The Artist Who Paints Dungeon Chapter 69

Episode 69

“Isn’t that a miracle?”

Visabal smiled brightly and greeted Yoo Seong-un.

“… … .”

“Hey, hey, don’t go out again. Just come back in. You shouldn’t do that in front of people.”

“Oh, I really don’t want to go in… .”

“I’m sure you know I’m the one paying your salary, don’t you?”

“You know, but you still made it to the door, right?”

“If you know, why don’t you come in right away, Curator Yoo Seong-un? The guild leader is waiting.”

Finally, Yoo Seong-un came into the office and muttered while sitting on the staff sofa.

“I have to save up money and quit my job.”

“Did you really think that would be possible?”

“If there is a justifiable reason, shouldn’t the resignation be accepted?”

“Remember, I may accidentally forget to accept your resignation letter.”

“It’s a deep-rooted evil… .”

“How can you make such a naive statement, saying that there has never been a time when there was no corruption in the Republic of Korea?”

“Oh, I really hate it.”

Yoo Seong-un roughly wiped his tired face with both hands, let out a deep sigh that seemed to pour out his soul, and then slowly raised his head. His eyes were as sunken as a panda’s.

“So what are you curious about? I gave you a full report in writing just yesterday. What are you curious about that made you call this poor employee?”

Visabal said in a concise manner.

“Looking at the report, it seems unfortunate that Geo did not cause any casualties.”

“Unfortunately?”

“I accidentally got the truth out of it. I was wondering how the portrait worked.”

“How do you want me to react? Should I just clap my hands?”

“So let’s skip that part for a moment, I have a question about Geo’s portrait.”

“I knew it, go ahead.”

“I found the part about it being mutated in response to dungeons and monsters really interesting, but who exactly is Giovanni?”

“that….”

Certainly this part was not reported in writing.

“As you know, the part about ‘Geo’s Portrait’ is confidential even within our guild, so I didn’t include it in the report to prevent any possible leaks. I wonder if it would have seemed rude.”

“Who are you, Giovanni, who are you, rude and shameless?”

“Yeah, that’s the kind of person you were.”

“Giovanni… .”

“Please wait a moment so I can speak. I also need to gather my thoughts.”

Yoo Seong-un, scratching the back of his neck, continued speaking.

“… I believe it is one of the ‘Geos’ from another dimension. I was dragged into the virtual dungeon this time, that is… I got some information while wandering around the ‘Temple of the Deep Sea’ and became certain of it.”

When he went to check if there were any survivors who had fallen elsewhere, Yoo Seong-un wasn’t just looking for people. If he had found a new dungeon, basic investigation was a natural duty for a hunter.

“As a result, I was able to find traces of a person called ‘Giovanni’. He was probably in his early 30s, a priest and doctor serving the sun god, with blond hair and blue eyes… He matched one of the appearances of Gio that I reported to you before.”

“Then Geo must have a big connection with the source. It must be qualitatively different from the existence of general sources or monsters.”

“I think so. After being reincarnated into another ‘Geo’ in another dimension, and ending his life as a human, he will return to the portrait and take some time to reorganize… I think he will repeat the reincarnation process once he is done with all the maintenance, for now.”

It could be something that happens simultaneously, without being bound by that kind of temporal order. It could be a process that happens between dimensions.

That is why ‘Geo’s Portrait’ was neither a human, a monster, an item, nor even a child of the most veiled of beings, the Origin.

However, that doesn’t mean we can simply express it as God.

“A ‘Portrait of Geo’ could be anything.”

Like a painter who can express everything with paint and sculpture.

“And that kind of thing, well… how should I put it… .”

“I think it’s a hasty judgment, but wouldn’t the word ‘origin’ be the most appropriate?”

“…That could be the case.”

If it weren’t for the close connection to the ‘Source’, which is said to be the world’s greatest secret, Geo would not have been able to maintain its current vast status.

“But I guess it’s fortunate that he didn’t give up on his humanity, even though it was a little bit left. I don’t know if I should say that he has great willpower, or if I should see this as one of the fundamental systems….”

Yoo Seong-un asked, rubbing his chin.

“Do you have any further questions?”

“Oh, it’s over already?”

“I’m not a parent who tells you fairy tales. If you’re bored, find someone else to talk to. Even though it looks like this, I’m busy dealing with the aftermath of this virtual dungeon.”

“I’m sorry.”

Visabal let out his characteristic thin laugh.

“Aren’t you busy creating Geo’s identity? You’re creating an A-class hunter out of thin air, which is nothing more than that.”

“Even if you belong to a guild of collectors with a lot of unofficial hunters, there are still a lot of things you need to explain. You’ll have to convince the association somehow.”

“I will take care of persuading the association, so you just need to focus on the basics. I am sure they know about ‘Portrait of Geo’.”

“Thank you for taking the pressure off me. Thanks to you, I can finally sleep in my own bed tonight for the first time in a while.”

