My Dad is Too Strong-Chapter 80

1 PM on a Saturday.

Do-Jun was sitting at the dining table, drinking coffee. He set down his cup with a sigh. “Maybe I should just go by myself...”

The two dragons, who had been silently glaring at each other on the sofa, shook their heads at Do-Jun’s declaration of going alone. They quickly stopped their prolonged stare-off, and an intense competition began. The mini dragons started playing rock-paper-scissors with their small forepaws.

“Rock, paper…”

“Scissors!”

“Argh!”

The result?

Yong-Yong, who had been boasting about how there was no such thing as “best of three” among the prided species of dragons, ended up losing. He trembled, staring pitifully at his clenched paw.

“How… how about best two out of three?” he suggested.

“Let’s not go around changing the rules, Lord Izaas.”

“Ugh, I wish I could go back and slap my past self.”

The winner was set to accompany Do-Jun to Bukhansan Mountain. Do-Jun had planned to go alone to hunt the Cockatrice in the mountain, but the dragons insisted on going with him, leading them to settle it with a competition. The dragon left behind would have to go grocery shopping with Yoon-Hee and watch over the house.

Do-Jun finished his coffee and grabbed his simple, plain Hunter ID card that bore the name Kim Hyun-Woo.

This 𝓬ontent is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.

“Alright, see you guys later.”

***

At the entrance to Bukhansan Mountain National Park.

Usually, most visitors here were hikers, but the appearance of the D-rank Fissure Cockatrice’s Nest three years ago made it one of Korea's top tourist destinations, attracting a wider variety of visitors, including Hunters hunting Cockatrices, their porters, and tourists.

A bus pulled up at the entrance to the hiking trail. This was the Hunter Bus, which transported Hunters to Fissures. The Hunter’s Bureau had operated it free of charge for the past five years.

“It’s here.”

Hunters, dressed in colorful suits with mana guns holstered at their waists, boarded the bus through the front door. Like a regular bus, there was a terminal next to the driver’s seat where they could scan their Hunter ID cards.

Beep.

[Hunter Kim Ho-Chul, confirmed.]

Kim Ho-Chul was a man in his forties with a scruffy, unkempt beard. As he scanned his ID card, an automated voice echoed, and the letter F appeared in large font on the terminal screen. He let out a long sigh as he took his seat.

He placed his belongings in the storage box attached to the seat—a Swiss army knife and a bag made of a special synthetic material, rather than weapons like swords, spears, or combat support artifacts such as Mana Smoke.

Kim Ho-Chul, a perpetual F-rank Hunter, was a porter.

[Hunter Kim Hyun-Woo, confirmed.]

Oh, a fellow porter. Kim Ho-Chul noticed the large F on the terminal screen as the next person boarded.

Since most of the real Hunters who boarded the Hunter Bus at Bukhansan Mountain’s entrance were at least D-rank, it was natural for him to assume that an F-rank Hunter must be a porter.

However, the man’s attire was peculiar.

Due to the Fissure’s nature, even porters were required to wear suits, but this young man, who appeared to be in his mid-twenties and went by the name Kim Hyun-Woo, was dressed in jeans and a hoodie, with a backpack slung over his shoulder.

But there was something even more unusual than his attire.

A daughter? No... a younger sister?

Following behind him was a small girl, around seven or eight years old. Despite the chilly April weather, she was wearing just a thin dress and holding an ice cream as she followed Kim Hyun-Woo onto the bus.

“Would it be alright if we sat here?” The man, Kim Hyun-Woo, approached and asked Kim Ho-Chul, who nodded with a puzzled look.

The seats on the Hunter Bus were arranged in threes, and Kim Hyun-Woo sat in the middle, placing the little girl on the aisle seat.

[The bus will depart in 10 minutes.]

The announcement came on as the bus engine started. The slight movement of the bus caused the little girl’s ice cream to wobble, smudging her cheek.

Seeing this, Kim Hyun-Woo pulled a tissue from his hiking backpack and gently wiped the girl’s cheek.

“You should be careful,” he said to the girl.

“I-I’m sorry.”

“No, no, it’s fine.”

As he watched them, Kim Ho-Chul suddenly thought of his ten-year-old son, who was home alone, and felt a pang of sadness.

Perhaps this man, Kim Hyun-Woo, was also raising a child on his own without a wife.

“Is she your daughter?” Kim Ho-Chul asked, unable to hold back his curiosity.

***

Hearing the middle-aged man’s question, Do-Jun hesitated briefly but decided to play along. It was too much hassle to explain everything.

“Ah, I thought so. But isn’t it dangerous to bring your daughter to a Fissure? Besides, you probably don’t want to show her anything too embarrassing.”

In the hierarchical, pyramid-like society of Hunters, F-rank Hunters were often looked down on and treated poorly, especially when they weren’t even combatants but mere porters.

“Thank you for your concern,” Do-Jun replied noncommittally.

“I have a son myself, so I guess I tend to get a bit nosey. I’m raising him alone, so I worry about him more… Ah, I didn’t even introduce myself. My name is Kim Ho-Chul.” Kim Ho-Chul extended his hand for a handshake.

“I’m Lee Do… I mean, Kim Hyun-Woo.” Do-Jun smiled and shook his hand.

Judging by how Kim Ho-Chul glanced at Do-Jun and Karsiel with a sympathetic look, he seemed to be convinced that they were in the same situation—a single dad.

[Hunter Lee Guk-Hyun, confirmed.]

