chapter 98

The Painter Who Draws Dungeons - Episode 98

Gio continuing to check Earth’s situation through the frame and looking for a human who would become his “new friend.”

In the end, Iser asked.

“Why is it that, whenever you happen to check on humans, you don’t just pass them by, but speak to them or share gifts with them?”

With a warm yet confident voice, Gio replied.

“If they hadn’t seen me, then maybe, but they saw me too.

Originally, if your eyes meet, that’s a battle.

You can’t just not speak.”

“To say you must decide the outcome if your eyes meet.

Earthlings have a more aggressive nature than I thought.

Are there specific rules?”

“The longer the time you face each other, the more often it’s taken as temptation or a duel.”

“Truly surprising.

When I disguised myself as an Earth child before, I was in too much of a hurry to study properly, but I see there was such a culture.”

“Maybe that’s why this teacher, too, can’t just send off someone whose eyes meet mine.”

It wasn’t that he didn’t think the people he met would be startled, but wasn’t it possible that even Gio could have a perfect partner.

And you wouldn’t know unless you spoke.

To think you could ever, by sheer chance, find someone who wouldn’t be frightened by the name “Black Cloak” and would greet him with lively cheer—when would that ever happen?—but the Gangwon mountain-village youth who couldn’t date even once up to that age because he pursued “let’s meet naturally,” had a strange kind of romance.

“If I waste time like this without thinking, someday I’ll be able to find a new connection.”

“Ah, yes.”

“And once you keep speaking like that, don’t you start wanting to give gifts too?”

“Ah-ha...”

“It’s not like I have nothing, it’s not like I have no time, and it’s not like I’ll get complaints from parents just because I give a gift.”

With all three conditions matching perfectly, there was truly no reason not to give.

No one could stop Gio, who was going mad and running wild because he wanted to share joy, love, peace, affection, and happiness.

“Above all, isn’t it admirable?”

“Do you give gifts to everyone just because they’re admirable?”

“This is the teacher’s heart.”

“The child from just now wasn’t your disciple, Teacher... I see.

I understand.”

“Don’t suddenly draw a conclusion like you’re about to kill someone.

If you’re hasty at that age, it’s creepy.”

“Yes, Teacher.”

“Does someone have to be a disciple for me to give a gift.”

People who did cute things always needed a sweet reward.

It was the kind of thinking you’d expect from Seo Gio, who always carried snacks in his pocket to give to students even when he was a high school teacher.

“And besides, what I have in abundance right now is time.”

Gio was not impatient.

“There’s Honey, and Dana, and Father, and even Iser and Aria, aren’t there?”

“...”

“The fact you’re making a very satisfied face while pretending you’re not is suspicious, but do you really dislike that I’m looking for humans to be friends with?”

“Yes, I dislike it.”

“I see.

But no matter how admirable a disciple you are, Iser, you can’t stop me from making a pen-pal friend.”

Yoo Seong-woon, who was suffocating under modern people’s overwork, was far too busy for Gio to cling to and exchange letters with.

Gio needed a new friend.

“Even if I live inside a frame, it feels like I can’t communicate with the world at all.”

In Gio’s impression, his current position was like an old man living alone in a somewhat remote countryside.

In just thirty-one years, he’d ended up being treated like an ancestor, and even if he tried to learn about the world these days, it was a homebody situation where he simply couldn’t communicate with young people.

“So I have no choice but to go out and make friends myself.”

“Can’t you just tell those vulgar humans who don’t know their place to crawl to you on their own?”

“Don’t keep trying to lock me up inside this narrow cabin, Iser.”

“It isn’t particularly narrow.”

“It’s endlessly small for containing a being like me.”

“...”

Iser still nodded with a benevolent smile.

“Then how long do you plan to enjoy looking for friends like this?”

“Probably whenever I’m bored.”

“...And after you gain that ‘friend’...?”

“I’ll keep going.

What good is only one friend?”

“Ah, are you planning to stick them to your nose?”

“That meant it’s far from enough.”

The more friends, the better.

“If I don’t spend this long time together with friends, how boring would it be?”

“We, your faithful disciples, will be by your side.”

“Iser needs to foster independence.

How long are you going to keep guarding this pathetic teacher?”

After staying shut in at home for thousands of years, the kid became like this.

