The Artist Who Paints Dungeon
Chapter 198

Yoo Seong-Woon wasn't the only one who lost his composure over the safety of a partner.

“Clear the sea, you say.”

“Yes. Even with all the cold-type hunters gathered, it's still extremely difficult to handle the sea... We’re at a point where we can’t afford to lose even a single hunter. I understand you're distressed, but please lend us your strength.”

“Then,” Yoo Seong-Woon asked with a smile,

“Will permission to enter the dungeon be granted?”

His eyes weren’t smiling.

“...It probably will be.”

“Probably?”

“Almost certainly.”

“Almost?”

“Hunter Yoo Seong-Woon,” the Association staff member sighed as if trying to show understanding.

“You know this—under circumstances like this, we can’t send just one hunter in on their own. I know you’re capable, but soloing a dungeon with a humanoid monster as the boss? That would be difficult.”

“If you let me go, I’ll just bring Hunter Sergio out and come back. Yes, that’s what I’d like to do, but the Association won’t authorize it, right? So you're suggesting we proceed collectively?”

“There are already many hunters dead or injured, and many more missing. If we make exceptions just for Hunter Yoo Seong-Woon at a time like this, how do we explain that to the others? Please, calm yourself...”

“Understood,” Yoo Seong-Woon nodded.

“Then, once the sea is cleared, I expect a firm guarantee that dungeon access will be authorized.”

“...I’ll speak with the Association again. The discussion has been that we’ll proceed once the situation is stabilized enough for a diversionary tactic, so it should be possible.”

“I’d prefer confirmation before the cleanup is done.”

“The sea’s behavior is unusual. It seems like the monsters are gradually taking control, so please be careful.”

“I know I’m too valuable an asset to lose.”

He hadn’t even fully analyzed the “Portrait of Gio” yet—dying now wasn’t in the cards.

“Let’s get started.”

It was easy to say “cleanup,” but it was far from something as simple as cleaning a room.

The hunters were freezing massive waves that moved like living beasts, fighting a frenzy of marine creatures and monsters within.

‘What a headache.’

Only once they built a barrier against the entire sea could it be considered “cleaned up.”

Yoo Seong-Woon was immediately dispatched to the front.

“Hunter Yoo Seong-Woon—!!”

There were many who recognized him, famous for his cold-type skills. Hunters were always curious about others who wielded similar elemental powers.

Wearing his usual composed smile, Yoo Seong-Woon spoke.

“Where should I start?”

“Freeze everything you see.”

“Are you insane? How are you going to clean it all up afterward?”

“Language, now. Word is you lost your temper when Hunter Seo got kidnapped.”

“So the point?”

“We’re going to have to spend money.”

Rather than wasting time tiptoeing around with cleanup funds, it made more sense to go big from the start—even if it meant writing a full report afterward. It would end up costing less.

“If we delay any longer, the waves will breach the coast and push inland. The seawater’s gone mad—it’s slithering inland like a snake. Don’t even get me started on the hail-borne monsters...”

“Stopping it at the shoreline is top priority, then?”

“That’s right. But we can’t block water with our hands. We can’t feed it to plants either—it’s seawater, after all. Even if we build a huge wall, the monsters climb it like monkeys. So freezing it is our only option.”

“What about fire-type hunters?”

“They’re already overwhelmed. Not exactly efficient when dealing with massive tidal waves. Don’t be snide—just get into the water already.”

“This is a mess...”

Saaa―

Cold air gathered at Yoo Seong-Woon’s feet, forming a blade.

“This job is completely tangled.”

Tap!!

He nudged the ground with the tip of his skate-like shoes.

In that moment, his figure vanished.

He leapt high over a giant barrier and dove into the ocean beyond.

A smooth sheet of thick ice formed in his wake, becoming yet another wall.

"......"

Whooo―!!

Just before crashing down beneath the towering barrier, Yoo Seong-Woon scanned the scene midair.

‘One extra-large. Six large. Thirty-two medium.’

The rest—the small fry—weren’t his concern.

“Haa...”

Fwoooosh―...!!

