The Artist Who Paints Dungeon-Chapter 136

"So."

Yoo Seong-Woon smiled with a resigned expression.

"You're turning that person into a pig, aren't you?"

"I'm glad you understand."

"It’s hard not to understand, I almost became a pig myself..."

"If you felt it was rude, I apologize."

"No, the meal was really delicious."

He continued with a nonchalant smile.

"I did feel a bit of a crisis, though."

It was a crisis about the species of humans possibly changing.

"Or else, I'd have burst from overeating."

Having gone through a difficult period known as the great catastrophe, it seemed that the older generation was particularly sensitive to fattening up the children. Gio gave off a similar vibe.

"Mostly from constantly feeding them..."

If Seong-Woon hadn't met the mermaid princess back then, he probably wouldn't have escaped from the endless cycle of meals and snacks. Most hunters, despite having large stomachs, still felt this way.

"...You’ll handle it well, but that person will eat less than I would. Don't overfeed him."

"I don't plan on overfeeding him... I made a mistake. He's suffering from indigestion."

"I'm amazed that he could even have indigestion after eating such heavenly food. But then again, eating too much of anything isn't good."

"To call it a heavenly taste is an extravagant compliment. But it was so pleasant to see him enjoying it so much that I might have pushed him too hard."

"He probably didn't even realize he was full and kept eating happily. Even if he's a researcher from the association, most are just civilians, so he probably didn't have much self-control."

He understood the situation. Gio, who liked seeing humans get fat, must have kept feeding him, and that person, lost in the bliss of the taste or feeling pressured by Gio, likely couldn't refuse.

"It would be hard to reject food that tastes so good, especially if it was served from Gio’s own stomach."

Even if he was an ordinary civilian, he was still a researcher in the association. The portrait inside the dungeon, where the flow of time and the weight of the air changed according to Gio's mood, was something that person, Jo Hyun, must have known.

"Still, considering that Gio doesn’t seem to be upset, he must be skilled in social etiquette."

Though he probably had a mess of emotions inside, Jo Hyun's attitude was remarkably bold for a civilian. It wasn’t easy to act all sweet in front of someone like Gio.

"If it had been easy, Gio would have made a pen pal a long time ago..."

Well, it might have been that Jo Hyun was in a desperate state when he acted that way.

"..."

It seemed like things were getting a bit complicated.

"I did some research on that Jo Hyun person."

"Thank you as always for your help."

"No need to mention it. But it seems that the team leader in this matter... has played some trick."

"Are you saying that that person’s superior intervened in Jo Hyun's situation?"

"Jo Hyun?"

Yoo Seong-Woon had found out that Jo Hyun was an orphan from the association’s orphanage. As it was the nature of these orphanages for children to leave their family names behind, he hadn’t specifically looked into it, but it seemed that Gio even knew Jo Hyun's surname.

"Well, it wouldn't be difficult for Gio to find out the surname of a mere human in some way."

Whether he used an emotional skill or asked with his unique social prowess, it wouldn't be surprising if Gio knew the surname of an orphanage-raised researcher.

Yoo Seong-Woon moved past it casually.

"I think that's right. Most people don't know, but a few seem to..."

He hesitated, trying to find the right words.

"It gives off a sort of... hush-hush vibe."

"They're hiding it even though they know."

"I’m not sure why."

Yoo Seong-Woon shrugged.

"I’m not involved with them anymore."

Especially in the association's research labs, which could be considered a nation under the command of a single team leader, it was easy for that leader to wield absolute power, except for minimal structures.

"Anyway, it seems like the team leader made things difficult for Jo Hyun."

"Why does the team leader have such authority and not the head of the research lab?"

"Maybe because the head of the lab doesn't actually come to work. Usually, a head of a research lab manages multiple buildings."

The association's research labs were divided into branches like Seoul’s First Branch, Second Branch, Third Branch... and the lab heads were in charge of specific branches. The head of the lab didn’t directly manage the day-to-day work; instead, the team leader did.

