Chapter 65

Iser prided himself on not being stupid.

'... Of course, compared to my sister, I am endlessly closer to a tiny microorganism, but there is no way I could be stupid after learning so much under so many brilliant geniuses.'

'My reason is firm enough, and therefore worthy of pride.'

Perhaps especially because he had spent such a long time crossing dimensions with his cold-blooded sister, her chilliness and dryness had seeped into Iser as well.

In other words, he had become someone whose nature allowed him to put reason before emotion.

So a situation like this was extremely rare for him.

"... My apologies. I lost myself for a moment."

"No, I imagine you were startled too, Mr. Jio, given how sudden this was."

"Thank you for your consideration."

"Don't mention it."

Inside Iser, reason and emotion were locked in a fierce battle.

Even in the brief moment it took him to answer, he repeated the same line of thought dozens of times.

'... The aura of the Sun God feels extremely strong from this man.'

'Then could it be that the Sun God, who knows of my sister and me, shaped our only weakness into human form and passed the sun's divinity on to him?'

'Meeting my dead mentor this suddenly makes no sense.'

'It is too coincidental.'

But.

'This face, presence, habits, voice, and every sensation I feel all point to my dead mentor.'

'And by what means could the Sun God have achieved the resurrection of my mentor, when even my sister, who imprisoned the Sun God in the sea, could not?'

'The one before me is indeed my teacher, reincarnated through a natural process.'

Both sounded plausible, which made it even more confusing.

'If there is one thing certain among them, it is that there is no being closer to Giovanni than this person.'

Whether the being before him was an avatar of the Sun God imitating his mentor, or his mentor's reincarnation, not yet having established his own personality.

It was clear that this was a being Iser must not lose.

"When the wave came rushing in, my mind went blank for a moment."

"I apologize for showing you such an unsightly state because of my confusion."

"..."

"My head still hurts, so may I ask exactly where this place is?"

"Well..."

He seemed to know that this place was a dungeon, but did not seem to know exactly what location it had taken the form of.

'Should I call that fortunate?'

Even as he once again felt that his mentor was incomplete, Iser ended up feeling relieved.

"..."

For both Iser and Giovanni.

The fact that he could not recall the terrible things he had experienced here was a fortune for them both.

'... His personality as my teacher is definitely not complete.'

But the longer Jio stayed here, the clearer his memories might become.

Considering how he had shown no reaction at the Temple of the Sun, only to react as soon as he arrived at the research lab of the deep sea...

"Eunha mentioned it once earlier, but this is a Virtual Dungeon, Jio."

"..."

"... I haven't known what was going on for very long myself, so I don't know much, but I think it's probably a dungeon connected to the sea."

Yu Seongun glanced at Iser, then continued.

"I don't know how many of the people from the Temple of the Sun were dragged here, but there are already quite a few people we can confirm right away, and they're scattered all over the place, so it's hard to get an accurate grasp of the situation."

"Where are the prospective priests?"

"For now, I don't see them in this cavern."

"Given that this happened, of all times, during the closing event of the induction ceremony, this Virtual Dungeon seems very deliberately timed, so there is no way the prospective priests weren't dragged in."

"Then we should gather the people first."

"Shouldn't we?"

"Easy for you to say..."

He did not know how it might look in Jio's eyes, but uniting people who were frightened and scattered like this was no easy task.

The one fortunate thing was that, thanks to the dungeon master's temper softening, the threat had lessened a little.

'The chimeras that looked ready to pop out and attack people at any moment are now just lying there completely quiet, and if we do this right, we might be able to get out of the dungeon with minimal casualties... but is that possible?'

It was then.

"—Honey."

CHIRP?

Something small and yellow popped out of Jio's hood with a pop.

TRRRRRR!

It was Honey, the little bird of a new nation who went to bed early and woke up early.

Honey flew into the middle of the shadow tinged with a cold light and soon shone brightly.

"... Oh."

Almost... like a small sun.

"You've got to be kidding me??"

Yu Seongun was dumbfounded.

