The Artist Who Paints Dungeon-Chapter 357

The key to clearing the dungeon had been hidden by its master.

“It’s typical.”

“Well, yes, but....”

Yoo Seong-Woon nodded at Aram’s words, yet wore a subtle expression.

“It was so typical that I didn’t even think of it.”

This wasn’t a standard dungeon.

At its core, it was a garden, and it had only been dungeonized using the power of the Black Cloak. There had been some discussion during the pre-entry meeting that a method like this might be possible, but most hadn’t given it serious weight.

It was the same after entering.

“Since it’s not a familiar dungeon structure... the more we experienced it from the inside, the more that became the case. So most people seemed to give up from the start on thinking of it as a ‘dungeon’ at all. We were the same.”

“We only became confident after understanding the flow. Until then, it was just one of many possible assumptions. Especially in a situation this distorted, being confused is only natural.”

Aram, the most sociable member of the Moon Sect, comforted Yoo Seong-Woon naturally. It was clear she was trying to initiate as much conversation as possible, knowing they'd be traveling together for a while.

Around that time, Gio quietly revealed himself. He had appeared to be in continuous conversation with Cha Eun-Hyeok ever since they departed following the short meeting with the Moon Sect. Now, it seemed he’d taken an interest in this side.

“What were you discussing?”

“Ah, just talking about the dungeon strategy.”

“I truly didn’t think it would work like that.”

“.......”

Yoo Seong-Woon almost said his usual line, “Did you really not know?”, but held his tongue. After all, wasn’t the Moon Sect’s new bishop relying on “Hunter Sergio” as a human teacher?

There was no benefit in revealing that he was actually a far more mischievous and secretive being than publicly known.

‘Looks like he’s having a lot of fun playing the role of a human teacher... as a curator, it wouldn’t be right to interfere with that.’

Having reached that thought, Yoo Seong-Woon just smiled.

“Isn’t it fortunate? Thanks to that, we’ve got something to work with. Honestly, I was worried the advance party, aside from a few exceptions, might all fall behind. Frankly, in a situation like this, even total annihilation seemed possible....”

“I doubt it would’ve reached total annihilation, but I agree that it wasn’t a good situation. Aram and the Moon Sect really did something significant.”

As he said this, Gio turned to look at the Moon nestled in Aram’s arms with a gentle smile in his eyes.

“Our Moon, as well.”

At that moment, the Moon sparkled.

“.......”

“Uh...? The Moon....”

“Hm.”

“She’s never reacted this brightly even to my words. As expected of you, Teacher...! Would it be alright if I conducted a study later on the correlation between the Moon and you?”

“Can I answer that after I see the results?”

“Ah, of course. I got a little too excited. This sort of reaction is extremely rare....”

“Ha ha.”

Yoo Seong-Woon looked at Gio, who brushed off the moment with a skilled laugh, with a strange gaze.

‘...The Moon Sect’s new bishop can’t possibly be a fool, and yet she’s letting this slide.’

Thanks to Aram’s firm bias, they were able to move past it smoothly, but there were moments when this guy acted like he didn’t even intend to hide the fact that he wasn’t human.

“By the way, I do have a question.”

Perhaps trying to change the subject, Gio asked Aram a question.

“Could I hear the exact contents of the letter, Bishop?”

“It does feel a little strange to be called Bishop by you, Teacher....”

“You seemed so composed. Don’t pretend.”

“To be honest, it did take some time to get here. I have a long, dramatic backstory I couldn’t have endured without venting, but I’ll save that story for later when we return. Anyway.”

Perhaps because she’d looked up to Gio as an adult figure from the beginning. Though she had grown somewhat compared to before, Aram now looked up at him with the ease of a child whose tension had melted away.

“As I mentioned before we moved, it was a love letter.”

“And the gender?”

“Unless it’s a world where men wear dresses, the sender was probably a woman. There was one mention of a dress she planned to wear.”

“Dresses tend to be expensive in most cultures, right? Maybe she was a noble?”

“That’s the assumption. But the recipient of the letter seemed to be of lower status. There wasn’t a direct mention of a class system, but...”

“If that’s what you concluded, Aram, I’ll believe it.”

“Thank you. As for the exact contents, let’s see....”

After thinking for a moment, Aram continued.

“The sender referred to the recipient as ‘my love.’”

“Oh my.”

“Or things like ‘my flower,’ or ‘my little bird.’ So the recipient’s age is quite unclear.”

“Considering how sweet the language is, maybe the sender was a bit older?”

“We assume the sender wasn’t a child, at least. But the issue lies with the recipient. In the letter, they’re described both as very young and as a composed adult.”

“That’s... strange.”

“Personally, I hope they were an adult. The idea that the sender was a pedophile makes me feel sick.”

The letter was quite thick. If it had been short, not even the Moon Sect would’ve been able to interpret it. Thanks to that, they were able to decipher the language and analyze the contents in more depth.

“Perhaps the recipient could actually change their appearance at will. We’re currently assuming that the person who received this letter is the dungeon master, or someone closely connected to them.”

“Even if such a being had those powers from their human days, it wouldn’t be surprising, right? That makes sense to me too.”

“Or perhaps there was something wrong with the sender’s mind. Either way... it was someone very obsessed. It seems he offered all kinds of gifts, watching for the recipient’s reactions. He even praised their singing and dancing as too beautiful for words.”

The content of the letter was so sweet and heavy that it bordered on the grotesque. The language used seemed refined, but no amount of elegant packaging could cover the disturbing obsession.

“It felt like someone completely bewitched... but I still don’t know whose fault it was. Was the sender always so greedy, or did the recipient make them that way?”