[Hunter Yoo Min-Tae, confirmed.]

[Hunter Ahn Sung-Guk, confirmed.]

“Ugh.”

As three more Hunters boarded the bus, Kim Ho-Chul’s expression hardened, and he sighed under his breath.

The newly arrived Hunters were members of a B-rank team called Sky Devil, which also happened to be the team Kim Ho-Chul was assigned to as the porter.

Sky Devil’s team leader, B-rank Hunter Lee Guk-Hyun, walked down the aisle toward the back seats. He spotted Kim Ho-Chul sitting there and stopped in his tracks.

Kim Ho-Chul stood up and bowed, greeting nervously, “G-good to see you again.”

“You know what’ll happen if you’re as slow as last time, right?” With that remark, the Hunters continued to the back of the bus.

As Kim Ho-Chul briefly locked eyes with Karsiel, he sighed inwardly and sat down.

[The bus is now departing.]

***

Passing by Borisa Temple, the bus came to a stop after driving about two kilometers uphill.

Outside the window were hikers, tourists, and people wearing suits—presumably Hunters. And, towering high in the sky, was the Cockatrice’s Nest.

“Master, there are so many people here.” Karsiel looked around in awe after disembarking the bus.

She seemed especially fascinated by the food stalls grilling and frying cockatrice on the spot. Noticing her wonder, Do-Jun smiled and patted her head.

Karsiel grinned as she clung to the hem of Do-Jun’s clothes.

For some reason, while at home with everyone, Karsiel was always reserved. However, her expressions became much more varied whenever it was just the two of them.

The reason for this remained a mystery to Do-Jun.

[Hunter Cha Jin-Woong, confirmed.]

At the entrance of the Fissure, a Hunter’s Bureau employee was helping Hunters enter by scanning their Hunter ID cards and verifying their fingerprints, making it impossible for Karsiel to accompany Do-Jun inside.

“Looks like I’ll have to go alone. Can you wait for me at that pavilion over there?” Do-Jun asked her, pointing towards a sign that read Rest Area and beneath which was an octagonal pavilion.

Although Karsiel also wanted to go inside the Fissure, she knew that throwing a tantrum would only trouble Do-Jun, so she easily agreed.

“If a strange man offers you candy or tries to lure you away—”

“I’ll kill him,” Karsiel interrupted immediately.

“No, you… you can’t kill him.”

Karsiel giggled softly and added, “I’m joking. I can tell right from wrong, you know.”

“Good. I’ll be back soon.”

“Be safe, Master.”

Do-Jun walked toward the Fissure entrance while Karsiel smiled and waved until he disappeared from view.

“Hey, little girl. Want some candy?” A voice came as soon as she was left alone.

***

[Hunter Kim Hyun-Woo, confirmed.]

“Which team are you with?” the Hunter‘s Bureau employee asked.

Do-Jun replied, “Solo.”

“But… you’re not wearing a suit, and you’re an F-rank Hunter. Are you really soloing?” The employee asked, looking confused.

He had assumed Do-Jun was a porter since he was only an F-rank Hunter, but solo hunting?

Was this dumbass trying to get himself killed?

However, he could only look on with pity as employees had no authority to stop Hunters wishing to entire a Fissure.

There were always a few crazy people like this every now and then.

“You do know that the cockatrices here are a pack species, right?” he asked in a warning.

Cockatrice never moved alone—only in packs of tens, if not dozens.

This was precisely why most of the Hunters who came here were B-rank or higher—and they usually came in teams.

“I’m aware,” Do-Jun replied.

How could he not know?

This Fissure was under his management.

***

D-rank Fissure, Cockatrice’s Nest—as the name suggested, it was a nest.

Though not as strong as stainless steel, the large nest was made of branches from Milang Trees, which were known to be nearly as tough. This meant that the cockatrices’ beaks and teeth, capable of breaking those branches to build their nests, were known to be as strong as steel.

Most E-rank or lower suits were easily pierced by them.

To combat this challenge, Hunters formed teams of ten to fifteen people at the entrance before venturing further to hunt the pack-based cockatrices.

“As you all know, according to the Seoul Fissure Management Division’s mapping data, a named monster, Nimble Cockatrice, is in the C-1 area. So, make sure not to go anywhere near there…” Lee Guk-Hyun from Sky Devil was briefing the Hunters.

Apart from Do-Jun, the fourteen C and B-rank Hunters gathered here each held a copy of the completed map and followed along as Lee Guk-Hyun explained.

“Porters, follow about thirty meters behind the Hunters.”

The three porters, standing separately from the Hunters, nodded.

Seeing that, Lee Guk-Hyun pressed his pen hard against his brow, clearly irritated, and shouted, “Am I speaking to a bunch of ghosts, you idiots?!”

His temper flared when the F-rank porters didn’t immediately respond verbally to an upper B-rank Hunter like himself.

The world of Hunters was a world of survival of the fittest. Age and gender played no role, as strength was everything.

“Y-yes, sir! Understood!” A visibly tense Kim Ho-Cheol shouted back.

Nothing good would come out of getting on the wrong side of Sky Devil’s team leader. Besides, Lee Guk-Hyun was a veteran of Cockatrice’s Nest. Ignoring his words would lead to nothing but trouble.

“Now, according to your positions…”

It was at that moment the entrance of the Fissure shimmered, and a man emerged.

Kim Ho-Cheol recognized him immediately. It was Kim Hyun-Woo, who had sat next to him on the Hunter bus.

All eyes turned toward him.