Mr. Kim looked nervously at the Esper and slowly edged himself in front of Nabin. Nabin still hadn’t come to his senses. He was grateful that the Esper had saved their lives, sure—but what if he showed any interest in Nabin? That thought worried Kim.
But contrary to Kim’s concern, the S-rank Esper, Lee Hayan, wasn’t thinking about anything of the sort. With a detached expression, he simply surveyed the Miners he’d just saved.
Today’s trip to the abandoned dungeon was to commemorate his dispatch to HK Corp and to sync up with other Espers during training. In truth, there was no real need for Hayan to participate in the training. The Director of the K Ability User Center had assigned him to the company purely for show, and Hayan was just there to complete the picture.
The moment he stepped through the dungeon entrance, his expression subtly soured from the dungeon’s distinct, gloomy atmosphere. Every time he entered one, the suffocating, musty air made his skin crawl.
He ordered the Espers following behind him to warm up as he scanned the interior of the dungeon. There, he saw a cluster of Miners who should’ve left before the Espers even arrived. They all looked pale and uneasy, like something was wrong.
“Why haven’t Mr. Kim and Nabin come back yet?”
“Seriously. We even told them to wrap up early today since we were leaving an hour ahead of schedule.”
Worry was thick in the voices of the Miners murmuring among themselves.
“They went deeper in, didn’t they?”
“Yeah, I saw them head that way earlier. Something must’ve happened… Should we go in after them?”
The more Hayan listened, the clearer it became—two of the Miners had ventured deep into the dungeon. Though it was an abandoned dungeon with a low chance of monster appearances, something about it didn’t sit right with him.
In the end, Hayan strode toward the huddled Miners. They were whispering with their heads close together, but all conversation ceased the moment they noticed him approaching.
A towering figure with an unmistakably high Esper rank had walked up to them, and the tension in the air spiked. His cold, glacial looks didn’t help either—his appearance alone seemed to lower the room’s temperature.
Hayan stood well over 190 centimeters tall, his physique lean and powerful, fitting for an Esper. Even in the dungeon’s gloom, his stark white hair and pitch-black eyes stood out, exuding an intimidating aura that made others instinctively shrink back.
He wasn’t just another Esper—they could feel it. No ordinary person could meet the eyes of an S-rank Esper without flinching. As soon as the Miners met Hayan’s gaze, their faces went pale and their eyes dropped to the ground.
They were certain they’d done something to offend him. They should’ve left before the Espers entered, but Kim and Nabin hadn’t returned, so they’d hesitated at the entrance—and that delay might’ve annoyed the Esper.
Memories of past encounters with Espers and the horror stories they’d heard from others flashed through their minds. Some Espers didn’t even treat regular people as human.
Compared to those who simply ignored non-Ability Users, there were worse ones—Espers who tormented them as if they were monsters themselves.
What’s more, the Espers who were standing farther away were now watching Hayan closely, observing his every move. As if he were the strongest among them—or perhaps their leader.
There was no way the Center would’ve sent someone with a low rank to HK Corp. Just from the way this Esper moved, the Miners could tell he was at least A-rank. Their blinks grew faster, nervously processing the situation.
“Were there Miners who went deeper into the dungeon?”
“…Sorry, what?”
But the Esper’s question was nothing like the confrontation they’d imagined. Instead of glowering and barking at them, he asked calmly, his voice even and composed.
Caught off guard by the unexpected civility, the Miners stammered, unable to answer right away. Hayan didn’t press them, even though he easily could’ve. Instead, he waited patiently until they relaxed, making a visible effort to suppress the overwhelming pressure that naturally radiated from him inside the dungeon.
As Hayan reined in his presence, the Miners slowly regained some color. One of them, who was closest with Kim, cautiously began to speak, voice hesitant as he mentioned Kim and Nabin. He explained that they’d just been wondering if they should go in and look for them themselves.
“Th-the thing is… Mr. Kim and this kid Nabin went deeper inside, saying they found some high-quality Mana Stones, but they haven’t come back yet…”
Even though Hayan looked much younger than the man speaking, there was no hesitation in addressing him with deference. Ever since monsters had appeared in the world, social order had shifted around Espers—the only ones capable of dealing with the threat.
Even C-rank Espers strutted around like big shots, and this man standing before him clearly looked like A-rank or higher.
After finishing, the Miner glanced at Hayan nervously, clearly hoping he might go help Kim and Nabin. If monsters really had shown up, and the other Miners went in after them, they could all end up dead.
