Murim Login - Chapter 42

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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 42
Gates.
The greatest mark left behind by the Cataclysm.
The place where the Demon King Asmodeus had used as an invasion route thirty years ago had long since become a livelihood for Hunters and an excavation site for mana stones—a high-dimensional energy resource.
“You’re from the Peace Guild, correct?”
A middle-aged man in work clothes approached from the entrance.
He was a Gate Administrator from the Gate Management Agency stationed at each Gate.
“Yes.”
The Gate Administrator nodded at Choi Team Leader’s terse reply.
“Perfect timing. When will you be entering?”
“We’ll gear up and head in right away.”
“There’s a Waiting Room on the second floor. Just finish your preparations and come back down. Then.”
We followed Choi Team Leader. The two-story building where the Gate Management Agency staff were stationed was dilapidated, and the Waiting Room was in similar condition.
‘Damn. Smell that.’
The moment the door opened, the stench of sweat assaulted my nostrils. Rusted cabinets and an overflowing trash bin caught my eye.
“This place is pretty rough. Do they not ventilate at all?”
“That’s how Gate administrators are. It’s not exactly a cushy posting for nothing.”
I tuned out the grumbling and began changing into my raid gear. Leather armor and lightweight combat boots. Finally, I drew a spear from its elongated case and gripped it.
‘It’s been a while.’
This sensation fitting perfectly in my palm. Familiar yet strange.
It was definitely different from the weapon I’d used over the past month… No, I shouldn’t think about that anymore.
‘I have to forget it all now.’
Lim Hyuk-jun approached me as I unnecessarily tightened my combat boot laces.
He cut the figure of a main tank equipped with full-body armor and a massive tower shield.
“All set?”
“Yeah. More or less.”
Lim Hyuk-jun looked me up and down, then clicked his tongue.
“Look at this guy. When exactly did you get that equipment?”
“I’m not sure. I bought it when I first started, so at least seven years ago?”
Back when I was a greenhorn, I’d splurged and bought it at the Dongdaemun Underground Shop. I even remember the exact price. 1.98 million won.
‘I couldn’t sleep properly for days after that purchase.’
Being a Hunter is a profession with expenses as high as income. Most of those expenses go toward equipment. And it’s all because of the unique nature of Gates.
‘Equipment without mana or magical power infused in it breaks down quickly.’
So the most common method is to craft equipment using mana stones obtained from Gate monsters as materials.
The higher the grade of the mana stone used, the more the price skyrockets.
“Seven years? Good grief. No matter how good the money is, you have to spend when you need to. You’d rather save money than your life?”
“Well. There were circumstances.”
Circumstances I didn’t particularly want to discuss. Lim Hyuk-jun spoke with concern in his voice.
“Today you’ll be in a non-combat position, so it should be fine… but be careful.”
“Understood.”
Even as I answered, my feelings were strangely mixed. Someone who had been constantly warning me to be careful came to mind.
But there was no time to dwell on sentiment.
“Is everyone ready?”
At Choi Team Leader’s appearance, my mouth fell open.
Surely not.
“A crimson drake leather set?”
“Yes.”
Choi Team Leader’s expression hardened. It was something I’d only ever seen in luxury boutique catalogs, and I’d blurted it out without thinking.
“Ah, I apologize….”
“It’s nothing. It’s merely crafted from five types of magic and B-rank mana stones as materials.”
“…?”
“I’m not emphasizing it, but five types of magic and B-rank mana stones are the materials.”
“Ah, yes.”
“The crimson drake leather is popular because of its distinctive luster, but it’s merely aesthetically pleasing and has little practical use.”
Choi Team Leader moved with a rigid expression. A subtle crimson light gleamed.
“But it is quite beautiful.”
“….”
“Let us head down now.”
As Choi Team Leader left the Waiting Room first, Lim Hyuk-jun approached and spoke.
“That guy really loves having his equipment recognized.”
“Well, I understand, but… why is he like that?”
“No idea. He’s a gear fanatic. There’s even a rumor he spent his entire fortune on that and wears it to bed every night.”
This guy’s crazy too.
