Murim Login - Chapter 44

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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 44
“Just hold on for five minutes.”
With those words, Choi Team Leader bolted away like the wind. Whether fortunately or unfortunately, the Hop Goblin Warrior paid him no mind whatsoever.
“It’s coming this way.”
At my words, everyone nodded blankly.
“Right.”
Boom, boom, boom!
“It’s charging.”
“Defensive formation—!”
My teammates instantly formed a defensive line. I gripped my spear and moved according to orders. Between the tank and the ranged dealers—right in the center. That was my position.
‘Damn it, I’m just a porter….’
When life goes wrong, it goes wrong in every possible way.
They say an unlucky man breaks his nose falling backward—I’d encountered two intermediate rare monsters for just 300,000 won. This was breaking my nose and the back of my head simultaneously.
– Kuooaaarrgh!
The Hop Goblin Warrior charged forward with a roar. Standing three meters tall, the muscular green monstrosity was overwhelming in its mere presence.
‘Why is that greatsword so massive?’
Just imagining it swinging toward me made my throat go dry.
“Can we block it?”
“We’ll have to try.”
Lim Hyuk-jun shouted, anchoring his tower shield to the ground.
“Archers! Don’t hold back—unleash everything!”
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Simultaneously, mana-infused arrows shot forth in a direct barrage. The force was enough to pierce through ordinary shields, but….
Thud, thud, thud.
The Hop Goblin Warrior casually swung his greatsword and cleaved every arrow in half. Even if they’d landed, I doubted they could penetrate that thick hide.
“Aim for the weak points! Keep firing while slowing its advance!”
Then the warrior’s eyes blazed crimson. The monster’s strength and speed after drawing upon its mana were incomparable to moments before.
“Kuoooooo!”
With a deafening roar, the green giant leaped skyward.
Lim Hyuk-jun screamed.
“Scatter!”
Before anyone could think, we threw ourselves aside, and in the next instant.
Crash!
The massive greatsword obliterated the ground. Dust swirled in a tornado of wind pressure, engulfing everything around us.
“Ugh.”
“Cough, cough.”
Beyond the veil of dust, groans and coughing erupted. I crouched low and thought.
‘What kind of monster is this?’
It wasn’t comparable to ‘that one’ from two years ago, but my spine tingled with dread. In a fight like this, an F-rank hunter like me was nothing but dead weight.
‘I need to get as far away as possible while I have the chance.’
My vision was completely shrouded in haze. This was my chance—unable to distinguish friend from foe in this murk.
I crouched low and moved with deliberate slowness, one hand gripping my spear while the other groped through empty air.
Tap.
Something solid brushed my fingertips. Hard and damp.
It felt like the Cave wall.
‘Already?’
I’d thought it was quite far, but it seemed closer than expected.
Well, that worked out. Now I could use the wall to navigate—
Squelch.
“…?”
What was this? I carefully felt along something unpleasantly squishy.
‘There’s hair. Is this a person?’
It might be the head of someone who’d lost consciousness and collapsed. I held my breath and whispered urgently.
“Lim Hyuk-jun?”
No answer came.
“Who’s there?”
This time, a response sounded.
From directly above me.
“Grrr.”
A gust of wind swept through the Cave at that moment, clearing away the dust. As I slowly lifted my head, I saw them—gleaming crimson eyes.
“Grruk.”
“…”
I lowered my head again. Between the creature’s thick, pillar-like thighs—hard as stone—my delicate hands were gripping something. I let out a low groan.
“Ah, damn it…”
It was pure instinct. An unbearable revulsion and self-loathing. In the next instant, my grip naturally weakened.
Slip.
My hand fell lifelessly while the massive greatsword rose with terrible force.
“Grruk.”
“I let go! I already let go, why are you—!”
“KUOOOOOO!”
Damn it all.
I squeezed out every last ounce of strength and bolted.
* * *
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The Hop Goblin Warrior had completely lost its mind. It chased me with frenzied fury, slashing wildly in all directions with its greatsword.
Screeeech—
“Ahhhhh!”
That was far too close. The greatsword whistled past my head as I ducked sharply, gouging deep into the Cave wall.
“Tae-kyung!”
“Fire!”
My team members desperately hurled arrows and throwing weapons, but….
“Kwaaaaagh!”
It wasn’t enough to draw the attention of the Hop Goblin Warrior whose eyes had already rolled back.
I rolled and rolled again, lamenting my choices.
‘I should have just detonated it.’
This was the result of instinct overriding reason. The heart of a man desperate to release his grip on ‘that’ even a second sooner.
Screeeech!
The greatsword narrowly missed me. It was certainly a barrage of crises, yet I wasn’t allowing the C-rank Rare monster a single clean hit.
‘Perhaps it’s because I’ve witnessed so much brutality in Murim.’
It might sound insane, but it’s the truth. I can see its attacks coming. A half-beat faster movement was what kept me alive.
Boom!
Of course, if I took one direct hit, I’d be done for.
“Tae-kyung, over here!”
I turned toward the voice. There, my team members awaited me in a defensive formation once more.
“Fall back!”
Lim Hyuk-jun attempted a Charge against the Hop Goblin Warrior pursuing me. The blue mana layered over his tower shield possessed enough destructive force to obliterate ordinary low-rank monsters.
“Haaah!”
With a sharp battle cry, Lim Hyuk-jun brushed past me. And the next instant.
Crack. Boom—
With the sound of something shattering, he was sent flying backward at tremendous speed.
Lim Hyuk-jun, having flown a dozen meters and crashed into the wall, coughed up blood violently.
“Cough.”
“….”
Is this really happening?
Unlike me, who stood dumbfounded, the other team members remained resolute.
“No! Elder Brother Hyuk-jun!”
