The Artist Who Paints Dungeon-Chapter 98

"Ah, yes."

"And by talking like this, won’t I eventually want to give them a gift?"

"Aha..."

"It’s not that I don’t have anything, or that I’m short on time, or that I’ll get complaints from parents for giving gifts."

Everything fit perfectly, so there was truly no reason not to give them. No one could stop Gio, who was crazy to share joy, love, peace, affection, and happiness.

"Isn’t it admirable, though?"

"Does that mean you give gifts to everything you find admirable?"

"This is the heart of a teacher."

"The child you just mentioned wasn’t your disciple, though... I see. Understood."

"Don’t suddenly jump to conclusions like you’re going to kill someone. Being hasty at your age is just creepy."

"Yes, Teacher."

"Does one need to be a disciple to give a gift?"

For those who did something cute, a sweet reward was always necessary. It was a thought typical of Seo Gio, who used to carry snacks for his students even when he was a high school teacher.

"Plus, right now, what I have in abundance is time."

Gio wasn’t impatient.

"Here we have Honey, Dana, Father, and even Iser and Aria, don’t we?"

"......"

"Your face, which seems to be very satisfied but pretending otherwise, is suspicious. Don’t you mind that I’m looking for a human to be my friend?"

"No, I don’t."

"I see. But no matter how admirable Iser is as a disciple, she can’t stop me from making pen pal friends."

Yoo Seong-Woon, overwhelmed by the modern human's overwork, was too busy to exchange letters. Gio needed a new friend.

"Even though I live inside a frame, I feel so disconnected from the world."

Gio’s thoughts likened his current position to that of a grandfather living alone in a remote village.

In just 31 years, he was treated like an ancestor, and even when trying to learn about the modern world, he found it impossible to connect with young people.

"That’s why I have to go out and make friends."

"Shouldn’t we let the uncultured, shallow humans come to us?"

"Stop trying to lock me in this small hut, Iser."

"It’s not particularly small."

"To contain my being, it’s far too small."

"......"

Iser nodded with a kind smile.

"So, how long do you plan on enjoying this search for friends?"

"I suppose I’ll do it whenever I’m bored."

"...And after you find that 'friend'...?"

"I’ll keep going. Who would settle for just one friend?"

"Ah, are you planning on sticking them to your nose?"

"That was meant to imply that one alone would be insufficient."

The more friends, the better.

"How boring would it be not to spend this long time with a friend?"

"We, your faithful disciples, will be by your side."

"Iser needs to develop independence. How long will you stay protecting this foolish teacher?"

After being cooped up in his house for thousands of years, the child had become strange. Perhaps if he went out and made friends, even visit karaoke once, he would have no more wishes.

‘Iser’s too shy, though. I doubt she’d enjoy such active hobbies.’

Gio nodded.

"Still, I’ll keep looking for friends."

"From an objective standpoint, if you continue appearing like this, the recognition of 'Black Cloak' will certainly rise on Earth."

"Iser is right. They say 'Black Cloak' is known as a monster, so confusion will arise no matter what. I’m aware that I’m doing something troublesome."

"...The confusion of humans doesn’t matter, but I fear that you may attract negative attention. Their nature is selfish and fickle. They can’t be trusted."

"There could be such people. There are so many humans on Earth, after all, it could happen. But imagining such an unfortunate future is unnecessary as I already have many good friends. I believe you all will protect me."

Above all, Gio planned to create an image where 'Black Cloak' wouldn’t be easily targeted.

‘Walking around openly, or letting people misunderstand that I’m a scary person without explaining myself, that’s why.’

While small incidents related to Gio might occur from time to time...

"I’m not a person of deep thought."

Anyway, as long as it’s fun, that’s all that matters.

Hunter Association Meeting Room.

"With that, we will conclude this discussion."

"Yes, Chairman."

"And next..."

The Chairman, with a composed smile, continued.

"This is about 'Black Cloak.'"

The Chairman's lips softly parted.

"This is the first time this topic has been brought up as an official matter, so I’m looking forward to seeing what will be discussed."

"......"

"The reason this topic was raised is for the stability of the city, so we should hear the general atmosphere of the city regarding this issue. Team Leader Seo."

"Yes, Chairman."

The information-processing team leader, who collects and organizes city data, spoke.

"Currently, a number of citizens have witnessed Black Cloak. We have secured testimony from 26 witnesses so far: 9 Class 1 citizens, 11 Class 2 citizens, 2 Class 3 citizens, and 4 Class 4 citizens."

The 5th-class citizens, who were not even recognized as humans, were excluded. Even if they had interacted with Black Cloak, the association had no means of confirming it. They were all criminals living in hiding.