I sighed inwardly and prayed today’s raid would end safely.
* * *
“The number of people is different from what was registered.”
The Gate Administrator’s expression was uncomfortable. And rightfully so. We should be entering now, but not all the registered members had arrived.
‘How much longer do we have to wait?’
Currently assembled at the Gate were six people. Excluding me, who came as a porter, there were only five combat personnel.
Since this was an E-rank Gate, we needed at least five more hunters of the same rank… but the Peace Guild members were nowhere to be seen, so the Gate Administrator had every right to be irritated.
“If there are additional members, you should have informed us in advance.”
Huh? What did he just say?
Additional members?
“My apologies.”
At Choi Team Leader’s curt apology, the Gate Administrator picked up his pen and drew lines through the documents.
“Well, it’s not a major issue if we correct it… but please be more careful next time.”
“Yes.”
Not a major issue my ass. We don’t have enough people, people!
I nudged Lim Hyuk-jun’s side.
“Elder Brother. When are the others coming?”
“What people?”
“Peace Guild.”
“You know Choi Team Leader?”
“Pardon?”
“Oh, didn’t I mention it? Peace Guild is brand new, so they’re short on members. Just three people including the guild master. Hehehehe.”
…He’s laughing?
“No, Elder Brother.”
“I know, man. But you don’t need to worry.”
Lim Hyuk-jun tapped my shoulder and pointed at Choi Team Leader, who was signing documents.
“That guy’s a C-rank Hunter.”
“Ah. C-rank….”
I closed my mouth. If Choi Team Leader was a C-rank Hunter, there was no problem. In fact, he was far better than ten E-rank Hunters. He was a ‘mid-tier Hunter’ in a completely different league from a low-tier Hunter like me.
‘I should have noticed from the moment he put on that premium equipment.’
He’s a man wearing a luxury apartment on his body. Most low-tier Hunters couldn’t afford it even if they liquidated their entire fortune ten times over.
A subtle aura emanated from Choi Team Leader’s back.
“Please verify the signature.”
Even the way he handed the pen to the Gate Administrator was so elegant.
Every small movement seemed to exude charisma.
So this is the dignity of a C-rank Hunter.
‘Damn, he’s cool.’
I want to swear brotherhood with him. I want to make a Gate oath down there below the Gate.
“Well then, shall we go in now… what?”
Choi Team Leader looked at me with a startled expression.
“Oh, no. It’s just cool.”
“Pardon?”
“The equipment. It’s cool.”
In that moment, the corners of Choi Team Leader’s mouth twitched.
“It’s nothing special. Five types of magic and a B-rank magic stone as materials….”
A weirdo I want to get close to.
* * *
I took a step toward the Gate.
Whoooosh—
A familiar sensation enveloped my entire body. The cool yet sticky aura unique to mana. And the transformed landscape.
“It’s a cave.”
Just as Choi Team Leader said, this raid location was a cave. The moisture-laden walls were damp, and all around was shrouded in faint darkness.
“Tae-kyung. Take out the flashlight.”
“Yes.”
I quickly lowered my backpack. It was the porter’s bag Choi Team Leader had handed me just before entering the Gate. It looked ordinary on the surface, but it was an expensive item with both spatial expansion and weight-reduction magic cast upon it.
“Here it is. The flashlight.”
He hands it over when asked, but from my experience, it’s not the best method. While convenient, if the light disappears, we can’t adapt to the sudden darkness.
It would be better to wait a moment and let my eyes adjust to the darkness….
Click.
“Let there be light. Light.”
Whoosh. A sphere of light the size of a soccer ball burst from the flashlight and stuck to the cave ceiling with a wet slap.
“…Magic?”
“It’s built-in magic that activates the moment you chant the incantation. The duration is quite long, so we should be fine for the next three or four hours. It’s something M Company purchased as a limited edition item….”
Lim Hyuk-jun, who had been observing, summed it up in one phrase.
“Ridiculously expensive.”
Choi Team Leader’s face darkened slightly—whether from genuine displeasure or merely the shadows, I couldn’t say. Either way, thanks to that light, the raid became considerably easier.
