Daddy is too Strong-Chapter 292

Yoon-Hee’s legs gave out, and she slumped to the ground.

“Do you get it now? The quality of your gear also becomes part of your skill. On this planet, there’s no one who can kill you except for Master. And unless he loses his mind, there is absolutely no way he would ever harm you. That basically makes you invincible,” Yong-Yong explained.

Clearing his throat, he continued, “Of course, whether or not to use it during the Harvest Festival is up to you. If you want to score a high rank, even if it’s just provisional, wear the ring. If you want to test your abilities purely on their own merit, leaving the ring behind wouldn’t be a bad idea either. You’ve been working hard all this time, so I understand why you might not want your results to depend entirely on the ring’s power.”

He wasn’t wrong.

The ring Do-Jun had crafted held the power of “absolute defense,” bordering on invincibility. With it, Yoon-Hee could instantly become a top-ranked Hunter. But without the ring, she was just an ordinary student.

She had entered the Academy driven by her passion to become a Hunter. Over a year and a half—a time frame that felt both short and long—she had learned countless things, from basic Hunter knowledge to advanced techniques. She had put in a tremendous amount of effort, and she planned to keep doing so.

Yoon-Hee held the ring against her cheek and closed her eyes. It felt warm, as if it radiated a faint heat. Of course, it was probably her imagination, but she believed she could feel Do-Jun’s warmth passing through the ring to her heart. She opened her eyes again.

“Yong-Yong...” she said.

“Yeah?”

“Do you think my father gave me this amazing ring because he wants me to become the best Hunter?”

“That probably was never his intention.”

“If I rely on this ring to get an S-rank during the Harvest Festival, would he be happy?”

“Absolutely not.”

“Yeah. I think so too.” Yoon-Hee then made up her mind. “Then... I’ll face the Harvest Festival without relying on the ring.”

Yong-Yong smiled. “Good. Master would want that too.”

***

The next day, Yoon-Hee woke up earlier than usual.

At dawn, as sparrows chirped in the crisp morning air, Do-Jun saw her off at the door.

“Good luck today.” He wished her.

It was the day of the provisional ranking exam held by the Hunter’s Bureau. Yoon-Hee slipped on her shoes but hesitated before stepping outside.

Suddenly, she turned, hugged Do-Jun tightly, and said, “Father, thank you so much. I actually found out from Yong-Yong yesterday just how precious a gift you’ve given me.”

Stepping back from his embrace, Yoon-Hee removed the ring from her finger. Holding it in both hands, she respectfully extended it toward Do-Jun.

“But today... I want to test myself. So....”

Do-Jun took the ring and gently patted her head. “I understand.”

“See you later.” After bowing her head, Yoon-Hee stepped out the door.

Do-Jun looked down at the shining ring in his hand and smiled proudly. He knew how hard Yoon-Hee had worked over the past year and a half.

Her eyes sparkled with a light brighter than the ring she had left behind.

***

When seeds are sown and crops grow, it is time to harvest.

At the end of the first semester of their second year, students were ready to see the results of their efforts so far. That was the purpose of the Harvest Festival: a midterm evaluation of everything they had accomplished so far.

In the underground testing area of the Hunter’s Bureau, artificial Fissures were set up to assess the provisional ranking of the Academy students. Unlike team evaluations, this was an individual test where students had to defeat monsters within the Fissure on their own.

A male student exited the Fissure after completing his trial. The result appeared on the electronic scoreboard.

[C]

He glanced at the scoreboard with a disappointed expression.

“Well done,” said a staff member of the Hunter’s Bureau before announcing the next participant. “Next up is Seo Jin-Soo.”

“Yes!” Jin-Soo, who had been waiting, stood up.

His dazzling Silver Wing suit shimmered under the lights, and a menacing, ice-blue sword hung at his waist. Both were high-priced A-grade artifacts.

“See you guys in a bit,” he said to Yoon-Hee and Hye-Jung.

“C! C! C!” Hye-Jung teased.

“Jung Hye-Jung! Why do you have to be so mean?!” Jin-Soo snapped, drawing a cackle from Hye-Jung.

Jin-Soo then turned toward Yoon-Hee and said, “Y-Yoon-Hee, I’ll do my best!”

“Mm! Good luck, Jin-Soo.”

***

“Wow. A B-rank,” Hye-Jung remarked after seeing Jin-Soo’s result on the board.

“Hehe. You thought I’d do any less than B?”

Earning a provisional rank of B was considered quite good among second-year students. It meant the student had the potential to debut as a B-rank Hunter immediately.

Jin-Soo wiped the troll’s blood off his suit with a towel and grinned.

“Hey, if you’re gonna clean it, do it properly. You’re such a mess,” Hye-Jung rebuked him.

She snatched the towel from him and wiped the bloodstains off his wing joints. Jin-Soo scratched his cheek, momentarily flustered by her kindness.

“If you put it back in the suit-case like that, it’ll ruin the suit faster. Idiot.” Hye-Jung continued to chastise him.

“You really are your dad’s daughter, huh?”

“Hah. This is just basic common sense. You call yourself an Academy student when you take such poor care of your equipment? Isn’t that funny, Yoon-Hee?”

Yoon-Hee wasn’t paying attention. She was busy taking deep breaths.

Watching her, Hye-Jung smirked. She’s completely in the zone.

