The Artist Who Paints Dungeon
Chapter 180

On a night where nothing could be seen, an anomaly occurred.

“Huh? What is that?”

“Undead... aren’t those undead?”

“...Hold on.”

A hunter scanning the surroundings widened his eyes.

“There’s so many of them.”

It was a monster frenzy.

“Wake up! It’s a frenzy!!”

“There’s a frenzy occurring! Everyone, grab your gear!!”

“Undead! They’ll reach here soon!!”

At the shouted alerts of those standing night watch, sleeping hunters, those checking their equipment, even those still tending to the wounded—all jumped to their feet. The hunters handpicked by the Church of the Sun moved in perfect sync, even amid the chaos.

Gio, who hadn’t been asleep to begin with, murmured softly.

“A frenzy?”

“It refers to monsters going berserk, just as it sounds.”

“Ah, another hunter term?”

“Yes. It happens more often than one would hope.”

Garasani explained as he organized his firearms, continuing in a calm tone.

“Still, it’s not exactly a common occurrence either.”

He turned to Kang Seodam, the priest who was organizing their team.

“What do you think caused it?”

“I’m not sure.”

Though he seemed about to leave it at that, when Sergio’s eyes met his, Kang Seodam hesitated, lips twitching. Groaning, he eventually forced out an answer.

“...At least from our side, I don’t think we triggered anything. There’s no record of this kind of phenomenon in the Church of the Sun’s data, and with so many participants in this raid, it’s more likely someone from another team set off a trigger. Of course, I can’t say for certain.”

Monster frenzies could either be caused by the dungeon’s own cycle or by hunters activating a powerful trigger. The former was extremely rare. So for now, they had to consider the latter.

“Now that it’s come to this, we should hold out here until the frenzy subsides.”

“It’s good we secured the area in advance. I’ll relay that to my team as well.”

With that, Garasani departed. Sergio turned to Kang Seodam.

“Shall I send Honey?”

“...Please do.”

“Do you need light?”

“It might provoke the monsters.”

“But it’s too dark to see anything clearly.”

“Too broad a light source could be...”

“I can adjust it.”

“Then, please handle that too.”

“No problem.”

Gio reached toward his neck, and from the depths of his hood, Honey climbed onto his hand. With a gentle flick, Gio sent Honey flying through the air. The small figure quickly disappeared into the darkness.

After sending Honey to assist in scouting and rescue, Gio lifted the edge of his cloak.

“Dana.”

From the cloak’s black shadow, a gemstone-colored cat rose—its fur the color of the night sky.

“Meow.”

“Help your brother.”

“Meow.”

The large-bodied cat immediately darted off into the brush. A hunter, hurriedly fixing her gear, flinched in surprise. Filled with concern, she asked Gio:

“Will you be alright? The monsters are going to swarm in soon. Without a tamer to protect you, it’ll be hard to hold out. We’ll do our best to defend, so if you could stay inside the formation and provide heals...”

Gio shook his head.

“I’ll be fine.”

“Pardon? But...!”

“That’s prejudice.”

Thup!!

Gio caught a flying sphere.

“That healers or tamers are weak.”

Crunch—!!

Fragments flew everywhere.

Smiling, Gio crushed something inside the sphere.

“......”

“Interesting shape.”

“Uh...”

“It’s small, brown, has a pair of wings as big as its body.”

“O-oh.”

“A silent flying monster.”

Thud, pat...

With a flick of his wrist, the monster’s remains scattered.

“The monsters have arrived.”

“...Right.”

“See you later.”

As the flustered hunter rushed away, Gio let droplets of black blood drip from his hand and went looking for Garasani. He had a question—one asked out of consideration. Pulling his hood over his head, Gio asked:

“Mr. Garasani.”

“Yes, Hunter Sergio?”

“If I suddenly turn red, will people be startled?”

“They might be a bit surprised. But it’s fortunate.”

Garasani, holding firearms in both hands, added calmly.

“The night is dark.”

“Ah.”