"How many branches of the association are there in Seoul?"

"By the time I worked there, there were up to Branch 184, but now there are 221 branches. Seoul isn't that large of an area, but most of the research labs are constructed using space expansion magic. It's quite a lot, right?"

Since there were so many labs to manage, the lab heads couldn't directly participate in the work themselves. They were too busy reviewing incoming research reports and permission requests.

Yoo Seong-Woon laughed awkwardly.

"Of course, you probably don’t understand why they have such an inefficient structure."

"Honestly, I don’t. Why not just have one head of the lab for each research facility?"

"There are several reasons, but the main one is... simply that there isn’t trustworthy staff."

The association's research labs were full of dangerous and sensitive information, some of which could be easily exploited.

"That place is filled with information that the public still has a hard time accepting and can be exploited in various ways. So they keep it contained, but there are so many subjects each year... if an ordinary person were exposed to that, it wouldn't be strange for them to lose their sanity."

"Didn't Jo Hyun feel the same way? Based on what you said, he was making a sign of the Sankalut... It's the kind of bold choice a genuinely good person wouldn't make, right?"

"I see."

"The association's research labs are filled with dangerous knowledge that can be easily abused. That's why the head of the lab must not be tempted by this information, must have the ability to resolve incidents in their jurisdiction, and must be removed from the field."

"Why should they be removed from the field?"

"No matter how self-disciplined someone is, humans are creatures of adaptation. If they only see it in documents or occasionally visit the field, the weight of the situation becomes lighter, and they might be more likely to misuse it... but if their body is kept away, it reduces the chances of them being swayed."

The association’s research labs were worse than some dangerous dungeons. Even the most carefully selected heads of the lab would eventually have their beliefs broken after long exposure to such an environment.

"And it’s not just about having a strong will. Many project subjects have their own wills, and the field workers have to endure the temptations and criticisms of these bizarre mysteries every hour."

"Why do so many people work in such places?"

"Some were drawn there by the association's strong promotion, others are from orphanages supported by the government or the association. At first, they usually give them minor jobs that don't strain their minds."

But that didn't last long before they were faced with the harsh reality.

"And above all..."

Yoo Seong-Woon hesitated for a moment before continuing.

"To become a head of a research lab, there's... some sort of procedure."

"A procedure?"

"To put it bluntly, it's either brainwashing or conditioning..."

"That’s an unexpected method."

"It's probably because of ethical concerns."

Yoo Seong-Woon gave a awkward smile.

"The first step is to find a hunter who has the qualifications to be a head of a research lab. They look for hunters who are at least A-level or close to S-level, but from that group, they choose people who are either wealthy or have no desire for power, and then they select for their administrative skills and ability to manage staff..."

"....."

"They also need to be highly skilled in various areas. Even though the A-levels have increased, it's hard to find someone close to S-level, and they must not be greedy or have too many desires... Such people are rare."

But even once they find such a person, there's still a problem.

"At the final stage, ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) they go through some sort of brainwashing to remove their greed and ensure they obey the head of the association’s orders. While it's unethical, it's not something that's forcibly done."

"You're making someone into a mere paperwork machine with the title of research lab head?"

"Not just processing papers, that's the problem. Anyway, it's hard to find someone who agrees to this process, so we can't place a head of the lab in every single research facility."

"Is this insistence on high-quality personnel for research security?"

"That's one way to look at it. Of course, if we lower the standards, we could have more staff in each lab, but then we’d have huge uncontrolled dungeons."

The association's research labs could be seen as symbols of human arrogance.

"Right now, Korea is the epicenter of many disasters. Especially the association's labs, if something goes wrong, the entire planet could be doomed in an instant. So, despite these strict processes, we can’t lower the quality of our personnel."

Yoo Seong-Woon, who had once been a research team leader at the association, said with a suppressed feeling of doubt.

"The only good thing is that as long as the lab heads and the symbol of eternity, the association's president, exist, all those dungeons are perfectly controlled."

"......"

