29

Chapter 29

They traveled to dinner by boat.

“This is the boat we’ll be taking.”

“Oh.”

Gio, a romantic young man, felt his heart race.

‘Traveling to a restaurant by canal…’

It was just like visiting Venice.

“It is an unusual sight to see roads and waterways together.”

“Is it? I suppose I’ve heard that the Republic of Korea had almost no canals before the Great Cataclysm.”

“Why were they created?”

Tap.

Gio asked as he followed Yoo Seongwoon aboard the water taxi.

“Creating canals would require a tremendous volume of water.”

“It was actually the opposite. They didn’t draw in water to build the canals. There was simply too much water, so the canals were constructed to control it.”

“There was that much water?”

“The water level is extremely high relative to the elevation of the land.”

The country could not have endured without constructing canals? Just how far would this hellish Korea go?

Yoo Seongwoon continued his explanation.

“Most of the sea remains beyond human exploration, but there are so many dungeons that formed underwater and Monsters that emerged from them. I once heard that the water level rose because the physical volume within the ocean increased.”

“One or two Monsters would hardly be enough to cause that.”

Just how many Monsters—and how large—had settled on Earth for the country to become unmanageable without canals?

Understanding Gio’s question, Yoo Seongwoon spoke.

“There are many aquatic Monsters easily larger than an entire building.”

“I see.”

“And there isn’t just one such Monster. There are many individuals and many different species, so the water level must be higher than before the Great Cataclysm. I hear our country was not originally a place where seawater rose this far inland…”

“How is the seawater managed in the provinces?”

“As far as I know, they dug enough canals to prevent serious harm to farming and everyday life. They apparently used various methods to create channels that keep the salt in the seawater from invading the soil. But naturally, they don’t have as much capital as the cities… so I imagine they cannot farm near the canals.”

“……”

“That’s why regions receiving excessive seawater simply turned to fishing instead of farming from the beginning. Fish from several famous regions are also imported into the cities.”

Despite the circumstances, everyone seemed to have found their own way to survive.

‘Human adaptability is extraordinary.’

In any case, Gio shrank back.

‘I should stay inside my portrait.’

The Earth had become a world where romance, passion, and hope were no longer enough to survive without actual fighting power.

How tough would one need to become to live in this brutal world and faithfully pay rent every month? Gio could never even dream of reaching such a level.

“I believe you said the restaurant itself floated on the water.”

“Rather than floating, it would be more accurate to say the restaurant was built on a small island…”

“You said it was inside the Han River.”

Sitting down inside the taxi, Gio asked,

“Was there always an island there?”

He knew that small islands like Nodeulseom had existed thirty-one years ago. But Yoo Seongwoon had said the restaurant stood entirely alone, with no other grounds. Gio wondered how such a location had come to exist.

Yoo Seongwoon answered without difficulty.

“That location originally held a Fixed Dungeon.”

“…A Fixed Dungeon?”

“…Ah, you don’t know much about dungeons, do you?”

From his startled expression, Yoo Seongwoon seemed to have assumed Gio would naturally know. Unfortunately, reality was otherwise.

In the blink of an eye, Gio had become an ancestor from thirty-one years in the past, falling behind because he had failed to develop alongside the changing era.

‘How did I, who once instilled social skills into the young sprouts of the Republic of Korea, end up this way?’

Children, your teacher misses you.

Fortunately, Yoo Seongwoon quickly returned to his usual placid expression and began to explain.

“Dungeons are generally divided into Fixed and Mobile types. As the names imply, Fixed Dungeons remain in one location, while Mobile Dungeons travel according to their individual rules. A Fixed Dungeon may even create terrain that did not originally exist at its location.”

“Then was the restaurant we are visiting built on terrain created in that fashion?”

“Yes. To begin with, that is the restaurant’s theme. The dungeon there was related to cooking. It was cleared after being moved by the food of an ordinary chef who was accidentally dragged inside despite not being a Hunter… That sort of dungeon.”

“Aha.”

It was a remarkably touching narrative.

“A grand restaurant remained where the dungeon had been cleared, and the chef who participated in the clearing inherited it and continues to operate it. He is already ninety-two years old, but he still works on-site.”

“Ninety-two?”

“You think that is a long life for a human, don’t you?”

Yoo Seongwoon laughed once before continuing.

“He Awakened as a chef after clearing the dungeon, so age probably affects him less. His skills and Items likely provide additional assistance. If you saw him in person, he would probably appear to be in his fifties.”

“……”

“He often joins national-level dungeon-clearing operations and takes responsibility for feeding the team. That must mean his basic fighting ability isn’t poor either. I’ve never seen it myself, but I hear his primary weapon is a baseball bat studded with nails.”

“A baseball bat…”

“Unexpected, isn’t it? I thought he would use a kitchen knife. But in an interview, he asked how anyone could use a knife meant for cooking to cut up Monsters. It seems chefs truly do possess a different mindset.”

“Oh.”

Gio felt he understood, but in any case, he shrank back. Humanity had grown strong.

“Do Awakeners age more slowly?”

