Murim Login - Chapter 41

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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 41
Hunter Personnel Office.
It was called an office, but it was actually a building—a six-story structure erected on prime real estate near the station, through which hundreds of hunters passed daily.
‘It’s been a while.’
Despite the early hour, the lobby was packed with people.
After waiting in a long line and finally reaching the counter, a female clerk asked in a businesslike tone.
“Is this your first time at the Personnel Office?”
“No, I’m already registered.”
“Your name?”
“Jin Tae-kyung.”
Those were my rookie days. I’d graduated from the Hunter Training Institute with excellent marks, but there were almost no positions for F-rank hunters like me, and the few contracts offered by mid-sized guilds were practically extortion.
So I’d come here. Though it was a different branch.
“I see a record from the Ilsan branch. I’ve added you to the roster—please wait in the first-floor auditorium.”
“Understood.”
This six-story building was itself a pyramid. The first floor accommodated E-rank and F-rank hunters, while the second floor required at least D-rank status to enter.
Some people raged about such blatant discrimination, but discrimination it was.
‘Not just once or twice.’
After seven years in this industry, I’d experienced every kind of degradation. The days of being choosy about opportunities had long passed.
It was the moment I took a step forward with those thoughts.
“Hey, who’s this!”
At the gruff voice, I turned to see a shaggy-haired man grinning widely at me.
“Tae-kyung. Jin Tae-kyung, right?”
“Lim Hyuk-jun?”
This man was still alive?
* * *
His surname was Lim. I’d forgotten his given name. Seven years ago, I’d heard it just once during introductions, but it had slipped my mind.
Everyone simply called him Lim Hyuk-jun because his appearance evoked a bandit.
“How have you been all this time?”
“Life as an F-rank hunter is much the same wherever you go. What about you?”
“What do you mean ‘you’?”
Lim Hyuk-jun flashed a generous smile.
“Call me Elder Brother. There’s barely any age difference between us anyway.”
I couldn’t quite remember how many years separated us. It was hazy.
“Elder Brother, how old are you exactly?”
“Forty-five.”
…
Where did that confidence come from?
But the social skills I’d honed over the years came to my rescue. I managed to force a smile.
“I see. I’ll just call you Elder Brother then.”
“That’s right, little brother. Hahahaha!”
A hearty laugh echoed through the hall. Nearly a hundred pairs of eyes flickered toward us, then away.
‘I should have just pretended not to hear and walked past.’
In a way, it was a shallow connection. Nearly half a year of running into each other daily at the Ilsan Hunter Personnel Office, occasionally working together. That was the extent of it.
‘He’s a good person, though….’
Sometimes when he’s nearby, I feel embarrassed. Like right now.
“The barley tea here is incredible. And these hall chairs are so cushioned.”
Lim Hyuk-jun drained his barley tea in one gulp and leaned back in his chair.
From the looks of it, he’d been here more than just a time or two.
“You come here often?”
“Not every day, just occasionally. Once I got married and had kids, I started taking it easier. Heh heh.”
It seemed he’d built a family in the time we hadn’t seen each other. When I offered my congratulations, Lim Hyuk-jun scratched his head.
“It’s nothing special.”
He was being modest, but it was genuinely remarkable. To have worked as a Hunter—an F-rank Hunter at that—for over twenty years and still managed to build a family.
I found myself thinking that perhaps this man before me was a glimpse of my own future.
‘Of course, that’s only possible if I live to that age.’
Hunting isn’t a profession one can sustain for long. That’s why so many retire the moment they’ve accumulated the ten years needed to qualify for the pension system.
“Anyway, you’ve really come into your own now, haven’t you? When I first met you, you were completely frozen up and could barely speak.”
“Of course. I’ve been at this for seven years now.”
“So you’ve just been working the Personnel Office all this time? Didn’t you sign a contract with some mid-sized Guild under decent terms? What was that place called again… So, So…”
“Sopoong Guild. I got fired the day before yesterday.”
Lim Hyuk-jun laughed, forcing it a bit.
“Ha ha! Good riddance. The Guild name was terrible anyway. Sopoong? What kind of name is that? It’s not like you’re going on a picnic to a Gate.”
“No, it’s not that kind of sopoong—it’s a regional name. The Guild’s near Bucheon Sopoong Terminal, so Sopoong Guild.”
“Ah….”
The conversation that followed with Lim Hyuk-jun proved quite valuable. After all, he was a regular at the Personnel Office and a veteran Hunter with solid information and know-how of his own.
“The office takes a 10% commission. That’s standard, of course, but the hit rate here is pretty good.”
Hit rate—the slang in this business for the probability of getting hired. For someone like me, whose immediate goal was to scrape together daily wages, it was welcome news.
“Even for F-rank Hunters like us?”
“Huh? Yeah. Of course.”
What was with that awkward expression?
But before I could ask anything more, a voice crackled through the speakers installed in the hall.
– E-rank Hunter Lim Hyuk-jun. Lim Hyuk-jun, please come to the lobby.
Six thirty in the morning.
The first batter had finally stepped up. And my turn wouldn’t come until all the E-rank Hunters had cleared out.
“So E-ranks go first after all… Where are you heading, sir?”
“I’m heading out first.”
Lim Hyuk-jun—or rather, Lim Hyuk-jun—slung a large bag containing armor and weapons over his shoulder and chuckled.
‘No wonder his expression seemed off.’
That man had clearly put in some serious work in the time we hadn’t seen each other.
