Murim Login - Chapter 209

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

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Chapter 209
10 a.m.
Lim Hyuk-jun, a D-rank Hunter at the Peace Guild who had just returned from a blissful vacation, stood frozen with his mouth agape.
“What… what is this?”
He had every reason to be shocked.
Just a week ago, before his vacation, the Guild House had been nothing more than a crumbling neighborhood convenience store.
But now, before his eyes, stood gleaming marble and an elegant sign crafted in sophisticated lettering.
【Peace Guild】
“Wow, they really went all out with the renovation.”
As Lim Hyuk-jun marveled at the exterior, a familiar voice suddenly echoed from somewhere.
– What are you doing out there? Come inside.
Startled, he glanced around. But seeing neither a CCTV camera nor an intercom anywhere, he cautiously spoke up.
“Choi… Choi Team Leader? Is that you, Choi Team Leader?”
– Yes, it is.
“What is this? How are you talking to me?”
As if waiting for precisely that question, an answer came without a moment’s hesitation.
– It’s nothing special. We commissioned Berceni, a prestigious Italian artisan family, to create it specially. It includes messaging, observation, and alarm magic capabilities…
“No, no, you don’t have to explain all that.”
– Ah. Well then, if you open the mahogany door wrapped in salamander hide with flame resistance…
“I’m coming in! Right now!”
– …Yes.
Click.
The locked door slid open smoothly, accompanied by a voice that somehow sounded dejected.
Inside the Guild House, which had been transformed just as dramatically as the exterior, three people were waiting for Lim Hyuk-jun.
“Welcome.”
“Hunter Lim.”
“You’re here?”
Choi Team Leader, the true owner of the Peace Guild; Kim Butler, who held the title of Guild Master in name; and finally Song Song-i, the sole female member of the guild.
The three of them, seated around a circular table, greeted Lim Hyuk-jun in turn, and he responded with a warm smile.
“It’s been a while, so it’s good to see everyone. Did you all get plenty of rest during the vacation?”
The moment his words ended, the expressions of all three shifted subtly.
After a brief silence, Song Song-i spoke up.
“We did rest. Though there were so many bugs in my house, it was a bit bothersome.”
“Bugs?”
“Yes. You didn’t have any bugs at your place?”
At Song Song-i’s question, Lim Hyuk-jun tilted his head.
Now that she mentioned it, his wife had complained about a similar problem a few times during the vacation.
“Oh, just a fly or two. I kept swatting them, but they kept coming back, so I just left them alone. But then they settled down—they barely flew around at all.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen flies that well-behaved.”
Song Song-i shivered as if seized by an eerie chill.
“I couldn’t even shower because I felt so uncomfortable about how many there were. It was like insects were watching me.”
“Insects? Hahahaha! Song, you’re quite the jokester.”
“….”
Lim Hyuk-jun, tilting his head back in laughter, failed to notice.
The three others exchanging meaningful glances and silent words that he couldn’t hear.
‘It seems Hunter Lim doesn’t know?’
‘Looks like he didn’t catch on.’
‘Wow, this guy is really oblivious, isn’t he?’
Unlike the three who had endured surveillance by the Sangdong Guild’s familiars throughout their vacation, Lim Hyuk-jun had returned completely oblivious, having enjoyed what could only be described as blissful rest.
It wasn’t that surveillance wasn’t attached. It was attached—he simply didn’t know.
The saying “ignorance is bliss” fit this situation perfectly.
“Those crazy perverts. If I catch them later, I’ll rip their balls clean off.”
At Song Song-i’s muttering—words that would have made the Sangdong Guild’s mages’ blood run cold—Lim Hyuk-jun’s chuckling abruptly ceased.
“Huh? What did you just say? Perverts?”
“No. I was just saying the insects are gross.”
“Still bad? I know someone who works at a pest control company. Want me to ask them for a favor?”
At his genuinely concerned words, Song Song-i let out a stifled laugh and pointed to the two sitting silently.
