Murim Login - Chapter 210

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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 210
Often, a spark carelessly flicked away can ignite a raging inferno.
One day, two days, three days… After about a week had passed, that small spark had spread into a wildfire, and I stood at its center.
[Korea Daily News] The Unexpected Rise of an F-Rank Hunter. “I only trained according to the textbook.”
[Goryeo Daily] The Birth of a New Hero. “An S-Rank Hunter is Born!”
[Happy Thoughts] A Young Man in His Twenties Who Prevented Catastrophe. “I simply did what had to be done.”
[Current Affairs Hot Topic] Two Gate Incidents in a Single Day… An Unprecedented Crisis, Sharp Confrontation Between Ruling and Opposition Parties Over National Defense
[National Assembly Talk Talk Talk] Free Patriotic Party Chairman’s Controversial Remarks Spark Debate “Jin Tae-kyung’s forearms are thick, so he’s clearly conservative-leaning. Conservatives saved the nation.”
Daily newspapers, weekly magazines, current affairs and lifestyle publications—the list went on.
If there was one thing in common among the magazines and newspapers piled high on the table, it was that my face and name were plastered all over them. Looking at the sheer volume was enough to make my head spin.
‘How is there so much of this?’
How many interviews had I given over the past week?
The various media outlets, starved for exclusives, had unleashed an enormous flood of articles as if they’d been waiting for this moment.
Reporters had set up camp outside the Guild House and my home, and my personal information, past history, and photographs circulated across the internet.
‘God, these lunatics.’
I’d thought I’d grown somewhat accustomed to fame from my reputation in the Murim, but compared to this, it was nothing.
South Korea had long been an internet powerhouse, and the pasts of dignified, middle-aged men in their fifties were essentially the domain of keyboard warriors.
The saying that you could meet the entire nation just by visiting a few major online communities was far from baseless nonsense.
“Seriously, why is everyone so interested in other people’s business?”
At my muttering, Jin Ho, eating bibimbap from a large bowl, shrugged his shoulders.
“It’s not bad. Your name got out there because of good deeds.”
“I don’t know about that. I don’t see what’s good about it. There are all kinds of crazy people out there.”
“Ah, about your family…”
Jin Ho, seeing my expression, quietly closed his mouth. I hadn’t looked in a mirror, but my expression was undoubtedly quite menacing.
‘They can’t touch anyone else, so they go after family?’
The world was indeed vast, and crazy people were plentiful.
After appearing on the KPS nine o’clock news, people’s reactions had been explosive, and reporters hungry for fresh scoops had dug through everything around me like they were searching for lice.
The problem was that my family’s personal information had been exposed in the process.
“You know about the call Ha-yeon got a few days ago? When she went out, reporters kept following her, so she ordered delivery food, but the delivery person turned out to be a reporter in disguise.”
“Ah, that bastard was a real gutter journalist. I only heard about it secondhand, but I never imagined it would be that bad.”
“Some of them even hired a Familiar Mage.”
This is exactly what gutter journalism and paparazzi are.
When I first heard the news, I saw red, but before I could personally deal with the reporter and the media outlet, netizens rose up like wildfire.
The mega-communities with over a million accumulated members were still burning bright, using the gutter journalists as kindling.
(Best Comment)
Lol, these crazy tabloid bastards are crossing the line again. Thanks to Tae-kyung, a few people survived, but this bullshit; I’m embarrassed by all of it.
└ They’d probably do the same if their own family was there. They’re just crazy.
└ What company? Send me the article link.
This is Hailey News. Reporter B.H.J. speaking. The original post has been deleted now, but it’s already too late haha.
└ Let’s turn them into Hell News.
└ Already became Hell News. Site shut down.
(Best Comment)
There were media companies that hired eavesdropping mages and even Familiar Mages, so what happened to them?
└ The people involved are currently in detention. Looks like their lives are ruined?
└ The comment above doesn’t know Hell Joseon well. The ones who actually gave the orders get at most suspended sentences lol
└ Nah. A national petition was filed about this, and yesterday it surpassed 3 million signatures. The Blue House said they’re preparing related legislation. Looks like they’re going to overhaul everything this time.
└ We’ll have to see the results, but I really hope that’s the case.
