Chapter 26

The Painter Who Draws Dungeons — Episode 26

The elevated rail stop they arrived at was at a considerable height.

“...”

“Why, what’s wrong?”

“It’s been a while since I’ve been somewhere this high.”

“Yeah, I guess so.”

Yoo Sungwoon nodded.

‘It’s not like a portrait would have any reason to come up to a place this high.’

But since he said “it’s been a while,” it seemed he’d come out of the portrait and climbed up on his own at least once.

‘Or maybe, in his memories as a human, he climbed a mountain or a cliff.’

Since he could move on his own, there were probably many possibilities.

Perhaps he even moved while still being a portrait.

Not knowing what Yoo Sungwoon was thinking, Gio was looking around the elevated rail stop.

‘...I couldn’t tell from below, but it’s covered by a transparent barrier.

It seems meant to prevent falling accidents or block the strong winds at this height, but what exactly is it made of?

It looks far more transparent and sturdy than glass or plastic.’

Gio felt great interest in raising and making things.

A new material like something out of an SF movie—he couldn’t hold back his questions.

“What is this wall made of?”

“Hm?

Wall?”

“Yes, it’s blocked by a wall so transparent you wouldn’t know unless you touched it.”

“It’s not like I know this kind of thing well, but... it’s probably formless crystal.”

“Formless crystal?”

“I know it’s a component extracted from some monster that shows up often.”

Yoo Sungwoon didn’t know what that monster was called, either.

If it wasn’t particularly threatening or distinctive, it wasn’t worth remembering.

“I’ve heard most transparent windows installed in the city use this.”

“I see.”

“...”

“...”

“...”

Yoo Sungwoon’s expression hardened.

“You can’t take it.

It’s public property.”

“I know.”

“That’s not the reaction of someone who knows.”

“Yes, it is.”

“...If you want it, I’ll get some for you later, so hold back.”

Formless crystal was used in various industries, but compared to its versatility, it hadn’t become expensive.

Because the monster you could extract it from wasn’t all that rare, and the amount of crystal you could pull from a single specimen was large.

“What are you even going to use something like that for?”

“It was an interesting object, so I wanted to observe it and try to put it to use.”

“Your curiosity really is something...”

Yoo Sungwoon smiled with a subtle feeling.

Showing interest in rules or objects made by humans was a typical trait of existences of the Origin.

As they chatted, the elevated rail soon arrived.

“There’s no one in this car except us.”

Just as Yoo Sungwoon said, the car marked “No. 6” had only the two of them.

Gio thought quietly.

‘So people really don’t ride it.’

It felt a little wasteful.

‘To not ride something this amazing because it’s expensive.’

Even if you tapped your card in front of the elevator on the first floor, only a green light indicating entry allowed would appear; there was no separate information showing how much had been charged.

So he didn’t know the exact fare for the elevated rail, but it felt strangely bitter.

‘Has the gap between rich and poor gotten worse in the past thirty-one years, or is it just my imagination.’

Gio asked.

“Is it usually this empty?”

“Ah, no, it’s not.”

Yoo Sungwoon shook his head.

“Normally more people ride than this.

There’d be at least ten people in a car, but today there’s unusually no one around.

I’m not sure if it’s because we’re riding at peak working hours... but it’s been a while since I’ve ridden at this time, too.”

“...”

Wait a moment.

Something was strange.

“Peak working hours?”

“Mm, it’s 8:38 right now.”

After checking his wristwatch, Yoo Sungwoon continued.

“Even though it differs a bit by company, the average time to clock in is 7.”

“...”

“Gio?”

“Do people go to work at 7 a.m.?”

“Most do, right?”

Do they usually not have human rights?

‘In my memory, the typical office worker’s start time was definitely 9 a.m.’

Gio instantly lost all confidence in surviving this harsh reality.

Seeing how even a patriotism he didn’t have was disappearing, it seemed being a portrait suited him after all.

“...”

How did this country end up like this.

He soon arrived at a reasonable conclusion.

It was something he could think of because he had a gap of thirty-one years.

“Is it because, due to genetic factors or cultural reasons, most people wake up at dawn, so it was decided this way?”

“Uh... it’s not like that.

If you don’t set a separate time, a lot of people would sleep until lunchtime.

This is just a rule people agreed on among themselves.”

“I see.”

It was a neat answer, but it felt unpleasant.

Gio looked steadily at Yoo Sungwoon.

‘Does this person sometimes not see me as human?’

Like a butler explaining human society to a talking cat.

“...”

“Hm?

Why?”

“I am an ordinary human.”

“Uh... sure.”

Even if you looked for it with your eyes scrubbed clean like a senior analyzing a CSAT passage, it wasn’t really a reaction of belief.

‘...Well, even if I were in Yoo Sungwoon’s position, a person like a haunted portrait wouldn’t feel like the same species.

