chapter 121

The Painter Who Draws Dungeons - Episode 121

In the place where only the two remained, the first to speak was Yoo Seong-woon.

“Gio.”

“Yes, Mr. Yoo Seong-woon.”

“Your shadow is gone.”

“...”

At Yoo Seong-woon’s remark, Gio’s head slowly dipped downward.

“Ah, dear.”

It was an extremely affected reaction, but—

‘Did he judge that kind of reaction was appropriate in this situation.’

No sooner had that thought occurred than a shadow bloomed beneath Gio’s feet.

Yoo Seong-woon admired it inwardly.

‘It’s like it’s alive.’

He thought the word “bloomed” was extremely accurate.

It had a vivid, diverse form, too lively to be considered merely a shade created by an object blocking light.

The shadow spread across the retina.

‘...A school of fish?’

A small school of fish swam in a group, waves wobbled in the wind, and it seemed he saw a long-horned deer walking the ground, or a beast with thick claws.

Or perhaps it was the large wings of a bird gliding.

The diverse shapes that flashed by in an instant soon thickened into something like a vast forest, then became neat again, forming a single human.

“...”

The long-stretched shadow, as if finding a “realistic” place to settle, sat dark and small beneath Gio’s feet.

A process of gradually becoming whole from a crude form, as if drawing a picture.

Considering that Gio bore the traits of a painter, it was an interesting change.

‘Then can Gio outside the frame still be called a painting?’

Soon, Gio opened his mouth.

“I should have been more mindful, but I have shown you an unseemly sight.”

“Things like that can happen in life.”

“I thought there would be no problem at all, and yet—to think there was a flaw like this...”

Gio drew out his ending.

“I am ashamed.”

“Over something like that.”

He had clearly said, “I thought there would be no problem at all.”

That was no different from saying he had suspected there was a possibility of a problem.

‘In other words, Gio is aware that he is imitating a human.’

Having organized his thoughts that far, Yoo Seong-woon muttered inwardly.

‘Was he more capable of objectifying himself than I expected.

I thought Gio would consider himself human, but if so, what kind of attitude should I take on this side.’

Were even his previous remarks about seeing himself as human part of that imitation?

If so, Gio was closer to performing an imitation of an unimaginably high level for a human.

‘It’s an aspect you sometimes see even in gods who enjoy amusement.

From our human standpoint, even what feels like the truth can in fact be false.

Even Gio’s way of thinking that he is human could be one such imitation...’

When humans think sincerely, it becomes belief, but existences of a different rank like gods can make even that into acting.

Even though he had intended it and left various possibilities open, it still felt like he had been blindsided a little.

Truly astonishing, you could say.

Yoo Seong-woon swallowed an awkward smile inwardly.

‘You mustn’t measure the existence of the source by human standards.’

And if what Yoo Seong-woon was dealing with was the source itself, all the more so.

“...”

Quietly catching his breath, Yoo Seong-woon asked in an even voice.

“Compared to before, you have some awkward parts now, don’t you?”

“If you could tell me in what part it was so, it would be of great help.”

“In what part, you ask...”

Does he want to know how far humans can perceive?

The existence of the source and human sight differed in scope.

The flaws in Gio’s imitation just now could have come from that difference in vision, or you could suspect this, too, was part of the acting.

‘It might be similar in principle to how humans put a robot into a monster’s habitat to figure out its ecology.’

In the case of monsters or beasts that are wary of humans, they sometimes deploy a robot that imitates their shape in order to observe the individual’s everyday 모습.

From the human standpoint, they know it is a robot, but to the monster it would feel like a fellow creature with some odd parts.

‘Gio and we humans are not so different from that.’

Yoo Seong-woon nodded.

“It isn’t hard.”

As a curator and as a gardener, he could tell them about such differences in sight as much as needed.

“As I said earlier, first, the fact you had no shadow was a bit surprising.”

“I forgot for a moment something that should naturally be there.”

“Above all, the lighting is falling from above our heads, right?”

Visabel’s gallery was especially clean white, and the lighting was bright as well.

That helped visitors fully appreciate the works, but it was also a measure so curators could quickly notice abnormal phenomena like what had just happened.

“Both I and the new curator had shadows under our feet.”

Only Gio didn’t.

“Next, if there’s anything strange, it would be the sense of weight.”