Ranking up even a single tier from F-rank was no easy feat, given the limitations of F-rank potential.
“See you again.”
“Yes, see you again.”
His departure from the auditorium was the signal. The speaker began rattling off names as if on cue.
E-rank this person, E-rank that person, E-rank… Damn it, am I the only F-rank here?
That was the moment anxiety began creeping in.
– F-rank Hunter Jin Tae-kyung. Jin Tae-kyung, please come to the lobby.
Finally!
* * *
“Jin Tae-kyung?”
A man in a white linen shirt was waiting in the lobby. Without preamble, he thrust a contract at me with an expressionless face.
“I’m from Peace Guild. Read it and sign.”
This guy’s tone is seriously grating.
I glared back and forth between the contract and his face.
“The settlement ratio is 8:2?”
“After the raid, we distribute the funds fairly based on contribution. We take 20% of what Jin Tae-kyung receives.”
“What about the base pay?”
“Thirty.”
“Thirty?”
Did this bastard lose half his tongue?
“Gate rank.”
“E-rank.”
“I refuse.”
“All positions are filled. Jin Tae-kyung will be the porter.”
My eye twitched involuntarily.
What the hell did this guy just say?
“Porter?”
“Is there a problem?”
“Of course.”
The shirt man shot me a high-handed glare.
“What is it?”
“I don’t have a pen.”
“….”
After a moment of silence, I took the pen he offered and scrawled my signature. The base pay of 300,000 won and the settlement ratio were generous.
I hesitated at the mention of an E-rank Gate, but as a porter, it doesn’t matter. I’ll skin some monsters, carry a backpack around, and part ways in good spirits.
‘Peace Guild. I like the name already.’
I’d been itching to sign since earlier.
“Well done.”
“….”
“Where do we go now? Take a van?”
“We have a minibus parked outside.”
“Oh, that one? Looks pretty good. The air conditioning should be solid too.”
“….”
“Guess I’m the last one? There are already a few people here… Huh? Lim Hyuk-jun!”
“Huh? Jin Tae-kyung!”
Lim Hyuk-jun, who had been waiting to load luggage into the bus trunk, broke into a broad grin.
“You’re coming with us too. Perfect!”
“Right? Seems like I’ve got quite the connection with you, hyung.”
“Hahahaha!”
“Ahahaha!”
“…Let’s depart.”
Perhaps from the heat, the shirt man’s face looked noticeably older.
* * *
The bus departed. The shirt man in the passenger seat closed his eyes after mentioning we’d arrive within twenty minutes.
Lim Hyuk-jun introduced me to the others he’d hired.
“Alright everyone, say hello. This is my younger friend.”
Now that I looked closer, they all knew each other. I bowed respectfully.
“Hello. I’m Jin Tae-kyung.”
“Oh, nice to meet you.”
“The young man’s got presence. Looks like he can fight.”
There were three new people total—all men in their late thirties to early forties. In the warm atmosphere, Lim Hyuk-jun explained.
“These guys are all F-rank. I’ve known them for ages. Over ten years now.”
“Well, something like that. Time really flies.”
So they all had at least ten years of experience. I wasn’t exactly a rookie myself, but these people were completely….
‘A stagnant party.’
People like this pull their weight wherever they go. In urgent situations, they’re actually far better than mediocre D-rankers.
“But what’s your rank, young man?”
Here it comes. The rank inquiry.
I answered carefully.
“F-rank.”
“Ah. Is that so? How long have you been at it?”
“Seven years.”
“Hmm. That so?”
A lukewarm atmosphere. If the first raid goes like this, we’re in trouble.
I quickly spoke up.
“I won’t participate in combat at all—I’m just coming as a porter. No need to worry….”
The three men stare blankly at me.
“Why the extra explanation? Are we going to eat you?”
“That’s enough. Seven years in the field means you know what you’re doing.”
“If Hyuk-jun recommends you, that’s good enough. Choi Team Leader wouldn’t have given the okay otherwise.”
A recommendation? Choi Team Leader?
I didn’t know the exact details, but I could piece together roughly what was happening.
Lim Hyuk-jun had recommended me. To Shirt Guy—Choi Team Leader.
“W-what are you talking about!”
Lim Hyuk-jun’s face flushed crimson as he waved his hands dismissively.
The three older men chuckled at the sight.
“It’s written all over your face, buddy. How did this guy even manage to get married?”
“Good deeds should always be revealed. Why hide them like that?”
“Right? You think the same way, don’t you?”
I nodded readily.
“Of course. Thank you for thinking of me.”
“Hmm. Well, I just threw your name out there. Choi Team Leader made the final call.”
This was something.
I’d thought of him as just one fleeting connection among countless encounters that had passed through my life, but the Lim Hyuk-jun I met again turned out to be far more genuine and kindhearted than I’d expected.
‘So that’s why the terms were so generous.’
The way they kept mentioning Choi Team Leader made me realize their friendship had likely played a role in securing my favorable contract conditions.
“I’ll do my best.”
“No, I’m telling you—Choi Team Leader made the decision!”
The man in question responded to Lim Hyuk-jun’s awkward protest.
“Then let’s say I made the decision.”
Shirt Guy—no, Choi Team Leader—had opened his eyes and now spoke to us.
“We’ve arrived.”
I turned my head and saw a Gate drawing closer, towering four meters high. At its center, a maelstrom of magical energy swirled, ready to pull us in.
‘An E-rank Gate.’
My first raid since returning.

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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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