Murim Login - Chapter 26

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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 26
“So that’s it…”
Gong Ya-cheong regarded me with an enigmatic gaze.
“You are indeed that Young Master Jin Tae-kyung.”
The moment I’d been dreading had finally arrived. I released my grip on the collar of Hyuk Moo-jin, who had now lost consciousness for the third time, and offered an awkward smile.
“Yes, I am Jin Tae-kyung.”
The ears of the patrol unit members preparing the camp perked up. We were now making our way back to the Main Residence.
We had ridden without rest for over five hours from the hut where the battle had taken place. Gong Ya-cheong, who had kept his silence throughout our journey, was finally speaking for the first time.
‘If only it weren’t for that bastard.’
I glared at Hyuk Moo-jin as he was dragged along by the perceptive patrol member. I should have landed one more blow before letting him go.
Gong Ya-cheong spoke to my regretful expression.
“I have heard much of the Young Master’s reputation.”
“…I see.”
“Even a three-year-old child would know of you. Perhaps you are the most famous person in the Main Residence.”
At this point, it might be faster to find someone who doesn’t know of me.
“Naturally indolent and arrogant. Indulging in pleasures and neglecting martial cultivation… Yet it seems the rumors of the Murim cannot be trusted. The martial prowess you displayed today was truly remarkable.”
“….”
If there were something like a Murim Daily News compiling all such rumors, I would subscribe immediately. It’s surprisingly credible, after all.
‘But more than that….’
Does this man Gong Ya-cheong truly not know?
Regardless of what schemes the Hangsan Inspection Bureau orchestrated, I stood at the center of all these events.
It was an undeniable fact that countless sacrifices had been made in the process.
It would not be strange if Gong Ya-cheong and So-cheon harbored resentment toward me. That was why I had hidden my name.
‘If they don’t know, that’s fortunate.’
I was being pursued by a ruthlessly brutal master of the highest caliber. I had no desire for unnecessary complications.
“How much longer until we reach the Main Residence?”
Gong Ya-cheong’s question snapped me back to attention.
“We should arrive in two to four days.”
“Of all times, this snow…”
Gong Ya-cheong sighed, gazing resentfully at the sky, which continued to pour down heavy snow.
“Young Master, we must prepare for the worst-case scenario.”
“The worst-case scenario?”
The blizzard had hindered our progress, but it would do the same to our enemies. Moreover, there was a possibility they had abandoned their pursuit.
However, Gong Ya-cheong shook his head.
“Do not underestimate the bandits. Their inner cultivation may be inferior, and their martial techniques less refined, but they possess a far greater weapon.”
I spoke the answer.
“Experience.”
“Precisely. Experience forged through a hundred battles. What pursues us is not a martial artist, but a bandit. They appear the same, yet are fundamentally different.”
The same yet different. I understood what he meant.
In essence, they were well-trained hunting hounds. And the one holding their leash was Jo Pil, the executioner.
“Jo Pil is truly fearsome not merely because he is a master of the pinnacle realm. It is his persistence. His ruthlessness. He has never once failed a contract or lost his target.”
I answered with a weary sigh.
“Then this time will be no different.”
“Likely so.”
Gong Ya-cheong stared beyond the darkness, as though something might burst forth and devour us whole.
“We are being hunted by such a man.”
The wind whistled, dissolving into the shadows.
* * *
The camp preparations were complete. We had dug several small earthen shelters and blocked their entrances with branches and fallen leaves—crude, but when survival is at stake, one cannot afford to be choosy.
“May you rest well this night.”
Gong Ya-cheong disappeared, cradling the siblings who had already fallen into deep sleep. I found myself dwelling on the weary smile that lingered at the corners of his mouth.
‘He is truly an adult.’
Had he wished to survive, he could have fled long ago. Gong Ya-cheong was a master who had cultivated martial prowess and a seasoned wanderer of Murim.
Yet he did not. He fought, staking his very life for two children whose blood held no connection to his own.
