The Artist Who Paints Dungeon-Chapter 359

Bisa Beul’s body was quite weak.

Compared to an ordinary civilian, he was healthy and resilient, sure—but the problem was that with that level of physical ability, he couldn’t possibly survive inside a dungeon. In B-grade dungeons or higher, even breathing itself could become difficult.

The reason why someone like Bisa Beul could remain unscathed in the Garden of Pleasure—rated S-grade or above—was...

“Ah, ah, hold on, hold on.”

To put it simply, he had incredibly sharp vision.

“To the side, there, yes. A little more to the side.”

“Executing.”

“38.98 meters—take that into account.”

“Executing.”

“Whoa... watch your head.”

“Yes, Guildmaster.”

Clang!!

Crunch, crackkkk—!

Shatter...!

In the blink of an eye, countless rings lit up, shattered, cracked, and flickered again. And it wasn’t just his own rings—what he had been wearing like a mad crow, his “works,” began to shine.

“Careful.”

“Yes, Guildmaster.”

And among Bisa Beul’s “works” were his guild members as well.

“Hold your breath within a 500-meter radius. Ah, you can breathe again. Three close-range operatives in mid-rank, scream now.”

“Aaaaaargh—!!!!”

“Kyaaaah—!!!”

“Good, now move.”

Kwagagagagagagak!!!

Dozens of giant hands stretched out toward the area where the screams had come from, and as the agents ducked into the ground to avoid them, the clowns swarmed in. Naturally, the clowns were crushed and burst to death.

“Ten operatives on the front line, give me your professional smiles~ C’mon now, smile!”

Ten guild members fighting furthest from the center smiled as if they’d been drawn on. Smiles like those seen at the front desk of a hotel—and above their heads, halos descended. They sparkled as if made of gold, catching the eyes of the monsters.

“Thirty-two in close-range formation—suppress aggro.”

“Yes, Guildmaster.”

“Executing.”

Thirty-two operatives blocked and cut down the clowns who reached toward them as if hypnotized. The clowns, mesmerized by the golden halos, couldn’t dodge and took the hits. On top of the destroyed clowns, golden flowers bloomed brilliantly and began to devour the surroundings.

“Ten of you—close your eyes and tear off the halos. Ten minutes of darkness.”

“Yes, Guildmaster...!”

Tudukduk—...!

All ten simultaneously closed their eyes and tore off their halos. The thirty-two nearby operatives helped their staggering comrades retreat. Bisa Beul turned his eyes again.

“No one is to approach within ten meters of me.”

“Yes, Guildmaster.”

An earring shattered with a sharp clatter, and at the same time, a thread-woven bracelet began to burn. Blood flowed from Bisa Beul’s ears. He wiped it with a handkerchief and said:

“Regroup.”

When those protecting him regrouped, Bisa Beul shouted:

“Sound suppression!!!”

“Yes!!!”

The Collector’s guild members blocked their ears using items, tools, or their hands. The Moon Sect’s priests also took the cue and blocked their ears. Then, as if the world paused, a bizarre thunderous roar exploded—and half of the clowns’ heads burst like fireworks.

“Random forty-four, deliver criticals and regenerate.”

“Yes, Guildmaster!!”

Forty-four operatives slit their own throats and immediately used healing items to recover. As they did, the bracelet that had been burning on Bisa Beul’s wrist turned to ash and scattered. He looked over his burned hand and arm, then grinned.

“...Fieldwork’s rough as expected. Now that I’m getting older, running around is no easy thing.”

“You’re acting like such a baby again.”

“If our Chamber Master says it’s whining, then I suppose it is.”

Bisa Beul responded to Garasani’s remark with a chuckle and turned to Gio, who ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) stood at his side.

“What did you think, Hunter Sergio?”

“More intense than I imagined.”

“And?”

“Meticulous.”

“Artistic, wouldn’t you say?”

A happy smile spread across Bisa Beul’s face.

“I’m glad I could show you how the Collector fights, son.”

Through countless cursed and loyal “works,” Bisa Beul commanded the battlefield. That was the reason someone with such mediocre physical strength could survive just fine even in a dungeon this dangerous.

“Seems like things are stabilizing now, so I think I’ll stop here. Unless it's a critical situation, this kind of deployment actually leads to bigger losses.”

“So you won’t continue.”

“The monster wave seems to be subsiding too... at this rate, it should be manageable without me. I’ve no interest in wasting valuable works.”

“A collector’s answer through and through.”

“Of course. That’s my identity.”

Saying that, Bisa Beul grumbled while standing next to his bodyguard, “Hunter Sergio.”

“Tch, if only my vision were a little better, this would’ve gone even more smoothly.”

“You’re dissatisfied?”

“I think I’m getting farsighted. Even these magnificent eyes can’t beat time.”

