46

Chapter 46

Gio returned to the cabin.

“……”

Only now, after determining the danger level of the young man he had encountered at Gyeongbokgung Palace, was he checking the reward he had received from the System.

“I was busy.”

Reward: Seal

“I was busy eating.”

He knew the System possessed no consciousness, yet found himself making excuses anyway.

“I wondered what this Seal was….”

Gio looked at a stamp that appeared to have been carved from marble.

“……”

He held the stamp against his faintly glowing back. Its clear radiance, like sunlight passing through a thin blanket, was beautiful.

It resembled marble, but its mineral quality differed. Looking down at the small pillar that seemed to emit a faint pulse as though alive and breathing, Gio murmured,

“Where have I seen this before?”

“Kkururuk?”

“It is absolutely not food, so stop looking at it greedily, Honey. No matter how much you like jewels, I think this would be going too far. If you truly crave marble, visit the spring where trees grow with a similar stony texture.”

“Kkungkkungkkung….”

“Acting cute will not change my answer.”

The System had evolved Seo Gio, an exceedingly ordinary human, into a Portrait whose personality shifted without warning. A Seal given by such a thing could hardly be ordinary, and he could not allow Honey to swallow it casually.

“Mm….”

After examining it from every angle, Gio reached an answer.

“Was it a sealing-wax stamp?”

Sealing wax was a sentimental item used to close letters. The object appeared to be a stamp used to press a beautiful, impressive design into the candle-like wax after melting it. In other words, it was a kind of seal.

In the era Gio had lived in, it was an item chosen for sentiment rather than practicality. That aside….

“I have no wax.”

“Kkuk?”

“Nor do I have anyone to whom I could send a carefully decorated letter.”

“…Kkuru….”

“Tears obscure my vision.”

I’m a firefly.

“I have no friends.”

“……”

“…Was this meant to suggest I make a pen pal, at least?”

Gio did not know why the System had given him such a Seal, but since he understood nothing anyway, he interpreted it however he pleased.

This was unquestionably the System’s consideration, urging the friendless Gio to form a new connection.

“Then let us begin by sending a letter to Mr. Yoo Seongwoon.”

Yoo Seongwoon, the easiest target.

And so the exhausted modern man Yoo Seongwoon suffered another unexpected calamity today.

“……”

After finishing work and returning home, Yoo Seongwoon nearly suffered cardiac arrest.

“…Why is there a letter…?”

An unfamiliar letter rested on the living-room table.

“……”

After looking around, he murmured,

“There are no signs of intrusion.”

With help from Guild Master Bisabeol, who cared about his employees’ safety, the security of Yoo Seongwoon’s residence was so thorough that no one below S-rank could enter. That was why an openly suspicious letter sitting inside startled him.

Yoo Seongwoon sighed briefly, calmly arranged his emotions, then sat on the sofa beside the table.

“Let’s have a look.”

Rustle.

The letter sounded more like dried grass.

“……”

Dried grass.

“…Gio?”

For some reason, he felt he knew who had sent it.

‘I’m not certain, but that’s the impression it gives me.’

The envelope felt similar to hanji, though it was far drier—and much softer. Yoo Seongwoon stared at the outer envelope, as black as Gio’s eyes, then lowered his gaze to the wax sealing the letter.

It possessed the texture of a glittering jewel.

“Oh….”

It was definitely Gio’s.

‘…It appears he melted a jewel like candle wax while preserving its crystalline structure, then pressed a seal into it. I don’t know how such a bizarre act could possibly occur, but it’s dreamlike and beautiful, as though from a fairy tale.’

That kind of strange presence was particularly characteristic of Gio. Perhaps one could say he possessed a peculiar sensitivity.

“A seal….”

Yoo Seongwoon had never seen the design before.

“…Does it look a little like… a portrait?”

Plants spread around a rectangular border, while the design within the border seemed to stylize stars into geometric shapes. Somehow, the seal reminded him of ‘Gio’s Portrait’ hanging in Bisabeol’s Gallery.

“His tastes truly are unwavering.”

In both his actions and everything else, Gio strongly resembled a nobleman from some medieval fantasy.

‘Perhaps I should say he has the sensibilities of a fairy tale.’

Yoo Seongwoon thought he had also said that he lived in a cabin. What a peaceful fellow.

“Now, let’s see the contents.”

He carefully removed the seal without damaging it, for it seemed worthy of research, revealing pristine white stationery within. Yoo Seongwoon took out the paper and slowly read the pitch-black writing.

“……”

Then he soon released a deep sigh.

“…I can’t understand any of this….”

If Gio intended to send him a letter, should he not have written it in an Earth language?

‘…He seemed fairly knowledgeable about Korean culture, so I expected him to write the letter in Korean. I suppose even that was too much to hope for. Gio isn’t truly Korean.’

