Murim Login - Chapter 47

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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 47
The Hunter Association.
A name that emerged thirty years ago, coinciding with the end of the Great Upheaval.
The first-generation Hunters who survived the blood-soaked Great Upheaval planted their flag, and the Hunter Association rose through the passage of time to become an organization of tremendous prestige.
Gulp.
I swallowed hard, gazing up at the towering Association building. Even amid this dense forest of skyscrapers, its size and height commanded attention. Even on an ordinary weekday, countless people flowed in and out of its doors.
‘How many years has it been?’
All Awakened undergo rank measurement under the Association’s supervision.
I was no exception. The memory of twenty-year-old Jin Tae-kyung arriving here with such anticipation drew a wry smile—though I quickly suppressed it.
‘Now that I’m actually here, I’m incredibly nervous.’
I entered the Lobby with stiff steps. The vast space, large as a sports field, teemed with people. Following the electronic signs posted throughout, I found my destination with ease.
[Measurement Waiting Room]
I filled out the required documents under the guidance of the counter staff and entered. Dozens of people waited in the Waiting Room for their measurements.
Thud. The door closed, and gazes shot toward me like arrows, piercing.
‘It’s suffocating, absolutely suffocating.’
The very air here felt different. A palpable tension pressed down over the entire Waiting Room.
‘A single measurement determines your entire Hunter career.’
I understood that all too well. I’d once been so nervous during a measurement that I’d passed gas in front of the examiner—need I say more?
As I waited for my turn, lost in such thoughts, it happened.
“Jin Tae-kyung?”
A familiar voice from behind. I turned slowly, and there he stood.
“I had a hunch, and I was right.”
A middle-aged man with a pug nose and a protruding belly. A face impossible to forget.
‘…Kim Team Leader?’
Kim Sang-sik. A founding member of the Sopoong Guild where I’d spent years, and my former Team Leader—he could be described in a single phrase.
My previous boss.
“Well, I never expected to see you here. Good to see you.”
Kim Team Leader extended his hand with a hearty laugh. I hesitated briefly before clasping it.
“Indeed. It’s been a while.”
“A while? It’s only been a few days.”
“Those few days felt quite long to me.”
I’d meant it with Murim in mind, but it would carry a different meaning to Kim Team Leader. And rightfully so—he was the one who’d given me my termination notice just days ago.
“It’s summer, so time feels stretched. I’ve been feeling it too lately.”
“Is that so?”
Watching him gloss over it so smoothly, I let out a quiet laugh.
He was always entertaining to watch. In more ways than one.
“But what brings you here?”
“I had some business to attend to. How about you, Team Leader?”
I came to scout. Heard there’s a promising prospect this time around.”
The official reason for my termination was workforce reduction due to restructuring, yet here he was scouting talent.
“I see.”
There was nothing else for me to say. Everyone knew the same old story. And I had no lingering attachment to a tale already concluded.
“So why did you come? Don’t tell me you’re thinking of retesting?”
“Yes.”
Kim Sang-sik spoke with a smile on his face.
“Well, the attempt is admirable, but isn’t that just wasting money? The retesting fee isn’t cheap. For an F-rank hunter like you, it must be a burden.”
“Still, I’m going to try. Just in case.”
“You should save while you’re young. If you keep clinging to something that won’t work, what changes?”
“I don’t know. This time feels different somehow.”
“That’s not something so easily—”
“Team Leader.”
“Huh? What?”
I smiled gently.
“Just stop, will you?”
In that instant, Kim Sang-sik’s smile cracked.
“What?”
“I said stop. I’ve left the guild now, so don’t worry about me anymore.”
“What do you mean?”
What do I mean?
“You know what I’m talking about.”
“….”
“It couldn’t be helped. I’m glad you survived at least. Let’s forget everything and start fresh. You pretended to console me while stabbing me in the back relentlessly.”
“You….”
“You were the first one to bring up cutting me to the Guild Master. Did you think I wouldn’t find out?”
Kim Sang-sik is, in a word, a mediocre petty man.
A person lacking both character and ability.
Even in the Gate, he was too busy saving his own skin—his reputation within the guild had hit rock bottom.
“Who did you put in my place after cutting me? How much did you get paid to slip them in?”
“Hey, Jin Tae-kyung.”
Kim Sang-sik pressed down on my shoulder and growled. Despite appearances, he was one of only three D-rank hunters in the Sopoong Guild. With this much strength, he could toy with an F-rank hunter with one hand.