“That was a funny joke.”

Saying so, Gio quietly thought:

'Maybe this man is the real ghost story.'

Watching a man generate a whole collection of ghost stories in mere moments, Gio lost a bit of confidence. That dreamlike jewel cave had become a grotesque den in an instant. Even a haunted portrait like himself didn’t dare make a move in this chaos.

'There seem to be some serious human rights issues here, but everyone looks way too used to it for me to say anything....'

Indeed, this was a world where human rights were ignored like breathing. That was the true horror of a generational gap.

***

“How was it, impressive, right?”

Yoo Seong-Woon, now returned in a thoroughly battered state after the battle, approached Gio with a satisfied smile.

“No one fights like the Collector.”

“If there were two of you, that’d be a problem, wouldn’t it?”

“That’s true in many ways, but I’m sure it was interesting to watch.”

“Honestly, it was a little too fascinating... made me feel strangely inadequate.”

“Well... I suppose it’s not quite your taste, even if it was fascinating.”

Even as he said that, Yoo Seong-Woon grinned.

“But it was fun, wasn’t it?”

“.......”

Gio smiled, lips sealed tight. A quiet kind of stubbornness was showing.

“Oh, come on, you can be honest, you know?”

“I still possess the necessary social skills to survive human society.”

“Your definition of ‘social skills in human society’ sounds a little too idealistic. The world isn’t a textbook. It’s not that pretty.”

“Please don’t try to implant rude and unkind common sense into me.”

“Oops, yeah, I guess that’s a bit dangerous.”

Yoo Seong-Woon’s smile remained relaxed as he spoke. Around them, the Collector staff were murmuring. The reactions were quiet enough that the Moon Sect’s priests, busy tending to the aftermath, didn’t hear them.

‘Is that guy really okay?’

‘Could Curator Yoo Seong-Woon have suffered mental contamination? That’s dangerous in a dungeon like this...’

‘Maybe he’s finally been brainwashed by his assigned piece.’

Yoo Seong-Woon was one of the more well-known curators in the Collector’s Guild—trusted with major events and missions. That someone like him would show such comfort around a piece like “Hunter Sergio”... it was hard to comprehend.

‘Or maybe that is the correct response?’

‘Just what kind of rules allow for that kind of behavior?’

And watching Gio, Yoo Seong-Woon, and the rest of the Collector staff like this, Bisa Beul looked pleased. The corners of his lips curved up in a very contented smile.

“.......”

“You look happy.”

“I never imagined I’d get to see Curator Yoo Seong-Woon like that.”

“I understand what you mean.”

Garasani nodded. Yoo Seong-Woon was one of Bisa Beul’s more cherished works, and so he was likely enjoying the chance to see a new side of him.

It hadn’t been that long since Yoo Seong-Woon began showing such sides of himself. And more importantly, aside from Sergio and Manager Joo-Hyun, he remained the same as before to everyone else. Garasani thought to himself:

'Looks like he won’t get boring anytime soon.'

Yoo Seong-Woon was still far from being anything like ordinary or heroic.

Even this rare behavior in a specific context seemed to be part of what made him a “work.” And since his core qualities as a Collector’s piece remained, it was safe to say he wouldn’t be discarded.

Peaceful as the situation seemed—for the moment—there had still been losses.

“.......”

“.......”

“.......”

Aram silently gestured to gather the priests. Each began tending to the bodies of the fallen or offering blessings in their own way. A calm, scholarly face devoid of overt sorrow stood out.

But this was how the Moon Sect honored the sacrifices of their comrades. In a world where countless people and friends died as a matter of course, the priests expressed their sincerity not through words, but through action—and through results, not process.

They were very clearly grieving.

“...Ahem.”

The Collector’s members fell silent as they watched the Moon Sect priests pray for their fallen. Quietly, they helped recover the corpses so as not to interrupt.

It was clear just how intense the battle had been.

“.......”

Gio, watching all this, asked Yoo Seong-Woon:

“Wasn’t there a way for everyone to survive?”

“You mean if you had stepped in a bit more?”

“Yes, but...”

“Yeah. But you know as well as I do—it’s better if you don’t.”

It wasn’t just Yoo Seong-Woon’s opinion. From the beginning of the operation, the stance had been that “Hunter Sergio” should refrain from participating in combat during the Garden of Pleasure raid.

That had come from the entire Collector’s Guild.

“You’re a special case.”

“I’m unofficial special personnel, yes.”

“Exactly. You’re an exception.”

In truth, “Hunter Sergio” was essentially an auxiliary member of the Collector, not regular staff. Of course, this was all semantics. The Collector simply knew that resolving everything through the goodwill of a non-human piece was a bad idea.