'He was with Honey this time too?'

'Why can I feel the aura of the Sun God from a monster as small as Honey?'

'Why?'

'Is this right?'

Whether he was dumbfounded or not, the people who had been wandering around in fear gradually calmed down one by one in the light that was full of warmth.

At the very least, it meant light had come on in the dim and eerie research lab.

"Wait, what is that light...?"

"Is that a bird?"

"F-For now, everyone, let's gather over there."

The people scattered through the cavern, which was so vast that the word expansive suited it, instinctively followed the comforting light and gathered beneath Honey.

A few of them already seemed relieved, and were sniffling with loosened expressions.

Watching them, Jio turned back to Yu Seongun.

"It's done."

"..."

Yu Seongun felt as if he could hear a voice saying, "See? Easy, isn't it?"

"... Good job..."

"Yes, I did well."

"Wow, how competent."

Just don't let them find out you're a portrait while you're at it.

'If they find out your identity on top of this already chaotic situation, I don't think I'll be able to clean it up.'

Even Bi Sabeol, who became an S-class Hunter through appraisal skill alone, had not been able to fully identify the true nature of the Portrait of Jio.

He could become human, become a monster, become a child of the Root, or even become a god.

'If that fluidity is revealed to the people here now, hostility might suddenly gather on our side.'

There had been people excitedly shouting for even an insignificant C-class Hunter to take responsibility for this situation.

In the middle of that, if they saw something nonhuman, especially something that possessed divinity, there was no telling how much of a riot they might cause.

"..."

After carefully watching that unexpectedly gentle light, Yu Seongun soon called Jio.

"Jio."

"Yes, I am listening."

"I didn't get to tell you in advance, but an A-class Hunter license was going to be sent to you soon."

"I'm a Hunter?"

"It'll be easier for you to operate on Earth that way, won't it?"

"I think the Guild Master wanted to accommodate you in his own way."

So.

"It was a Hunter license you were going to receive anyway, so when you introduce yourself to people, explain that you are Seo Jio, an unofficial A-class Hunter affiliated with the Collector guild."

"I see."

"Your profession is trainer."

"You take Honey around with you too, so that should make it easier for you to mix with other people."

"Thank you for your consideration."

"It's nothing."

So he had a small hope that Jio would please act human.

'I know that's expecting too much.'

Since the danger level of a Root entity often changed according to the size of its "story," Yu Seongun wanted to cram Jio into the category of human as much as possible.

Jio himself was pretending to be human too, after all.

But lately, from what Yu Seongun felt, it also seemed as if Jio had no will to pretend to be human.

Whatever his true feelings, Jio could never act like a completely normal human.

'So I had been thinking of separating Jio as a human from Jio as a mystery.'

This was part of that work.

'... Jio's uniquely heavy atmosphere is still there, but his status has been lowered to the level of an A-class Hunter, so unless someone has exceptionally sensitive senses, they won't be able to be certain about the strangeness around Jio.'

Of course, that only meant they could not be certain; anyone would still be able to feel some sort of subtle foreignness.

But the important part was that they could not be certain.

At that level, he could insist it was part of his holy power or skill.

"..."

"..."

Yu Seongun's eyes met Eunha's.

"... Anyway, that's how things turned out, but are you going to keep pretending?"

"I don't know what you mean."

"This situation is getting pretty funny."

"It's completely different from what I thought..."

Watching Jio walk toward the people who had gathered while murmuring among themselves, Yu Seongun asked in a voice low enough that the group could not hear.

"It looks like you've lost your intention to openly step forward and slaughter them."

"Am I right?"

"I simply no longer want to stain my hands with blood."

"That is all."

"Now that's something to be truly grateful for."

"I understand what you're saying."

"..."

"You don't want Jio to see you as a bad kid, right?"

Yu Seongun whistled.

"That's more than enough."

The changes in the monsters' behavior according to Eunha's emotional state, and the fact that the atmosphere inside the dungeon was being adjusted too.

