The Artist Who Paints Dungeon

“It's completely hardened.”

Gio picked up the Goby fruit that had been dried in the cabin's yard.

“…And it's not even yellow…”

The glossy shimmering metallic lustre gave off a colour truly reminiscent of gold.

The size, weight, and shape were all just like an ugly piece of placer gold.

“Since when did I start walking the path of an alchemist?”

It was amazing how the plump, juicy red fruit had transformed like this.

“Doesn't the colour look similar to sunlight?”

The fruit, hardened enough to be grounded into powder, didn't look like food. But knowing that this could be made into medicine, Gio tilted his head and placed all the dried fruits into a glass jar.

“Looking for a knowledgeable friend to teach me how to make Blood Recovery Rice Ball Cakes.”

Refinement method: Make a dough by grinding the dried fruit thoroughly into powder and mixing it with Lulupu juice, shape the dough into rice ball cakes and dry them in a dark place for over a week to create a medicine beneficial for bleeding and recovery.

“Right, here's that knowledgeable friend. It was a well-founded self-confidence.”

Today's activity.

Making Blood Recovery Rice Ball Cakes good for recovering blood loss.

“Ta-da.”

It was a lot of fun to waste time doing productive tasks.

For Gio, who liked making and growing things, these things were never a hassle.

'Making rice ball cakes in a cosy cabin with sunlight streaming in.'

It was exactly to his taste. Gio headed to the studio with the ingredients.

“Though I won't be painting, there's no better place to work.”

As the studio was so spacious, enough for him to use the workbench efficiently as long as he avoided the paint. Gio placed all the ingredients on the workbench that had been cleaned in advance.

After washing his hands, Gio hesitated.

“…Should I start by grinding it into powder like when I made pigments? Is this the narrow-mindedness of an art teacher who has only handled art materials? Though it's called 'dried fruit,' it's almost as hard as a mineral….” Ṟ

Caught in a moderate panic, Gio unconsciously fiddled with the dried fruit. Surprisingly, peace came to his body and mind.

“It's warm.”

The forest, clear day after day, always had plenty of sunlight.  As one could feel from its cosy hues, the well-dried Goby fruit also carried the warmth of the sunlight.

It wasn't just the skin that felt warm, there was a subtle heat that permeated down to his veins within.

“This is the power of sun-dried fruit… Amazing.”

His heart, receiving that energy, began to beat leisurely and vividly, much like during a drowsy afternoon nap. It was a gentle sensation as if he was rolling around on a blanket full of the smell of sunlight.

Bang-!!

Gio struck it with a hammer.

“It's harder than I thought.”

Bang, crack!

“Next time, I shouldn't dry it whole like this…”

Crack…

“Maybe I should grind it before drying.”

Crunch, thud.

“But then it would be hard to trap all the juice like this.”

With a dull sound, the fruit, which was hard as a mineral, shattered.

This should be enough.

'Let's put it in a bowl and grind it.'

Gio nodded his head.

Gio had made pigments using all sorts of hard things such as gems and shells. Naturally, the bowls would get scratched or broken, thus Gio prepared for such cases by making several bowls in advance.

Among them, Gio brought an exceptionally clean glass bowl and began grinding the fruit.

Grind, grind.

“No, just what kind of hardness ….”

Even though he had crushed them finely, the sound made him wonder, 'Is this right?' No matter how he thought about it, it seemed true that Gio had awakened as an alchemist.

'Should I make a millstone later?'

Given this insane hardness, it might have been dried for too long.

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“Maybe I was too complacent, thinking forest materials wouldn't spoil.”

One of the characteristics of this forest was that all ingredients and crops neither dried out nor spoiled.

The same applied to cooking. A world where food never moulds—it seemed like every chef's dream come true.

However, this fruit made it clear that the condition was not infinitely maintained. The long-neglected Goby fruit hadn't spoiled but continued to dry and became excessively hard.

Is that why it has a warm atmosphere?