That is why Gong Ya-cheong is a good man.
‘Could I do the same?’
I cast aside the sudden question. This is a game. It is unwise to dwell deeply on illusions that will soon vanish.
Yes, illusions that will soon disappear.
‘Open Quest window.’
Ding.
Quest
[Logout]
You must now navigate through this treacherous Murim.
Grow stronger. Become more renowned.
For that day which shall come….
Rank
: Main Quest
Restriction
: Jin Tae-kyung
Objective
: Achieve [First-Rate] Realm (Incomplete)
Reach Lv.30 (24/30)
Achieve 500 Renown (250/500)
Reward
: [Logout]
Experience points and renown earned from defeating enemies, plus the Quest reward. The summit of this arduous mountain is finally coming into view.
I opened my status window and distributed all remaining points, and vitality surged through my weary body.
‘I am almost there.’
I need only overcome this final trial. If I can avoid Jo Pil—that faceless assassin of one strike, one kill—I can finally end this wearying journey.
But there was another problem.
‘I can somehow fill up the level and reputation, but how do I raise this damned realm?’
When I first started clearing the tutorial quests, I had raised my realm from third-rate to second-rate through stat distribution. But since then, there’s been nothing but silence.
‘What exactly am I lacking?’
In Murim, I am an anomaly. I learn martial arts faster than anyone and can raise my stats more efficiently. I’ve grown stronger by borrowing the system’s power in many ways.
That’s why, despite being merely second-rate, I could utterly crush most first-rate martial artists in Murim.
Yet I’m not first-rate myself!
‘I should have asked Jin Wi-kyung about this.’
At first, I thought I just needed to keep raising stats and internal energy, but lately I’ve felt like I’m grasping at straws.
‘Level? Stats? Internal energy?’
What could it be? The final piece to complete this puzzle.
The answer came quickly.
‘If I don’t know, I’ll find out.’
Just as I’ve done until now. Keep walking and the exit will appear.
I sat in lotus position and regulated my breathing. The coiled internal energy in my dantian responded to my call.
* * *
“I lost them.”
Jo Pil muttered under his breath. His serpentine black eyes swept across the surroundings.
He had lost them. But they left traces. Those faint remnants would become new signposts.
“Around twenty people. They left about two hours ago.”
Jo Pil nodded at his subordinate’s report. His martial arts were third-rate, but his tracking skills were supreme. Under him were plenty of such hunting dogs.
‘Two hours, then.’
The distance had already narrowed to two hours. How much longer until I catch up with the fugitives?
At most, half a day.
‘They should have run with all their might. Without looking back. Discarding the cumbersome or stripping them away, abandoning stragglers, running with grim determination.’
Had they done so, the distance wouldn’t have closed. But they grew careless. They must have thought the blizzard had bound their feet, and that difference created the current situation.
‘But I’m different.’
Last night was long. Even among his subordinates, seasoned in pursuit, stragglers emerged. Falling behind in a snow-covered mountain was synonymous with death.
The only difference from death on a battlefield was that it came a bit slower. So Jo Pil gave his orders.
‘Kill them.’
They say tigers leave their hides in death, and men leave their names.
But Jo Pil’s thoughts were different. What name would a third-rate wretch who spent his whole life wandering back alleys leave behind? At least he could leave his hide.
Leaving twenty naked corpses behind, they pressed on. When the long night ended and dawn broke, they finally found traces of their quarry.
‘I’ll meet you soon, friend.’
Jo Pil’s lips curled upward. A mysterious master who had captured his interest after so long. His hardened heart thrummed with excitement.
* * *
Shiver.
“Ugh. What?”
A sudden chill ran through me. When I lifted my forearm, goosebumps prickled across the skin. If this were a scene from a novel, the protagonist would surely have continued onward with some vague sense of unease.
But I’m different. I move with solid conviction.
“Hey. Get out of here quick.”
I cannot see it, but I feel it—the footsteps of someone walking behind me falter.
“Why, why are you doing this?”