"The common testimony is that Black Cloak either treated them politely, or, even if unrelated, showed kindness when they performed good deeds."

"Kindness, you mean the snacks that were previously reported?"

"Yes, the snacks confirmed so far include cookies, candies, and chocolates. They appear to be homemade, but the ingredients are almost identical to Earth’s food..."

"Even though they taste like regular snacks, the effects are different."

"Yes, that’s correct. Based on the recipient, they had effects like vitamins, iron supplements, or painkillers."

"Any side effects?"

"If someone other than the recipient consumes it, the effect is reduced by half. No other side effects have been detected."

Another staff member was allowed to ask.

"Where were most of the sightings?"

"The only common sighting location is the poor districts of the boundary zone, but even then, they were not found in exactly the same place."

"It sounds like there are no limitations on spatial movement. It seems like the source has a different structure, so has it been found overseas?"

"Since the opening of 'The Country of the Deep Sea,' which is where Black Cloak was first spotted, we’ve been coordinating with associations from other countries to gather information, but there have been no reports yet."

"Could it be that overseas associations haven’t shared information?"

"According to the Korean association branch, no sightings of Black Cloak have been reported overseas. However, considering the nature of Black Cloak, it’s possible that it was seen abroad but simply not reported."

Another staff member asked.

"The most important thing is whether Black Cloak poses a threat to the safety of the citizens. You’ve gathered 26 testimonies, but were there any cases where people were attacked by Black Cloak?"

"There was testimony from someone other than the witness."

The information-processing team leader displayed information on the monitor in front of each team leader.

"25 citizens were all given gifts by Black Cloak, and the interaction ended there. However, as you can see, there was one case with a Class 3 citizen who encountered Black Cloak in the 'Gemstone Veins' dungeon, and the situation was notably different."

The 'Gemstone Veins' dungeon wasn’t well-known, but it was favored among black hunters looking to illegally sell monsters.

It was a habitat for the popular "Anti-Cat" species, which was why the dungeon was frequented.

"These details were reported by the witness, Hunter Lee Seon-Hoo, F-rank, porter position. He wasn’t attacked by Black Cloak."

"So, what about the person who was attacked ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) by Black Cloak?"

"The victim of the attack was Hunter Park Eun-Gyeom, B-rank, team leader. The witness said that Hunter Park Eun-Gyeom tried to leave him in the dungeon."

"These kinds of incidents never get old..."

Raiding a dungeon was an activity that consumed considerable resources. Especially when it came to porters, who weren’t helpful in combat, and could easily be abandoned if they were rendered unable to carry anything.

Because they didn’t help, the number of people who had to be fed kept growing.

"This never used to happen before."

"Things are quite different from our time."

"People don’t see each other as teammates..."

The older members, showing signs of weariness, allowed the information-processing team leader to continue.

"'Gemstone Veins' is a dungeon that other hunters rarely visit. Seeing that the witness judged that Park Hunter would die if left behind, he begged him to stay, but in the process of removing him, Park Eun-Gyeom used violence."

And.

"It is believed that Black Cloak witnessed this scene."

The witness almost worshipped Black Cloak.

"The Black Cloak in the testimony was in the form of a frame. Due to the nature of the 'Gemstone Veins' dungeon, visibility is poor, and neither of them noticed the frame at first, but when the missing Park Eun-Gyeom used violence, Black Cloak intervened and exerted influence."

"Hold on."

An elder, closer to an old man, asked.

"Missing? They weren’t found injured or dead, just completely missing?"

"Yes, the witness testified that Hunter Park Eun-Gyeom was dragged into the frame."

"Entering a frame... That’s something new. How was he dragged in? Did Black Cloak grab him by the collar?"

"The witness didn’t directly observe Black Cloak’s appearance. They only said that...”

The information-processing team leader unconsciously frowned slightly. He had to report ambiguous information that didn’t quite match his role.

"A number of transparent hands emerged from the frame and abducted the missing person."

"...Transparent hands?"

The tone of voice carried curiosity.

"How do they know they were transparent and that they were hands? If he was an F-rank porter, it must’ve been difficult for him to make out such a shape."

"It seems the witness was describing what they felt. They also had trouble expressing it logically. However, they were certain that the figure was wearing a suit."

"A suit... even though the hands were transparent, they were wearing a suit. Does that mean he saw a transparent human?"

At that moment, the Chairman spoke.

"It’s not impossible. The hunter era has just begun 32 years ago, and we should not assume we know everything. We’ll accept the possibility and categorize it as a monster."

"Yes, Chairman."

"Yes, Chairman."