But….
“Let go.”
I didn’t even blink. What synchronized with the system wasn’t just my abilities. My martial arts, my stats—and steel-hard muscles and bones as well.
“I’m counting to three. Let go.”
“This bastard, now that I’m being patient—”
I didn’t hesitate to speak.
“One, two.”
Three. At that very moment, I seized Kim Sang-sik’s wrist.
Click.
“Next group, please come in. Numbers 21 through 30!”
At the appearance of the Hunter Association supervisor carrying a folder, we all scattered without needing to discuss it. Getting on the Association’s bad side would benefit neither of us.
“Consider yourself lucky.”
“Who? Me? Or you?”
Kim Sang-sik’s face, flushed crimson with rage, was almost comical. Even the level window I perceived through my senses was laughable.
[Lv.24 Kim Sang-sik]
“It was unpleasant meeting you. Let’s never see each other again.”
Without hesitation, I brushed myself off and stood. My waiting number was 30. As I walked toward the supervisor, my steps were no longer rigid with tension.
* * *
“Number 21. Please step forward.”
An Awakened with a tense expression stood before the measurement device. The grade-measurement apparatus, crafted from A-rank mana stones, scanned his entire body and converted the mana within into numerical values.
Whirrrrr—
After confirming the reading, the supervisor spoke.
“Mana distribution within the body: F-rank.”
The Awakened’s face turned ashen. But despair was premature. There was still a second chance.
“Try moving your mana. Concentrate fully and imagine shooting it into the measurement device.”
This was testing mana control. Realizing the evaluation wasn’t over, the Awakened gritted his teeth and pulled forth his power.
Every ounce of strength he possessed—
Whoooosh.
“….”
“….”
The supervisor spoke with an expression as if he might vomit.
“Control ability: F-rank.”
“Just once more! Please, let me try one more time!”
“Not possible. Next.”
The numbers flew by rapidly.
All E-rank, F-rank—and even an unawakened impostor appeared.
“This is a scam, a scam! That device is Chinese-made! Hey, you bastards!”
“Remove him.”
At the supervisor’s command, security Hunters who had been waiting dragged the scammer away. Even if that fool miraculously awakened, he’d be registered on the Association’s blacklist.
“Next, number 30.”
Here it comes.
I took a deep breath and stepped forward. The supervisor glanced at the folder in his hand and spoke.
“This is a re-evaluation?”
“Yes.”
“Jin Tae-kyung, you obtained F-rank seven years ago… and you’re aware that re-evaluation incurs an additional fee, correct?”
From what I gathered, he was essentially saying not to waste money and to go home while given the chance. The typical gaze directed at F-rank Hunters.
‘Who do you take me for, a beggar.’
Familiarity and displeasure are different matters. When I glared, the supervisor chuckled.
“Just to be clear, the fee is two million won.”
“…The price went up?”
“It’s been a few years.”
Damn, I didn’t know that.
How much is in my account right now…
“Then I’ll begin the measurement.”
I closed my eyes with a trembling heart. And the next moment.
Whirrrrr.
The wave of mana flowing from the measurement device swept across my entire body.
Fifteen years of cultivation trembled in response to it.
‘What rank will it be?’
C-rank? No, even D-rank would be good. But even after waiting ten-odd seconds, the supervisor’s mouth didn’t open.
“Uh, why is this happening?”
“Why?”
The supervisor, looking flustered, glanced back and forth between the measurement device and me, then cleared his throat.
“It seems there’s been some kind of error… I’ll move on to the next person for now.”
I don’t know what’s going on, but somehow it doesn’t feel ominous.
‘This feels good.’
I felt my heart pounding as I drew up my cultivation.
Whoooosh.
In response to the call of the Jin Family’s cultivation method, fifteen years of accumulated power surged forth toward the measurement device.
* * *
Lobby entrance.
“Well done.”
Kim Sang-sik patted the young man’s shoulder. As of today, he was officially recognized as a D-rank Awakener—a promising youth.
He would soon join the Sopoong Guild and be assigned to Kim Sang-sik’s team. Thinking of that day drawing near, Kim Sang-sik smiled with satisfaction.
“Father and son will form one team. You’re truly my son.”
“Come on, I’m not even an official Hunter yet. I still have to go through the Training Facility.”
“Don’t worry. Your father has already made arrangements.”
“Really? Didn’t you say there were no openings in the guild?”
“There’s always a way.”