Wondering whether he might decipher it, Yoo Seongwoon read it again, but the language was entirely unfamiliar. It did not even seem to possess the regularity of a language, leaving him troubled.

“This will become a headache if it’s some kind of cursed letter.”

Gio did not seem likely to send him a harmful object without warning, but beings of the Source were not creatures one could safely judge that way. If this was an Item that cursed its recipient when they failed to interpret it correctly, the situation would become extremely troublesome.

“……”

Sensing no such ominous energy, Yoo Seongwoon relaxed somewhat.

“…I planned to visit him tomorrow anyway. Shall I ask him about this too?”

As long as it was not a bomb that would explode immediately, it hardly mattered.

Taking care not to crumple the letter, Yoo Seongwoon closed the entrance again. The blue jewel seal, cold and smooth without the slightest adhesive quality, rested over the opening without lifting because it possessed a fair amount of weight.

“I can never make sense of him.”

Should this be considered a ‘Fragment of a Work’ too?

“He has a talent for scaring the life out of me….”

Yoo Seongwoon did not know when he would finally learn Gio’s true identity.

That thought felt somewhat unfathomable.

“Gio.”

At dawn the next day, Yoo Seongwoon came looking for Gio.

“This letter—did you send it?”

“Yes, I did.”

“I knew it was you.”

“……”

The Portrait still wore an expressionless face, but he asked as if puzzled by something.

“I wrote my name in the letter. Did you not check?”

“Ah, about that….”

Looking troubled, Yoo Seongwoon took out the stationery.

“I’m sorry after you went to the trouble of sending me a letter, but how could I read something written in a language I don’t know? If it isn’t an Earth language, I can’t understand it.”

“…I see.”

Gio paused briefly, then continued.

“But as I remember it, I sent you a letter written in Korean.”

“What? Really?”

“Yes. I believe an unexpected problem occurred during the delivery process. Much like how all of you perceive the Portrait’s resolution to be misaligned.”

“Oh… Mm. That… certainly….”

It was possible.

‘And the letter’s language showed no regularity at all.’

Gio’s letter was like something typed on a broken typewriter. Its visible format was orderly, but the finer language and rules were utterly chaotic.

On this point, Gio’s explanation might indeed be correct.

‘By resolution, he probably means Gio’s stature, which we discussed before….’

Like the tremendous pressure and fear one felt particularly from Gio outside the Portrait.

‘Looking at all that, the Frame containing this Portrait does seem to act as a kind of filter… Is it a filter designed to contain the existence called Gio, which humans cannot endure?’

If the language had become mixed and distorted while passing through that filter, the present result made sense. This was a Frame capable of containing even Gio’s stature; language would be transformed all the more easily.

“That must be somewhat regrettable for the sender.”

“My apologies. You must have been startled.”

“It’s fine. But what did your letter say?”

“Nothing of particular importance. It was merely a light expression of gratitude and a greeting to ask after you.”

Read only on MUGEX

“…But didn’t you have certain rules?”

At the sudden thought, Yoo Seongwoon asked a simple question.

“For you to take an object from inside the painting, someone outside has to pay a price. But I don’t remember giving you one.”

“I considered that as well, but the Seal seems to have allowed me to avoid being bound by the rule.”

“The Seal?”

“A Seal I happened to obtain. It seems that if I mark something with it before sending it, I need not receive a price.”

“Hmm. Is that so?”

As expected, Gio had not created the one-to-one rule by choice.

‘He has even discovered a way to evade it.’

In that case, Gio’s rule was likely a defensive line intended to prevent his tremendous stature from overflowing and destroying reality. Perhaps it was a result of the ‘Frame’ acting as the filter he had considered earlier.

‘But if he has devised a method of avoiding that restraint through a Seal or something similar….’

From the perspective of a fragile Earthling, it was somewhat eerie.

‘…Even if Gio is not the sort who enjoys tormenting others, a being of such stature could destroy people without intending to. If the rule imposed upon him exists to protect Earthlings, then we must watch this tendency to ignore it so casually.’

In any case, Yoo Seongwoon felt somewhat relieved. The strangely eerie letter had disturbed his sleep, but as expected, it was not a terrifying bomb capable of harming him.

“You startled me. I returned home after work and suddenly found an unfamiliar letter sitting there….”

“My apologies. I did not expect the letter to travel in that fashion either.”

“You don’t normally send letters?”

“No. However….”

Gio’s words trailed off, which was rare for him.

“I thought I might make a new friend.”

“……”

After a slow, deep breath, Yoo Seongwoon asked in his usual tone,

“…A new friend?”

“It is embarrassing to admit, but you are the only person with whom I converse, Mr. Yoo Seongwoon. Before forming a new connection, I tried sending you a letter first.”

“That was… very well done.”

Yoo Seongwoon did tend to indulge Gio because he was a being of the Source, but that did not mean he failed to understand how dangerous Gio was.