This was an integrated dungeon that came alive according to its master's inner landscape.

It was obvious that the dungeon's difficulty would lower in line with Eunha's psychology, because he did not want to become a "bad kid" to Jio.

"As long as you stay cooperative, I'll keep quiet about your identity too, so don't worry."

"Humans have a terrible habit of hastening their own deaths."

"You would do well not to act arrogant, Hunter Yu Seongun."

"How scary."

To be honest, it was truly scary.

"Wouldn't it be nice if we could all just make life easy?"

He did not want to die in a place like this.

'If I die, Garden management will be disrupted too.'

Among the "gardens" that could be called the bloodline of the Root, Yu Seongun held roughly the position of an aorta.

Even if he found a successor, he would be busy training them for a while, so he had no room to abruptly die.

"..."

Iser glanced at Yu Seongun, then turned his sunken pearl-colored gaze away and took in the man wrapped in the Black Cloak.

A dream soon filled those eyes.

'... Truly...'

He is the same.

'There is nothing different.'

Though the color was different, that benevolent sight of him coaxing and soothing a creature of the sun while filled with warm holy power was clearly Giovanni's.

No matter how suspicious it was, he could not deny even that.

"It's such a holy sight I almost feel bad watching it for free."

"Doesn't he look just like a saint like that?"

"... I have no reaction to offer to your worthless words, but he was in fact called a saint."

Even so, he had to die so cruelly.

In a tank full of cold, by the teeth of the student he had taught, his windpipe...

'... Humans really are disgusting beings.'

At the sight of Jio bestowing mercy while embracing those vulgar monkeys, Iser felt the smile that had always been drawn on his lips twist faintly.

He still did not know whether that man was truly his mentor.

But the sight of a being who looked like him, of all things, bestowing mercy on humans made Iser uncomfortable.

'Why am I watching this scene?'

Suspicion toward an abrupt stroke of luck.

Longing and pain toward repeated memories and nightmares.

Impatience that wanted to separate the Black Cloak from those wormlike, repulsive people.

Desperation.

The mermaid, searching for a way to define this emotion, murmured inwardly.

'I really do wish they would all die.'

The moment he thought that.

"..."

"Student Eunha."

"... Yes."

"Don't stand there alone. Come here."

That large hand, now cold, reached out toward Iser.

"You look lonely."

"..."

At the words that he looked lonely in Jio's eyes, he could not bring himself to answer.

The hand of Jio that he silently took was cold after all.

Compared to his teacher's hand, which had always been warm in those long-faded memories, its temperature was no different from that of a corpse.

But it was still kind.

"... It is cold and dark, so I am frightened."

"This space is extremely barren."

"Student Eunha, you're honest."

"In that case, I will stay with you."

"Will you do that for me?"

It is a lie.

Even if you are children of the deep sea, I will stay by your side.

You said that to me before too.

'... Saying such a thing now only twists my insides.'

'Now that everything has grown cold...'

Nothing could be undone.

Without realizing it, he wanted to blame him for something, but the grip of the large hand holding his own gradually calmed his roiling insides.

When he waited as if following a forgotten habit, he soon heard a voice that was calm, like the spring breeze of a quiet evening, and also carried warmth.

"Are you all right?"

"..."

Giovanni was not a suitable person to receive resentment from something as cold as himself.

"... I don't think I'm all right."

"... Are you hurt somewhere?"

"It's because I'm frightened."

I want to kill all the insect-like humans here.

He still felt that way.

But he could not easily reveal those true feelings.

Because whether this person holding his hand was an imitation of his mentor or his reincarnation, one thing was certain in the end: he had to keep him here.

'... What should I do?'

Deep murderous intent and anxiety came over him at the same time.

'I have to keep this person alive, at least.'

And so, I have to have him...

* * *

Meanwhile, Jio.

'The world has really advanced a great deal.'

He had no thoughts at all.

"This is my first time experiencing a Virtual Dungeon firsthand, and it's quite fascinating."

"Haha, Mr. Jio, you're really bold even in a situation like this."

