Chapter 19

“That was dangerous.”

Yu Seong-un said, like a sigh.

“It was a matter I agreed to, but watching the employees whisper about the ‘ghost story’ made my own heart tremble. A mutiny could have easily broken out.”

“Our guild members are not so narrow-minded as to start a mutiny over a single ghost story. Do you have low faith in your colleagues, Curator Yu Seong-un?”

“Faith or not, it was too much of a gamble, wasn’t it? This was not a matter where we could be reassured on the grounds of trust between colleagues.”

Although things turned out well in the end, the fact that it was a dangerous gamble remained unchanged.

“It was practically letting loose a being of the Source whose identity hasn’t even been properly identified….”

He still didn't know what Jio's identity was.

For some reason, that was still the case.

No matter how many books Yu Seong-un rummaged through, not a single similar entity appeared.

There might be an answer if he entrusted the investigation to the Association, but it was uncertain what the probability of that would be and in the first place, Bisabeol would not allow it.

‘He’s someone who puts so much effort into his own things.’

However, one thing was certain: ‘Jio’s Portrait’ was clearly being strongly influenced by the Source.

Gardeners and the few humans who knew of their existence referred to such monsters, items, or skills or phenomena as ‘Beings of the Source’.

It was a way of glossing over it, since it was difficult to define specifically.

It was a slightly embarrassing fact for a professional of this era, but ‘Jio’s Portrait’ was just such a case.

“It could have easily turned into a situation where we let loose a disaster.”

“Well now, what do you think Jio’s identity is, Curator Yu Seong-un?”

“Are you changing the subject….”

“It is an ordinary question.”

“…….”

Yu Seong-un shrugged.

“Of course, I do not know. Just as it has been until now.”

Jio was on a different track from ordinary Beings of the Source.

“First, it is highly probable that he is not a monster.”

“Certainly, they are hostile to the civilization outside the dungeon.”

“Their hostility is close to an instinct. It’s reflexive, like how a human freaks out or wants to kill a cockroach on sight. It’s not something a monster can control just by deciding to….”

“Even if we were to assume it’s possible, with that level of patience and judgment, they would have already surpassed the level of a ‘monster’.”

“In that sense, I judged that he is probably not a monster.”

Jio’s goodwill, being due to his affection for the species itself, sometimes felt indifferent or merciless, but that did not mean it was not pure goodwill.

Therefore, he could not be a monster.

“He is showing a completely different aspect from a monster, isn't he?”

Yu Seong-un nodded.

“Of course, there are monsters that are friendly to humans, but strictly speaking, that’s closer to a love-hate relationship than affection. The deformity incident 11 years ago, if it had been truly pure goodwill, they would have carefully observed the humans wailing in fear and sorted it out.”

“But weren't they said to have been enjoying it?”

“There’s the fact that they have no intention of understanding humans in the first place, and perhaps the humans’ reactions were simply amusing. As for this part, the incident was hastily resolved, so it ended as an unsolved case… I can’t say anything for sure either.”

“That’s not what’s important right now, so let’s move on.”

“Hmm, and….”

Yu Seong-un rolled his deep navy-blue eyes and continued.

“He is not an item either.”

“But there are certainly items with a consciousness.”

“The consciousness dwelling in an item is strictly something created by humans. It has its limits.”

He added.

“It’s not something that can be determined by how much they can think like a human… you have to look at their essence.”

“Essence, you say?”

“Jio created life, at least within the portrait.”

After a moment of thought, Yu Seong-un tilted his head.

“Perhaps the life created in such a way can come out of the painting. I haven't heard the answer from Jio, but in the first place, since he himself has no restrictions on coming out and can easily smuggle out objects from the painting, the possibility is high.”

“What if Jio draws a monster and it comes out?”

“That seems possible too. Even if it’s not, it’s already a confirmed fact that Jio alone can freely exit. If it’s just an item and not a monster, or if Jio brings out a contracted beast he has subjugated with his soul, that alone is already impossible to handle.”

“And a mere item cannot do that much?”