If he made some friends somewhere and even went to karaoke or something, there would be nothing more to wish for.

‘Though Iser is a timid child, so it doesn’t seem like he’d enjoy such an active hobby.’

Gio nodded.

“Still, I’m going to keep looking for friends.”

“Speaking not from my personal desire but from an objective perspective, if you keep appearing like this, the recognition of ‘Black Cloak’ on Earth will become quite high.”

“Iser is right.

They say ‘Black Cloak’ is known to the public as a monster, so one way or another confusion may arise.

I am aware that I’m doing something I’m sorry for.”

“...I don’t care what happens to humans’ confusion, but I’m afraid you may receive attention with a bad meaning, Teacher.

Their nature is selfish and fickle.

They can’t be trusted.”

“There could be such people.

How many humans are there on Earth—of course there could.

But for imagining that unfortunate future, I already have many good friends.

I believe you will protect me.”

Above all, Gio intended to build an image such that “Black Cloak” wouldn’t be an easy target.

‘That’s why I keep openly showing myself as I wander around, or even if people misunderstand me as scary, I don’t bother explaining.’

There could be small incidents related to Gio now and then, but...

“I’m not a person with deep thoughts.”

Anyway, as long as it was fun, that was enough.

* * *

Hunters Association meeting room.

“Then we will conclude today’s discussion with this.”

“Yes, Chairman.”

“And next is...”

With a composed smile, the chairman continued.

“An agenda regarding ‘Black Cloak.’”

The chairman’s lips parted softly.

“This is the first time it has come up as a formal agenda, so I’m looking forward to what will be said.”

“...”

“Since the reason this agenda was put forward is for the stability of the city, we should hear the overall atmosphere in the city related to the topic.

Team Leader Seo.”

“Yes, Chairman.”

The information-processing team leader, who collected and organized the city’s information, opened his mouth.

“From what we have currently identified, many citizens have witnessed Black Cloak.

Up to now, we have secured witness statements from 26 people: 9 first-grade citizens, 11 second-grade citizens, 2 third-grade citizens, and 4 fourth-grade citizens.”

They excluded fifth-grade citizens, who were not treated as human.

Even if they had come into contact with Black Cloak, the Association had no means of confirming it.

They were all criminals living hidden somewhere, after all.

“The common testimony is that if they treated Black Cloak politely, or if they performed a good deed even if unrelated to him, he showed goodwill.”

“By goodwill, do you mean the snacks that were previously reported?”

“Yes.

So far, what has been confirmed are baked goods such as cookies, and snacks such as candies and chocolate.

Though they appear handmade, the ingredients themselves are almost identical to Earth’s food, however...”

“It was said that even if the taste is the same as ordinary snacks, the effect is different.”

“Yes, that is correct.

They produced drug-like effects such as nutritional supplements, anemia medication, painkillers, and so on, tailored to the recipient.”

“Side effects?”

“We confirmed that if someone other than the recipient consumes it, the effect is reduced to less than half.

No other side effects have been detected.”

At the information-processing team leader’s words, another employee received permission to speak and asked.

“Where was it mainly witnessed?”

“The only repeated sighting location is the slum area in the boundary district, and even there, it has never been found in the exact same place.”

“It sounds like there is no limitation on spatial movement.

It seems the specifications themselves are different from ordinary source-beings; if so, has it been found overseas?”

“Since the time the ‘Kingdom of the Deep Sea,’ the first sighting location of ‘Black Cloak,’ was opened, we have requested cooperation from each country’s associations and have been receiving information, but so far there have been no reports.”

“Is it possible that overseas associations did not share information?”

“Based on what the Korea Association branch has found, they reported that Black Cloak has not been witnessed overseas.

However, given Black Cloak’s characteristics, we cannot rule out the possibility that he appeared overseas and simply was not witnessed.”

Another employee asked.

“The most important question is whether it harms citizens’ safety.

You said you obtained testimony from 26 witnesses—among them, was there any case of being attacked by Black Cloak?”

“There was one, in testimony that was not from the witness themselves.”

The information-processing team leader displayed the organized information on each team leader’s monitor.

“All 25 citizens ended their contact by receiving a gift from Black Cloak and parting ways, but as you can see, only one person. In the case of a third-grade citizen who encountered Black Cloak in the ‘Gem Vein,’ the situation was markedly different.”

