Daddy is too Strong-Chapter 48

Do-Jun pulled on the ribbon of the neatly wrapped package. As the bow came undone, the question mark wrapping paper came apart smoothly to reveal a monochrome sphere.

Do-Jun held the sphere in his palm, and a message appeared.

[Would you like to open the artifact?]

[Please infuse mana to open the artifact. Required mana: 5]

Do-Jun’s internal energy flowed from his dantian through his fingertips and into the unidentified artifact. However, despite his effort to infuse a minimal amount, the artifact could not absorb it all, and the residual energy returned from his fingertips to his dantian.

[The artifact begins to shine!]

The sphere glowed faintly red.

Seeing this, Yoon-Hee’s expression brightened.

“It’s not a dud,” she said, sounding relieved.

“Good.”

The light emitted by the sphere gradually shifted from red to orange, then from orange to yellow.

Another message appeared before Do-Jun’s eyes.

[The artifact begins to shine brilliantly.]

The light continued to change, from yellow to green, from green to blue, then navy, and finally purple.

Then, an electrical current sparked from the sphere, accompanied by a loud noise.

Crackle.

Crack, crackle, crackle!

[You have discovered a relic from the Deep Realm!]

With a pop, the sparks and loud noise subsided, and the monochrome sphere transformed into a book and fell onto the table.

Yoon-Hee leaned forward to take a closer look at the book and muttered, “It’s a... book?”

It was an old, dusty book, looking much like an ancient manuscript.

Do-Jun picked it up to check its properties.

[Interpreter - Ataraxia]

Category: Miscellaneous / Support

Grade: Relic of the Deep Realm

Completion: 0%

Magic Resistance: 10 (+0)

Description: Encyclopedia of the Core compiled by Epicurus, a traveler of the Deep Realm (incomplete). Tap the magnifying glass button on a blank page to record information about a target. As the completion increases, magic resistance will also increase (for use in the Core only).

Yong-Yong, who had been watching with interest from beside Do-Jun, clicked his tongue and rolled over to his right to pick up the remote control. He pressed the power button and turned on the TV.

“It’s not food.”

“It’s not food.”

Do-Jun and Yong-Yong’s eyes met as they both muttered simultaneously.

Do-Jun smirked and said, “You are so predictable.”

“That... that just gave me goosebumps.” Yong-Yong shuddered and moved a little farther away from Do-Jun.

Do-Jun flipped the book around, examining it from various angles, and murmured, “A relic of the Deep Realm...”

Suddenly, he recalled what Nergess had said during the training Fissure incident.

“Aren’t you one of the great dragons born from the Core?”

“You said you were born in the Core, right?” Do-Jun asked Yong-Yong.

“Sorry?”

“I remember Nergess mentioning something similar.”

“I couldn’t tell ya.” Yong-Yong picked up an apple with his front paws and popped it into his mouth, chewing as he replied. But seeing Do-Jun’s expression grow cold, Yong-Yong paled, hurriedly swallowed the apple he was eating, and hastily elaborated, “I-I’m serious! I really don’t remember!”

This time, Do-Jun looked at Karsiel, but she also closed her eyes and shook her head.

“I, too, know little about the Core. I’m certain our kind was born there, but I have no memories of the place. When I opened my eyes, I was simply in the nest.”

“Yoon-Hee, do you know anything about the grade ‘relic of the Deep Realm’?”

Yoon-Hee also shook her head, indicating she wasn’t sure.

Artifacts were generally graded starting from the lowest, F-rank, to the highest known S-rank.

But words like “Deep Realm” or even “relic” were completely unfamiliar.

“I’ve never heard of such a grade before,” Yoon-Hee said.

“This thing is obviously related to the Core...”

“The Core? Oh, you mean the place that Behemoth Guild is currently exploring?”

Do-Jun nodded.

I guess I’ll keep it for now.

Whatever it was, it was an artifact that could provide information about the Core. It might prove helpful if he ever needed to enter the Core, although he had no plans to go there at the moment.

***

Twentieth floor, Hunter’s Bureau Chief’s Office.

“This concludes my report.”

Young-Chul stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray as he glanced again at the last page of the report submitted by the Sword Emperor.

According to Kang-Hyun, the place five hundred meters below the ground was called the entrance to the Core. However, they had searched every inch of the Core’s entrance but couldn’t find any of the needed tickets.

“So, you need something called an entry token...”

Feeling a sharp pain in his temples, Young-Chul rubbed his forehead and began rereading the report from the first page.

Over the twenty-one Dives conducted over the past three years, the estimated progress made in the exploration was a mere 1.4 percent.

However, that was okay. Though minute, the progress was steady.

But the Bureau was now facing a massive wall.

The grand five-year plan of the Core expedition, which had been in preparation for two years and executed over the last three, was coming to an end.

Young-Chul let out a long sigh, turning his chair to face the night view of Seoul through the full-length glass windows.

For the past decade, ever since Fissures first appeared, he had always moved forward. He had gained both wealth and fame in amounts that not many could top. But what truly ignited his passion was something else entirely.

The exploration of the unknown.

The first appearance of Fissures and the subsequent process of people undergoing awakening and retrieving items from monsters stirred something deep within him as a former military officer.

Joining the Hunter-related field had blown a second wind into his life, and since then, each day had been exhausting, but it was fulfilling and exhilarating. This was especially true when a massive hole appeared in the Sotaesan Mountain region of Gangwon-do. Upon discovering the Core, his heart raced like a child’s.

“In the end, all of this might just be my greed. I’m pushing talent into danger because of my own ambitions,” Young-Chul muttered. He then called, “Kang-Hyun.”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Let’s pull back from the Core for now.”