In a world like this, I should be grateful I’m not being openly treated like a monster.’

And thanks to being treated like a monster, there were various benefits he enjoyed.

Even if he had no money and lacked common sense, it seemed they let it slide with, “Yeah, he isn’t human, so that can happen.”

It did feel like his pride as a human was getting a little crumpled, but he still thought it would be better for mind and body to live as a portrait than to return to being a faithful slave of capitalist society.

Gio asked lightly.

“Do I seem like an uncultured, ill-mannered person to you?”

“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

“I don’t want to cause you discomfort, Mr. Yoo Sungwoon, so I will be careful.”

“...I don’t know what I’m supposed to say, but, yeah, thanks...”

“Thank you.”

As expected, Yoo Sungwoon was a reliable and considerate person.

Sitting in the seat beside Yoo Sungwoon, Gio looked at the elevated rail door that still hadn’t closed.

“It has been open for quite a while.”

“The subway or bus closes much faster than this.”

After lightly giving basic common knowledge, Yoo Sungwoon continued talking about the elevated rail.

“With the elevated rail, there’s the time it takes to come up by elevator, and there aren’t that many platforms to begin with, so they leave it open longer for people who are a bit late.”

“Even though it’s winter.”

“Well, fortunately, the cold is blocked on its own.”

That was right—right now it was midwinter.

“Ah, come to think of it... if we’re lucky, we might find street food while we’re walking around.”

At Yoo Sungwoon’s words, Gio’s heart pounded.

He was faithful to his instincts.

“By street food, do you mean something like bungeoppang?”

“Yeah, or octopus buns... egg bread... and there’s probably odeng, too.”

“I want to eat it.”

“I’ll look as much as I can, but don’t get your hopes up too much.

There aren’t many places that sell that stuff.”

“Why?

On a cold day, warm street food should be quite popular.”

“Because of complaints that it doesn’t look nice, there aren’t many people who want to do it.

Once a complaint comes in, it causes problems with entering the city again or doing business.”

Saying that, Yoo Sungwoon shrugged.

“And in the first place, city people don’t really want to do street food vending.

And it’d be inconvenient for provincial people living far away to come all the way here to sell food, wouldn’t it?”

“...”

Huh.

Gio was flustered.

“It seems you are drawing a strict line between city people and provincial people.”

“Hm?

Well, uh... I guess so?”

“Why is that?”

“...Uh...”

Yoo Sungwoon let out a deep sigh.

“I don’t know how I’m supposed to explain this, but the culture itself is like that.

I think it’s an embarrassing story, but we assign grades to each other and divide ourselves.”

“Grades—how does that work?”

“For example, someone like me who lives in the city and works as both a hunter and a curator is Grade 1.

As far as I know, B-rank and above hunters are almost all Grade 1 citizens, unless they’re red hunters who committed crimes.”

Taking out his ID and showing the words “Grade 1” next to his name, Yoo Sungwoon then pointed beyond the wide-open window of the elevated rail.

“People who don’t have much income or a decent job but at least live within the city are Grade 2.”

“...”

“The provincial people I mentioned earlier are usually classified as Grade 3.

And some of the poor who live between the provinces and the city—so, people who can’t even receive an ID—are implicitly classified as Grade 4.”

“...Is there a Grade 5 as well?”

“From there on, they’re criminals.

Unlike Grade 4 citizens who don’t even have a name recorded, they are recorded administratively, but literally only as a record—practically, they aren’t treated as human.

It’s set up so that if you encounter them, you can kill them at any time.”

Could he hate living like this any more?

Sensitive Gio felt like he was about to cry at his homeland’s unbelievable progress.

‘...I did think that as long as Earth’s lifespan is longer than humans’, a caste system would someday revive, but I didn’t think I’d experience it while still alive.’

Looking at the door that still hadn’t closed, Gio asked again.

“Is there a reason it is divided to that extent?”

“First off, probably because the infrastructure gap between the city and the provinces is large.”

Yoo Sungwoon answered kindly, as if he meant to be faithful to his role as a guide.

“I mean various facilities and benefits you can receive within the region, but the cultural and administrative disparity between the city and the provinces is huge.

In the provinces, people farm and scrape by day to day, while city citizens buy food ingredients delivered from there...”

“...”

“It’s like there’s nearly a century of difference.

If you go to the provinces, it’ll probably be hard to see even a two-story building, let alone an elevated rail like this.

People who own cars are rare, too.

At least there’s usually one village railway that runs, but... well, maybe that’s why they don’t buy cars, too.”

Since there’s transportation anyway, there’s no need to spend money on a private vehicle.

Muttering quietly, Yoo Sungwoon continued.

“Well... among those, the biggest difference is the defense line.”

“What does the defense line mean?”