As he plummeted, he thought,

‘I just want to go home.’

Craaaaack!!!!!

The moment his feet hit the ground,

A massive, solid glacier—something you'd expect to find in the polar regions—formed.

The vicious chill spread from the surface into the depths, freezing the rolling sea in an instant.

The hunters who heard the thunderous sound shouted,

“Shit, it’s backup!!”

“Help us! The sea’s a fucking nightmare...!!”

“Whoa, an A-rank’s here! Make a path! Clear the way!!”

“If you don’t want to freeze your asses off, MOVE!!”

Recognizing him, the hunters cleared out.

Yoo Seong-Woon zipped through the opening and continued to freeze the ocean.

High-ranking cold-type hunters often wore skates like Yoo Seong-Woon’s.

Used well, they boosted speed and doubled as weapons.

There was even a running joke that this trend came from South Korea’s pre-catastrophe figure skating fame.

‘It’s useful, sure.’

Cold wind brushed his cheeks.

He tightened his legs and pulled off a quick single axel.

He glided smoothly across fractured, shaking ice.

Craack—!! With a spin, he slashed a monster cleanly.

Landing. One more spin. Avoiding obstacles. Moving again.

He dashed forward, slammed his spear down—BOOM!!!—and soared upward.

He spun vertically, driving the spear into a monster.

The recoil launched him higher.

The monster’s fluids, frozen upon slicing, shattered like glass.

Slight variations, but the work was repetitive.

Using skates for grace, a spear for destruction.

Move forward, leap, strike down, slash, land, repeat.

‘The job itself isn’t hard. It’s just manual labor.’

Tap, tick—!!

He sidestepped multiple monsters, maintaining his rhythm.

CLANG!! He struck, and a spear shot up from the ice, skewering a monster. Blood sprayed.

Yoo Seong-Woon knew exactly what his role was here.

Monsters froze along the icy paths he created.

Though some broke out and thrashed against the glaciers, other hunters took care of them.

"......"

But it wasn’t over.

‘The sea is wide.’

And deep.

‘There’s no way I can end this alone.’

Even if Yoo Seong-Woon begged the Garden for power, he couldn’t freeze every sea on the planet.

Nor should he—it would render the Earth uninhabitable.

‘But a little... just a little...’

He pulled out another long ice spear, gripped it, and—BOOM—slammed it into the ground, launching himself skyward.

“...Huuu―”

In midair, he aimed the spear at the eye of a large monster.

And drove it in.

"......"

PAANG―!!!

The monster’s body burst apart.

“...Pffft-pthoo.”

Screeech—

Spinning once, Yoo Seong-Woon skidded to a stop on the ice and spat out shards that had gotten in his mouth.

“Ugh. Salty.”

The mix of monster fluids and seawater was naturally salty.

He brushed off the remaining ice shards and glided forward across the ocean surface.

Glaciers rose in his path, freezing the monsters in place.

But other A-rank hunters were doing the same.

‘It’s repeating. A vicious cycle.’

Yoo Seong-Woon was especially known for creating massive, ultra-dense glacial ice.

Yet even with all these skilled cold-type hunters present, the sea continued to churn and crash.

‘Then there’s only one answer.’

They had to pester the “master” of the waves to come out.

“This is my specialty.”

CRACK. Splash—!!!

Yoo Seong-Woon shattered the ice and dove into the sea.

‘What happens if all these monsters in here absorb cold energy?’

Cleanup would become a nightmare—but that wasn’t Yoo Seong-Woon’s concern.

Future Yoo Seong-Woon would handle that mess with overtime and salary cuts.

‘And if this works...’

He thought of the gardener, Jeong Yeong-Won, who had joined this war.

‘It’ll be a serious pain in the ass for them.’

He grinned at the marine monsters swarming toward him.

Underwater, land-dwellers like humans are at a disadvantage.

But for a snowfield gardener whose soul was frozen to the core, things were different.

Gardeners tend to the seeds and fruits of the Garden.

"......"

If another Garden were to bloom inside the body—wouldn’t that be a nightmare for any monster?