“Sense of weight.”

“When you move, there’s no sound.”

“No sound?”

“If I really had to pick something, maybe the sound of dry grass rustling?”

In truth, this was a chronic problem in Gio’s human imitation.

“Even when we toured Seoul before, you were quite light.”

“I thought I’d become heavier, in my own way.”

“Even so, ordinary people don’t get blown away just because the wind is a bit strong.”

“I remember that I was not blown away.”

“Right, your body floated up.”

“Was the wind not particularly strong?”

“Earth’s wind doesn’t pick and choose people to blow away.”

Yoo Seong-woon beside him had been fine, and yet hadn’t Gio alone nearly been blown away?

“Like that, even now, your sound is very light.”

“Light.”

“It isn’t like me, who makes no sound when I walk.”

“It certainly wasn’t something I paid attention to.”

Tap...

Gio, striking the floor barefoot, tilted his head.

“This is difficult to fix.”

“It’ll be hard to fix everything at once, so don’t be too impatient.”

From the humans’ standpoint, the more Gio’s details fell short, the faster they could grasp the situation.

“And if I were to mention one more thing...”

“There is more?”

“I don’t know whether this will be interpreted well, but.”

What Yoo Seong-woon pointed at was the work hanging on the corridor wall where they stood.

It was large enough to wrap around a standing person, and like most displayed paintings, it faced people as if it were a mirror.

“You reflect a bit strangely.”

On the cleanly maintained glass, a mass that could be called nature reflected.

“The gallery lighting is glaring, so we show up a bit on the glass.”

“Why does that look strange?”

“In your eyes, do you reflect sufficiently in the shape of a person?”

“Yes, I do.

It sounds to me as though to Mr. Yoo Seong-woon, it does not look that way.”

“You pointing it out like that makes me embarrassed, but that’s actually true.”

The ‘Gio’s Portrait’ reflected in the glass was not a human shape.

“I can see a forest.”

In truth, it couldn’t be called a forest.

Abundant trees and grass and flowers symbolizing a forest.

Living things like wolves and rabbits running about within it.

And an ecosystem where they are eaten and live on.

It wasn’t merely nature given form, but a vast shape with will and fate...

It resembled what he had seen in Gio’s “shadow” just moments ago.

‘You can’t just call this a forest.’

It was clearly watching Yoo Seong-woon and the world.

It was the ‘eye’ of something enormous.

‘I can feel a gaze.’

Even though Gio standing beside him wasn’t looking at Yoo Seong-woon through the glass of the frame.

‘Is this something Gio doesn’t know either?’

Or does he know, and pretend not to in order to “imitate”?

From the human standpoint, you couldn’t distinguish his truth from his falsehood, so in practice it didn’t make a big difference either way.

There was no meaning in distinguishing.

As though he had not seen that enormous thing, Yoo Seong-woon said evenly,

“I guess you could say I can feel that the rank is different.”

“I do not understand Mr. Yoo Seong-woon’s words well.”

The blond portrait smiled gently.

“To me, the shape reflected in the glass looks sufficiently like a person.”

“...Does it?”

“Even now, to Mr. Yoo Seong-woon’s eyes, do I look that way?”

“...”

When Yoo Seong-woon checked the glass again, he could confirm the shape of ‘Giovanni.’

There was no ‘forest’ anywhere.

“...Oh.”

So this is how it comes out.

“Yes, to my eyes as well, it definitely reflects as a person.”

“Could it be that the paintings kept beyond the glass confused my shape?”

“Could be.

The works here all have strong self-assertion.”

Yoo Seong-woon did not go out of his way to persuade him, saying, ‘You are not human.’

‘If he already knows well and still comes out like this, it must mean don’t dig any further.’

He had no intention of incurring the grudge of a work he managed.

‘If Gio wants to look human, it’s better to leave it as it is.’

Isn’t that what the source wishes.

He knew Gio himself was trying to act human, and wanted to do so, so there was no reason not to go along with it.

Gio can be human as much as he likes—he simply isn’t human.

“Mm...”

Rubbing his own neck, which had gone cool, Yoo Seong-woon asked,

“I asked the same question earlier, but when we toured Seoul before, wasn’t it less strange than this?

Without my seeing you, a few flaws appeared—did you have some change of heart, or something?”

