Murim Login - Chapter 300

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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 300
The Black Forest of the Dark Sorcerer. Or rather, I should call it the Black Forest of the Skeleton Warlord now.
In any case, this oppressively gloomy forest was dreadfully vast and labyrinthine. Without the Warlord to survey the interior of the Gate like the palm of his hand, I would have lost my way long ago.
– So you’re not just cunning, but foolish as well, human. What would you have done without me?
“Right, so where do we go from here?”
– Turn right a hundred paces ahead.
“…How does this skeleton even know the word ‘right’?”
One well-captured Warlord was worth ten navigation systems.
Whoooosh!
I shot forward at a dazzling speed, following the Warlord’s directional guidance.
Thanks to the half-year’s worth of Internal Force I’d gained while converting Choi Team Leader into a True Energy practitioner, my power flowed endlessly like an inexhaustible spring, even as I deployed my movement technique at full strength.
‘More is always better, after all.’
After running for some time, the sounds of people and their voices began drawing closer.
My incredibly enhanced vision caught familiar faces beyond the brush, easily hundreds of meters away.
‘Choi Team Leader and Kim Butler. Kkokjeong and Song Song-i too?’
I could also see the rookie Guild members I’d sent out about an hour ago.
But setting those aside, why were people who should be diligently cultivating their vital energy here?
But my confusion was brief—forgotten facts suddenly struck my mind.
‘Oh, I forgot.’
I had already anticipated that things would be chaotic outside.
That’s why I’d planned to eliminate the Warlord and skeleton forces and leave immediately. But in my excitement over discovering an unexpected experience farm, I’d made the mistake of abandoning the scene.
‘Things must have gotten pretty wild out there by now.’
Though I had to admit, it seemed rather late for such chaos. It had been at least an hour since I’d sent the rookie Guild members out of the Gate.
‘I can just explain the situation. It’ll be fine.’
Just as I was about to emerge from the tall grass and approach them.
“A skeleton emblem! Yes, this is the armor the Named Monster was wearing!”
“There’s a short sword here too! It’s not equipment skeletons use!”
“It’s the short sword Senior Jin Tae-kyung used!”
At the succession of cries, Lim Hyuk-jun suddenly burst into tears.
“Ugh, ugh-huh!”
“…?”
– …?
“Tae-kyung… Tae-kyung… ugh-huh!”
Wait, is this what I think it is?
My mouth hung open as the Warlord’s green eyes rolled toward me.
– Those humans believe you’re dead.
“Uh, yeah. There seems to be a massive misunderstanding.”
– Then shouldn’t you stop hiding like a rat and go out there?
But the situation was already spiraling beyond control.
Suddenly Song Song-i and Kim Butler’s tears began streaming down, and the Guild members bowed their heads with reddened eyes.
The forest path had grown heavy with sorrow and lamentation.
“….”
I couldn’t do it. The atmosphere was far too grim for me to step forward.
What would happen if I suddenly appeared saying, “Surprise! You thought I was dead, but I’m alive!”?
‘What would happen? I’d get cursed out, that’s what.’
Just thinking about the aftermath made cold sweat bead on my skin. Still, I had to clear up this misunderstanding before the atmosphere deteriorated further.
Of course, there was one thing I needed to deal with first.
“You, stay inside for a moment.”
– Huh? What do you mean?
“I’m not sure if it’ll work, but… people might get shocked, so just stay in there for now.”
– Stay where, exactly?
Ignoring the Warlord’s confused question, I immediately muttered a command in my mind.
‘Inventory open. Store.’
Poof.
The moment the command left my lips, the Warlord’s skull vanished from my hands.
The inventory was a space where living creatures couldn’t enter. But the Skeleton Warlord was an undead monster that had lost its vitality long ago, so it seemed to be possible.
“Oh, that works.”
– Ugh! Where am I?!
“What is this? It can talk from inside?”
Was it because the inventory was connected to me?
I’d never put anything living in there before, so this was my first time experiencing this.
While I marveled at this discovery, the Warlord’s glowing voice echoed through my mind.
– How dare you do this to me! Let me out this instant!
“No. I can’t let you out.”
