Daddy is too Strong-Chapter 179

The Core, third floor.

Three islands floated high above the ground in a place aptly called Sky Island. There, Behemoth was undertaking its twenty-ninth Dive.

As usual, their Core raid was being streamed live worldwide, and the comments section was exploding with activity. Real-time viewers exceeded eighty million, with hundreds of thousands of relay channels.

﹂Unbelievable... What is this place?

﹂Behemoth is divine. They’re at a level that Hunters worldwide wouldn’t even dare dream of reaching.

﹂They’re simply insane. If I were Korean, I’d be grateful every day to live in the same country as Behemoth.

The popularity of the Behemoth’s Hunters exploring the uncharted Core continued to rise, boosting Korea’s global reputation to unprecedented heights.

﹂Behemoth are the GOAT.

﹂They’ve already snagged four hidden pieces. Insane.

﹂Why is everyone surprised? This is Behemoth. This is what they do.

Breaking through the Core’s tutorial and reaching the third floor took less than seven months. People understood well that the monsters appearing in S-rank Great Fissures on Earth paled in comparison to the challenges of the Core. This made Behemoth’s relentless progress even more exciting.

***

Meanwhile, at that same time, Do-Jun was working on developing the strategy guide for the sixth floor.

Bang!

When Do-Jun punched the door of the altar, it shattered, waking the wraith slumbering within.

“H-hey! That’s not something you’re supposed to break!” Tusitala shrieked from beside him.

Do-Jun frowned, plugging his ears at the nagging voice.

Then, the wraith called out, “Adventurer!”

Reinhardt, one of the Five Arrogances, glared fiercely at the brazen adventurer who had disturbed his rest. He was a colossal skeleton, towering over fifty meters, adorned with a crown. His glowing eyes shimmered ominously as monsters erupted from the ground, locking onto Do-Jun.

[Reinhardt]

Category: Monster

Description: One of the Five Arrogances on the sixth floor of the Core. An undead boss monster that appears after breaking the first altar’s seal by obtaining the Wraith’s Star. He revives dead monsters, making him extremely troublesome. On Day 4,832, we attempted a raid but suffered near-total annihilation. I barely escaped.

“For daring to awaken me, your sin shall be atoned for with death,” Reinhardt bellowed.

Do-Jun pulled out his SpacePad and snapped a photo of Reinhardt and his minions. Checking the slightly blurred photo, he scratched his head, preparing for another shot.

“Rise, my legion!” Reinhardt roared, and the undead shrieked in unison, charging toward Do-Jun with alarming speed.

“What are you doing? Run!” Tusitala yelled.

However, Do-Jun didn’t move. Instead, despite the urgency, he kept his camera steady toward the onrushing undead and sighed.

A dense killing intent spread around him.

Reinhardt’s army stopped dead in its tracks.

Do-Jun smirked, holding up his camera. He documented each monster using the Interpreter before taking a final group photo. Having gathered enough data, he turned and casually descended the altar’s steps.

Tusitala watched, mouth agape, at Do-Jun’s retreating figure. Eventually snapping out of her shock, she flew after him. “W-what do you think you’re doing?”

Do-Jun sighed and replied, “I told you, writing a guide.”

Was there another adventurer like this in the world?

Doubting her ears, Tusitala asked again, “A guide?”

“Yeah. There’ll be others following later.”

“You mean... Behemoth? From Earth?”

“Yep.”

Do-Jun checked the Interpreter’s progress bar. He’d already filled five percent today—an impressive amount for a single day.

Pausing mid-descent, he sat on the steps and started entering data about the sixth floor of the Core into the Fissure Management System. He attached information from the Interpreter and the photos saved on his SpacePad. Naturally, this intelligence would be handed over to the Hunter’s Bureau, not uploaded publicly.

“Seriously, what are you?” Tusitala muttered.

Most adventurers came to the Core, risking their lives, because it was a dangerous place where death lurked around every corner. They lived on edge around the clock, sometimes even foregoing sleep. Yet, Do-Jun wandered the Core casually, as if it were his own backyard.

“You almost look like you’re just here for a stroll...” Tusitala whispered in disbelief.

It was hard to believe this “newbie” had been in the Core for less than a year. Where did he get the Interpreter—Ataraxia, and what was the source of his power?

“Are you even listening to me?” Tusitala snarked.

“No.”

“Come on!”

“I’m kidding.” Do-Jun chuckled as he stood, his relaxed demeanor drawing a sigh from Tusitala.

Helping an adventurer personally was against the law. Yet, here she was, assisting Do-Jun, a human from Earth, in restoring the twisted Core and rescuing Cecilia. The irony wasn’t lost on her.

“You’re strong, I’ll give you that. But the Transcendents are beyond anything you can imagine. If you’re not careful, you’ll never be able to defeat them. Got it? They’ve spent millennia honing their power in the Deep Realm...”

Uninterested, Do-Jun pulled out a Core Talisman from Ivela’s pouch. It was evening on Earth, and he was ready to head back. That’s when Tusitala’s stomach growled in protest.

“Ugh.” Blushing, she clutched her stomach.

Do-Jun glanced at her briefly and said, “I was planning to eat out tonight. Wanna come with me?”

Tusitala froze. “Pardon...?”

***

At the same time, in a remote corner deep inside the F-rank Fissure, the Goblin’s Forest, located in Myeongil-dong, Gangdong-gu, Seoul.

Two men wearing straw hats walked past people diligently hunting goblins and crossed a barbed wire fence with a sign that read “Do Not Enter.” Hakase pulled out his smartphone and quickly looked through a saved recipe for beef hot pot.

