Daddy is too Strong-Chapter 115

Hunter’s Bureau, second basement floor, Promotion Exam Arena.

Do-Jun walked through the exam arena, a forest field dense with conifer trees at least fifty meters tall, checking off items on a sheet of paper that read, “2019 A-Rank Hunter Promotion Exam Arena Safety Inspection Checklist.”

“Why are we the ones stuck doing this?” Han Baek-Myung grumbled, examining a mushroom growing among some weeds.

The other interns, equally unenthusiastic, were each voicing their complaints.

Do-Jun looked up at the sky, where the sun blazed down, and checked a message from Ye-Ji on his phone.

Ye-Ji: Mr. Administrator, I’ll do my best!

It all began yesterday.

***

Monday, 10 AM, Fissure Management Team 1 Office.

Do-Jun glanced at the calendar on his desk. Time had flown by, and only a week remained until the end of his internship.

A chat alert appeared in the bottom right corner of Do-Jun’s monitor. It was a message from the department within the Administration Team responsible for the Hunter exam.

Taking a sip of coffee, Do-Jun slowly read through the message titled “Support Request for the 2019 A-Rank Hunter Promotion Exam.”

The message indicated that the A-rank Hunter promotion exam would take place in two days. However, due to the exam area’s vast size, the Administration Team lacked sufficient staff to manage the safety checks alone.

Consequently, they requested each department to provide interns to assist with the inspection.

“Oh, come on. We’re busy enough already, and now they’re pulling our interns...” Doo-Hwi muttered irritably.

The manager chuckled while watching him and commented, “You’re pretty reliant on your intern these days, aren’t you?”

“Of course I am. Who would have thought he’d be this good at the job?”

“Anyway, after this week, Do-Jun will return to Seoul City Hall, so you’ll need to start getting used to doing things on your own again,” the manager reminded him.

Doo-Hwi sighed as he glanced at Do-Jun, who was quietly focused on his work.

Perhaps it was because he had previously worked in the Fissure Management Division at Seoul City Hall, but even so, he quickly picked up things and performed so skillfully that everyone began to rely on him. Now, the thought of him leaving in a week felt disappointing.

“Do-Jun, have you considered joining the Bureau? The pay and benefits are much better here than at City Hall. If you’re interested, our manager would be happy to help get you in,” Doo-Hwi asked, feeling hopeful.

“I appreciate the offer, but I have no intention of leaving the public sector.” Do-Jun respectfully declined the offer.

If he had wanted high pay and benefits, or money had been his only goal, he wouldn’t have chosen this path at all.

Do-Jun liked his job in the Fissure Management Division at Seoul City Hall, along with his colleagues and the tasks at hand.

It was a place that reminded him of how much happiness there was to be found in living an ordinary life.

Doo-Hwi sighed, unable to hide his disappointment.

Meanwhile, upon seeing the words “A-rank Promotion Exam,” Do-Jun picked up his phone and searched for a name in his contacts.

***

At a chain coffee shop on the first floor of the Hunter’s Bureau, Ye-Ji was very surprised by Do-Jun’s proposal, and she coughed after taking a sip of her latte.

“M-me? Taking the A-rank Hunter exam?” she asked, startled.

Seeing Do-Jun nod, Ye-Ji’s face showed utter surprise, and rightfully so. She had only recently become a B-rank Hunter, and the idea of her taking the A-rank exam so soon was absurd.

However, given Do-Jun’s serious expression, he didn’t appear to be joking.

“Of course, it’s entirely your decision, Hunter Ye-Ji,” he said.

“But with my skills... how could I...? A-rank...”

Just reaching B-rank was already seen as a significant success, and the term “A-rank Hunter” carried an overwhelming weight. Not only did A-rank Hunters become household names recognized even by children, but they were also treated as ultra-VIPs wherever they went. For ordinary Hunters, “A-rank” represented a dream realm, a level attainable only with unparalleled strength.

“You’re truly underestimating yourself. At this moment, you possess enough skill to be more than worthy of an A-rank. Although it’s true that you’ve been active for only a short time and your level and stats may be lower than those of others, your skill, Scholar’s Swordsmanship, more than makes up for that.”

Scholar’s Swordsmanship was an S-rank skill. Back in the Martial World, it was a supreme sword technique created by the Imperial scholar Jin So-Woon, also known as the Sword Saint.

How Ye-Ji acquired this skill remained a mystery to Do-Jun, yet her abilities had grown tremendously because of it.

“But the registration period is already over...” Ye-Ji trailed off, remembering that the exam registration deadline was last month. She would have to wait until next year to apply for the exam.

However, Do-Jun simply nodded as if he already knew and replied, “So you are interested in taking the exam. Good. Excuse me for a moment, please.”

Do-Jun texted Young-Chul, requesting that his assigned Hunter, Cha Ye-Ji, be allowed to take the A-rank promotion exam. He got a response in the form of two texts in quick succession.

Chief Jung Young-Chul: Please send over the completed registration form, and I will process it immediately.

Chief Jung Young-Chul: My apologies. I’ll come by to collect the form instead.

Do-Jun went directly to the lobby reception and picked up a registration form for the A-rank promotion exam.

“Please fill this out right away,” Do-Jun said as he handed Ye-Ji the sheet of paper.

“Are you serious...?”

“I am.”

Ye-Ji filled out the form hesitatingly.

That day, her name was added to the list of exam candidates.

***

Do-Jun was assisting other interns with the safety inspection of the exam arena located on the second basement floor.

