The Artist Who Paints Dungeon

The dungeon no longer saw the rise of the sun.

“Will it stay like this?”

“That likely depends on what the Tree of Life decides.”

“Fair point.”

The hunters lingered near Honey, who had grown to about five meters tall.

“Wow, it’s warm...”

“Now that the heat’s gone, it’s suddenly cold.”

“He absorbed all that heat, and this is as warm as it gets? How’s that even possible?”

“Who cares if it makes sense? It’s warm, that’s enough.”

“True enough...”

Maybe because his body had grown heavier, Honey didn’t fly.

Thud.

“Let’s go home and relax.”

Thud thud thud...

“If he farts here, it’ll all go to waste.”

Thud thud thud thud thud...

“Want a treat?”

Gurgle.

Gio handed a bag of snacks into Honey’s mouth just as Kang Seodam approached.

“Hunter Sergio.”

“Ah, priest.”

“Thank you for helping with all of this.”

“It was something that had to be done.”

“Honey’s help was enormous too...”

Kang Seodam seemed about to say more but fell silent.

“......”

After a moment, he continued.

“...It’s only a big contrast compared to how it was, but the current climate is actually quite mild. If we were to compare it to Earth’s seasons, it would be something like spring.”

“Does that mean things have stabilized?”

“We’ve called for mages among those who are still active to dig into the ground, but we haven’t found anything significant yet. Even without drawing up groundwater, with how things are now... I don’t think it’ll be much of a problem.”

“I see.”

Gio asked.

“Shall we check on those little trees now?”

“Yes, we’re gathering people to accompany us.”

“I’d like to go with you.”

“That would be most welcome.”

And so, a small group of hunters moved toward where the pale purple tree stood.

Despite all the previous commotion, the little tree remained untouched. It glowed faintly in the dark, and Jeong Yeong-Won, examining the delicate tree with care, spoke.

“The climate’s changed a lot, but the tree’s temperature hasn’t changed much.”

“It seems to have lost more heat than before, but yes, I’d agree,” Kang Seodam nodded, then turned toward Sanarae.

“Do you have any suggestions?”

“Thank you so, so much for depending on me.”

“I know that’s sarcasm.”

“I don’t really have anything to say... Hmm. There’s a smell.”

“A smell?”

“Before the weather cooled, there was the stench of corpses.”

“That certainly suggests there’s been a change.”

Just then—

Meow.

From the shadow of Gio, Dana cried out.

Meow.

“......”

Meow...

At Dana’s cry, the tree’s branches trembled faintly. No matter how tired they were, these hunters were not ones to miss such movement. An unknown phenomenon caused an Eunwol guild hunter to tense.

“...C-Could this be another monster...?”

“If it was once a human that turned into a tree, then it’s not impossible.”

“Shouldn’t we be preparing for that, then?”

Before any more could be said, the tree’s branches flapped.

Flap.

“......”

Flap, flappity-flap.

“......?”

Thud...

The hunters stared blankly as the tree flailed like a puppy stuck in a swamp, trying to crawl out of the ground. About ten minutes passed.

Unable to bear the bizarre stillness, one hunter finally spoke up.

“...Sh-Should we... help?”

“It makes no sense to help a monster.”

“We’re not even sure if that is a monster...”

Not everything that moved in a dungeon was a monster. Most dungeons were, yes, filled only with monsters, but some included normal trees or wild animals.

But this tree—moving so vividly—was hard to dismiss as just a tree. Unless it was a creature that existed before this dimension became a dungeon...

“......”

“...But it looks so weak.”

“...We’ve grown pretty weak too. There are many cases where hunters got hurt by monsters that looked weak.”

“But isn’t just standing around waiting for it to crawl out meaningless anyway?”

“Yeah, we’re gonna watch it either way...”

“Let’s just pull it out already.”

“It doesn’t seem particularly hostile toward humans.”

While monsters did typically hate and threaten humans, there was a wide range of behavior across individuals. Eventually, with hesitant expressions, the hunters carefully pulled the flailing tree out of the ground.

And then, they realized something.

“...! A seal?”

Someone shook their head.

“No, it’s got a long neck and four limbs. Much wider too.”

“Then what do we call this kind of creature?”

“I think I saw something similar in another dungeon. I don’t know... a sea dragon?”

“If I had to say... maybe a plesiosaur.”

A hunter asked, incredulous.

“Did you just name a dinosaur?”

“Yeah, it’s one of those underwater dinosaurs that supposedly lived back on old Earth.”

“That’s not what I meant... How do you even know that?”

“My son’s into them...”

“Ah...”

Even though countless records had been lost since the Great Catastrophe, information about dinosaurs still lingered. Some kids still memorized dinosaur names.

“So this plesiosaur thing looked like this?”

“Yeah. Long neck, four flipper-like limbs, flat and broad body, a tail.”

“I wondered why it didn’t feel like a beast. So it was a sea dragon...”

“It was mimicking a tree. No wonder we didn’t recognize it.”

A sea dragon, trapped in a dungeon scorched by the cruel heat of the sun. One could only imagine the pain life must have inflicted on the tree to create this. Like throwing a fish into a dehydrator.

“When it was stuck in the ground, it looked just like a tree.”

Now that it had emerged, it looked like a plesiosaur draped in hanging wisteria blooms.

The small, pale-purple sea dragon wriggled forward, tapping its tail. With no visible hostility, it quietly approached Sergio. It let out a short cry.

“Moo.”