Like blood soaking in, Argio’s hair turned red.

“Indeed.”

A wicked divinity grinned in excitement.

***

Jeong Yeong-Won was a textbook healer.

“Guard me right now.”

“Yes, ma’am...!”

Meaning she was a fragile and precious asset.

“Healer-nim, please stay right here!”

“We’ll protect you!”

“But could you also give us a bit of healing...?”

In the midst of the noise, Jeong Yeong-Won nodded solemnly.

“If you stay within five meters of me, you won’t die.”

The hunters were overwhelmed.

“Thank you, healer-nim...!!”

“Protect Hunter Jeong Yeong-Won! If the healer dies, we all die!!”

Healers were fundamentally rare. Not so rare that you’d never meet one in your life—but rare enough that many teams never had the chance to recruit one. As such, they were regarded as high-class professionals.

And healers like Jeong Yeong-Won, who could provide area-of-effect healing, were even rarer.

“Three undead up front!!”

“Healer behind us! Shut up and block them with your bodies!!”

“We’re counting on you, healer-nim...!!”

Though she cursed their recklessness, Jeong Yeong-Won kept the hunters alive without fail.

“You brain-dead morons, if you don’t wanna die, take better care of yourselves!!”

One reason healers were rare was because ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ learning and using healing skills was exceptionally difficult.

Just because you learned the skill didn’t mean it would pop out like a frozen meal from a microwave.

There were methods to forcibly restore the human body, and people like her knew them—but actual healing demanded intricate and delicate work. Very few could perform wide-area healing like Jeong Yeong-Won.

“Seriously, stop getting hurt!!”

“Ah, it’s so reassuring having a healer with us!!”

“You featherbrained chickens—!!”

Suddenly, Jeong Yeong-Won felt something fast approaching from above.

“Ah, shit! Above us! Flying monster...!!”

Just as one of the hunters raised their weapon in panic—

CRACK!!

“...Huh?”

KRR-ACKK!!

Something massive snatched the monster and slammed it into a tree.

“......”

“W-who...?”

“Oh dear.”

Covered in black blood, someone was smiling with claws dug into the tree like a beast.

“Gotta be careful.”

A voice like someone soothing a small, weak creature.

“Monsters are flying from the sky.”

“......”

“You should protect yourself.”

Golden eyes glinting like a predator’s.

“Wouldn’t you agree?”

From her place behind the hunters, Jeong Yeong-Won recognized him.

“...Hunter Sergio.”

“See you later.”

Crunch, crack—!!

Climbing the tree like an animal, he disappeared from sight.

“......”

Jeong Yeong-Won thought she heard the joyful growl of a beast.

And indeed, Argio was in an excellent mood.

Hunting mindless, rampaging beasts—it had been a long time since something so pure delighted him.

They were so clueless, he could barely resist crushing them with both hands.

‘...Nice.’

Squelch—!!

One kick drove into a skull, bursting it apart.

‘Very nice.’

Crack!!

He pierced with his claws, causing dead veins to pop like balloons, and flesh like tree bark to peel off in chunks.

‘I especially like the ones up top.’

There were so many beasts in these trees.

Despite his large frame, he moved silently through the dark, towering forest. His bare feet, freed from tight shoes, landed on branches without so much as a creak. His massive figure moved with a speed and grace that made him seem winged.

These jungle trees were no different from Argio’s homeland.

With trees this high, sky-gliding monsters were nothing but easy prey.

He bounded from tree to tree, smashing the airborne monsters out of the sky.

And watching that scene—was Sanarae.

“......”

Even as he crushed incoming monsters to pulp, his gaze stayed fixed on the man in the sky.

‘...He’s not actually flying... right?’

But the way he ran, climbed, and leapt between trees—barehanded and barefoot—made him seem as if he had wings.

Though he was far from small, his spring-loaded movements gave the illusion of weightlessness.

A monster landed in his large palm. He squeezed gently—and it burst like a water balloon.

Even as black blood splattered across his face, hair, and clothes, he smiled as if nothing delighted him more.

