Murim Login - Chapter 270

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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 270
Ding.
–
[Logout]
completed.
My eyes snapped open at the system notification.
Instead of the familiar ceiling, the moment my gaze met two pairs of eyes staring down at me with wide-eyed wonder.
“Kyaaah!”
“Mom!”
With piercing shrieks, both of them tumbled backward onto their backsides.
I gazed at Mother and Ha-yeon with a yawn, as if I’d just woken from an ordinary sleep.
“What are you so startled about?”
“Gasp, huff—”
“Huff, huff—”
They looked as though they’d seen a ghost. Sitting on the floor, both of them caught their breath before shrieking in unison.
“My heart nearly stopped!”
“You little brat! You little brat!”
Smack! Smack!
Ha-yeon’s fury ignited, and Mother rushed at me, striking my back relentlessly.
Somehow, a fifty-year-old housewife’s palm felt more painful than any martial artist’s fist.
‘Have I grown weak?’
The maternal authority that both body and soul remembered.
After taking several more blows, the barrage of palm strikes finally ceased.
Of course, a few hits weren’t going to resolve everything.
“Son.”
I swallowed hard at Mother’s grave tone. The atmosphere was unmistakably serious, just as I’d anticipated.
“Y-yes, Mother.”
“Do you know you’ve been sleeping for two whole days?”
Ha-yeon added her two cents.
“To be precise, forty-two hours.”
“Right. You wouldn’t wake up no matter what, so we almost called an ambulance.”
Forty-two hours.
I’d slept quite a lot. Having spent over a year in the Murim, that much time would have naturally passed.
Though I hadn’t expected it to stretch quite this long.
“Do you have narcolepsy or something? How can you sleep for so long? You didn’t even react when we shook you.”
I brazenly lied to Ha-yeon, who stared at me with exasperation.
“What are you talking about? I woke up a couple of times in between.”
“No, you didn’t. Every time Mom and I checked, you were asleep——”
“I woke up every dawn. How would you have seen that?”
“Huh?”
“Every time I opened my eyes, it was dawn. I was so exhausted I just slept straight through.”
“No, how is that even possible?”
It wasn’t, of course.
But I’d long since mastered the art of dealing with this stubborn younger sister of mine, who was practically allergic to trust.
“Hey, Jin Ha-yeon.”
I called her name with an intentionally stern expression, and she flinched.
“Uh, yeah?”
“Do you know what your older brother was like in high school?”
“N-no, I don’t.”
“I slept straight through from first period to seventh period without eating, and then I slept again during evening study hours.”
“….”
“Think that’s all?”
“There’s more?”
“Of course. I slept at school, so what do you think I did at home?”
“Don’t tell me….”
“That’s right. I came home after school and went right back to sleep. That’s the kind of person I am.”
“Impressive.”
Ha-yeon nodded solemnly, and Mother, who had been listening quietly, spoke with an expression of utter devastation.
“Son, that’s not something to brag about….”
I’m sorry, Mother.
But since something similar might happen again later, it seemed better to drive the point home.
Even if it did drive a nail through Mother’s heart.
‘Here I go again, stacking up more filial impiety.’
I quietly averted my gaze from Mother. It wasn’t like I’d just started failing at studying anyway. At least her comments about narcolepsy or whatever were mercifully silenced.
I changed the subject before Ha-yeon could say anything.
“Oh, that’s right. The massage chair. Weren’t we supposed to go buy a massage chair?”
Ha-yeon answered with a look of exasperation.
“We already bought it, you fool.”
“Oh, we did?”
“Yeah. I picked the most expensive one. It was worth every penny. I laid on it for a second and nearly went straight to heaven.”
“You’d be on the express train to hell. But with what money?”
“What money? Your money, obviously. Here, take this. I used your card well.”
“…Yeah, good job.”
When did she even take my card?
But given my own transgressions, I couldn’t very well complain.
If it was the most expensive model, how much could it possibly have cost? Should I have saved more from the last raid monster sale proceeds?
I was lost in these thoughts as I took the card from her.
Ding dong.
At the sound of the doorbell, Mother’s and Ha-yeon’s ears perked up.
“Is someone here?”
“They’re here!”
Here? What do you mean, here?
I asked with a bewildered expression.
“Are you expecting someone?”
“Yes. The delivery driver.”
Ha-yeon answered excitedly and bolted from the room.
But moments later, the voice that came with the sound of the entrance door opening wasn’t the delivery driver she’d been waiting for.
“Excuse me. Is Jin Tae-kyung here?”
“Who… are you perhaps a reporter?”