At the center of this incident, in the dungeon named ‘Temple of the Deep Sea’, Geo was openly active. The only person who recognized his divinity was the priest Kang Seodam, but it was not like he could hide his divine power.

“At that point, I can’t say that he doesn’t exist… ”

“What can we do with so many witnesses? If we had just killed them all from the beginning, things would have been much easier.”

“Are you telling me to become a Red Hunter? To be demoted to a 5th-grade citizen? So suddenly?”

“No, I was thinking of Geo when I said that. Then wouldn’t I have been able to appreciate Geo’s attack style?”

“For now, I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that. For some reason, Geo seems to think of the guild leader as a relatively good person. Please take care of his image.”

“That’s what I do best. It’s one of the weapons that helped me establish the three major guilds with this weak body.”

“But there are certainly many witnesses. Because the atmosphere was so harmonious, survivors’ eyewitness accounts are spreading much more actively….”

The survivors continued to send messages of thanks to the Collectors’ Guild regarding ‘Sergio Hunter’, saying that they had received great comfort from the dungeon.

In this situation, it was impossible to say that there was no such person as ‘Sergio’.

“Because of that, the staff members are a little unsettled. The official document that the guild leader sent clearly had an employee named ‘Geo’ written on it, so I wonder if it’s the same person….”

“Of course it’s the same person. I don’t remember bringing in such inconsiderate employees.”

“Everyone has guessed. No one wants to pretend to know because it seems like things will get complicated, but at least the ‘Geo’ in the official document and the ‘Sergio’ of this uproar are the same person.”

“You’re saying that even though you know everything, no one talks to me?”

“I don’t want to take on extra work.”

Yoo Seong-un let out a long sigh.

“Like me.”

“I’m giving you money.”

“fu*king capitalist society.”

In a world where you can buy a full lifespan if you pay money, there is no such thing as labor rights. Yoo Seong-woon rubbed the back of his neck, which was stiff from fatigue.

“However, since the official document already said that he was an employee, some people thought, ‘Then he must really be an employee,’ and let it slide. Most people thought that the guild leader was trying to hire a monster, not a human… .”

“While we’re on the subject, should we try it next time?”

“Isn’t this how you act, deepening the distrust among the employees? It’s not for nothing that you’re called a ‘crazy guy who only looks at works’. Please take care of your reputation as the guild leader.”

“I’m very sorry to say this, but there’s no such thing. You’re a really funny person, aren’t you?”

“It would be expected for someone of that age, but why isn’t it there? Seriously, why isn’t it there?”

Yoo Seong-un wiped his face again and continued speaking.

“Anyway, Geo will be officially uploaded to the collector’s homepage soon. Since he is already known to be blond and blue-eyed, if Geo wants to move around without wearing a cape, he will have to move as ‘Giovanni’, but I think Geo will understand that much.”

Geo didn’t seem to have any particular aversion to his personality changing. He nodded in agreement with even that, as it was something that was typical of the original being, but he was willing to accept it since it wasn’t a big burden to him.

“In short, Geo is now able to actively participate in human society.”

“Can we go to the amusement park together?”

“… ‘Portrait of Geo’ dislikes noise and commotion, so I would appreciate it if you would refrain from doing so. He is still incredibly gentlemanly towards humans, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t hate rude and mean people.”

“Of course I know. That’s why I was thinking of renting it out.”

“Please do that for your lover… .”

“A lover? Who would go to an amusement park with an old person like me?”

“Then why did you think Geo would go? It doesn’t make sense now.”

I know it’s just nonsense just to see the reaction of my collection of meteors, but it was hard to just sit there and listen to those comments. I was already tired, and my energy was completely drained.

“Anyway, if you don’t have any more questions, I’ll be leaving now. I still need to give Geo the Hunter ID I made this time, and I also have a lot of things to teach him, like textbooks and such…”

“Oh, just a moment.”

“What is it?”

“There is something strange in the sea.”

“… … .”

Yoo Seong-un touched his forehead.

“When you say the sea, are you talking about a topic related to that strange phenomenon I went to investigate before? Right now? Right now, after you’ve spouted off a bunch of nonsense and are about to get up?”

Visabal nodded coolly.

“I forgot for a moment.”

“Don’t lie, it makes me sick.”

However, Bisabal would not stop this kind of prank, even if it was just to enjoy and observe Yoo Seong-un’s own reactions. It was an eternal truth, but it was still easier to give up.

Yoo Seong-un wisely gave up and sat down on the sofa again.

“So what’s going on?”

“There may not be an official announcement yet, but if there’s one thing that’s the best among the three major guilds in South Korea, it’s their ability to quickly gather information.”

“Oh, yes.”

“I have just asked for some hot information that the association has just confirmed.”

“So what is it?”

“I observed a new dungeon appearing in the sea.”

“… in the sea, a new dungeon… .”

Yoo Seong-un turned pale.

“… At this time?”

“At this time.”

