The morning started with a breakfast of crispy toast and a warm cup of coffee.
At Do-Jun’s feet sat a backpack packed to the brim with all sorts of things—clothes, toiletries, snacks, water, hand cream, and so on.
Of course, it wasn’t Do-Jun who had packed all of this.
“I don’t think I’ll need this much stuff,” Do-Jun said, looking at the rather large bag.
“I know you said you will be staying at a hotel, but you never know if you will need these, so it’s better to take them. Oh, I forgot to pack the vitamins. Wait a moment,” Yoon-Hee said as she walked to the kitchen drawer.
She pulled out a small white pill bottle and squeezed it into the already overstuffed backpack.
Do-Jun stared blankly at the backpack, now bulging as if it would burst. Should I just tell her the truth?
The truth was that he was going to the Core.
But he didn’t dwell on the thought for long. He could already imagine her reaction if he said he was headed to the Core.
“You won’t ghost me like last time, right?” Yoon-Hee asked with a slight smile.
“Cough, cough.” Do-Jun choked, caught mid-sip of his coffee.
“Are you okay?” Startled, Yoon-Hee handed him a handkerchief, with which Do-Jun wiped his lips.
“I...” Do-Jun started but realized that Yoon-Hee was looking straight into his eyes.
Under that intense gaze, he averted his eyes, looking elsewhere.
Yoon-Hee then nodded with a smile.
Probably...? Do-Jun thought to himself.
“See you guys. I’ll be back in a couple of days.”
Do-Jun pulled on his hoodie and slipped into his sneakers.
Yoon-Hee nodded and spoke to Yong-Yong and Karsiel, who were at her feet. “Hey, you two should say goodbye to Dad before he leaves.”
“Excuse me...?” Yong-Yong looked up at Yoon-Hee, confused.
Do-Jun might have been a Father to her, but to him, he was his Master. Realizing her slip up, Yoon-Hee’s face reddened, and she gave an embarrassed smile.
“Master, please be safe on your journey. Even though I will miss you terribly for the next two days... I, Yong-Yong... no, Izaas, will wait for you steadfastly!”
With tears brimming in his eyes, Yong-Yong knelt and bowed.
Seeing this, Do-Jun chuckled and left the house.
As soon as the door closed behind him, Yong-Yong smirked as if nothing had happened. “Now I get Master’s portion of the food as well. Heh. You wouldn’t understand this joy since you’re just a kibble muncher. Karsi... el?”
But Karsiel, who had been by his side just moments ago, was nowhere to be seen.
As Do-Jun stepped out of the building, he suddenly heard someone running up from behind. He turned around to see who it was and saw a small girl, not even 140 cm tall, running towards him.
Startled by their eye contact, the girl stopped in her tracks and spoke. “M-master. I will accompany you.”
Despite the still chilly spring weather, the girl was wearing only a thin white dress. Her long, light-brown hair flowed just past her waist.
Suspicious, Do-Jun used his qi sense to check the girl.
“Are you... Karsiel?” he asked her.
The girl nodded shyly.
“You can change into a human form?”
“Then why haven’t you done it before?”
“I felt a bit shy about it, and that other form was just more comfortable...” Karsiel explained.
Suddenly, a wave of guilt washed over Do-Jun as he recalled feeding Karsiel dog food up until now. But then again, he had offered alternatives several times, and Karsiel always chose the dog food.
So maybe Do-Jun didn’t do anything wrong.
“That’s fair, but why are you suddenly coming along?”
“The Core is dangerous.”
“Please don’t just say ‘and.’ I’m telling you that it’s really dangerous!”
Do-Jun stroked his chin thoughtfully. Karsiel had claimed not to remember anything about the Core. So, how did she know it was dangerous?
He voiced his thoughts. “How do you know the Core is dangerous? You said you don’t remember anything about it.”
“It’s a gut feeling. While I don’t have any memory of the Core, my instincts are warning me that it’s dangerous.”
Karsiel’s eyes weren’t lying. Seeing her biting her lower lip and looking up at him, Do-Jun chuckled and patted her head.
“I appreciate the concern, but you don’t need to come along,” he assured Karsiel, but her determination was clear.
“If something bad happens to you, everyone will be sad. I’ll follow and protect you, Master.”
In some ways, it was only natural for Karsiel to react this way. After all, Do-Jun had never shown her his powers.
After some internal debate on what to do with Karsiel, Do-Jun chose to bring her along. “Alright, then. Let’s go.”
Karsiel beamed with a bright smile. “Yes!”
She nodded enthusiastically.
Do-Jun then texted Yoon-Hee, letting her know he was taking Karsiel along.
At Saemgol Rest Stop near Sodaesan Mountain in Gangwon-do.
Do-Jun handed the taxi driver 350,000 won in cash and stepped out of the car.
The original fare was 380,000 won, but the driver was grateful for such a big trip and gave him a discount. However, Karsiel was stunned by the large sum and couldn’t pick her jaw off the ground.
“If I had flown, it would have taken less than ten minutes, let alone three hundred and fifty thousand...”
Considering that a bag of the kibble she ate cost about 50,000 won, that was enough money to buy seven bags.
Do-Jun placed his hand on Karsiel’s head and said, “If you flew, it would attract too much attention. Don’t worry. I can always earn more money.”
Do-Jun noticed a family walking past him. A little boy, holding his parents’ hands, was walking into the rest stop as he asked, “Dad, I want some ramen!”
Watching the scene, Do-Jun turned to Karsiel and said, “Should we grab some food before we go, too?”