"Isn't it fascinating?"

"People usually find it scary rather than fascinating."

"I see."

"I understand."

Opening his eyes and closing them, only to feel as if he had been flung into a haunted house, simply fascinated Jio.

'Could this also count as part of an adventure?'

An adventure enjoyed cozily while wedged among swarms of people, at that.

For Jio, who had been alone often lately, it was a rather welcome situation.

'Though it is a little tiring...'

As soon as the enormous program called the Sun Cult induction ceremony had ended, new content called a Virtual Dungeon had walked right into Jio's arms on its own feet.

'Nice.'

No matter how he thought about it, the current situation was very far from any "cozy adventure" or "new content," but Jio's ultimate positive mindset did not yield before a mere threat to his life.

'Maybe because this isn't a situation where I'm on the verge of dying right this second, honestly, it just feels like I've come to a well-made movie set.'

'I think I have too little tension, but how was I supposed to feel tense again?'

Since there was apparently a way to escape, wasn't this just an escape room with a well-executed concept?

'Ta-da.'

Having reached a clear conclusion alone, without anyone else's agreement, Jio felt a little excited by the bustle of people around him, which he had not felt in a long time.

He responded actively to the people who showed friendliness by asking him this and that or striking up conversations.

"Then does that mean Mr. Seo Jio is a Hunter from the Collector guild?"

"That is what happened."

"Wow, I had no idea the Collector had such a striking Hunter..."

At that, Yu Seongun cut in.

"There are many Hunters like me who don't show their faces in the media."

"After all, the Collector is a guild whose main focus is gathering and managing the Guild Master's collectibles rather than clearing dungeons, so there are many Hunters like Jio who don't show their faces."

"No, but when you're this handsome, why...?"

"If he showed his face on TV just once, wouldn't he get a fan club right away?"

"It's a crime, a crime, not to show a face like this to the world while working as a Hunter, of all things."

"Haha..."

Yu Seongun forced a laugh.

"... Jio is shy."

Jio felt extremely wronged by those words, but Yu Seongun thought he had not said anything wrong.

When he thought of the Portrait of Jio, who had shown a tendency to avoid encountering people itself, it was an obvious judgment.

Even while worrying that Jio might make a mistake by showing signs that he was not human, Yu Seongun carefully observed the reactions of the people whispering in the distance.

"Hunters from one of the top three guilds really are different."

"This is my first time seeing a trainer..."

"But isn't he a little scary?"

"I feel like if I misspoke, he'd look at me like he despised me."

"His behavior and gait are noble, so could he be from some royal side?"

"Then there'd be a reason he hides that face."

"Judging from his holy power, he might be a believer of the Sun God too..."

"But since he's a trainer, he can't be a priest."

"He is kind, but for some reason, he is hard to talk to."

"Is it because he's too handsome?"

They were reactions he had roughly expected.

'... I was worried about how civilians would see Jio's existence, but their reactions are friendlier and more favorable than I thought.'

'At this level, we should be able to cover for him smoothly even after we get out.'

In that case, they would now have to officially acknowledge the existence of a Hunter named Jio, but both Yu Seongun and Bi Sabeol had already predicted that to some extent.

'A status that great isn't something you can hide by locking him in the gallery, and even if we could somehow hide him...'

'That would go against the Collector's motto.'

Moreover, they had already reached the conclusion that it would be impossible to cram this portrait's "story" into the category of human.

Since he himself could not hide it, whether Jio wanted it or not, people would eventually come to feel the unfathomable status of the Portrait of Jio someday.

If so, it was better to separate Jio as a human from Jio as a strange being after all.

'Jio, who treats himself as human, will try to get along with other people somehow.'

'If we have to leave Jio as a human anyway, we need to separate the more dangerous stories in advance.'

For that purpose, they had created the identity of Seo Jio, an unofficial Hunter of the Collector.

'If he has this identity, the part of Jio that pretends to be human... should be able to lower the danger level of that story considerably.'

