Murim Login - Chapter 442

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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 442
Like the waters of the Yangtze River flowing with majestic indifference, time too moved slowly but steadily forward.
On the late afternoon of the fourth day since leaving Sichuan in Murim’s reckoning, a familiar presence approached me as I sat on the deck.
“What are you doing?”
I knew who it was just from the sound of his footsteps.
I kept my eyes on the Yangtze River as I answered.
“What does it look like I’m doing?”
Hyuk Moo-jin limped over and answered without hesitation.
“It looks like you’re just sitting.”
“I’m thinking.”
“About what?”
“About the peace of Murim.”
After a moment of silence, a refreshing laugh burst forth.
“Puhaha! That’s the funniest joke I’ve heard all year. You’re something else, Captain.”
“Never mind. Cancel that. I just thought of something else.”
“What is it?”
“There’s this guy who always interprets my words as complete nonsense, right? But lately, since his body’s gotten a bit better, his mouth seems to have lost all restraint. So I’m thinking about giving him a few good hits. What do you think?”
Hyuk Moo-jin pondered for a moment before asking.
“You’re not talking about the person I’m thinking of, are you?”
“I bet I am.”
“Who?”
“There is one. Hyuk Moo-jin.”
“….”
“Stay quiet. Unless you want another dunking in the Yangtze.”
Hyuk Moo-jin nodded frantically as if having a fit.
“Please, anything but that…!”
A few days ago, after I imposed the Yangtze River dunking punishment on him and immediately logged out, Hyuk Moo-jin had spent a full two hours touring the Yangtze aquarium.
The moment his body recovered somewhat thanks to Moon-kyung’s excellent medical skills, he immediately cast his fishing line, vowing to catch and filet every single one of those bastards who had bitten his nose.
“Alright, calm down. Why did you come?”
“Huh?”
“What’s your business? There must be a reason.”
Hyuk Moo-jin asked in a voice full of disappointment.
“No, do we always need a reason to talk between us?”
“No reason, then dunking.”
“I have one! I do!”
“Spit it out.”
“It might just be my feeling, but….”
Hyuk Moo-jin continued hesitantly.
“Is something troubling you lately?”
“Why?”
“It’s just that. Lately, whenever I see you, Boss, you seem to have a lot on your mind.”
“Me?”
“Yes. And well, to be honest, there hasn’t been much happening recently. It’s strange—it feels like only you, Boss, are exhausted and busy all the time, if that makes sense?”
“…Hmm.”
“You don’t seem to be sleeping much either.”
When did this bastard become so perceptive?
At my peculiar gaze, Hyuk Moo-jin scratched the back of his head.
“Well, that’s just the impression I got. Isn’t it?”
“No. It’s not.”
My answer was naturally a lie, and Hyuk Moo-jin’s suspicion was accurate.
Since I first set foot in Murim, I had never traveled between the two worlds as frequently as I did now.
‘When I think back, it was all my own choice.’
Sometimes the Quest system blocked the logout function, but most of the time it was a decision I made myself.
If I had spent time crossing over to the other world while walking on thin ice, my tension would have collapsed and I wouldn’t have been able to overcome the crisis.
It was only recently that the situation changed.
‘Both the modern world and Murim have crossed over a mountain.’
It had been so long since both worlds became quiet at the same time.
Murim was a minefield where troubles never ceased from the beginning, and even the modern world, which had been relatively peaceful, began to grow turbulent as I came into conflict with Lee Jung-yong.
For the first time in a long while—no, the first time since obtaining the system—peace had come to both worlds.
But deep down, I held a conviction bordering on certainty: this peace would not last long.
The calm before the storm. The brief peace granted to me was like the quiet of the night before the tempest descends.
That is why I moved busily between the two worlds, preparing for the storm that would soon arrive—and that is why I clung to this unsolved riddle even as the magnificent scenery of the Yangtze River lay before my eyes.
