Murim Login - Chapter 53

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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 53
Ding.
– Sleep mode has ended.
“…Dad, Elder Brother!”
I gasped and opened my eyes.
The first thing that greeted me wasn’t the Gosiwon ceiling, but Ha-yeon’s face.
Right, I’d come home yesterday.
“Did you have a nightmare?”
“Huh?”
“You were screaming earlier. And sweating like crazy.”
Me?
Before I could even ask back, I realized it. My entire body was drenched in sweat, and my throat stung as if I’d swallowed sand.
‘Why is my body in this state?’
The system I possessed didn’t only apply when I was awake. Sleep mode granted me deep, restorative rest while simultaneously bringing my condition to its peak.
This kind of situation had never happened before—not in Murim, not even after synchronization. And a nightmare, of all things.
‘What dream did I have?’
But my head only throbbed; the dream’s contents remained a blur.
Ha-yeon asked me in a worried voice.
“Is something troubling you lately?”
“Nothing like that.”
“Tell me if there is. Don’t suffer alone.”
“Yes, Younger Sister.”
“I’m serious.”
A small fist struck my chest with a soft thud. Faced with Ha-yeon’s earnest expression, I had nothing to say and could only scratch my chin.
“Really nothing? No worries or hardships?”
“I said there’s nothing.”
A lie. There were troubles seven years ago, and there would be troubles seven years from now. There were days I’d locked myself in my room and wept, and days I’d forgotten everything drowning in drink with Elder Brother Jin Ho.
‘That’s enough.’
There were things I couldn’t tell Mother, who’d worked until her knee cartilage wore thin raising two young children, or my high school senior Younger Sister, who was now preparing for the college entrance exam.
Enduring alone and overcoming—I’d grown accustomed to it.
I forced a carefree smile.
“With my whole life ahead of me, what troubles could I possibly have? Well, there’s one thing—how should I spend all this money going forward, something like that?”
“You’re all talk.”
The atmosphere lightened a bit. I deliberately scrunched my face.
“All talk? Don’t you remember yesterday? Want me to show you the stack of cash again?”
“I’ll admit that. But I can’t argue with your luck.”
“I’ve just hit the peak of my 27-year life graph. Since nothing’s wrong, you focus on your studies.”
“My grades are in the top 0.1% nationally, so I’m doing well enough. Don’t worry.”
Ha-yeon pouted and turned to leave the room, but stopped and turned back.
“Elder Brother, but…”
“Huh?”
“Who is Jin Wi-kyung?”
“…What?”
A name that appeared at the most unexpected moment.
My body went rigid.
* * *
Crunch.
I bit into a freshly made kimchi, something I’d been craving from Mother’s kitchen, yet I could barely taste it.
It was because of the conversation I’d just had with Ha-yeon.
‘Where did you hear that name?’
‘From my brother. He kept calling out that name while he was sleeping earlier.’
And her final words.
‘Do you know them? If they appear even in your dreams, you must be close.’
I couldn’t answer that question. Because I hadn’t found the answer in Murim or in reality. No, there was no reason to search anymore. I had returned to reality, and Jin Wi-kyung remained in Murim.
‘But why did Jin Wi-kyung suddenly appear in my dream…’
My mind was a mess. Was it aftereffects from Murim? PTSD. The term post-traumatic stress disorder came to mind.
‘This is driving me crazy.’
Apparently my expression had hardened without my noticing. Mother asked gently.
“Not hungry? I made your favorite.”
“Oh, no. When did you make the kimchi? The soybean paste stew is excellent too.”
I hastily made excuses and picked up my spoon. For the first time in a while, the three of us were gathered at the same table. I couldn’t ruin this precious moment.
‘It’s nothing. It must be nothing.’
Slurp.
Yet despite my reassurances, I detected a faint bitterness beneath the savory soybean paste stew.
* * *
The unease that lingered in a corner of my heart soon faded away.
I laughed and chattered with my family all day long. After a deep afternoon nap, evening had arrived. It was time to leave.
“Stay a few more days. I was planning to make boiled pork tomorrow.”
