Daddy is too Strong-Chapter 107

The Usurper’s Hourglass was one of the many relics located at the Deep Realm’s edge. It served as a gauge for tracking the “Encroachment” progress of planets connected to the Core.

When all the sand grains fell to the bottom, it would forcibly summon the residents of the connected planet to the Core’s tutorial zone.

It was a Deep Realm artifact with immense power. However, at some point, the dropping of the sand grains had gradually but surely slowed down.

Earth’s Encroachment, which it was tracking, should have been completed long ago, and all Earthlings would have been summoned to the tutorial zone, beginning their journey toward the Deep Realm. Instead, a few months ago, the Encroachment started to slow down due to one clear reason—the deaths of the Usurpers.

The Titan, Malanuh, and the Deep Realm Assassin, Aduntath, were among the most prominent Usurpers. Even with blessings from the Core, such as the Status Window, skills, or artifacts, humans shouldn’t stand a chance against a Usurper.

So, who could have killed them?

There was one suspect. A single adventurer—whose name and appearance were unknown—who dared to descend into the Deep Realm. That person had never made their identity known, so their name was always displayed as “Unknown.”

What was troubling was that despite this person having risen to first place in the tutorial ranking, their whereabouts were a mystery. No matter how much they searched the forum, which was only accessible on the Core’s second floor and below, there were no clues to their identity.

Actually, there was one clue—a rumor about the death of Battle King Curta.

It was said on the board that the Battle King Curta had appeared as the gatekeeper at the entrance to the second floor. The adventurers who challenged him lost consciousness when Curta awoke from his seal, but when they came to, Curta was already dead.

Still, this story was so absurd it was dismissed as just the usual baiting of adventurers. After all, every now and then, there were a few boys who cried wolf, claiming Solomon’s demons had appeared as gatekeepers.

***

It was a rainy day, the second day of the heavy downpour, just as the weatherman had forecasted.

Byeol pouted as she watched the pouring rain through the balcony window. Yoon-Hee had told her that going outside on rainy days was dangerous.

“Wain... bad,” Byeol muttered.

She couldn't go to her favorite playground or park. She couldn’t even go to the F-rank Fissure with a snack from the store near the apartment.

One day of rain was fine—she could look at picture books or listen to Karsiel read fairy tales, but being stuck indoors for two days was too much.

“When will the wain stop?” she muttered to herself.

Hearing her grumble, Karsiel went into the bedroom and opened her laptop. She checked the weather forecast, which showed that the rain would continue throughout the day.

“Byeol, it says that the rain won’t stop until dawn tomorrow,” she broke the news to Byeol.

Byeol slumped down to the floor in despair. “N-no... This isn’t fair...”

Just as the saying—the sorrow of a widow who loses her husband in war is not necessarily greater than the sorrow of a child who loses their favorite teddy bear—being cooped up inside for two days because of the rain felt as devastating to Byeol as the sky falling down.

“What did I do to deserve this?” she wailed.

“Byeol, you did nothing wrong. Rain is just rain,” Karsiel tried to console her.

With a sudden exclamation, Byeol jumped up and ran into the bedroom. She opened the closet, rummaged in the storage compartment in the corner, and pulled out a yellow raincoat.

“I can wear this! Is okay.”

The raincoat Yoon-Hee had bought for her last week was a bit big. Regardless of Byeol’s “mythic” status, Yoon-Hee still saw her as a child, so she had worried about her getting wet and had picked it out with her at the store.

Byeol fastened each button on her own, then dashed to the entrance to slip on her yellow rain boots. With the raincoat and boots, she looked like a little yellow chick.

“I'm going out to pway,” Byeol said in a much brighter tone than earlier.

“W-wait, right now?”

“Mhm. Before Daddy gets home.”

Karsiel shook her head, recalling that she had been instructed to look after Byeol at home during this heavy rain. It wasn’t an order, but it was always better to follow Do-Jun’s instructions.

Byeol explained further. “Yong-Yong said...”

“Yes?”

“As long as you don’t get caught, it’s fine,” Byeol said with an innocent smile.

Karsiel sighed.

What on earth had Lord Izaas been teaching this child?

***

Do-Jun was having lunch with his fellow interns in the cafeteria at the Hunter’s Bureau.

Today’s food options were either bulgogi rice bowl or olive pasta. Since Do-Jun preferred Korean food, he chose the bulgogi rice bowl without a second thought.

“By the way, Do-Jun, it must be tough working in the Fissure Management Team,” one of the interns said to him.

The other interns nodded in agreement.

The Fissure Management Team was notorious for the overwhelming workload. Sure, there was the upside of coming out with a lot of achievements to push for a full-time offer or even a promotion, but many employees who were placed on that team often quit within half a year.

There was also the risk that came with entering Great Fissure sites, where one might lose their life at any moment.

“I’m doing alright. The work is actually quite similar to what I’m used to, so I adjusted pretty quickly,” Do-Jun replied.

“Really? Oh, you did mention that you work at Seoul City Hall’s Fissure Management Division.”

