"It was dangerous," Yoo Seong-Woon remarked, almost like a sigh.

"I agreed to it as well, but watching the staff whisper about 'ghost stories' nearly made my heart tremble. We were close to internal strife."

"Our guild members aren't narrow-minded enough to start infighting over just a ghost story. Curator Yoo Seong-Woon, do you have so little faith in your colleagues?"

"Faith or not, it was too much of a gamble. This wasn’t something you could just relax about, trusting in the bond between colleagues."

Though things turned out well, it was undoubtedly a risky gamble.

"It was as if we had unleashed an entity of unknown origin..."

What Gio's true nature was remained a mystery. For some reason, it still did. No matter how much Yoo Seong-Woon searched through the books, he couldn't find anything similar.

It might be possible to get an answer by assigning the investigation to the association, but the likelihood of that was uncertain, and Bisa Beul would never allow it.

'How much care would one put into their own belongings?'

What was certain, though, was that 'Gio's Portrait' was an entity strongly influenced by the origin.

Gardeners and some humans referred to such monsters, items, or phenomena as 'beings of the origin.' It was a rough way to categorize them since they were hard to define.

It's a bit embarrassing as a professional in this era, but 'Gio's Portrait' was indeed such a case.

"It could have unleashed a disaster," he said.

"Curator Yoo, what do you think Gio really is?"

"Are you dodging the question...?"

"It's a simple question."

"..."

Yoo Seong-Woon shrugged.

"I don't know. As has been the case so far."

Gio differed from typical beings of the origin.

"It's highly unlikely that it's a monster."

"Indeed, they are hostile to civilizations outside dungeons."

"Their hostility is almost instinctual. Just as humans might scream at the sight of a cockroach or want to kill it immediately. That’s not something a monster can control, even if it wanted to..."

"If it were possible, it would suggest a level of patience and judgment beyond what a 'monster' could exhibit."

"In that sense, I concluded it’s not a monster."

Gio's disposition could seem indifferent or merciless, but that didn’t mean it lacked genuine goodwill.

That’s why it couldn't be a monster.

"It doesn't behave like any monster we know."

Yoo Seong-Woon nodded.

"While there are indeed monsters that are favorable towards humans, strictly speaking, that’s more akin to love-hate rather than affection. The abnormal event 11 years ago would have been genuinely kind if the monsters really observed and cared about humans panicking in fear."

"But apparently they enjoyed it?"

"Either they had no intention of understanding humans, or perhaps they simply found the human reactions amusing. Since the matter was hastily resolved, it remains unsolved... I can’t say for sure."

"Let’s move on from this for now."

"And…"

Yoo Seong-Woon rolled his deep blue eyes as he continued.

"It’s not an item."

"There certainly are items with their own consciousness."

"An item's consciousness is strictly limited by human creation."

He added.

"It’s not about how human-like it can think... We have to see their true nature."

"The true nature?"

"Gio has even created life within the portrait."

After a moment of thought, Yoo Seong-Woon tilted his head.

"Perhaps such a life created could even come out of the portrait. Although I haven’t heard it from Gio, the fact that there are no restrictions on its own emergence, and it can easily take objects out of the portrait, suggests it’s possible."

"What if Gio draws a monster and it comes out?"

"That might be possible too. Even if it isn’t, the fact that Gio can freely escape confirms it. If it's not a monster, maybe an item, or if Gio brings out a contracted soul under its control, it would already be beyond our control."

"And an ordinary item wouldn’t be capable of that?"

"Every item is created by humans. No matter how much you rid yourself of bias, only a creature with high intelligence, like a monster, could create life. Creating life is beyond the level of humans or monsters, and the caliber of such a soul is not comparable to humans, as numerous witnesses have testified. It’s not an item."

"Ah."

Bisa Beul chuckled as if amused, looking rather youthful for his age.

"What about a type of skill then? It has been proven long ago that there are skills that can manipulate souls. There’s even a user of a resurrection skill who can bring back the dead, though only one."

"That too, involves manipulating an existing soul, not creating a new one. Even if a skill that could create souls exists somewhere in the world... Originally, skills are intangible energy that can be manipulated by intellectual beings."

"Having a form and self-awareness, Gio couldn’t be just a remnant of a skill. But what if it were some kind of awakened being who acquired the skill to turn itself into a portrait?"

Bisa Beul flicked his fingers as he spoke.

"Gio refers to itself as a 29-year-old young man and has said it was once part of human society. Maybe it’s just a type of awakened being that hasn’t been discovered yet."

Yoo Seong-Woon shook his head.

"Impossible."

"Why? As the former head of the association's research team, do you see something?"

"If anyone would see it, it would be the guild leader... It’s just that I know something."

"What do you know?"

"Do you know why psychics are called 'awakened'?"

"Um..."