“Most of them do, as far as I know. At least Hunters of C-rank or above.”

“It seems C-rank is where the standard for a good Hunter begins…”

“That is generally the practical reality and public perception.”

It was a truly frightening world.

‘Not a single thing Grandmother told me was wrong. I must always live humbly and politely.’

Gio did not want to be perfectly alive only to be exorcised as a haunted portrait.

He reflected,

‘I need to devise a sound survival strategy too. I don’t know what would happen to my cabin if the portrait burned, and simply behaving diligently will not prevent every possible accident…’

That did not mean he wanted to receive a passing grade as a human and return to living on Earth.

“What are you thinking about?”

“I was thinking that Earth is a frightening place.”

“Uh…?”

It was truly far too frightening.

“Why are you suddenly afraid? You aren’t a target for subjugation.”

“That is true.”

But conversely, if he ever did become one, they might tear him limb from limb.

‘I like things the way they are now.’

Could he remain regarded as a haunted portrait without being criticized or attacked by humans?

Gio decided to ponder the matter for the sake of his comfortable survival.

“……”

After eating, first.

“…Something smells wonderful.”

“It does. We can’t even see the restaurant yet. Isn’t it fascinating?”

“Does the scent come only from this canal?”

“I believe I’ve heard that it’s a kind of promotional strategy.”

“Understood.”

The canal itself was fascinating, carrying an exquisite fragrance from afar without letting it become unpleasant. More fascinating still was that Gio could smell the food and the sea separately.

‘…The scent of the sea in the middle of a city like this…’

When he lowered his head slightly, he smelled only the sea. The sharp scent of seawater pierced his brain.

It made him feel nostalgic.

“……”

Gio leaned closer to the surface of the water.

“Gio, that looks dangerous.”

“I was smelling the water because I like the scent of the sea.”

Gio’s voice softened as he became immersed in old memories.

“It is fascinating that a canal connected to the Han River smells of the sea.”

“Unless you’re in the mountains, all rivers and canals in places like this contain a substantial amount of seawater…”

“Is that so?”

Giovanni liked this scent.

The scent of the sea.

“……”

The scent of the merfolk.

“…Just once…”

He wanted to plunge into those depths.

It felt achingly dear.

“Gio, stop.”

“……”

“…You’re startling the driver too.”

At those words, Gio looked at the water-taxi driver.

“……”

The driver looked at Gio with a deeply bewildered expression and more than a little fear.

“…I see.”

Gio acknowledged that he had been rude.

“My apologies. This is my first time seeing such a canal, and my curiosity got the better of me.”

“We were only worried you would get hurt, not angry, so it’s all right.”

“Thank you for understanding.”

Yoo Seongwoon’s face expressed “worry,” while the driver’s seemed closer to “fear,” but Gio decided to let it pass without thinking. Naturally, a driver would be frightened if a passenger tried to fall into the water.

‘Like a passenger suddenly opening the door and trying to jump out on a highway…’

Gio successfully convinced himself.

‘And if that isn’t the reason, I must have leaked some strange energy again.’

Just as he had sometimes done unknowingly in Yoo Seongwoon’s company.

Gio sat obediently in his seat again, reflecting on how becoming distracted by the fascinating canal had inconvenienced others.

Yoo Seongwoon watched him as though observing a specimen. His expression suggested that he was wondering whether he could ask, but after hesitating, he cautiously spoke.

“Do you like the sea?”

“…Pardon?”

No? Not especially?

“I don’t particularly like it.”

“But both at Cheonggyecheon and here in the canal, you seemed exceptionally fond of the scent of the sea. Of course, I apologize if I was mistaken.”

“There is no need to apologize. I do not dislike the sea, but neither do I like it…”

After saying so, Gio soon revised his statement.

“…Now that I think about it, perhaps I do.”

“Hm?”

“I think it is ordinary, but I also like it.”

It sounded strange, but it was not wrong. “Gio” felt no particular emotion toward the sea, but “Giovanni” was different.

Thus, when asked whether he liked the sea, Gio could only answer yes-and-no. Since both were his own thoughts, it was difficult to deny either.

But a thought suddenly occurred to him.

“Are there merfolk here as well?”

“…Merfolk.”

Meanwhile, Yoo Seongwoon sensed the anomaly he had felt at Cheonggyecheon once more.

‘He definitely said “here as well.”’

Gio appeared to have some connection to merfolk.

“Hmm…”

After considering for a moment, Yoo Seongwoon slowly nodded.

“Monsters of that sort sometimes emerge. Even if they aren’t necessarily Monsters… there are also certain beings with such forms.”

“……”

“This is a world where idol worship, legends, and myths may create real creatures. Monsters related to merfolk emerge in various places across the Earth.”

“Is that so?”

“The Little Mermaid, written by a very old author, is a famous fairy tale.”

The Little Mermaid.

Hearing the familiar phrase, Gio sank into thought once more. He was remembering Giovanni’s request.

‘Come to think of it, I believe one of the quests involved a mermaid princess.’

But he decided to set the matter aside for now.

“It seems we have nearly arrived. That is an extravagant restaurant.”