Feeling mixed emotions, Kang-Hyun turned his gaze to the file on the Chief’s desk titled: “Expedition Team Member Prospects.”

“Prospective members for the expedition team...?” Kang-Hyun said as he picked up the file and flipped open the cover.

Several familiar names caught his eye, but one name stood out in particular: Lee Do-Jun.

“We even managed to recruit a Ranker from China, though he’s already gone back,” Young-Chul said, pulling out a new cigarette and lighting it.

“Yang Cheok-Gi, the tenth-ranked Hunter. I’ve heard him being referred to as the master of martial arts,” Kang-Hyun said.

“Yes. Originally, he was supposed to stay in Korea for an extended period, but I guess his pride got the better of him. He ended up cutting his visit short.”

“His pride?”

Young-Chul turned his chair to face Kang-Hyun.

“While you were away, an S-rank Great Fissure appeared in Umyeonsan Mountain in Seocho-gu. You must’ve seen it on the news.”

“No, this is the first I’ve heard of it,” Kang-Hyun responded with mild surprise.

It had only been two days since he returned from the Core, and he had been spending those days recovering his strength in a meditation capsule. Naturally, he hadn’t had time to catch up on the news.

Young-Chul tapped his smartphone and brought up a news article, showing it to Kang-Hyun.

Kang-Hyun took the phone and began reading the article. His eyes widened the further down he read.

⌜S-rank Great Fissure Operational Team, all members survived... Thanks to the Commander’s leadership.⌟

⌜ The Commander turns out to be a civil servant at Seoul City Hall.⌟

⌜Civil servant fills the void left by the Sword Emperor.⌟

“No fatality?” Kang-Hyun asked, looking up at Young-Chul.

The average survival rate for S-rank Great Fissure was sixty-eight percent. Out of a team of ten, an average of three would either die or be stranded, never returning. Yet not seventy, not eighty, but a hundred percent survival and return rate.

It was unbelievable.

“I watched the situation unfold through the emergency cam. It was extraordinary. The longer the operation went on, the more organized they became. All the Hunters moved like chess pieces under Lee Do-Jun’s command. The results speak for themselves in that article.”

“Sir, is that even possible?”

Lee Do-Jun was certainly special.

Though nothing showed up during his preliminary assessment, his physique alone made it clear he was born to be a Hunter. He also emanated an inexplicable sense of pressure.

But still, an ordinary person was just that—ordinary.

An S-rank Great Fissure was a place where even A-rankers could lose their lives with a single mistake. The chances of an ordinary person surviving in there were close to zero.

“You remember I said Yang Cheok-Gi left because his ego was hurt, right?” Young-Chul asked Kang-Hyun.

“Yes.”

“That day, we gathered the prospective expedition team members to brief them about the Core. During the briefing, Yang Cheok-Gi picked a fight with Do-Jun, and Do-Jun didn’t back down.”

“What do you mean he didn’t back down?”

Young-Chul nodded and continued, “They sparred. And Yang Cheok-Gi... not even once... Not even once did he manage to touch Lee Do-Jun.”

“Sir..., Yang Cheok-Gi is a ranker from China.”

“Yes, I wouldn’t believe it either if I were you.”

Young-Chul wasn’t the type of man to lie about something like this. And so, the doubts in Kang-Hyun’s mind only grew.

Just who was this Lee Do-Jun?

Young-Chul continued, “The article says that four S-rank Hunters defeated the boss monster, but that’s not the truth. I later received a report from Min-Hyuk saying that only five people were allowed into the boss zone. The rest were force-ejected from the Fissure.” He paused for a moment. “I’ll let you guess the fifth member.”

“You’re saying that Lee Do-Jun killed the boss monster? In an S-rank Great Fissure?”

“That’s right. And he did it alone.”

In Korea, only a handful of people were capable of solo-killing the boss of an S-rank Great Fissure—the three First Hunters, including the Sword Emperor himself.

If what Young-Chul said was true, then it meant that Lee Do-Jun was on par with, or possibly even stronger than, the First Hunters.

“Well, it’s late. We’ll talk more tomorrow. I still have some work to finish up,” Young-Chul said.

Despite having a mountain of questions, Kang-Hyun simply responded, “Yes, understood,” bowed briefly, and left the Chief’s office.

Soon after Kang-Hyun left, Young-Chul opened the file containing the prospective expedition members and looked over Do-Jun’s profile.

“He really killed it by himself...”

The boss monster with a reading of 5,800.

***

The following morning, at 7:40 AM.

Standing in front of the elevator at the Hunter’s Bureau’s main building was Do-Jun, with a small red pouch in one hand. Inside was the entry token that would grant access to the Core’s tutorial zone.

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I forgot to drop this off yesterday.

The Hunter’s Bureau had high-speed elevators, fitting of an eighty-story skyscraper. The elevator, which had been on the fortieth floor, arrived at the ground floor in less than ten seconds.

The doors opened, and Do-Jun stepped inside. He pressed the twentieth-floor button and arrived five seconds later at his destination.

As he stepped out of the elevator, he found himself in front of the door marked “Chief’s Office.”

Upon knocking, the door opened, revealing a man in his late thirties. Do-Jun recognized him as the aide who had visited his house before.

The aide looked surprised to see Do-Jun, his eyes widening as he bowed. “W-what brings you here at this hour?”

“Is Chief Jung in?”

The aide shook his head and answered, “Chief Jung will arrive around 8:50.”

“Then, could you pass this on to him for me?”

“W-what is this?”

“He’ll know what it is when he sees it.”

“Understood. I’ll make sure he gets it when he arrives.”

“Thank you. Take care.”

With a brief smile, Do-Jun turned back toward the elevator.

I’m sure they’ll figure it out from here.