'It will be a much safer choice than revealing the entirety of the Portrait of Jio to the world.'

This sudden dungeon exploration had only moved Jio's social life up a little.

It was only a difference in timing, so there was no need to panic.

Having sorted it out that way, Yu Seongun thought inwardly.

"..."

Everyone seems to have calmed down.

'This absolutely can't be called an ordinary situation, but should I see this as Jio's power too?'

There had been the matter with Hunter Cha A-ra before as well, and Jio had a strange ability to coax people.

Even though he could not even fully hide that chilling status of his.

He did not know whether that was an aftermath of his status or a personal ability, but...

"Jio, I think we should start moving soon to check whether the Cha family or any other survivors are here."

At Yu Seongun's words, the people grew anxious again and began murmuring.

"C-Can't Hunter Seo Jio stay here?"

"There are already three other Hunters, including Mr. Yu Seongun."

"While we're here... couldn't you all go clear the dungeon among yourselves..."

"Do even we have to move?"

"What if we all die doing that?"

"Someone should stay behind."

They were expected reactions, but the smile on Eunha's face, who seemed to hate humans, gradually deepening looked like a danger signal no matter how he saw it.

'At this rate, they'll all die.'

Just as Yu Seongun sighed and was about to soothe the people, Jio stepped forward.

"Then I will leave Honey here."

"Pardon?"

"But Hunter Seo Jio's summoned beast is too small..."

"Honey is stronger than I am."

"No, please don't joke."

"It's true."

Jio waved his hands as if to show his innocence.

"We will return soon, so please don't worry too much."

"I will help you."

"..."

"Since your will is this strong, everyone will be able to return safely."

Although the words had practically no special content, the sound of sniffling came from among the people again.

It seemed Jio's words had comforted and reassured them, and Yu Seongun found it a little absurd.

'They wouldn't even have listened if I said it.'

'Somehow, no one is grumbling that it's empty talk.'

In the meantime, Jio approached him and said,

"Let's move now."

"..."

The nuance was that they should run before anyone held them back further, so Yu Seongun felt strange.

He did not know whether those words just now had been sweet talk or sincere comfort, but Jio's appearance, clearly separating public and private matters, left him oddly impressed.

'To be able to grasp people's hearts so easily with just a few words.'

That really is a talent.

"You... would do well as something like an idol."

"An actor, or, well, some kind of entertainer."

"That is far too generous, but I do think I have enough aptitude."

"I think so too."

"Thank you for playing along with my joke."

"How could someone timid like me become an entertainer?"

"..."

If he could sway a crowd with his words and face, shouldn't he really become an entertainer or start a cult?

'... I have to keep my wits about me, at least.'

Yu Seongun felt an even greater sense of responsibility at the dizzying talent shown by Jio's new personality.

* * *

"..."

"... N-Noona..."

"Shh."

Cha A-ra covered Cha Yi-sol's mouth and warned him, and Cha Eun-hyuk nodded in agreement.

"Be quiet."

Now was the time to hold even their breath.

Cha Eun-hyuk glanced over his two younger siblings hiding behind him, then turned his head forward again and looked around.

In a situation where the smell of blood hung thick in the air, cold sweat flowed from him on its own.

"H-H-Hungry... hungry... hu, hun..."

"Aaaaaagh...!!"

"Agh, aaaaaagh!!"

"S-Save me...!!"

"Hun, hun, hun..."

The sight of people tearing into and eating each other's flesh.

There was clearly an infectious monster here.

Fortunately, Cha Eun-hyuk and his siblings had been able to safely hide under a desk before the situation worsened.

Though that only meant they were now trapped and unable to run away, Cha Eun-hyuk pushed his siblings, frozen with fear, farther into the corner.

"..."

He could see prospective priests hiding here and there, exchanging glances.

"... Hoo..."

Perhaps because of their small bodies, the only ones who had survived in this cavern were all young priests.

If there were any adults at all, they were only Cha Eun-hyuk and Cha A-ra.

'This is fucking awful.'

He did not know if they could survive.