Murim Login - Chapter 4

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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 4
Jang Sam is a bandit.
A native who had never ventured beyond the vicinity of Mount Odaesan in his lifetime, he had been extorting passage fees from unsuspecting travelers since his youth.
Thanks to his diligent operations day and night, the name Jang Sam of the Cheonryeok Bandits had come to command considerable respect.
Today was no exception. Rising before dawn with his capable five subordinates, the Five Color Ghosts, he set out for business—yet his feet refused to stop moving.
How far had he walked beyond Mount Odaesan, his usual hunting ground? When his steps finally ceased, a carriage appeared in the distance, approaching steadily.
‘How did I end up this far?’
Had a ghost possessed him? Jang Sam stood bewildered, but the moment he glimpsed the luxurious four-horse carriage, he felt his professional instincts awaken.
‘That one’s definitely worth taking.’
As Jang Sam and the Five Color Ghosts blocked the road, the Coachman pulled hard on the reins.
Four magnificent steeds with lustrous coats snorted and came to a halt. At a glance, each animal was easily worth a thousand taels.
Fortune smiles today. Jang Sam grinned with satisfaction and adjusted his grip on his axe. Now, channel energy into the dantian. One, two.
“Hand over your money!”
* * *
That voice—is he an opera singer?
But this hardly warrants a blink. After seven years as a Hunter, I’ve weathered every conceivable danger, even aerial combat.
…Though I’ll admit, this is somewhat frightening.
“Six total. No signs of ambush.”
The Coachman relayed the situation in a voice as composed as a secret agent’s.
Does this man have some hidden advantage? Why does he seem so unruffled?
I stare at him, and he scratches his head.
“It happens occasionally. Though this is the first time in this region.”
“Why is that?”
“Why, you ask? Unless they’re part of a major bandit stronghold, attacking a martial arts family is tantamount to suicide. Robbery in the front yard of the Taewon Jin Family—I’m curious what sort of bold fools these are.”
‘Who else? Tutorial NPCs.’
Besides, the way he mentions the Taewon Jin Family’s front yard suggests we’re fairly close to our destination.
‘Should I buy time?’
My current level is second-rate.
The sensation I feel after stat distribution surpasses that of an F-rank Hunter, but I’m uncertain whether it will suffice in the Murim.
Six against one. Even counting the Coachman, it’s six against two.
‘Can we manage?’
The saying “overwhelming numbers” exists for a reason. The moment I’m overwhelmed, it’s over.
“How much longer until we reach our destination?”
“We’re almost there. Another half shichen should suffice.”
Half a shichen—that’s still an hour away?
I’d suspected as much, but the Coachman’s and my definitions of “close” operated on different scales.
‘Almost there, my foot.’
Perhaps it’s the continental setting. The scale is simply different.
In any case, I can’t count on reinforcements now. The one saving grace is that I’m not alone.
The Coachman, maintaining an air of composure throughout, carried the scent of a master. Just as he did now.
“Shall I handle this?”
As he spoke, he coiled his whip with such ease that a single crack seemed capable of separating bone from flesh.
‘A true master!’
Of course. I was the heir to a prestigious clan and a premium patron of Honghwa House—there was no way Wol-hwa would send an ordinary coachman.
‘Wol-hwa was thoughtful. She’s not just beautiful on the outside, but kind-hearted too.’
My anxiety melted away, and a satisfied smile bloomed unbidden. As the Coachman turned back, interpreting my grin as approval, a second roar erupted.
“You fools! Do you not hear the words of the Cheonryeok Bandits!”
Peering through the carriage window, I spotted a burly, hirsute man wielding a massive double-bladed axe. His upper body was imposing, his limbs thick as pillars.
But the Coachman muttered with utter contempt.
“Whelps playing at banditry—how dare you.”
Ah, intoxicated by such swagger.
Then the Coachman’s stern rebuke began.
“Bandits who suck the blood of common folk—how dare you block the path of your betters! I shall deliver you to the magistrate’s office and have the law of the realm deal with you!”
It was a speech worthy of Judge Bao himself, yet the burly bandit and his subordinates seemed unmoved.
“Fine, we’re blocking the way. Now what?”
“For your countless atrocities, I shall gouge out your eyes and grind your limbs in a mortar, scattering the powder across the Nine Provinces! Moreover, I shall exterminate your entire clan—”
The severity of these punishments was no jest—practically treason itself.
As if reading my thoughts, the bandit leader spoke.
