My Dad is Too Strong-Chapter 302

Chapter 302
The streets of the Treasure Goblin Company were lined with countless stalls. Treasure Goblins stood at each one, selling various artifacts. One goblin, Bibik, narrowed his eyes as he watched a young man loitering by his stall, unable to take his eyes off a bow on display.
Teig’s Bow
300 Orange Mastery Stones
He had been standing there, staring at the bow for thirty minutes already. From the looks of it, there was no way he could afford it.
Bibik sighed and snarked, “Are you buying or not?”
“I want to, but I don’t have the mastery stones...” the young man answered, dejected.
“Then get lost.
Kerk
.”
The young man, Soshiro, bit his lip in frustration. Teig’s Bow had incredibly tempting stats, but the problem was that he only had two orange mastery stones to his name.
Adventurers who reached the second floor earned the right to use the company’s services, and the artifacts sold there were nothing short of impressive. Having just reached the second floor of the Core, Soshiro, like most adventurers, had decided to visit the Treasure Goblin Company.
That’s a seriously overpowered bow
, Soshiro thought in admiration
. And it’s not just this bow.
Even the most common artifacts at the company, which practically littered the ground, had mindblowing stats. On Earth, one would need to shop in the luxury section to find stats as good as theirs. The only issue was money, or mastery stones, in this case. To make matters worse, the monsters on the second floor were strong enough that gathering mastery stones was no easy task.
“You’re a newbie, aren’t you? I can tell at a glance,” Bibik said.
Any adventurer who just arrived on the second floor was basically a newbie. And newbies always had that same starry-eyed look when they saw the company’s most basic artifacts.
Soshiro didn’t bother denying it and simply nodded.
“Newbies usually start by doing part-time jobs to get their gear.
Kerk
. I’ll be honest, you look really weak. You won’t be able to kill any monsters on the second floor. But if you earn money from part-time work and buy artifacts, you’ll have a much easier time hunting.”
***
The part-time job involved simple tasks, like basic cleaning, delivering items, or watching over a stall for someone.
After five days of work, Soshiro managed to gather a decent amount of mastery stones—eight so far! At this pace, he thought he could buy an artifact in about two months, and the thought made the corners of his lips twitch upward.
Several adventurers sat on benches in the square, chatting in small groups. They were all part-timers, each working to gather mastery stones. Some were collecting yellow stones, others green. Of course, the difficulty of the part-time jobs varied greatly depending on the color of the stones.
While Soshiro was doing simple tasks like cleaning and running errands, other adventurers had to endure physically demanding jobs.
“You’ve gathered quite a few, huh?” one adventurer remarked.
“Yes, I already have eight,” Soshiro replied.
“Wow, that’s pretty good for five days. Well, I guess orange stones are practically being handed out these days.”
“Sergey, you said you’re on the third floor, right?” asked another adventurer.
“Yeah. The third floor’s really tough. I gave up and came back to do part-time work again. I’ll probably do the same once I reach the fourth floor. Hunting is always hard at the start of a new floor unless you’ve decked yourself out with top-tier artifacts from the previous floor,” Sergey answered.
The other adventurers nodded in agreement. In the Core, the difficulty spiked drastically with each floor. The difference in monster strength was like night and day. Although a few floors had no monsters, they were the exception rather than the rule.
“Whew.” Soshiro let out a sigh.
If only I could get a good artifact and show off some cool hunting scenes...
He had imagined a glamorous life after entering the Core, one where he lived up to the expectations of fans from his home country, Japan, and also around the world. But the reality was harsh. Here he was, struggling to get by, working a part-time job in the Core. This wasn’t something he could show on his broadcast, so he hadn’t turned on his DTS broadcasting equipment in days.
Soshiro took a piece of parchment from his pocket. It was a gift from Do-Jun, the man known as the “King of Earth” in the Core. He had told Soshiro that it was an artifact that would let him return to Earth and that he should come back for a breather whenever life in the Core became too difficult.
***
Returning to Earth, Soshiro’s shoulders instantly felt a thousand times lighter. He strolled through the courtyard of Changshin Villa, where Do-Jun lived. It seemed Do-Jun was at work, as there was no response when he rang the doorbell.
Should I ask to borrow some artifacts?
The thought crossed his mind, but he immediately shook his head.
That would be utterly shameless.
Do-Jun had already dragged him through the tutorial by the scruff of his neck. How could he ask for more after that?
I’ll just take a walk to clear my head and then head back
. He decided.
Then, his stomach growled.
He remembered that he hadn’t eaten properly in days. At the Treasure Goblin Company, he’d been trying to save every mastery stone he could, surviving on nothing but a few pieces of stale rye bread.
However, he had no cash or credit cards with him now.
That’s when he caught a whiff of something delicious in the air. Looking around, he saw a food stall about twenty meters away. Although he had no money, his feet seemed to move on their own, carrying him toward the stall. Inside, a young man with a middle-part hairstyle sat reading a comic book.
Kiriel glanced at Soshiro, scratched his head, and stood up.
“What do you want?” he asked.
“Uh... well... I don’t have any money.”
Kiriel closed his eyes and let out a long sigh. He occasionally had people like this show up, and more often than not, he would end up giving them free food. It seemed word had gotten around the neighborhood.
“So what? Are you asking for free food?” he asked, annoyed.
