Murim Login - Chapter 274

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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 274
‘A hospital? Just like that, out of nowhere?’
Before I could ask what was happening, the call cut off amid hurried footsteps.
I tried calling back twice, three times, but it was no use.
– The connection failed. After the beep, your call will be transferred to voicemail….
I hung up at the repeated message. Anxiety crept through my chest like creeping vines.
This was a first. I’d never seen Choi Team Leader look so urgent before—he was always composed.
‘Could it be?’
No. Don’t jump to conclusions.
This wasn’t a time for thinking. It was a time for action.
‘Ilsan Hospital. He said Ilsan Hospital.’
I grabbed my things and rushed out of the Changing Room. The rookies waiting outside turned their heads at my emergence.
Kim Jin-su, who had been chattering enthusiastically in the center, bolted to his feet.
“Ah, Senior! Are we departing right now?”
“No. Something urgent came up.”
Perfect timing, actually. Two hours until the next raid. Fortunately, the Gate was nearby, so the distance wasn’t far.
“Kim Jin-su.”
“Yes.”
“For the next two hours, you’re the temporary team leader.”
“Huh?”
“Take the others to the next Gate. Don’t start the raid under any circumstances until I arrive.”
I gave Kim Jin-su’s shoulder a pat as he nodded with a dazed expression, then rushed out of the building.
I climbed into a taxi that was waiting for a passenger, told the driver the destination, and immediately started making calls.
‘Pick up. Please pick up.’
Beep. Beep.
The longer the dial tone rang, the more impatient I became.
Just as the signal stretched on and I was about to hang up and call again—
Click.
– Oh, son.
– What is it, big brother?
– You be quiet. Don’t touch your phone while eating.
– Seriously, Mom, is that a phone you’re holding or a brick?
– You little brat!
“Phew.”
Thank goodness. It wasn’t what I feared.
The tension drained from me as I heard my family’s voices through the receiver.
I brushed off my mother’s confused questions about what was wrong and ended the call.
‘So it’s a Guild matter, then.’
What happened to whom?
If Choi Team Leader wasn’t answering, the person who would have the most accurate grasp of the situation would be Kim Butler.
But suddenly, a face flashed before my eyes—his increasingly sparse words and the heaviness that had settled over his expression.
‘Lim Hyuk-jun.’
My suspicion proved correct.
When I called the saved number, what greeted me was not Lim Hyuk-jun’s raspy voice, but a cold, mechanical tone.
– The phone is powered off. After the beep…
* * *
I arrived at the hospital in a blur, where Song Song-i—already notified—waited for me with an anxious expression.
“You’re here?”
“Tell me on the way.”
As I passed through the revolving doors, the distinctive hospital smell lingered at the tip of my nose.
Civilians, Hunters, hospital staff—I wove through the throng of people.
Several people who recognized my face began pulling out their phones to take pictures.
“Hey, hey. Look over there.”
“It’s Jin Tae-kyung.”
“Jin Tae-kyung? No way.”
“Wow, the real deal is incredible.”
I suppressed the rising stress, forcing it down.
Passing through the crowd that parted like the Red Sea, I whispered softly to Song Song-i.
“What happened?”
“I don’t know all the details either…”
“Just tell me what you do know.”
She bit her lip.
“He seemed to have a lot on his mind lately.”
“On his mind?”
“The situation, you know. The Guild keeps growing, and talented young rookies keep joining, but…”
“That’s enough. I understand.”
Lim Hyuk-jun was an original member who had been with the Peace Guild since its inception, but he was also the only D-rank Hunter among us.
As the Peace Guild and I drew media attention, rumors about him began to circulate.
That he was the Peace Guild’s only weakness, cruel comments telling him not to bother boarding the bus and just quit.
It was Lim Hyuk-jun who laughed it off while trying to stop us from getting angry at those comments.
But now…
“Sigh.”
My chest felt heavy. I had vowed to take care of my people, yet I had failed to pay closer attention to someone so near to me.
“So? What happened after the Raid yesterday?”
“Apparently he was drinking alone and got into a fight with someone.”
“Go on.”
“From what I heard, he was completely drunk when he fought… He’s badly injured.”
My heart sank in an instant.
Strangers might carelessly gossip about him being a low-rank Hunter, but Lim Hyuk-jun is a D-rank Hunter with twenty years of experience.
Ten ordinary men could not bring him down.
“So the attackers were Hunters.”
Song Song-i nodded quietly.
“How badly is he hurt? Is it serious?”
“The treatment is finished, but….”
Song Song-i’s footsteps halted as she trailed off, hesitating.
Above her head, a sign reading [Special Treatment Ward] swayed gently.
A place treated not by doctors, but by healers—those called Healers. Which itself signified the severity of the injuries.
“You should see for yourself.”
With a sigh-like murmur, Song Song-i pushed open the hospital room door.
Creak.
The acrid smell of medicine filled my nostrils as three figures came into view, hovering around the bed.
Choi Team Leader, Kim Butler, and a middle-aged woman presumed to be Lim Hyuk-jun’s wife.
I felt my heart pounding as I approached the bed.
“…Uncle?”
Wheeze. Wheeze.
Instead of a response, faint breathing sounds emerged. Lim Hyuk-jun lay on pristine white sheets, an oxygen mask covering his face.
And….
The thick, hairy arm that had embraced me so tightly out of habit—it had been severed cleanly below the elbow.
* * *
The silence stretched on.
Even after I left the hospital room and climbed to the rooftop, I couldn’t find the right words to say first.
I listened quietly as Choi Team Leader and Kim Butler recounted the details of the incident, and finally opened my mouth.
