyeok and Cha A-ra and added his words.

“The same goes for the guardians of Father Chaisol who are there.”

“Oh, yes… .”

All the survivors of the dungeon gathered in front of Priest Kang Seodam, drawn by the steady voice that was hard to find in the dungeon, but the number was not that large.

Most of them died from being bitten by monsters, or they ate each other afterwards.

“… … .”

Priest Kang Seo-dam opened his mouth, frowning as if holding back a heavy sigh.

“I would like to apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused at an event I hosted.”

“Oh, no. It was an accident….”

“It is also my role to prevent accidents in advance. I will arrange formal compensation as soon as the situation is resolved.”

The priest bowed his head in apology and continued speaking.

“I will set up a protective shield, so the survivors can go inside and rest. I will collect the remains of the others.”

“… I will help you too.”

Cha Ara raised her hand at Cha Eunhyuk’s words.

“Oh, then me too… .”

“If that’s true, then I will only accept Hunter Chaara’s help.”

Priest Kang Seo-dam looked back at Cha Eun-hyeok. After thinking for a moment, he opened his mouth.

“I appreciate the kindness of Eunhyuk Cha’s guardian, but this is not something that should be left to civilians, and more than anything, Eunhyuk Cha is the only adult left.”

“ah….”

“I ask you to encourage the younger brothers so that they will not be afraid any more. I will repay you for extending a helping hand even in difficult situations in the name of the sun.”

Chaara asked as she approached the corpse that had been transformed into a monster and turned to ash by the sunlight.

“By the way, you know all our names…? Is that how it is?”

“It’s an event I’m hosting, so I can’t neglect that responsibility. I remember the names of all the people who officially participated after I put their names on the list.”

“Wow… .”

After meeting only shitty hunters for a while, I couldn’t help but feel unfamiliar with such a responsible person.

‘If only I had met hunters like these, I wouldn’t have been abandoned in that damn cave, damn it.’

Cha Ara continued to talk to the light body that looked like it had been taken to a crematorium, feeling relieved for no reason.

“It’s been quite a while since I’ve seen you since you were dragged into the dungeon. Where have you been until now?”

“sorry.”

“Oh, no, I’m not saying anything about not coming sooner….”

Shit, talk to me.

‘Let’s think about what we say.’

Cha Ara, who had been cursing her own intelligence, continued speaking, though she was stuttering.

“This pupil itself was quite large, and many people were dragged in, so we thought this was all the people who were dragged in.”

“… I fell alone into a different space from here.”

Father Kang Seo-dam answered while making the sign of the cross over the ashes of the body and blessing them with peace.

“It took a long time because there were so many monsters, their skills were considerable, and the escape gimmick was complicated.”

“Alone in a place like that…?”

“If you think about it that way, it seems like the people who gathered for the initiation ceremony were scattered randomly.”

“… Yes? Oh, then… .”

“It didn’t seem like there were no standards at all.”

After fighting numerous monsters, Priest Kang Seo-dam continued speaking while wiping the blood flowing from his forehead.

“In my case, the most threatening force in the dungeon, I was dropped alone in a place where monsters were swarming. On the other hand, all the reserve priests were gathered in this cave.”

“All? Have you already checked that in the meantime?”

“I remembered their faces because they were my brothers.”

“… Huh? No, but if I remember correctly… .”

“Yes, I understand what you are wondering about.”

Kang Seodam swung his wand as long as he was tall and blessed the entire pupil. The corpse that had been in the form of ashes soon transformed into a complete human being.

“… … .”

Priest Kang Seo-dam, who had performed a small miracle with the power of the sun, soon opened his mouth.

“… I can’t see the Galaxy Brothers.”

In this place where all the catechumens were gathered, only that one boy could not be found.

“I didn’t find the body of the prospective priest here, so I think it must be somewhere else.”

“… … .”

“You’ll find out why he fell alone later. Hunter Chaara, do you still have some stamina left? You don’t seem to be injured by sight, but is there something wrong?”

“Oh, no, there isn’t.”

