Murim Login - Chapter 218

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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 218
“This is….”
After examining the [Yeti’s Necklace] I’d handed over for quite some time, Choi Team Leader’s eyelids trembled slightly.
“I’m furious.”
He rarely expressed emotions so openly like this.
Lim Hyuk-jun, who had been crouching quietly, asked with evident curiosity.
“Choi Team Leader, what’s wrong? Is there some kind of problem?”
“There is. A significant one.”
Choi Team Leader, his lips pressed firmly together, continued speaking.
“The supply of this exquisite product is insufficient. This is truly the greatest problem deserving of condemnation from people across the entire world.”
“…Ah.”
“Look at this artistic form expressing icicles! The magical function that preserves the frigid essence of snowy fields intact!”
Choi Team Leader, who had been praising the necklace with the fervor of a North Korean television announcer, suddenly turned his head toward me.
“What do you think, Jin Tae-kyung?”
“Me?”
Where to start, how to proceed, and what to say about this.
My deliberation was brief. A voice emerged that was surprisingly composed and gentle, even to my own surprise.
“I’m furious too.”
“….”
“Why is that?”
“No, it’s nothing.”
Choi Team Leader, regarding me with an enigmatic gaze, continued.
“It just feels somehow unfamiliar.”
“Is that so?”
I rubbed my chin. Stubble was beginning to emerge, feeling rough to the touch. That sensation felt as foreign as another person’s skin.
“Perhaps it’s because I haven’t shaved.”
“Jin Tae-kyung, could it be….”
Just as Choi Team Leader was about to say something, Won Myung-hun approached with an affable smile.
“Wow, impressive. You really fought well, Tae-kyung.”
“…Is that so?”
“Your spear technique was completely different from the manual I created. Did you learn that at the Training Facility?”
“No. Just picked it up here and there.”
“Here and there? That level wasn’t just casual learning. Who knows, maybe in a few years I’ll be the one catching up to you. Haha.”
I lifted the corners of my mouth silently.
When no one laughed along, his laughter gradually faded. Though he might have felt embarrassed, Won Myung-hun smoothly changed the subject.
That entire sequence of events unfolded as seamlessly as a scene from a television drama, without a single wasted motion.
“So what were you doing?”
His mouth asked the question, but his eyes were already preoccupied with ascertaining the facts. His gaze briefly flickered toward the [Yeti’s Necklace] that Choi Team Leader held.
“I was just looking at the necklace you lent us. Choi Team Leader seems quite interested in things like this.”
“The Team Leader? Well, that does sound about right.”
If Won Myung-hun draped himself in flashy luxury brands from head to toe, Choi Team Leader was the opposite.
Luxury goods, yes, but refined and understated—I suppose you could say that. Either way, just from seeing what he wore day-to-day, you couldn’t help but notice his keen interest in fashion.
But Won Myung-hun’s attention lay elsewhere.
“So, what do you think after seeing it in person?”
Choi Team Leader answered.
“It’s much better seeing it directly. If you ever consider selling it later, please contact me.”
“Unfortunately, I don’t think that will happen. It’s something I personally treasure very much.”
Something he personally treasures very much….
As I was turning his words over in my mind, I suddenly spoke up.
“It must be something important.”
“Well, it’s very important indeed.”
“I see.”
I held out the [Yeti’s Necklace] toward Won Myung-hun.
“I’ll return it to you now.”
“Huh?”
“You said it’s an important item to Elder Brother. And hearing Choi Team Leader speak about it, it sounds like it’s quite expensive too.”
….
“You won’t take it?”
The necklace in my hand swayed, producing a metallic clink.
A brief silence fell, and a faint smile appeared at the corners of Won Myung-hun’s lips as he gazed at me intently.
“Tae-kyung.”
“Yes.”
“I value the bonds between people more than material possessions.”
“The bonds between people.”
“That’s right. The guild members who came with me today are the same. They were there for me during my most difficult time.”
“You mean eight years ago?”
“…Well, yes. Anyway, what I’m trying to say is, don’t worry about it too much. What’s so precious about a mere necklace? Right?”
Won Myung-hun tapped my shoulder lightly with his large palm. Unlike mine, his palm was soft and his nails were long.
