The Artist Who Paints Dungeon
Chapter 196

“I thought I’d gotten used to how quickly hunters can change expression...”

The association employee who had just returned from checking on Hunter Yoo Seong-Woon murmured to himself.

“But I guess I’m not there yet.”

“Don’t let it get to you. It’s not like Hunter Yoo Seong-Woon acts like that all the time.”

“Oh, he doesn’t?”

“Yeah. He’s usually calm about everything...”

The staff member, who had enough experience to be deployed in a disaster situation like this, made a troubled face.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen him that angry.”

“How long?”

“Well, curators from the Collector’s Guild are known for certain things.”

“I do know they’re not the kind of people to mess with.”

“There’s that too, but more importantly... they each have very specific triggers.”

So long as you don’t touch those sensitive spots, they never cause problems.

“They care a lot about appearances. That’s just how the guild operates.”

“Is that because of the Collector?”

“Probably.”

The members of the Collector’s Guild were all, without exception, Collector Bisa Beul’s “artworks.” They were expected to maintain the level of dignity that met Bisa Beul’s standards. It’s also why they were always neatly dressed in uniform.

“But that doesn’t mean they’re putting on a show or anything.”

That was just how they naturally were—people who viewed the world with a cynical lens but still held above-average responsibility.

Still, there were times even those Collector guild members—especially curators—broke from that composure.

“It usually happens when something goes wrong with a piece they’re in charge of...”

“Their pieces? You mean those monsters?”

“Careful how you say that. Yeah, those dangerous objects, you know.”

“And yet curators really cherish those terrifying things.”

“Because it’s a matter of personal responsibility.”

The love, release, and duty required by the guild all blended into an overwhelming sense of burden that manifested as obsession. Having once worked briefly in a research facility, the staff member could understand the feeling.

“Still, though...”

“...Hunter Sergio isn’t one of those dangerous objects, is he?”

“...That’s what makes this unusual.”

Like they said earlier—it wasn’t a common case.

“It’s extremely rare for Hunter Yoo Seong-Woon to be this upset.”

Even when a piece he was assigned malfunctioned in the past, he hadn’t acted like this. The staff member who had been on-site back then knew what kind of hunter Yoo Seong-Woon was.

“He had a bit of a temper when he was younger, sure, but he was never the kind to trouble others.”

“So he didn’t pressure the other staff like he is now?”

“Exactly. Collector guild members absolutely hate inconveniencing others.”

“Then why is he acting like this? Hunter Sergio isn’t even one of his ‘assigned works.’”

“Well... maybe I’m just looking at it too narrowly.”

It could be that he was simply worried about a close friend.

“...Still, it’s hard to understand...”

The guild members of Collector tended to express camaraderie in a dry way. If the reason was justified, they could use someone as bait and walk away without any hard feelings.

That didn’t mean they lacked affection or trust. On the contrary, it was precisely because of deep trust that their support manifested so sparsely. Which is why Yoo Seong-Woon’s current behavior felt off to the staff.

“......”

“...I’ve heard a rumor...”

“I know what you’re going to say.”

It was a sensitive topic, but a widely whispered one.

‘That Hunter Sergio is the Collector’s own flesh and blood.’

The story went that Bisa Beul had secretly locked away and raised his own son as a “work.”

‘I always thought it was an absurd rumor, but seeing Hunter Yoo Seong-Woon act like this... it makes it feel oddly plausible, even though I want to believe it’s not true.’

Hunter Sergio occasionally showed moments of unawareness of common sense. And Hunter Yoo Seong-Woon never reacted emotionally unless it was about a piece. Then there was the Collector’s abnormal affection toward his works...

“......”

The employee let out a groaning sigh and cleared his head. It was a topic not worth digging into.

“Whatever goes on in Collector has nothing to do with us. When Hunter Sergio returns safely, I’m sure Hunter Yoo Seong-Woon will come apologize and make amends. So don’t worry too much.”

“Huh? How do you know that?”

“That’s just what curators do when things go well with their pieces.”

“...So they really do think of Hunter Sergio as a work?”

“I said it’s not our business. And hey, I hear he’s tall and capable. Doesn’t that qualify him as a work of art? These days, raising kids in captivity isn’t even that rare.”

“It’s because Collector is a major guild that it feels so disturbing.”

“There’s no confirmation either way.”

It was certainly easy to picture the whole thing.