The dungeon called ‘Gem Vein’ was not very famous to the public, but among black hunters who tried to sell monsters through illegal routes, it was highly preferred.

This was because it was a habitat of ‘Anti-cat,’ popular for its beautiful and cute appearance, and Black Cloak was witnessed in such a ‘Gem Vein.’

“The witness who cooperated with the Association’s Q&A is Hunter Lee Seon-hu; his grade is F-rank, and his team position was identified as porter. He is not the one who was attacked by Black Cloak.”

“Then what are the personal details of the person who was attacked by Black Cloak?”

“The victim attacked by Black Cloak is Hunter Park Eun-gyeom; his grade is B-rank, and his team position was leader.

The witness stated that Hunter Park Eun-gyeom, the victim, tried to leave him behind in the dungeon and depart.”

“These incidents never get old—they keep coming up...”

Conquering a dungeon itself consumes considerable resources.

Porters, in particular, do not help in combat, and once they become unable even to carry luggage, they are easily abandoned.

They are mouths to feed, and they’re no help.

“In the past, this hardly happened.”

“A lot has changed compared to our time.”

“They don’t even see comrades as comrades...”

Seeing the elders’ somewhat weary faces, the information-processing team leader continued speaking.

“...‘Gem Vein’ is especially a dungeon other hunters do not visit often, so the witness judged that if he were left behind as is, he would starve to death, and he clung to Hunter Park.

In the process of shaking the witness off, Hunter Park Eun-gyeom used violence.”

And then.

“It is judged that Black Cloak witnessed the scene.”

The witness was almost worshiping Black Cloak.

“In the testimony, Black Cloak existed in the form of a frame.

Because the dungeon ‘Gem Vein’ does not provide good visibility, both initially failed to notice the frame, but when the now-missing Hunter Park Eun-gyeom used violence, it intervened and exerted influence.”

“Hold on.”

An elder, close to an old man, asked.

“Missing?

Not injured or found as a corpse, but you couldn’t find him at all?”

“Yes, the witness testified that Hunter Park Eun-gyeom was dragged into the frame.”

“This is the first time I’ve heard that a person can enter the inside of a frame...

By what method was he dragged? Did Black Cloak personally grab him by the collar and pull him in?”

“They said they did not directly observe Black Cloak’s form.

Only that, from inside the frame...”

The information-processing team leader unconsciously faintly furrowed his brow.

It was because he had to report ambiguous information that did not fit the position he was responsible for.

“It was testimony that numerous transparent hands crawled out and kidnapped the missing person.”

“...Numerous transparent hands?”

A voice filled with puzzlement.

“If they were transparent, how did he know there were many, and how did he know they were hands?

If he was an F-rank in a porter position, it would have been difficult to identify such a form.”

“It appears it was merely the witness describing what he felt; even he seemed to find it difficult to express it logically.

However, he said he clearly saw that they were wearing a suit.”

“A suit... so they’re dressed, but the hands are transparent.

Are you going to say he saw an invisible man.”

At that, the chairman spoke.

“It is not impossible.

It has been only thirty-two years since the era of hunters opened, so we must not pride ourselves on knowing everything.

We acknowledge the possibility and define it as a monster.”

“Yes, Chairman.”

“Yes, Chairman.”

As immediate words of acceptance came out, the chairman looked to the information-processing team leader again.

“In that process, was Black Cloak not witnessed?”

“That is correct.

However, based on the frame’s characteristics and the witness’s strong claim, we judged that this incident would be related to Black Cloak.”

“Is there anything else to report?”

“All reports on the phenomena shown by Black Cloak have been completed.

No exceptional situations other than the Hunter Park Eun-gyeom case have been identified.

Please refer to the report for details.”

“I see. Thank you for your hard work.”

The chairman nodded.

“You may present free opinions without restrictions.”

At that, one of the employees gathered in the meeting room obtained the floor.

“So I think we should discuss what to define ‘Black Cloak’ as.”

“It does seem to show out-of-spec traits in many respects.”

An elder accepted that opinion and continued.

“In this regard, I would like to hear the thoughts of Ms. Kang Woo-ri, who is a gardener and the head of the Seoul Branch No. 1 research team.”

“...Until before attending this meeting, I investigated and researched in various ways because I wanted to reach a conclusion, but unfortunately I still have not been able to define it.”