Yoo Seongwoon could accept it calmly enough, but an ordinary person would have collapsed in shock at the sight of a letter carrying such bizarre energy—especially a civilian rather than a Hunter.

“Other people will be startled, so I’d appreciate it if you paid a little attention to that part.”

“I will be more careful from now on.”

“I’d appreciate that.”

Rubbing the back of his neck, Yoo Seongwoon continued,

“But how do you intend to find this ‘new connection’?”

How would Gio, who remained inside the Portrait, make a ‘new friend’?

An ordinary person would move about or make friends through the internet, but neither option applied to Gio.

“Does the letter perhaps travel randomly to an arbitrary recipient?”

“No. I must know the precise recipient for what I send to be delivered.”

“That would explain my case.”

“I believe I must think a little longer about how to make a new friend.”

“Hmm….”

Was this the perfect opportunity?

Recalling his conversation with Guild Master Bisabeol, Yoo Seongwoon asked Gio,

“Gio, can you travel to other dungeons?”

“You mean not merely outside the Portrait, but into a dungeon?”

“Yes.”

“……”

Gio blinked twice as if considering it, then answered.

“In the case of worlds I have painted….”

“Yes?”

Worlds he had painted?

“Did you just say worlds you painted…?”

“Yes. In the case of worlds I have painted, I can travel there without difficulty.”

“What?”

“But the dungeons you mean do not seem to be spaces I painted. Are you referring to dungeons whose entrances already exist on Earth and which Earthlings can visit?”

“…Uh….”

Though his thoughts were somewhat confused, Yoo Seongwoon maintained as calm an appearance as possible and answered.

“Right. I mean dungeons with entrances already on Earth, places Hunters like me can visit.”

Thinking that Gio’s danger level needed to be raised, Yoo Seongwoon continued.

“You created Portraits here and there and used them to move through the company building, didn’t you? I wondered whether we might also find one of your Portraits inside another dungeon. That would mean you could visit that dungeon too.”

“I have not attempted that yet.”

After saying so, Gio soon added,

“But it sounds entertaining.”

Gio showed interest.

‘I’m glad I anticipated this.’

‘Gio’s Portrait’ unexpectedly pursued a life centered on his interests.

Yoo Seongwoon had predicted that if he asked such a question, Gio might become deeply interested and suddenly attempt it.

‘Perhaps because he possesses intelligence equal to or greater than a human’s, his behavioral patterns are somewhat difficult to grasp. But now that he has shown this much interest… it would be best to make a proposal whose consequences we can contain.’

As Bisabeol had said, certain humans such as Yoo Seongwoon could not control Gio’s behavior. That remained true even aside from personal motives.

Objectively, there was no way to stop Gio, who considered himself human, from attempting to enter society. Simply by painting, he could travel anywhere and create anything.

‘In that case, it would be better to give him a direction. Even if we cannot prevent him from moving, we can at least recommend a destination.’

Yoo Seongwoon took a sheet of paper from his briefcase.

“Then how about places like these?”

“What is this?”

“I selected dungeons you could visit without causing too much of a disturbance.”

He had chosen locations where the potential loss of life was as low as possible.

“Their rewards are poor and they have little name recognition, so Hunters rarely visit them. They also aren’t terrifying enough to place you in danger….”

“……”

“I thought this might be another way for you to experience environments outside the Portrait. If you move around this actively, you may encounter other Hunters when visiting a dungeon, right? That would also increase your chances of making a new friend.”

Perhaps Yoo Seongwoon’s suggestion did not sound unpleasant. Gio nodded.

“Thank you.”

“I hope it helps.”

“Yes. I have something to give you in gratitude.”

“A gift?”

“The jerky I made before has finished drying.”

“…I see….”

Yoo Seongwoon had never imagined Gio would make jerky too.

‘It can’t be ordinary jerky.’

He began to think that living this way might prevent him from reaching his natural end for an entirely different reason.

‘Surely I won’t become so healthy that I live beyond longevity and attain immortality….’

Yoo Seongwoon abruptly felt a chill.

After successfully sending Yoo Seongwoon away carrying jerky, Gio contemplated the dungeon list he had received.

“Honey, let’s choose at random.”

“Kkururuk.”

“We will visit the dungeon where the jewel you spit out comes to rest.”

“Kkukkukururururuk.”

“I knew you would approve.”

The dungeon list Yoo Seongwoon gave him included photographs of the interiors. It appeared these dungeons had already been investigated by people called Hunters.

Honey soon spat out a jewel with a soft tap.

“……”

“……”

“This one.”

Vein of Jewels

“……”

Jewels?

“Jewels, indeed.”

“Kkururu.”

“…I understand.”

“Kkurururururururururururu.”

“I understand, so stop….”

“Kkururururururu….”

“Stop.”

He truly went weak before anything that glittered.

‘Can this child read Hangul?’

Gio became deeply suspicious that Honey had aimed deliberately.

(To be continued)