The Artist Who Paints Dungeon

“It was a miracle.”

The researcher nodded at the woman’s voice, which sounded like a machine.

“Yes, it is a miracle.”

“Do you think the being that Team Leader Jeong Da-woon witnessed was a monster?”

“I’ll have to ask the gardeners for their opinions, but no, it’s not a monster.”

The researcher shrugged.

“A monster... basically has to have a hatred for humans.”

They don’t call them monsters or monsters for nothing. Humans called other-dimensional beings that hated humans endlessly monsters with fear and contempt.

“This case is completely different. We examined the hunters who returned alive, but we couldn’t find anything abnormal anywhere. If ‘Black Cloak’ had been a monster, we wouldn’t have let them go alive in the first place, and we would have brainwashed them to get them out.”

“But I think it would be better to just say that they were monsters.”

“Yes. The ‘Black Cloak’ seemed too interested in human society to be a god. It’s possible that he’s an evil god... Whether he’s a real god or whatever his true identity is, since he’s shown the power to directly influence humans, it would be wiser to explain to the hunters that he’s a monster.”

“That way, we can make them wary.”

Gods and monsters have become quite familiar entities in modern times, but their perceptions differ greatly.

In the case of gods, there would be people who would consider it an honor to see their form even once, but monsters would be wary and try to keep their distance.

“If it backfires, the very existence of a ‘human-friendly monster’ might appeal to the romantic feelings of the citizens, but for that to happen... there would have to be a lot of favorable cases and exposure. And the probability of that happening is low.”

It seems like a mystery that’s quite closely related to the source, but the closer the source is to humans, the more ignorant and reserved they are toward them. It wouldn’t be easy to show up on this small planet.

“Of course, the ‘Black Cloak’ could actually create many cases of kindness, and so it could be talked about by the citizens. However, it would be difficult for the citizens to simply accept the kindness of such a being. The ‘Black Cloak’ would not be able to become a friendly image to the people.”

“We should also keep in mind the possibility that the ‘Black Cloak’ is well-mannered and has a high level of understanding of humans. However, the story of declaring it as a monster is valid. Since the existence of the source is close to a natural disaster, we should at least instill a sense of caution.”

“In fact, there is no difference between a god and a monster in terms of threats to humans, but I think that’s why the image is important. If we tell people that it is not a god but a monster, even if the ‘Black Cloak’ shows hostility toward humans in the future, the survival rate will increase.”

The researcher continued, gently rubbing his chin.

“However, even if someone witnessed it, they wouldn’t believe it even if you said it was a monster. Even the Jeongdaun Hunter said it was a monster, but his reaction was almost like someone who had received the hand of God.”

“Did you see any signs of admiration?”

“I can’t say it’s that much yet, but if we don’t come up with any countermeasures for the ‘Black Cloak’, I think a religion could really be created. Especially in this day and age, superstitions like this can easily become popular.”

“It would be good to firmly establish the perception that the ‘Black Cloak’ is a monster. I would appreciate it if you could work with the information processing team to proceed with this part. I will create a project under my name, so please notify me.”

“Thank you for your consideration.”

The woman nodded.

“This incident was a great miracle, so I understand Team Leader Jeongdaun’s reaction.”

“...That... is definitely true.”

The researcher hesitated for a moment, then quickly agreed.

“Whether the ‘Black Cloak’ was a monster, a god, or the Source, it’s hard to believe that he saved many humans without paying a price. In either case, there are no guys who are kind to humans.”

Monsters hated humans. Gods treated humans as toys, and the Source was indifferent to humans.

The fact that they could communicate was amazing in itself, but it was ridiculous to receive help.

“... I think this is the problem. People still have the illusion that monsters are kind to humans. The existence of the profession called trainer is fanning that illusion.”

“It can’t be helped because there’s a lack of formal education. This is something that needs to be addressed gradually as we expand public education, but it’s not something that can be solved right away.”

“That’s true, but....”

Among the Hunter professions, trainers could make contracts with monsters and borrow their power. Because of that, there were fools who dreamed of the absurd dream of being able to tame monsters as their own pets.

‘Time is the best medicine.’

It’s only been 31 years. South Korea shed as much blood as possible and grew as quickly as possible, but its civic consciousness did not grow accordingly.

Since it was enough time for a generation to be born after the great disaster, many people did not know about the horror and cruelty of monsters, but on the other hand, public education was not easily established, making it difficult to inform people about the dangers of monsters.

“Rather, people in the provinces are more thorough in that regard.”

“Residents in the provinces have to be on guard because they do not have the same protective walls as the city. You never know when a monster might come down to the village and slaughter people, or when you might climb a mountain and end up in a dungeon.”

“There is nothing more certain than learning through your own body.”

But since we can’t just throw all the city’s citizens into the dungeon and let them experience the monsters, it was a headache for the association staff. No matter where we went, there were a lot of idiots who couldn’t figure out the topic.

“Anyway, I’ll take this into consideration and try to create an atmosphere where people won’t easily approach ‘Black Cloak’.”