“Ah, no! That’s not what I meant! I’m really sorry. I came in without thinking because I was so hungry, but I wasn’t asking for free food. If I’ve offended you, I sincerely apologize.”
Kiriel opened his eyes halfway, studying Soshiro’s face.
Acting all pitiful... It’s definitely an act.
He’d seen it too many times before, people pretending to be down on their luck just to get a free meal.
Kiriel vowed he would be firm from now on. He said, “If you thought I’d give you free food, you’re dead wrong. Got it? I’m a man who strictly separates business and charity. If you want to eat, you’ve gotta pay for it. That’s common cents.”
Soshiro blinked.
Does he mean... common sense...?
However, he chose not to point out the error.
His stomach growled again, betraying him.
“Sorry for the trouble...” He bowed his head slightly in apology and turned to leave the stall.
Kiriel called out just before Soshiro stepped outside. “However... If you’re willing to work, I might just give you a meal.”
***
The food was excellent. Contrary to the impression, Kiriel’s cooking skills were top-notch.
In no time, Soshiro devoured a plate of tteokbokki, soondae, and a three-piece assortment of fried snacks[1]. It was his first proper meal in a long time, and he was genuinely grateful.
“Thank you for the meal, boss,” he said sincerely.
Kiriel nodded, pointing at the empty plate with a finger. “Wash the dishes.”
“Understood.”
“And wipe the table, too. Got it?”
“Yes, boss.”
“Think it’s too much work, human?”
“Not at all, boss.”
Society was a cold, harsh place. Kiriel was determined to show this human the bitter side of life. Even if Soshiro complained, there would be no leniency.
“I’ll make sure you pay every cent of that 6,000-won tteokbokki combo. But if you work beyond that value, I’ll pay you accordingly, of course. Any complaints?” Kiriel asked.
“None whatsoever.”
Satisfied, Kiriel nodded and returned to his comic book.
***
Soshiro's work in exchange for the meal wasn’t hard at all. Cleaning tables after customers, sweeping the floor now and then, and washing dishes when they piled up—that was about it. Truly, an easy job.
About an hour into his shift, Kiriel spoke up. “That’s enough.”
“Oh... It’s over already?”
“Yeah. So, how does it feel to experience the coldness, the harshness of this society?”
Soshiro looked at Kiriel, wondering whether he had heard him right.
“Hoho! Judging by that dumb expression, I see you’ve learned the cruelty of the real world,” Kiriel remarked happily.
When Soshiro didn’t respond, Kiriel rubbed his nose awkwardly and asked, “You’re from the Core, aren’t you?”
“Huh? How...? How did you know?” Soshiro asked, surprised.
“I saw the Status Window Snake on your wrist. What floor are you from?”
“Uh... The second floor.”
“
Tch
, a newbie, huh?”
Anyway, since Soshiro had worked for a full hour, Kiriel decided to pay him more than 6,000 won. After all, the minimum wage was 8,000 won. With a focused expression, Kiriel suddenly started rolling a kimbap. Once finished, he wrapped it in foil and, with a
pop
, disappeared into thin air.
“Huh...?” Startled, Soshiro stumbled backward, rubbing his eyes in disbelief as he stared at the spot where Kiriel had stood.
Kiriel reappeared with another
pop
. The kimbap was gone, but now he held a mysterious pouch, which he handed to Soshiro.
“Take this.”
“What is this...?”
“Your pay.”
Cautiously, Soshiro peeked inside. His eyes widened in shock. Inside the pouch were dozens of shimmering purple mastery stones!
***
Back at Treasure Goblin Company, Soshiro used his newfound wealth to buy all the artifacts he’d been eyeing for so long. He snagged Teig’s Bow, along with various one-time-use combat support artifacts, grabbing anything that caught his eye. He even bought artifacts for his fellow adventurers, who worked part-time at Treasure Goblin Company, as gifts.
***
Hakase arrived at the food stall just before 1 PM, having completed his errands. Since lunchtime was always the busiest time of day, he braced himself to find the stall in complete chaos. He imagined Kiriel sulking with a pout, frustrated from handling the crowd alone. He quickened his pace as he approached the stall.
“Sorry, I got held up longer than I expected... Huh?”
The stall was spotless. In fact, it was even cleaner than when the two of them ran the place together. Baffled, Hakase looked at Kiriel, who was casually laughing at his comic book as if nothing had happened.
“You’re back, lizard,” Kiriel said in greeting.
No complaints came from Kiriel.
Hakase blinked. He asked, “Weren’t there any customers?”
“No, plenty of them.”
“Then why is the place so clean?”
“I hired a part-timer.”
“A part-timer...?”
“Yeah. Just for an hour during lunch,” Kiriel replied.
“How’d you find one?”
Kiriel shrugged and explained how a hungry guy had wandered into the stall, so he fed him in exchange for an hour of work.
“He thought he could freeload off me, so I showed him the harsh reality of society.”
Hakase stroked his chin thoughtfully. “But you still paid him?”
“Of course. The tteokbokki combo he had was six thousand won.”
“So, you matched the minimum wage, huh? Surprisingly thorough of you,” Hakase praised him.
Kiriel simply nodded and returned his gaze to his comic book.
1. Soondae is blood sausage filled with noodles (and a personal favorite of the translator :) ☜