“All items are created by humans. Even if you think without prejudice, at most only a highly intelligent monster can create one. Creating life is impossible at the level of a human or a monster, and it has already been testified by numerous witnesses that the level of his soul is not something to be compared with a human’s. He is not an item.”

“Aha.”

Bisabeol chuckled as if he found it amusing. For his age, he looked quite childish.

“Then what about a type of skill? In the case of skills, it was proven long ago that they can handle souls. There is only one, but there is a user of a resurrection skill that can even bring back the dead.”

“That too is just fiddling with a soul that was already there; it does not create a new soul from scratch. Even if a skill capable of soul creation exists somewhere in the world… in the first place, a skill is an intangible energy that can be handled by an intelligent life form.”

“Meaning that Jio, who has a form and a consciousness, cannot be the remnant of a skill, right? But what if he is just a type of awakener who obtained a skill that allows him to turn himself into a portrait?”

Bisabeol waved his finger and said.

“Jio also refers to himself as a 29-year-old young man, and said he has been in human society in the past. In that case, he could just be a type of awakener that has not been discovered until now.”

Yu Seong-un shook his head.

“Impossible.”

“Why is that? Do you see something, Mr. Yu Seong-un, who was the research team leader of the Association?”

“If anyone can see it, it would be you, Guild Master, who sees it better…. I just know something.”

“Then what do you know?”

“In the first place, do you know why super-powered individuals came to be called ‘Awakeners’?”

“Hmm….”

Bisabeol shrugged.

“It’s not a field I’m that interested in.”

“It seems your high pride would be scratched if you just said you don’t know.”

“Well, it would be quite a lot, I am the head of one of South Korea’s top three guilds. Can you even imagine how expensive this single grain of pride is?”

“I’m sure it is.”

Yu Seong-un, who had let out a hollow, bitter laugh, continued.

“It’s easy if you retrace the meaning of the word ‘awakening’.”

“1. To wake up and come to one’s senses.

2. To realize and know.

3. An attitude of coming to one’s senses and being carefully observant and vigilant.”

“…You said it’s not a field you’re interested in, but you’re like a dictionary….”

“I wonder if there’s any meaning in becoming a guild master with just an Appraisal Skill if I don’t even know the meaning of words.”

“Ah, yes. I’m sure you’re right.”

“So which one of these is it?”

“Hmm… any of them will do.”

Yu Seong-un continued nonchalantly.

“What’s important is its essence.”

“Interesting.”

“In any meaning, awakening is to be newly configured from a pre-existing state.”

He rested his chin on his hand.

“Whether you open your eyes and come to your senses, fix your unfortunately twisted mentality, or mature internally and reflect on your younger days… it is a change that happens within that one person who has always existed.”

“Aha, so?”

“An Awakener’s skill is not a newly received ability, but a method by which an ability buried within one’s own aptitude is awakened. When dungeons appeared, energy and resources that did not originally exist on Earth were generated, and the environment changed along with it. Humans evolved to match that.”

“I think there was similar content in the Center’s textbook. So, I can understand it as meaning that the era came when one could realize that the stone one originally had was a diamond, and so they realized it?”

“That’s roughly similar.”

Yu Seong-un scratched the back of his neck.

“In that sense, Jio cannot be considered an Awakener.”

“Hmm….”

“Even if he were an Awakener, the level of his original soul would have been awakened, not newly granted.”

“I suppose so.”

Although these two did not know it, there was a flaw in Yu Seong-un’s words.

Seo Jio was a case where, during the process of Earth’s new birth, he had very, extremely, and incredibly coincidentally merged with the Source, and the level of his soul had risen.

This was a miraculous transformation with a probability that was difficult to observe in a small dimension like Earth.

“This is a headache.”

“It is a headache.”

Of course, the two of them, at a point only 30 years after the Great Catastrophe, could not have figured this out.

In their eyes, as ordinary humans, ‘Jio’s Portrait’ was simply a being that was not human from the beginning.

“…….”

Bisabeol, who had been pondering with his bright yellow eyes blinking, opened his mouth.