“.......”

“I think this is really ridiculous, but... if ‘Black Cloak’ is truly a being who does favors for humans, there will be people who have delusions that are not true.”

There’s a reason why they say that you should do favors when you do them favors, but there have been many cases where innocent monsters who were quietly living were offended and suffered extensively.

‘If a monster does favors, there will be idiots who think they are the chosen people because of it. Like they are special and deserve this favor... It’s just that these guys cause accidents and natural disasters.’

Not all monsters want to kill humans. There were definitely monsters that hated humans, but because of that, they lived in hiding.

However, it was only half a year ago that half of the countries overseas were divided because of a hunter who took such monsters lightly and messed with them.

Sitting still doesn’t mean you’re weak, but it’s really a stupid judgment.

“Should I assume the worst and upload the information?”

“Yes, please.”

“Then I’ll report back later.”

The researcher bowed his head in respect to the eternal symbol that supports the world.

“Chairman.”

“.......”

The chairman smiled brightly.

It was a mechanical smile that showed no emotion at all.

Identification Number

0S-328-D

Response Level

S(-)

Entity Type

Humanoid

Entity Name

Black Cloak(-)

Powers

Painter(-)

A humanoid entity first discovered by the 183rd Search Team 3 of the Korean Hunter Association.

It is a male figure covered with a thick black cloak. The face cannot be seen. Inside the cloak, he wears a black shirt and suit. It is estimated to be about 185~9cm tall and in its late 20s to early 30s.

It was given the temporary name 'Black Cloak' due to its external characteristics, but it seems that the entity name needs to be adjusted after additional information is acquired.

As for a special feature, the first discoverer, Jeong Da-un, testified that there was a light noise when walking (the sound of dry plants hitting each other). In the case of Kang Eon-seo, a team member with an enhanced /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ sense of smell, he testified that he smelled the scent of the forest, so it can be suspected that it is a plant-type monster. More information is needed about the type of entity.

Initial Sighting Situation

He helped the first discoverer and the Hunter Association's search team leader, Jeong Da-un, and his team. If he does not hear an answer to a question during a conversation, the entity does not move on to the next situation and repeats the same question exactly the same. Its intelligence is evaluated to be much higher than that of a human.

As it has been identified, the power of the 'Black Cloak' is 'Painter', which allows it to create a frame in the air or turn humans into paint and use that material to draw a 'picture'. The first discovery team is complaining of some mental distress.

Although he rescued the first discovery team out of the 'Deep Sea Country' as a favor, he showed ignorance of the mental limitations of humans by turning the team into paint. It seems that additional information will be acquired in the future and a response level adjustment will be necessary.

Based on the testimony of the first discoverer, Jeong Da-woon, it has been confirmed that the ‘Black Cloak’ showed a friendly attitude towards humans. However, since the rule of the ‘Black Cloak’ is understood to be ‘to respond obediently’, there is a high possibility that it will show hostility if the emotion of the subject changes negatively. Special care is required when responding.

In addition, the possibility that it was a high-ranking member of the dimension is being reviewed based on the internal clothing of the cloak, voice, and behavior. Since information from various aspects is insufficient, the continuous attack on the ‘Deep Sea Country’ has been approved, and related requests will be accepted.

All comments (1,352)

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...

“Oh my.”

Yoo Seong-un, who was checking the monitor floating in the air, cleared his throat.

“This is up.”

“What’s the problem?”

“No, that’s....”

Yoo Seong-un, leaning against the wall right next to ‘Geo’s Portrait,’ continued speaking while looking at the screen.

“Your information has been posted on the KHNA homepage.”

“If it’s KHNA, then it must be the Hunter’s Association..”

“Yes, that’s one of the things you mainly do. We organize monsters that pop up here and there and need countermeasures or that are threatening on their own and post them on the homepage.”

As he said that, Yoo Seong-woon smiled awkwardly and looked back at the portrait.

“That doesn’t mean you’re a monster.”

Although he’d let his guard down recently while hanging out with them, that didn’t mean that Geo, the source being, was any less dangerous.

In particular, Yoo Seong-woon clearly remembered the way he sometimes became natural in human form.

‘It wouldn’t be nice to hear someone who thinks they’re human beings call themselves monsters.’

Yoo Seong-woon added.

“But there’s nothing we can do about it from the people’s perspective. Normal people don’t live inside portraits like you, right? If that were possible, at least they wouldn’t be human, well, something like that...”

“That’s a sufficient answer.”

“That’s fortunate.”

Yoo Seong-woon, who had been skimming through the contents of ‘Black Cloak’ posted on the homepage, opened his mouth again.

“Judging from the description that the face is unrecognizable, it seems that the face definitely didn’t sell.”

“Thank goodness.”

“.......”

Yoo Seong-woon asked after thinking for a moment.

“Geo, can you change the face in the portrait?”

“I didn’t understand the question properly.”