"To put it another way, we’re relying too much on the president, taking on a lot of risks, but well. He’s focusing on the development of humanity and the analysis of its origins."

Gio asked after a brief silence.

"What is the symbol of eternity?"

"...Ah."

Yoo Seong-Woon nodded and explained.

"They are three immortals in Korea."

"Immortals?"

"They are extremely strong awakeners, and they neither age nor die."

Gio responded.

"It must be lonely."

"......"

Yoo Seong-Woon was momentarily speechless.

"...I’ve never thought of the symbol of eternity like that, so I don't know."

"Three together, it seems a blessing amidst the misfortune."

"They say they were friends even before the great catastrophe."

Yoo Seong-Woon chuckled lightly and continued.

"Anyway, as long as the symbol of eternity exists, no matter what risks are taken, it will never reach the worst. So experiments become bolder, people get weeded out, but there are more than enough people compared to the population that can handle it, so... people die, break, and get twisted, but through that, humanity progresses."

He let out a small sigh.

"That's also why Korea has been able to develop so quickly."

"Because they blindly relied on the symbol of eternity and boldly used people?"

"In summary, that’s probably it. It's high risk, high return."

But no matter how high the risk, as long as the symbol of eternity exists, the damage won't escape the research labs. Whatever research is conducted, the maximum damage is contained within the lab building, which is why the experiments are conducted so boldly.

"I don't know if I should say this, but they say failure is the mother of success, so that kind of data becomes the foundation to prevent further failures."

"I understand."

"If a research lab is wiped out, it's like, 'Ah, so this is the reaction,' and then they think, 'What if we tried this method?'... something like that... a structure where they can keep developing."

"It's a frightening world."

"Human rights and all that, it’s just a façade. Since it’s a country with such strong cultural tendencies, people are naturally objectified. It doesn’t look good."

But because of that, development happens quickly.

"The association is trying to study and uncover as much as possible about the origins, so they can shorten the time people suffer. Otherwise, this planet would still be in primitive agony 500 years from now... that's their intention."

As an immortal, the symbol of eternity had the ability to make such judgments.

"I left because I didn’t want to see that."

"I see."

"It’s a worthwhile sacrifice, but still, I just can’t stand it."

"I agree."

"...Well, that aside."

Yoo Seong-Woon stretched his neck.

"Anyway, given all this, it’s hard for me, who already quit, to find out what’s going on inside the research lab, since those people are basically tight-lipped."

"I can imagine."

"But the atmosphere seems a bit delicate. From what I can tell, I think the team leader was trying to make some sort of move through Jo Hyun."

"Did the team leader intervene in Jo Hyun’s situation?"

Yoo Seong-Woon smiled as he looked at Gio.

"You stopped it before it happened."

"I'm glad it turned out well."

"I'm always grateful, from my point of view."

It might have been a coincidence, but Gio had a habit of appearing right before incidents got out of hand and cutting the flow of events in an unexpected way.

"It’s like releasing the tension that was building up in the strangest way. Even with the mermaid siblings, it wasn’t supposed to end up like this..."

Yoo Seong-Woon was still investigating the mermaid siblings’ whereabouts, and traces of them had been found recently at Gyeongbokgung. It seemed they were planning to overthrow not only the Sunlight Church but also Gyeongbokgung.

"There aren’t many comparison cases yet, so it’s hard to say, but either way, from a human perspective, Gio’s actions were really appreciated."

Being able to defuse catastrophic events before they got out of hand was something that couldn’t be appreciated enough.

"......"

In that sense, Yoo Seong-Woon thought that Jo Hyun might have been the source of a disaster.

It was a relief that Gio found him before things escalated.

"...So, how’s Jo Hyun doing?"

"He's eating well and sleeping well."

"How does he feel?"

"He still seems a bit nervous, and he looks a bit confused."

"Yeah, that makes sense."

But the fact that he was already that stable was almost miraculous.

"I'll take care of him properly."

"I hope he’ll stay healthy."

"It would be problematic if new humans started showing up as hunters."