Murim Login - Chapter 395

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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 395
“Follow me.”
Magic Johnson led us to none other than the Hospital Rooftop.
I surveyed the empty landing pad where neither helicopters nor jets were visible and asked.
“There’s nothing here?”
“That’s where you’re wrong. I’m here, aren’t I?”
Magic Johnson’s answer was brief and concise, yet the meaning behind those words was anything but simple.
Perhaps thinking the same thing I was, Choi Team Leader’s eyes widened slightly.
“Mr. Johnson. Could it be…?”
“That’s right. We’re going to move using Teleportation magic.”
Teleportation. In simpler terms, instantaneous displacement.
Magic Johnson spoke as casually as if suggesting we ride a tricycle, but it was common knowledge that Teleportation magic had a notoriously brutal difficulty level.
Setting aside the intricate conditions that had to be met to manifest the spell, even the slightest error in coordinates could easily mean death.
A single step’s difference could fuse you with an apple tree or a boulder—a truly horrifying prospect.
“…Couldn’t we just take a jet instead?”
“Nope.”
Magic Johnson answered firmly, narrowing his eyes.
“Hey, Jin. You’re not saying you don’t trust me, are you? I’m Magic Johnson. Do I need to prove it to you?”
“…”
The fact that you’re saying that makes it sound even more suspicious.
Whether what he intended to show was Teleportation magic or Johnson himself didn’t matter. I simply wanted to travel peacefully by jet.
Noticing my desperate expression, Choi Team Leader spoke up.
“Mr. Johnson. As you know, this place is within the Arch Lich’s sphere of influence. Not only is magic disrupted, but communications are also severely compromised.”
“Oh, that’s what it was. I was wondering what you meant.”
Magic Johnson chuckled.
“How do you think I got here in the first place?”
“Huh?”
“Don’t tell me…”
“Exactly. I came by Teleportation. It was a bit irritating, but you can’t bind Magic Johnson that easily.”
Snap!
As Magic Johnson snapped his fingers, a pillar of flame erupted from thin air. Magic manifested as naturally as breathing. A stark contrast to the Public Security Armed Force mages who had been unable to properly use magic due to the mana disruption until now.
“You could do it from the beginning?”
“Of course not. Even with the mana disruption, I could manage most spells reasonably well, but something as dangerous as Teleportation? I didn’t even dare attempt it.”
“Then…”
“The Arch Lich. Its power has been gradually weakening. Especially since last night, a significant portion of the interference has disappeared. Well, communications still seem to be a mess, though.”
Only someone who was one of three Grand Mages in the entire world could say such a thing, and only they could make it possible.
Magic Johnson flashed his white teeth in a smile and extended his hand toward us.
“I think this is enough reason to trust me, don’t you?”
“Well, if you put it that way…”
Unlike me, who grasped his hand without hesitation, Choi Team Leader quietly stepped back.
“Choi Team Leader?”
“I’ll stay behind.”
“Why, Choi?”
“There are still matters I need to handle. Besides, with my limited influence in these discussions, it makes no difference whether I attend or hear about it secondhand.”
Choi Team Leader always assessed situations with cold pragmatism. If he couldn’t shift the tide himself, he’d pull forward lower-priority tasks and resolve them instead.
I wanted to tell him that was flawed thinking, but I simply nodded in silence.
‘Though he’s not entirely wrong.’
Even the S-rank Hunters with strong voices were ultimately nothing more than mercenaries and borrowed swords from foreign nations.
That’s precisely why Chairman Xiao Yang and Defense Minister Wei Penghu had made it abundantly clear that overall command authority remained in their hands.
“Choi’s leaving! This can’t be! Jin has no charm!”
“….”
I really wanted to shut him up. Or was I actually relieved?
After whining for a while, Magic Johnson turned to Choi Team Leader with a regretful expression and bid him farewell.
“Can’t be helped then. See you next time, Choi.”
“Safe travels.”
“Safe travels? It’s just a moment anyway.”
Magic Johnson shrugged and turned to me.
“Hey, Jin. Ready?”
“Yes.”
“Grip my hand tight. Don’t let go.”
“…Why interlace our fingers? Can’t we just hold palms?”
Isn’t that something only lovers do?