“I do not know whether I may express it like this, but there certainly was something similar to a change of heart.

It was the matter of my becoming perfect as Giovanni, and these abnormalities seem to have come from that.”

Gio continued with a smile.

“It will be difficult to hope for Giovanni’s help anymore.”

What a peculiar way of speaking.

‘Speaking like this makes it look as though he has no will to imitate a human at all.’

It could be that he simply didn’t realize his speech was odd, or that he was revealing his true feelings because Yoo Seong-woon was someone he was comfortable with.

Either way, it wasn’t such a bad situation.

Soon, Yoo Seong-woon asked,

“What do you mean it will be difficult to hope for Giovanni’s help?”

“Literally.

Until now, Giovanni was not a portrait, so we could expect help, but now we can no longer.”

“Because the Giovanni before my eyes has become a complete portrait?”

Is that what “becoming perfect as Giovanni” means?

“So it means that when Gio was not a complete portrait, you could receive that help.”

It grants things that should naturally exist to a human, to a “portrait” that cannot be called human.

‘...I once suspected before that this portrait’s true nature was countless deaths and lives.’

That this portrait endlessly revisits the lives and deaths of ‘Gio’ somewhere in countless dimensions.

Now that he knew he was the source, Yoo Seong-woon could be certain.

This existence called ‘Gio’ would be the ‘eye’ through which the source experiences, understands, and ultimately applies humanity.

‘If so, I can also explain how that enormous existence called the source grants systems according to human standards.’

And so, the countless ‘Gio’ that Yoo Seong-woon still did not know—

“...”

He suspected they also served the role of helping, when the one whose essence is the source acts as a human within one dimension, for him to adapt and act smoothly among other humans.

Just from listening to the usefulness of this personality called ‘Giovanni.’

‘...Though it seems that if enough time passes, in the end it becomes stained by the portrait’s rank.’

Like laying hanji over an ink bowl makes it gradually blacken, the self called ‘Giovanni,’ which could be called human, was eventually swept away by the source’s rank.

Thus, Gio would lose his 기준점, unable to be certain of the conditions of being human.

This was how the enormous being called the source imitated tiny humans.

“...Then...”

Yoo Seong-woon asked.

“What will you do from now on?

Will you discard your current identity as an A-rank hunter?”

“No. As a proper resident of this world, I find great appeal in being active.”

“But if there are so many chilling flaws as now, it will be hard to live comfortably.”

“Then it seems I will need the help of another ‘Gio.’”

The portrait was still smiling.

“If there are results, I will send you a letter.”

“Yes, that’s good.”

Yoo Seong-woon suddenly noticed another flaw.

‘...The expression is the same.’

Like a portrait that has already been painted and cannot change, Gio was always smiling with the same expression.

‘Like he’s been stuffed while alive.’

It was an extremely romantic thing.

* * *

“Guruk.”

“...”

“Gurur?”

“...I thought there was no problem.”

After returning to the cabin, Gio kneaded the squishy Honey.

The plump waterbird, in Gio’s large hands, mixed and softened.

Feeling the bouncy texture of his son, flexing and denting freely, Gio confessed his mistake candidly.

“If Mr. Yoo Seong-woon hadn’t told me, I truly wouldn’t have known until the very end.”

He thought it was fortunate that the new curator he met today hadn’t noticed his abnormalities.

The new curator had, even after noticing all of Gio’s “flaws,” clenched their teeth and acted as if they didn’t know, but anyway, Gio thought so.

Because he had considered their conversation up to now a success.

“I was too complacent, thinking there would be no problem even if I acted as a fully assimilated Gio.”

“Koong?”

“No, this dad does not give up.

No matter how scary I’ve become, in the end my hometown is Earth.”

“Gururur.”

“I should sleep in the portrait, but sometimes you have to feel stimulation from your hometown too.”

A proper stimulation to the brain was good for preventing dementia.

“I’m going to live long in good health.”

“Guruk.”

“Then I need to find another Gio...”

Just then, there was an appropriate friend.

List of Suitable Candidates

The Animal Kingdom_Argio

Assimilation Rate 0%

“...Is it time to pull out ‘The Animal Kingdom’ that was stuffed into the warehouse.”

It was time to merge with the second suitable candidate, ‘Argio.’

Fantasy, Modern,