Daddy is too Strong-Chapter 263

Before entering a dungeon challenging enough that mental preparation was a must, Soshiro had a habit of checking his fortune for the day. While fortune-telling could be dismissed as mere superstition, Soshiro found that on days when his fortune was favorable, things genuinely went well. Conversely, on bad fortune days, he often barely survived dangerous situations.

Before entering the tutorial, Soshiro had checked his fortune as usual.

“You’ll meet a very important person today! Even if you face unexpected difficulties, a benefactor will lend you a helping hand. Whatever you do today will go smoothly.”

Those were the words of his fortune teller. His fortune was exceptional.

Today was to be a day when everything would work out, and buoyed by optimism, Soshiro entered the Tutorial Zone of the Core.

***

“Y-you! You bastard! My skewer!” the dragon shouted.

S-shit. Soshiro’s dilated eyes started darting as memories from the past flashed through his mind.

It was during the Hunter Festival in Busan. He had been performing with Ryo when, out of nowhere, a dragon had appeared and kidnapped him. The terrifying moment was forever etched in his mind.

What the hell is a dragon doing here? he thought in horror.

Still, Soshiro quickly prioritized survival.

“I-I already apologized for the skewer incident last time... didn’t I?” he stammered his plea.

In the face of death, pride was meaningless. Soshiro had learned through life that pride didn’t feed anyone. Showing bravado in front of a dragon was a surefire way to provoke its wrath.

“Apologiiiiiized?” The dragon’s displeasure was palpable.

“I-I did! P-please, do you really not remember?” Soshiro stammered, his gaze drifting to Do-Jun as he instinctively looked for someone to help him.

But... who is this man?

Soshiro deduced that Do-Jun, who had entered the restricted tutorial area, must have been a rescue operative dispatched by the Hunter’s Bureau. Still, he couldn’t help but find it strange that he was an unknown person not with Behemoth or Icarus.

And what’s he doing with a dragon? Soshiro couldn’t help but wonder.

Right on cue, Yong-Yong said, “Master, let’s just ditch him here.”

Those words left Soshiro stunned in disbelief. Then, his face changed to one of complete shock. M-Master?!

This was the moment he met the true Dragon Master.

***

The Cyclops was still cowering in the corner, trembling uncontrollably.

Holding Do-Jun’s hand, Soshiro cautiously emerged from the cave. When he saw the Cyclops, who had been rampaging earlier, now reduced to a trembling wreck, his jaw dropped involuntarily.

The sound of something shattering echoed as the DTS device Soshiro had been wearing broke into pieces. Although it had been slightly damaged earlier, it hadn't suffered any physical impact. Why did it shatter now?

Ha, all those embarrassing things I said must’ve been streamed, right? I should’ve broken it earlier myself if I knew this would happen. Soshiro’s regret had no cure.

The things he had uttered in desperation, such as begging someone to remember his apology from long ago, weren’t exactly heroic.

Do-Jun broke the silence. “Are you Kanzaki Soshiro?”

“Ah, yes! Are you... with the Hunter’s Bureau?”

Strictly speaking, Do-Jun wasn’t part of the Hunter’s Bureau, but there was no need to get into the details.

“Yes, I am. My name is Lee Do-Jun,” he said with a nod.

Lee Do-Jun... Lee Do-Jun...

Soshiro repeated the name internally. No matter how hard he searched his memory, it didn’t ring a bell. If the Hunter’s Bureau had sent him, he must have been an S-rank Hunter. Yet, there was no one named Lee Do-Jun on the list of Korean S-rank Hunters.

But there was something else that really puzzled Soshiro. The dragon just called him ‘Master...’ I know I heard it right.

To an untrained observer, the dragon might seem nothing more than an E-rank summon, but Soshiro knew better. The monster glaring at him from within Do-Jun’s hood was unmistakably a dragon. He also vividly remembered when he was abducted into the dragon’s nest. At that time, the dragon, having reverted to its full, massive form, bore a glowing number “1” on its forehead.

Given that the tenth dragon was responsible for the catastrophic incident in Korea, the number one was beyond imagination.

How on earth...? Soshiro was dumbfounded.

To tame a monster, the master’s rank needed to be equal to or higher than that of the monster. Even then, monsters from B-rank onwards became notoriously difficult to control without a Control Bracelet, and anything A-ranked or higher was practically impossible to manage without one.

And yet, the dragon meekly followed Do-Jun’s lead, who didn’t have a Control Bracelet on him. Soshiro then remembered the girl from the Busan incident. She had also controlled the dragon effortlessly without a Control Bracelet. He couldn’t understand how this was even possible.

“M-Master, t-this is the bastard that destroyed my precious skewer...” Yong-Yong complained.

“Did you get the Book of Armorization?” Do-Jun asked Soshiro, ignoring Yong-Yong’s complaints.

“Ah, yes.” He nodded, recalling the skill he had acquired after defeating the monster at the first station. While his mastery was at zero percent, he could feel the hardening effect when he enveloped his fists with it.

Having confirmed Soshiro’s progress, Do-Jun gestured toward the cowering Cyclops. A sword qi spiraled from his fingertips, slicing through the air and striking the Cyclops. The Cyclops, still curled up in the corner, was cut cleanly in half. A moment later, a new passage to the lower floor appeared where the Cyclops had been.

Do-Jun smiled warmly and said, “Let me help you out a bit while I’m here.”

Soshiro, on the other hand, was stunned into silence. W-what kind of skill is that?

