Clang! Clank!
Inside the dungeon, darkness was pervasive. Coupled with dense fog, visibility for ordinary people was severely limited. Ability Users might see clearly even in pitch-black conditions, but for an average person like Nabin, it felt like an entirely different world.
Thus, for miners such as Nabin, headlamps were essential gear. Unfortunately, due to his small head, even after adjusting the strap to its tightest setting, the lamp repeatedly slipped below his eyebrows. But removing it during work was impossible.
When miners clustered near the dungeon entrance, there was enough collective light that individual headlamps weren’t necessary. But right now, only Nabin and Mr. Kim were here, isolated in the gloom.
Moreover, today’s dungeon was exceptionally dark. At first, Nabin constantly checked his surroundings, uneasy about working so deep inside. Having spent his childhood wary of others, he’d developed particularly acute hearing. He kept his ears perked, alert for any potential threats.
But gradually, distracted by repeatedly adjusting his slipping headlamp and focusing intensely on mining Mana Stones to meet his quota, his vigilance began to fade.
Mr. Kim also felt pressured, concentrating solely on mining extra Mana Stones to cover Nabin’s shortfall.
Although they were working in an isolated section, the fact that they’d never encountered monsters despite exploring countless abandoned dungeons further eroded their caution.
Clang, clang, clang!
The rhythmic sound of their tools echoed steadily around them. Unnoticed, large shadows silently crept closer, closing in around Nabin and Mr. Kim.
Mr. Kim was the first to sense something was off. Deeply engrossed in mining, a chilling sensation ran down his spine, causing him to glance sharply over his shoulder.
“Gasp!”
Mr. Kim’s eyes widened in shock, revealing the whites of his eyes clearly. He’d felt uneasy earlier but never imagined facing this horrifying scene.
Floating eerily in the darkness, pairs of glowing yellow eyes appeared one after another like ghostly lanterns. Through the dense fog, the outlines of enormous creatures emerged—wolves easily twice the size of a grown man.
They were A-rank monster Wolves. Around five or six of them, glowing faintly with an eerie dark sheen, were approaching slowly, emitting low, threatening growls.
“N-Nabin… Hide behind me, quickly!”
Mr. Kim urgently shielded Nabin’s small, frozen body behind him. Nabin’s face had gone deathly pale. Even Mr. Kim himself felt dizzy from the overpowering stench and raw killing intent confronting them. For Nabin, the terror must have been unimaginable.
Mr. Kim had already lived a full life and harbored few regrets, but Nabin was still young—barely twenty. His brief existence had been nothing but misery at the hands of ruthless loan sharks. If Nabin were to die here, Mr. Kim knew he’d carry such bitterness into the afterlife that he’d never rest.
Even if he himself perished, Mr. Kim was determined that Nabin would survive. Despite feeling on the verge of fainting from the Wolves’ suffocating hostility, he gritted his teeth, steeling himself against the warmth trembling at his back.
The tough muscles earned from a lifetime of mining work flexed resolutely. He clenched the hammer and chisel until veins stood out prominently.
He knew well that ordinary tools couldn’t even scratch a monster’s hide, but he refused to passively offer his throat. Even cats feared mice that desperately bit back.
Just brushing against an A-rank monster’s enormous paw could prove fatal, but dying senselessly here wasn’t an option. His wrinkled eyes hardened with determination.
Yet, unlike Mr. Kim, who faced imminent death with stubborn defiance, Nabin was consumed entirely by terror.
The A-rank Wolf was precisely the monster that had robbed Nabin of his father. Even though it had happened long ago, the trauma from that day still haunted him in nightmares.
“Dad… D-Dad….”
Nabin desperately called for his father, his voice trembling, fragile, and wet with emotion, as if he might collapse at any moment. The focus in his soft brown eyes blurred like ink dissolving in water.
The moment Nabin’s gaze locked onto the Wolf’s glowing yellow eyes, he was instantly transported from the twenty-year-old young man he’d become back into the five-year-old child of his memories. The deep-seated nightmares he’d buried emerged vividly before his eyes.
Unlike his reserved mother, awkward at expressing affection, Nabin’s father had been openly gentle and loving. Every day he whispered words of affection, never hesitating to kiss Nabin’s flushed cheeks.
