becoming a dungeon explorer (2)

"So dad are we gonna talk about the dungeon?" I asked curiously. At the time dad mostly forced us to train making my brother and I detached from technology. So I had no clue what this dungeon he was talking about nor what dungeon even meant.

Dad laughed and started to explain.

"In the dungeon, there are lots of precious things. Mana Stones, magical weapons… heck, even orc skin would be treated as new material never-before-seen on Earth!"

"are there strong people like you dad?"

"yeah!"

"So how do you get to the dungeon?"

Dad grinned and pulled out his phone.

"through this."

"this?" I pointed at his phone.

"yep, through your dad's phone"

"really?"

though most of my time has been spent training and sparring with my dad, still I couldn't help but doubt state of his head at the time.

"Can we go right now then?"

"Not yet kid, your still not strong enough"

"Can I see a mana stone then?"

"uhh... that's...." at my inquiry, My father's brain seemed to come to crashing halt. Something was obviously wrong here.

"I'll show you that later! because you can bring one back yourself once your strong enough!"

"yeah! I don't need to help to get manastone!"

Like I said My twelve year old self had zero knowledge of modern society. In this day and age where everyone was carrying smartphones, I instead received a "vacation" to one of the most dangerous places in the world as my school entrance gift. My brother shin on the other hand was given a wooden spear.

If I had even a tincy wincy bit of knowledge about modern society norms then I would've legitimately thought that my dad was going crazy.

when my brother shin turned ten I overheard the following conversation from dad with shin while I

was training. It seems he also received the same talk from dad.

"In the dungeon, there are lots of precious things. Mana Stones, magical weapons… heck, even orc skin would be treated as new material never-before-seen on Earth!"

"Wow! So how do you go to the dungeon?"

"Through Dad's cell phone."

"Can I go too?"

"Not yet, kiddo. You're not strong enough."

"Dad, what's a Mana Stone? Can I see it?"

"T-That's…" At his inquiry, my father's smooth talk came to a crashing halt. Like what happened when he was with me, I should have noticed then that something was wrong.

"I-I'll show you that later. No, there's no reason to. You can enter the dungeon and bring one back yourself!"

"Okay! I'll go to the dungeon! I want to see it for myself!"

That's when I got a weird feeling that dad was doing something funny. I have no idea how to explain this but that's how I felt when I Overheard them talk. Later Shin was starting to brag to his friends his friends about entering a dungeon and his friends started to show him novels and games with dungeons in them trying to convince him they didn't exist but shin didn't understand what they meant. Ironically I also didn't understand what they meant.

years of training our muscles unfortunately turned shin and my brains into muscles too.

Regardless of how off this whole dungeon thing seemed, My grand ambition of becoming a dungeon explorer and becoming even stronger than my dad had never faded from my mind. Eventually I trained even harder and harder and eventually at 15 years old I had essentially achieved the same physical prowess as my dad who already half-transcended human limits.

My martial arts had reached the same levels of dad's spearmanship.

The be honest the most scary thing for me at the time were hot weapons like guns or rifles. I could dodge 90% of bullets fired at me. though the 10% of bullet's that hit me would only be able to tear through my skin and then bounce off.

How I know this was because... well let's not talk about it. I could also punch holes in in steel.

I also realized I gone beyond the realm of 'human' , instead I looked more like the hulk then anything else.

The next thing I know, I have no one to call friends though I didn't really care I still felt a little down.

Even my brother and sister seemed to avoid me.

Finally on my 15th birthday I took off my clothes only to reveal truly what a living freak I was.

I stood at 2.5 meters tall in my third year of middle school. My body as a freak of nature with bulging muscles with defense that rivals steel. Every part of my body could be called a deadly weapon.

Instead of being disgusted by my massive body of muscle, I felt proud of the training I did to get to this point. I was even larger than my dad was.

Standing at 2.5 meters made it really difficult for me to even move around the house basically i had to crouch most of the time to get anywhere or I'd bust a hole in the ceiling.

"He's like the living manifestation of the epitome of physical power"

"It's almost like an orc. His handsome face takes after me, but His body…His body..."

Said Dad while observing me.

"Dear husband, you must mean his face takes after me. His body is just like yours."

My mother treated only my head and shins as her sons. Even though she was my true mother, I sometimes doubted the authenticity of that from how sharp her tongue is.

"Dad, why're you so small?"

"Because I started training at sixteen..."

Realizing I started training earlier then him I instinctively put on a smug face

"So dad isn't weaker then me for no reason then? huh"

Dad ticked off by my taunting immediately challenged me to a match and so, I beat him up for the billionth time.

"So you didn't manage to obtain qi…"

"Dad, Is there really a thing called qi?"

"there is… You'll find out soon, son, so... please spare my back!"

On the same night that I carried out the usually whooping, I received a message on the smartphone my mother bought me when I first won against Dad. When I saw it, my eyes shot open.

– Unlock by entering your password.

"ku... I can't remember the password!"

Because all I've ever done up until that point was training and sparring I don't even remember my own password.

The next day, I asked mom to tell me the password, Lost for words she told me. But the next day I forgot it again so she got rid of the lock entirely. I don't understand why she didn't tell me again. I just nodded my head as I accepted the phone. When I looked down, this was the message I received.

[You have been acknowledged by the self-proclaimed Strongest on Earth 'Kang YungOong,' and have acquired the Dungeon Explorer's License. As of this moment, you have become one of the five dungeon explorers on Earth. Would you like to enter the dungeon now?]

Dungeon explorer? Dad wasn't lying? My eyes became wide in surprise as I realized the dream I had since I was twelve years old was coming true. Watching my surprised face, mother walked toward me, looked at the phone screen, and crossed her arms.

"This old man dares to mess with his son with KaTalk? Today, he gonna need some discipline."

"KaTalk? what's that mom?"

"It's the messenger you're looking at now."

"What's a messenger?

"..."

"mom?"

seeing she just stayed silent, I just went to my younger sister to ask. She had just graduated elementary school and was in her first year of middle school. Being lot smarter than me I figured she knew what this messanger thing was all about. When I knocked on her door, she ran towards it happily and opened it. After seeing my appearance, she let out a shriek and shrunk in fear. When I explained my situation, she kindly explained it to me with a shy smile. I looked monstrous on the outside, but as a sister she still cared for me

After about five hours of explanation, I became a bit more used to modern technology.

"Yua, how do I reply to this?"

"Ah, mm, oppa, like this…".

her helping me helped realize how smart and adorable my sister was.

After learning how to reply to the KaTalk I received, I told her I would pay her back with a Mana Stone from the dungeon. Then, I went back to my room and then I replied with 'Yes' into my phone.

The next moment, I was inside the dungeon. An endless grey hallway, walls made out of stones and torches hanging on them. It was exactly like what father had described. Perhaps he wasn't lying after all?

There was more. The moment I realized where I was, I heard someone's speak in my ears.

[Kang Min, Bronze Rank 9 Dungeon Explorer, has entered the dungeon.]

[This is your first time. Beginner Dungeon Explorer Support has sent you 5 Lowest-grade Potions.] [Analyzing your abilities… complete. Beginner Dungeon Explorer Support has sent you a Sharp Wooden Spear.]

[Confirming rank… complete. You are 5th of the 5 Dungeon Explorers from Earth. You are 146,298th of the 146,298 total dungeon explorers. Rankings will be renewed at 6 A.M. tomorrow morning.]

[You have obtained a Status. Would you like to confirm? Yes/No]

The moment where I became a true dungeon explorer.

A dungeon explorer named "giant"