Suddenly, a thought crossed my mind—perhaps this person before me wasn’t the one I used to know.
“The Yeti’s Necklace is actually a gift.”
“A gift?”
“Yes. A gift from Elder Brother to you.”
Each time Won Myung-hun leaned closer to me, a strong fragrance of cologne wafted over.
“So you can’t give it to anyone else. Understood?”
….
“Tae-kyung?”
I fastened the necklace around my neck and answered.
“Yes. I won’t let anyone else touch it.”
Ding.
–
[Yeti’s Necklace]
has been equipped.
– A blizzard wind flows from the necklace.
Feeling the blizzard wind enveloping my entire body, I recalled the Item Information window I had seen just five minutes ago.
Item Window
[Yeti’s Necklace]
Type
: Accessory
Grade
: Transcendent
Restriction
: None
Description :
A necklace that only the most exceptional warrior Yeti can possess. However, in truth, it is a shackle proving that it was once a slave and livestock of the Dragon-kind. Whoever possesses this item becomes a target of Dragon-kind monsters regardless of race.
Effect
: [Blizzard Wind] effect activated
‘A target.’
Hardly a pleasant word.
In every way.
* * *
Time within the Gate flowed slowly.
After half a day of travel, I emerged from the Jungle and entered the Wasteland, but the only monsters I had encountered thus far were the Green Wyvern that appeared first and the Orc group I had dealt with.
And now, the only other thing the others were facing was a Troll.
– Gwuaaaaargh!
A head taller than an adult man, with an abnormally large head.
Trolls are monsters with exceptional regenerative abilities. It was the very reason they were used as the primary ingredient for healing potions.
Even if you severed their arms and legs, they would regenerate within mere seconds, making them troublesome opponents.
However, the Star Guild members were seasoned veterans in their own right.
“The head! Aim for the head!”
“Flame magic!”
Slash! Whoosh!
In the early days of the Great Cataclysm, Trolls had earned notoriety as undying monsters, but their weakness was quickly discovered.
‘The head and heart. And magic to accompany it.’
Unless they were undead monsters, death naturally followed when breath ceased.
Trolls possessed regenerative power formidable enough to restore even their heads and hearts, but that did not make them truly immortal.
If you froze them with ice or burned them with flames before they could regenerate, there was nothing the creatures could do.
“Dealers, get close and slash!”
“Mages, stand by!”
Shwish shwish shwish! Crack!
– Gruuuaaaargh!
The troll’s body, having lost one arm and leg, toppled backward.
Immediately after, the sharp blade of a halberd sliced through the creature’s neck, thick with fat and muscle.
Thud! Crunch!
The troll’s form convulsed, its shoulder now vacant. Soon, new flesh began to writhe and bubble up across the wound’s surface.
In roughly a minute, the creature would possess a new neck.
Of course, the Star Guild members had no intention of waiting that long.
“Freeze it!”
Whoosh! Screech!
Bone-chilling frost and flesh-searing flames.
The troll’s body, its regeneration interrupted, shuddered once before falling still.
“Team Three clear!”
“Help over here! This one’s regenerating!”
With three hunters per squad, the battle concluded swiftly.
Amid the stench of charring flesh and fat, Won Myung-hun, who had been observing the combat from ten meters away, muttered something.
His voice was so quiet that no one could hear it over the noise of battle, yet to me it was as clear as if he were speaking right beside me.
“Those bastards stink. I told them to just freeze it.”
“Heh.”
I barely suppressed the hollow laugh threatening to escape.
Someone once said that life is tragedy when viewed up close and comedy from a distance.
But combat with monsters is tragedy no matter the vantage point.
In an instant, life can be lost—the smell of burning troll flesh is nothing compared to that.
‘It’s a hundred times better than smelling incense burn behind a folding screen.’
But for Won Myung-hun, it was someone else’s concern.
He had been cursing under his breath, his brow furrowed, when he suddenly felt my gaze and turned his head toward me.
“Oh, Tae-kyung.”
A warm voice, his forehead smoothed as if nothing had happened.
Everything seemed natural, and that made it all the more abnormal.
“What, you have something to say?”
I couldn’t understand why it sounded like ‘Did you hear everything I just said?’
I answered calmly, betraying nothing.
“Yes.”
“Yeah? What is it?”