Dressed in a plain white default suit provided by the Hunter’s Bureau, Yoon-Hee continued to calm herself with steady breathing. Her weapons were a mana gun and blade—standard Hunter gear with no special abilities, where performance depended entirely on the user’s mana.

Compared to the other students, her equipment looked rather modest.

“Next up is Yoo Hyun,” the staff member announced.

Time passed as students were called up one by one. Most received either a C or a B rank, roughly evenly split.

After receiving a B-rank, Hye-Jung exited the Fissure.

“Lastly, Seol Yoon-Hee.”

At that moment, Hye-Jung gave Yoon-Hee’s back a light tap, while Jin-Soo gave her a thumbs-up.

“Go, Yoon-Hee!”

“Good luck, Yoon-Hee!”

“Thanks, guys. I’ll do my best!”

***

If someone were to ask her if she had given it her absolute everything and put her Hunter endeavors above all else, she would probably say no. But that didn’t mean that she hadn’t tried to the best of her abilities.

Her childhood had been difficult. Without any real hopes or dreams for the future, she had spent her days drifting aimlessly. Then one day, she saw a Hunter on TV, fighting in a hunt. It sparked something in her, a sense of admiration.

She entered the first grassland field. Three goblins appeared ahead.

Yoon-Hee infused a tiny amount of mana into her mana gun and fired a single shot at each goblin.

The goblins collapsed to the ground with a soft cry, offering little resistance.

“Kerk!”

Both her body and mind had once been weak. She had floundered in a darkness so dense she couldn’t see a way out. There were no days filled with laughter, only an unending string of days barely holding on. Life had felt completely meaningless. She had neither failed nor despaired because she had never even tried.

Mana blossomed in her hands and flowed into the blade with a gentle hum.

Infusion.

With a swish, a flash erupted from her blade. The Orc Warrior’s body split cleanly in two, its upper half crashing heavily to the ground.

The remaining two Orc Warriors swung their axes ferociously, but Yoon-Hee seized the opening and struck with her blade.

“Keurk!”

To her, becoming a Hunter was a journey to overcome her past; a fight against herself to shed the gloom of her previous days and move forward. She wanted to grow and transform her lethargic former self. One day, she hoped to soar freely, like the Hunters she had once seen on TV.

That was why the Harvest Festival held special meaning for her.

It wasn’t about the rank she would achieve; it didn’t matter. What mattered was taking each step forward, proving to herself that she was making progress. She wanted to see, with her own eyes, the darkness that had once blinded her finally lifting.

“Krrrr.”

The sixth field.

There stood three massive ogres, their hulking green bodies looming.

She had about sixty percent of her mana left. From fifty meters away, she aimed her mana gun at an ogre’s head. She infused about twenty percent of her remaining mana into the gun, which started to tremble. This wasn’t a simple shot of Release; it was going to be one of three advanced techniques.

Mana swirled violently in the gun’s barrel, and the mana-infused bullet spun rapidly, accelerating inside. This advanced technique, called the Spiral Shot, was designed to compensate for the lack of power of Release compared to Infusion.

With a loud crack, the spiraling bullet flew toward the ogre. In an instant, its head was blown clean off, sent flying high into the air.

***

The waiting room of the test arena buzzed with murmured exclamations.

“Whoa...”

“That’s... insane.”

The students, mouths slightly agape, marveled at the unbelievable scene they had just witnessed.

The results appeared on the scoreboard.

[A]

“That was Spiral Shot, wasn’t it?”

“She actually pulled that off in a live test...”

“And from that distance, no less... how?”

Even for most A-rank Hunters, Spiral Shot was an incredibly difficult technique to execute. Revolving mana required intense focus, and any lapse in concentration could cause the mana to backfire and dissipate. Additionally, the recoil was so severe that accuracy plummeted beyond thirty meters.

The exit gate hissed open, and Yoon-Hee stepped out, drenched in sweat.

The Hunter’s Bureau staff member blinked in astonishment.

“Oh, uh, congratulations! Your result is... A.”

She had achieved the highest rank among all students, and she did so using only standard equipment. Yoon-Hee looked up at the letter “A” glowing on the scoreboard and smiled brightly.

Hye-Jung ran over and threw herself into Yoon-Hee’s arms.

“Yoon-Hee! Congratulations! That was incredible! Oh my gosh, oh my gosh!”

“H-Hye-Jung... I... can’t... breathe...”

“This is amazing! Yoon-Hee, you really are the best!”

Hye-Jung patted Yoon-Hee on the back before letting go. She turned and jabbed her elbow into Jin-Soo’s ribs, who was standing nearby, dumbfounded.

“Hey, Seo Jin-Soo. Your friend just got an A. Say something, will you?”

Jin-Soo silently gave a thumbs-up.

Yoon-Hee and Hye-Jung looked at each other and burst into laughter.

***

That evening, after everyone had gone to sleep, Do-Jun sat alone at the dining table, looking at the photos displayed on his smartphone. The photos showed students from Class 2-A of the Hunter Academy posing in front of the test arena. In the center of the front row stood Yoon-Hee. There were also pictures of her during the test and group shots with friends, all of which she had sent him via messaging app.

A faint smile spread across Do-Jun’s lips.

Even if I hadn’t been here... Do-Jun thought to himself.

Even without him, Yoon-Hee would have stood on her own. She was a child capable of shining brightly by herself.

For some reason, that thought filled him with a deep sense of pride.