Yoo Seong-Woon stabbed himself with an ice blade.

Then sliced.

Monsters opened their jaws wide at the scent of sweet blood.

‘Let’s see how far we can take this.’

Crimson snow blossoms bloomed in the sea.

***

“Hunter Yoo Seong-Woon is missing!!”

Hunters stationed beyond the barrier on the wounded shore began murmuring.

“What? Hunter Yoo Seong-Woon? Where did he go...?”

“A hunter capable of creating ice on that scale wouldn’t be careless enough to lose himself in the sea, would he?”

“But someone saw him go deeper into the water! Shouldn’t we try to rescue him?!”

“If it’s bad enough to call it a disappearance, then he’s been gone for a while, right?”

“I know everyone’s busy, but I still thought we should report it...”

“Come on, how many hunters have gone missing already.”

Even so, there was no one readily available to send on a rescue mission for a single hunter—especially one lost beneath the ocean. In these circumstances, survival was each person’s own responsibility.

From the rear, where she was tending to the injured, Healer Jeong Yeong-Won asked,

“Did ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) he fall into the sea... or enter it?”

“Uh? That, um... I’m not sure...”

“He probably went in willingly.”

A gardener doesn’t die easily—unless consumed by the Origin.

“Watch the sea more carefully. Rather than worrying over a single entity named Yoo Seong-Woon, if you observe the broader sea, it’ll be easier to understand the flow of events.”

“What do you mean by that...?”

"......"

Jeong Yeong-Won blinked and said,

“...The noise is fading.”

“With all this racket, what noise are you even referring to?”

“Stop looking small—look at the bigger picture. The crashing of the waves is getting quieter.”

“That’s...”

“There it is.”

Jeong Yeong-Won scoffed lightly and turned away.

“We can leave that man be. He’s managing just fine.”

“B-But...! If something happens to Hunter Yoo Seong-Woon, it could affect the operation!”

“I said he’s managing just fine, didn’t I?”

And soon, a few other hunters sensed the change.

“...? Wait, hold on...”

“Is the noise... really?”

It happened in an instant.

"......"

"......"

The air inside the barrier turned chill, a hush spreading fast.

“...What is this?”

“Looks like he’s frozen nearly everything.”

Jeong Yeong-Won, with the faint cries of monsters as a backdrop, said,

“Go on, get to work. Kill the monsters.”

“Uh, sorry—what?”

“And someone fetch Hunter Yoo Seong-Woon.”

“Hunter Yoo Seong-Woon?”

“He’s probably lying around somewhere.”

Sure enough, a front-line hunter came sprinting over, breathless.

“H-Healer! We need a healer!!”

“Put him down.”

They had brought over a blood-soaked Hunter Yoo Seong-Woon.

‘Looks like the Garden has grown.’

Jeong Yeong-Won understood what Yoo Seong-Woon had done.

As she treated his wounds atop a cot in the field tent, she checked his consciousness.

Their eyes met.

Yoo Seong-Woon gave a crooked grin.

“Not bad, huh?”

“You’ve grown a lot.”

“It’s been cold lately. My body’s been all shivery...”

“That power’s stronger than last time I saw you.”

“I’ve been drinking a lot of good tea.”

The Garden had grown steadily, after all.

"......"

“The sea’s completely frozen!!”

“I said get back to work.”

“Ah, y-yes, ma’am...!!”

The crashing of ice and glaciers—formed by the combined efforts of the hunters—had ceased. All that remained was the heavy sound of trapped, thrashing fish-flesh wedged between the cracks.

‘Even accounting for the muffling of the barrier, it’s impressively quiet.’

At this point, nearly all the visible sea had to be frozen.

‘All the way through.’

Jeong Yeong-Won knew what Yoo Seong-Woon had done.

“Did it work well?”

“Freezing tends to do that.”

When a seed is planted somewhere, it only grows.

“Once it starts to harden, it happens all at once.”

Yoo Seong-Woon had used his own body as the “seed,” offering himself up as prey for the countless sea monsters. Those who drank of his terrifyingly cold blood froze instantly, spreading ice from within.