“I’m feeling a bit nauseous. It was fine at first, but ever since we entered here, something’s been off. I’ve even received healing magic, but it hasn’t improved much.”
“Ah, that.”
Won Myung-hun chuckled.
“It’s because this is your first A-rank Gate. The concentration of mana distributed inside the Gate is on a different level.”
“I see.”
“Beginners always experience that. Me? I’m used to it by now.”
Though I already knew this, I responded with wonder as if hearing it for the first time.
“Then I’ll probably get used to it next time, right?”
“Next time?”
Won Myung-hun, whose lips had been twitching, nodded.
“That’s right. Next time, I’ll be much more accustomed to it.”
“I hope you’ll come with me again then, Elder Brother.”
“Well, I’m not sure when I’ll have time again. I have so many other schedules.”
“You don’t even have time for Raid Teams?”
“You wouldn’t understand yet, Tae-kyung, but Guild Masters like me are all busy. We have to coordinate the entire Guild.”
“Ah, I see.”
“It’s like the difference between a musician and a conductor. You know what a maestro is?”
I suddenly asked Won Myung-hun, who was mimicking the motion of conducting with a baton as if performing.
“So you went to the Department Store because of Guild-related meetings?”
“Huh?”
“There was an article online. What was the title again? Oh, I remember.”
I spoke carefully, watching Won Myung-hun, who had suddenly lost his words.
“The Rising Star Hunter, Won Myung-hun’s Luxury Shopping Spree. Something like that, I think.”
“…There was an article like that?”
“On the Hunter Community. It was only up for five minutes before it got deleted.”
“Really? You didn’t misread it?”
“No. There’s this one lazy bug who doesn’t study these days and just digs through the internet. Whenever an article pops up, they tell me right away.”
Dimples formed in Won Myung-hun’s handsome face. But it wasn’t the bright smile I’d seen on TV in the past.
“That can’t be right.”
“Right?”
“Of course. I do like shopping, but not to that extent. At most, I go once a month, if that.”
“They said photos were uploaded too.”
“…”
“You know Dispatch, right? That celebrity gossip site. They even got an interview from the Department Store staff. They said you’re a VVIP customer who visits five times a week.”
“…”
Won Myung-hun licked his dry lips. The dimples that had vanished were now nowhere to be found.
“Tae-kyung. You don’t actually believe that, do you?”
“Come on, it’s just tabloid trash. You’re busy coordinating Guild schedules anyway, Elder Brother. A maestro.”
“…Yeah, a maestro.”
It was then that Won Myung-hun stared at me with dry eyes as I vigorously mimicked conducting with a baton.
“Elder Brother! No, Director!”
The source of the cry that echoed across the Wasteland, where dirt, sand, and winding rocky hills stretched endlessly, was Team Leader 1 of Star Guild.
He had set out on reconnaissance to find the Wyvern, which hadn’t been spotted since earlier.
But unlike the leisurely departure, his face was deathly pale as he ran toward us frantically.
“What’s wrong? Where are the others?”
At Won Myung-hun’s question, Team Leader 1 stammered.
“Th, th, that’s…”
I didn’t need to hear the rest.
Seven departed, yet only one returned. The droplets of blood scattered across his face and armor transformed conjecture into certainty.
“This bastard. Speak clearly!”
At the thunderous rebuke, Team Leader 1 flinched.
“A Wyvern, sir. We discovered a Wyvern.”
“A Wyvern? How many?”
“J-just one, sir.”
“What? Just one?”
With an A-rank Hunter and six B-rank Hunters, a single Wyvern should have been entirely manageable.
Yet six were dead, and he alone had fled back.
“Is that what you call an explanation? Are you mocking me right now?”
“They’re all dead. We approached using concealment magic, but… it sensed us.”
“What nonsense is this! How could a Wyvern possibly detect that!”
Click, click-click-click.
From his trembling lips, terror-stricken eyes wide, the words finally spilled forth.
“It’s a Named Monster, sir.”
“…!”
“It’s definitely a Named Monster. This Gate… it’s a mutated Gate.”
An A-rank mutated Gate. And a Named Monster.
None of us were ignorant of what those two words meant.
In suffocating silence, someone muttered barely audibly.
“Damn it all…”

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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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