Unlike the exams for Hunters below B-rank, which typically involved taking down one or two monsters, the A-rank promotion exam was held in a simulated Great Fissure environment for over forty-eight hours—two whole days.

It was an intensive test that assessed Hunters’ overall skills, including their proficiency in mana manipulation techniques essential for Hunters—such as Infusion, Release, and Transmutation—as well as their knowledge and application of structures within the Fissure. Additionally, it evaluated how effectively they could handle unexpected situations.

Additionally, the A-rank promotion exam was broadcast live by various stations, allowing the public to watch.

Since this test only took place once a year and was the process of selecting A-rank Hunters, it consistently recorded high viewership ratings of around seventy percent each year.

The interns kept grumbling now and then.

“I know we just have to inspect Sector D, but...”

The area was somewhat larger than a standard middle or high school campus. There was a reason why more than twenty interns had been assigned to this.

“It’s pretty exciting, don’t you think? Even if it’s just a simulation, we’re basically in a Great Fissure right now. Who knows when we’ll get to see one this up close again?”

Jin-Ah smiled brightly while inspecting the blueprints and observing the lowest-level spirits darting among the bushes. Normally, the monsters would be placed on the day of the exam, but these low-level spirits were released earlier due to their nature to avoid people instead of attacking.

“So cute,” Jin-Ah remarked.

She beamed at a tiny earth spirit about the size of her palm. She wanted to reach out and touch it, but as she got closer, the earth spirit was startled and scurried away.

Without an innate affinity for spirits, it was nearly impossible to approach them.

Jin-Ah glanced over at Do-Jun and asked, “But why are they all crowding around you like that?”

The spirits hovered around Do-Jun, rubbing against him as if they wanted his attention.

The interns looked on in amazement.

“Do-Jun, you might actually be able to form a contract with a spirit. You seem to have a high affinity with them... if you make a contract, you could become a Hunter, too! Give it a try!”

“Human, make a contract with me,” a tiny water spirit urged Do-Jun.

“Let’s form a contract. A contract!” another spirit chimed in.

Annoyed by the interns’ attention and the clingy spirits, Do-Jun released a hint of murderous intent. Startled, the spirits immediately scattered.

“They ran away,” Do-Jun said casually.

“H-huh? All of a sudden?”

With an unbothered expression, Do-Jun returned to checking the blueprints and continued the safety inspection.

He couldn’t understand why the spirits seemed so desperate to form a contract with him whenever they saw him. Even the Spirit Queen Laghaim was the same. Recently, she had even tried to slip in comments like, “If you were to form a contract...” during their conversations.

Each time, Do-Jun would change the subject.

Come to think of it, Laghaim calling him “Master” might have been part of a ploy to establish a contract in the future. Do-Jun made a mental note to tell her to stop addressing him that way the next time he visited her.

That’s that, but... fɾēewebnσveℓ.com

Glancing over, Do-Jun noticed a spirit about thirty meters away that had been observing him. It was a human-shaped wind spirit with a build similar to that of a five-year-old child. When he focused his qi senses, he noticed it possessed qi comparable to that of a high-S-rank monster.

“Eek!” Realizing it had been spotted, the spirit swiftly flew away.

The spirit wasn’t listed among the assigned monsters but Do-Jun decided to just leave it alone.

***

The A-rank promotion exam included encounters with A- and B-rank monsters that one would typically only see in a Great Fissure.

Unlike other exams, each sector of the exam site that spanned across A to D had supervisors assigned to them. These supervisors were powerful enough to protect the B-rank Hunters from the monsters—in other words, they were S-rank Hunters.

Even after the supervisors had been assigned, Young-Chul was in a dilemma. He wanted to appoint a chief supervisor who could oversee the entire examination site. However, the Hunters of Behemoth Guild weren’t an option since they were currently raiding the first floor of the Core.

“Hmm...” Young-Chul reviewed Ye-Ji’s profile, the B-rank Hunter recommended by Do-Jun.

He had heard she was a contracted Hunter with Seoul City Hall and one that Do-Jun was in charge of. The fact that she had climbed from F-rank to B-rank in just three months was astonishing.

Regardless, Young-Chul knew the only suitable candidate for the chief supervisor role was Do-Jun. That way, even the S-rank Hunters would accept it without hesitation.

The question was whether Do-Jun would agree.

He briefly considered asking it as a favor, using the fact that he’d added Ye-Ji to the exam as leverage. However, he decided against it, as being that presumptuous could leave a bad impression.

A polite request would be the wiser approach.

***

Tonight’s dinner was braised spicy chicken—juicy chicken coated in a rich gochujang sauce[ref]Gochujang is Korean chili paste.[\ref].

Recently, there had been a steady stream of meat dishes on the table.

Yong-Yong wagged his tail energetically, staring longingly at the braised chicken in his bowl, waiting for Do-Jun to take the first bite.

“Master, please, take a bite already,” he said impatiently.

“You could’ve started without me.”

As soon as Do-Jun took a bite of his rice, Yong-Yong eagerly dug into the chicken. Yoon-Hee gently patted his head, pleased at his table manners.

At that moment, Do-Jun’s smartphone vibrated with a new message.

Chief Jung Young-Chul: Supervisor Lee, I thought you might be having dinner, so I decided to send a text. Regarding this year’s Hunter promotion exam...

Yoon-Hee noticed him staring at the message and asked curiously, “What is it?”

Do-Jun slipped his phone back into his pocket and replied, “A spam message.”