'…I need to think more about this. I have to actually try it myself to know what results will come from sticking to a particular method.”

The dried fruit had a warm atmosphere not felt in ordinary fruits. Remembering how it was a normally dried fruit until a week ago, it certainly seemed to have its special characteristics.

Anyway, it was funny and nice. Now Gio could say that he had tried refining gold somewhere.

“This should be enough.”

Rustle…

A slightly moist powder.

“It looks just like snow.”

Among them, it looks like snow that sticks together well.

Obviously, it was certainly dried as hard as possible, yet where was this subtle moisture coming from?

In reality, there was no moisture at all, but Gio might have been mistaken due to the oddly dense and fluffy feeling.

“…Hmm.”

Tasting the powder, he felt a warmth spreading through his body and sweetness spreading across his tongue.

Gio blinked his eyes twice.

“…It would be delicious to put it together for baking.”

In the past, when sugar was scarce, common people used to make powder from chestnuts they found along the roads as a substitute for expensive sugar or strong-flavoured honey.

That savoury and subtle sweetness paired well with various dishes, so it was even used to make crepes.

“There's nothing I can't do.”

The powder from sun-ripened Goby fruit has almost lost its original sourness and retained only the rich sweetness unique to dried fruits.

The sweetness was intense, yet it also had a light taste like grains or eggs. It was something he didn't feel when eating the freshly picked Goby fruit, making him wonder, 'Is this the taste of sunlight?'

“The fruit's strong unique taste might make it unsuitable for meals, but it would go well in sweet treats like crepes topped with whipped cream or ricotta cheese, or madeleines. The fresh lemon scent of Goby fruit would also complement it nicely.”

A pig could be considered a true pig if they thought about what they would eat when washing, eating, and sleeping. In that sense, Gio was indeed a pig.

“I guess I should dry them in advance.”

The Goby fruit, filled with fruit pulp, was incredibly juicy. It felt like drying jelly the size of large grapes.

'If I want to use this powder for cooking too….'

It seemed wise to dry them in large quantities in advance.

'It will take quite some time.'

Having ground all the fruit into powder, Gio lifted the glass jar.

“Since it might fail, I'll store most of it and just attempt with a small amount. One should always anticipate failure. That's the key to longevity.”

He left just enough powder to make a tiny sphere, smaller than the marbles sold at stationery stores.

After organizing all the Goby fruit powder, Gio picked up the bottle next to it. Inside, something shimmered deeply like a transparent galaxy.

It was Lulupu's juice, a flower from the spring, which he had made some time ago.

“…Of course, it hasn't spoiled…”

The Lulupu juice in the glass bottle somewhat resembled the spring water from where it grew.

Should he say it was similar to water containing sunlight? Or perhaps it should be said that it contained a bit of warm moonlight.

Lulupu's juice, having materialized all the light it had absorbed throughout its life into its own blood, was difficult to describe as merely water with glitter.

'…It really looks like the galaxy. Would it feel like this if the galaxy was reflected on the shallow water of the white tree spring?'

Maybe because it was so visually appealing. Gio, who had been staring at it for a while, soon muttered.

“Impressive.”

Gio dropped Lulupu's juice over the bowl filled with finely ground powder.

Even with just a few drops, the powder was completely soaked and took on a deep golden hue. The powder, combined with Lulupu's unique moisture and its refreshing blue hue, had a strangely cool aspect to it.

“…It looks like wet gold powder.”

After pondering for a while, Gio kneaded the powder, then soon brought it to his hands and gently rolled it. Although the attempt was timid and the result was very small, a rice ball cake was nonetheless completed.

It looked like a bead made of real gold.

“…?”

Shouldn't this be called Gold Rice Ball Cake instead of Blood Recovery Rice Ball Cake?

“Well, anyway.”

Gio, getting a feel of the powder's moisture and the juice's dampness, began making the rice ball cakes one after another.

