Chapter 1
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 1
I became a painting.
“...”
Not a funeral portrait, but an actual, literal painting.
“...”
And of all places, I ended up inside a forest cabin.
“...Should I just treat this as moving to the countryside?”
I was perfectly alive, yet I was about to be treated like a haunted portrait. Still, the situation was entertaining, so I decided to just go with it.
* * *
Seo Gio was an art teacher.
To explain how a perfectly respectable member of society ended up as a haunted portrait, one had to go back to the day the school burned down. Seo Gio had failed to escape in time, finding himself trapped in the art room, where he fell directly into one of his own paintings.
“...”
Seriously.
“If I was going to die anyway, I wanted to die in my favorite place.”
That place was the art storage room, where a landscape painting of a forest cabin had been sitting—the very painting that ultimately turned him into a talking picture.
“Live long enough, and you really do experience everything.”
Gio sat on a bench, taking in the scenery inside the painting.
“...”
The air was mild.
The harmonious chirping of birds sounded like a choir. A gentle spring breeze, as light and soft as silk, brushed past his skin. Jewel-like sunlight filtered through the dense canopy. The temperature was just right, and the rich scent of the forest hung thick in the air, as if damp with morning dew.
“Mmh.”
It was peaceful.
“Nice.”
It had been about a week since he first woke up in the cabin inside this painting.
Though time flows a bit erratically here, so I’m not entirely sure how long I’ve actually been here…
It was only natural for a new tenant to inspect their home. In that time, Gio had figured out a few of the minor rules governing this painted world.
First, everything he painted here became real.
“...”
Observing the apple he had just painted, Seo Gio set it down with a soft thud. The ripe fruit gave off a sweet fragrance.
He felt a swell of pride.
I am officially free from grocery bills.
I really am amazing.
Haunted portrait or not, this was incredibly welcome news for Seo Gio, who was both a gourmet and a big eater.
If he painted an apple, it became a real apple. If he painted a bag of salt, it became real salt. The same went for kitchenware like pots and spatulas, as well as plants like flowers and trees.
And here is the one thing anyone would wonder about at this point.
He couldn’t paint humans.
Wondering if he might become the first person to fashion another human out of paint, he had tried. But the result was always a warm corpse—never a living, breathing person.
“It’s a relief there’s a clear limit.”
Gio had almost been spooked. For someone who valued friendship, peace, and love, the power to create life would have been more of a burden than a gift.
Above all, Seo Gio’s dream was closer to being a landlord than a Creator.
I’m relieved I didn’t end up with a power so massive it would ruin the cozy, charming life I want.
And the second rule.
“...”
Gio’s gaze drifted to a picture frame hanging on a tree trunk.
“Is it like a front door?”
Through the frame, Gio could see the scenery outside the painting.
“Maybe it’s hung there to remind me of the importance of communication, so I don’t grow old and lonely.”
He could even interact with reality and step out of the painting whenever he wanted. Compared to the haunted portraits in the countless ghost stories he knew, his level of freedom was exceptionally high.
As expected of me.
Even as a painting, he walked a different path from others.
Gio was highly satisfied with his own uniqueness, which he doubted was paralleled anywhere in human history. If there was another like him, he supposed it would be fate, which was even better.
“...”
Anyway, moving on.
“...I don’t see any reason to drag myself back out into a smog-choked society and start over.”
Why bother when he had this pristine sanctuary?
“Besides, so much has changed from what I remember in just a few years…”
It was a rather bitter thing to mutter at the ripe old age of twenty-nine, but that was the reality. Apparently, nearly thirty years had passed since the fire.
Thirty-one years, to be exact.
Upon learning this, Gio had leisurely retreated back into the painting. This old relic had absolutely no confidence in adapting to a brand-new society.
“I’ve probably been declared dead for ages. Why would I leave just to get subjected to biological experiments?”
He had no intention of looking for trouble when he had this peaceful home with zero grocery bills, rent, or electricity costs.
“I am a little worried about the kids from my class… but the world has changed so much, I have no idea how they’re all doing.”
It seemed the Earth had been turned upside down thirty-one years ago, around the time of the fire.
I think they called it the Great Catastrophe.
The world seemed to have changed completely since that day.
When he witnessed the unbelievable sight of a businessman in a suit wielding a bow to fight a monster the size of a house, a thoroughly terrified Gio meekly accepted his new identity as a painting.
“Well, things happen in life.”
His body hadn’t died a hundred deaths, turned to dust, or lost its soul, but a peaceful and cozy life as a haunted portrait was still far better than dealing with monsters in modern society.
“There are many ways to live in this world, and living as a portrait is just one of them…”
And that brings us to the third point.
“...Hmm.”
This forest was a whole other ecosystem.
“Maybe I’ll go foraging.”
Gio grabbed a sturdy basket. He planned to bring back a bounty of food.
Even though I only painted a two-story cabin and the surrounding forest, exploring the area revealed plants and terrain I never actually drew.
It seemed they had been generated based on his imagination.
“...”
Rustle.
“Hello.”
“Squeak.”
“Right.”
Gio watched as a rabbit hopped out of the bushes and rubbed against his foot.