Hayan listened in silence, then abruptly turned his head toward the back of the dungeon. Something unnatural—something that had no business being in an abandoned dungeon—had brushed against his sensory field.
Monsters. And not just any monsters—at least B-rank or higher. And more than one.
A faint frost settled over Hayan’s expression. The Miners, who had just started to relax thanks to his earlier kindness, immediately stiffened again, shoulders tensing in fear. One of them even let out a hiccup and clamped a hand over his reddened face.
Without another word, Hayan darted toward the source of the monstrous energy. He moved so fast he left only a blurred afterimage behind.
Just as he’d expected, not far from the entrance, he spotted a pack of A-rank Wolf-type monsters. And they weren’t alone—two people were surrounded by the Wolves.
The two Miners who hadn’t returned: Mr. Kim and Nabin.
A middle-aged man, trembling all over, swung his weapon and struck a Wolf square on the head. In the next moment, Hayan activated his ability, flinging the Wolves that had been lunging at the man and the young Miner away in a single sweep.
The creature’s claw still managed to graze the man’s arm by a hair’s breadth. It wasn’t a life-threatening injury, thankfully—but if Hayan had arrived just a second sooner, he might have prevented even that wound. A faint sense of regret flickered within him.
Hayan’s ability was telekinesis. While it allowed him to manipulate physical objects, he could also compress air itself into a weapon. The A-rank monsters were no match for him—his attacks shredded through their bodies like paper.
But Hayan no longer had any interest in the monsters. He asked the middle-aged man if he was all right, though his gaze had already shifted—drawn irresistibly to the boy the man had instinctively moved to protect. Curled up tightly, the boy trembled violently, and Hayan couldn’t look away.
Kim, perhaps sensing Hayan’s lingering stare, groaned and clutched his injured arm.
“Ahh… It hurts like hell…”
Hayan’s gaze, fixed on Nabin until now, turned to Kim. Reaching into his spatial-expansion artifact, he pulled out a low-grade potion and some bandages. He dropped to one knee in front of Kim and expertly poured the potion over the wound.
“Ghhk…!”
Red foam bubbled up with a hiss. Kim squeezed his eyes shut, tears slipping from the deep lines at the corners as the potion sent waves of pain more intense than having his flesh torn open. The potion’s efficacy was in a league of its own compared to regular medicine—but that didn’t mean it was painless.
As the new flesh and blood began knitting together over the raw wound, the pain was sharp enough to make Kim grind his teeth so hard it felt like they might shatter.
“Bear with it a little longer.”
Once the bubbling slowed noticeably, Hayan gently wrapped the arm in crisp white bandages. The even pressure soothed the wound somewhat, easing the worst of the pain.
Kim glanced at Hayan as he adjusted the bandage. Even sitting, Hayan’s sheer height made their eye levels feel worlds apart.
“Th-thank you…”
He’d been wary just moments ago, concerned that the Esper might be interested in Nabin, but now—whatever his suspicions—he couldn’t help feeling grateful. Even a low-grade potion like this was far beyond what someone like Kim could afford.
He owed the man his life—and now, even his injuries had been treated. Without Hayan’s help, Kim might’ve been unable to work for weeks.
Despite his icy appearance, Hayan had a temperament that was rarely found among Espers. Kim had been doing mining work for years and had encountered countless Espers in that time—many only in passing, but enough to get a sense of their nature.
He could swear, not a single one had ever shown kindness to a lowly Miner the way this one had. If this was the kind of person he was, then maybe that gaze he’d directed at Nabin hadn’t come from a bad place after all.
“Nabin, are you okay? Come on, snap out of it… The kid’s completely gone…”
Relieved now that he understood Hayan’s character, Kim hurried to check on Nabin. The boy’s wide eyes were dull and unfocused, drifting blankly through the air.
His frail body trembled so violently that it shook even while sitting still. Kim grabbed his shoulders and shook him gently, then waved a hand in front of his eyes—but it was like Nabin wasn’t even there.
Already pale to begin with, his skin was now ghostly white, and silent tears rolled down his cheeks. The sight tugged at Kim’s heart until his own eyes welled up in sympathy.
“Is this boy’s name Nabin?”
Hayan, who had been quietly observing from beside Kim, asked without taking his eyes off the boy. Kim wiped at his eyes and nodded.
“Yes, Kim Nabin… He’s still just a kid…”
From what Hayan could tell, Nabin was exhibiting classic symptoms of PTSD—post-traumatic stress disorder. There was no doubt he’d gone through something deeply traumatic in the past. Perhaps it had been a moment where his life had been on the line, or maybe, like Hayan himself, he had lost someone precious to monsters.
