Murim Login - Chapter 46

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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 46
Sizzle.
Meat landed on the hot plate—thick, crimson slices of premium Korean beef, marbled with white fat like delicate snowflakes.
The form, the sound, the aroma. Everything was intoxicating. The only thing that bothered me was the price, but…
“Will this be enough? We’ll eat and order more. The special cuts.”
Well, the wealthy C-rank Hunter was paying for it anyway.
‘How long has it been since I’ve had Korean beef?’
Food in Murim is spicy, salty, or bland. Most days I couldn’t even eat properly. For thirty days, my stomach endured nothing but jerky, fasting pills, and rice balls.
Crunch. Crunch crunch.
The beauty of beef is how quickly it cooks. The moment it looks done, straight into my mouth.
With each bite, I feel like I’m walking on clouds. Every piece—this one, that one, all of them—tastes like heaven.
“Mmm.”
Choi Team Leader watched me with that peculiar expression of his.
“Would you like more?”
“No, I should restrain myself from overeating.”
“We’ve already ordered twenty-five portions…”
“Twelve portions each isn’t that much, is it?”
“I’ve only eaten three portions.”
“Ah, can I order raw beef too?”
“…Yes.”
“And rice as well.”
…
After that whirlwind of a meal finally ended, Choi Team Leader finally spoke.
“I told you I defeated them. Both the Priest and the Great Warrior.”
“Ah, thank you.”
“Don’t mention it. Let’s call it a fair trade. I should be thanking you as well.”
A fair trade.
That’s right. I gained time to think, and he’ll gain fame. After all, he defeated two mid-tier rare monsters with just five low-rank Hunters.
The fact that no one died in the process would be a huge boost to the Guild’s reputation.
‘What if I hadn’t found my strength through synchronization?’
Well, I suspect someone would have died. Maybe none of us would have made it out alive.
“You were already thinking that way.”
He’s not entirely eccentric. His perceptiveness is quite sharp.
I laughed awkwardly.
“It’s good for both of us.”
“Good for both… for both…”
Choi Team Leader, who had been murmuring, suddenly asked.
“Would you like to join the Guild?”
Spurt.
Choi Team Leader, who had raised the tablecloth to block the water, smoothly pulled out a business card.
[Choi Min-woo, Team Leader of Peace Guild’s First Team]
What is this? I was genuinely taken aback for a moment.
“A-are you offering me a scout contract? Right now?”
“That’s right. Talent is always in demand.”
As I accepted the business card, I felt an overwhelming surge of emotion.
It seemed like only yesterday I was bowing like a shrimp during job interviews.
‘You really do see everything when you live long enough.’
Being treated as talent and receiving a scout offer—F-rank Hunter Jin Tae-kyung has come a long way.
“Our guild is still new and understaffed, but our fundamentals are excellent. Well, for example…”
Choi Team Leader swirled his wine glass with elegant grace. When had he even ordered that?
“Our finances are remarkably solid.”
“Ooh, finances!”
“Which is why employee benefits are excellent too.”
“Ooh, excellent benefits backed by solid finances!”
“Our Guild Master is a B-rank Hunter.”
“Ooh, a high-rank Hunter as the source of solid finances!”
“There’s no risk of restructuring.”
“Ooh, job security!”
Choi Team Leader asked with an affluent smile.
“Will you join us?”
I scratched my head.
“No, I’m afraid not.”
“…Pardon?”
“I have some pressing circumstances at the moment. I need time.”
Part of me wanted to sign the contract immediately, stamp it, seal it, and kiss it all at once.
‘But what if the system disappears tomorrow?’
That would be a disaster.
I’d go from being talent to being a liability overnight.
“Is it a matter of money?”
Money is always an issue.
But this is a more important matter. I can’t be dazzled by the pile of cash in front of me and make a hasty decision.
“It’s difficult to explain. Unfortunately, this isn’t a decision I can make right now…”
“One hundred million.”
“Million?”
“That’s just the signing bonus. The rest we’ll structure according to C-rank Hunter standards.”
It was dangerous. This time it was truly dangerous.
But I held firm with superhuman restraint. I’d learned long ago that life wasn’t so easy.
Money like that could become a curse.
“I apologize.”
Choi Team Leader, who had been staring at me intently, nodded in understanding.