The visa holder smiled broadly.

“Does something come to mind?”

“Could it be… that this place is related to the ‘Temple of the Deep Sea’?”

“It seems like it’s the same dungeon.”

The visa was approved.

“A few brave hunters from the Association have come to check the interior, and they say that the deeper you go, the more the environment resembles a temple.”

“It’s just like what I saw at the ‘Temple of the Deep Sea’. Was there another dungeon connected to it?”

A sigh escaped me.

“If there’s even a strange phenomenon in the sea, then is it really a villa dungeon? A… temple was built?”

“No, it’s just a normal entry dungeon.”

“It must be so dirty and wide.”

One of the characteristics of the entry dungeon is that there is no limit to its scope. Among the entry dungeons confirmed so far, the largest one is as large as a country. And it is as large as Russia.

Because of this, the entry dungeon is the most stable, but it is also known as a dungeon that is more cumbersome and troublesome to conquer. This is especially true when it is expected to be very large, like this one.

“The ‘deep-sea temple’ that I confirmed seemed to be a mixture of a temple and a research lab. The hunters’ reports you mentioned stopped at the temple shape, so the place we saw was probably much further inside… deep underground.”

If that’s true, then this guy, Eunha, didn’t he just throw people there to die?

‘It’s common sense that the deeper you go into a dungeon, the lower the survival rate becomes.’

Anyway, no matter how much I accepted the monster’s hatred and malice, I could never get used to it.

“Ah, the child I reported to you about, Eunha… .”

“We couldn’t find it after your return. It was probably left in the dungeon or changed its form. It is highly likely that it changed its form to resemble a human child in order to take on the appearance of a prospective priest during the initiation ceremony.”

“I see.”

Perhaps because she had decided that it would be difficult to pretend to be human now, ‘Galaxy’ disappeared.

The scribe asked him.

“Didn’t Geo show any other confusion about that part? It seemed like he was trying to save it.”

“… … .”

“It wouldn’t be a shock if the cause of this situation was actually a child named Eunha.”

“That part… looked okay.”

“Hmm.”

Visabal tilted his head and expressed interest.

“You knew that, didn’t you?”

“… We don’t know how far you’ve sorted out your personality, so we can’t say anything, but it looks like you didn’t show any particular shock or surprise after that…”

“Did Geo know from the beginning what kind of existence the galaxy was?”

“Isn’t it inevitable to interpret it that way?”

No, I didn’t know.

Geo in the dungeon was just absent-minded, and when he came out and learned the identity of the galaxy, he didn’t show any confusion because of his stiff facial muscles.

The certainty that Isser and Eunha in Giovanni’s memories were the same person was also gained after escaping the dungeon.

“I would like to know a little more about ‘Giovanni’, who could be said to be the key to peace in a dungeon ruled by humanoid monsters. Is that possible?”

“I’ll give it a try.”

“Oh, and… .”

“What now?”

“… … .”

Visabal looked at the meteor cloud as if he felt sorry.

“According to a hunter belonging to the association, he witnessed the ‘Portrait of Geo’ in the sea dungeon I just mentioned.”

“…yes?”

“To be exact, it wasn’t ‘Sergio’, but the figure of ‘Black Cloak’. The hunters belonging to the association were able to escape with the help of a tall man wearing a black cloak…”

“Oh please… .”

Yoo Seong-un grabbed my head.

“Please, just say something as shocking as I can….”

“Oh, how pitiful.”

“Euuuuuuuuuuuuuu….”

I could clearly see myself working overtime in the future.

* * *

Of course, Geo didn’t do this just to have fun.

“I didn’t know there would be other people in the dungeon I went to see the faces of my mermaid students.”

“Kurururuk.”

“Even if my dad is so talented that he can even bake sweet potatoes with watercolors, he can’t predict every future.”

Geo thought about the sturdy hunters he had encountered in the places he had visited, thinking, ‘Of course there would be no one in that dungeon by now.’

They looked quite scared.

“Just like when the Collectors Guild staff encountered me at dawn.”

“Kung.”

“Even though they seem like such smart elites, those healthy employees are scared….”

“Kung-kung.”

“… I’m scared…”

“Kung kung kung.”

“… … .”

Let me say this in advance, I thought Geo was capable of grasping reality.

And I also found out that there was a ghost story called ‘Black Cloak’ in the Collector’s Guild. It was partly due to the prank of the guild leader, Bisabal, but it was also largely due to the fact that the employees who believed it seriously were terrified.

“…ah.”

A black cloak standing alone in the hallway of a company after everyone has left work, and a black cloak suddenly appearing in a dungeon where there should be no one and showing them a way to survive.

Geo felt a sense of deja vu at the incredible synchronization. Only then did Geo regain his sense of reality and exclaim, “Oh no.”

“… Did I cause an accident?”

“Cur.”

“Oh, God of Heaven and Earth.”

That’s what happened.

The painter who draws dungeons