Murim Login - Chapter 422

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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 422
Ding. Ding. Ding.
– Opportunity blooms within crisis. You have gained a new enlightenment through a battle where life and death hung in the balance!
–
[Middle Dantian]
has been opened!
–
[Middle Dantian]
opening increases all stats by 20!
–
[Qi Circulation]
effectiveness has been greatly enhanced!
– Your ability to perceive and manipulate the flow of qi has been greatly improved!
– Bone and meridian strength have increased!
.
.
.
System notifications relentlessly burrowed into my ears.
A gust of wind stirred my sweat-drenched hair, and I felt a torrent of new power and transformation coursing through my entire body.
Even that final crystalline bell tone resonated within me.
Ding.
– You have acquired vast experience points as a reward for enlightenment!
– You have acquired 50 points as a reward for enlightenment!
– Level Up!
– Level up effect recovers all status ailments, fatigue, and some injuries!
– Status ailment,
[Curse]
has been dispelled!
– Previously reduced stats have been fully restored!
And I was not alone in sensing this transformation.
A master cannot be ignorant of what their hands accomplish. The Arch Lich, realizing that his curse magic had been broken, spoke in a voice tinged with disbelief.
– How exactly?
His single word encompassed all the questions swirling through his mind, and I offered a shrug.
“Well.”
– Well?
“Yes, well.”
– You think that suffices as an explanation?
“Of course not. But should I really spell it out for you?”
From the faintly trembling light in his eyes, I could sense his utter exasperation.
– You’re clearly not a mage, are you?
“I did want to become a mage. They get better allowances, you know. But I had no talent for it. My head just wasn’t cut out for it.”
– Even those you call Grand Mages cannot dismantle my magic so easily.
“Well, you don’t have any, so that’s settled.”
– This is absurd!
I’ll admit it.
The Arch Lich’s magic—no, his overall power—was undeniably superior to mine.
Even I, who had long since transcended the ordinary limits of Hunters, could not evade his curse magic, and the large-scale illusion magic he wielded with Bone Spear was genuinely perilous.
Had I not attained enlightenment, I might not be standing here now.
But…
“So what are you going to do about it?”
– …!
I have a system, and I simply did my utmost with the power granted to me and my own effort to overcome this crisis.
If you’re upset, go use a system yourself.
“That’s just how the world works. Even when you’re frustrated and annoyed, you have to grin and bear it. What else can you do? It’s already happened. Right?”
The Skeleton Warlord, who had been screaming moments before, muttered.
– Wow, you really do have a way with words.
I suppose I do.
– But you cunning human, that one doesn’t seem inclined to grin and bear it.
The Skeleton Warlord was right.
The next instant, a desolate voice echoed forth alongside a tremendous vortex of magical power.
– Burst forth. Sonic Buster.
And simultaneously.
Whoooosh, boom!
Highly compressed wind erupted all at once.
Mere contact with the sphere of wind shot at sonic velocity reduced concrete to powder and severed steel reinforcement bars.
The windows of the high-rise building, unable to withstand the shockwave, shattered completely, and countless shards of glass were swept up in the wind.
In a single moment, before I could even blink, the colossal wind was upon me.
– Human!
The Skeleton Warlord’s cry from within my inventory echoed like a phantom wail.
Was he worried about his own safety, or was he worried about me?
Either way, it didn’t really matter which was the true reason.
The me from a few minutes ago and the me now were vastly different.
‘Ah.’
My chest blazed with heat. The point the Murim practitioners called the Conception Vessel or the Middle Dantian opened wide.
It allowed me to accept all circumstances surrounding me, to feel them through my skin and perceive them with my eyes.
‘So that’s what it was.’
The world slowed, and everything became clear and legible.
The massive sphere composed of wind that slashed like a blade. And the flow of magical power that made it possible.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh!
Everything has a center. Magic is no exception. And now, my eyes could see that center.
‘Now.’
I swung my spear through the slowed world. The massive sphere of wind that seemed ready to obliterate everything was cleaved in half along the blade of the White Flame Spear.
The wind blade, split from one colossal form into hundreds, thousands of fragments, broke free from magical control and tore through the surroundings in all directions.
Crack, boom boom boom!
My clothes and hair whipped about in the raging wind. I gazed up at the Arch Lich with a faint smile.
“Come down. My neck hurts.”
– You…!
“If you won’t, I’ll come up.”
Crack crack, bang!
A single push off the ground.
The solid earth caved beneath me, and I soared toward the Gray Sky.
* * *
Boom!
The moment Jin Tae-kyung erupted from the ground level, the Arch Lich understood what it had to do.
‘I cannot allow that human to close the distance.’
Avoid close combat—a truth every mage knows, yet for the Arch Lich, it carried singular weight.
‘That I should feel threatened by a mere human.’
It had prided itself on reaching the pinnacle of dark magic.
Though it had lost considerable power during its resurrection as an Arch Lich, even now it possessed magical force that placed arch-mages beneath it.
But this human hurtling toward it now… was dangerous.
‘Yes, just like that one back then.’
A memory it wished never to recall. The Arch Lich clenched its still-rotting teeth and unleashed magic.
– Gravity!
