Chapter 1

Prologue : Why, I could be a haunted portrait.

I became a painting.

“…….”

Not a funeral portrait, but a real painting.

“…….”

And at that, I was dropped into the middle of a cabin in the woods.

“…It’s interesting, so it’s fine.”

Though it seemed I, a perfectly living person, would be treated as a haunted portrait.

***

I was an art teacher.

To explain how I, a proper member of society, became a haunted portrait, it was because I, unable to escape a burning school in time, was trapped in the art room and plopped right into my own painting.

“…….”

It was true.

“I figured if I was going to die anyway, I wanted to die in my favorite place.”

That was the art supply closet.

The very place where the landscape painting of the cabin in the woods had been, the place that ultimately turned me into a talking painting.

“To think I’d have an experience like this in my lifetime.”

I sat on a bench and took in the scenery within the painting.

“…….”

The air was mild.

The chirping of birds, singing in harmony as if in a choir.

The spring breeze, light and soft like rustling silk.

Jewel-like sunlight filtering through the dense leaves.

The perfect temperature and the deep scent of the forest, as if damp with dew….

“Hmm.”

It was peaceful.

“Nice.”

It had been about a week since I came to my senses in this cabin inside the painting.

‘The flow of time is erratic, so I don’t know exactly how long I’ve been here….’

It was only natural for a new resident to inspect his new home.

I had figured out a few minor rules of this painting.

First, everything I painted here became real.

“…….”

Observing the apple I had drawn, I casually put it down.

A pleasant fragrance came from the well-ripened apple.

I felt proud.

‘I have been liberated from food expenses.’

As expected, I am brilliant.

Haunted portrait or whatever, this was very welcome news to me, a gourmand and a glutton.

If I drew an apple, it became a real apple.

If I drew a bag of salt, it became real salt.

It was the same for kitchen utensils like pots and spatulas, not just ingredients and it was identical for plants like flowers and trees.

‘At this point, there’s one thing anyone would be curious about.’

I couldn’t draw people.

I tried, thinking I might become the first human to create another from paint, but it only resulted in a warm corpse, not a living, moving person.

“It’s a relief the limits are clear.”

I almost got scared.

To me, who valued friendship, peace, and love, the ability to create humanity would only be a detriment.

Above all, my dream was closer to being a building owner than a creator.

‘I was relieved that I hadn’t gained an ability that would harm the coze and charm of my life.’

And the second rule.

“…….”

My gaze fell upon a frame hanging on a wooden pillar.

“Is it something like a front door?”

Through the frame, I could see the scenery outside of this place.

“Perhaps it’s here to stress the importance of communication, so I don’t grow old alone.”

Interaction with reality was also possible, so I could leave the painting at any time.

Compared to the haunted portraits in the many ghost stories I knew, mine had a high degree of freedom.

‘As expected of me.’

Even as a painting, there was no way I’d follow the same path as others.

I was greatly satisfied with my uniqueness, which was likely unprecedented in human history.

It seemed unlikely there would be another one of these in the world.

If there was, it would be fate, which was even better.

“…….”

Anyway, to get to the point.

“…There doesn’t seem to be any reason to go out into society smelling of exhaust fumes to start a new life.”

Why would I, when I have this clean area?

“A lot has changed from what I remember in just a few years….”

It was a bitter thing to mutter at the ripe young age of 29, but that was the reality.

They said it had already been about 30 years since the fire incident.

‘31 years, to be exact.’

Upon learning that, I serenely returned to the painting.

This talking potato had no confidence in adapting to a new society.

“My death certificate must have been filed a long time ago, so why would I go out there to be subjected to who knows what kind of biological experiments?”

I had no intention of pointlessly suffering, leaving behind this peaceful home where I didn't have to pay for food, let alone rent or electricity.

“I am a little worried about the kids in my class… but the world has changed so much, I don’t know how they’re all doing.”

It seemed the world had been turned upside down 31 years ago, when the fire incident happened.

‘Did they call it the Great Catastrophe.’

The world appeared to have changed completely since that day.

When I escaped the abandoned school that had turned into an Amazon jungle and with difficulty found a place where people had gathered, only to see the unbelievable sight of a businessman in a suit holding a bow and fighting a monster the size of a house.

Thoroughly terrified, I meekly accepted my identity as a painting.

“Things like that can happen in life.”

Even if this body were to die and die a hundred times over, its white bones did not turn to dust and my soul remained perfectly intact, but still, the life of a peaceful and comfortable haunted portrait was better than a modern society where one had to struggle with monsters.

“There are various ways of life in the world, and among them is the life of a portrait….”

And at this point, to discuss the third story.

“…Hmm.”

This forest was another ecosystem.

“Shall I go foraging.”

I picked up a sturdy basket.

I intended to bring back a load of food.

‘What I drew was only a two-story cabin and the forest surrounding it, but after wandering around here and there, I found plants and geographical features that I had never drawn.’

It seemed to be created based on my imagination.

“…….”

Rustle.

“Hello.”

“Peep.”

“Right.”

I watched as a rabbit that popped out of the bushes rubbed its body against my foot and went on its way.