“Here we go again, Mrs. Kim. Do you think I don’t know how to eat boiled pork?”
Younger Sister grumbled at Mother’s reluctant words.
“You’re packing so many side dishes—enough to open a restaurant. Why worry so much?”
“…Well, I suppose you’re right.”
In the shopping bags Mother had prepared by the entrance, side dishes were packed to the brim. This was the compromise I’d managed to negotiate.
‘I have nowhere to put them.’
If I brought a refrigerator into my three-square-meter Gosiwon room, there truly would be no space to stand. In fact, there wouldn’t even be room to place it.
I already had a capsule-sized refrigerator there.
‘Maybe I should move soon.’
As I was thinking this and shouldering the backpack I’d packed the night before—
“…?”
Why is it so heavy? I’d only packed a few clothes I’d bought yesterday.
I set down my backpack in confusion, and it was my family who grew flustered.
“Son, you’ll be busy starting tomorrow, right? Go wash up and get some proper rest.”
“…But you just told me to stay a few more days.”
“Brother, you’ll miss your taxi time.”
“I’m taking a taxi anyway.”
“Night surcharge. There’s a night surcharge, you know.”
By then, I’d caught on to what was happening.
“When did you put it in?”
“Put what in?”
“Money.”
Their expressions said it all. I let out a sigh.
“I told you to keep it and use it when you need it.”
“…”
“I earn plenty of money. And I will continue to.”
A mixture of truth and fiction.
The average annual salary for a C-rank Hunter is 500 million won. I’d met a generous employer like Choi Team Leader and received an unimaginable sum as a bonus, but if the system disappeared, everything would vanish like bubbles.
That’s why I wanted to give even more to my family…
“That’s money you risked your life to earn. Use it for yourself. Okay?”
“Mother.”
“Son.”
In the next moment, my words caught in my throat at what Mother said quietly.
“Don’t push yourself too hard. Don’t get hurt. That’s all I need.”
What more could I possibly say?
Shortly after, I stepped out into the humid air of a summer night.
My backpack laden with shopping bags of side dishes and bundles of cash.
Vroooom.
All the way back to the Gosiwon in the taxi, I recalled Mother’s final words and their warmth.
‘Survive. Don’t even look back—just run. That’s your mission.’
And the voice of someone from memories growing ever more distant.
* * *
Splash—
Blood erupted. Not the monster’s green blood, but human red blood. Feeling the searing pain in my thigh, I drove my spear into the Lizardman Chieftain’s chest.
“Kiiiii…”
Ding.
–
[Lv.50 Lizardman Chieftain]
has been defeated!
– You have gained experience!
Gate cleared. A mana field leading outside materialized above the Lizardman Chieftain’s lifeless corpse.
It was then that Choi Team Leader pushed himself off the tree.
“Three times.”
“I’m sorry?”
“That’s how many times Jin Tae-kyung has been injured today.”
Firm, elongated fingers pointed to various parts of my body.
My neck and arm, already treated with potions, and my thigh, still bleeding.
“It’s fine. They’re just grazes—low-grade potions are more than sufficient….”
“It is not fine.”
He cut me off with an uncompromising tone. Choi Team Leader’s expression had always been inscrutable, but this time felt different.
One thing was certain: the emotion emanating from that expression was far more than simple concern.
“Last week, you sustained no injuries whatsoever. Facing the same Gate and the same monsters, yet this happens—there can be only one reason.”
His transparent eyes fixed on me.
“Jin Tae-kyung. Is something troubling you?”
* * *
One day, two days, three days.
Time passed, but nothing improved. By the fourth day, I had sustained five separate injuries.
‘In your current state, this won’t do. Go home.’
Ignoring Choi Team Leader’s words, I made my way back to the Gosiwon, my mind churning.
‘What’s the problem?’
Everything had been going smoothly. The System hadn’t vanished, and three hundred million won sat in my account at the bank. All that remained was for me to advance as a C-rank Hunter….
‘Damn these dreams.’
It started then. Ever since that first night after returning to the Main Residence, I’d been plagued by nightmares.