With a cry imbued with power unlike before, an invisible, formless gravitational force crushed the space of dozens of meters in radius.
In the instant that pressure—which even an S-rank Hunter could not resist—was about to engulf Jin Tae-kyung entirely.
Pop!
Compressed air burst from Jin Tae-kyung’s feet. His form, escaping the gravity magic’s range through Void Step, pressed against the empty air once more.
His fluid movements resembled those of a hawk, yet his speed far surpassed any mere winged creature.
‘What is this.’
As Jin Tae-kyung rapidly traversed the void and drew near, the Arch Lich’s eyes darkened with dread.
Jin Tae-kyung had not only precisely grasped the range of the gravity magic but had evaded it through some bizarre technique.
‘Indeed. He did not break through the illusion magic by mere chance. Then….’
Whoooosh!
Magical power flowed from the Arch Lich’s entire form, shaking the very space around it.
– Gravity. Gravity. Gravity.
High-tier magic that even accomplished arch-mages required considerable time to chant poured forth without pause. The Arch Lich was certain this time it would bring Jin Tae-kyung down.
‘You, human. Fall.’
This time, instead of increasing the magic’s power, it expanded the range. How could he possibly evade gravity crushing hundreds of meters in radius….
Crack!
The Arch Lich’s eyes wavered.
Simultaneously, the gravitational magic that had been pressing down on Jin Tae-kyung dispersed, and I felt the mana connected to me snap like a thread.
Toward the Arch Lich, momentarily frozen by the realization that his magic had been shattered, Jin Tae-kyung launched himself again, pushing off empty air like a living projectile.
Crack! Screeeech!
With a sound that split the air, Jin Tae-kyung descended upon the Arch Lich—no, one step above him—and brought White Flame crashing down.
A whoosh, and a line of azure fire shot toward the Arch Lich.
Boom!
In the slowed world, the invisible barrier surrounding the Arch Lich shattered into fragments.
The moment when the roaring flames of Qi—kindled by thirty years of accumulated life force—pierced through dozens of layered defensive spells and surged toward the Arch Lich’s body.
– Great Bone Wall!
With an eerie cry, a barrier of black bone erupted from the void.
At barely one meter’s distance, the supreme defensive magic manifested and collided with the spear blade wreathed in flame.
Beneath the gray sky, centered on the two figures facing each other across the bone barrier, a tremendous shockwave and deafening roar exploded like thunder.
Kabooooom!
Compressed wind burst outward. Clouds that had been drifting in the distant sky scattered. Buildings barely holding their form collapsed, and half-decayed corpses were swept away by the gale and vanished.
Yet the two beings who had caused all this destruction stood motionless beyond the barrier, their eyes locked on each other.
“That was close, wasn’t it?”
– Indeed, quite impressive. Or rather….
The Arch Lich continued, gazing at the transparent spear blade that had pierced through the center of the barrier.
– Dangerous, I should say.
The length of the spear blade that had passed through the bone barrier was barely a finger’s width, yet the Qi that erupted in that instant had reached right before my face.
For the Arch Lich, it was fortunate. For Jin Tae-kyung, it was regrettable.
“Lucky bastard.”
– Arrogant, human. Yet I acknowledge it.
“What?”
Toward the bewildered Jin Tae-kyung, the Arch Lich spoke slowly.
– You possess the qualifications for it. If you are truly the Rival.
“…Rival?”
– Indeed. The Rival of the King. Eternal nemesis bound by divine machination. I cannot yet be certain, but… perhaps that is why I was able to rise again after stepping upon the River of Death.
Jin Tae-kyung furrowed his brow. What was this talk of a Rival of the King, and what nonsense about divine machination?
“Are you going through a phase? Put that bone away and show me your right hand. Let me see if you have a Black Flame Dragon mark.”
The Arch Lich shook his head.
– This is something neither you nor I can comprehend. Yet one thing is certain.
The crimson eyes that had been smoldering suddenly blazed fiercely.
At first, I had thought him merely a strong and unusual human. But not anymore.
He recalled memories from decades past—serving the King, sweeping across this planet.
That day when I lost everything and fell into the River of Death, the figure of a human I met for the first and last time.
‘The Rival.’
The human who killed me and even assassinated the King.
I had tried to stop him but could not. I had tried to reach him but could not approach. The one human I had ever truly feared.
And today, in battle with Jin Tae-kyung, the Arch Lich recalled that memory from long ago.
– You will certainly die here.
A sinister yet unwavering voice echoed through the air.
And Jin Tae-kyung’s response was simple.
“What are you babbling about, you fool.”
And the next instant.
“Swallow this.”
Whoosh. Boom!
With a low murmur, a fist wreathed in azure spectral flame shot forward, obliterating everything in its path.
It struck the barrier of black bone.
Annihilating Flame Divine Fist.
Crash!
The bone barrier that seemed impervious to any attack crumbled.
Beyond the countless bone fragments scattering in all directions, Jin Tae-kyung’s expressionless face turned toward the Arch Lich and spoke.
“This is so much better. My throat doesn’t even hurt now.”
– …!
“Get down.”
Crack!
A punch shot forth like a beam of light, striking the Arch Lich’s jaw.

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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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