He didn’t mention that in the process, he had fired a low-rank Hunter who had been a thorn in his side.
“Anyway, rest well this week, and starting next week we’ll commute together…”
Suddenly Kim Sang-sik’s expression twisted.
“What’s wrong?”
“…No, nothing. Wait in the car first.”
After his son left, he stood alone and rolled up his shirt sleeves.
His wrist, swollen a dark bluish-purple, made him grit his teeth.
“Jin Tae-kyung, you bastard.”
He had disliked that man from the start—both because he was a sub-team leader despite being an F-rank Hunter, and because he had been like a brother to the former Team Leader who was now dead.
‘That bastard should have died with him back then.’
The unexpected accident that occurred two years ago had been a stroke of luck for Kim Sang-sik.
He had stepped back from the front lines due to various scandals, but now he’d made his triumphant return as Team Leader—and just days ago, he’d even managed to send Jin Tae-kyung packing.
‘But is this guy really an Awakened One? A re-Awakening?’
Kim Sang-sik stared down at his throbbing wrist.
It had been only a fleeting moment, but the force he’d felt was tremendous. E-rank, or perhaps even D-rank upon re-Awakening—it was entirely possible.
“No, wait. Re-Awakening isn’t some child’s game.”
Maybe he’d grown weak from not exercising lately. Kim Sang-sik muttered this to himself, his emotions in turmoil, when—
“We’ve received a flash report from the Measurement Chamber.”
“Anyone decent?”
“One catch of the month just appeared. C-rank.”
“C-rank? That’s not bad, but is it really worthy of being called a catch of the month?”
“Their mana control is A-rank.”
“What? A-rank! Get me a straw, quick!”
“Yes. It’s Choi Min-sub from the Sopoong Guild. The thing is….”
A ripple of commotion spread among the scouts prowling the lobby entrance like hyenas.
Most were dispatched from mid-sized Guilds, but a few from the Large Guilds were already moving with swift feet.
‘C-rank alone is considerable, and he’s naturally gifted with mana control too?’
This was a jackpot.
Kim Sang-sik’s mind snapped to attention. He cast aside all thoughts of Jin Tae-kyung and pulled out his phone.
– Oh, Team Leader Kim. Did things go well with what you were handling?
The owner of the thick voice on the other end was the Guild Master of the Sopoong Guild.
Kim Sang-sik spoke urgently.
“Guild Master. It’s chaos here right now. A C-rank just appeared. And his mana control is at the level of a top-tier Hunter.”
– What? Where did a guy like that come from?
“Exactly. Those Large Guild bastards always intercept in the middle, but it looks like they’re a step late this time.”
– Good, so that’s how it is….
Whoosh. Huff.
Rough breathing came through the receiver, excited and heavy. The way he addressed Kim Sang-sik had changed.
– Sang-sik. You grab this one. Whatever conditions he wants, we’ll match them.
“How much of a budget do we have?”
– Don’t worry about it. Pile on top of whatever those other guys are offering. The Large Guild bastards will back off if the numbers don’t work out—they’ve got nothing to lose anyway, right?
“Yes, yes.”
– I’m heading there now. Keep him on the hook. If you pull this off… you know what that means?
After hanging up, Kim Sang-sik clenched his fist tight.
‘I’ve got this!’
A veteran of this industry like him—keeping a freshly Awakened novice in check was child’s play.
In a world where money moves even ghosts, what couldn’t be done?
‘Double whatever the others offer. Definitely double.’
Just then, the murmuring grew louder. The elevator that had stopped on the third floor where the Measurement Chamber was located was now descending toward the lobby.
“Here they come!”
“Ah, please don’t push.”
About twenty scouts clustered around the entrance like a swarm of ants. Kim Sang-sik, who had brazenly claimed the lead position, had finished all preparations to hand over his business card.
Ding.
And finally, the elevator doors slid open.
Kim Sang-sik bowed deeply and launched into his prepared speech.
“Good day. I am Kim Sang-sik, Team Leader of the Sopoong Guild. As a prestigious and traditional guild from Bucheon….”
“Sopoong Guild being prestigious? That’s the first I’ve heard of it.”
“…Pardon?”
A familiar voice. Kim Sang-sik’s head lifted slowly.
Their eyes met. At that same moment, Kim Sang-sik’s eyes—which had been as narrow as buttonholes—widened in shock.
“You, you….”
Jin Tae-kyung chuckled.
“We meet again, Kim Sang-sik.”

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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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