“I submitted a request after Hunter Yoo Seong-Woon’s recommendation, but the ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ association sent down an official memo. Until the cleanup around the coastline is finished, dungeon entry is off-limits. Even if they attempt a flanking operation, preliminary suppression is still required.”

“But...”

“If things are this chaotic outside the entrance, how would you even get into the deep sea? You can’t rush this. We have to proceed step by step.”

“Still... how am I supposed to break this to Hunter Yoo Seong-Woon, who’s still glaring like that? I really think he’ll grab me by the collar this time.”

“I’ll go tell him myself. Don’t worry.”

“Anything from the inland regions?”

“Haven’t heard anything specific, so... probably what you’d expect.”

The employee clicked his tongue knowingly.

“Everyone’s probably trembling.”

Another catastrophe, even before the last one had faded—it really did feel like the end times.

***

There were still many in the world who remembered the Great Catastrophe.

“G-Grandma...”

“Get inside, quick! You shouldn’t be out at times like this.”

“I’m scared.”

“It’s okay. We don’t live near the sea. We’ll be fine.”

For the elderly, this was common sense.

“Honey, how much food do we have left?”

“Probably enough for a month...”

“Let’s ration it, just in case. I took leave from work.”

“Should we talk to the neighbors?”

“No, best to stay quiet during times like these.”

“This is really scary...”

“It’ll be fine. The big guilds are taking care of it.”

“Let’s hope they finish the dungeon cleanly.”

The middle-aged were no different.

“I heard people died at the shore this time.”

“What happened?”

“They say the sea went mad—raged like it was alive.”

“Didn’t everyone evacuate the coastline?”

“Too many people. Some were hiding all over the place. How do you find them all?”

A time of overpopulation where even managing the living was a burden.

“Damn... This is why I told them to move out.”

“They were scared. What could they do?”

Most of those who had scattered during the Great Catastrophe to hide in remote mountains or deserted areas weren’t even registered as residents. They couldn’t be easily found.

Those were always the first to die when disaster struck.

“This looks dangerous.”

“Right?”

The children were scared too.

“Why the sea, of all things...”

“We’re surrounded on three sides by the ocean, aren’t we?”

“What if it all gets submerged?”

Korea, already closely tied to the sea geographically, was seeing its land slowly disappear under rising sea levels after the Great Catastrophe. The emergence of a new sea-related disaster stirred unease even among the young.

The Sun Church was no exception.

“Cha I-Sol.”

“Ah, yeah?”

“Did you contact your family?”

“My brother and sister are at the Collector’s Guild right now.”

“The Collector’s Guild...?”

“They helped us once before.”

“That’s unusual.”

Iru Da, who had come to check on Cha I-Sol, tilted her head.

The Collector’s Guild had earned a citizen-friendly image through various events, but at its core, it was more like a financial institution that invested and managed capital.

‘It’s not the kind of guild that would normally concern itself with the safety of third-tier citizens...’

Still, you never know. She nodded.

“Anyway, that’s good. The Collector’s Guild is trustworthy.”

“Yeah. We don’t have any hunters in our village besides my sister, and even she’s been offered help...”

“The Collector’s Guild promised to protect your village?”

“No, it’s Justitia. They sent some hunters.”

“Ah, that group.”

Cha I-Sol’s hometown wasn’t close to the sea, but the sea was such a source of disaster that hunters had been dispatched all over South Korea.

“Justitia’s known for volunteer work.”

“Yeah, we’ve gotten help from them before...”

“But you’re still worried, huh?”

“It’s not just our village out there.”

Cha I-Sol had accepted all the help adults could give.

“......”

And yet she still felt no better. The whole situation was simply terrifying.

“...They say people died.”

“...That’s inevitable in a case like this.”

“I was hoping no one would.”

“You can’t expect that from a dungeon break.”

A dungeon break refers to monsters spilling into the outside world from a dungeon.

This time it wasn’t masses of monsters, but a few powerful ones still causing the same phenomenon.

Iru Da shared what she’d heard from her mother.

“Apparently the villages along the coast were completely destroyed. Most of the registered residents were evacuated, but there were exceptions. That’s how the casualties happened.”

“Casualties?”

“Obvious, right? People who weren’t registered. Or people who ignored orders from the government and acted on their own. Or stayed hidden and got caught in it...”

“...Weren’t there hunters who came to help?”

