Daddy is too Strong-Chapter 113

After a week-long break, the Core’s first-floor raid resumed. As with the Tutorial Zone, they were streaming this live. As soon as the stream went live, the viewer count shot up.

﹂HiBe!

﹂HB!

﹂Hi~Be!

The chat quickly filled with comments.

Jun-Yeol smiled slyly at the camera and waved. Internet streaming terms, like “HiBe,” which was short for “Hi Behemoth,” had become familiar to him.

Eighty percent of the viewer count, which easily exceeded ten million, consisted of international viewers from the U.S., China, Japan, the U.K., France, and more. Although they came from different countries, they were united under one stream by their pride in Korea—the Hunter powerhouse nation, the legendary Sword Emperor, and his guild, Behemoth.

They all wanted to accompany them in their raid of the mysterious world called the Core.

[ちはや has donated 1,000,000 won!: “ベハ(HiBe)!”]

[Jane has donated 1,000,000 won!: “HiBe!”]

[洋主 has donated 1,000,000 won!: “贝哈(HiBe)!”]

The donation amount was set at a fixed one million won, and a voice message played whenever a donation was made. Since only Korean viewers could use the chat, international viewers used donations to greet Behemoth Guild.

﹂Ahh, this is amazing.

﹂Give me a pint of national pride here, lol.

﹂Is this real? Twenty million viewers? Wow.

﹂Sword Emperor! Please give us a ‘HiChat!’ just once, I beg you!

Kang-Hyun’s usually stoic expression softened slightly. He wasn’t used to smiling, and forcing a smile was always a chore.

Still, he smiled and said, “Hi, chat.”

If it weren’t for Do-Jun’s orders, or rather, instructions, he wouldn’t have bothered with something as tedious as streaming.

Seeing Kang-Hyun’s stiff smile, Ae-Kyung turned her head, stifling a laugh.

﹂Lolololololol

﹂Ugh, I’m dead. How are you all so adorable!

﹂Thank you so much for doing this stream.

“Alright, let’s get started,” Kang-Hyun announced the start of the hunt.

[BeheServant43 has donated 1,000,000 won!: “Flutter (this is the sound of the Korean flag waving proudly)”]

The audience was thrilled as they watched Behemoth advance confidently as if they already knew their way through the Core.

***

Meanwhile, on the second floor of the Core, a vast expanse of molten lava covered the ground.

A lone giant tree named Yggdrasil stood amidst this inhospitable environment. Its existence was a blessing that allowed life to exist in such an impossible place.

At a lookout post, an adventurer held his breath as he observed a man crossing the bridge leading to the tree. This adventurer was the Keeper, the guard who monitored the surroundings for potential intruders. He raised his binoculars to get a closer view of the approaching man.

“Who is that...?” he muttered, spotting the man’s rather peculiar outfit.

The simple gray hoodie, cotton pants, and sneakers definitely weren’t any artifacts. Could he be a rookie who’d just come in?

“Wait, where did he go?”

The man had been walking along, moving slowly just a moment ago, but now he was nowhere in sight.

The adventurer lowered his binoculars and looked around again. Then he gasped as he saw the man reach the entrance. He hadn’t disappeared at all.

Without hesitation, the adventurer jumped down from the lookout post and aimed his bow at the man.

“Stop right there!” the Keeper shouted, and the man turned to face him.

***

Do-Jun looked at the adventurer, who was wearing a ragged poncho and had his bow drawn. From the look of hostility in his eyes, Do-Jun figured that he had failed to leave a good first impression.

“Do you need something from me?” Do-Jun asked him.

The adventurer narrowed his eyes, feeling wary of Do-Jun’s relaxed demeanor. In the hundreds of years he’d spent on the second floor of the Core, he had never encountered anyone quite like this.

“I am Urkan, the Keeper of Yggdrasil.”

“I see.” Do-Jun nodded.

Already having some background information from Interpreter – Ataraxia, he knew that Yggdrasil referred to the giant tree here. In short, this was the dwelling place of the adventurers on the second floor of the Core.

“Reveal your identity, and I’ll decide whether you live or die,” Urkan warned.

Do-Jun paused at the warning, momentarily speechless. Deciding who lives or dies was his prerogative, not this guy’s, though he had no intention of killing him.

Do-Jun pushed off the ground, using a quick step to move behind Urkan. Instead of a frontal approach, he shifted to the rear in a move akin to teleportation. In the Martial World, some labeled this movement a skill called Transposition, but for Do-Jun, it was simply a swift way to get behind his target.

He struck Urkan on the back of the neck, knocking him out. He then checked Urkan’s pulse by placing two fingers on his neck.

Luckily, he had managed to control his strength just right.

***

[Welcome to the Fissure Management System.]

Do-Jun opened the SpacePad and activated the Core section of the Fissures under his management.

He was done with the Tutorial Zone and the first floor, and it was now time to input details for the second floor.

Just moments ago, after passing through the entrance that Urkan had been guarding, he found a village with over a thousand households. The village had restaurants, general stores, and weapon and armor shops, providing all the essentials. Aside from the stifling heat, it appeared to be a decent place to live.

However, Do-Jun found an oddity here. All the adventurers wore cards around their necks.

He checked the information on the cards through the Interpreter.

[Mastery Card]

Category: Currency / Artifact

Description: A currency commonly used on the Core’s second floor. It has the ability to store mastery stones (orange) that occasionally drop when monsters are defeated. Available from the guardian, Bi-Yeong, who resides at the top of Yggdrasil.

