Murim Login - Chapter 273

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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 273
“Good morning!”
“Good morning!”
I feel like a mob boss. Every step I take, the rookie guild members bow at ninety-degree angles and greet me from all directions.
They’re fresh out of the Training Facility. In terms of seniority, I’m far ahead of them.
‘This industry does take hierarchy pretty seriously.’
The problem is that among the rookies, there are late-blooming hunters who are older than me.
“It’s an honor to meet you!”
A rookie who looked to be in his mid-thirties bowed with eyes shining brightly.
Looking at his crown, which gleamed even more than his eyes, my heart ached.
“Yes. Do your best….”
“Thank you!”
“Thank you!”
What is this, an echo?
And I wasn’t talking to you lot. You balding fools.
Inwardly clicking my tongue at the rookies, my gaze suddenly stopped on one young man.
‘This one’s got some potential.’
The best of the new recruits this time around. The aura I sense from him, the restraint in his every movement—like a martial artist.
The young man, sensing my gaze, smiled and spoke.
“Good morning, Senior.”
He’s definitely different. Unlike the other rookies, he’s neither nervous nor obsequious.
From my experience, these types fall into exactly two categories.
Either they have strong pride despite having nothing, or they’re confident in their own abilities.
This one is the latter.
“You there—what’s your name, if I may ask?”
“Kim Jin-su. I graduated top of my class from the Training Facility’s B-rank program. I was also the first one to destroy a golem’s core in this raid.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. It was my first A-rank Gate, but it wasn’t as difficult as I expected.”
An interesting fellow.
He boasts without hesitation. The type who’ll always secure his own meal wherever he goes.
As I stared at him, Kim Jin-su laughed good-naturedly.
“And feel free to speak casually with me, Senior.”
“Since we just met. Once we get comfortable, I’ll drop the formality. I’d appreciate it if everyone else could skip the loud greetings like today.”
“Yes!”
“I’ll remember that, Senior!”
….
They’re not listening at all.
The office door at the end of the hallway slid open with a soft sound at the loud, ringing noise.
A crisp white dress shirt and well-pressed black slacks. There’s only one hunter in our guild who commutes in an outfit like that.
“Quite lively this morning, aren’t we.”
“That’s actually the problem—too much vitality.”
Choi Team Leader held up his coffee cup like a scene from a commercial and gestured around the office with his chin.
“Let’s calm down over a cup of coffee. Please, come in.”
* * *
The office was spacious and immaculate. Furnished to match Choi Team Leader’s tastes, luxury furniture lined every corner, and a silver nameplate sat atop his desk.
[Team Leader Choi Min-woo]
‘Even the nameplate looks expensive.’
The guild house relocation and recruitment of new members must have cost a fortune, yet it seemed the astronomical settlement amount Won Myung-hun had extracted from Star Guild during his tenure as Guild Master was indeed real.
As I examined the nameplate with these thoughts, a cup of black coffee was suddenly thrust toward me.
Choi Team Leader noticed where my gaze was directed and asked.
“Would you like me to make one for you? A nameplate?”
“That’s not necessary. I don’t really have an official position anyway.”
“We can create one. Overall Team Leader. Director. Whatever you’d like to suggest.”
“Anything?”
“Yes.”
“Then modestly, as Guild Master.”
“….”
“I’m joking. If I became Guild Master, the guild would collapse.”
Besides, even if I tried, I’d just be a figurehead, a puppet leader—what was the point?
I accepted the coffee cup and settled onto the sofa. Over twenty newspapers were stacked on the glass table.
From major domestic dailies to foreign newspapers filled with completely incomprehensible characters. Just looking at them made my eyes spin.
“Surely you don’t read all of these?”
“I keep up with international trends and gather industry information. It’s nothing special. Five languages is enough to get through them.”
“….”
That’s very much something special. Five languages—what kind of life has this man lived?
I clicked my tongue and glanced sideways at one of the open newspapers.
A clear color photograph of a man who appeared to be in his thirties caught my eye, along with bold, thick lettering.
– Late Hunter Jung Hyun-woo (Photo attached)
– Continuing accidents. Gates—spaces of death that even A-rank Hunters cannot escape.
– Myeongdong Guild expresses regret over the unexpected death of the deceased….