“Sad as it is, there’s a limit to how many people hunters can evacuate. With search skills, some could find stragglers—and there were cases like that—but some still slipped through.”

Some people even stayed behind on purpose. Hunters, already overburdened, couldn’t save everyone—especially those who refused help.

“There’ll probably be reconstruction efforts once the dungeon is cleared. The association and government will provide shelter for the displaced. That’s what taxes are for.”

“Taxes... my brother and sister pay those.”

“Exactly. The government collects taxes for times like this. We pay them to get through disasters like this together. Didn’t you learn that in class? Fragile creatures like us need unity to survive.”

“Yeah. That’s why harmony and peace are important.”

“We all help each other. Reconstruction comes after the dungeon is cleared, but even now the government is helping with shelter and food.”

“That’s good, but...”

Cha I-Sol hesitated.

“Won’t there be more victims?”

“How could there not? Even hunters are dying.”

Literally dying.

“Weird hail that turns into monsters, waves crashing like they’re alive... The sea is completely out of control.”

Even though information was being tightly controlled to reduce public panic, Iru Da had obtained some intel through her mother’s authority.

“Evacuated villages were destroyed. Aquatic creatures that normally stayed in place have left their habitats. And the most serious problem—they say the ocean currents are changing.”

“What’s a current?”

“It’s the flow of seawater. It’s happened before due to sea monsters, but this time it’s different. Magic can’t control it anymore.”

The sea itself was moving.

“That happened during the Great Catastrophe too.”

“W-What happened then?”

“The climate changed.”

“What happens when that happens...?”

“The weather becomes erratic.”

Extremely so.

“The entire planet becomes a pressure cooker—or a freezer. A state no life form on Earth could endure naturally.”

Too hot or too cold—an uninhabitable world.

“Only a few years ago, the best hunters in the world barely stabilized things after the Great Catastrophe. There’s a reason so many still fear it.”

Ecosystems destroyed by monsters from another dimension. Deadly diseases seeped into daily life through foreign microbes and air. Space overwhelmed by invasive species and artifacts...

To survive, humanity had to manually analyze and adjust the world. Somehow, they had done it.

“And now this again...”

“So what do we do?”

“As a low-level trainee priest? Not much.”

“But can’t we help a little?”

“Sure, we could. But we shouldn’t.”

“Why not?”

“People will exploit you.”

“...Huh?”

“People will walk all over you.”

Some might look on with kindness, but most saw young, inexperienced trainee priests as easy prey in chaotic times.

Even if the Sun Church sent them, Iru Da was determined to stay and endure it all with Cha I-Sol.

“That’s why I’m telling you to stay calm. I know you’re worried, but the most important thing now is to protect ourselves. If we don’t, who will?”

“You will...?”

“...Well, we’ll protect each other...”

“......”

“......”

After a pause, Iru Da added:

“That puppy-dog look won’t work. I won’t allow it.”

“You always look at me like I’m some weirdo.”

“I know you’re a bleeding-heart national treasure, but this isn’t the time.”

“......”

“...Don’t be too sad.”

She tried to comfort him.

“All the top guilds are on it. The dungeon will be cleared soon. Your family’s in Seoul, so they’re safe. Your village has Justitia hunters.”

“...Yeah.”

She only spoke of the people who loved and knew Cha I-Sol.

“......”

But Cha I-Sol worried about even more than that.

‘I’m good at healing. Maybe I could treat the wounded in a safe place...’

He worried about Gio, too.

Standing alone, Cha I-Sol made a decision.

***

“Teacher.”

“Yes?”

“Cha... Cha I-Sol...”

“Excuse me?”

“Where’s Cha I-Sol...?!”

Iru Da, looking disheveled, asked with urgency.

“Where is my precious round pebble?!”

“...What?”

“You didn’t send that tiny thing to the coast, did you?!”

“Sent? Sister Iru Da, please calm down—”

“Bring me Cha I-Sol! What did you do to my gullible partner?!”

“A-Ah...”

There was a major problem with Cha I-Sol’s decision.

First, he made it at the worst time and dove into the Portrait without telling his partner, Iru Da.

Second, he sent a letter afterward, but it was lost while crossing the frame.

As a result, Iru Da’s eyes were bloodshot.

“What did you do to my kid!!”

That was the price of having a capable, well-connected, fast-moving, overly soft-hearted partner.

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