“Oh, it is.”

“The building is even more magnificent than I imagined. I’m looking forward to it.”

One was not supposed to worry at the dinner table.

Read only on MUGEX

The luxurious restaurant appeared to have been fashioned from a blend of ivory and marble.

It was decorated as beautifully as a castle. Yet its layout was so inefficient, with numerous rooms, staircases, and lobbies jumbled together, that it clearly had not been made by humans.

Ironically, that strangeness only established the restaurant’s concept more firmly.

“……”

White, pink, light green, and sky blue.

Subtle pastel colors spread here and there over an ivory base like pieces of a patchwork wrapping cloth, leaving visitors dazed as though they had entered a dream.

It was dizzyingly beautiful.

“There is something I did not have the opportunity to ask earlier…”

Meanwhile, Yoo Seongwoon and Gio’s party had taken their places at a cream-colored table.

Once seated, Gio asked,

“Did you not say this place was created from the remains of a Fixed Dungeon?”

“Hm? That’s right.”

“Then do Fixed Dungeons normally leave terrain or buildings behind in this manner even after they are cleared? Such a dungeon left this land and restaurant?”

“Ahhh… yes, correct. That is roughly how it works.”

Perhaps deciding it would be best to resolve all Gio’s questions before the meal began in earnest, Yoo Seongwoon explained with his usual placid smile.

“Separate from whether they are Fixed or Mobile, dungeons come in many varieties. They are generally divided into Virtual Dungeons, Villa Dungeons, and Entry Dungeons.”

“There are three varieties?”

“In fact, there are more, but those are the three representative types.”

Yoo Seongwoon continued, folding down his fingers as he explained.

“A Virtual Dungeon has no distinct boundary. It consumes people who meet arbitrary conditions and conducts a game within a virtual world. For example, its condition might be ten men in their thirties who enter a convenience store at exactly nine in the evening. The clearing attempt would then proceed on a game board modeled after that convenience store.”

“That sounds remarkably unreasonable.”

“It is. Other Hunters find this type extremely troublesome as well. How many of those ten men in their thirties would be Hunters suited to clearing a dungeon? Virtual Dungeons appear rather rarely, but they are difficult to identify and cause immense harm, making them one of modern society’s worries.”

Gio thought a world where something like that qualified as a “worry of modern society” might be rather chilling.

Unaware that Gio was freely recoiling behind the aid of his underdeveloped facial muscles, Yoo Seongwoon calmly continued.

“Next is the Villa Dungeon. Arbitrary terrain and rules from elsewhere newly appear on Earth.”

“Is this restaurant an example?”

“You seem to understand well. As you said, this restaurant building appeared as part of a Villa Dungeon. A restaurant suddenly materialized in the middle of the Han River, where nothing had existed before.”

Yoo Seongwoon rolled his eyes as though searching his memory.

“As far as I know, this restaurant did not appear alone on top of newly created terrain. It is an excessively tall structure with basements deep enough to reach the riverbed. But because the restaurant is the only part visible above the surface, people named it ‘the restaurant floating on the water’…”

He nodded and continued.

“In this manner, a Villa Dungeon is essentially a villa from an alien dimension erected on Earth without warning. The original terrain has already been replaced, so it cannot be restored. As a result, once most Villa Dungeons appear, they remain even after being cleared, with only their rules disappearing. How those remnants are handled and used is left to Earthlings.”

“……”

“Last is the Entry Dungeon. This one resembles a game. Though I find myself wondering what games you know and what they were like…”

Waving his final finger, Yoo Seongwoon said,

“It differs somewhat from a Virtual Dungeon, which has no physical boundary at all, and a Villa Dungeon, whose boundary exists but is ambiguous. With an Entry Dungeon, only an entrance appears. Passing through it allows people to attempt a clearing operation in another dimension.”

“Aha…”

It certainly resembled the dimensional gates often seen in games: nothing but a door, yet entering it transported the player to another map. Gio understood completely.

As always, Yoo Seongwoon continued in a placid and helpful manner.

“However, there are almost no other cases where dungeon remnants are used as a restaurant like this.”

“It seems distinctive and beneficial, so that is unexpected. Why are they not used this way?”

“Humans are timid beings.”

Are you going to keep treating me like a haunted portrait, Hyung?

“Problems may arise if ordinary people are allowed inside. Few people have the nerve to reside there and utilize the dungeon remnants. More importantly, the remnants themselves tend to be quite selective about people… So they are usually demolished somehow.”

“Selective about people?”

“They might give someone they dislike chills when that person enters.”

“That sounds like a haunted house.”

Said the haunted portrait.

“……”

Indeed, Gio privately acknowledged the truth of his identity.

‘Ordinary humans do not build cabins and live healing lives inside portraits.’

Gio had never intended to insist very strongly that he was human, so he cautiously offered a defense.

“…I do not give people chills.”

“Of course, of course. Gio is a human, isn’t he?”

“Correct.”

Yoo Seongwoon humored him like a four-year-old cousin. Gio was grateful enough to cry.

(To be continued)