“Outside the city, first, there’s a huge wall you can defend with, like a fortress wall, and second, there are separate safety-specialist civil servants who manage safety inside the city, and above all, there are already many hunters in the city... so even if an incident breaks out downtown, it gets handled quickly.”

Yoo Sungwoon rubbed the back of his neck.

“In short, it’s the benefit of survival. Most Grade 4 citizens would rather live as the poor than live outside the city, and in the same vein, there are many people who want to enter the city, but... not all citizens can live inside.

Resources and land area are limited, right?”

“So that is why you divided the grades?”

“Only Grade 2 citizens and above can reside within the city. Grade 3 citizens can visit the city or find jobs as much as they want, but if someone starts residing however they please, the treatment gets rather rough.”

“In what way does it get worse...”

“How should I put it.

Um, first, your ID gets destroyed, so you can’t get a job... and even if it’s not as far as Grade 5, I guess you could say you’re treated as less than human.

People who, saying they don’t want to be bitten to death by monsters in the provinces, settle in the city without thinking become those Grade 4 poor.”

To summarize, was it a dystopia?

‘Hearing a story like something out of a movie, at this point it almost feels less real.’

For Gio, who liked friendship, love, and peace, it was a hard world to accept. Up until thirty-one years ago, it felt like you could more or less feel human warmth, but it felt like something had gotten badly twisted.

Using a blunt poker face as his weapon, Gio began to shrink grandly, but Yoo Sungwoon, who wanted Gio to understand human society accurately, continued explaining.

“In the first place, you never know where a dungeon will erupt, and even aside from what came out of dungeons, there are many monsters that have already settled on Earth.

In the city, those native monsters tend to be managed, but in the provinces, there’s a lack of manpower and equipment, so if you’re not paying attention, there are many cases where you end up dying.”

“It sounds frightening.”

“That’s why they tell you, if you live in a provincial village, don’t go outside after 5 p.m.

Or there are many cases where a village is operated around hunters of C-rank or below.

No matter how weak they are, awakened ones are far more reliable than ordinary people.”

Around then, the elevated rail door finally closed.

“...”

“It’s moving, finally.”

“No one else boarded at all.”

“Well, it’s not lunchtime, so...”

“It is morning, though.”

“What office worker eats breakfast.”

It was a tone as if eating breakfast wasn’t a given.

It seemed the phrase “three meals a day” had disappeared long ago in this world.

‘Even we are moving around to eat three meals a day.’

Letting the horrific reality of modern society go in one ear and out the other, Gio slowly took in the elevated rail, whose structure resembled the subway he knew.

What impressed him most was the transparent walls and ceiling.

“Are these walls and ceiling also made using formless crystal?”

“Probably?

Its durability and transparency are on a level you can’t compare to Earth’s traditional materials, so even if a monster attacks, it can defend to some extent.”

“I see.”

“I heard that in the past they made windows like this with glass or plastic... it’s impressive they used such weak materials.”

“...”

And just like that, Gio instantly became an ancestor.

To become an ancestor from young blood in education.

The dizzying drop from that exponential gap made his head spin.

“Are glass and plastic not used?”

“They are, but glass... is usually used for decorations, right?

Compared to formless crystal, it’s much easier to shape, and you can mix in colors.

Even if you can make it artificially, it’s a kind of jewel, so it’s a bit expensive.”

“And plastic?”

“Plastic?

They barely use it.

It doesn’t get recycled, and it doesn’t decompose well.”

To think they were considering Earth’s health—seems Earthlings did develop in the past thirty-one years.

He thought they were too busy evolving into a dystopia, but not bad.

‘Earth’s lifespan probably increased a bit.’

Gio turned his gaze and looked at the elevated rail again.

Up to the seatback, it was covered in soft fabric and leather like a sofa, but above the shoulder line, the windows and ceiling were so clean they looked like nothing was there.

The glittering walls of the buildings beyond it and the clear sky gave him a strange thrill.

‘A gentlemanly roller coaster...’

There was no sense of speed or jolting, but this absurdly high rail stirred Gio’s romance.

It was like a scene from an SF movie.

“Ah, Gio.

We’ll be getting off soon.”

“Is that so?”

“The set-meal place and hotel I reserved are near the next stop.”

“I am looking forward to it.”

“You can look forward to it—everything’s booked at good places.”

Hearing Yoo Sungwoon’s words, while feeling interest, Gio faintly sensed something.

‘Earth is no longer a place where a harmless crystal like me can live.’

For weak Gio, who didn’t even have the taekwondo white belt everyone else had, he didn’t have the strength to overcome this terrifying world.

He would have to spend his whole life stuffed inside a portrait to secure his personal safety.

If Yoo Sungwoon had heard, he would have been so dumbfounded he’d grit his teeth.

Fantasy, modern,