“Then what if we call Jio a ‘Child of the Source’?”

“That’s also a bit… strange, don’t you think.”

“Please explain in what sense it is strange.”

“Most Children of the Source have nothing that can be called reason. No, we don't even have to go as far as the Children, this applies to almost all beings born from the Source….”

Yu Seong-un said with a reluctant look on his face.

“If I were to explain a Being of the Source in one phrase, it would be a ‘living story’. Therefore, they cannot think. Even if they seem to be thinking, it’s just an illusion; they are not actually thinking.”

“Are you certain?”

“…Not really… no. No matter how much of a Gardener I am, this field has not been properly revealed yet.”

After a moment of hesitation, Yu Seong-un continued.

“I was just saying that based on the Children of the Source I have seen so far, who could all be seen as nature itself.”

It is not uncommon for a human with a strong thought to create a dungeon with their own rules and become the boss monster there.

But even they could not be called ‘Children of the Source’.

“A monster is one of two things. It was either created in a dungeon, or it became a monster because it created a dungeon.”

“Hmm….”

“It’s a different story from the ‘Children of the Source’ who are generated directly from the Source or coincidentally come to belong to the vein of the Source and are thus generated here and there in the dimensions.”

“That story is always fascinating to hear.”

Bisabeol’s eyes split thinly like a snake’s as he smiled.

“From my perspective as a Hunter, it seems the biggest secret of the world is, indeed, the dungeons.”

“That’s a good thing. There are many people who still can’t adapt to the existence of dungeons, so if you tell them that those dungeons were formed from a cosmic concept called the Source… everyone’s heads would explode.”

“I am always grateful to all of you Gardeners. Shall I make you some coffee?”

“No, thank you. I’m sick of caffeine.”

Yu Seong-un was openly disgusted.

He was already busy and often worked overtime, but recently, to talk to Jio who only opened his eyes at dawn, he had been consuming all sorts of caffeine and was on the verge of throwing up.

“Anyway, well, that’s right. If I had to categorize him, it would be much easier to explain if we call Jio a Child of the Source. There’s no other way to explain it… and the Source is not a narrow concept that can be grasped in 30 years by mere beings of Earth.”

“Well, we haven’t even fully figured out the dungeons yet, so we probably don’t have the capacity to explore the knowledge below that.”

“The Association President still seems to be very interested, but, well. It’s still hard to say anything about Jio’s identity.”

The Source is an ecosystem and nature itself.

Just as the nitrogen in the atmosphere does not understand humans, the Children of the Source are originally sorely lacking in understanding of humans.

They simply survive in their own way and cultivate their own ‘story’.

But Jio was not like that.

“How is that possible… Well, I don’t know. He said he was a human in the past, so if we investigate, we might find something…?”

“…….”

“Even so, I can’t understand how a human can become a Child of the Source. Even if he was a human, there’s a possibility that he wasn't a human from Earth.”

Many novice Gardeners often confuse ‘monsters’ and ‘Children of the Source’, but just because they were formed under the great influence of the Source does not mean they are the same.

“Monsters are born in dungeons and Children of the Source are born from the Source. They were born from different wombs in the first place, so the two cannot be the same.”

“Would it be roughly the relationship between an uncle and a nephew?”

“Hmm… it would be somewhat similar.”

The order is that ‘dungeons’ and ‘Children of the Source’ are formed from the matrix of the Source, and monsters are formed from those ‘dungeons’.

This is the usual flow.

“In the case of a human-type monster or something equivalent, they might create a dungeon first and create new rules or monsters in it, but such cases are not common….”

The phrase uncle and nephew is not that wrong.

“In the first place, there is also a theory that the dungeon itself is one of the Children of the Source.”

“Ah, is that so?”

“This part still requires more research. I can’t say for sure. Anyway….”

Yu Seong-un looked at Bisabeol.

“So, was it alright?”

“…….”

“You’ve decided to let such an unidentified being roam free.”

At that, Bisabeol shrugged.

“…Weren’t we just discussing the answer to that from the beginning?”

How on earth could one not let that unidentified, uncontrollable being be free?

