The Artist Who Paints Dungeon-Chapter 104

Now that I think about it, the “City of Void” could, if we really had to categorize it, be seen as something close to an entrance dungeon.

"The entrance is clearly present, that's what I'm getting at."

It’s different from virtual dungeons, which don’t even have clear locations, and from villa dungeons, where the physical entity is fully exposed without any concealment.

Only the passage exists, so Gio’s frame could indeed be called an entrance dungeon.

“There are even moving entrance dungeons among the types, so the structure itself is similar.”

Aside from the three types mentioned above, dungeons can also be categorized into mobile and fixed types. If we were to define them roughly, it could be something like ‘moving entrance dungeon.’

“I’ve never seen one in the form of a frame, though...”

In its original form, the entrance of an entrance dungeon doesn’t have a set shape.

"It could be a book, a hole, or even a curtain."

However, most entrance dungeons take the form of a door. Something that, upon looking at it, anyone can immediately recognize as ‘Ah, that’s the entrance.’

If it looks easy to enter, it’s more likely an entrance dungeon.

"...."

Even so, no one typically thinks of a frame as an entrance.

"...If no one had been dragged in, I wouldn’t have thought of it as a dungeon."

I had known that Gio could come in and out of the gallery’s portraits. However, the portrait gave the impression of being Gio’s ‘house,’ so I’d thought of it as a building you couldn’t enter unless he allowed it.

‘It was the same when Chara Hunter was invited to Gio’s cabin.’

Compared to the dungeons that show the cruelty and harshness of modern capitalist society, ‘Gio’s Portrait,’ with its serene and heavy atmosphere, was quite different.

That’s probably why I hadn’t realized they were similar concepts. Though, that’s just an excuse.

‘I had always thought of Gio as something close to an object.’

I had said it was likely a monster, but I hadn’t considered that such a monster would naturally come with a ‘dungeon.’ As the origin of the explanation goes, Gio is clearly a ‘portrait.’

“Does that mean I have to treat that portrait as a dungeon...?”

Gio was already creating dungeons by painting. While I might not know whether Gio himself painted ‘Gio’s Portrait,’ people had already witnessed ‘The Breathing Sea’ and ‘The City of Void.’

"...Well, now it’s harder to say it’s not a dungeon."

Seong-Woon thought about the black portrait sleeping in Bisa Beul’s gallery.

It had willingly painted its face black and erased it from the minds of the people. Only a very small number of people who had seen the face before knew what ‘Gio’s Portrait’ looked like.

‘Even they tend to forget it often.’

It had erased history without any sense of unease.

“......”

Isn’t that quite an influence?

“I hope it won’t be hostile to us...”

‘Gio’s Portrait,’ by its mere existence, was a threat to humanity. If he were to intentionally oppose humans, finding a disaster of that magnitude would be difficult.

Why is Seong-Woon suddenly talking about this?

"...Sigh..."

Because the ‘City of Void’ lay in front of him.

"It really just appeared out of nowhere."

Seong-Woon had discovered this gray frame at none other than a subway station.

It was a place he had visited with Gio while touring Seoul, and it allowed Seong-Woon to come up with a hypothesis.

“Does this frame appear primarily in places Gio has been?”

Or places Gio might be interested in.

Based on the reports of witnesses, it wasn’t only in places Gio knew. Sometimes it appeared in slums, on roads, or in abandoned buildings.

‘For people who aren't hunters, they didn’t realize it was Gio’s painting, so the rumors didn’t spread.’

This frame had surprisingly appeared more often in everyday spaces frequented by ordinary citizens than in dungeons. Among those, the most common were places Gio had actually visited.

Seong-Woon, feeling suddenly exhausted, sat down at the subway station.

"Ah... my body aches."

"At least there are no people."

It was 4:16 AM.

The time when exhausted modern people all fall asleep as one, so it was no surprise that no one was at the subway station, where people usually have to pay a hefty fee.

‘But since it’s now the 26th, there might still be some remnants of Christmas. And since the subway runs 24 hours, I thought maybe there’d be at least one drunk person heading home after a long night of partying...'

Thinking this, Seong-Woon nodded.

"...After all, it wasn’t long ago that people died at the ‘Temple of the Deep Sea.’"

It had been an event at the Sun God’s temple. A virtual dungeon had appeared there, swallowing everyone watching the initiation ceremony.

When he thought back to that, he understood why people were still reluctant to gather.

"Thanks to that, fewer people showed up this Christmas."

Whenever more people seemed to gather, they would subtly move to different spots, remembering the tragedy at the initiation ceremony.

"Anyway..."

For Seong-Woon, who didn’t want to escalate things, it was a good thing.

‘...Seeing people scared is a good thing? I’ve really been tainted. I hope I don’t become so narrow-minded that I can’t manage my garden...’

His gaze fell on the ‘City of Void.’

"......"

A bit unsettling, perhaps.

‘...I feel like I’m becoming disillusioned with the city.’

Having lived as a curator for several years, he could feel the sense of atmosphere within the artwork.

The city, with its grotesquely clustered gray buildings, seemed to depict chaos and confusion, yet there was an eerie silence in the crowds, as if no one dared speak.

‘But the crowd itself isn’t even visible.’

Staring at the gray frame that made his mind go numb, Seong-Woon muttered quietly.

"...Surely, just seeing the frame doesn’t drag people in."

He had found four witnesses by personally going around. All were ordinary citizens, not even awakened, and none of them had been harmed by the ‘City of Void.’

