Chapter 5: The Shadow Watching from the Picture Frame

[Wow, how childish. What is that supposed to be?]

The dolls whispered among themselves, exchanging glances with Baek Hyerin. Honestly, Taehyun couldn’t deny it either.

Looking at words like [Idiot], [Stupid], and [Dumb mutt] scrawled all over the walls in vivid primary colors, it felt as though he had wandered into the scene of a children’s quarrel.

He stared at the words for a moment before cautiously asking the Replica,

“Spider Painter wrote those, right?”

[[System (Temporary)] That is correct. I interpreted these graffiti as evidence of a dispute, but what do you think? Could there be some other implication hidden within them?]

“I’m not sure whether there’s any hidden meaning. For now, I think it’s safe to assume they’re evidence of a quarrel.”

[[System (Temporary)] I see. I cannot even begin to guess why Spider Painter and the Gatekeeper are having a conflict. In order to manage the dungeon properly, I believe I should make these troublemakers reconcile. I would like you and Rigor to help me, Yoon Taehyun.]

“Sure. That’s why we came. But who taught you the word ‘troublemakers’?”

[[System (Temporary)] Rigor taught it to me some time ago. He said that whenever Curses behave unexpectedly, using this word is generally an accurate application. Was that incorrect?]

“It isn’t exactly incorrect, but are you sure you’re not picking up bad habits from Rigor?”

Taehyun glanced sidelong at Rigor, and the man subtly looked away.

This was what Taehyun couldn’t understand.

Rigor and the Replica clearly got along rather well. Whenever the two of them talked, they seemed surprisingly compatible. So why did Rigor dislike Taehyun getting close to the Replica?

[[System (Temporary)] If Yoon Taehyun recommends that I refrain from using this vocabulary, I will no longer use it.]

“No, it’s fine. Anyway, we’re supposed to proceed with the battles now, right?”

[[System (Temporary)] Correct. Please proceed forward. The battle difficulty has been somewhat lowered for an unknown reason.]

“An unknown reason? You didn’t adjust the difficulty?”

[[System (Temporary)] It is presumed that Spider Painter intervened. I believe it intends to convey something. I cannot understand its intentions, so I would like you to interpret Spider Painter’s message while proceeding through the battles.]

That explanation didn’t tell Taehyun much.

Still, they would probably understand once they went inside.

The group nodded and immediately headed toward the battle room.

Taehyun mentally prepared himself for the many-legged monsters they had encountered before. Honestly, looking at insects like those was somewhat unpleasant for him…

However, the moment he entered the battle room, he could only stare in disbelief.

“What happened to those guys with all the legs? They somehow got cute.”

“Exactly. It’s like their whole art style changed. I don’t know why, though.”

Rigor and Taehyun exchanged glances.

What was the proper way to describe this?

The comparison was crude, but the closest description seemed to be that the creatures looked like they had come straight out of an educational comic book for children.

They were still insects, but their overall appearance had become round and soft. It was almost as though someone had made giant insect costumes for a children’s play and put them on.

Even the legs that had once looked grotesque were now pleasantly plump, giving the impression that they would feel soft and squishy if touched.

Their formerly vacant eyes had also become strangely bright. Rather than simply reflecting light, highlights had been drawn directly into their eyes like characters in a comic book.

Whatever the reason, they were far less frightening than before.

If this dungeon had originally looked like this, wouldn’t it have attracted twice as many visitors? Leaving the gimmicks aside, the appearance of the monsters themselves had been fairly divisive.

But those changes were ultimately insignificant.

The truly important change was the contents of the frames they were carrying.

[She’s bad. She’s mean.]

[She promised to be friends only with me.]

[She keeps bringing new friends.]

What on earth was this?

The question rose all the way to the tip of Taehyun’s tongue.

Had Spider Painter’s art style merely become childish, or had its thoughts become childish as well?

Taehyun stared for a long while at the frames containing protest messages that seemed impossible to understand without context, yet somehow made the situation perfectly clear.

Two women had been drawn in crayon inside the frames. The drawings were oddly crude, resembling the picture diary of a preschooler.

One woman had long hair and wore a flamboyant dress. The other had short black hair and was dressed in the characteristic attire of a Hunter.

Ah.

So, this meant…

“Wait. Is Spider Painter jealous of Choi Jeongyu?”

[[System (Temporary)] It denies this.]

“If it wants to deny it, it should’ve avoided writing things like that in the first place…. It’s blatantly jealous. Ah, or does it have nothing against Choi Jeongyu and is actually angry at the Gatekeeper?”

[[System (Temporary)] It denies that as well. According to its own statement, it has never been angry with the Gatekeeper, and its emotional state is extremely peaceful. The changes occurring in the current standard battle room have nothing to do with it. Furthermore, Spider Painter insists that the so-called Sales Bugs (provisional designation) spread gossip unrelated to reality, so the contents of the frames should not be believed.]