The problem was, both were plausible. The world was full of various lunatics obsessed with “love,” and on the other hand, this dungeon had an unusually strong power to seduce people. It could very well have been both.

“The three letters we found all contained similar content. From the many decorative phrases, we could gather the era and culture, but it wasn’t enough to fully grasp the story they were entangled in.”

“So we still need more clues?”

“At this point, I kind of wish the dungeon master would just show up already. Anyway, that’s all we’ve been able to find so far.”

“You’ve done good work.”

Aram smiled as if grateful, then turned to her companions. The priests of the Moon Sect met her eyes and nodded. They were reactions that suggested they had sensed—no, calculated—something.

“It seems we’re about to enter the area that might be considered the ‘answer.’”

Just as she said, the scenery around them was beginning to change.

“This place....”

“I can’t see very well up ahead.”

“...Ah!”

One of the Collector’s members let out a gasp.

“The Gem’s Waterway!”

It definitely resembled that place.

***

“If it’s the Gem’s Waterway....”

At Cha Eun-Hyeok’s murmur, Gio nodded.

“It’s probably the place you’re thinking of, Mr. Cha.”

“Do Earth dungeons usually show up in gardens like this?”

“If we’re being precise, it doesn’t seem to be the exact same place.”

“So it’s just a resemblance?”

“There must be a reason, but yes—it’s clearly a different location in the same format.”

“...I’ve heard Cha Ara talk about it before.”

Cha Eun-Hyeok said this, looking at Gio with a strange expression.

“She said it was terrifying.”

“That’s all?”

“She also said the food was delicious.”

“Oh, how sweet.”

“Is that so.”

Since admitting they both knew of the Black Cloak, Cha Ara and Cha Eun-Hyeok had exchanged quite a few conversations. One of those was about their first encounter with the “Gem’s Waterway.”

“Truthfully, I can’t really see things very well myself....”

“But you can see the gems clearly, right?”

“Yes, it’s odd. I can only see up to right near the gems.”

“It’s because of a type of monster that grows densely in the air.”

Gio lightly waved his hand.

“Thankfully, the light of the sun passes through to some extent.”

Around his softly glowing hand, their field of vision brightened.

“How are the Moon Sect’s priests faring?”

“Our power doesn’t seem to be working very well.”

Unlike the sun, the moon cannot shine on its own. Aram shook her head as their representative.

“I’ve never actually entered the ‘Gem’s Waterway,’ but this place feels like the air is heavier than there. Among us, I’d say the Moon is the only one managing to emit some power.”

Just as she said, visibility was clear only up to the Moon and Aram who held her. It seemed the Moon had voluntarily begun to shine, judging that securing vision was important.

Even so, the surroundings were not fully illuminated. Even if it shared a format with Earth, it was clearly of a higher-level dungeon—or at least a more demanding garden. Nothing was handed over easily.

“.......”

And Gio blinked in silence.

‘...Am I the only one seeing them again?’

Even though monsters were floating around, no one else reacted.

‘This reminds me of when I first met Dana.’

The Gem’s Waterway was fundamentally a place with strong negative energy. Well, maybe it was—I couldn’t be sure, but someone like Seong-Woon said so, so let’s go with that. Anyway, ghost-type monsters were relatively common there.

‘This place... it’s a little similar....’

Some distorted ghostly figures could be seen.

‘I really do think I’m the only one seeing them.’

Gio hesitated between keeping quiet until others noticed or speaking up in advance. But since this was a dangerous dungeon, it seemed better to give a warning before anyone got hurt.

“...Just like in the Gem’s Waterway, ghost-type monsters are visible here.”

“Ah, I see.”

“They’re not showing particularly aggressive behavior like the ones in Earth’s dungeons, but given how easily things can be distorted here, it’s best to stay cautious.”

“We should prepare accordingly.”

Thankfully, the people gathered here included priests with overwhelming superiority against undead-type monsters, and «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» Collectors who specialized in curses and anomalies. The exploration proceeded relatively smoothly.

“Hm, I wonder what kind of connection there is between the ‘Garden of Pleasure’ and the ‘Gem’s Waterway’? I don’t think it’s a very well-known dungeon on Earth....”

“Well, to be blunt, it’s known as a tasteless dungeon, Bishop.”

Yoo Seong-Woon continued with his characteristic relaxed smile.

“It’s hard to achieve what counts as a successful clear—escape—but the rewards are especially lackluster. Because the effort outweighs the gains, most hunters tend to avoid it. If there’s anything profitable, it’d probably be Anti-Cat.”

“You seem very familiar with the ‘Gem’s Waterway,’ Curator Yoo. Have you entered it yourself? Was there anything special besides Anti-Cat?”

“Ah, not particularly. It’s just that my partner, Hunter Sergio, showed some interest, so I did a bit of research for him.”

“The Teacher...?”

Gio chuckled and gently stroked the round waterbird perched on his shoulder.

“My eldest child at home happens to be very fond of gems.”

“Ah, I see.”

Aram, who had memorized all of the waterbird’s habits, nodded.

“As I recall, you met Dana in the ‘Gem’s Waterway’....”

“That’s right. I brought her back and raised her, and she grew up wonderfully—so affectionate too.”

“I’ve never heard of an Anti-Cat being affectionate before.”

Right around then—

“Ah, there’s a distortion in the particles over there....”

“.......”

“...Someone’s there.”

As Aram’s face stiffened, Gio, who alone had secured full visibility, spoke up.

“It’s a clown.”

A familiar-looking clown, in fact.