Since it was the Origin’s own cold, its effect required no further elaboration.

“Rather than attacking from the outside, I figured starting from within would be more effective.”

“It definitely feels like it, judging by the peace in my ears.”

“There are still places I couldn’t freeze. The Garden’s cold couldn’t reach every depth...”

“I understand.”

“Still, thanks to the other hunters’ work, the process was way faster.”

Had he tried to lower the entire sea’s temperature from the start on his own, it would have taken far too long—and his power alone wouldn’t have sufficed. But the skilled hunters had already cooled it significantly, which helped immensely.

He had merely provided the ignition point for the final freeze.

“Turned out effective, huh?”

“It did, but it must’ve been a huge burden.”

Gardeners manage what’s within their Garden—if they send it out without permission, they face punishment.

“So you were that worried... about Hunter Sergio?”

“Couldn’t help it, in a situation like this.”

Yoo Seong-Woon understood the mermaids’ greed.

If things went wrong, the roots could be stolen.

The mermaids’ obsession went far beyond what he imagined.

Though they bore no divinity, they had surely earned the eyes of many dark gods with their immense achievements. And with Gio weakened—no longer inside his Portrait—they were more than capable of doing something to him.

“So I had to push myself a bit. How long will recovery take?”

“Damn DPS types must have bird-sized brains. You’re in this condition and still saying that? Healers aren’t vending machines. It doesn’t just come out with a push.”

“I know, I know. I’m just asking. How long, roughly?”

“With the Garden’s aftermath, full recovery in a short time is impossible. Even with more effort, the side effects won’t vanish completely. But...”

Jeong Yeong-Won was quite a competent healer.

“If Hunter Sergio is truly in danger, I suppose I’ll risk divine punishment.”

And she was a pretty good gardener, too.

“I’ll borrow the power of the Flower Garden.”

“Much appreciated.”

“Then make sure you bring that hunter back safely.”

By the glory of the Eye of the Origin, a root had been planted on Earth.

For a gardener who served her own Garden, this was a temptation hard to resist.

Especially for Jeong Yeong-Won, who revered the Origin as her god.

“If he’s safe, the Flower Garden will rejoice too.”

A soft balsam hue tinged her fingertips.

It was the power of life, drawn from the Flower Garden.

***

"......"

“...Hello...”

“Haha.”

Gio laughed and said,

“Would you be so kind as to overlook this?”

“Overlook what? This child reeking of the Sun’s power?”

Aria twirled her eyes and smiled.

“I’m so jealous I could dismember her limb by limb.”

“But she’s my first disciple...”

“Well, now you’ve made it awkward to kill her.”

Aria tapped her chin with a hum.

“Then again, this isn’t your fight.”

“That’s why you hid her away in this secluded place, right?”

“Of course I’ll indulge a little, but since it’s come to this—can’t be helped.”

She offered a smile that would rival any gentleman of high society.

“She’ll make a lovely little hostage, don’t you think?”

“Please don’t harm her.”

“Don’t worry. As long as you keep us happy, not a single hair on Cha I-Sol’s head will be harmed.”

“Must you sound like such a villain...”

“Well, I am one of the top-ranked villains across dimensions.”

At this, Cha I-Sol gasped in horror.

“Is Gio hyung going to get hurt because of me??”

“Don’t worry, little gentleman. He won’t get hurt.”

“B-But you just said—!”

“You get hurt if you know too much.”

“I-I’m sorry for barging into your house...! I’ll behave! Please don’t hurt Gio hyung!”

“Adorable. But no.”

Aria turned to look at Giovanni.

“It’s time to begin. The sea’s freezing so much my darling children can’t handle it anymore. We have to finish our task before the one responsible for all this leaves the temple...”

She gently caressed her teacher’s cheek.

“Are you ready to return to the sea?”

“Oh, you poor thing...”

Gio leaned into her hand.

“Looks like you need my mercy.”

“Of course, teacher.”

The mermaids always longed for the Sun’s mercy.

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