“Where are those bastards right now?”
Everyone present knew exactly who I was referring to.
Choi Team Leader, whose lips had been trembling, shook his head silently.
Surely not?
“You didn’t catch them?”
“No. All three fled the scene.”
“What about the CCTV? They drank at the restaurant, so their faces should be on camera.”
“The investigative authorities have already been through. We have the results.”
Modern CCTV cameras are practically flawless. If their faces were captured clearly, it would only be a matter of time before they were apprehended.
Hunters and Awakened individuals were few enough in number that catching them was relatively straightforward.
“Then that settles it. We’ll track down those bastards immediately and——”
“They’re unidentified, apparently.”
“What?”
Had I misheard something? Choi Team Leader continued with a sigh as I stared at him in confusion.
“Unidentified. They’re not Awakened individuals or Hunters registered in Korea, according to the report.”
“…Could they be ethnic Koreans from China? Chinese or Japanese?”
“No. According to witness testimony, the suspects are definitely Korean. And they initiated the confrontation first.”
“Then what in the hell is this….”
Kim Butler, who had been listening silently to my conversation with Choi Team Leader, suddenly spoke up.
“There’s a possibility they could be Black Hunters.”
Black Hunters?
The term itself sounded unsavory. Kim Butler continued in a low voice.
“Not all Awakened are registered with the Administrative Bureau and the Hunter Association, you see.”
I wondered what he meant, hearing a term I’d never encountered before.
I rubbed my throbbing temples.
“Isn’t that just unregistered Awakened?”
In modern society, Awakened serve as both a formidable shield against Gates and a blade that must be handled with care. Even the lowest-ranked Hunters possess power that far exceeds that of ordinary humans.
Because of this, Awakened are always kept under strict oversight.
Even if someone has no intention of becoming a Hunter, their name is included on the Awakened registry.
Removal from the list only comes after death.
Unregistered Awakened referred to those who failed to register with the Hunter Association within a designated timeframe.
Occasionally, they’re called something else.
‘Lunatics.’
There were good reasons why unregistered Awakened were treated as lunatics.
If they don’t voluntarily report within one month of Awakening, they become prisoners rather than Awakened.
No suspended sentences, no negotiations—they’re thrown straight into an Awakened penitentiary, and upon release, they receive an electronic ankle monitor as a parting gift. So who would gamble with their entire life?
“Are there still such insane people around these days?”
“There always have been, and there still are. That’s why crime continues to occur.”
“So the ones who attacked Lim Hyuk-jun are unregistered Awakened. But then how are we supposed to find them….”
Kim Butler gently interrupted me.
“They’re Black Hunters.”
“Yes. So they’re unregistered Awakened.”
“It’s different.”
Kim Butler stroked his well-groomed beard and continued.
“Hunter Jin Tae-kyung. What do you think is the greatest difference between Awakened and Hunters?”
A sudden question. It felt like we were going in circles. If my conversation partner weren’t Kim Butler, I might have said something sharp.
I suppressed my frustration and answered.
“Training. Just as having a gun doesn’t make someone a hunter.”
“Unregistered Awakened and Black Hunters follow the same logic.”
“So what you’re saying is….”
Kim Butler nodded.
“Exactly. An unregistered Awakened who has received systematic training like a Hunter. That’s what a Black Hunter is.”
For a moment, I was stunned. It was actually a simple concept when you thought about it, but I’d never considered it before.
And for good reason.
“How is that even possible?”
Unregistered Awakened are serious criminals. Where would they obtain weapons, and under whose guidance would they receive systematic training?
“Could it be that criminal organizations or something like that are raising Black Hunters?”
“Criminal organizations…. Half right, half wrong.”
“Of course?”
In the next moment, a terse reply tumbled from Choi Team Leader’s lips.
“Guilds.”
“…Yes?”
“Wherever there are people, money accumulates. And where money gathers, conflict inevitably follows. Do you truly believe the Guilds exist purely to protect the world from the monsters beyond the Gates?”
I couldn’t answer.
I myself didn’t become a Hunter to save the world.
The Cataclysm is ancient history now. When people speak of Hunters, they no longer conjure images of noble duty or self-sacrifice.
They envy their wealth and fame, and those raised watching such spectacles become Hunters themselves.
The collective of these Hunters is what we call a Guild.
“Do you know the domestic business rankings? Top ten. On the surface, they’re all private enterprises, but in reality, they’re nothing but puppets of massive Guilds. It’s no different overseas.”
Choi Team Leader let out a cold laugh.
Only then, barely emerging from my shock, did I open my mouth.
“Is that… is all of that actually true?”
“You asked me that question before. Why I left the Ares Guild.”
Choi Team Leader didn’t continue, but his meaning was clear enough.
They’re all just excrement in the same cesspool.
To them, Black Hunters are like hidden daggers tucked in a sleeve. No one knows of their existence.
Or rather, they can pretend not to know.
Even as the back of my head throbbed, an unresolved question surfaced.
“Fine. Let’s say that’s all true.”
I took a deep breath, and my mind grew cold and clear.
“But why—why would those Black Hunters go after Lim Hyuk-jun? To intimidate us, who are far beneath them, to this extent…?”
“Tae-kyung.”
Choi Team Leader cut me off, licking his parched lips.
His gaze was peculiar. The look one gives a greenhorn.
It felt as though I’d been transported back to the day I first became a Hunter.
“How naive you are.”
Before I could respond, his words continued.
“This is a place where monsters swarm. A single irritating human, a single Guild—they can be erased without consequence. Abandon your naive common sense.”
His chilling words pierced my chest.

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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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