‘What on earth is this?’
I stared intently at the paper clutched in my hand.
On the low-quality rice paper were countless mysterious symbols and marks that I had drawn myself.
Varied in type and subtle yet distinct in form, they resembled the cryptic characters one might see in a mystery novel.
Or rather, I wish they were. Then I wouldn’t have to worry about them.
“What is that?”
“A storm.”
“Pardon?”
“Truth is, I don’t know either.”
Or perhaps I already know, but I don’t want to believe it.
These symbols and marks are the only intersection between two worlds with different flows of time, history, and culture.
In the modern world, they were discovered in the Arch Lich’s magic circle; in Murim, in Dark Heaven’s formation techniques.
And now, deep within my heart, I was turning over a single word.
‘Black magic.’
The demonic arts of the Demonic Heretical Way spoken of in Murim—what is commonly called demonic cultivation—I do not know how bizarre and vast it truly is.
But the more I reflected, the more everything I had directly witnessed and experienced resembled black magic.
‘The Blood Lord, the Western Heavenly Demon Lord, even the formation discovered in the cave.’
The Blood Lord’s appearance as he recovered from the Avatar of Ghosts and Demons that Jeok Cheon-gang unleashed was like that of a troll rather than a human, and the Heavenly Master whom the Western Heavenly Demon Lord revered had confronted me by borrowing the corpse of a subordinate whose breath had already ceased.
Moreover, the formation techniques used by the Black Robed Organization—those who stained Shaolin and Sichuan with blood under their respective leaders—were remarkably similar to what the modern world calls a Warp Gate.
At this point, it would be stranger not to harbor suspicions.
And yet, simultaneously, I found myself reluctant to accept it as truth.
Dark magic in the Murim.
It was like discovering that a female friend you harbored unrequited feelings for had used your home bathroom, only to find the toilet seat left up—except far more serious.
Where on earth? How? Why?
My mind swirled with questions. While investigations were already underway in the modern world, I felt as though I were wandering through an endless fog with no end in sight.
And more terrifying still was the unknown presence lurking beyond that fog, yet to reveal itself.
If every anxiety I harbored turned out to be true, then…
“What are you staring at so intently?”
The voice snapped me from my deep contemplation, and I immediately furrowed my brow.
Not because my thoughts were interrupted, but because of the acrid stench assaulting my nostrils.
I suppressed the instinctive wave of nausea rising within me and asked.
“You haven’t bathed again?”
Gung Ki-bang, who had surreptitiously planted himself beside me, nodded his head.
“It’s only natural that a beggar doesn’t bathe. What’s the problem?”
Hyuk Moo-jin opened his mouth with a nauseated expression.
“Gung So-hyup, are you perhaps a Poison Human? The moment I enter within three zhang of you, my head spins and I feel like retching.”
“Members of the Beggar Clan bathe only three times in their lives: when born, when initiated into the clan, and when they die.”
I spoke toward Gung Ki-bang, who was spouting such nonsense.
“Then before I kill you on the spot, go dunk yourself in the river at once. While you’re at it, scrub off some of that grime.”
“I refuse. I despise water. Especially after that day.”
Ah, so he was a victim of that incident too, come to think of it.
Gung Ki-bang, his expression now serious, glanced at the paper I was holding.
“Were you looking at that again?”
“Again? Gung So-hyup, you knew about this?”
At Hyuk Moo-jin’s question, Gung Ki-bang nodded.
“Of course. A few days ago, he suddenly told me to follow him and showed it to me. Asked if I’d ever seen it before. Of course, I said I’d never laid eyes on it.”
“Chief, is this how you discriminate between people?”
I offered Hyuk Moo-jin a warm smile.
“Yes. It is.”
…
“I showed it to Hu Gae because I thought he might know. Satisfied?”
Having found material to tease Hyuk Moo-jin with, Gung Ki-bang chuckled as he spoke.
