My Dad is Too Strong-Chapter 67

“By the way, Master, when do you think we’ll have that beef we ate last time…? Uuuh?” Yong-Yong asked but was interrupted by a rumbling sound.

Suddenly, the island—no, the corpse of Ouroboros they were standing on—shook like a massive earthquake.

Yong-Yong was startled and mistakenly thought the tremors were caused by Do-Jun.

“Ahh! Words! Use your words, Master!” he carefully urged Do-Jun but was clearly in panic.

Though he was aware that beef was expensive, he believed he had behaved well enough today to earn some favor. However, he hadn’t expected such an intense reaction.

“Eh…?” Then, Yong-Yong realized that Do-Jun wasn’t looking at him. Instead, his gaze was fixed far into the distance, down below.

Yong-Yong turned around to follow Do-Jun’s line of sight and whispered with wide eyes, “What is that?”

Like water being drained from a sink, a hole appeared in the middle of the ground, swallowing the earth. The hole expanded and stopped when it reached a radius of about five kilometers. Inside it, a swirling red vortex spun furiously.

Tusitala spoke up. “That is the entrance to the first floor of the Core.”

Do-Jun shrugged and asked, “Do I have to wait another week for this one too?”

“No, there’s no need. That was a system put in place just for the tutorial to prevent an overlapping of challengers from different dimensions. However, starting from the first floor of the Core, you will coexist with challengers from all dimensions.”

Do-Jun turned to Tusitala and asked, “Challengers from different dimensions?”

“Yes. To be precise, challengers from what we call Mirror Earths.”

“What do you mean by ‘Mirror Earths’?”

Tusitala snapped her fingers to summon a hologram of Earth. With Earth in the center, similar-looking planets orbited it in a circular pattern.

Pointing to Earth at the center, Tusitala explained, “This planet that you come from is what you call Earth, and the planets orbiting it are mirror versions—replicas of Earth. Some are identical to yours, while others are vastly different, and challengers from these planets all take on human form. But this doesn’t mean they’re fake. They are all real, living humans.”

Do-Jun nodded in understanding, but his reaction made Tusitala look at him in astonishment.

“You don’t seem surprised. Most challengers faint or throw up when they learn this truth.”

“It’s not that surprising. If you think about it, things like skills and all can’t really be explained by conventional science anyway.”

Impressed by his calm demeanor, Tusitala continued explaining. “Remember that once you enter the Core, you can never return to the Earth you came from, unlike you did here in the Tutorial Zone. Once you’re in the Core, the dimensions will overlap, and you won’t be able to come back here or your home planet.”

Even as she offered this advice, Tusitala thought she had lost her mind. This was a clear violation of the rules. But for her goals to be realized, she needed Do-Jun to venture into the Deep Realm.

Do-Jun glanced at the small talisman in his hand.

[Core Talisman]

Category: Miscellaneous

Grade: Treasure of the Deep Realm

Description: Teleports you to a location in your memory (can only be used once every 24 hours).

If the description was accurate, he could use it to teleport to any place in his memory, including Changshin Villa in Bangbae-dong.

Tusitala seemed unaware of the talisman’s existence, as she showed no reaction when she saw it.

“Knowing that, will you still proceed to the Core?” she asked Do-Jun.

He replied, “I…”

***

“Eugyaaaaaaah!”

“Be quiet. You’re too loud,” Do-Jun said.

“B-but…” Yong-Yong closed his eyes, and as he felt the wind blowing against his whole body, he reopened his eyes and shouted, “How far are we falling?!”

They were high enough among the fluffy clouds that the ground below wasn’t visible. Instead, what they saw was a cliff face surrounding them, jagged with protruding trees.

“Tsk.” Do-Jun realized that his former power had vanished and recalled Tusitala’s words.

“As soon as you enter the first floor of the Core, the Status Window you previously used will be sealed. Remember, when you enter, summon the Core-exclusive Status Window from the snake around your wrist. There’s no need to worry about colors; only the red Status Window will be usable on the first floor. Also, don’t forget to register your skills in the Skill Ring, but be extremely careful with skill registration, as once a skill is set into a socket, it cannot be removed.”

The snake wrapped around Do-Jun’s wrist shimmered with the seven colors of the rainbow, gradually blending into one. Soon, the Status Window Snake turned black.

[Status Window (Black) has been applied.]

[The mastery of the current Status Window (Red) is at 100%. The stats of Status Window (Black) will now be expanded. Current stat: Strength.]

[The mastery of the current Status Window (Orange) is at 100%. The stats of Status Window (Black) will now be expanded. Current stat: Agility.]

.

.

[The mastery of the current Status Window (Purple) is at 100%. The stats of Status Window (Black) will now be expanded. Current stat: True Qi.]

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[Condition fulfilled.]

[Magic stat will be removed.]

[True Qi stat will be removed.]

[Internal Energy stat has been generated.]

“But Master, just how far are we falling...?” Seeing Do-Jun lost in thought, Yong-Yong couldn’t hold back his question any longer.