“We’ll buy time, so take Elder Brother and get out!”
Then the greatsword sent another tank flying, tower shield and all.
Boom!
“Ugh!”
“Jong-min!”
“We’ll buy time, so take Jong-min and Elder Brother and get out!”
Smack!
“Aaaaah!”
“Seok-ho!”
“….”
Crack!
The sound announcing the annihilation of my team. The last member, who had rushed forward with a dagger only to take a blow and go flying, twitched before losing consciousness.
At least they were all still breathing—a small mercy.
– Grrrrr….
I took back what I’d just said, my gaze fixed on the creature as I shouted.
“Team Leader!”
Far away at the Altar, a fierce battle continued to rage.
Beyond the deafening explosions, an exhausted voice called out.
“What is it!”
“Isn’t it taking too long? It’s been over five minutes!”
Boom! Whoosh!
Lightning struck and flames erupted. Choi Team Leader screamed out.
“Three more minutes!”
If someone didn’t know better, they’d think he was a soccer referee. At Choi Team Leader’s confident declaration of extra time, I was left speechless.
– Crackle, crackle.
The Hop Goblin Warrior approached slowly, a cruel smile twisted across its grotesquely split mouth. I retreated cautiously in rhythm with its steps.
“That’s right, come on. Come on.”
There was no choice. Just like before, I had to run desperately and buy time.
– Growl.
But the Warrior didn’t move as I expected.
“Huh?”
Its bulging eyes, now devoid of focus, rolled toward my fallen teammates scattered across the ground. Something about this felt wrong.
“Don’t tell me…”
My suspicion was correct.
My heart sank as I watched the creature turn toward Lim Hyuk-jun.
“Hey, hey you bastard!”
All I got in return was complete indifference.
Suddenly, desperation surged through me.
‘If I don’t do something, they’ll all die.’
I had to draw its attention somehow. I picked up a stone from the ground and hurled it at the creature’s head.
Crack!
A direct hit.
The Hop Goblin Warrior turned its head and glared at me.
“Yeah, come at me.”
– Growl.
Its narrowed eyes flickered between me and Lim Hyuk-jun. Then it began charging toward Lim Hyuk-jun.
Boom, boom, boom.
“Damn it!”
At this rate, not just Lim Hyuk-jun but all my teammates would be annihilated. Only I could stop it.
‘Stop that thing? Me?’
A one-on-one duel with a C-Rank Rare monster.
It was a fight I could never win. But…
‘Damn it all.’
I was already charging toward it. Sometimes you have to fight even when victory is impossible. This was that moment.
“You bastard!”
Screeeech—!
The moment I thrust my spear toward that broad back.
– Krrrrk.
The massive green figure I’d been waiting for turned around. A smug grin twisted across its face. The greatsword swung horizontally became a blur of light, shooting toward my flank.
‘So that’s what it was after.’
My mind went white. Could I even block that? Had I made a reckless decision driven by pointless guilt and misplaced heroism?
But the die had already been cast.
‘I have to hold.’
There are moments when you must fight for your life. This was one of them.
‘Please!’
I gritted my teeth and angled the iron spear to intercept. At the same instant, the greatsword came crashing down against it.
Screeeech—
A deafening boom. Immense pressure bore down. The greatsword should have cleaved straight through the spear and split my waist in two…
“…Huh?”
The spear was fine. My waist was fine. All that happened was my feet slid back slightly—just barely.
“…?”
What the hell?
– Krrr, krrgh?
The Hop Goblin Warrior’s face flushed crimson with rage. The greatsword pulled back and came down again across the spear. Even in the chaos, I poured strength into my grip and held firm.
Crash!
My body slid back.
About thirty centimeters?
“…Huh?”
– …Krrgh.
My eyes met the Hop Goblin Warrior’s in midair. This felt familiar somehow.
‘Right. That sparring match with Lee So-gun. It was exactly like this.’
I’d been so terrified by the level difference I thought I’d die, only to discover he was pathetically weak. How could I forget that absurd moment?
‘But that had system assistance.’
This, on the other hand, was reality. I was an F-rank hunter with no system, no nothing.
‘How is this even possible…?’
Ding.
“Huh?”
I froze completely. In that moment, I could see nothing, hear nothing.
‘This can’t be real. This is absolutely impossible.’
Ding.
– Synchronization complete.
– All systems are being inherited.
And yet it was actually happening.
“Ha… haha.”
Laughter spills out of me like a madman’s. The Hop Goblin Warrior stares at me as if I’ve lost my mind.
[Lv.45 Hop Goblin Warrior]
Yes, that’s right.
“I don’t know what’s happening here.”
I flash a grin at the creature.
“But you’re dead.”
* * *
Gurgle.
A wrinkled hand claws at its throat. But the old goblin has neither the strength to stem the waterfall of blood pouring forth, nor the time to muster the incantation hovering on the tip of its tongue.
“Troublesome.”
With Choi Team Leader’s single word, the light fades from the Hop Goblin Priest’s eyes.
‘I’m exhausted.’
But I turn my body immediately. There’s still work to be done. How grueling a battle awaits against a C-rank Rare monster…
Screech—
“Kwaaaaah!”
Choi Team Leader thinks he’s seeing things. The Hop Goblin Warrior is shrieking. It stumbles backward, one arm severed clean off.
‘Who on earth—?’
Choi Team Leader watches the battle unfold, forgetting even that he should help. Ghostly footwork, spear strikes flowing like water—the green colossus is being shredded.
Wait. A spear?
Among everyone gathered today, only one person wields a spear.
‘The porter… no, Jin Tae-kyung?’
That’s right. It was him.
The F-rank hunter who carried a backpack and skinned leather!
“What in the world—”
Choi Team Leader’s mouth slowly falls open.
“What is happening here?”

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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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