“Wait, is there nobility inside? Listening to this makes my legs tremble. Let us see that distinguished face.”
“Should you learn the identity of this person, you will regret not withdrawing now!”
“I understand, I understand. Now come out.”
“Fools…!”
The Coachman clicked his tongue and turned back to me. My heart raced—was I finally about to witness a true master of Murim in action?
“Young Master. You must step out.”
“Huh?”
Me? Why me?
“They must see your face to weep. Daring to block the path of the young master—they shall pay dearly for not recognizing true skill.”
With that, he opened the carriage door with unwavering resolve.
“The fame of the Heavenly Sword is well-known to me. A genius swordmaster who reached the pinnacle at such a tender age! Every time I hear tales of the young master, this old heart trembles with awe.”
…Heavenly Sword? A genius swordmaster?
‘What is he talking about?’
My mind reeled. Who was the Heavenly Sword? Who was this genius swordmaster at the pinnacle? And what in the world was this Coachman doing?
He said he’d handle it. Wasn’t he supposed to be the master?
“You fools! Do you comprehend who this person is!”
Wrong. The Coachman was careening like a runaway truck with broken brakes.
No, stop. Please, stop!
I seized his wrist firmly, and he turned to face me.
A smile of complete understanding. Eyes brimming with infinite trust.
“Wait, just a moment. I’m actually—”
Before I could finish, a resounding cry tore through the air.
“The Second Young Master of the Taewon Jin Family, a supreme expert who shakes Shanxi Province! The Heavenly Sword, Jin Moo-kyung!”
“I’m Jin… Tae-kyung, actually.”
A chill swept through the air in that instant.
“Pardon?”
“What I mean is, I’m not Jin Moo-kyung but Jin Tae-kyung, and I’m not the Second Young Master but the Third Young Master…”
“…The Third Young Master? You mean *that* Third Young Master?”
That’s right, you fool.
The Coachman’s pupils trembled. An earthquake of magnitude 8.0.
“Then, then where is Young Master Jin Moo-kyung?”
“How would I know?”
Probably sleeping at this hour, wouldn’t he be?
The Coachman stared at me with the expression of a man who’d lost his nation, then collapsed like a deflated balloon. He’d fainted.
‘Damn. And here I thought he was some master.’
I released the Coachman’s wrist.
It was thin as a chicken bone. From the moment I’d grasped it, something felt off. All that bluster, and he turned out to be just an ordinary person.
“Hahahaha!”
The bandits burst into uncontrollable laughter. Me? Cold sweat had already drenched my back without me noticing.
‘If my luck’s really this bad…’
I couldn’t bring myself to speak the word “death” and simply swallowed hard.
I swept my anxious gaze across the bandits.
Damn it. I’d rather fight six goblins than these brutes. How am I supposed to beat them… wait?
“Huh?”
What’s this? Am I imagining things? But no matter how I look at it, I’m not.
Muscular upper bodies, thick limbs. And… short.
The other five aren’t much different. The Cheonryeok Bandits at least have decent physiques, but these creatures are a good five hundred light-years away from what you’d call “well-built.”
In other words, the bandits’ builds were exactly like…
“Goblins?”
Goblins, really?
I stood dazed for a moment at the unexpected situation, but snapped back to attention when an axe suddenly flew at me. These bastards had the numbers *and* the audacity to strike first.
“Hey, hey! Hold on a second!”
In that instant, the axe embedded itself ten meters ahead into the ground. No, it tumbled down. The bandit who’d thrown it scratched the back of his head sheepishly.
“Should I have thrown it higher?”
…This might actually work out.
‘I might actually survive this.’
If I had to name the monster I’d faced most in seven years, it would be goblins.
Because of that, I’d come to know everything about them inside and out. The reason I’d chosen the spear as my primary weapon during my apprentice hunter days was precisely that—I could gain an enormous advantage in attack range.
And these bandits happened to be exactly that size. To my eyes, they weren’t bandits at all but six goblins. The Cheonryeok Bandits would be like the goblin leader?
‘The other five might even be weaker than goblins.’
Goblins are decent at shooting poison darts, at least. Judging by how that axe throw went, I’m getting a feeling about this. A real feeling.
I licked my parched lips and suddenly threw both hands up.
Some of the bandits were startled by the surrender, but the Cheonryeok Bandits’ leader laughed with the satisfaction of a father watching his son return from war.
“Impressive, aren’t you?”
‘Go ahead, laugh all you want.’
One step, two steps. I closed the thirty-meter distance slowly and deliberately.