“I’ll wait for your call.”
* * *
One person left, and one remained.
Choi Team Leader—or rather, Choi Min-woo—silently watched the space where Jin Tae-kyung had departed before pulling out his phone.
Beep, beep, click.
– This bastard’s got timing. I was about to call you anyway.
“What happened with what I mentioned earlier?”
– Well, since you asked, I looked into it… This Jin Tae-kyung person—what’s the deal with him?
“That’s exactly why I called you. So what did you find?”
– Nothing special, really. Awakened seven years ago at twenty, measured as F-rank. He’s got a record of graduating top of his class from the Hunter Training Institute…
Jin Tae-kyung’s past seven years unfolded through the receiver. Then, at some point, Choi Min-woo’s eyebrows twitched.
“What? The mutated Gate near Sangdong Station?”
– Yeah. You remember that incident, right?
How could he not? It was only two years ago, and Choi Min-woo remembered it clearly.
– He was the sole survivor of that incident. That part surprised me too when I confirmed it.
Choi Min-woo raised his water glass to his lips. An F-rank Hunter who’d taken down a mid-tier Rare monster alone—now he’d grasped the thread. His throat felt parched.
“And?”
– Six months of leave. The Administrative Bureau kept sending investigators, and apparently he took time to recover mentally. You know how big the incident was.
“So?”
– That’s it. He returned to the Guild and spent a year and a half grinding through Gates before getting fired. That was just three days ago.
“Why was he fired?”
– Officially it was restructuring, but what’s a tiny mid-sized Guild doing? The incident probably had a huge impact. They were watching the Administrative Bureau’s mood and let him go. It would’ve been awkward for them.
“That’s all?”
– Far as I can tell. Want me to send the full file?
“Send it right away. Then I’m hanging up.”
– Hey, hey!
Click.
Choi Min-woo drummed his long fingers on the table.
Jin Tae-kyung. F-rank Hunter. Sole survivor of the mutated Gate near Sangdong Station.
And…
‘At minimum, a C-rank Hunter.’
That was the conservative estimate. The image of him overwhelming a C-rank Rare monster alone, with overwhelming power and technique, flickered before his eyes.
‘Yet he’s supposedly F-rank.’
One of two things: either he was hiding his strength, or he’d recently undergone a re-awakening.
Choi Min-woo suspected the latter, but even that defied common sense.
How many Hunters retired without ever achieving a single promotion in their entire lives?
A re-awakening from F-rank to C-rank was, without question, extraordinarily rare.
‘This isn’t some game. What exactly is his identity?’
Choi Min-woo shook his head. He felt bewitched.
‘I need to dig deeper.’
As he stood up from his seat, the Restaurant Owner approached and handed him the bill.
“1,937,000 won.”
“….”
I felt as though I’d been possessed by a ghost.
* * *
“Damn it, this is fucked.”
I collapsed onto the ground. The messy Recycling Station. The object that should have been there was nowhere to be found.
“It’s gone, it’s gone. My capsule is gone.”
I’d been anxious ever since parting ways with Choi Team Leader. But for someone to take it in less than half a day? I screamed into the empty air.
“Who the hell took it!”
And an answer came back.
“Me, you bastard.”
On the rooftop of the Gosiwon building. Jin Ho stood in that same spot I’d seen this morning, smoking a cigarette. With an expression tinged with something distant, he exhaled smoke and continued speaking.
“I spent ten years crying and regretting, swearing to myself….”
“Will you really make me cry and regret it?”
“You’re no fun. You don’t know this movie, do you?”
“Don’t joke around. This is serious right now.”
“What, did you come up empty today?”
“No.”
I continued speaking in a voice drained of all strength.
“The capsule.”
“…Huh?”
“Someone took my capsule.”
“Cough, cough cough!”
Jin Ho, who had inhaled the cigarette smoke wrong and was coughing like mad, finally managed to speak.
“Didn’t you throw it away because you didn’t need it?”
“Yeah, I did.”
Until the system came back.
I never imagined the situation would change this drastically in just a few hours.
‘I should have kept it for just one more day.’
Where should I even start looking? I let out a heavy sigh.
“Elder Brother, you didn’t happen to see who took it, did you?”
“Well… that’s the thing.”
Jin Ho scratched his head.