Another accident had occurred.
‘Myeongdong Guild—that’s Ji-hun’s guild.’
Just as I was about to read more carefully, Choi Team Leader, gracefully tilting his coffee cup, continued speaking.
“Peace Guild will continue to grow from here on. We’ve already recruited twenty B-rank Hunters and thirty C-rank or lower Hunters. This level of growth is unprecedented even in the domestic market, which has long since stagnated.”
True to his words, Peace Guild’s growth rate was formidable.
Only just over four months had passed since the guild’s founding, yet if this momentum continued, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call it a mid-tier guild.
‘Of course, compared to mid-tier guilds, we’re still short on the number of affiliated Hunters.’
That’s simply because we haven’t recruited yet, not because we can’t.
You could tell just from the fact that the guild website crashed from traffic overload. Hundreds of employment inquiries pour in every single day, I was told.
“And I played a major role in that. The primary contributor.”
“That’s the truth.”
Choi Team Leader continued smoothly.
“It’s true, but I’m afraid there’s no bonus.”
“…You’re quick to pick up on things.”
I’d probed a bit just in case, but as expected, it didn’t work.
Choi Team Leader smiled faintly as he watched me smack my lips in silent disappointment.
“However, if you’d do me one favor, I’ll consider it positively.”
“What kind of favor?”
“I’d like you to take charge of training our new guild members for a while.”
“…The rookies?”
“Yes. We’ve carefully selected them, and while they all have talent, they still lack refinement in many areas.”
“Of course. They’re greenhorns.”
No matter how much training they go through at a Training Facility, the atmosphere of actual combat is fundamentally different.
There’s a reason the saying goes that a veteran hunter with ten years of experience beats a fresh graduate, no matter their rank.
“But why ask me…? There are others, aren’t there?”
“I already mentioned it to Kim Butler and Song-i this morning. We’ll take turns teaching them.”
“What are you talking about?”
“They agreed without hesitation. Very readily, in fact.”
“…What about Jang?”
“I haven’t told him yet. He’s well past his start time and isn’t answering his calls.”
Choi Team Leader glanced at the time and continued.
“Wouldn’t that be fine? The new guild members are hoping Jin Tae-kyung will guide them. Most of them applied to our guild specifically because of you.”
“Well, I appreciate you giving me a ride on that airplane, but…”
I scratched the back of my head.
In Murim right now, Dark Heaven has revealed itself, and Jeok Cheon-gang is unconscious.
Even if I spend thirty days here in the modern world, only three hours pass in Murim. While I have time to spare, teaching fledglings isn’t worth it when I could be clearing A-rank Gates instead.
I’d rather spend that time with my family—it’d be a hundred times better.
“Please count me out. Wouldn’t it be more efficient for the guild if I cleared one more A-rank Gate instead of teaching these kids?”
“Efficient, you say…”
“Yes, efficiency.”
“Then I suppose there’s no helping it.”
An ominous smile played at the corners of Choi Team Leader’s mouth.
“Please take good care of our new guild members.”
“Huh?”
“A-rank Gates. All reservations are completely booked. For at least the next week, it’s impossible.”
“Don’t lie! You scoundrel!”
“If you don’t believe me, you can check for yourself.”
I snatched the paper Choi Team Leader offered. It was filled with the reservation status of A-rank Gates across the entire nation.
Damn it, he’s serious.
“I’ll give you a 200% performance bonus this month. Raids and mentoring juniors too. How heartwarming.”
“….”
“Or perhaps you’d prefer to rest at home.”
Choi Team Leader’s lips curled up in an irritating smirk.
Just as I was about to shout ‘No way!’, a system notification chimed.
Ding.
– Quest,
[It was far too much money to refuse.]
has been created!
Do you accept this Quest?
Y / N
“What will you do?”
“….”
“I’ll take your silence as acceptance and have the Rookies prepare. I’ve already secured several B-rank Gates.”
Ding.
– You have implicitly consented.
– Quest accepted!
Damn it.
* * *
– Grrrrr.
The monsters’ ragged breathing pressed in from all directions. Twenty pairs of anxious eyes swept across the surroundings.
Huff, huff.
Breathing grew ragged, and the hands gripping shields and weapons had turned deathly pale.