“He’s not a monster, not an item, not an awakener and to call him a Child of the Source, there are too many strange things.”

“…….”

“He creates life, the level of his soul is high, there is nothing he cannot do. He does it all by himself. If there were restrictions or conditions for him to come out of the portrait, it might be different, but he does that freely and easily.”

“…That’s right.”

“How do you plan to stop him? Is it even possible? We can’t even handle a god who has become much more familiar, so how do you intend to stop ‘Jio’s Portrait’, whose identity is even more unknown?”

Bisabeol smiled and waved his hand.

“Ah, perhaps it would be possible if we took a human he cares about as a hostage.”

“Are you insane?”

“I naturally expected such a reaction. Not only is it not to the taste of benevolent people like us from a humanitarian perspective, but we also don’t know how effective a method it would be in the first place. With Jio’s level of ability, he could smuggle out a hostage anytime… then we would only incur his wrath.”

“…….”

“Do you understand?”

He laughed as if he were amused.

“We can’t stop him.”

“…I know.”

“What’s the difference between that and trying to stop a tidal wave by setting up a single small child as a meat shield? Honestly. If we can’t stop him anyway, we should at least not incur his wrath.”

He smiled thinly.

It was a smile that felt like an old man’s condescending gaze, as if placating a sulking child.

“And it would be better to curry as much favor as possible.”

As the greatest fortune in the midst of misfortune, ‘Jio’s Portrait’ is very gentlemanly, values etiquette, and is also fair.

If he receives something from someone out of goodwill, he too will return it with the same goodwill, with a greater value.

That is probably Jio’s ‘rule’.

“This incident was a kind of vaccination. It was a prior warning to coexist with a being that can never be dealt with. Fortunately, I know my employees very well, and they showed the indifference that matched my expectations.”

“…The numerous ghost story commotions that have occurred in the guild so far must have also played a part. Nothing has happened until now, so they must have thought there was no need to tremble over a single ghost story now.”

“That’s exactly it.”

“…….”

“This is the ‘Collectors’.”

A place managed by Bisabeol himself, filled only with employees chosen by Bisabeol himself, and full of works loved by Bisabeol himself.

That was the number 3 guild in South Korea, the ‘Collectors’.

“Mr. Yu Seong-un, please remember. ‘Jio’s Portrait’ is not a being we can control.”

Thinking of fighting was a foolish act.

“It is a natural disaster, and fortunately, it can communicate with us and hold goodwill. That can be seen as an incredible stroke of luck, an absurd miracle beyond that.”

“…….”

“Think that the fate of the Earth rests in your hands and don't foolishly throw away this miracle. We must be cautious, we must be bold, and we must always be kind.”

“…Did you know this would happen when you bought Jio? That since he was on the auction block, he would be revealed to the world anyway, and you made the first move for the sake of the potential disaster that might occur in the process?”

“I see quite a lot of things.”

“…….”

“I thought he wasn't an ordinary work of art.”

Bisabeol then laughed with a childish and playful face.

Dressed like a gentleman, it could have seemed quite out of place, but instead, it felt lively.

He said.

“Because he was the only work I could not read.”

He was right.

“…….”

“…I trust you, Guild Master.”

“It’s troublesome if you trust me too much.”

“To be precise, I trust your eye.”

He trusted those eyes.

Since it was a successful gamble in the end, Yu Seong-un decided to swallow his words.

“And yet, the reason I’m anxious is probably because I’m a mere human.”

“You’re harboring a talking disaster, of course you would be.”

“It feels… like right before a horror movie starts.”

Ah, right.

That's what it is.

“…Is it because I’m facing something too immense….”

What could be done about a heart that cowered before a giant?

Originally, humans were just such tiny beings.

***

Meanwhile, Jio, who on that day was the end of the Earth but actually wasn't, through a miracle of miracles that was so mind-boggling and nose-bogglingly absurd it shouldn't exist, had unconsciously merged with the Source and evolved into a haunted portrait….

“This is the taste.”

He was farming.

Meaning, he had no thoughts at all.

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