With quick agreement, the Chairman turned back to the information-processing team leader.

"Was Black Cloak not seen during this process?"

"Yes, but based on the frame's characteristics and the strong testimony of the witness, we judged that this incident is related to Black Cloak."

"Any more reports?"

"All reports on Black Cloak’s actions have been completed. No exceptions beyond the Park Eun-Gyeom Hunter incident have been identified. Please refer to the full report for more details."

"I see. Good work."

The Chairman nodded.

"Feel free to offer any free opinions."

At that, one of the staff members in the meeting room spoke.

"So, we should discuss how to define Black Cloak."

"It does seem to show irregular characteristics in many ways."

The elder took the suggestion and continued.

"On this matter, I’d like to hear the opinion of Kang Woo-Ri, the gardener and head of the Seoul branch research team."

"...Before this meeting, I tried to draw conclusions and researched in various ways, but unfortunately, I haven’t been able to define it yet."

"...That means it’s not something simple..."

"Correct. It’s an inherently contradictory being, which makes it impossible to categorize."

The research team leader displayed the information on the monitors in front of all participants.

"This is a table summarizing gods, monsters, and children of origins. As you can see, Black Cloak could belong to any of these categories, but it also might not belong to any."

It was too impure to be a god, it had no hatred toward humans to be a monster, and it showed too much interest in humans to be a child of origins.

Yet, it contained all those traits.

"One thing we can be certain of is that Black Cloak belongs to the origins. It has its own rules."

"If it has its own rules... Is it that?"

"Yes, it affirms the good and denies the bad."

"The standard for good and bad is something it defines itself."

"That’s what it looks like, but nothing’s certain yet. However, judging by the current circumstances, it doesn’t seem too different from our human standards."

Nevertheless, its violence could be considered characteristic of an origin being. It had witnessed violence and then abducted the perpetrator.

This proved that even if Black Cloak was kind to humans, it had no interest in the rules humans created. Its actions carried high risk, especially as the status of the missing person remained unknown.

"One thing to note here is that Black Cloak’s actions don’t seem to symbolize punishment."

"Giving rewards to the good and denying the bad—if that’s not punishment, what is it?"

"It seems more like personal preference. Unlike other humanoid monsters, it doesn’t show authoritarianism or a sense of superiority. It’s just the way it is."

The Chairman added.

"It certainly has characteristics closer to those of an origin being."

"Yes, that’s right."

If Black Cloak had the meaning of "punishment" and had dealt with evil, it would have shown itself. However, in the case of Park Eun-Gyeom Hunter, Black Cloak remained in the form of a frame, not revealing itself.

It was as if it had just removed something unpleasant from its sight.

"Thus far, no clear intent has been shown by Black Cloak. We can only assume that it has a rule of affirming good and denying evil based on the direction of its actions."

In reality, the situation was somewhat different.

Gio had no idea that a frame like the 'City of Emptiness' was freely wandering around, or that someone had been dragged into his own frame.

It was more like the 'City of Emptiness,' which had its own consciousness, removing something that its parent would dislike.

It was similar to when Honey, the first modern human, swallowed the evil-hearted man she saw at Gyeongbokgung.

Gio’s children always wanted to see only the good, and always hoped for happiness.

"......"

"......"

Of course, for those who didn’t know these circumstances, everything seemed like it was Black Cloak’s intention.

Even though a person had gone missing, there was no malice in Black Cloak, and some staff members in the association felt a chill and caution.

"...It has no restrictions on movement."

Given that it had been sighted even in the dungeon, Black Cloak could indeed go anywhere.

"It takes a strong interest in human life."

"......"

"It gives blessings to the good, and despair to the evil."

The smiling staff member continued lightly.

"It’s like an Easter egg in a game."

If life and dungeon raiding could be compared to a game.

Easter eggs were hidden contents placed by creators as a playful secret in various media.

Being "hidden by the creator" meant that it might or might not relate to the content of the game, and whether you find it is purely by chance—it doesn’t impact the progress of the game.

This 𝓬ontent is taken from fгeewebnovёl.co𝙢.

"Doesn’t it seem like a rare and fun event that pops up occasionally?"

"Given the missing person, it’s hard to call it a ‘fun event.’"

"It seems like it’s just trash, but if everyone lived kindly, it wouldn’t be a problem."

"Creating good people and punishing the evil is the role of the association and the government, so we shouldn’t rely on an unknown being of origins."

"Yes, I will be more cautious. I acknowledge my careless remarks."

"And here, the next question arises..."

One of the elders continued.

"What happened to the hunter who was dragged into the frame?"

That would reveal the true danger of Black Cloak.