“The portrait you’re in right now shows your face as is. As I said before, in order for you to live well together without being threatened by people, it’s necessary to separate the identities of ‘Black Cloak’ and ‘Sergio.’”

The existence of the source changes its risk level fluidly depending on the ‘story’. That’s why Yoo Seong-un created an environment where ‘Portrait of Geo’ could act as a human, but Geo often acted as if he wasn’t human to anyone.

‘It’s so suspicious that you wonder if he really intends to imitate a human.’

Because of that, Yoo Seong-un had to distinguish between ‘Sergio’, who people saw as a human, and ‘Black Cloak’, who they saw as an unidentified ghost story. ‘Portrait of Geo’ sometimes acts like a human and sometimes not, so this separation was possible.

If we separated it like this, we could reduce the risk level of some of ‘Portrait of Geo’. And for that to happen, the appearance of ‘Portrait of Geo’ had to remain unknown to the world.

“Since ‘Portrait of Geo’ shows your face as it is, even if you go around as blond, blue-eyed Giovanni outside... everyone will eventually realize that Black Cloak and Sergio are the same being.”

Even if the color of the hair or eyes, or the personality, changed, the face itself did not change. The pale-faced ‘Geo’ had the same appearance no matter who Geo was.

Since it was covered by a bulky cloak, the exact body structure may have changed a little, but at least the face.

“And you also move through portraits, right? If your portrait were hung in a public place, and a black cloak was seen nearby, and the fact that the face was the same as that of the Hunter ‘Sergio’ of the Collector’s Guild became known, it would be very difficult.”

“I think that’s a reasonable opinion.”

The portrait, which was silent for a moment as if it was thinking, soon changed.

He raised his hand and stretched it out... .

“.......”

“...Uh....”

“Can’t you see the face at this point?”

Geo’s face drawn on the portrait was covered by ink as black as ink, making it invisible.

“...The face is not visible, but....”

I felt a little upset.

“...This is a portrait of your face, is this okay?”

“Yoo Seong-woon said that my face is showing.”

“I thought I could just wear a cloak.”

It felt like someone had painted over a masterpiece that was one of a kind in the world.

‘If I were like this, the leader of the Bisabal Guild would go completely crazy...’

Since he was someone who sometimes got distracted when it came to art and artwork, it felt a little creepy.

“.......”

Yoo Seong-woon looked at the portrait covered in black paint with a pitiful gaze. The paint was applied by drawing strokes with a large hand, but Geo’s black hair and lower face were still visible.

Even that was slowly being covered by the paint dripping down.

“...So you can see the front?”

“I can see it well from my side.”

“Will it stay like this even if the portrait is placed somewhere else?”

“It will stay like this unless I wipe it off.”

“Then there is definitely no chance of my face being revealed.”

“The staff here know my face.”

“Oh, that’s okay.”

The staff of the Collector’s Guild were particularly tight-lipped. There was no risk of information about the ‘Black Cloak’ leaking out.

‘That’s how much Geo’s story will be confined inside this Collector’s office and grow bigger. If things continue this way, there is a high probability that Sergio’s story will not be minimized even inside the Collector’s office or in front of our staff.’

In the Collector’s building where people who already knew the identity of the ‘Black Cloak’ resided, even if this portrait walked around in the form of ‘Sergio’, the sense of discomfort would not be covered up.

But that alone was enough.

“Those people never leak information to the outside.”

“Do you have any basis for that?”

“They only gather people who really hate getting involved in big things....”

“They won’t spread it, even for their own reputation.”

“Besides, if I tell you that, wouldn’t the leader of the Bisabal Guild know? If they find out that you’ve been talking nonsense, you could be dragged to some lab, but no one would open their mouths.”

One of the characteristics of the Collector’s Guild is that the relationship between the staff members is very close, perhaps because Bisabal has been scouting each and every one of their jobs. They’re all reclusive evasive types.

“There’s absolutely no chance of information spreading here.”

Yoo Seong-woon smiled bitterly.

“If I hadn’t gotten involved right away, I would have just clenched my teeth and pretended not to know, but what about the leaks....”

“I see.”

“Even if someone outside demands a leak with a promise of compensation, the guild is already taking good care of it, so there’s no one in this guild who would take that risk and seek profit. In a similar vein, threats wouldn’t work either.”

One of the biggest characteristics of the Collector's Guild was that everything from the building to the staff was Bisabal's collection.

Bisabal took special care of his staff's welfare, but because of that, no one was stupid enough to mess with his 'collection'.

What are you going to do?

"So I'll tell you again, everyone will really grit their teeth and pretend not to know. They'll really go crazy."

They are people who just want to finish their work and go home and rest. They have a strong sense of responsibility, but they also hate being bothered, so you can rest assured in this regard.

"But...."

"Is there a problem?"

"...It's nothing."

"Yes, go ahead."

"You've gotten scarier."

"......."

"Because of the paint...."

Geo finally responded after a long time.

"Ah."

He looked unusually pitiful.

The painter who draws dungeons