Without responding, Do-Jun held Yong-Yong in his arms. Then, grabbing a jutting cliff edge with one hand, he climbed up.

He then said softly, “Status Window.”

[Status Window (Black)]

Name: Lee Do-Jun

Mastery: 0.00%

Title: Heavenly Demon

Strength: 5

Agility: 5

Stamina: 5

Internal Energy: 5

Physical Resistance: 5

Magic Resistance: 5

Registered Skills: None

His stats had dropped drastically compared to before, even including his combat power.

However, despite the average-looking stats of 5, Do-Jun knew this wasn’t reflective of ordinary strength and deduced that it had something to do with the black color of the Status Window.

Just then, a small, round creature resembling a rabbit approached him. It looked so fluffy and soft that it could be mistaken for a cotton ball.

As the creature drew closer and eventually climbed up to Do-Jun’s knee, he took out Interpreter – Ataraxia and analyzed the creature’s information.

[Pokopo]

Category: Monster

Description: A monster that frequently appears on the first floor of the Core. It has a small and cute appearance. It clings to challengers, using its cuteness to make them drop their guard, and when an opening is seen, it immediately devours them. It isn’t particularly strong, but it’s best not to let it get too close.

Danger Level: ★★

The ball of fur, Pokopo, had climbed onto Do-Jun’s thigh before he even realized it. Just as it was recorded in Ataraxia, it opened its mouth wide as if to swallow him whole.

Do-Jun sighed and thrust his fist forward.

With a thump, Pokopo’s body burst open without much resistance, and a red stone fragment popped out.

Do-Jun picked up the fragment and examined it.

[Mastery Stone (Red)]

Category: Consumable / Miscellaneous

Description: A stone that can sometimes be obtained by defeating monsters on the first floor of the Core. When used, it slightly increases the mastery level shown in the Status Window. If the color doesn’t match the Status Window, the mastery growth effect is minimal. The method of use is simple. Feed the acquired mastery stone to the snake in the Status Window, and that’s it.

Do-Jun handed the Mastery Stone from Pokopo’s corpse to the snake—no, to the Status Window attached to his wrist, which then swallowed the stone whole.

Sure enough, the mastery level in the Status Window increased, and more importantly, his stats rose as well.

Now, I need to register my skills, Do-Jun thought.

He brought his hand toward the Skill Enhancement Ring on his finger.

[Do you wish to register a skill?]

[Warning! Once a skill is registered, it cannot be undone.]

[Please select the skill you wish to register into the socket.]

He didn’t deliberate for long. Do-Jun carefully selected the essential skills and registered three of them for now.

[Are you sure you want to register Pocket Watch, Heavenly Demon Cultivation Art, and Armorize-True as skills?]

[Pocket Watch, Heavenly Demon Cultivation Art, and Armorize-True have been registered in the skill sockets.]

[The power of the skills has increased due to the effect of the artifact.]

Now, I’ve four slots left, Do-Jun thought.

There was no need to rush. For the time being, these three skills would be more than enough, and he could consider his options later when he acquired new skills.

***

A man stood atop a hill, watching Do-Jun through binoculars.

He saw the challenger fall from the Tutorial Zone twenty minutes ago. He seemed to be carrying some strange pet, but it wouldn’t be a problem.

He would just kill them both.

A rookie at this time of year, huh? Does that mean the Core has appeared in another dimension?

Ten years ago, a massive influx of new challengers descended onto the first floor of the Core, and most of them lost their lives to those who had already been living there. Regardless of their strength in the outside world, once inside the Core, everything was determined by the mastery level displayed in the Status Window.

After that, no new rookies appeared for a while—until today, when one lone challenger had shown up.

Welcome to the Core, my mastery. The man, Kim Jong-Heon, grinned.

***

Do-Jun sat with his legs stretched out, leaning against a tree, ignoring the sharp gazes directed at him from above and below. The hostility was so blatant that it was impossible not to notice.

“Yong-Yong, let’s get up. We’ll look around a little more, then head home,” he said.

“Yes, sir!” Yong-Yong responded cheerfully with a bright smile.

Going home meant delicious meat was waiting for him. A walk should always be followed by a meal.

“Put braised ribs on top of my rice♪ Yum yum♪” Humming a little tune, Yong-Yong happily followed behind Do-Jun.

Do-Jun chuckled as he watched Yong-Yong. How could he be so different from Karsiel?

As he strolled and took in the scenery, Do-Jun discovered a suspension bridge connecting two hills and walked toward it.

Then, a sharp spear dropped from above, landing on the ground exactly where Do-Jun had been about to step.

Kim Jong-Heon jumped down from above, looked at Do-Jun with a relaxed expression, and said, “First time in the Core?”

Do-Jun shrugged, thinking that this confrontation was inevitable.

Not just this man—countless others were monitoring the situation as well. It felt like order was forming out of the chaos.

Yong-Yong looked up at the man, Kim Jong-Heon, and muttered in a flat tone, “Who’s this dumbass?”