Han Jinsu's mother never asked why he kept going back to dungeons.
She just checked if he came home.
He thought about that on the elevator down to the staging area. About how she'd stopped asking questions somewhere in the second year — stopped asking about the bruises, the late hours, the Porter's vest he washed himself so she wouldn't see the dungeon grime on it. She'd just started leaving a light on above the door instead.
A small light. Visible from the street.
Still here. Come home.
He was twenty-two years old and the only thing keeping him in a job that called him Null-Boy was a hospital bill and a small light above a door.
[Name: Han Jinsu]
[Class: Porter]
[Mana Capacity: 0.00]
Zero mana. In a world of awakened beings, he was worse than trash.
He knew that. He had always known that.
He picked up his pack and followed the hunters into the dark.
The C-Rank "Labyrinth of Iron" smelled of old rust and dirt.
It felt like an abandoned tomb.
"Keep moving, Null-Boy!"
Han Jinsu gritted his teeth.
His spine ached under the weight of three massive Ether-Cores.
Zero mana.
In a world of awakened beings, he was worse than trash.
Ahead of him walked the Iron-Blood Guild's elites.
Hu-seung, a B-Rank Vanguard, swung a glowing sword and scoffed.
"It's pathetic. He's not even human."
Jinsu stared at the rusted floor grating.
Endure it. Just survive and get paid.
Suddenly, the cave trembled.
Dust fell from the ceiling.
The golden light from Hu-seung's sword vanished completely.
The temperature plummeted.
[Warning: Field Stability is rapidly dropping.]
A tear opened in the space ahead.
Violet-black smoke poured out of the crack in reality.
"What is that?" Elena the mage screamed.
[S-Rank Anomaly Detected.]
[Abyssal Arbiter has appeared.]
A massive hand made of obsidian glass reached through the smoke.
It didn't walk.
It glitched forward, instantly closing the distance.
An S-Rank? Here?
Jinsu froze.
If this continues, we'll all die.
"Fall back!" Hu-seung roared.
The B-Rank hunter didn't draw his weapon.
Instead, he kicked Jinsu squarely in the chest.
"Gah!"
Jinsu flew backward, crashing hard into the dirt.
He looked up just in time.
The heavy steel blast doors were slamming shut.
The elites had locked him inside as bait.
The Arbiter towered over him.
It reached out with a shadow-drenched claw.
The hand pierced right through Jinsu's chest.
It was trying to consume his mana.
But there was nothing to consume.
The monster paused.
It pulled harder, but you cannot drink from an empty cup.
[Error.]
[Target possesses no mana.]
The blue system screen flickered.
It shattered into violent, static-filled violet.
[Total Vacancy Confirmed.]
[Inversion Protocol Initiated.]
Jinsu didn't feel pain.
He felt an overwhelming, unnatural hunger.
[The Nihil Engine has awakened.]
[Void Saturation: 0.0%]
[Would you like to begin consumption?]
Jinsu grabbed the monster's arm.
His eyes glowed in the absolute dark.
"Eat."