His gleaming golden eyes brimmed with a childish, terrifying joy.

“Hunter Sanarae, don’t lose focus!!”

“Ah, sorry.”

Crunch, thud—!!

While fending off monsters, Sanarae replied vaguely.

‘What the hell is he really?’

The man slipped through hunter blind spots with uncanny precision, moving with feline grace like a cat stretching after sleep.

‘He’s drenched in blood...’

Running through treetops, sometimes dropping to the ground to stomp monsters flat—gently luring them with his fingers, then darting past hordes to crush their heads, necks, hearts, and limbs.

‘At this rate...’

It looked almost like a joyful dance.

That smiling face, full of delight, stuck vividly in Sanarae’s mind.

***

“Kyaaa!!!”

The moment the frenzy ended, a hunter screamed.

“Se-Se-Se-Seo Seoji–Hunter Sergio!! No, healer!! Healer!!”

“I’m not hurt.”

“Heal...!! Ah, wait, what? You’re not... hurt?”

“This isn’t my blood.”

Covered in dark crimson blood, Gio turned to Garasani.

“My clothes are dirty.”

“Oh dear. We don’t have any spares.”

Garasani smiled gently and asked,

“Would you like to use this fellow’s?”

“What the hell is this, what kind of abuse is this, Team Leader?!”

“Yoo Ji-Na, you need to learn the joy of sharing.”

“This isn’t sharing, it’s mugging.”

Passing by, Yoo Ji-Na glanced at Gio.

“But if you really need my clothes, I don’t mind.”

“No, it likely wouldn’t fit me anyway, so I’ll decline.”

“I was only offering the cloak anyway...?”

Yoo Ji-Na grabbed a nearby field staff member from the Collector’s Guild.

“I think we can give him this guy’s clothes. Isn’t your build kind of similar?”

“Why me again?”

“You can’t even give a shirt for our dear Sergio?”

“I can give it, but isn’t this, like, coercion?”

“It’s only coercion if you complain.”

Gio was touched by the Collector staff’s warm generosity.

“I appreciate the kindness, but I’m truly fine.”

He didn’t particularly want to wear someone else’s clothes.

“I was just wondering if I could throw away the soaked cloak.”

“Feel free to toss it. Even if it weren’t soaked in blood, you could still discard it if you wanted.”

“I’m not the type to be wasteful.”

“Ah, what a shame. I was going to pick it up and treasure it like a relic.”

“No. Don’t do that.”

“But you really do need to wash up. You must feel pretty grimy like that.”

“I’m not sure if that’s even possible right now.”

At that moment, Honey—who had been flying around for some time—landed on Gio’s shoulder.

“Grrrk.”

“Did you have a good look around, Honey?”

“Grrrrrr...”

Honey blinked as he looked at his dad.

“......”

“Honey?”

“GRRRRGRRRRGRRRRR!!!”

Seeing his dad drenched in blood and muck, Honey exploded with outrage.

“GRRGRRGRR!!! GRRRRGRRRRGRRRR!!!”

“W-why is Honey acting like this?”

“Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrk...!!”

GULP—!

Honey, now massive, swallowed Gio whole.

“HONEYYYYYYYY!!!”

“Kyaaaaah!!!”

“Mr. Giooooo!!!”

Regardless of the hunters’ cries of horror, Honey immediately spat Gio back out.

“Ah.”

“Grrrk.”

“Honey, don’t spit Daddy out so roughly.”

“Grr.”

“I collapsed in such a tragically delicate pose, too...”

Like a princess drained of all strength, Gio had tumbled into a graceful heap. Now, he stood up, dusting off his clothes.

“Did I startle anyone?”

“H-Honey just...!! Honey just now...!!”

“It’s fine. He was washing me.”

Thanks to Honey, all the blackened blood staining Gio’s face and body was now gone, and he looked as clean as he had at the start.

From Honey’s enlarged body, the blood sucked from Gio gathered together.

“Grrrk.”