“Yes. I worked there for—” Do-Jun almost said five months but stopped himself, remembering to include his past self’s time.

“It’s been nearly a year and a half.”

“Really? Are you considering joining the Hunter’s Bureau after the internship?” the man mumbled through a mouthful of pasta.

According to his mentor, Assistant Manager Kim Doo-Hwi of Fissure Management Team 1 had been tirelessly praising the intern’s work to his fellow assistant managers.

“Joining the Bureau... I’m not sure.”

At Do-Jun’s unclear answer, the man had a conflicted look for a moment, then spoke up as if he had made up his mind about something.

“We’re having a study meeting this weekend to work on our project reports that are due next week. Would you like to join?”

“A study meeting?”

“Yes. We can discuss any problems we run into together and help each other out.”

Do-Jun considered his schedule for the weekend. Since he had no particular plans, he accepted the invitation. However, he couldn’t help but wonder why he was only now being invited to the study group.

Are they trying to keep me in check?

They called it a study group, but the real purpose of such gatherings was often “spying.” It was about seeing how others prepared so you could create materials that stood out even more.

The fact that he was only now being invited likely meant they had assumed he would return to the public sector after the internship. Since all interns technically had the potential to stay for a job with the Bureau, he could be seen as competition, and they would want to keep him close to watch his progress.

It all made sense.

“Thank you for the invite,” Do-Jun said.

“I’ll add you to the group chat.”

Soon, a notification popped up on his smartphone. When he checked, he noticed the chat already had over ten members.

Not everyone, but most of them were high-profile individuals from what was often called “SKY.”[1]. It was a group of people this intern viewed as competitors.

However, the others seemed aware of this.

I see how it is, Do-Jun thought with a smirk.

He had no intention of joining the Hunter’s Bureau and had only hesitated for politeness, but it seemed the interns saw him as a rival.

“Got the chat invite. Thank you.” Do-Jun smiled and put his smartphone back in his pocket.

What these interns didn’t know was that Do-Jun was already far beyond their reach in ways they couldn’t even imagine.

***

Meanwhile, Byeol and Karsiel were out.

Karsiel rarely went out for anything besides taking out the trash or going grocery shopping with Yoon-Hee. Knowing this, Byeol decided that today she would give Karsiel a little tour of the outside world.

The first stop was Byeol’s favorite place—the neighborhood store.

“Hello, gwemma!” Byeol said cheerfully.

The elderly store owner greeted Byeol warmly. “Hoho. Hello, Byeol.”

“I bwought Sieh today!”

Byeol opened her coin purse to check how much money she had. Fifteen one-hundred-won coins were jingling around inside.

“Sieh, pick what u want to eat.”

“Pardon?”

“I tweat you.”

Byeol had earned a hundred won each time she did something good, and she’d saved up a fortune of 1,500 won. Today, she planned to spend it all for Karsiel, who she adored.

Thinking how cute she was, Karsiel picked up a lollipop.

“Gwemma, how much is this?” Byeol asked the store owner.

“The lollipop is one hundred won.”

After purchasing two lollipops, Byeol and Karsiel unwrapped one each, popped it into their mouths, and left the store.

Rain suddenly poured down in a torrential downpour. Karsiel held an umbrella, but the wind blowing from all directions left her completely soaked.

“Sieh, you’re all wet. Are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine.”

After confirming that no one was around, Karsiel momentarily released her magic, forming a protective shield around herself. When light rippled around her once more, her wet clothes instantly dried.

“So cool,” Byeol commented.

“You’ll be able to do it too, Byeol, if you learn magic.”

“I see.”

Though Byeol didn’t realize it, she possessed a powerful magic source, even stronger than most dragons. However, she didn’t seem very interested in learning magic at the moment. After all, what mattered to Byeol wasn’t being able to use magic but the fact that they didn’t have to go home just yet.

“We can stay out longer.”

***

After coming home from work, Do-Jun slipped off his shoes and put them in the shoe cabinet. Just as he was about to walk into the living room, he stopped. He noticed a faint trace of magic lingering on Byeol’s yellow rain boots tucked in the corner of the shoe cabinet.

They were spotless, as if they had never been worn.

He saw Byeol sprawled out in the living room, drawing in a sketchbook with crayons. When their eyes met, Byeol flinched and looked away.

Seeing this, Do-Jun chuckled.

“Welcome back, Master,” Karsiel approached him cautiously.

She, too, looked a bit guilty, as she couldn’t meet his gaze directly.

Do-Jun patted her head. “Thanks for your hard work.”

“But I didn’t do anything... Eek!” Karsiel’s eyes widened.

To cover up the evidence, she had used magic to return the raincoat and boots to their original state, but Do-Jun looked at her as if he knew everything.

“A-as long as I don’t get caug...” Byeol muttered nervously in a trembling voice.

Do-Jun glanced at Karsiel as if to ask if she knew what Byeol meant, and the flustered Karsiel glanced toward the bedroom.

With a sigh, Do-Jun said, “Go fetch Yong-Yong for me.”

1. SKY refers to the top 3 universities in Korea: Seoul, Korea, and Yonsei National University. ☜