“I’m counting to three. One, two. Three.”
The moment I reached three, Hyuk Moo-jin swiftly sidled up next to me.
“It was you, wasn’t it?”
“Huh?”
“It was you. If you confess honestly, I’ll let it slide.”
“What? It wasn’t me!”
I stared quietly at the puffed-up face of the boy before me.
“You cursed at me just now from behind, didn’t you?”
“Huh.”
“You did curse, didn’t you?”
“Y-yes, I did….”
So it was this bastard after all. As I raised my hand, Hyuk Moo-jin squeezed his eyes shut.
After taking a few blows, the boy lost his fighting spirit. And he learned a valuable lesson about life in the process.
That dodging only meant more punishment.
“Fine. Since you confessed, I’ll let you off this time.”
Hyuk Moo-jin’s head snapped up.
“Really?”
I offered a warm smile.
“Of course. But don’t think about deceiving me again. I’ll be watching you with my perception technique.”
Hyuk Moo-jin looked at me with eyes full of fear, then bolted away. If I’d had more time, I would have crushed his skull with my hammer. I swallowed my regret and continued walking.
“What is a perception technique?”
A chirping voice tickled my ears. It was So-yul, So-cheon’s younger sister. She was five years old, if I recalled correctly. The girl was small enough to fit snugly in my backpack.
“Is it a martial art?”
“Something like that.”
“Is the perception technique strong?”
“Incredibly strong.”
“Wow! So-yul wants to learn the perception technique too!”
“But you’d need to lose an eye for it.”
“Gasp!”
I glanced back and caught sight of So-yul’s startled face. Her wide, round eyes were impossibly adorable.
‘Ha-yeon was like that once too.’
Now she was an annoying younger sister, but when she was small, she was like a baby angel. She’d even received offers to be a child model back then….
Carrying So-yul around felt just like those days with Ha-yeon.
“Do you want to learn from me?”
“…So-yul doesn’t really like martial arts. I want to become a proper lady.”
“That’s good too.”
“Um. Do you like martial arts, mister?”
“Me?”
“My elder brother says you’re incredibly strong, sir. Father told me that only people who work hard can become strong.”
“Your father said that?”
“Yes. Our father is incredibly strong too. Because….”
So-yul chattered away excitedly for a while before pouting her lips.
“So-yul misses Father. But it seems Father doesn’t miss us. Elder Brother says Father went on a trip with Mother, leaving us behind.”
My heart dropped in that instant. An old memory clouded my vision. In that funeral hall, all black and white, young Ha-yeon had searched for Father, and I could only tell a worn-out lie.
Just as So-cheon had done to So-yul. There was nothing else I could say.
“…I see.”
What else could I say? I glanced back at So-cheon, who was following in the middle of our column. The boy was breathing heavily, drenched in sweat.
‘He must be struggling.’
A willpower beyond his years. The saying that suffering matures a person sounds like bullshit, but it’s true.
So-cheon never fell behind even once, and the other patrol unit members marveled at his determination.
‘The real problem lies elsewhere.’
It was Gong Ya-cheong. His face, unable to escape the wound’s grip, had turned a sickly pale. Without the superior efficacy of the Bigyok Pill I’d given him and last night’s energy cultivation, he would have collapsed long ago.
‘At this rate… they’ll catch up.’
Even with the sun risen, the accumulated snow refused to melt easily. Though I led the way, breaking through the snow, everyone was exhausted and our pace slowed. And on top of that, an injured man and a child.
‘Should I escape alone?’
The thought flashed through my mind.
It’s a game anyway. What does it matter? Gong Ya-cheong, these young siblings, the patrol unit members—they’re all artificial intelligences, mere NPCs. But me?
I’m alive. I alone am real and substantial among them.
But….
‘Damn it. It’s such a simple problem… why am I like this?’
An inexplicable resistance welled up. I was flustered by a rejection so strong it startled even me.
‘Why exactly?’
I didn’t know. For hours afterward, I couldn’t find the answer, and then night fell.

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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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