Bisa Beul shrugged his shoulders.

"I’m not particularly interested in that topic."

"Is it because admitting ignorance would tarnish your high pride?"

"I guess it would, given that I'm the head of one of South Korea’s top three guilds. Can you imagine how valuable this pride is?"

"I suppose you’d know."

A resigned, bitter smile escaped Yoo Seong-Woon as he continued.

"Understanding the meaning of 'awakening' is easy."

"1. Wake up and regain consciousness. 2. Become aware and understand. 3. Regain consciousness and watch carefully with a cautious attitude."

"...You say you’re not interested, yet you sound like a dictionary..."

"If you don’t even know the meaning of the word, what’s the point of becoming a guild leader with just an emotional skill?"

"Ah, yes. Of course."

"So which is it?"

"Um... Anything’s fine."

Yoo Seong-Woon nonchalantly continued.

"The important thing is its essence."

"Interesting."

"In any sense, awakening means reconfiguring from an existing state."

He rested his chin on his hand.

"Whether it’s waking up and regaining consciousness, sadly straightening out a twisted mind, or internally maturing and reflecting on younger days... It’s about the change that happens within the same person."

"Ah, so?"

"The skill of an awakened person isn’t about receiving a new ability, but rather an existing capability within them awakening. Since the dungeon appeared and new energies and resources emerged on Earth, the environment changed too. Humans evolved to adapt."

"It seems there was similar content in the center’s materials. So, it’s about realizing that the rock you always had was actually a diamond, only now it's the right time to realize it."

"Pretty much."

Yoo Seong-Woon scratched the back of his neck.

"In that sense, Gio can't be considered an awakened."

"Hmm..."

"Even if it were considered an awakened, it would mean the caliber of its original soul had awakened, not that it received something new."

"I see."

What both of them didn’t know was that Yoo Seong-Woon was mistaken. Seo Gio had coincidentally merged with the origin during the process of Earth’s rebirth, elevating the caliber of its soul.

It was a miraculously unlikely alteration, almost impossible to observe from the minor dimension of Earth.

"It's troublesome."

"Indeed it is."

At this point, only 30 years after the catastrophe, they couldn’t possibly have known.

To them, mere humans, 'Gio's Portrait' was simply a being that wasn’t originally human.

"..."

Bisa Beul blinked his yellow eyes in thought before speaking.

"What if we call Gio a 'child of the origin'?"

"That feels a bit... odd."

"Can you explain why?"

"Children of the origin mostly lack rationality. Actually, you don’t even need to go as far as children; this applies to nearly all beings born from the origin..."

Yoo Seong-Woon said with a bitter face.

"If I had to describe a being of the origin in one sentence, it would be 'a living story.' So, it can’t think. Even if it seems to think, it’s just an illusion; it's not actually thinking."

"Are you sure?"

"...Not exactly... Even though I'm a gardener, this area hasn’t been fully illuminated yet."

Yoo Seong-Woon hesitated before continuing.

"But so far, all the children of the origin I’ve seen were completely natural in their state."

Humans often create their own dungeons with strong thoughts and rules, becoming the boss monsters of those dungeons.

But they couldn’t really be called 'children of the origin.'

"A monster is one of two things. Either it was born in a dungeon, or it became a monster because it created a dungeon."

"Hmm..."

"Being born from the origin directly or accidentally falling under the influence of the origin and then appearing across various dimensions are different stories from 'children of the origin.'"

"It’s always fascinating to hear about that."

Bisa Beul smiled

with eyes narrowed like a snake’s.

"As a hunter, the biggest secret of the world seems to be just the dungeons."

"That’s good. Many people still can’t adapt to just the existence of dungeons, let alone if we started talking about how those dungeons are formed from the cosmic concept of the origin... Everyone’s heads would explode."

"I’m always thankful to our gardeners. Want me to brew some coffee?"

"No, thanks. I’m trying to avoid caffeine."

Yoo Seong-Woon plainly disliked it. He had been busy with frequent overtime, and drinking all sorts of caffeine to stay awake for conversations with Gio, who only woke at dawn, was making him sick.

"Anyway, well, that’s it. If we have to explain it, it’s much easier to say that Gio is a 'child of the origin.' Beyond that, there’s no way to explain... The origin is not just a narrow concept that can be understood by beings of Earth within just 30 years."

"Even the dungeons haven’t been fully figured out yet, let alone the deeper knowledge."

"The chairman of the association is still very interested, but well, it’s still hard to say definitively about Gio’s identity."

The origin is an ecosystem and nature itself. Just as atmospheric nitrogen cannot understand humans, the children of the origin have extremely limited understanding of humans. They simply survive in their own way, nurturing their 'stories.'

However, Gio was not like that.

"How that’s possible... I really don’t know. Since it was once a human, maybe focusing the investigation on that aspect might reveal something...?"