“If I saw it, then I saw it. If I didn’t see it, then I didn’t.”
What kind of nonsense is this?
When I glared at him, he laughed sheepishly.
“I mean, it’s not like I’m expecting a reward or anything….”
It really seemed like he was definitely expecting a reward.
Anyway, that wasn’t the important part. I jumped to my feet and asked.
“Did you see it? Are you sure?”
“If anything, I’m the one who saw it.”
“Who? Where did they go!”
“I’m not asking for a reward, but what would be a reasonable amount?”
“…100,000 won?”
“Oh dear, I must be getting old. My memory’s getting fuzzy.”
“Damn it.”
“Right, it’s hot out. Thanks for your trouble.”
“The reward is 180,000 won.”
Jin Ho broke into a bright smile, apparently pleased with the amount.
“Four capsules. I picked them up.”
“…?”
It took exactly three seconds for me to understand.
‘Have I ever seen such a shameless bandit of a human being?’
I was speechless and furious. How could he backstab someone like this?
“But I didn’t have anywhere to put them. My room’s too cramped for it.”
“So?”
“I put it back in your room. Wasn’t that thoughtful?”
How hard would I need to punch this bastard for people to say I did a thorough job?
My fists trembled with rage.
* * *
“It’s really here.”
Seeing the capsule that now occupied half of my one-room apartment as if nothing had happened, I could only laugh bitterly.
‘Should I call this good luck?’
Out of all those people, the one who took the capsule was Jin Ho.
I opened the capsule’s lid. I picked up the instruction manual that had been carelessly tossed onto the worn seat and flipped to the last page.
[Key Features]
– A customized capsule for one person only! Upon user registration, the capsule becomes permanently bound to you, valid until your death.
…No way.
‘It must just be a coincidence.’
But the unease wouldn’t fade. I stared at the capsule, the source of all these events.
‘What in the world is this thing?’
The reason I’d thrown the capsule into the Recycling Station this morning was to forget everything. I wanted to treat it as just a nightmare and live my life as I was now, in this dull existence.
But now the situation had changed.
‘Because a system appeared.’
A system….
Then something suddenly occurred to me. I placed my hand on the capsule’s surface and murmured.
“Check items.”
Ding.
Of course it would. My lips curved upward in that very moment.
– Unable to read this item.
“…Unable to read it?”
This was my first time encountering such a situation.
‘Is it because this isn’t Murim?’
Bewildered, I frantically examined everything within reach—the television, a ballpoint pen, even a pillow. Each time, the system displayed accurate information.
Yet there was one exception. The capsule alone remained unreadable.
“Damn, this is frustrating.”
On impulse, I grabbed the instruction manual, but the result was the same.
Ding.
– Unable to read this item.
I collapsed onto the bed, staring blankly at the yellowed, dingy ceiling and pondering.
‘What in the world is happening?’
These were incomprehensible events. Yet one thing was certain.
‘I’ve become stronger. Incomparably so.’
Power permeating every fiber of my being. Qi churning within my dantian.
Through synchronization, I had gained strength. Power that far surpassed any F-rank Hunter. The power to single-handedly defeat a C-rank Rare Monster.
‘Would you like to join a Guild?’
My first recruitment offer ever. Yet I declined. Fear overwhelmed joy at being acknowledged by someone.
‘That’s understandable.’
I’d endured seven years as an F-rank Hunter. A caterpillar crawling through dirt suddenly sprouted wings called a system.
Fear was a natural emotion.
‘But if I could continue wielding this strength, this system?’
My heart raced at the mere thought.
Simultaneously, the past seven years flashed through my mind. The F-rank designation branded upon me despite frenzied effort. Memories from two years ago when I trembled under others’ contempt, guilt, and helplessness.
“Damn….”
I couldn’t take it anymore. I bolted upright and rushed out of the Gosiwon, flagging down a passing taxi.
“Where shall I take you?”
My destination was already decided.
“Hunter Association Bucheon Branch, please.”
Hunter rank reassessment.
F-rank Hunter. Breaking free from this suffocating shackle that had tormented me for so long—that was where I’d begin.
‘Let’s see what I can do.’
With my fists clenched tight, the taxi driver spoke.
“This is a Seoul taxi, you know.”
“Ah.”

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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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