└ Looks like they’re going to reorganize things this time. They got blinded by the desire for a scoop and touched something they shouldn’t have.
└ Me. I’m a guy in my twenties. All my peers like Jin Tae-kyung.
Faced with such reactions, I found myself feeling oddly flustered. There was joy, but also a sense of burden.
‘I really just did what needed to be done.’
It was an accident no one had anticipated.
The news called me a hero who prevented a catastrophe, but I couldn’t help thinking—if only I’d been a bit faster, if only I could have prevented even one more casualty.
“Why do you have that expression on your face?”
“Huh? No, it’s nothing.”
“Nothing, yet you’re picking at your rice like that?”
“I’ve already eaten three bowls.”
“Your baseline is five bowls.”
“…That’s true.”
“Hey, Tae-kyung. I’m not in a position to give you advice, but let me say one thing.”
It was a serious tone I hadn’t heard in a long time. Jin Ho set down his spoon, which had gochujang smeared on it, and continued slowly.
“Don’t try to become a hero.”
“….”
“You’re not a god, so how could you save everyone? Even gods can’t do that.”
He was right. I wasn’t denying the existence and power of gods, but I wasn’t accepting it either.
What was certain was only the hundreds of millions of humanity who died during the Great Cataclysm, Father who passed away in an accident, and the poor, fierce life our family had lived.
“What was your dream?”
“To let my family live without envy. To protect the people I care about.”
“Sum it up in one word.”
In that moment, a laugh escaped me.
Instead of the word “building owner” I’d been parroting endlessly, an unexpected word came to mind.
‘The strongest under heaven, or the greatest of all time?’
Lost in my own thoughts for a moment, I hurried to answer as Jin Ho looked at me with confusion.
“Um. A strong hunter and building owner?”
“Yeah, that’s good enough. You’ve practically achieved your dream already, so don’t drive yourself with needless ambition and guilt.”
“Needless ambition….”
“Let me ask you one thing. Tae-kyung, did you fight that monster hoping for this?”
“Absolutely not.”
“Then that’s all that matters.”
Jin Ho chuckled and picked up his spoon again.
“Just enjoy it. Think of it as a reward for all the hardship and good deeds you’ve done—wouldn’t that put your mind at ease?”
A reward. I’ve already received countless rewards through the system, but the reward Jin Ho speaks of carries an entirely different meaning.
Not material wealth or power, but something spiritual. In other words, he was telling me to find satisfaction and peace of mind.
‘Satisfaction and peace of mind.’
The words I whisper to myself feel unfamiliar.
Back when I was an F-rank Hunter, I fought monsters for money, and now I’m striving ever harder to become stronger.
Thinking about it carefully, I realize I’m a man of insatiable greed.
“Elder Brother.”
“Hm? What?”
“Just… thank you.”
Jin Ho, who had been bringing a spoonful of bibimbap from the large brass bowl to his mouth, froze.
“Really?”
“I mean it.”
“Then lend me a hundred thousand won.”
“Don’t make it awkward with money talk.”
“I’m serious too.”
“….”
What is this guy really?
As I stood there bewildered, my phone on the table vibrated and a text message arrived.
〈 Choi Team Leader
Choi Team Leader
I’ve arrived. Come down to the underground parking lot right away.
* * *
True to the message, Choi Team Leader was waiting for me in the underground parking lot.
The problem was that he wasn’t alone.
“Oh my God News here! Just one comment on the current situation….”
“Jin Tae-kyung, I’m Reporter Hong from Housewife Daily. You were voted number one ideal type by married women in their 40s this week….”
“Live Current Affairs Talk here! We’d love to hear your thoughts on the forearm thickness comment that came out of the National Assembly!”
“Where are you headed right now? What did you eat?”
More than twenty people thrust cameras and microphones at me—it was absolute chaos.
While I let out a heavy sigh, Choi Team Leader calmly pushed back the onslaught.
“Please step aside.”
“Wait. Just a moment.”
Jin Tae-kyung is affiliated with the Pyeonghwa Guild House. Please submit interview requests through the guild’s official website.
When did they even make an official website?
Just recently they posted a major guild member recruitment notice, so it seemed they were planning to make a real push this time.
But despite Choi Team Leader’s intervention, the reporters clung on stubbornly. They hadn’t managed to land a single interview in the past few days, and their frustration was palpable.