"..."

"Even then, I can’t understand how a human could become a child of the origin. Even if it was a human, it might not have been a human of Earth."

Many novice gardeners confuse 'monsters' with 'children of the origin,' but just because both are significantly influenced by the origin doesn’t mean they are the same.

"Monsters are born in dungeons, and children of the origin are born from the origin. They can’t be the same; they were born from different places."

"Maybe it’s like the relationship between an uncle and a nephew?"

"Hmm... That’s somewhat similar."

From the matrix of the origin, both 'dungeons' and 'children of the origin' are formed, and from those 'dungeons,' monsters are formed. This is usually the flow.

"If humanoid monsters or those similar ever create their own dungeons and spawn new rules or monsters, but such cases are rare..."

The comparison to uncles and nephews isn’t so far off.

"Even dungeons are sometimes said to be one of the children of the origin."

"Oh, is that so?"

"This area still needs further research. I can’t say for sure. Anyway..."

Yoo Seong-Woon looked at Bisa Beul.

"So, was it okay?"

"..."

"To decide to freely unleash such an unknown and uncontrollable entity."

Bisa Beul shrugged.

"...We’ve been discussing that answer for a while now, haven’t we?"

What kind of method could possibly keep such an uncontrollable, unknown entity from being free?

"It’s neither a monster, nor an item, nor an awakened being. And calling it a child of the origin feels too odd."

"..."

"It creates life, its soul caliber is high, and it’s incredibly capable. It freely emerges from the portrait, unless there are specific limitations or conditions..."

If you are reading this translation anywhere other than Novelight.net or SilkRoadTL, it has been stolen.

"...That’s right."

"How do you plan to stop it? Is it even possible? We can’t handle the already familiar, let alone the unidentified 'Gio's Portrait.'"

Bisa Beul waved his hand with a smile.

"Ah, maybe if we take a human he cares about as a hostage, it might be possible."

"Are you insane?"

"I expected that reaction. It’s not to our taste as good people, and who knows how effective it would be. Given Gio’s abilities, the hostage could easily be smuggled out... Then we’d just provoke further trouble."

"..."

"Do you understand?"

He smiled as if amused.

"We can’t stop it."

"...I know."

"It’s like using a tiny child as a shield to stop a tsunami. If we can’t stop it anyway, we at least shouldn’t provoke any trouble."

He smiled thinly, like soothing a sullen child, with a hint of an elder’s patronizing gaze.

"And we’d better try to earn some goodwill."

'Gio's Portrait' is very gentlemanly, values etiquette, and is fair.

If it receives a favor from someone, it returns the favor with equal or greater value. That must be Gio’s 'rule.'

"This incident was a kind of vaccination. A warning to coexist with an entity we could never handle otherwise. Fortunately, I know my employees well, and they displayed the appropriate level of indifference as I expected."

"...The numerous ghost story scares that have happened in the guild so far must have helped. They figured there was no need to shiver over a ghost story now when nothing has happened so far."

"Exactly."

"This place is a 'Collector.'"

Managed by Bisa Beul himself, staffed by people chosen by Bisa Beul, and filled with artworks loved by Bisa Beul.

That was precisely the third-ranked guild in South Korea, 'Collector.'

"Mr. Yoo Seong-Woon, remember. 'Gio's Portrait' is not an entity we can control."

Fighting it would be foolish.

"It’s a natural disaster, and fortunately, it can communicate with us and harbors goodwill. That’s really a tremendous fortune, more miraculous than anything else."

"..."

"Don’t foolishly squander this miracle, thinking the fate of Earth is in your hands. We need to be cautious, bold, and always kind."

"...Did you buy Gio knowing this would happen? Since it appeared in the auction, it was bound to be exposed to the world, and you took the initiative to handle any potential disaster?"

"I see quite a lot."

"..."

"I thought it wasn’t just any ordinary artwork."

Bisa Beul then smiled with a playful and youthful expression, dressed like a gentleman which didn’t seem quite fitting but somehow felt lively.

"It was the only work I couldn’t read."

Right.

"..."

"...I trust the guild leader."

"Trusting too much can be problematic."

"Specifically, I trust your discernment."

That’s what his eyes said.

Since it was a successful gamble, Yoo Seong-Woon decided to hold his tongue.

"But the unease is because I am just a mere human."

"It would be presumptuous to assume I could contain a talking disaster."

"Like the start of a horror movie, the same... feeling."

Ah, that’s it.

"...It’s probably because it’s something too immense..."

What could a tiny human heart do before a giant?

Originally, humans are such small beings.

Meanwhile, Gio, having miraculously and impossibly merged with the origin during the rebirth of Earth, evolved into a haunted portrait...

"This is it."

Was farming.

Meaning, it was thoughtless.