Murim Login - Chapter 302

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 302
More than thirty minutes had passed since the rescue team was deployed.
Hunters from other Guilds, assigned to external security in preparation for unforeseen circumstances, had already drawn their weapons, while broadcast personnel transmitted the current situation through microphones and cameras.
The chaos wasn’t confined to the ground alone.
Dozens of combat helicopters filled the sky, and countless drones equipped with lenses circled through the air, broadcasting this entire spectacle across the nation.
“Why are you watching so intently?”
“Live news broadcast.”
“News? You barely watch entertainment shows—what wind blew in to make you watch the news? Something happen?”
“Do you carry your phone as a decoration? It’s been over two hours since the Named Monster appeared and caused chaos. Get online and stay informed.”
“What? Named Monster sighting… Jin Tae-kyung presumed dead? Is this real?”
“I don’t know. Don’t talk to me—I can’t hear.”
At home, at school, at work, on crowded public transit during rush hour—everyone stared at either a television or the phone screen in their hands.
The Hunter TV YouTube channel conducting live streaming had long since surpassed 100,000 concurrent viewers.
Did he really die?
Don’t say such unlucky things.
It’s not unlucky—it’s realistic. At this point, survival odds are slim. The golden window for rescue operations is fifteen minutes, yet we’ve had radio silence for over an hour. And the opponent is a Named Monster.
Still, seeing the rescue team mobilize like that was no joke. I’ve never seen so many A-rank Hunters gathered in one place.
That’s exactly why—what are they rescuing? If they’re recovering a corpse, that’s not rescue, that’s body recovery. The Pyeonghwa Guild House Team Leader wasn’t cursing them out for nothing. Safety matters, sure, but you have to save the person first.
Fact summary) The atmosphere already suggests Jin Tae-kyung is certainly dead. The deployed Hunters’ objective seems focused on Named Monster raiding rather than rescue. The silence from the rescue team suggests combat may have already begun, or they’ve been wiped out.
?? Wiped out? What happens if they all get wiped out?
What happens? The Named Monster starts its restaurant tour. It’ll probably start snacking on the people waiting outside as appetizers. Emergency evacuation orders have already been issued for the surrounding area.
Damn, I’m too fatty—not even tasty. Can’t it just have some ramen instead?
Are you an idiot? After eating that, would it feel full and just return to the Gate?
How many people can a Named Monster eat max?
What’s that supposed to mean?
What’s the maximum number of people it can consume?
Another idiot joined the chat.
Do you people making jokes right now have nothing but noodles in your brains? Have you thought about what happens next time a Gate opens and a monster comes out instead of people?
Like someone’s sharp remark, the atmosphere was far more serious than expected.
Powerful Hunters had been deployed, yes, but the opponent was a Named Monster.
If it possessed strength beyond imagination, a catastrophe of enormous proportions would unfold.
There were precedents of a single powerful Named Monster causing tens of thousands of casualties and destroying entire cities.
As time passed, tension permeated the chat.
Really, no news at all. By now, someone should have come back out.
Isn’t a rescue operation normally like this?
No—communication devices don’t work inside Gates, so normally someone should be sent out every thirty minutes to report that people are alive.
But why hasn’t anyone come out? The combat zone is right at the Gate entrance—close enough to touch your nose.
Are they fighting the Named Monster? Shouldn’t Central Plains forces be deployed?
At that moment, the Gate’s mana field, undulating like waves, was captured on the broadcast.
Simultaneously, the chat scroll, which had been filled with heated debate, surged upward at a frenzied pace.
He’s coming out!!!
Just now the mana field—
No way no way no way
Please, let someone come out alive.
I want to see him. I hope he survived.
The internet, television, people at the scene itself.
Countless eyes representing half the population of South Korea were fixed on the changes unfolding at the Gate.
And in the next moment.
Whoooosh!
The swirling mana field of the Gate began to expel objects.
Human arms and legs. Clad in gleaming armor and weapons, marching in perfect formation as they emerged—they were not monsters, but the Hunters who had been sent in earlier.
“Woooooow!”
At the explosive roar erupting from the scene, the middle-aged man in a suit leading the procession flinched.
But soon he broke into a wide grin, his chin creasing, and waved his hand.
“Yes. I have returned. Everyone! We are all safe!”
I’ve been curious since earlier—who is that guy?
Lee Woo-joong. The Seoul Central Association President, or as we call him, a complete idiot. Everyone already knows he’s incompetent.
Why is Lee Woo-joong acting like that?
The guy who went in for a rescue operation is the only one in a suit lol
Whether it’s Lee Woo-joong or whatever, stop blocking the screen. Move.
A barrage of criticism flooded the chat.
The drone camera pivoted away from Lee Woo-joong to capture the Hunters emerging behind him.
Hunters from the government and the Association who had led this operation. And behind them, members of the Ares Guild walked out with grim expressions.
In their hands, they carried a stretcher draped with a large cloth. As their steps caused the stretcher to sway, a blood-soaked hand slipped out from beneath the fabric.
Flash! Click, click!
Camera flashes erupted from all directions. Among those witnessing the scene, a wave of mourning spread.
Ah… I hoped it wouldn’t come to this.
Jin Tae-kyung is dead after all.
May the deceased rest in peace.
We offer our deepest condolences. May he find peace in heaven.
It was the moment when everyone was engulfed in sorrow.
“Whoa. Why is there so much stuff?”
“…!”
The announcer reporting Jin Tae-kyung’s death in a mournful voice, the photographer ceaselessly pressing the camera shutter, the chat flooded with messages of condolence—
Everyone stopped what they were doing and stared with wide eyes at one person.