“Lizard, what’s that?” Kiriel asked, looking at the strange object in Hakase’s hand.

“This? It’s called a phone. A smartphone, technically.”

“Hm.” Kiriel stroked his chin, gazing at the smartphone in Hakase’s hand.

Come to think of it, humans on Earth, including its king, often used that device called a smartphone. It was known for facilitating communication and providing easy access to information.

“Lizard.”

“What? Can you stop talking to me?” Hakase said irritably.

“I want a smartphone too,” Kiriel said.

Hakase let out a dry, incredulous laugh before ignoring Kiriel. Instead, he started harvesting green onions, onions, cabbage, and bok choy from the field he had been tending for some time.

“I said I want a smartph—”

Hakase didn’t even let Kiriel finish this time. “Do you even know how much one of these costs?”

“How much?”

“It’s over a million won.”

“Huh. A mil... what?” Kiriel folded his fingers, calculating how many Choco Pies he could buy with a million won.

“And on top of that, you have to pay over 50,000 won a month to a carrier company,” Hakase explained.

“What the.... Why would anyone buy that? Do you know how many Choco Pies that money could buy?” Kiriel asked, shocked.

Hakase clicked his tongue. “We don’t have time for this useless chit-chat. Pick out the vegetables. The King of Earth is supposed to arrive soon.”

“Oh, right.”

Today was the day Do-Jun, who had gone to the Core, would return to Earth. Hakase had heard he would be coming back late in the evening and had offered to prepare dinner for him at his food stall.

***

After seasoning the beef with soy sauce, cooking wine, and pepper, Hakase sliced green onions and onions with practiced skill. The sweltering summer heat had abated, and the evening air was now chilly. Judging that a broth dish would be perfect for such weather, Hakase prepared his beef hot pot while glancing at the clock hanging from the ceiling of his food stall to check the time.

Do-Jun had said he would arrive before 9 PM, and it was now past 8:40.

“Want me to help?” Kiriel offered.

“What?”

“I’m saying I’ll help.”

“What do you want this time?”

“Huh? I don’t want anything. I’m just genuinely trying to help out of goodwill.” Kiriel shrugged his shoulders to defend his innocent motive, then added, “So, about that smartphone.”

A furrow appeared between Hakase’s brows. “Of course.”

***

After returning to Earth, Do-Jun walked along the Nambu Beltway. If he kept walking, it would take about five minutes to reach Hakase’s food stall.

The sound of a car horn echoed on the road, and Tusitala, who was fluttering around Do-Jun, flinched.

“W-what kind of monster is that?!” she asked, startled by the loud noise.

“A car.”

“Earth has a lot of monsters, I see.”

“It’s not a monster. It’s one of our means of transportation.”

Tusitala watched the cars zoom by with curiosity, then turned to look at the people walking on the sidewalk. Each one seemed extremely fragile, as if they might break at a simple touch. Still, their faces were calm and untroubled—completely different from the ever-tense atmosphere of the Core.

“It’s... peaceful here,” she remarked.

“Yeah.”

Tusitala experienced a strange emotion. In the Core, adventurers who cleared the tutorial had to stay there for the rest of their lives. However, adventurers from Earth, including Do-Jun, could freely travel between Earth and the Core.

After walking for about five minutes, they saw the food stall near Changshin Villa.

“I need to drop by home first, so why don’t you go ahead and wait for me there?” Do-Jun said to Tusitala.

“Huh?”

“Over there.” Do-Jun pointed at the street food stall.

***

Tusitala stiffened. She sensed a familiar presence coming from the food stall on Earth. It was a presence that could only belong to a Transcendent from the Deep Realm of the Core. How was this possible?

Flying quickly into the food stall, Tusitala’s gaze locked with Kiriel’s.

“K-Kiriel?!” she called out, almost yelping.

The sixth-ranked Transcendent and the very man called the Divine Archer.

While picking at his ear with his pinky, he responded in a disinterested tone. “Huh? What are you doing here?”

Tusitala then glanced at Hakase, who was simmering the hot pot. Clearly, this was a dragon. Hakase, however, barely glanced at Tusitala before returning his full attention to the hot pot.

Looking back at Kiriel, Tusitala asked, “T-that’s what I want to ask you! Why are you on Earth?”

What could his purpose be? Surely, he must have used the Book of Transfer to get to Earth. Was he here to accelerate Earth’s Encroachment?

“If you’ve got time to waste, go set the table! The king will be here any minute now,” Hakase scolded Kiriel.

“Oh, right,” Kiriel acknowledged. Then he looked at Tusitala. “Sorry, but I don’t have time to talk to you.”

He unfolded a plastic table, set up two plastic chairs, and then brought out a luxurious-looking leather chair to serve as the seat of honor. He carefully wiped the armrests with a cloth, exhaling on them for extra shine.

Shortly after, Do-Jun entered the food stall.

“Welcome!” Hakase greeted. The beef hot pot was bubbling away.

Kiriel bowed at a ninety-degree angle and gestured toward the elegant chair he had prepared. “Please, have a seat here.”

Do-Jun scratched his head and sat down where Kiriel indicated.

“W-wha...” Tusitala’s mouth hung open in shock.

Meanwhile, Kiriel leaned in to whisper to Hakase. “How was that?”

“Not bad. The king seems pleased.”

“Smartphone.”

“I’ll think about it.”

Tusitala stared at Do-Jun blankly and thought to herself, Just who... are you really?