‘Money really is everything.’
The world is governed by capital, and Gates are no exception. Those with money fight comfortably with magical equipment, while those without must carry torches.
“Everyone to your positions.”
At Choi Team Leader’s command, the team responded immediately. Lim Hyuk-jun, in the tank position, and the Other E-rank Hunter took the lead, with Choi Team Leader next. I, the porter, and the two Ranged Dealers stood at the very back.
“Move out.”
We began advancing slowly forward.
The bright magical light illuminated our path.
“….”
I want one of those.
* * *
“Kiiieeet!”
Creatures that had been crouching in the darkness revealed themselves with horrible shrieks. Green skin, squat bodies, grotesque limbs.
Hob goblins—a superior variant of common goblins.
‘Roughly thirty of them.’
Five of us would have a difficult fight on our hands.
‘But with a C-rank Hunter, things change.’
And the other four were all E-rank veterans with at least a decade of experience.
I stepped back at a safe distance and watched the battle unfold.
“Ranged!”
The moment Choi Team Leader spoke, arrows flew. One shot, one kill. The shieldless Hob goblins crumpled as the arrows found their vital points.
“Kiet!”
“Ah, shield-bearers appeared. What do we do?”
“Hold.”
Choi Team Leader continued.
“Tanks advance.”
The tanks in thick full-body armor wielding tower shields moved forward. Lim Hyuk-jun and the other man were both over 190 centimeters tall, their presence utterly overwhelming.
“Kiiieeet!”
But monsters are monsters for a reason. The Hob goblins, relying on sheer numbers, swarmed forward like a swarm of bees.
Yet….
“Tch.”
Crash!
He crashed into the massive tower shield in a bloody mess. Each time Lim Hyuk-jun, riding the momentum, swung his iron mace like a fly swatter, limbs snapped and skulls shattered.
“You bastard! You bastard!”
…What is this, some kind of whack-a-mole game?
‘Truly a seasoned veteran.’
All four of them maintained their positions without overextending, steadily reducing the enemy numbers.
Knowing when to retreat and when to advance—that’s combat intelligence born from abundant experience.
“All units, hold your positions.”
And then one person.
The one who had been orchestrating the flow of battle until now moved.
“I’ll handle the rest.”
Simultaneously, a brilliant red line flashed across his armor, cutting through the midst of twenty Hop Goblins.
Schwick—
Necks erupted in clean arcs. The creatures couldn’t react properly to what had unfolded in an instant.
“Kiiiii?”
Schwick. Schwick. Schwick.
The blade never stopped. Merciless and efficient, it pierced and severed the monsters’ vital points. This was no longer combat.
A massacre. A single human unleashing slaughter upon roughly twenty monsters.
‘So this is a C-rank Hunter.’
His speed, his strength. I could see it all. And I felt it.
‘He really is strong.’
As someone merely F-rank, I couldn’t dare to covet such power. Three entire ranks higher as an intermediate Hunter—a vast river and towering wall that effort alone could never bridge.
Yet simultaneously, a question arose.
‘What if this were Murim?’
Choi Team Leader is undoubtedly strong. He possesses abilities befitting a C-rank Hunter and abundant experience. But if this were Murim. If he were a Murim martial artist….
‘I would be stronger.’
His movements are fast and powerful, but that’s all. He hasn’t learned martial arts, nor does he use mana efficiently.
At best, first-class. In Murim, that’s exactly his level.
‘But this is reality.’
I bit my lip without realizing it.
An intermediate Hunter and a lowest-rank Hunter. While the intermediate Hunter, clad in expensive equipment, massacres monsters, the lowest-rank Hunter can only stare blankly.
In the role of a porter.
“Kiiieeeek….”
The last Hop Goblin fell. My eyes met Choi Team Leader’s as he withdrew his sword from its chest.
“Tae-kyung. Could you handle the byproducts?”
“….”
“Tae-kyung?”
I wanted to tell him. That I’m stronger than you.
But I couldn’t say it in the end, because this is my reality.
“…Thank you for your hard work.”
I was stronger than you.

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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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