‘It’s small.’

Its body was much smaller and rounder than the Korean rabbits I was familiar with, which seemed to be a reflection of my preference for small, harmless things.

‘I like it.’

Mainly the part that it seemed unable to harm me.

I liked that if we were to fight seriously, I would likely win.

‘Was it because I, the owner of the painting, am harmless that only harmless creatures have been placed here? A plausible guess….’

Afterward, creatures with slight differences from their real-world counterparts occasionally passed me by.

A squirrel with roundly puffed-up cheeks.

A sparrow with fluffy feathers as if it were winter.

A deer with gem-like clear eyes and a slender neck….

“…….”

I thought.

The fourth rule.

“…To be this kind despite it being our first meeting, they must recognize me as their father.”

All beings in this painting showed favor to me.

‘Is it because I painted this place?’

Although I had become a painting, I was still a painter and this world was also a work I had created.

‘It might be natural for the guys living in such a work to be favorable to me, their owner.’

I walked in the opposite direction of the stream.

“…Like the unemployed person with nothing to do that I am, shall I find a sunny spot and take a nap.”

I was on my way to find the spring that was the source of this vast forest.

‘Even better if I forage on the way.’

I was still a gourmand and a glutton.

I didn't feel hunger or drowsiness after becoming a painting, but I could eat and sleep as much as I wanted.

‘Considering I feel bloated if I eat too much, or can’t fall back asleep right after waking up from a deep sleep… it seems a basic life pattern is still maintained, though.’

Anyway, being able to eat as much as I wanted was a great advantage.

“…Ah.”

Following the stream in reverse, I found a red, round fruit.

“This would be perfect for a snack.”

A thin tree, a little under 2m tall, with branches bent deeply like an overturned plate.

Its slender branches were laden with fruits the size of marbles sold at a stationery store.

The way they were clustered and spread from the long branches, their shape was more similar to a cherry tree than a grapevine.

“If I dry them in the sun, could I get a texture similar to raisins….”

At that moment, my ‘system’ explained the small, red fruit.

Mangdung Fruit

It has a reddish color.

It is sweet and sour, with a predominantly strong sweet taste.

It is a spherical fruit with a diameter of as small as 1cm and as large as 2cm.

Elixir Recipe: Powder the well-dried fruit and mix it with the juice of Rurupu to make a dough. Form the dough into balls and dry them in a dark place for at least a week to make a good medicine for bleeding and its recovery.

“…If only it would give some warning before appearing….”

The fifth rule.

“…Yeah, I think this will take some getting used to. Time will be the cure.”

Actually, it was a bit much to call this a rule of the forest… but it seemed I had undergone an awakening.

The phenomenon is said to manifest in superhumans who appeared after the ‘Great Catastrophe’.

The people of Earth now called such superhumans ‘Hunters’, which I found fascinating.

‘That I became one of those superhumans, too.’

How should I put it?

“It’s like a game.”

I felt like I had been dropped into a healing game where I foraged and cooked.

‘Should I say I was fortunate to be able to accept this unfamiliar environment without difficulty thanks to that feeling.’

It wasn't that I was escaping reality by saying this place was a game.

It simply meant, ‘Adaptation is easy because I’m placed in a harmless and convenient environment like a game.’

“…Hmm….”

Re-reading the system, I checked my basket.

There was still a lot of room left.

“…Should I gather more.”

I plucked the fruits until the bottom of my basket turned red.

Then, I made a space for the fruits with a large, cleanly washed leaf to partition them.

It was to make space for other foraged items I might find and thanks to that, I was able to find another medicinal herb not long after.

“What was that again?”

A small flower that resembled an orchid.

Baibamunil

It has a light blue tint.

It has a soft vanilla cream scent.

It becomes edible when boiled in hot water for 10 minutes.

It blooms where the forest butterflies of the ‘Forest of Oblivion’ have died.

Its petals resemble the wings of a forest butterfly.

Elixir Recipe: Remove the poison by boiling in hot water, then dry in a dark place for 10 days. The medicinal effect increases if dried on the leaves of a Dorongdorong Tree. The fully dried flower can be steeped over low heat for a day to make a medicinal tea with a good fragrance. It is excellent for hemostasis and for restoring and increasing immunity.

‘The taste is probably quite different, but I think the texture was at least like well-cooked spinach.’

Spinach that smells like vanilla cream might sound strange, but it was surprisingly okay to eat.

Eating it as a snack after boiling it once was good when you were feeling peckish.

‘The texture is also fun, soft enough to be crushed like a well-cooked chestnut if you mash it moderately with your tongue.’

For reference, ‘Dorongdorong’ refers to a tree in this forest that is fat like a baobab tree but much shorter.

Its roundly curled leaves were chewy and thick like a water-filled balloon, and since there was a Dorongdorong Tree near the cabin, I could easily obtain its leaves.

“Just in case.”

I continued to forage diligently.

I needed not only food but also medicine for emergencies, so foraging over a wide area was necessary.

As I continued foraging, I arrived at the spring, the source of the stream.

“…….”

Pat.