“Wow, look at all these cameras. By the way, is it okay to broadcast something like this live?”
A young man glancing around with curiosity.
Dressed in simple leather armor with a spear strapped to his back, there was no one who didn’t know his name.
…Wait, isn’t that Jin Tae-kyung?
Huh?
?????
Why is Elder Brother coming out of there…?
Am I the only one seeing ghosts right now?
While everyone else was floundering in the depths of confusion, one field reporter who had regained her composure first thrust a microphone toward Jin Tae-kyung.
“Are you… Jin Tae-kyung?”
“No. I’m fat.”
“Pardon?”
“Just joking. Yeah, that’s me.”
This bastard’s making jokes? During a live broadcast, no less?
The bewildered reporter, caught off guard by the unexpected quip, gathered her wits and asked again.
“So you didn’t pass away after all.”
“Well, seeing as we’re doing an interview here, I guess I didn’t die.”
“Then who was that person on the stretcher we saw earlier?”
“Oh, that.”
Jin Tae-kyung scratched his neck as he answered.
“Well, how do I put it… A hunter who fought bravely and got injured. It’s not that serious of a wound, so he’ll recover quickly.”
“Then where is the Named Monster?”
“The Named Monster? It’s gone.”
“Excuse me? Does that mean the Named Monster never existed in the first place?”
“No, it did exist.”
Jin Tae-kyung added in a calm voice.
“It just doesn’t anymore.”
A legend was being born in that very moment.
* * *
“There’s something I’m curious about…”
Choi Team Leader, who had been reading a newspaper filled with cramped handwriting, suddenly looked up and asked.
“Why exactly is Jin Tae-kyung in my office?”
“Why not? Can’t I just visit?”
“You come here more often than I do, the actual owner of this room.”
“Come on, that’s not true. I just stopped by to see your face, Team Leader.”
“The door was locked.”
“It was open when I got here.”
“You’ve destroyed the lock mechanism.”
“Really? That’s strange.”
“I’m asking this just to be absolutely sure, but…”
Choi Team Leader removed his glasses, which he’d been wearing moments before, and asked calmly.
“Is it because of the 17th-century Russian imperial sofa crafted by Sorkovache, the legendary Russian furniture master?”
I answered from where I lay sprawled across the sofa.
“Absolutely not.”
“…You realize that saying that while in that position has no persuasive power whatsoever, don’t you?”
“I have no idea. Ah, this is so comfortable.”
The price is inconvenient, but once you lean against it, you can’t tear yourself away.
As expected of a chaebol—no, a third-generation hero—Choi Team Leader’s office was packed with luxuries like this.
A state-of-the-art hologram TV with stunning picture quality was one of them.
– The footage I’m about to show you is the hot topic that’s been burning up the internet for the past week. Johnson, have you seen this?
The Black man on screen nodded at the words of the long-nosed White man, and I found myself wondering why his name was Johnson.
– Of course, Conan. I’ve already memorized all the lines.
– Which lines?
– You know, his final line.
A popular American talk show so famous I’d even heard its name.
Johnson, the co-host, opened his mouth with a serious expression.
– I said it like this. Now it’s done.
– Ha ha ha! That’s exactly it.
“….”
Exactly what? Do I have an actual snail in my ear instead of a cochlea?
I shook my head and turned off the TV.
Since they’d probably air ‘that interview’ again under the guise of archival footage, it was wisest to turn it off now.
“The popularity shows no signs of fading.”
“Right? I said it without much thought, but I never expected it to become such a hot topic.”
“Well, I beg to differ.”
Choi Team Leader, who had quickly prepared a cup of coffee, sat across from me and continued.
“What became the hot topic isn’t the words—it’s the person. Hunting two Named Monsters alone naturally draws worldwide attention.”
A week had already passed, but the aftermath of that day hadn’t faded. If anything, it was burning wildly out of control.
My official interview video posted on AiTube surpassed 200 million views in 24 hours, breaking the record held by idol singers, and edits and memes flooded in from all over the world.
And even….
“An interview request came in from CNM, an American broadcasting company.”
“Again?”
“I already told you about the offer from British BCC. They want to invite you as a special guest. They’re allocating up to 20 minutes for a live interview.”
“Special, huh. Really.”
Interview requests were pouring in from the major broadcasters of every major nation you could name.
Of course, I hadn’t accepted any of them yet, and at this point, just hearing about them makes my head throb.
“Are you still considering it?”
“Yes. For the growth of the Pyeonghwa Guild House, I should do everything I can….”
I added in a voice only Choi Team Leader could hear.
“But this is all a lie.”
That’s right. That’s the most important thing.
That everything surrounding me isn’t actually true.
Choi Team Leader opened his mouth with a tense expression.
“Did you… bring it again today?”
“Of course.”
I chanted the incantation with the solemn face of a priest summoning a god.
“Come forth, Warlord Mon!”
Inventory. Summon.
At the command I shouted in my mind, a skull gleaming with black luster materialized in my palm. With a thunderous sound.
– Who is Warlord Mon?! I am the master of the Black Forest and the commander of the great legion of the dead, the Skeleton Warlord!
“Warlord Mon, forward roll!”
– You insane human!
“Warlord Mon, flash petrification!”
Pap pap pap pap pat!
Watching me seize the Skeleton Warlord’s skull and shake it at a frenzied pace, Choi Team Leader muttered as if enlightened.
“Why in the world did he even capture that thing…”

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————