It’s tiny.
It was much smaller and rounder than a typical Korean rabbit, likely reflecting his preference for small, harmless things.
I like it.
Mostly because it didn’t look like it could hurt him. He liked the fact that if they got into a serious fight, he would definitely win.
Is it because I, the owner of the painting, am harmless that only harmless creatures are spawned here? A plausible theory…
After that, other creatures that differed slightly from their real-world counterparts occasionally brushed past him.
A squirrel with round, puffed-up cheeks. A sparrow with feathers so fluffy it looked like it was dressed for winter. A deer with a slender neck and eyes as clear as jewels…
“...”
Gio thought to himself.
The fourth rule.
“...To be this friendly upon our first meeting, they must recognize me as their father.”
Every living thing within this painting was friendly toward Gio.
Is it because I painted this place?
Though he had become a painting, he was still an artist, and this world was a work of art he had created.
It’s only natural that the creatures living inside my work would be favorable toward me, their creator.
Gio turned and walked upstream along the creek.
“...As a jobless man with absolutely nothing to do, maybe I should find a sunny spot and take a nap.”
He was heading toward the spring, the source of this vast forest.
And it’d be even better if I do some foraging on the way.
Seo Gio was still a gourmet and a big eater. Although he no longer felt hunger or drowsiness after becoming a painting, he could still eat and sleep as much as he wanted.
Though, seeing as I still feel bloated if I eat too much and can’t fall back asleep right after a long rest… I suppose my basic bodily patterns are still maintained.
In any case, being able to eat as much as he wanted was a massive perk.
“...Ah.”
Following the creek upstream, Gio spotted some round, red fruit.
“These would make a perfect snack.”
It was a short, slender tree, barely two meters tall, with branches that curved downward like overturned plates. Clustered along those thin branches were fruits about the size of marbles you’d buy at a stationery store. Bunched together in soft, round clusters, they looked more like bush cherries than grapes.
“If I dry them in the sun, I wonder if they’ll have a texture like raisins…”
At that moment, his ‘System’ displayed a description of the small red fruit.
Mangdung Fruit
Red in color. Sweet and sour, with a predominantly sweet taste. Spherical fruits ranging from 1 cm to 2 cm in diameter.
Alchemy Method: Grind thoroughly dried fruit into powder, mix with Lulupu juice to form a dough, shape into dumplings, and dry in a dark place for at least a week. This produces a medicine highly effective for treating bleeding and aiding recovery.
“...I wish you’d give me a heads-up before popping up…”
The fifth rule.
“...Yeah, this is going to take some getting used to. Time heals all wounds, I guess.”
Actually, it was hard to call this a rule of the forest… but it seemed Seo Gio had undergone what they called Awakening. It was a phenomenon manifested by the espers who appeared after the ‘Great Catastrophe’.
People on Earth nowadays called those espers ‘Hunters’, which was quite fascinating.
And the fact that I’ve become one of those espers, too.
How should he put it?
“It’s like a game.”
It felt like he had dropped into a cozy, healing game focused on foraging and cooking.
I suppose I should be glad that this mindset made it easy to accept such an unfamiliar environment.
He wasn’t escaping reality by pretending this was a game. It simply meant that since the environment was as harmless and convenient as a game, adapting was easy.
“...Mmh…”
Gio, reading the system window once more, checked his basket. There was still plenty of room.
“...Should I gather more?”
He plucked the fruits one by one until the bottom of the basket was stained red, then used a large, cleanly washed leaf to partition off a section for them.
This was to save space for the other foraged items, and perhaps thanks to this preparation, he soon found another herb.
“What was that again?”
It was a small flower that resembled an orchid.
Baibamunil
Pale blue in color. Emits a soft vanilla cream fragrance. Edible after blanching in hot water for 10 minutes. Blooms where a forest butterfly of the ‘Forest of Oblivion’ has died. The petals resemble the wings of a forest butterfly.
Alchemy Method: Blanch in hot water to remove toxicity, then dry in a dark place for 10 days. Drying them on the leaves of a Dorong-dorong Tree increases the medicinal efficacy. Steeping the fully dried flowers over low heat for a day produces a fragrant medicinal tea. Highly effective for stopping bleeding, recovering immunity, and boosting overall health.
The taste is quite different, but the texture felt a bit like thoroughly cooked spinach, if I recall.
Spinach that smelled like vanilla cream might sound bizarre, but it was surprisingly palatable. Once blanched, it made a great snack when he felt peckish.
The texture was fun, too—soft enough to mash against the roof of your mouth like a well-cooked chestnut.
For reference, the ‘Dorong-dorong’ was a type of tree in this forest that was stout like a baobab but much shorter. Its curled leaves were thick and springy, like water balloons. Since these Dorong-dorong Trees grew near the cabin, Gio could easily gather their leaves.
“Just in case.”
Gio diligently continued his foraging. Since he needed not just food but also medicine for emergencies, gathering a wide variety of items was essential.
Continuing his harvest, Gio eventually arrived at the spring, the source of the creek.
“...”
Drip.
Trickle…
“...”
The spring water was cradled within pure white tree roots, looking as though it had gathered both sunlight and moonlight.