Trickle….

“…….”

The spring water, trapped by white tree roots that seemed to have collected sunlight and moonlight.

Between the spring that sparkled transparently like glass, thin and beautiful flowers, like silk made of jewels, were in bloom.

They were lush flowers that somewhat resembled lotuses.

“With this….”

Rurupu

A flower with a lush bud.

It can only grow in clean water and uses that water to bloom.

A fully bloomed Rurupu maintains its shape even when picked. However, its petals will only release juice when they touch warm water.

It is edible but has no taste other than a deep fragrance.

Elixir Recipe: Place the petals in warm, potable water and wait until they melt and release juice. Never touch it during the process. The juice extracted this way can be used with various medicinal ingredients.

Applicable Elixir Recipe: Blood Pills using Mangdung Fruit and Rurupu juice.

“If I make medicine, I’m sure it will be useful someday.”

Thud.

I set the basket down.

‘It doesn’t seem like I’ll have much use for it, but I was bored anyway….’

Thinking it was very suitable as new content, I washed my hands cleanly in the spring water and then reached for a Rurupu flower.

With my characteristically blunt and somber face, I snapped off a flower stalk.

The hand that handled the flower was, contrary to my gloomy expression, quite delicate.

‘Taking it by the root would also be interesting, but this isn't a type of plant I've commonly grown…. It’s a flower made of water, so I don’t even know where the root begins and ends. I should be careful not to recklessly try and reduce the population, as that would be upsetting.’

The Rurupu I picked must have already fully bloomed, as it didn't dissolve into water.

It meant that I had harvested the flower in the correct way.

“The scent is nice.”

I carefully placed the flower bud into the basket.

There were about 20 flowers blooming in the spring, but I only gathered 3 of them just in case.

The petals themselves were as large and lush as a lotus, so taking several blossoms felt wasteful.

‘The stem is quite sturdy too, I wonder if there’s another way to use it. It feels fibrous, like it might peel off like thread if I tear it vertically….’

Soon, I had placed all the flowers in.

“This should be enough.”

I decided to slowly get a feel for the exact amounts while making the medicine and placed the basket full of flowers back on the ground.

And then I admired the spring.

“…….”

Trickle,

Trickle….

“…….”

The sound of the shallowly flowing, transparent water.

The clear scent from the clean spring.

The humid air of the forest.

“…Nice.”

This spring, which existed even though I hadn't drawn it, was more beautiful than I had imagined.

The tree, dead yet standing firm, shone white, resembling expensive Carrara marble.

Through that tree, which had complex veins that faintly transmitted the sky, the transparent spring water flowed, shattering the golden sunlight.

‘It’s like it’s thinly coated with pearls.’

The sap of this tree had hardened and turned into jewels.

Perhaps it had secreted sap before it died, as wide, winding, dish-shaped jewels with a faint blue tint protruded from various places on the tree like wood-ear mushrooms.

The transparent, blue-green things were like plates made of large jewels.

They held the spring water that had caught the sunlight and held a gentle light.

“…….”

Trickle….

The spring water flowed down sequentially along those jewel plates.

From the highest point, steadily, one by one.

It bounced off the jewel plates, making a clear sound like the jade beads of dawn.

If you listened closely, it felt like listening to the song of a butterfly.

When the sunlight seeping through the forest leaves scattered and illuminated the marble-like tree, it felt as if I had come to a temple.

“…….”

The spring water that came down that way pooled at the roots of the dead tree, creating a shallow well.

The water that overflowed from there spread throughout the forest, and the area around it was lit by butterflies with wings resembling sunlight.

They were just like fireflies.

Fireflies that could be seen even during the day.

“Amazing.”

The spring, which made its home in the giant tree soaring high into the sky, also looked like a massive pond.

‘…There was a saying that good water has a scent, did that story also apply to such clean water?’

The air enveloping this place was nutty and sweet, making it feel as if I were lying on a field of flowers.

Perhaps the scent from the Rurupu petals was infusing the spring water.

‘I really like it.’

I liked this place.

I found a spot among the blanket-soft moss and slowly prepared for a nap.

***

“Here it is.”

The art supply closet of a now-forgotten abandoned school.

A man in a portrait hanging there, myself, had his eyes quietly closed.

“Look at this painting.”

“Wow, how did it survive without burning?”

“It’s in great condition… you think they’ll count it as an achievement if we take it?”

“Looks like it has a title.”

“Does it have a name? So it was an item.”

Now, the final rule.

I became a painting.

“…….”

“It says ‘Jio’s Portrait’.”

That much was an undeniable fact.

“It’s convenient hanging out with a guy who has an appraisal skill…. But are you sure this is from Earth?”

“Would an ordinary portrait be in an abandoned school like this and in the mountains of Gangwon-do at that, in such clean condition? When there’s no one to manage it?”

“That’s true, I guess.”

“Of course it must be an item that trickled out from some dungeon. There are a lot of other dungeons around here.”

“Anyway, the collectors will love it. They’re crazy about this kind of stuff, right?”

And so, while I slept.

The entrance and exit of the painting were changing on their own.

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