Do-Jun looked up to see an open sky, with the peak of Yggdrasil towering at an immeasurable height.

Though the Mastery Card didn’t seem necessary, Do-Jun decided to ascend to the top anyway. Rather, there was no need, as a shadow at the top was already looking down at him. It was emanating an intense killing intent, clearly issuing a threat.

Suddenly, the shadow lunged forward, and Bi-Yeong’s sword stretched toward Do-Jun.

A clash of two energies rang out with a tremendous roar.

As expected, Bi-Yeong’s blade uselessly struck the empty air, or more precisely, the blue aura that surrounded Do-Jun’s body—Barrier.

No matter how much qi Bi-Yeong put into his sword, it couldn’t penetrate the barrier, and his face grew paler. He felt his qi surge violently, causing the magical energy within him to reverse, wracking his body with pain.

In stark contrast, Do-Jun looked as calm as ever.

Then, their eyes met.

Bi-Yeong twitched involuntarily before quickly backing away while Do-Jun continued to look at him with amusement. Though Do-Jun was smiling slightly, his gaze was icy.

For a moment, Bi-Yeong felt as though he had brushed with death.

They only had one exchange, but he knew immediately that he would have lost his head if there had been a second slower.

“You...” Bi-Yeong tried to speak up but failed to get more than a single word out and swallowed dryly.

He then thought of a single explanation to justify this intruder’s strength.

“Are you from the Deep Realm?” Bi-Yeong asked.

Though highly unlikely, that was the only way this power would make sense. As far as Bi-Yeong knew, Do-Jun was an unfamiliar face on the Core’s second floor.

Sensing a trace of demonic energy, he considered Do-Jun a threat and attempted to eliminate him, never realizing that the gap in their abilities was so immense that he couldn’t even last a single exchange.

“No,” Do-Jun replied curtly.

At some point, a hilt appeared in Do-Jun’s hand—a hilt with no blade, almost as if it had lost its function as a sword.

Soon, dark energy emanated around Do-Jun. As the air seemed to compress to the point of tearing, Bi-Yeong and the nearby adventurers winced in pain, collapsing under the overwhelming pressure.

A dark blade shimmered and extended from the hilt in Do-Jun’s hand, wavering like a mirage. In an instant, the Heavenly Demon Sword vanished as if it had never existed, and Do-Jun’s gaze moved toward Bi-Yeong and then to something beyond.

He was looking at a massive creature flying toward Yggdrasil, its maw wide open.

In the blink of an eye, hundreds of sword marks were carved into the creature’s body. Its skeletal wings, held together by knotted bones, shattered and fell.

It was Tarantuloso, a byproduct of the distortion created during the Transcendents' descent to the Deep Realm. It was infamous on the second floor as a calamity.

That very calamity was slain in a single stroke.

As Tarantuloso’s body fell into the seething lava below, Bi-Yeong and the adventurers felt the oppressive pressure ease.

For millennia, Tarantuloso had plagued and gnawed away at Yggdrasil. It was a monster so powerful that none dared to confront it until now.

“How... is that even possible...?” Bi-Yeong muttered.

How could it be defeated so easily?

Moreover, when Do-Jun had drawn his sword, Bi-Yeong had thought his life was over. A fight within the Core was always a fight to the death.

The Heavenly Demon Sword returned to Do-Jun’s hand. He sheathed it and looked at Bi-Yeong calmly. He had no intention of killing him.

Seeing the title “Guardian” and noting that he issued the Mastery Cards, Do-Jun figured that Bi-Yeong was someone better left alive. However, he intended to make full use of him.

“Care to guide me through the second floor?” Do-Jun asked him.

***

Ten hours later, Bi-Yeong diligently guided Do-Jun around the second floor, almost like a navigation system. After reviewing detailed information through the Interpreter, Do-Jun gained all the key insights of the floor.

As expected of someone called a guardian, Bi-Yeong commanded great respect from the adventurers on the second floor. Unlike the chaotic first floor, where fights broke out daily, the second floor was more harmonious under Bi-Yeong’s leadership.

However, the first floor offered a better environment for survival.

Yggdrasil was gradually being consumed by lava from below, restricting the water supply and making hydration difficult. The constant threat of it collapsing into the lava at any moment loomed overhead like a drawn sword.

Despite this, the adventurers hadn’t ventured to the next floor as they knew that descending further would almost certainly mean death, and an instant one at that. If the messages on the forum were true, going down to the third floor was tantamount to suicide.

“While some adventurers post nonsense due to the anonymity, there’s likely some truth in what’s written. Even for someone like you...” Bi-Yeong explained.

The third floor was currently in a state of chaos, devastated by a Transcendent who had ascended from the Deep Realm. Though the exact reports varied, all accounts agreed on one thing: encountering this Transcendent meant instant annihilation.

“There’s a reason why adventurers stay on this floor.”

Bi-Yeong’s gaze shifted to the rusty iron door that was said to lead to the third floor, located 1.5 kilometers northwest, then moved to Do-Jun. Do-Jun looked calm, showing no trace of fear.

“Thank you for today,” he thanked Bi-Yeong.

And with that, he vanished.

The startled Bi-Yeong scanned the area, but there was no sign of him.

“Forum,” he summoned the Core forum.

[Real-time trending searches]

1. Second Floor (▲1)

2. Tarantuloso ( - )

3. Rigdmur (▼2)

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10. Lee Do-Jun (New)