“You’re the Pyeonghwa Guild House Team Leader, right? We’re not asking you—just move aside!”
“Yeah! Get out of the way! You made that website look like garbage anyway—when are we supposed to submit requests and get interviews?”
“Just one word would do—why are you being so difficult about it? Huh?”
“You’re dismissing us just because we’re a small-time media outlet!”
“Jin Tae-kyung is my team member, and I’m currently the Guild’s spokesperson, so I have every right to do so. The website is functioning normally, we haven’t charged exorbitant fees, and we didn’t ignore you—we simply didn’t bypass proper procedures.”
Choi Team Leader deflected without so much as a blink, smoothly pushing the reporters and cameramen aside.
His frame appeared lean on the surface, but it concealed tremendous strength. Using only one arm, he sent the people blocking his path sliding backward in a heap.
“Gasp!”
“Whoa, now he’s using force?”
“A Hunter—a Hunter is assaulting people!”
These people were absolutely ridiculous.
I swallowed the words rising to my throat. Just by looking at the scene unfolding, I could tell these reporters were of poor quality.
The fact that Choi Team Leader—who had conducted dozens of interviews over the past week in his capacity as Guild spokesperson—was filtering them out said everything about their worth.
‘Why are their questions even at that level to begin with?’
Questions not worth answering. If I responded at all, they’d twist my words maliciously and run with it.
“I’ll be going now.”
That was when Choi Team Leader was clearing a path without hesitation.
“Oops!”
Crack!
A camera slipped from someone’s hand and shattered against the parking lot floor.
The problem was that the entire sequence reeked of deliberate intent.
“My camera! Oh no!”
The voice was pitiful, but the eyes gleamed with the satisfaction of a successful trap.
Choi Team Leader, who had been staring blankly at the cameraman’s theatrical performance, bent down to pick up the shattered device, but the cameraman irritably swatted his extended arm away.
“Don’t touch it! Everything you did was caught on film, so prepare yourself….”
Clack! Clink.
Everyone’s gaze snapped downward.
A wristwatch had slipped from Choi Team Leader’s wrist and was rolling across the parking lot floor.
More than a dozen watch hands and densely set jewels. And a surface fractured like a spider’s web.
“….”
“….”
Gulp.
The cameraman’s swallow echoed through the parking lot.
Then Choi Team Leader’s quiet voice burrowed into everyone’s ears.
“The Universe-302—the final masterpiece personally crafted in his twilight years by Peter Philips, Switzerland’s greatest watchmaker. This beautiful pinnacle of automatic mechanical perfection, which survived even the Cataclysm, destroyed so pathetically.”
“….”
Choi Team Leader picked up the watch—or whatever it was—with sorrowful eyes and delivered the final blow.
“I’m pressing charges.”
The crowd parted like the Red Sea before Choi’s miracle.
* * *
Whoooosh.
The luxury sedan glided smoothly across the asphalt. Choi Team Leader glanced at the rearview mirror and spoke.
“They’re not following us anymore.”
“…I wouldn’t follow even if I were you. How much is that watch worth?”
“More than you could imagine. Assuming it’s genuine, of course.”
“Ah, a counterfeit? That explains it. I was wondering why you’d discard such a precious luxury item so carelessly.”
“You noticed?”
“A wristwatch doesn’t simply come loose like that without something being off. That would be far more suspicious.”
“I just wanted to scare him a little. I brought it along just in case a situation like this arose, and it turned out to be a good call.”
This guy’s practically Zhuge Liang.
Just as I was marveling at Choi Team Leader’s cunning, something suddenly darted in front of the sedan that was about to exit the Officetel Complex.
“Choi Team Leader!”
Screeeech.
Choi Team Leader hit the brakes half a beat before my shout, and through the windshield, he muttered as he looked at the figure before us.
“Doesn’t seem to be a reporter.”
I share that assessment. An ordinary person couldn’t maintain such a relaxed smile in a situation like this.
‘And….’
I don’t need to sense it to feel it—the considerable aura coiled within that man’s body as he grins at us.
‘A Hunter. And quite a high-level one at that.’
The uninvited guest in his thirties, dressed in a suit, tapped on the window and spoke.
“Let’s talk.”

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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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