Daddy is too Strong-Chapter 101

Kim Gap-Hwan shot to his feet, staring in horror as Do-Jun approached the statue, more precisely, at the way Do-Jun was about to touch it.

“H-hold on!” he yelled.

“Yes?” Do-Jun answered and turned around to see the people behind him turned visibly pale.

Tilting his head, he asked, “Is something wrong?”

“W-what are you trying to do right now?” Kim Gap-Hwan asked.

“Aren’t we supposed to kill that thing?” Do-Jun asked as if he were asking something obvious.

Kim Gap-Hwan and the others had said they would wait for more adventurers to arrive, but Do-Jun couldn’t just stand around forever.

He had work on Monday.

[The Trial will begin.]

[The Seal of Curta the Battle King is lifted.]

[There is a Monarch among the challengers. A penalty will be applied. The inhibitor on the Gatekeeper has been removed.]

Rumble!

The space trembled violently as the man seated on the throne gradually regained life.

The adventurers read the system messages and felt cold sweat running down their backs. The title of “King” was said to be reserved only for the most formidable beings of the Deep Realm. There was no way they, who had only just reached the entrance to the second floor of the Core, could stand a chance.

Come to think of it, why was there a King appearing as a Gatekeeper in the first place?

The adventurers realized that terms like “Monarch” or “weaker version” were pointless here.

“They just want us all to die,” Jaycee muttered and chuckled bitterly, watching as Curta slowly rose from his throne.

He struck the ground with his spear, sending a powerful shockwave that whipped up a fierce gust. The blast sent the adventurers airborne, crashing them into the walls.

Blood spurted from their mouths from the impact, and soon, they hung their heads, unconscious.

Meanwhile, Curta paid them no mind and inspected his own body. He was completely unharmed—in pristine condition.

He started laughing maniacally. He had awakened.

Since his defeat to Imfelheim, he’d been sealed in the King’s Tomb, never expecting to open his eyes again. But now, he had regained his complete form.

Slowly, Curta turned to look at Do-Jun, who stared back with a blank expression, completely unfazed.

Curta grinned. “Adventurer, was it you who awakened me?”

Do-Jun nodded without a word.

“I’d like to express my gratitude.”

“I simply did what had to be done,” Do-Jun said. freeωebnovēl.c૦m

“However...” Curta said, and with a rumbling sound, his power surged. His muscles swelled, and magic pulsed from the spear he held.

“I’ve been sitting on that damn throne for way too long. My body’s itching for a battle.”

There was an unmistakable murderous intent.

Curta was clearly asking for a fight. Do-Jun watched him and smirked at the fitting temperament of someone titled King of Battle. It seemed he was one to really enjoy a good battle.

“In that case...” Do-Jun smirked as he replied, “Shall I give you a little massage?”

***

Yong-Yong prodded the fallen body that once belonged to the Battle King. He was now nothing more than a cold corpse.

“Master’s massage... is truly terrifying,” he said.

“It looks like they’re going to be fine.”

Do-Jun checked each unconscious adventurer one by one. Some of them had internal injuries, but nothing too concerning. Unlike regular people, they had ample magical power and rapid recovery abilities, so they would likely be fine after a day’s rest.

After confirming their survival, Do-Jun turned to look at the stairs that had appeared after Curta’s death.

Without hesitation, he headed down the stairs. After descending for about five minutes, something finally came into sight.

“A village, huh,” Yong-Yong remarked.

The basic structure of this level was similar to the first floor of the Core, but there was a massive tree growing from the depths of the ground, its true base unknown. Buildings were built upon its branches, connected by a network of bridges. Elevator-like structures with pulleys allowed people to move up and down freely, and adventurers used them to travel around the village.

“Greetings,” a man’s voice came from the entrance.

He wore plate armor and held a spear, giving off a strong impression of being a guard.

“You’re from the first floor, right?” he asked Do-Jun, who nodded in response.

The man looked at him with a puzzled expression and asked, “Are you alone? Where are the other adventurers...?”

Do-Jun pointed back up the stairs and replied, “They’re resting near the entrance. You’ll find them if you go up.”

“That’s impossible to do.” The man laughed it off as if it were obvious.

Just as Do-Jun wondered what the man meant and if there was a rule against leaving one’s post, the man offered a detailed explanation.

“Once an adventurer reaches the square, they can’t go back to the entrance. If they try, well... there’s a curse that activates, and they will vanish. Simply put, they will die—hey, wait!”

The man stopped in the middle of his explanation when Do-Jun decided to test it out for himself and headed back up the stairs.

After walking up a few stairs, Do-Jun turned and said, “I don’t feel anything.”

“How...?” The man looked bewildered, then reached a hand toward the stairway.

As soon as he hovered his hand over the stairs, dark energy crept up his arm. Startled, he quickly withdrew his hand.

A few more seconds and his hand would likely have vanished.

“How are you fine?” he asked Do-Jun.

In the Core, moving from floor to floor was typically only possible in one direction—downward. While one could freely move up and down within a single floor, areas such as the entrance and the square on the second floor triggered the curse, preventing anyone from returning.

The man was stationed at the entrance to the square precisely to prevent first-time adventurers from attempting to climb back up the stairs.