“Moon-kyung. You showed it to that guy too?”
“Well, that’s…
I’d opened my mouth, but I couldn’t reveal Moon-kyung’s true identity, so I closed it again.
Not only because I’d seen Moon-kyung from several paces away, looking in this direction while meaningfully stroking his sword hilt.
Really.
“Look here, you bastard Hyuk. This is your position. Not the heart, but the pinky toe—ugh!”
Snap! Whoosh!
The incessant noise was giving me a headache, so I grabbed Gung Ki-bang by the collar and hurled him over the railing. The man flailed through the air with a single shriek before plunging into the river.
Splash!
The impact was forceful enough to send spray cascading across the deck.
And in the next instant, Chung Poong, who had been laughing at the unexpected turn of events, suddenly let out a scream.
“No! Mi-mi!”
What now?
Curious about what had happened, I looked closer and couldn’t believe my eyes.
A single white serpent—horned from head to tail—was thrashing about wildly and swimming desperately toward us.
The clear waters of the Yangtze River were turning pitch black around Gung Ki-bang’s body, and several fish that had been peacefully swimming nearby were floating belly-up.
“…What the hell.”
Even the thousand-year-old Poison Serpent was reacting like that. Maybe Hyuk Moo-jin was right—this really was genuine poison.
The Water Thieves who had witnessed this absurd water pollution in real time began discussing seriously whether Gung Ki-bang belonged to the Beggar Clan or the Sichuan Tang Sect.
I let out a deep sigh and gestured toward them.
“Fish him out quickly. Unless you want to keep working the Yangtze River in the future.”
Realizing their livelihood was at stake, the Water Thieves sprang into action.
* * *
After that, I continued traveling between the Modern World and Murim once or multiple times a day, handling necessary tasks and pursuing my investigations.
The news that the Peace Guild, which I belonged to, and the Wizard Guild led by Magic Johnson had formed some sort of agreement became a major topic of conversation among hunters worldwide.
However, for the general public, an even bigger story was about me personally—Jin Tae-kyung.
[World Hunter Association: “Jin Tae-kyung is an undeniable S-rank hunter and a hero who has saved countless lives. The fact that he remains an A-rank hunter is absurd.” Plans to issue S-rank hunter license after a brief test at headquarters. The World Hunter Association’s enthusiastic pursuit!]
[Breaking News) Jin Tae-kyung flatly refuses the Association’s offer. “I’m busy right now. I’ll stop by later if I get the chance.” The bewildered World Hunter Association.]
[World Hunter Association releases new statement: “This is unprecedented. S-rank hunter tests and licensing have always been conducted at our headquarters.”]
[Jin Tae-kyung: “I didn’t say I wouldn’t take the test. I said I’d come later. And I can take it in Korea just fine—what’s the problem? Before worrying about precedent, let’s be efficient about this.”]
[High-ranking Hunter Association official, wounded pride on display: “Then we cannot issue an S-rank hunter license.”]
[Urgent Breaking News) A brief post uploaded to SNS: “Then don’t. Where do you get off threatening me? Screw that.” It turns out it was from Jin Tae-kyung’s official SNS account… What’s the public reaction? “Absolutely refreshing.” “More satisfying than the carbonated drink I had during the Thousand-Mile March.”]
[World Hunter Association: “The remarks made by that official were a personal slip-up, not the organization’s position. We apologize.” Final decision made to dispatch a testing team to Korea for Jin Tae-kyung.]
[Japanese Prime Minister Koizumi: “Jin Tae-kyung is fun, cool, and sexy. I will definitely get him to naturalize as Japanese. That is a ‘promise’…”]
Leaving behind the countless incidents and words surrounding me, I returned to Murim once more.
And….
“Finally, I can breathe. Damn this Yangtze River.”
With those satisfying words from the Red Sky River, the bow of the Fast Ship, which had been sailing for nearly ten days, entered Hubei Province.

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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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