As someone in my late twenties who’d never been in a relationship, holding interlaced fingers with a massive Black man felt unavoidably awkward.
Magic Johnson spoke to my hesitant expression in a gentle tone.
“If you prefer, we can let go. But if you lose your grip during the transfer, you might die.”
I recalled my first love from childhood and gripped Magic Johnson’s hand firmly.
“Let’s go, darling.”
Magic Johnson replied with a serious expression.
“Sorry, but you’re not my type, Jin. You don’t need to grip that hard—could you relax a bit?”
“…Ah, yes.”
“Then, shall we go?”
Just as I was about to open my mouth to respond.
Whoooooosh!
‘Gasp!’
My breath caught, and taut pressure constricted my entire body.
Through my dimming vision, Choi Team Leader’s figure wavered like a mirage before vanishing.
The earth and sky inverted, and then came an overwhelming sense of liberation.
“Gasp!”
I exhaled the breath I’d been holding and drew in a deep gulp of air. Cool oxygen seeped into the depths of my lungs. As I blinked, my previously blurred vision sharpened into clarity.
Though only about a second seemed to have passed, I found myself surrounded by an entirely different landscape and unfamiliar faces.
“The last guest has arrived.”
Wei Penghu, the Defense Minister of the Central Military Commission, approached me—a man who seemed to have aged a decade in just one week—and patted my shoulder.
“Everyone is waiting. Let us enter together.”
“Yes, just a moment—”
“Hmm?”
“Don’t come any closer… uuuuuuugh!”
Splooooosh!
For reference, I’m quite tall—about two heads taller than Wei Penghu.
As I vomited all over the sparse-haired old general’s crown, Magic Johnson’s voice reached my ears.
“Oh, you didn’t mention your motion sickness had gotten worse. Sorry, Jin. My apologies, Wei Penghu.”
“You should have told me sooner, uuuuuugh!”
“…Sigh.”
It took a bit more time before I could actually attend the conference.
* * *
The Grand Conference Hall. A hologram was playing in the dim space.
The footage captured one person’s perspective—a complex control stick and reinforced glass with scattered clouds beyond it. Tiny dots began appearing as the descent continued.
Those covering the ground surged forward like waves, without order or formation.
‘Monsters.’
I could easily discern that the perspective belonged to a fighter pilot. Wearing a head camera, he transmitted a radio message to someone.
– This is YANU-4885. Repeating. YANU-4885. Target confirmed. Lock acquired.
– You are cleared to fire.
Crackle, crackle.
The radio transmission was noisy but comprehensible. The pilot, breathing deeply, proceeded without hesitation.
Whoosh.
With a slight tremor, the missile mounted on the fighter launched. In an instant, it became a point streaking toward the center of the advancing monster horde, about to detonate—
Shhhhwoosh.
A black vortex suddenly materialized in the empty air above their heads and swallowed the missile whole.
– Hgh!
The pilot pressed the red button on the control stick with an urgent, gasping breath. But…
Boom! Crackle.
A sudden deafening sound accompanied the cut-off footage. The hologram vanished, and Wei Penghu, the Defense Minister, opened his mouth with a grave expression.
“What are your thoughts, everyone?”
Magic Johnson answered while lighting a cigar.
“Teleportation magic. It moved the fired missile above the aircraft.”
“Mister Johnson. Could you do it?”
He, who had been lost in thought, finally spoke.
“It wouldn’t be difficult. But I couldn’t do it with that speed and precision.”
“Not even you, an Archmage?”
“…Hmm.”
Magic Johnson nodded slightly and exhaled cigar smoke.
He too was an S-rank Hunter with achievements that would be recorded in history. With such pride in his own abilities, he surely wouldn’t be pleased about losing to a monster like the Arch Lich.
But this gathering wasn’t meant to satisfy anyone’s ego. Reality had to be faced.
“Then we can’t count on fire support. One wrong shot from something big would cause a catastrophe.”
Faye Chen continued speaking while touching her wine glass with a slender finger.
“I had some expectations, but… given the situation, we have no choice but to settle this on the ground.”
“At this rate, the war situation will gradually improve. The Royal Guard of the Great Empire, which I lead, has annihilated the monster legions. By the way, is that wine you’re drinking perhaps a 45-year-old Romanée-Conti?”