With measured strides and balanced posture. One breath per step. Vapor from my mouth pierced the dawn air.
I could feel it with every footfall.
‘It’s different!’
I realized it anew.
In this game, I was stronger than I was in reality.
My heart raced. Simultaneously, vigilance sharpened my senses.
I had to maintain focus until the very end.
“I heard rumors that the Taewon Jin Family had a son they’d cast out. Mediocre martial prowess, but exceptional at seduction, they said. Now I see you’ve got decent instincts too.”
The Cheonryeok Bandits’ leader spoke, his axe-wielding hand hanging loose at his side.
It was obvious how I appeared to them.
A wastrel with an impressive family name but pathetic martial skills. Empty-handed and defenseless.
The Cheonryeok Bandits’ leader was careless now.
‘And carelessness is death.’
I sent most of my wages to my family and lived miserably in a single room at the Gosiwon, but I was a Hunter.
Even F-rank Hunters stake their lives in Gates. Rather, precisely because they’re only F-rank, they must stake their lives.
For seven years, I’d fought without missing a single day—a gambler of life and death, a warrior of Murim bearing the name Hunter.
That’s why I knew.
That life and death hung by a thread. That carelessness meant certain death.
The remaining distance halved. My pace gradually quickened.
The Cheonryeok Bandits’ leader gestured toward me.
“Whoa there. Take your time, take your time. Wouldn’t want you tripping and damaging the merchandise.”
Twenty meters.
“Boss. Doesn’t he look just like a puppy, shuffling along like that?”
Fifteen meters.
“A puppy? Kehehehe! You’ve got that right!”
Ten meters.
The instant my foot touched the ground, heat erupted from my core.
A sensation I’d never felt before. Yet somehow, this unfamiliar feeling was strangely familiar. What could it be?
‘Could it be… inner force?’
The heat flowing from my dantian surged toward my lower body.
Its purpose was singular: faster, lighter, stronger!
I drew in a long breath. Every muscle in my body tensed like a drawn bowstring. And then, the final step.
Boom!
I launched forward. The ground cratered beneath me, sound trailing in my wake. In that frozen moment, the Cheonryeok Bandits’ leader’s mouth fell open slowly.
“Impossible…”
Both the leader and his subordinates wore expressions of disbelief.
I could see everything about them now. I could feel it all.
Their stiff, greasy hair, lips cracked like parched riverbeds, teeth that reeked of filth just to look at them….
All of it.
Before I knew it, the corners of my mouth had lifted.
‘Inventory open. Equip [Sharp Spear].’
A cool spear shaft materialized in my outstretched hand.
I thrust with all my strength. The hastily raised axe blocked the spear’s path, but the keen blade shattered the axe head and pierced through the Cheonryeok Bandit’s chest.
At the same moment.
– Critical hit! Status abnormality
[Bleeding]
is activated!
“Kugh.”
A fountain of blood erupted. The light drained from the Cheonryeok Bandit’s eyes as his body convulsed once.
–
[Lv.10 Jang Sam]
has been defeated.
– Level up!
– You have acquired 10 stat points as a level up reward.
– You have acquired 10 skill points as a level up reward.
–
[Jin Family Heart Method]
has been unlocked.
Phew.
I exhaled slowly. Notifications chimed, but only the thundering of my own heartbeat filled my being.
One breath. All of this had unfolded in a single breath. I pulled the spear from the lifeless chest of the Cheonryeok Bandit.
‘So this is possible.’
Raise stats with points, strengthen with inner force, chain with skills. This was the true power of the system that belonged to me alone.
Power that F-rank Hunter Jin Tae-kyung could never have dreamed of.
‘I can do this. Absolutely.’
The path back home began to appear brighter and wider before me.
I gripped the spear shaft and turned around.
“So….”
The five pairs of eyes fixed on me wavered precariously.
“Anyone else want to come at me?”
Starting with the bastard who threw that axe.
“….”
Thud. Thud. Clang.
The five men, who had been watching for an opening, dropped their weapons and prostrated themselves flat.
“Forgive us, Great Master!”
– The enemies, having lost their leader, have lost their will to fight and surrender.
–
[Bandit Extermination]
has been completed.
– All fatigue and injuries have been recovered.
– You have subjugated the bandits. Renown increases by 10.
–
[Tutorial – Stage 3]
has been completed. Rewards have been granted.
– Linked Quest,
[Tutorial – Stage 4]
has been created.
Now let me catch my breath.

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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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