“No.”
A soft yet low voice continued.
“I’m the Team Leader. From the Peace Guild.”
I only knew one Peace Guild Team Leader.
As I stepped into the living room, I saw a man in a black coat over Ha-yeon’s shoulder.
“Team Leader.”
Choi Team Leader nodded in greeting.
“Have you been resting well?”
“…Well, so-so.”
Truth be told, after more than a year of hardship in the Murim, my mental exhaustion was no joke.
Though it had been a while since I’d seen his face, anxiety outweighed any sense of joy.
If he’d gone to the trouble of finding my home, his business was obvious.
“I’m glad you’ve had a good rest.”
“I didn’t say I rested well, but anyway, what brings you here? As far as I know, I don’t have any broadcast or media schedules lined up.”
“That’s only natural. You’re not a celebrity, after all.”
“Right?”
“We have a workshop for the newly recruited guild members today.”
“A workshop?”
“Yes.”
That’s fine. I’m curious about the new guild members anyway, and I can just go for a bit and rest properly afterward.
“When does the workshop end?”
“It’s scheduled for about six nights and seven days.”
“What? A whole week for a workshop… are we going to Pyeongchang or Gapyeong?”
“That would be too small. Let’s think bigger.”
“Then could it be… an overseas resort in Southeast Asia?”
“Hmm.”
“Phuket, it’s Phuket!”
Choi Team Leader smiled brightly with a satisfied expression.
“We’ve secured an A-rank Gate.”
“Ah.”
“You’ll build team unity by hunting monsters together.”
“….”
A workshop with monsters. Now that’s something special.
* * *
Crunch, crunch. Boom!
With each step the five-meter-tall colossus took, the very earth trembled beneath its weight.
From head to toe, its entire body was composed of solid stone, with moss clinging to it in patches and glistening with moisture.
Atop its massive form, where vines hung down like hair, a crimson light flashed brilliantly.
The monster’s eyes. Someone let out a whisper as they gazed upon the soulless stare of this magical construct.
“A Golem….”
A bona fide A-rank monster.
The freshly graduated B-rank Hunters from the Training Facility felt their knees buckle at the mere sight of it.
“How are we supposed to defeat that….”
“A single blow would kill us for sure.”
It was at that very moment when twenty-odd Rookie Guild members stood at a distance, watching the Golem lumber forward while swallowing hard.
“There’s no need to be afraid. This Stone Golem approaching us has tremendous destructive power and durability, but it has one critical weakness—its speed is slow.”
At the words of the young Team Leader, who looked as though he’d just stepped out of a fashion magazine, the female Hunters nodded with dreamy eyes.
“It’s slow, he says.”
“If Choi Min-woo Team Leader says it’s slow, then it’s slow. That’s the truth.”
In that instant, the Stone Golem’s head turned slowly toward them.
After a moment of silence, its stone legs accelerated. With each stride, it closed three meters of distance in a flash.
Boom, boom, boom, boom!
“…It’s incredibly fast though?”
“Damn it, I should’ve gone DPS instead of tank.”
“Excuse me. What exactly do DPS players do besides loaf around?”
“Then how about you take this shield and tank for me instead?”
“That’s… not happening.”
The dark clouds hanging over the Rookie Guild members’ faces dispersed at the sound of a clear voice that rang out in the next moment.
“Wind takes form. Haste!”
“Stone-breaking strength. Strength!”
“Life to the weary body. Healing!”
Whoooosh.
Incantations rang out in succession.
Along with a refreshing breeze, halos of light descended upon the heads of the Rookie Guild members.
Those who felt their bodies transformed beyond all comparison turned their heads in astonishment.
‘What is this? The sensation is completely different.’
‘She’s a B-rank Healer like me, but the effect is this good?’
‘Wow. She’s from the Ares Guild, I heard.’
At the gazes directed toward her, Song Song-i furrowed her flawless brow.
“What are you all doing? Keep standing there dazed and you’ll be holding your workshop in heaven.”
Those who had been mesmerized once by the effects of her exceptional buff magic—so potent they’d mistake her for an A-rank Healer—and twice by her beauty finally snapped back to attention.
Boom, boom, boom, boom!
– A guttural roar echoed across the field!
The Stone Golem, which had closed the distance to twenty meters in the blink of an eye, swung its massive arm.
Whoooosh!
With a deafening crack of displaced air, an ancient tree—one that had been driven deep into the earth mere moments before—was launched toward them like a cannon shell.
“S-shields up!”
Clang, clang, clang!