“No, it’s not.”
“Hmm. You don’t know how to drink.”
Faye Chen’s eyes widened at Prince Felix Alexander Louis’s words.
“What is this kid saying? Hey, get your head straight. The Great Empire was dissolved long ago, and the monsters didn’t retreat because you won a few battles. It’s thanks to that guy right there.”
Prince Felix Alexander Louis glanced at me.
“I’ve heard tales of great achievements on the Western Front… but are all those stories truly factual?”
Was he seriously questioning whether I was lying?
I looked at Prince Felix Alexander Louis with an incredulous expression.
“Then it’s the truth. Or are you saying I’m making it up? If you don’t want to believe it, don’t.”
“While your achievements deserve praise, your manner of speech is quite disrespectful. Address me as Prince Felix Alexander Louis, and always use formal language.”
I readily complied with his demand.
“Your Highness, did you perhaps misunderstand the fish and chips?”
“Hmm. Valiant yet utterly discourteous.”
“…”
Utterly discourteous? I was tempted to remove one of his testicles.
By the way, the guy who got beaten down about a week ago keeps his mouth shut and won’t even make eye contact.
‘It’s nice that he’s quiet, but something feels off.’
I thought Wu Hei-xing’s stupidity would make him come at me several more times, but either he was more cowardly than expected, or I’d misjudged him.
Above all, there was someone more concerning than Wu Hei-xing right now.
“You’ve been quiet since earlier. Do you have nothing to say?”
Lee Jung-yong, coiled like a snake, smiled gently.
“Thanks for your concern, but I’m fine. A mercenary’s virtue is to follow the employer’s will without complaint.”
“I see.”
“It’s simple logic.”
I smiled along and opened my mouth.
“But your performance has been rather lackluster for that. The situation on the Northern Front hasn’t been going well at all. Is that also the employer’s will?”
“…!”
At my words, the entire gathering fell silent as if doused with cold water. Lee Jung-yong stroked his chin as all eyes turned toward him.
“That remark is disagreeable. The Ares Guild and I have done our best.”
“Your best, truly?”
“Over the past week, we fought ten times and won nine. Though regrettably we suffered one defeat, I believe this constitutes excellent achievements.”
10 wins, 9 victories, 1 defeat. By the numbers, it was indeed excellent.
However, two days ago, when Choi Team Leader and I heard the news of the defeat on the Northern Front, we both burst into hollow laughter simultaneously.
‘That cunning old fox.’
Lee Jung-yong stands among the world’s elite—by the standards of the Murim, an extraordinarily formidable force. Given the author’s nature, he surely hasn’t revealed his full capabilities, meaning he’s stronger than public perception suggests.
Such a man, what?
‘That’s a pathetic excuse for a defeat.’
I cannot speak for others, but I am certain of this.
The fact that Lee Jung-yong fought and still lost means this was a defeat orchestrated from beginning to end.
The Ares Guild members who withdrew completely despite catastrophic casualties—that is the proof.
‘Since I can’t prove it, I suppose suspicion is the more accurate term.’
This was also why Lee Jung-yong could afford such composure now. He loosened his arms and opened his mouth.
“I regret that day’s defeat, but I would appreciate it if you refrained from hasty accusations. There is a clear cause for our defeat, you see.”
“A clear cause for defeat?”
“Who could have anticipated a Death Knight appearing in that situation? When the commander fell, the chaos became uncontrollable.”
“A Death Knight, you say….”
“I heard they appeared on the Western Front last night as well. Is that not so?”
At those words, something suddenly came to mind. The testimony of a civilian couple rescued from the Small City.
Ten Death Knights had slaughtered nearly a thousand soldiers, and their leader, the Black Knight, had departed without killing them for some reason.
Upon hearing that account, this Black Knight weighed heavily on my mind.
“Then among those that appeared on the Northern Front, could it be….”
My words toward Lee Jung-yong never reached their conclusion.
Urgent footsteps thundered down the corridor, and someone who appeared to be a Chinese Officer kicked open the door and burst in.
Crash!
“Gasp, gasp. Emergency, emergency!”
He continued speaking through ragged breaths.
“A monster legion has advanced! Combat is erupting across all fronts!”
“…What?”

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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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