Steam gently rose from the pot where chewy noodles floated in the red broth. Finely chopped green onions and halved boiled eggs were neatly arranged on the top.
“W-what is this...?” Karsiel muttered as she watched Do-Jun slurp the ramen.
Do-Jun took a sip of the broth, put the bowl down, and nodded as he continued, “It’s delicious. Yoon-Hee doesn’t let me have this at home because she says it’s bad for our health, so I gotta take advantage of the chance. You’re lucky—you’re getting to try something even Yong-Yong hasn’t.”
Hearing this, Karsiel glanced at the bowl in front of her and swallowed nervously. Most of the human food she had tried didn’t suit her taste. Why would ramen be any different?
Karsiel picked up the chopsticks. Having never used them before, she couldn’t grasp the noodles properly and eventually dropped the chopsticks onto the floor.
Seeing that, Do-Jun walked over and sat beside Karsiel without a word, and using his own chopsticks, he picked up a portion of noodles, placed it on a spoon, and held it out toward Karsiel’s mouth. “Say ‘ah.’”
Karsiel squeezed her eyes shut, opened her mouth, and took the noodles into her mouth from the spoon.
A moment later, her eyes widened.
“I-it’s delicious...?” she said, caught off-guard by her own reaction.
“You can’t call yourself Korean and not like rame—” Do-Jun said.
“Nothing, never mind.”
After walking along the mountain ridge, they reached a semi-transparent barrier rising high into the sky designed explicitly for the Core. This barrier was directly managed by the Hunter’s Bureau.
Though it hadn’t happened yet, it was installed to prevent any disasters from occurring in case monsters ever broke free from the Core.
“When we go inside the Core, stay close to me,” Do-Jun murmured as they climbed the slope.
It’s pretty obvious that he’s different from other ordinary people, Karsiel thought as she followed behind Do-Jun.
If the Dragon Lord Izaas was subservient to him, he was at least stronger than Izaas.
Or maybe Izaas was just pretending for fun?
No, that couldn’t be. This was Izaas, after all—the one known as the Tyrant.
Honestly, when Karsiel first arrived at Do-Jun’s apartment, she was shocked to see the Dragon Lord so obedient and docile.
[Lee Do-Jun, Fissure Management Division, confirmed.]
[Warning! This is the Core.]
[Rank: Not assessable. For more information, please contact the Hunter’s Bureau.]
[Warning! The difficulty of this Fissure far exceeds the Hunter rank. If you would still like to proceed, please scan your card again.]
Do-Jun scanned his ID again, and the barrier opened just wide enough to let a single person pass through.
As Do-Jun and Karsiel crossed the barrier, it immediately restored itself to its original state.
Walking ahead, Do-Jun unzipped his backpack and pulled out his SpacePad.
In the distance, about three hundred meters ahead, a massive, bottomless hole, approximately ten kilometers wide, came into view.
Do-Jun took a photo of the Core’s entrance and opened the Fissure Management System app.
[Welcome to the Fissure Management System, Mr. Lee Do-Jun.]
[Fissure in Gwangwon-ri - 001, Naemyeon, Hongcheon-gun, Gangwon-do, has been registered.]
[Please select the grade of the Fissure. Or if you enter the grade of the appearing monster, the grade of the Fissure will be automatically assigned. Also, if the Fissure is deemed a higher grade than what is assessed by the system, please select the Exception option.]
Do-Jun selected the highest rank possible: S.
As Karsiel curiously observed the SpacePad, Do-Jun handed her an entry token for the Tutorial Zone.
“We’re going deeper than the five-hundred-meter mark today, so hold on to this.”
“What is this? An entry token for the Tutorial Zone?”
Behemoth Guild had already done twenty-one dives to investigate the area between the surface down to the five-hundred-meter mark, so Do-Jun planned to descend quickly.
Do-Jun and Karsiel soon arrived at the very edge of the Core. As they looked down, they felt a bone-chilling energy.
A strong wind blew up from below.
Although the path down wasn’t paved, it wasn’t a steep ninety-degree drop, either, so as long as they watched their steps, it seemed they could descend safely.
“Let’s go.” Do-Jun began to descend with Karsiel following closely.
Right then, Karsiel spotted three massive monsters moving through the thick foliage about fifty meters below.
Do-Jun recalled the Core Report he had gotten from Young-Chul.
The monsters were Titans, one of the S-rank monsters of the Core. No wonder the Hunter’s Bureau was so wary.
S-rank monsters were roaming around as if they owned the place right from the entrance.
“Master, I’ll handle this.” As Karsiel muttered in Dragon Tongue, crimson flames began to rise from her hand.
Just then, Do-Jun reached out to grab Karsiel’s hand.
Startled, she tried to pull her hand away. “Your hand will melt if you touch...!”
But Do-Jun was faster than her.
What happened next was out of Karsiel’s expectations.
The fierce flames died down. Karsiel’s pupils shook as she realized her mana had dissipated. Moreover, Do-Jun’s hand was completely unharmed.
“What the...?” Karsiel exclaimed in surprise.
“I’ll take care of the monsters. Help only if needed,” Do-Jun said.
Then, his sleeve fluttered. A formless blade of sword energy flickered in his hand, and with a flash of light, it shot toward the group of Titans.
The Titans were shattered into pieces.
“W-what was that...?” Karsiel stared at the remains of the Titans in disbelief. They now lay utterly destroyed.
She had never sensed such a level of energy before. If she had been hit by that attack, she would have died without even being able to react.
“Let’s keep moving.” Do-Jun smiled and resumed the descent.
Karsiel could only stare blankly at his back.