– Do you truly believe you’ll escape unscathed from this?!
“You seem like you’ll live a long and healthy life, free from all suffering and death.”
– This is infuriating! I feel like I’m suffocating!
“Why would you suffocate? You don’t breathe anyway.”
– You wretch!
“Ugh, you’re so loud. Should I just obliterate you?”
The Warlord’s voice suddenly brightened.
– It’s more comfortable than I expected.
“Right. Rest easy in there. And even if you come out, don’t open your mouth in front of people.”
– Understood. But….
“But what?”
– For a cunning human, you seem to have quite a few friends. A considerable number of intruders have just entered.
Moments later, upon spotting hundreds of hunters pouring in like a swarm of clouds, I narrowed my eyes.
The Warlord’s assessment was only half-correct. The number was indeed considerable, but they weren’t friends.
Especially not the one charging ahead like a triumphant general.
‘Seok Go-jun?’
Why is that bastard here?
And the middle-aged man clinging to him like a soulmate—I’ve seen that face a few times on TV and in the newspapers.
‘The Seoul Association President himself showed up?’
The Ares Guild and the Seoul Hunter Association appearing together.
This situation has grown far larger than I anticipated. This will make it much harder to slip away.
As I measured the timing to leave with growing anxiety, I let out a hollow laugh at the conversation between the two men that followed.
“Look at these bastards.”
The conversation was fragmented, but it was enough to grasp the situation.
Lee Jung-yong, who sent Seok Go-jun to eliminate me as a threat, and the Association President, who wanted to seize Lee Jung-yong as a powerful connection.
How truly pathetic.
“Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful.”
Whether it’s the one delaying the rescue operation to kill a single person properly, or the one eagerly accepting that proposal—they’re all shit from the same cesspool.
Even if my hands get dirty, I have to clean up this filth myself. If such garbage is scattered along the roadside, it becomes impossible to walk freely.
“Regret all you want—it’s too late. The dead don’t come back.”
I could see Seok Go-jun’s face sneering as he mocked Choi Team Leader. Without hesitation, I pushed through the undergrowth and stepped forward.
“What the hell are you saying, you son of a bitch.”
I had to deal with at least one of them.
* * *
“…!”
Shock, impact, bewilderment.
With each step, eyes filled with various emotions flew toward me and struck my face.
I passed by, patting the shoulders of Choi Team Leader and the Guild members, who had frozen at my appearance.
Greetings could wait. I had to clean up the pile of filth before it reeked any further.
Thud, thud. Tap.
Where my final footstep stopped, two people stood.
“You’re… alive?”
“J-Jin Tae-kyung?”
Seok Go-jun and the Seoul Association President. I stared intently at their wavering pupils before opening my mouth toward Seok Go-jun.
“What? Disappointed I’m alive?”
“…That can’t be.”
“Strange. Your response seems half a beat late.”
“You’re mistaken.”
Seok Go-jun continued with a noticeably calmer voice.
“We were all looking for you. Where were you?”
“Ah, I went to take a piss nearby. By the time I got back, it seemed like the funeral rites and the forty-ninth day memorial had already passed.”
“Urination?”
“I drank too much water before entering the Gate.”
“You certainly take your time with such matters.”
“It’s a symbol of virility. Want to see me make a rainbow with it? It’s quite beautiful, actually.”
“…Spouting such nonsense, you seem perfectly fine.”
“I’m always fine. But….”
I continued with a faint smile.
“Where does it hurt? Listening to nothing but nonsense spill from your mouth makes it look like you’ve got rabies.”
“…!”
“The more I listened, the more entertaining it got. Going on and on about whether to give a commendation or not—quite the theatrical tantrum you were throwing.”
It wasn’t just Seok Go-jun whose face had gone rigid.
The Seoul Association President, who had been silently swallowing and listening to our exchange, interjected with a flushed face.
“You, young man, have quite a sharp tongue.”
“Yes. I do have a sharp tongue. But who are you?”
At my curt response, the Association President’s brow furrowed.
“You don’t know me?”
“Are you the President?”
“No.”
“Then you’ll have to introduce yourself for me to know.”
“Hah, well. In all my years….”