His father deeply loved not only Nabin but also his wife—Nabin’s mother and Esper partner. He was so eager to see her that when she worked late, he’d take Nabin’s small hand and hurry out to greet her, hopelessly devoted.
That particular day had started as any other. Holding his small hand, Nabin’s father gazed warmly down at him as the little boy hummed a song through tiny lips.
“Somewhere—over the rainbow—”
“Our Nabin, already singing in English?”
“It’s Dad’s favorite song, so I like it too.”
The OST from The Wizard of Oz had been his father’s favorite. Whether cooking, folding laundry, or vacuuming, he hummed it often enough that Nabin naturally learned the melody by heart, eager to join in because he loved his father more than anything.
“Really?”
“Yeah!”
“Do you know what the lyrics mean?”
At his father’s question, Nabin’s big eyes rolled thoughtfully toward the ceiling. He had only recently mastered the Korean alphabet. Though he’d begun learning English, he was still at the stage of just singing the alphabet song—certainly not capable of grasping the meaning behind English lyrics yet.
Nevertheless, Nabin confidently nodded his head up and down. Seeing his son so certain despite clearly having no idea, Nabin’s father broke into a soft, affectionate smile.
His son was so adorable in that moment he wished he could capture it on video. Unable to resist, he gently placed his large hand on Nabin’s small head, ruffling his hair lovingly. Then, in a gentle voice, he explained the meaning behind the song.
“This is a song Dad always sang whenever things were tough, or even when I was happy—or just in ordinary moments. The lyrics… gave me strength.”
“The song gave Dad strength?”
“Yeah. It’s almost like a magic spell. Just like the Heath Ranger theme song you love, this song is like my personal hero’s anthem.”
“Wow, really?”
At his father’s comparison to his favorite Heath Ranger song, Nabin’s eyes widened, sparkling with awe and excitement.
“If you ever feel sad or scared, try singing this song, Nabin. You’ll find strength you never knew you had.”
“Okay! Nabin will sing it every day!”
At that moment, neither Nabin nor his father could have foreseen the tragedy that awaited them. If they’d known, they would have done everything possible to avoid it. Disaster approached silently, devouring the smiling pair, father and son alike. What should’ve been just another happy page in their lives soon became stained with blood and violently torn apart.
“Nabin! Keep your head down, no matter what happens! Don’t look up, understand? Stay tucked in Daddy’s arms!”
“D-Dad… I’m scared…”
Seeing his child trembling violently, Nabin’s father clenched his jaw tight. Their peaceful day had suddenly shattered as if struck by lightning from a clear sky. But he couldn’t afford to panic.
“Just hold on a bit longer. Mom and the other Espers will be here soon to save us. Remember yesterday, when we counted all the way to fifty? Let’s count again now, slowly. Okay?”
“Hic… o-okay… One… two…”
Recalling their previous counting session, Nabin began sobbing softly as he recited the numbers. Tears of fright trickled down his tightly shut eyes, yet with his father’s comforting presence, he desperately held onto his courage, continuing to count.
Patting Nabin’s back gently, his father anxiously scanned their surroundings. The once ordinary alley had turned into a chaotic battlefield. On their way to meet his wife, a Gate had suddenly appeared, pouring out monstrous beasts that threatened to devour both father and son whole.
There was no time left to escape onto the main road. The instant he’d tried to flee with Nabin, the cunning monsters swiftly cut off any possible retreat. If only there’d been another way—but now he was left without any options.
Swiftly, he pulled out the offensive artifact he always carried and then quickly wrapped a defensive artifact around Nabin’s small frame.
If the monsters had been just B-rank, he might’ve been able to hold them off until Esper reinforcements arrived. But cruel fate brought forth A-rank Wolves from the Gate that had opened right before them.
The expensive defensive artifact he’d strained to afford could withstand only a few strikes or bites from an A-rank Wolf before its shield vanished. Still, it was the only protection he could offer his son right now.
Until help arrived, he would have to fight off these monsters himself, desperately protecting Nabin. Fierce paternal instinct transformed into an unwavering resolve, quietly blazing in eyes that were the mirror image of his son’s.