A desperate cry rang out as multiple mana-infused Tower Shields materialized across the front line.
But could mere shields truly stop such a colossal projectile hurtling at them with such devastating force?
Everyone braced themselves for the catastrophic impact, teeth gritted in anticipation.
“Fire Wall.”
Kaboom!
A towering inferno erupted skyward.
The searing heat incinerated the desiccated branches and leaves in an instant. The massive trunk, now charred black, crumbled to ash the moment it touched the Tower Shields.
“Wow….”
“What on earth is this?”
From the empty air above the gaping rookies’ heads came a deep, resonant voice that might have belonged in a coffee commercial.
“I blocked it once, but there will be no second time.”
It was strange. His manner of speech and bearing were impeccably courteous, yet the elderly gentleman’s eyes gleamed with the same ruthless malice that had tormented me at the Training Facility.
No—it was far worse than that.
“Fire Wall.”
With the second incantation, another wall of flame erupted.
The only difference was that this time it rose behind them, not in front.
“Ah, it’s hot!”
“What is this?!”
“Guild Master! Guild Master?!”
Kim Butler, who had sealed off the rookies’ rear with a curtain of fire, smiled faintly.
“You cannot grow if you rely on assistance within the Gate. Fight with everything you have.”
“…!”
“Mages—use detection magic to locate the core. Tanks—draw aggro while protecting the healers. Dealers…I trust you need no further explanation.”
With a subtle gesture.
At Kim Butler’s wave, Choi Team Leader and Song Song-i were lifted into the air.
It was the moment the abandoned rookies were about to descend into panic.
“Tank, forward!”
Crash!
With a thunderous shout, a heavily armored man drove his Tower Shield into the ground.
Several of the rookie guild members flinched at the sight.
They had just realized that the first to step forward was a middle-aged D-rank Hunter with nothing but twenty years of experience to his name.
“What are you doing?! Get your heads in the game!”
But there was no choice. Their bodies, already sensing the threat to their lives, moved instinctively toward the front lines.
“Formation!”
“Formation-!”
Clack clack clack!
With a sound like tearing fabric, the tower shield solidified into an impenetrable wall.
The mages and healers drew upon their mana reserves, while the damage dealers prepared their most devastating strikes.
Lim Hyuk-jun, sheltered behind the shields, bellowed with steely determination.
“Hold the line!”
– Gwoooaaarrr!
The Stone Golem, bearing down upon them, hurled itself against the shield wall.
Crash!
* * *
“Huff. Hah… hah…”
“Ugh.”
Ragged breathing and groans echoed from all directions.
The tank with a shattered arm, the mages and healers drained of every drop of mana, collapsed where they stood, while the damage dealers sprawled across the Stone Golem’s remains.
“Ugh, I’m dying.”
“Did we really just kill that Stone Golem?”
Five grueling hours of raiding. For a team of roughly twenty hunters fresh from the Training Facility, the ordeal had been grueling and interminable, yet their hearts swelled with pride.
“I actually defeated an A-rank monster…”
“Let’s all take a commemorative photo later. We can frame it and hang it in the living room.”
“Who else defeats a Stone Golem on their first raid?”
“Everyone did great work.”
It was then, as they all savored their achievement with eyes glistening with emotion.
– Gwoooaaarrr!
– Krooaaarrr!
The rookie guild members’ faces went rigid as they spotted golems approaching in the distance, their roars growing louder.
‘What… what are those?’
At a glance, more than ten of them loomed larger and more formidable than the Stone Golem. Each time their massive forms shifted, light flickered across their surfaces.
Someone screamed.
“Iron! Iron Golems!”
“Kyaaaah!”
The emergence of Iron Golems—among the highest tier of golems—was enough to send the group into panic.
“Why… why are they appearing here!”
“They’re supposed to be scattered separately!”
No one had ever heard of golems living in groups.
Yet the golems drawing ever closer and the trembling earth beneath their feet confirmed that this nightmare was undeniably real.
In the end, there was only one lifeline left for them.
“Please help us! We’re all going to die!”
A cry into the void. Choi Team Leader, who had been hovering in the air observing the situation from the beginning, smiled faintly.
“We have no reason to assist you.”
“…What did you just say?”
No, had that bastard lost his mind?
It was the moment when everyone doubted their own ears.
Whoosh, crack!
A crimson flash erupted, and the Iron Golem’s body that had been charging forward split cleanly in half—from crown to groin.
Crash!
Between the steel masses crumbling to either side, a single figure emerged.
“Herding hunt dogs is child’s play.”
The young man, Jin Tae-kyung, smirked.

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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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