“According to the information Han Seonwook gave us, the Sales Bugs have become fairly docile lately and don’t spread gossip or fabricated information anymore… Besides, you said earlier that Spider Painter was presumed to have intervened. And Spider Painter is currently hiding somewhere inside the holographic battle system.”

[[System (Temporary)] The emotions of organic beings are complicated. I find this matter difficult to judge. Therefore, please judge it instead. If you say it, I will believe you.]

[[System (Temporary)] Separately, the challengers’ turn will begin in thirty seconds. Everyone, prepare for battle!]

Everyone’s amusement was obvious. They had all been quietly chuckling.

Taehyun had already suspected that this was merely some minor quarrel from what Han Seonwook had told him, but this seemed like an even cuter and more harmless dispute than any conflict they had experienced in the past.

Rigor also looked thoroughly entertained, but he cleared his throat and shrugged.

“Well, we can’t jump to conclusions yet, can we? From what we’ve seen so far, we can tell why Spider Painter is sulking, but we haven’t confirmed why the Gatekeeper is upset.”

“Ah, you’re right. Knowing the Gatekeeper’s personality, he’d get annoyed and complain if something like this happened, but I don’t think he’d sulk over something like this.”

“Then let’s find out as we go. By the way, Taehyun, should I clear out those things for you?”

Rigor said this as he placed a hand on the sword at his waist.

The other guild members could probably handle an ordinary battle on their own, but Taehyun still nodded.

Now that Rigor had escaped the status of a [Curse] and become a proper human being, he no longer drained Taehyun’s power during battle.

Taehyun had only recently learned that Rigor was actually rather proud of that fact.

“Then go ahead and fight. Don’t overdo it.”

“What’s there to overdo?”

The man spoke lazily before shooting forward like an arrow.

In the past, a thick black mist would have enveloped his body, and a four-legged beast covered in blood and restraints would have fought in his place.

But that was no longer the case.

Rigor could now fight in his true form.

The silver blade that Taehyun had previously regarded as little more than decoration finally fulfilled its purpose, pointing toward the enemy.

[[System (Temporary)] Challenger Rigor uses weapon card [Familiar Sword]. Action Point cost: 1. (Remaining Action Points: 99)]

[[System (Temporary)] Challenger Rigor uses attack card [Slash]. Action Point cost: 1. (Remaining Action Points: 98)]

At first glance, his abilities seemed simple and unremarkable.

The card names were straightforward, and the Action Point costs were low. In actual effect, they probably weren’t particularly different from ordinary attack and defense cards.

But what mattered was the ability of the person using them.

Even watching it with his own eyes, Taehyun found the sight difficult to believe.

[…!!]

Rigor’s movements were relaxed yet graceful.

He almost seemed to be dancing, but there wasn’t a single unnecessary movement in the trajectory of his sword.

His strikes were decisive, yet they didn’t seem excessively cruel toward the insects, which had no real means of attacking him beyond their frames.

Rather than attacking them, it almost looked as though he were pacifying them.

‘He looks at ease.’

Taehyun unconsciously thought that as he watched Rigor fight.

It wasn’t merely because the enemies were weak, nor because this wasn’t the fierce, desperate struggle they had once been forced to endure.

There was a certain lightness that could only come from escaping an endless, agonizing cycle, understanding something at last, and putting down a burden that had been carried for far too long.

Back when Rigor had been forced to fight in the form of a beast, his back had always looked as though he were silently sobbing.

That was completely different from the way he now moved as though he were genuinely enjoying himself.

While Taehyun was momentarily lost in the sight, the results of Rigor’s movements appeared almost instantly.

The frames held by the insects were sliced into several pieces in the blink of an eye.

He didn’t leave so much as a scratch on their heads, bodies, or limbs.

He targeted only the frames and shattered them into pieces with such precision that Taehyun couldn’t help but admire him.

The insects, now deprived of their frames, scattered in confusion.

Rigor seemed to have no intention of doing anything more and immediately retreated.

Taehyun secretly felt disappointed that he couldn’t watch Rigor wield his sword for longer.

The man returned to his side and casually shrugged.

“There. All the troublesome frames are gone. You can handle the rest.”

The other Hunters nodded and moved to capture the fleeing insects.

Since they no longer needed to use defensive cards, they could efficiently subdue the insects using attack cards.

[[System (Temporary)] All monsters have been subdued. Standard battle concluded.]

The Replica was merciful even toward the fake monsters that existed only as holograms.

There was no need to kill them. As long as all the monsters were subdued, the battle would end.

Just as the first battle was coming to an end, Taehyun suddenly sensed a black shadow flicker across the edge of his vision.

“…Ah.”

It probably hadn’t been his imagination.

When he glanced up at Rigor, the man smiled and whispered,

“Someone’s watching us. We should follow it, Taehyun.”

“Yeah. We should find out what’s actually going on, too.”

The two of them headed toward the next battle room.

For now, there was nothing but a shadow.

But if they continued through the battles, they might eventually be able to drag Spider Painter’s true form out into the open and learn the story behind all of this.

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