The Association President clicked his tongue and thrust his chest forward with an arrogant expression dripping with authority.
His portly chest bulged prominently from the suit jacket he’d deliberately worn even to the Gate.
“I am Lee Woo-joong.”
“Ah, Lee Woo-joong.”
I scratched my chin with an innocent expression.
“Do you happen to know Kim Jung-hee?”
“Kim Jung-hee? You mean that elder of the Association?”
“No. She’s my mother.”
“…Huh?”
“Kim Jung-hee. My mother.”
The Association President, momentarily at a loss for words, asked in an exasperated tone.
“So what? What are you trying to say?”
“That’s what I’d like to ask. It’s basic to state your position and name along with where you’re from, but if you just say Lee Woo-joong while cutting everything else short, what am I supposed to do with that? You might as well have said you’re suffering from delusions of grandeur.”
“What did you just say!”
“So who exactly is Lee Woo-joong?”
“I’m Lee Woo-joong! The Seoul Central Hunter Association President!”
“Ah, pleased to meet you.”
“You, you…!”
“Two plus one is three. Two plus two is four. Two plus three is five.”
“Such insolence!”
I let out a snort watching the Association President turn crimson as if about to burst.
I’m well aware that the Seoul Central Association President is one of the most important positions. Yet I make no effort to hide my contempt because he is a man worthy of scorn.
‘A Hunter Association President responsible for the safety and welfare of Hunters, yet he orchestrates something like this.’
Had it been someone other than me who remained in this Gate, they would not have survived.
The Association President knew this fact, yet he dragged out the time for an hour—simply to curry favor with the Ares Guild, or rather, with Lee Jung-yong.
“Jin Tae-kyung, what the hell kind of person are you!”
I fixed the Association President with a cold stare as he jabbed his finger and bellowed at me.
“What kind of person? The kind who hunted two Named Monsters solo. While waiting an hour for the rescue team, no less.”
“That, that’s….”
The Association President flinched at my intensity and retreated a step backward.
But the distance between us never widened. I advanced as much as he withdrew.
Thud.
One step.
“Lee Woo-joong, Association President.”
“S-step back.”
Thud.
Another step forward.
“If you’re the Association President, work for the Hunter Association. Not for the Guild.”
“I, I don’t understand what you’re saying.”
“Shall I make it clear? Right here, in front of everyone?”
Thud. Grip.
On the third and final step, a firm hand seized my shoulder.
“That’s enough.”
I smirked at Seok Go-jun, who stood in my path.
“Get your hand off. You reek.”
“Do you enjoy escalating things?”
“Why, are you scared?”
“Scared?”
Seok Go-jun whispered near my ear with a dry laugh.
“The ones who should be scared are you bastards. Right now, standing behind me are hunters from the Ares Guild and the Hunter Association. If you want to leave here alive, I’d watch your tongue.”
“Oh, so you’ll bury everyone here if things go south? That’s quite the undertaking—can you handle it?”
“That’s why I’m restraining myself. Count yourself lucky.”
“That’s terrifying. By the way, are you okay with getting beaten by me last time? Did you drink a good potion?”
Seok Go-jun’s eyes darkened.
“Childish provocation.”
“Look in a mirror. Your expression says it worked perfectly.”
“I’m saying this one last time. Back off now.”
“And I’m saying this one final time—let go.”
Whoosh.
Hot breath tainted with malice escaped his lips.
Seok Go-jun, his eyes burning with suppressed rage, took several steps back and muttered.
“If it weren’t for my master’s special orders… you’d be dead here.”
“Your master? Ah, Lee Jung-yong?”
“…!”
“How’s Lee Jung-yong doing? Isn’t it about time he started looking at retirement homes?”
Those words were the deciding blow.
Seok Go-jun, who had been trembling violently as if struck by electricity, snapped his eyes wide open. A brilliant gleam flashed across his gaze—far different from what I had witnessed when we faced each other at the Hospital.
“If you think it will be the same as back then… I’ll make you regret it.”
“Regret?”
I smiled broadly and spread both arms wide.
“Your tongue wags too much. Stop your pathetic posturing and come at me.”
Whoooosh!

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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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