I sat perched on a branch towering impossibly high above, observing the scene unfold.
My expression was blank, yet my mind churned with serious deliberation.
‘What should I eat for dinner?’
Should I go for ribs, or perhaps duck soup for a change?
It felt wasteful to give up on either….
“Hold the line!”
“Dealers, what are you doing? Dealers!”
At the piercing screams, I glanced down to see chaos.
A dozen Lycanthropes charged forward, battering against the shield wall. The tanks, drained of color, were being pushed back in a steady stream.
‘They’re losing ground because they’re trying to overpower the monsters with brute strength.’
Of course, the tanks weren’t entirely at fault. The dealers, panicked as well, were failing to do their part.
Had they landed timely harassment attacks, this situation wouldn’t have unfolded at all.
I’d warned them several times before the raid started, yet here we are, the same result.
‘That wall’s about to collapse.’
The moment that thought crossed my mind, the shield wall crumbled with a scream.
In an instant, the breach opened. The most agile-looking Lycanthrope surged through with its distinctive howl.
The golden beast’s eyes fixed on the healers cowering behind the shield wall.
– Roooaaarrr!
– Awooooo!
To me, it sounded like nothing more than a dog’s bark, but the rookie hunters who’d just begun their second raid were trembling with fear.
“Kyaaaah!”
“Ahhhhh!”
The screams of the mage and healer shattered through the darkness-shrouded forest.
With all this noise already, at least twenty more would come running. I made a mental note of those two screamers’ faces.
From now on, their nicknames would be the Pied Pipers.
“Senior! Jin Tae-kyung, senior!”
“Help us! Please, senior!”
Several round faces looked up at me desperately.
The front line had already collapsed, and behind the rookies stood only one massive boulder.
The Lycanthropes tightened their encirclement with triumphant momentum.
‘How are the monsters forming better formations than them?’
I rubbed the sleep from my eyes as I answered.
“I told you. If I help, you won’t improve.”
“We don’t care about improving!”
“Well, I care. You know what happens when you get used to receiving help? You’ll get used to shitting yourself during raids too.”
“But I don’t want to die like this!”
“Yet everyone hates dying, don’t they?”
“Please help us!”
“Don’t give up. Keep fighting. You’ve got this!”
“Save us!”
“By the way, what should I eat for dinner tonight—ribs or duck soup?”
“Hey, you bastard!”
It was the balding rookie I’d seen this morning. The admiring gleam that had shone as brightly as his scalp was gone, replaced entirely by fury.
“Get down here! You little punk…”
Thwack!
A tanker flew at him from somewhere, and the balding rookie went flying backward.
The tide of battle had already turned in the monsters’ favor. I was considering whether to step in when it happened.
Whoosh!
– Mooooo….
A flash of light, and one Lycanthrope cried out. Blood gushed from its gaping throat before it collapsed.
The young man who’d landed that precise, powerful blow shouted with vigor.
“Formation Three!”
At the loud command, people began snapping back to their senses one by one.
Soon, twenty hunters formed up and began advancing slowly forward.
Leading them was the young man, Kim Jin-su.
“Push harder! Archers, prepare your skills!”
‘This guy’s got some skill.’
I chuckled and leaped down from the tree, then swung my spear toward the dozens of Lycanthropes that had come running at the sound of battle.
Screeeeeech!
* * *
“Well done.”
“Thank you, Senior!”
Kim Jin-su grinned and bowed his head. Behind him, three people lay with their faces pressed into the ground.
Two of them were the flute players, and the remaining one was the bald Rookie.
I made sure to have the bald Rookie do a proper prone stretch.
At least I should preserve what little he has left….
“Keep it up like this next time. You’ll improve quickly.”
“Yes. I won’t disappoint you.”
“Then why don’t you go rest too, Jin-su. We have another raid in two hours anyway.”
Choi Team Leader was really committed. Three raids in a single day.
Just as I was grinding my teeth inwardly, my phone vibrated in my pocket.
[Luxury Goods Fanatic]
What’s this, did telepathy work?
Bewildered, the moment I answered the call, Choi Team Leader’s urgent voice struck my ear.
– Tae-kyung. Come to Ilsan Hospital right now!
Hospital?

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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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