‘They all just thought it was a painting hanging in an odd place.’

Among the four witnesses, there was one alcoholic who wasn’t exactly what you’d call a good person. According to the locals, he lived alone and sometimes made a nuisance of himself in front of convenience stores.

‘Maybe that’s not considered a villain.’

Or maybe the painting only attacks if someone commits an evil deed in front of it?

"...I can’t be sure since the sample size is so small."

Seong-Woon had a history of murder.

‘In today’s world, that’s not such a rare experience.’

Of course, he didn’t kill just anyone; it had happened when he had to deal with a level 5 citizen or someone committing equivalent crimes.

It was more advantageous to fight with the intent to kill than just to subdue.

‘But that doesn’t mean it was the right thing to do.’

In this brutal and harsh era, who hasn’t killed someone? Yet, a mistake is still a mistake. Morally speaking, Seong-Woon had sinned.

Still, the ‘City of Void’ remained silent.

“......”

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There were many possibilities.

"...This frame doesn’t seem to have Gio’s presence."

That means this frame could simply be acting under Gio’s command.

‘So, it lacks the emotional depth that Gio has.’

Gio, with just a glance, could judge the morality of someone.

But this frame, executing simple commands, might only distinguish right from wrong based on what happened in front of it. It could be a degraded version of ‘Gio’s Portrait.’

"...If that’s not the case..."

Perhaps Seong-Woon and the alcoholic weren’t judged as villains by Gio.

Considering that Seong-Woon did what he had to do, and the alcoholic only made a minor nuisance, it’s possible Gio didn’t think them worthy of attacking.

‘If that drunkard had committed crimes worse than just being a nuisance, it would have been easier to judge.’

If he had committed something worse than a nuisance, the ‘City of Void’ might only collect confirmed villains committing evil acts.

“......”

But there was one thing for sure.

"...Gio’s sense of right and wrong is decided by his tastes."

If Gio had defined ‘murder’ itself as an evil act, Seong-Woon would have been abducted and disappeared by now.

But the fact that Gio hadn’t done that meant he judged right and wrong based on the situation.

"I’m not sure whether this is a good or bad thing for humans..."

Anyway, what Seong-Woon needed to do now was clear.

"...I’m so tired."

He needed to enter the ‘City of Void’ and check the condition of Hunter Park Eun-Gyeom.

Seong-Woon approached the artwork hanging on the transparent wall.

"How do I get in?"

For a typical entrance dungeon, there weren’t any special conditions to enter. From the dungeon’s perspective, prey would naturally wander in, so there was no need to stop them.

‘But if Gio is still benevolent toward humans, there would definitely be a reason to block it.’

He wouldn’t want people to randomly fall into his dungeon and die.

Staring at the painting that made him feel increasingly suffocated, Seong-Woon noticed something in the ‘City of Void.’

"......"

Realizing something was off, Seong-Woon looked more carefully.

"...That’s...?"

A long road and buildings lined up on both sides, creating ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) an alley between them.

Something dark and faintly gray caught Seong-Woon’s eye.

"...A person?"

It looked like someone huddling.

‘Too small to be sure.’

But the black dot sticking out in the immaculate city was undeniably strange.

It didn’t feel completely out of place, but after focusing on it for a while, Seong-Woon realized it didn’t belong in the ‘City of Void.’

The black dot was faintly trembling.

"......"

Seong-Woon suddenly got goosebumps.

"...Is that Hunter Park Eun-Gyeom?"

If he hadn’t been looking for it, he wouldn’t have noticed.

It was clearly a ‘painting.’

"Chirp?"

"Dad’s busy."

"Chirrup?"

"I’m looking after your younger sibling."

"Chirp?"

Gio was resolute, even as Honey tilted her head repeatedly.

"If only our Void could be comforted now."

He was gently rocking the ‘City of Void’ in a sling, as if cradling it tenderly.

The brief visit to Isher had left with a gentle smile, but Gio instinctively felt that ‘the City of Void’ was quite pleased with his care.

"If our Void had a mouth, I would’ve fed it, but what does it eat, I wonder."

"Chirp..."

"People? Sadly, that’s not something it could eat."

"Chirp?"

"I don’t know why all of my kids keep saying such scary things."

While conversing with his eldest, Gio suddenly realized the painting of ‘the City of Void’ had changed.

"What’s this?"

It now bore the shape of Seong-Woon.

"......"

"Chirrup..."

"I don’t know why you’re salivating, but calm down, and what exactly is going on? If you’re watching me, give me the answer, please..."

The Sun God gave him the answer.

"Chirp, chirp."

"So, are we saying Seong-Woon is actually in front of our Void?"

Is this the new generation intercom?

‘Trends have come full circle, now it’s back to paintings?’

Of course, that was impossible.

Still, since ‘the City of Void’ was somewhat one of Gio’s homes, he was thankful it had the intercom function, even though it wasn’t originally framed.

"I almost couldn’t welcome him."

Though Gio didn’t know why the guest was in front of ‘the City of Void,’ it didn’t matter. After all, this joyful face was just as pleasant as ever.

"Long time no see, Seong-Woon, right?"

"Void, open the door. This is your dad’s friend."

"I swear my kid just answered, is it an auditory hallucination?"

"My clever little one, babbling so well."

No need to worry too deeply about life. For Gio, life’s variables were just new content appearing.

He was ready to embrace this unexpected situation with open arms.

"I’m about to see my brother’s face after a long time."

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