“...That would mean it is not an easy existence...”

“That is correct.

It is a contradictory existence for which I cannot make a judgment.”

The research team leader displayed information on each attendee’s monitor.

“This is a table summarizing ordinary gods, monsters, and children of the source.

As you can see, ‘Black Cloak’ can belong to any of these areas, and conversely may belong to none of them.”

To call it a god, it had too many impurities aside from divinity.

To call it a monster, it had no hatred toward humans at all, and to call it a child of the source, it had far too much interest in humans.

And yet it held all of those characteristics in a single body.

“If there is anything we can be sure of, it is only that ‘Black Cloak’ is likely an existence belonging to the source.

It also has its own rules.”

“If it has its own rules... is it that, after all?”

“Yes, that it affirms good and denies evil.”

“And the standards of good and evil would be decided by itself.”

“It certainly appears so, but precisely nothing is certain yet.

However, judging by the circumstances so far, those standards do not seem greatly different from ours as humans.”

Even so, the violence could be evaluated as befitting a source-being.

Having witnessed a scene of violence, it kidnapped the perpetrator somewhere.

With this, it was proven that even if ‘Black Cloak’ is favorable toward humans, it is ultimately uninterested in the rules humans have made.

Since the current state of the missing person could not be known, it was a direction of action with high danger.

“What is worth paying attention to here is that such an act by ‘Black Cloak’ does not appear to symbolize punishment.”

“If rewarding the good and denying the evil is not punishment, then what is it?”

“Rather, it appeared closer to personal taste.

Meaning it was not authoritative like other humanoid monsters, nor did it possess elitism—it is simply a thing made that way.”

At that, the chairman added,

“Indeed, it is a characteristic close to a child of the source.”

“Yes, that is correct.”

If ‘Black Cloak’ had dealt with evildoers with the meaning of ‘punishment,’ it would have shown itself.

However, in the Hunter Park Eun-gyeom case, ‘Black Cloak’ remained in a frame state and did not reveal its form until the end.

As if it simply removed an unpleasant object from before its eyes.

“Among ‘Black Cloak’s’ actions up to now, there has been no portion where a clear intent is revealed.

We can only guess that it has a rule of affirming good and denying evil, based on the direction of its actions.”

In fact, it was a little different from the real situation.

Gio did not even know that a frame like ‘City of Emptiness’ was roaming about on its own, nor did he know that someone had been dragged into his frame.

Rather, it was closer to ‘City of Emptiness,’ which had some sense of self, removing “something” that its parent would likely dislike.

It was the same logic as when Honey, who first came out into modern society, swallowed a man with an evil disposition in Gyeongbokgung.

Gio’s children wanted their parent to see only good things and always be happy.

“...”

“...”

Of course, from the standpoint of those who did not know such circumstances, everything could only feel like ‘Black Cloak’s’ intention.

Even though a person had gone missing, the fact that ‘Black Cloak’ had no malice made some Association employees feel a chill and wariness.

“...There are no limits even to movement.”

And given that it was also witnessed in a dungeon, ‘Black Cloak’ could truly go anywhere.

“It has great interest in humans’ lives.”

“...”

“It gives blessings to the good, and despair to the evil.”

A senior employee with a smile spoke in a light tone.

“It’s like an Easter egg in a game.”

That is, if you compare life and dungeon raids to a game.

An Easter egg meant content the creator hid as a prank in various media.

Since it is something the “creator” “hides” as a “prank,” it may or may not be related to the game’s content, and if you find it you are lucky, and if you do not find it, it does not affect progression.

“Doesn’t it seem like a rare and fun event that appears sometimes?”

“Now that there is a clear missing person, it would be difficult to call it a ‘fun event.’”

“From the look of it, he seemed like quite a trashbag... if people just live kindly, there wouldn’t be a problem.”

“Creating good people and punishing the evil is the Association’s and the government’s job, so we must not expect it from an unknown source-being.”

“Yes, I will refrain.

I acknowledge it was a careless remark.”

“And the doubt that arises again around here is...”

One of the elders continued.

“It is what happened to the hunter who was dragged into the frame.”

Accordingly, they would be able to learn the danger level of ‘Black Cloak.’

The Painter Who Draws Dungeons

Fantasy, Modern,