Clink.

Inside Honey’s body, the monster blood began condensing into gem-like formations and dropped to the ground. Mixed with the many jewels Honey had been collecting day and night, it was hard to tell which had once been blood.

Only now did the hunters begin to grasp what had just happened, their faces frozen in confusion.

“Ah, so, that was... a cleansing. Got it.”

“For a second I thought he got eaten...”

“...Why did it turn into a gem?”

Giovanni flashed his signature radiant smile.

“Because Honey likes gems.”

“Still, normally, that doesn’t mean they form inside your body...”

It didn’t really make sense—but at least everyone confirmed there was no danger, and a few hunters sighed in relief.

Now that things had calmed down, those who had seen Gio during the frenzy began speaking to him.

“You were the one on the trees, right? Taking down the monsters... Hunter Sergio?”

“There weren’t many active in the treetops, so that was probably me.”

“W-Wow... Wow...”

One of the hunters who had been guarding Jeong Yeong-Won spoke, still pale.

“I thought I was gonna be eaten.”

“I don’t eat people.”

“No, it’s just, your eyes were, like... something... something like...”

“What do you mean, ‘your eyes were like something something’ exactly?”

“You know. You know the feeling, right?”

“I do not?”

Feigning ignorance was Giovanni’s specialty.

“But how are you that agile when you’re a healer?”

“That’s a prejudice.”

“And you’re a tamer too, but you sent all your beasts away...”

“That too is a prejudice.”

Gio nodded seriously.

“Tamers and healers can fight too.”

“But normally, when the tamer and healer are at the frontlines, it means the whole raid has failed.”

If a tamer or healer was fighting head-on, it typically meant the rest of the team was already dead. That’s how far back they usually stayed. Their studies in taming and healing were grueling enough—few had time to develop combat skills.

Gio smiled as he replied.

“I’ve grown rather used to combat.”

“......”

The hunters turned their eyes to Garasani, the senior guild member from the Collector’s Guild.

“...What kind of training did you put him through...?”

“I didn’t think Collectors were like this...”

“Didn’t the Collector’s Guild say they treasure their members?”

Garasani simply laughed.

“Hoho.”

Like he cared.

***

“It seems Team 6 was the cause.”

Holding a dungeon-specialized communication crystal, Kang Seodam continued.

“I’ve made contact. Apparently, this all started because someone touched a small tree.”

“What kind of tree, exactly?”

“They said it was less than a meter tall. Its leaves and branches glowed pale violet...”

“That’s... anomalous.”

“Especially in a place filled only with these massive trees.”

This dungeon was lined with colossal trees—each with a circumference requiring dozens of adult men to embrace, their height so immense the tops were invisible. Amidst that, a small violet-glowing tree might have seemed like the key—but there was no helping it.

“So they attacked the tree, but it only got scratched—it didn’t break. And the moment they tried something more, a frenzy spread to all monsters in the dungeon.”

Even monsters never seen before had appeared.

“Those floating, sphere-shaped monsters in the sky... we’re not sure what they were. They didn’t show up in the Church’s previous raid reports, and it was too dark to identify them properly.”

“I know what they looked like.”

“Thank you, Hunter Sergio. Those creatures seem to have only emerged in response to the violet tree being attacked. We handled it well enough to avoid deaths, but...”

“Did other teams suffer losses?”

“Yes. Thankfully, there were many healers to care for the wounded—but still, the number of hunter casualties wasn’t small. Apparently, those monsters self-destruct when approached, releasing heat and poison to deal with intruders.”

The heat and poison must have been intense. Despite entering with plenty of healers and items, several hunters had died. Now, most teams were focused on treating the wounded.

“That’s why we need to verify things on our end, thoroughly.”

As Kang Seodam said this, he came to a stop.

“...There it is.”

“Good.”

Gio nodded.

“Looks like we’ve found a solid lead.”

Delicate branches. Fluffy leaves like cotton.

What they found was, indeed, the small pale-violet tree they had been discussing moments earlier.

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