“They’re all gone now. These two helped me out. Especially Kim Butler.”
“Really? Kim hyung—I mean, Guild Master, seems to have expertise in that area too.”
Kim Butler answered with an awkward smile.
“Not at all. It just so happened that a junior I know works in that field.”
“Ah. Pest control?”
“…Yes, well. Something like that.”
In a sense, monsters were just giant insects, so it wasn’t entirely inaccurate.
Lim Hyuk-jun, who had essentially turned the Sangdong Guild—ranked among the top hunter guilds even in Bucheon—into a pest control service, continued seriously.
“Your junior must be quite skilled.”
“Ah, you could say that.”
He was skilled enough to be counted among the war heroes of the Great Cataclysm itself.
Of course, to Kim Butler, Sangdong Guild Master Im Chun-su was merely one of the trainees he’d once worked like a dog.
“Let’s drop that subject. Rather….”
Choi Team Leader, who had been frowning hard trying to suppress his laughter, hastily changed the topic.
There happened to be one person who would make an appropriate subject.
“Why hasn’t Jin Tae-kyung shown up?”
While they laughed and chattered, the time had long since passed the start of work.
Only now noticing Jin Tae-kyung’s absence, Lim Hyuk-jun stroked his beard with a bewildered expression.
“What’s going on? Tae-kyung’s never done this before. His diligence is the best I know of.”
“I’m well aware of that fact.”
Choi Team Leader nodded.
He had already thoroughly examined Jin Tae-kyung’s past. Based on the records spanning several years and what he’d directly observed, that diligence and determination were genuine.
‘Two hours until the raid starts….’
Was something wrong?
As Choi Team Leader pondered this and reached for his phone, Song Song-i, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke up.
“Taurus, or rather Jin Tae-kyung, I mean.”
“…?”
“He’s right there.”
A pale, slender finger pointed over Choi Team Leader’s shoulder.
In the next moment, the guild members who naturally turned their heads in the direction she indicated dropped their jaws.
On the TV screen mounted on the Guild House wall, a familiar face filled the entire 80-inch display.
“…Huh.”
“Is that Tae-kyung? Isn’t that Tae-kyung?”
“It, it does appear to be Hunter Jin Tae-kyung, sir.”
Kim Butler, who had maintained his composure throughout, was so flustered that he even stumbled over his words.
However, the guild members had already had their attention completely seized by the caption that appeared below Jin Tae-kyung’s face.
Jin Tae-kyung
(Wonmi-gu, Bucheon City. C-Rank Hunter)
Live) Toll Gate Hero
“Toll Gate Hero? What is that! Why can’t we hear the sound!”
“It’s muted! It’s on mute! Turn the sound on quickly!”
After someone frantically adjusted the TV, the blocked audio finally began to flow.
Shhhhhhh! Pitter-patter-patter!
Along with some indecipherable noise, Jin Tae-kyung’s voice continued.
– …And that’s how it happened.
– Yes, I see. Then, as a final thought, would you share your feelings with us?
– Well, first I love my family so much. And I’m so, so grateful to all my Peace Guild members. And the person I like….
– Yes! I understand.
– Wait, wait a moment.
– We’re out of time, so we’ll end it here. Viewers, that was our interview with the Toll Gate Hero, Jin Tae-kyung!
As the screen transitioned to a cosmetics advertisement, showing the reporter’s grinning face one last time, Lim Hyuk-jun let out a shout.
“What is this! We couldn’t hear anything!”
“Just a moment. Let me search right now. Toll Gate Hero, Toll Gate Hero… Whoa.”
“Song-i. What is it?”
Song Song-i, who had frozen with her eyes wide open, silently held out her phone.
The portal site’s main page. The three characters of Jin Tae-kyung’s name were plastered right there.
“Jin Tae-kyung, you’re the number one real-time search term right now.”
The interior of the Guild House fell silent as if cold water had been poured over it.