Seeing the man’s expression, Do-Jun replied, “I’d like to know that as well.”

The man stroked his chin, deep in thought, then widened his eyes and looked at Do-Jun.

Two types of beings were said to be able to move freely between the different floors of the Core—the monsters born in the Core and those who had descended all the way down to the Deep Realm.

“In any case... let me guide you to the village,” the man offered.

Checking the time on his wristwatch, Do-Jun replied, “No, I’ll come back another time. I was just here for a short visit.”

The flustered man asked in disbelief, “Come again...?”

***

Byeol was the first to wake up today, rising early at 6 AM. When she opened her eyes, everyone else was sound asleep.

Normally, she would have slept in, but today was different.

“Yong-Yong,” she whispered softly into Yong-Yong’s ear, careful not to wake anyone else.

Yong-Yong’s ears perked up, and his eyelids slowly lifted. He found Byeol staring at him with her bright, eager eyes.

“Wake up,” Byeol said.

“Buddy, it’s six in the morning,” Yong-Yong muttered as he glanced at the clock, then closed his eyes again.

It had been less than two hours since he and Do-Jun had returned from the Core, and he was exhausted. Though he was curious about why Byeol was awake at this hour, his desire for sleep was stronger.

“If you go back to sleep, I can’t go out...” Byeol whispered.

“Where are you gonna go at this hour?”

Yong-Yong tried to drift off to sleep again.

Resigned, Byeol opened the door and went into the living room. She put on her shoes by the front door, then stood on her tiptoes to reach the door handle.

The door opened and then closed.

Hearing the sound, Yong-Yong slowly opened his tired eyes and muttered, “Man, who taught her how to open the door...?” He scratched his head. “...Oh, I did.”

***

Yong-Yong ended up following Byeol.

Yawning widely, he didn’t even think to ask why she, who usually didn’t wake up until after ten, was out and about at dawn.

After a while, Byeol came to a stop.

“The store’s not open,” she muttered in disbelief.

The small coin purse she had been holding slipped from her hand and fell to the ground. Yong-Yong picked it up with his paw and placed it back in her hand.

“Hole-in-the-wall stores don’t open this early. You have to wait until nine.”

“I... I was twicked...”

She hadn’t really been tricked; she just hadn’t known in the first place. Yong-Yong thought of explaining that but decided against it. Instead, he asked another question.

“You wanted a snack this early in the morning?”

Byeol shook her head and said, “Nom nom for Mommy and Daddy...”

Hearing that, Yong-Yong stared at her in surprise, realizing that Byeol had woken up at dawn to go to the store and buy breakfast for them.

He probed her, “Were you trying to make breakfast for us, Byeol?”

“Mm-hmm... But the store not open... Byeol was twicked.”

“Where did you get the money?”

“Mommy gives me money when I do good things.”

Yong-Yong opened the zipper of her coin purse. Inside were eight one-hundred-won coins. With that, she couldn’t buy much of anything.

“Hmm... wait right here for a second.”

Yong-Yong flapped his wings and flew up to Unit 301. He returned with a wallet hanging around his neck in less than ten seconds. Inside was a decent sum of about 70,000 won.

“The bakery should be open. Let’s get something there.”

***

Bakeries were always a good bet early in the morning.

Yong-Yong and Byeol entered a chain bakery called Party Baguette, about three hundred meters from their home. The shelves were lined with freshly baked goods.

“Welcome... huh?”

The bakery employee looked puzzled when a little girl, seemingly not even five, walked in by herself. She had a puppy by her side but no parents in sight.

“Hey, kiddo. Where are your parents?” the employee asked.

“They’re sweeping,” Byeol replied.

“So you came here all by yourself?”

“I came with Yong-Yong. We’re here to buy bwed.”

“She must live nearby...” the employee muttered, tilting her head, unsure what to do.

She decided to just watch for now.

“Daddy like this. We don’t have any at home. I need to buy it.” Byeol pointed at a loaf of plain bread, one of their usual breakfast table items.

However, as she reached for it, she paused and checked the price tag, which read 3,000 won.

“I-I don’t have that much money.”

All she had to her name was eight hundred won. Byeol hung her head, dejected, and let go of the bread.

Watching this, Yong-Yong picked up the loaf in his mouth and placed it on the counter. Not just the plain bread, but rolls, sausage bread, croquettes—he grabbed everything in sight.

“We’ll take these, please.”

***

Do-Jun slowly opened his eyes to the chirping sounds coming from the window.

Yoon-Hee and Karsiel were still sleeping, but there was no sign of Yong-Yong or Byeol. However, by extending his qi sense, he could feel two large presences in the living room.

He opened the bedroom door and went into the living room, where he saw bags labeled “Party Baguette” on the dining table.

“So, that’s where they went,” he muttered.

Do-Jun had known the two left the house around dawn and only returned thirty minutes later.

There was something else on the table next to the bread bags. Upon closer inspection, he saw it was Yong-Yong’s “Great Job” notebook with a bunny drawing that Byeol had drawn for him. Next to the notebook was a memo with Byeol’s wobbly handwriting that read, “Please stamp here.”

Smiling, Do-Jun reached out his finger toward the notebook.

A faint light shimmered, and the words “Great Job!” appeared, stamped onto the page.