“Then let’s move. I came here because this was the closest crater to where I fell, but there are probably survivors elsewhere. There aren’t many hunters attending this event, so if we don’t respond in time, it could be dangerous.”

“My brother and the other kids… .”

Kang Seo-dam nodded after checking the survivors on the shield side at Cha Ara’s words.

“I can’t leave it here, so I think we should go together. It’s hard to maintain it if the distance is too far, and there’s also a time limit. It would be nice if there was a priest who was a little more skilled, but I’m not an expert in barriers.”

“You definitely don’t seem like a protection expert….”

The expression on the face of the priest Kang Seo-dam, who turned all the monsters into ashes with a single swing of his wand, was that of a demon crawling out of hell. If he had specialized in protection or healing, it would have sounded strange.

Kang Seo-dam nodded without saying anything else.

“As for the body, it has been collected and a blessing has been given, so there is no need for it to be torn apart or rotten any further.”

“So now what…?”

“Fortunately, I have subspace skills. I’ll put them here, so I think there won’t be any major problems with the recovery process.”

“yes yes.”

“If we delay any longer, something may happen, so please, Hunter Chaara, help the reserve priests move.”

“Oh, I understand.”

“Phew… .”

Kang Seo-dam wiped his blood-stained face and looked around.

‘… Could this be the black god’s temper that I saw at the initiation ceremony?’

The man wearing a black cloak pulled down low. He clearly had a divine quality to him. Even if he wasn’t a monster in the dungeon, he could open dungeons at will if he was of a god level.

If that’s the case, then it means that even for an evil spirit, his authority is quite strong, but the aura I felt was close to death, so I had doubts for a moment.

‘… No, but the goddess looked upon them with such favor. A god who seemed to have a high level of understanding of humans and was gentle in building relationships would never commit such a massacre out of nowhere.’

Rather, it was the Milky Way, the blue-haired acolyte, who was suspicious.

“… … .”

Even though I felt a cold aura, I just thought, ‘Is this a child who wants to serve a god who embraces coldness?’ But given the situation, I couldn’t help but be suspicious.

‘The coldness I felt from the Milky Way Army is quite similar to the coldness filled with the energy of this deep sea. If I can tell at a glance, then the Milky Way Army also had no intention of hiding its identity until after the incident.’

Either they were all planning to die here anyway, or they were only planning to stop by Earth once and leave.

‘In this case, it seems to be both. It’s a very dangerous dungeon…’

It was when I looked around, worried about what would happen next.

“… … ?”

The air has changed.

‘… is on the positive side.’

Unlike the previous atmosphere that seemed eager to kill anyone, a strangely warm atmosphere subtly permeated the entire dungeon.

“for a moment.”

Kang Seo-dam left the survivors with Cha A-ra and came out into the hallway.

Not long after I started looking around, I saw something beyond the corridor that looked like a temple submerged in the deep sea.

“… … .”

“… … .”

A man wearing a pitch-black cloak took off his hood.

‘…ah.’

In the deep shadows where it felt like there was nothing, platinum blonde hair resembling sunlight was revealed.

“… … .”

“Brother Kang Seo-dam.”

It was Sergio, a god who was believed to be friendly to humans.

“I was wandering around the temple, which was much larger than I had imagined, and I am glad to have met the Son of the Sun.”

“… … .”

“Do you know where the other survivors are? They seem injured. I can help you.”

“… … .”

“Brother Kang Seo-dam?”

“Excuse me.”

I was curious about what kind of god it was, and now I know.

‘There was a reason why the goddess looked down on me. Were we of the same lineage…?’

Looking at the strangely calm atmosphere, Kang Seo-dam thought that although it didn’t seem to be of the same type, he was relieved by the familiar sunlight.

‘It was an ambiguous situation where I needed help, but it seems like you performed a miracle even before I could ask for help.’

Sergio must have played a big role in making the dungeon milder.

Actually, it’s a bit of a stretch to call it a miracle, but it wasn’t a wrong guess.

The painter who draws dungeons