It was at that moment, when everyone was at a loss for words in the face of this completely unexpected situation, that silence continued.
Shhhhh! Pitter-patter-patter!
“Gasp.”
“Could it be?”
Just dozens of seconds ago, I heard that same sound from Jin Tae-kyung’s interview.
People who had turned their attention to the TV let out a sigh at the advertisement that was still playing, but only for a moment.
“Wait, then why are we hearing this?”
Choi Team Leader and Kim Butler, the first to pinpoint the source of the noise, cried out in unison.
“Outside!”
“It’s outside! It’s not the TV!”
Crash!
The moment the words left their mouths, people sprang from their seats.
– Wow, what is this?
– Is this the right place?
– Yeah, Peace Guild. They said they were remodeling, and it looks amazing.
– Would it be possible to interview some of the guild members?
– No. You cut off the interview earlier.
– Hunter, that was earlier….
The conversation came through vividly via speaker magic.
With all eyes on him, Choi Team Leader steadied his breathing and brought the message magic device to his lips.
“Jin Tae-kyung. This is Choi Team Leader.”
– Huh, what? Transmission? Are you Choi Team Leader?
“Yes.”
– What? How did you just do that?
Choi Team Leader opened his mouth without hesitation. It was an instinct carved deep into his bones.
“It’s nothing special. We commissioned a custom piece from Berceni, a prestigious Italian artisan family, and….”
Lim Hyuk-jun let out a quiet curse.
* * *
‘I woke up and became a star.’
I never imagined I’d experience that saying as reality, and certainly not in real time like this.
– Hey, Registry Mate. I just saw something I can’t believe.
“Registry Mate? Do you have a death wish?”
– No, that’s not the problem right now.
Ha-yeon’s voice through the phone was filled with shock and disbelief.
– Your name is on Naver’s real-time search right now….
I could easily anticipate what she was about to say.
I’d already received dozens of similar calls over the past few hours.
I cut off Ha-yeon before she could continue.
“Number one on the real-time search. Yeah, that’s me. It’s definitely me.”
– …Really? The Seoul Outer Ring Road Toll Gate hero? That’s you?
“Don’t call me that. I’m dying of embarrassment.”
– Wow. It really is you then. When I searched your name, a profile picture popped up as a trending figure, and I still couldn’t believe it even after seeing it.
I hadn’t anticipated that it would create such a massive ripple.
Just a few hours had passed, and already dozens of sensationalist articles about me were flooding the internet the moment someone searched my name.
– What on earth happened? I read the article, and it’s serious stuff. You’re not hurt anywhere, are you?
“Not a scratch. If I explain from start to finish, it’ll take a while. What about Mom? Does she know about me?”
– Not yet. But if your brother finds out you fought monsters like that, she’ll pass out.
Ha-yeon’s words were no exaggeration whatsoever.
What exactly was an Ogre?
Even someone completely unfamiliar with monsters could discover through a few searches that the creature was as formidable as its grotesque appearance suggested.
I could already picture Mom’s reaction upon learning that her son had battled such a monster.
“Damn. Yeah, that’s true.”
– Ugh, I don’t know. Come by and show your face before all hell breaks loose.
“Okay. I’ll swing by after the interview wraps up.”
– Interview? You’re doing an interview right now?
“Yeah.”
– Where? Some women’s magazine or something?
“KPS Nine O’Clock News Desk. I’m waiting for my turn right now.”
– …What?
Just as I was about to respond to Ha-yeon’s stunned silence, a broadcast station producer laden with equipment gestured urgently toward me.
“This is live, so I’ve got to go now. See you at home later.”
– Wait, huh….
I hung up and made my way toward the news recording studio—a place I’d only ever seen on television.
My lips grew parched and my legs trembled as I took in the recording equipment that filled every corner and the gazes of the broadcast station staff.
‘I’d rather fight a hundred Ogres.’
Each second felt like an eternity, and then finally, the signal I’d been waiting for came.
“We’re going in. Standby… Action!”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

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