Amidst the glass-clear, sparkling spring, beautiful flowers as thin as jeweled silk were in bloom. They were lush blossoms that somewhat resembled lotuses.
“With this…”
Lulupu
A flower with a lush, full bud. It can only grow in pure water, using that water to bloom. A fully bloomed Lulupu retains its shape even when plucked. However, it must come into contact with warm water to extract juice from its petals. It is edible, but has no taste other than a strong fragrance.
Alchemy Method: Place the petals in warm, potable water and wait for them to dissolve and release their juice. Do not touch them during this process under any circumstances. The resulting juice can be used in combination with various medicinal ingredients.
Applicable Alchemy Method: Blood Dumpling using Mangdung Fruit and Lulupu juice.
“If I make some medicine, I’m sure it’ll come in handy someday.”
Thud.
He set his basket down.
Though I doubt I’ll ever actually need to use it, I was getting bored anyway…
Thinking of it as the perfect new piece of content, he washed his hands thoroughly in the spring water and reached for a Lulupu flower.
With his characteristically blunt and gloomy expression, Gio snapped the stem. Despite his sullen face, his touch as he handled the flower was remarkably delicate.
Taking it by the roots might be interesting, but this isn’t the kind of plant I’m used to growing… Since it’s a flower made of water, I don’t even know where the roots begin or end. I’d be upset if I accidentally reduced their population by being reckless, so I should be careful.
Perhaps because the Lulupu he plucked was already in full bloom, it did not dissolve into water and run off. This meant Gio had harvested the flower correctly.
“It smells wonderful.”
Gio carefully placed the flower bud into his basket.
There were about twenty flowers blooming in the spring, but just in case, he only harvested three. Since the petals themselves were as large and lush as lotuses, taking too many felt like a waste.
The stem is quite sturdy, too. I wonder if there’s another use for it. It feels fibrous, as if it might peel away like thread if I shred it vertically…
Soon, Gio finished packing the flowers.
“This should be enough.”
Deciding to get a feel for the exact measurements while making the medicine, Gio set the basket of flowers back down on the ground.
Then, he admired the spring.
“...”
Drip.
Trickle…
“...”
The gentle sound of clear water flowing.
The crisp scent rising from the pristine spring.
The damp air of the forest.
“...Beautiful.”
This spring, which existed despite him never having painted it, was beautiful beyond imagination.
The tree, though long dead, stood firm and glowed a brilliant white, resembling expensive Carrara marble. Through the wood, which possessed veins so intricate they faintly let the sky filter through, clear spring water flowed, shattering the golden sunlight.
It looks like a thin layer of pearl has been brushed over it.
The sap of this tree had hardened into jewels. Perhaps it had secreted sap before dying, as wide, undulating, plate-shaped gems of a pale blue hue protruded from various parts of the tree like wood ear mushrooms. Translucent and blue-green, they looked like large plates crafted from gemstones. They caught the spring water that filtered the sunlight, harboring a warm, gentle glow.
“...”
Drip…
The spring water trickled down along those jeweled plates in sequence.
Step by step, one by one, from the very highest point. It bounced off the jeweled plates, making a clear, resonant sound like jade beads striking one another. If one listened closely, it sounded almost like a butterfly’s song.
As the sunlight filtering through the forest leaves scattered and illuminated the marble-like tree, it felt as though he had stepped into a temple.
“...”
The spring water that flowed down pooled at the roots of the dead tree, forming a shallow well. The water overflowing from there spread throughout the forest, and the area was lit by butterflies with wings like sunlight. They looked just like fireflies.
Fireflies you could see even during the day.
“Spectacular.”
The spring, nestled at the base of the towering tree, looked like a massive pond.
…They say good water has a fragrance. I guess that applies to water this pure as well.
The air enveloping this place was so rich and sweet, it felt like lying in a field of flowers. Perhaps the fragrance of the Lulupu petals was infusing the spring water itself.
“...”
Indeed…
“A man really needs to move to the countryside.”
Gio loved this place.
Settling himself down amidst the moss, which was as soft as a duvet, he slowly drifted off into an afternoon nap.
* * *
“Over here.”
The art storage room of a now-forgotten abandoned school.
Inside the portrait hanging there, a man quietly closed his eyes.
“Look at this painting.”
“Whoa, how did it survive the fire without getting burned?”
“It’s in great condition… If we bring this back, will it count toward our performance evaluation?”
“I think it has a title, too.”
“It has a name? Ah, so it’s an item.”
Now, for the final rule.
I became a painting.
“...”
“It says it’s ‘Gio’s Portrait’.”
That, at least, was an undeniable fact.
“Traveling with someone who has an Appraisal Skill sure is convenient… But is this really from Earth?”
“Would a normal portrait stay this clean in an abandoned school like this, especially one deep in the mountains? When there’s no one even taking care of it?”
“I guess you’re right.”
“It’s obviously an item that drifted out of some dungeon. There are plenty of other dungeons around here.”
“Anyway, the Collectors will love this. Don’t they go crazy for stuff like this?”
And so, while Gio slept, the world outside his frame began to change.