No matter how humanlike and kind a piece might be, there were limits. Or rather—no, because there were no limits, problems would inevitably arise. If humans relied on beings like that, in the end, they’d end up confined to a pleasant little zoo.

Eventually, that’s how it would be. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

“There’s no such thing as utopia.”

And there shouldn’t be. Even Gio’s Portrait agreed on that point.

“So even if we act a little restrictive, please bear with us.”

“I am an ordinary human.”

“Sure you are. But even if I generously concede that you’re human, you’re definitely not ordinary.”

“Is this something necessary for your people as well?”

“I think I said this before we entered... but yes, obviously.”

Earth truly was, objectively, a world for ‘ordinary humans.’ Even if it was full of corruption and treated people like parts, even if life was cheap—it was still the world they had created, the cowardly culture of their time.

That couldn’t be denied. Changing the world had to be done by human hands, and so accepting reality, learning from the past, and improving the future was the right thing to do.

“Your beloved Symbols of Eternity thought the same, didn’t they?”

“Yes, which is why I agreed with your opinions and limited my actions to the minimum...”

“But you don’t like watching people die, do you.”

“Still, since everyone else seems used to it, I was wondering if I could adapt too.”

“Feels like I’m teaching you something bad. Sorry about that.”

He wasn’t so much sorry as terrified—but he said it anyway. Yoo Seong-Woon, with his trademark relaxed smile, gently patted Gio’s shoulder as the latter stared toward the priests.

“There are things we have to handle ourselves.”

“In some ways, I am the cause of this situation, am I not?”

“He would’ve come looking for you anyway.”

“But the fact remains—I became the passage.”

“I’m grateful and intrigued by how human you’ve become, but you don’t need to take responsibility.”

“You’re saying that because I’m not a normal human, right?”

“Even if you were a normal human, this would still be our responsibility.”

How many people had tried to summon an evil god? Cases where they succeeded were likely more common than the government and Association let on. And yet, humans had always been the ones to clean up.

No one happened to be listening in on their conversation. They were speaking quietly enough, and the surrounding noise drowned them out. After checking the surroundings, Yoo Seong-Woon continued.

“Even those called S-rank hunters—who aren’t considered human—don’t interfere in situations like this.”

“That’s only if they weren’t directly responsible for the cause.”

“So you feel responsible, because you think you caused this?”

“I touched it, so I should handle it.”

“You didn’t say any of this before we entered the dungeon... hmm.”

Yoo Seong-Woon let out a laugh that was half amused, half uneasy. He’d sensed a subtle directionality from Gio.

'...Is this a wish being lured out? That’s a classic method gods use to intervene in the mortal realm...'

Before he could finish the thought, Gio spoke smoothly.

“I was taught that life is precious. The world is truly frightening.”

After a brief pause, Gio asked:

“...About Miss Cha Ara.”

“Hm? Oh, the clown?”

“She didn’t call out to me.”

“Huh... true, she didn’t count your ‘contribution’ very highly.”

“But what if that contribution was related to ‘reaching the answer’?”

“Well then, it would make sense that Bishop Aram was called first.”

“And the gardener and food cart owner who helped us travel this far with ease.”

Then Gio pointed to himself.

“In that case, why wasn’t I included?”

“...Didn’t you also help a lot with your ‘priestly’ power?”

“But she didn’t call me.”

“She meant you were an exception.”

“So really, everyone refuses to treat me like a person.”

“Um, uh, hmm... I guess...”

“I’ve felt it every time.”

Even when Gio joined a dungeon clearing team, he never received the ‘system’ rewards. No congratulations, no completion messages. Gio was always an exception in this world’s dungeon clear system.

But if—say—the so-called “system” was another form of “Sergio”...

“...Am I supposed to change too?”

“Why are you suddenly saying something so terrifying?”

“Mr. Zeorge wanted people to break free from the system and evolve.”

“Hmm, that’s true? Though, seeing how this dungeon works, I’m not sure that’s a sincere goal... but anyway.”

“Wouldn’t that include me too?”

“...Hm?”

“I also have a system.”

It was just a little different from everyone else’s.

“But if I desire it, and if it happens...”

Gio blinked.

“.......”

'Then what do I become?'

A haunted portrait—could I evolve beyond that?

Was that really what he meant?

***

“Hyung....”

During a rare moment of regained rest, the young priest clung to Gio’s sleeve.

“...Hyung, Gio hyung....”

“Yes, I-Sol.”

“Please save my sister.”

“You mean Hunter Cha Ara, right?”

“...Please. I... I can do anything....”

“Why would you say something like that?”

“.......”

“...Hmph.”

Gio wiped the tears from the young priest’s eyes.

“It’s about time you grew up.”

Even at twenty-nine years old, wasn’t that fascinating?

People age and age—but still, the time for change comes.