Yong-Yong pouted as he looked at Soshiro and muttered, “Lucky you, getting carried like this.”

A small voice came from behind. “Seriously, right?”

Startled, Soshiro turned to see a tiny fairy, no bigger than a palm, fluttering in the air.

***

Soshiro walked along the horizon at the fourth stage of the Tutorial Zone, wearing two bracelets: one was a Control Bracelet, and the other was the Status Window Snake. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

Having recovered from his wounds, he could control his Wyvern Lord again, and he roamed the grasslands, hunting snakes that matched his level. Do-Jun didn’t step in to help him hunt or spoon-feed him mastery stones; he only intervened if Soshiro was in danger.

Soshiro’s spear struck the head of a green snake with a crunch, but the snake’s tough scales turned the battle into a drawn-out fight.

The fourth stage of the Tutorial Zone was a place where adventurers set their “limits” in preparation for the Core. Capturing the highest-level snakes possible was crucial.

Eventually, Soshiro defeated the green snake. After a pop, the snake’s body vanished into smoke, leaving behind a radiant green gemstone in its place. He fed it to the Status Window Snake coiled around his wrist.

Kyeeeh!

The Status Window Snake shifted through its color stages—red, orange, yellow, and green—before returning to its original white.

“Well done,” Do-Jun said.

“Thank you,” Soshiro said, panting heavily.

He remembered that Do-Jun also had a Status Window Snake on his arm, and wondered what stage he was at. Far in the distance, he spotted a massive purple snake, easily hundreds of meters long, devouring lower-level snakes.

No way he’s purple... right? Soshiro thought in disbelief.

Surely, that was impossible. How could anyone defeat something like that?

***

For the first time, Soshiro saw the Core—no longer through a screen, but with his own eyes.

The breathtaking beauty of the first floor of the Core made his eyes glisten with emotion. Adding to his awe was the sight of Earth’s food being sold there. Though he’d seen it on Behemoth’s streams, witnessing it in person made it feel almost unreal.

“You should be able to handle things on your own from here,” Do-Jun said to Soshiro, who was looking around with wide eyes, like a child visiting an amusement park for the first time.

In the past, veteran adventurers frequently bullied newcomers, but the first floor of the Core had since transformed into a peaceful zone.

“I don’t even know how to thank you properly...” Soshiro muttered sincerely.

Though he was curious about Do-Jun’s identity, he felt more grateful than anything else to the man who had saved his life. Perhaps the fortune teller was referring to Do-Jun when he said he would meet a benefactor.

“It’s no problem. I just happen to have business here as well,” Do-Jun said casually.

Their destination was a bustling market filled with shops selling weapons, armor, combat support artifacts, and food. Yong-Yong, following closely behind Do-Jun, was completely distracted by the food and paid no attention to Soshiro.

The first store they visited was a skewer shop. Chicken thigh meat, marinated with different spices, was skewered with green onions and grilled.

“Welcome!” The shopkeeper greeted Do-Jun warmly and immediately began preparing skewers. “It’s been a while since your last visit!”

“Yes, I’ve been a bit busy lately. How have you been?” Do-Jun asked.

“Haha, we’re always doing well, thanks to the order you’ve established here, my king.”

Do-Jun smiled as he accepted the skewers. He handed one to Yong-Yong, who wagged his tail happily as he looked up at the skewer. Another went to Tusitala, who was flapping her wings nearby. Finally, he handed a skewer to Soshiro, who was staring at him blankly.

“What’s wrong?” Do-Jun asked.

“N-no, it’s just that... that shopkeeper just called you a king...”

Hearing that, the shopkeeper was bewildered and asked, “What? Aren’t you from Earth? How can you not know the King of Earth?”

Adventurers across the Core—especially on the floors Do-Jun had visited—referred to him as the King of Earth and treated him as an absolute figure. This fact was unknown to most, except for the Chief of the Hunter’s Bureau and Korea’s S-rank Hunters.

“Excuse me...?” Soshiro was thoroughly confused.

“You do realize that the reason your people can roam freely here is thanks to the king maintaining order, don’t you?” the shopkeeper said sharply.

The skewer Soshiro was holding slipped from his hand.

Yong-Yong quickly snatched it up. “Oho, got it in under five seconds this time, hehe.”

***

⌜And now, for our next story. Reports have confirmed that Japan’s hero, Kanzaki Soshiro, has cleared the Tutorial Zone and reached the first floor of the Core in just one day. Although there were some close calls during the second stage, they turned out to be mere scares.⌟

The news talked about nothing else but Kanzaki Soshiro, nonstop.

Yoon-Hee glanced at the clock while chopping kimchi. It was already past 6 PM.

At that moment, the sound of the automatic lock’s PIN being entered echoed from outside. Byeol, who had been dozing off while watching the news with Karsiel, instinctively turned her gaze toward the front door.

When Do-Jun and Yong-Yong stepped inside, she smiled brightly and toddled over to them.

“Were you good today, Byeol?” Do-Jun asked.

“Yes! I was watching the news with Mommy!”

Do-Jun looked at Yoon-Hee and greeted her with a warm smile.

“Welcome back, Master,” Karsiel said as Do-Jun patted her head.

He set the plastic bag he was carrying on the dining table. Inside were five golden-brown, grilled butter squids.

“Butter squid!” Byeol exclaimed as Do-Jun handed her one.

Holding the butter squid, she asked, “How did you know I wanted this, Daddy?”

“Daddy knows everything,” Do-Jun answered.

As Byeol happily nibbled on the squid, she wondered if her daddy might really be a god.