Perhaps thanks to his experience with tearing and eating sujebi¹ and making and eating honey-filled rice cakes² at home, he made pretty decent rice ball cakes. Gio managed to create a total of 15 rice ball cakes.

Gio felt a moment of emptiness as all the carefully ground Goby fruit powder was used up. Life was tough. There was wisdom in that.

“…At least there's juice left.”

Given the powder's inherent moisture, it was impossible to use up all the Lulupu juice that soaked ridiculously well. Far from half, in the end, he only used up about a third of the bottle.

“What to do with the rest?”

Just at the moment as he pondered about this.

“Uh…”

Gio made eye contact with a waterfowl sitting by the studio window.

“Uh, wait a moment.”

Clatter, clatter, clatter!!

“No.”

Splash―!!

The Lulupu juice was stolen.

What was this.

The waterfowl puffed up its body to the fullest, wrapping itself around the large glass bottle and covering it with its entire body.

Gio was taken aback by the greedy form, much like a slime that appeared in games.

“What do you plan to do with that?”

It was amusing to see that chubby body try to swallow a bottle three times its size, but he was genuinely curious as to why it was doing this.

“Why did you show such determination when you couldn't even swallow it all?”

Rustle ….

“I'm telling you that stubbornness won't help, the glass bottle is bigger than your body.”

Rustle!

“Do you see this bottle sticking out? See? I declare that you have the qualities of a pig.”

Bite!! Chomp!!

“Such a clear bite mark, this is quite an impressive performance art. You really are my child.”

What struck him the most was how nonchalantly bizarre it was. It seems that these days, even traits can be inherited through paint.

“What are you planning to do with that?”

He wondered what use a waterfowl would have for that, but the waterfowl proudly slipped right into the glass bottle. In the blink of an eye, the waterfowl was crumpled itself in the bottle's shape.

“Uh?”

Then, the waterfowl merged with the Lulupu juice.

“What is this….”

“Coocoo.”

“Did you just talk?”

“Coo.”

“Are you making sounds?”

Has it evolved?

After all, you are my child.

'Things never go as expected.'

When Gio turned the bottle upside down and shook it, the waterfowl, which had been trying to stubbornly cling on for some reason, soon slid out with a swish.

Squeak, pop!

Splat―!

The creature fell with a cute sound, like a slime toy from a stationery store, and was glistening with Lulupu's juice filled throughout its body.

“Cooo.”

It talked, and above all.

“…It's warm.”

He felt the warmth.

“What happened?”

“Coocoo.”

“This is absurd and amusing, but I have no idea what kind of trick this is. Life really is a continuous stream of content.”

“Coo.”

“Does drinking Lulupu juice cause animals to evolve? But nothing changed when I took a sip? Is this discrimination?”

Perhaps it was a possible change due to waterfowl being a species created by Gio's hands, since by common sense, it was impossible for a creature made entirely of water to make such coocooing sounds as if it had vocal cords.

“I don't think it's good to grow up all of a sudden. This isn't a harmful change for your body, is it?”

“Coooooo.”

“Then it's a relief, but….”

Gio, who had been pondering about life is an egg, soon accepted this entire situation positively.³

'It's funny so it's alright.'⁴

Yes. In fact, Gio had no thoughts. He successfully concluded all his worries.

“A talking, flying water is truly amazing.”

“Cooco?”

“Your body colour seems a bit different too…”

The once transparent body had turned light yellow, like water mixed with gold powder.

The waterfowl that drank Lulupu juice was the one that often carried gems, and its shiny body was now filled with yellow and transparent gems, matching Lulupu's unique shimmer, reminiscent of sunlight and moonlight.

“Hmm.”

This colour, as visible as a yellow road sign, would be noticeable even if one passed by on a KTX train.

A creature full of vibrant and gentle colours. This would certainly set it apart from the others.

“If it stands out to this extent, I can give it a name.”

“Coococoo?”

“Do you like that? I'm glad.”