One hunter clamped a hand over their mouth.

“So cute.”

“It’s a monster.”

“Lots of monsters are cute.”

“People have different tastes.”

It was a world of individualism. Hunters freely respected their comrades’ preferences.

The tree-entwined sea dragon, seeming unbothered by the hunters’ murmurs, gently nudged Gio’s waist with what appeared to be its head. Watching closely, Gio reached into his pocket.

“Moo.”

“Are you hungry?”

“Moo!”

“Good creature.”

Sanarae asked,

“So, if it’s hungry, being a monster doesn’t matter?”

“If it eats well, it’s pleasant to watch.”

“Hmm... very clear taste you’ve got there.”

One of the hunters observed,

“That monster seems to really like Hunter Sergio.”

“Maybe because he’s a tamer...?”

“No, before you tame it, it’s just an enemy.”

“Then why is it acting like that toward him?”

It was unmistakably acting like a baby beast begging its parent for food. As murmurs spread, someone guessed,

“Maybe it’s already been tamed?”

“How? With what?”

“Just... affection and love?”

“...Does anyone here know how taming actually works?”

But no one did. Tamers didn’t just give away their hard-earned secrets. And every tamer had their own unique methods.

In the end, the hunters settled on vague conclusions.

‘Guess monsters go for looks too.’

‘Maybe he smells good? Like pheromones...’

‘Could be a monster-calming skill.’

‘Maybe it’s a tamed monster's power. No way we’ve seen everything he can do.’

It had become common courtesy not to pry too deeply into others’ affairs. In a world where unspeakable things had to be imagined rather than asked, the hunters simply let it go.

If another tamer had been there, they would’ve realized how absurd the situation was. But that was unlikely. Worship and speculation were normal now.

“Oh no, this jerky is all I’ve got left...”

At Gio’s words, the hunters were surprised.

“Hunter Sergio, you brought jerky too? I thought the muffin was it?”

“Muffin? What are you talking about? I got jelly.”

“...Wait, I got chocolate. How many snacks did you bring?”

Sanarae thought to himself,

‘If they saw him pulling out a giant cauldron from a subspace pocket, they’d shut up.’

As Sergio gently patted the sea dragon’s head like a dog’s cheek, some hunters followed his gaze. Others had already sensed it earlier.

And then—water burst forth.

“......”

“......”

“...It’s water.”

A sharp-eyed hunter summed it up.

“Looks like it was blocking the water vein.”

The hunter grabbed their communicator—to stop the mages still sweating and digging for groundwater.

The hunters looked at each other, stunned.

“So there really was groundwater here.”

“But is it okay for it to just keep gushing like that? What’s the mechanism?”

“Isn’t the flow too fast?”

Around then, Kang Seodam received another report.

“Other teams are saying the same. Some trees are still stuck and flailing, some are already out... but water’s springing up there too.”

“At this rate, isn’t the dungeon gonna flood?”

“It probably won’t flood completely. We don’t know how long the groundwater’s been sealed, but even on Earth, piercing one aquifer doesn’t drown the whole world.”

“Fair point, but still...”

Plip, plip...

Jeong Yeong-Won raised her hand.

“It’s raining.”

“What?! Wait, where should we—”

“It’s fine.”

She gently stroked a raindrop on her hand and continued.

“It doesn’t hurt anymore.”

The rain that once drove people mad with pain was gone. This wasn’t a lashing downpour, but a soft drizzle, like morning dew.

Then, the hunters saw the message from the system.

“...Raid...”

“...It’s been cleared.”

“P-Priest! Right now...!”

“The raid’s complete!!”

The Great Wisteria Sea Dragon falls into deep slumber.

Dungeon: ‘The Four-Legged Rainforest Below’ has been cleared.

Please check your reward from the system.

“We’re off work now!!”

“A wise decision.”

Kang Seodam /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ nodded.

“Let’s return.”

As they prepared to leave—

***

“Sanarae.”

“Hmm?”

“I’ve got a question.”

“Oh? What is it?”

“What is the reward from the system?”

“The reward...”

Sanarae grinned as he looked at Gio.

“You can think of it as a gift from the system.”

“What kind of gift?”

“When you clear a dungeon, the system determines how much you contributed, and sends a gift accordingly.”

“How do you receive it?”

“Usually through the system interface. It’s delivered to your bound subspace—”

“How does one do that?”

“...Why are you even asking?”

“It just seemed convenient.”

“...Hmmm...”

“......”

“......”

A faint translucent window appeared between them. Sanarae’s eyes instinctively flicked to his alert screen.

Reward Delivered

From Se■gi■o...

Gift from Sergio

: Jerky from the Golden Stepping Sheep

“I saw nothing, okay?”

“Maybe it was meant for you to see?”

“I said I didn’t see it! What is wrong with you?”

“Are you not a fan of jerky?”

Giovanni murmured softly,

“I asked because I didn’t receive anything from the system.”

“......”

First: No hunter should be ignorant of system rewards. It was basic knowledge in human society.

Second: No one could just learn system tech because it looked ‘convenient.’ Like no one could build Earth just because it seemed cool.

Third: There was no reason why someone like ‘Hunter Sergio’ wouldn’t receive a reward—unless he didn’t have a system at all, or used a different one.

“......”

And he had no reason to share any of that with Sanarae...

“Looks like everyone else left.”

“...Yeah.”

“Shall we return too?”

“Why not?”

Sanarae chose to shut up and smile.

He’d learned there was no wiser answer than that.