Soon, Gio spoke.

“Golde…”

“The moment I said it, I thought it wasn't right. This dad sometimes makes slip of the tongue.”

Gio had never seen water look so serious before.⁵

Though he was its parent in his own way, there were things one should and shouldn't say to a child. The naming sense of 'Golden' definitely fell into the category of things he shouldn't do.⁶

The Seo family had never been talented at naming things throughout generations. He tried to put more effort into thinking and seriously racked his brain.

“Then Honey …. how about that.”

“Coocoo?”

“Because it's a sweet colour.”

The bird, imbued with warm golden light, not only resembled sunlight or moonlight, but also flowing honey with a rich fragrance.

Gio said as he stroked the golden bird, which had become slightly squishy yet firm.

“That's it the best for my naming sense.”

“Coococoo.”

“You're so merciful that you don't hate it.”

Honestly, he thought it would dislike being named Honey.

'Maybe it doesn't understand the meaning of honey.'

For a moment, he thought that way, but since it liked the name anyway, what could he do?

Gio watched as Honey wriggled back into the glass bottle.

“How cute.”

Watching it was healing.

“A cat crammed in a box…”

“Cwooooo.”

“When your body is squished, your sounds are squished too? That's even cuter.”

“Cyoocoo.”

“This is the epitome of cuteness.”

Holding the glass bottle with Honey stuffed inside, Gio noted that the oddly warm glass bottle was just at the right size like a hot pack.

'It even smells sweet.'

It felt like watching a crackling campfire, making his mind go blank.

“Hmm.”

As he quietly gazed at the warm, sweet-smelling, and beautiful glass bottle, a drowsiness and languidness similar to that of attending a class after lunch on a spring afternoon came over him.

Eating and sleeping are the duties of a pig. And Honey seemed to feel the same way.

Gio put the glass bottle inside his outerwear without covering the mouth of the bottle.

“I'll take that as a yes.”

“Coo.”

And soon—the two of them fell asleep, sprawled out like laundry left to dry.

¹: sujebi (hand-pulled dough soup or Korean-style pasta soup) is a Korean traditional soup consisting of dough flakes roughly torn by hand, with various vegetables.

²: 꿀떡 (kkeultteok) is a Korean steamed rice cake that translates to “honey cake”. It's similar in shape to songpyeon but smaller, and is usually bite-sized and shaped into balls. Kkultteok is chewy and traditionally served with honey-infused syrup, but it can also be stuffed with Korean syrup. It's often eaten as a dessert or sweet snack and can be found at specialized shops.

³: I believe this is referencing the pun [boiled egg/life is an egg]. basically a word pun since 삶은 could mean 'boiled'/'life is'.

⁴: at this point, you must have realized that this was sth Gio spoke often. so I actually went back and forth to decide the word to use since ch 1. my first choice was actually 'it's amusing so it's alright' but I landed upon a goofy MC fanart with his pets and I thought using 'It's funny so it's alright' show up his personality more lmao so there ya go ૮₍ ꒦ິ꒳꒦ີ ₎ა but just so you know, if that line arises, it could also mean 'It's amusing so it's alright' / 'It's interesting so it's alright'.

⁵: this isn't a typo for those wondering.

⁶: 금쪽 was used. It actually means 'Gold Piece' but using it on the translation feels weird to me, so I use 'Golden', very different meaning but better flow … right? sorry tho TT

* regarding point 6, I never said this but I actually did the same with 'Collection' too, which in the raws actually means 'Dealer' (an organization that collects things and sells them) but it won't go well with Bi Sa-beol's 'Collector' title, and the words are almost the same with only one character difference, so I was sceptical to use 'Dealer'. In the end I decided to go with 'Collection' instead, thinking of 'Collection House'.

t/n: had such a hard time deciding Honey's noises, honestly still not sure if using 'coocoo' is the correct one and honestly coocoo is so inflexible. It's hard to use variations with that.

sorry for the late update guys TT