The scenes grew sharper with each dream, and I’d wake drenched in sweat when they ended. Even when I steadied my body through breathing techniques, my mind remained unstable, and careless mistakes multiplied.
‘This won’t do.’
My body was here in reality, but my mind remained trapped in Murim. Wondering if I should see a psychiatrist, I arrived at my Gosiwon room.
Click.
“Oh, you’re back?”
The greeting was so natural I wondered if I’d entered the wrong room.
I stared at him in disbelief.
“What are you doing?”
Elder Brother Jin Ho answered.
“Disassembly and assembly.”
Seeing him sitting in front of the capsule with a screwdriver in hand, my vision suddenly blurred. Surely this bastard wasn’t….
“Are you insane? Move!”
“Whoa, whoa. You’ve got to hear the whole thing in Korean.”
Elder Brother Jin Ho hastily waved his hands.
“I haven’t even started yet.”
“What?”
“I just got here, I’m telling you.”
His expression didn’t seem like he was lying. After confirming the capsule was intact, a relieved sigh escaped me.
“Phew.”
Jin Ho looked at me with a bewildered expression at my reaction.
“Why are you making such a fuss over a broken capsule that doesn’t even work? You were ready to throw it out like garbage not long ago.”
“That was then.”
There was no way Jin Ho could know about synchronization. He couldn’t possibly understand what that mysterious object—which appeared to him as nothing but junk—meant to me.
“Anyway, don’t you dare touch it. Understood?”
“You look like you’re about to beat me to death.”
“I’ll tear you apart.”
….
Ignoring Jin Ho’s dumbfounded expression, I collapsed onto the bed.
The brief commotion had drained all the energy from my body.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong.”
“The complaints about you lately are no joke. I barely managed to calm down the guy next door today.”
I could guess what it was about.
Jin Ho continued speaking as he gathered up the tools he’d scattered on the floor.
“He says he’s going crazy because you’re groaning all night. Oh, and who is Jin Wi-kyung?”
That name again.
I buried my face in the pillow.
“Just tell him she’s my girlfriend.”
In that instant, I saw his hand holding the monkey wrench tremble slightly.
“You got a girlfriend? You traitor.”
….
“Is she pretty? How old? Show me a picture.”
This guy is thirty years old. I can’t help but lament.
“But the name sounds pretty exotic. Is she Korean-Chinese? Or Chinese?”
“…Chinese.”
Well, that’s not entirely a lie.
“This bastard becomes a C-rank Hunter and already goes global. Anyway, introduce me to her. I love China. Nihao ma. Wo ai ni. What else was there.”
“Ni xi ba luo ma.”
“Idiot. You got the tone and pronunciation all wrong. So will you even make it to a hundred days? Try again. Ni qu ba lu ma.”
“Ni xi ba luo ma.”
“Again. Ni qu ba lu ma.”
“Ni xi ba luo ma.”
“…Are you doing this on purpose?”
Ignoring Jin Ho’s indignation at this sudden realization, I pointed toward the door.
“Get out.”
Please, just let me have some time alone.
* * *
In the quiet room, I rose from the bed and approached the capsule, tapping its worn and grimy surface as I muttered.
“What exactly are you?”
As expected, there was no answer.
I had secretly hoped for one. What a shame.
‘The system is synchronized with reality anyway, so why couldn’t a machine speak?’
In truth, I wasn’t even certain it was a real machine. No matter how long reality had become fantasy, this seemed like an entirely new genre altogether.
If I were to write my current situation as a novel, how would I categorize it? Fantasy? Game fiction? Or something else entirely?
‘Dimensional travel?’
A hollow laugh escaped me. Dimensional travel—I was truly losing my mind. Such a thing couldn’t possibly be real.
Couldn’t possibly be….
My consciousness snapped awake as if I’d been doused in ice water.
‘…It’s possible.’
Dimensional travel existed in the past and persists in the present.
The invasion of Demon King Asmodeus and the Gates themselves were proof of that.
We merely traverse reality through Gates, but decades ago, the monster legions crossed from another dimension to Earth through them.
‘The Demon Realm.’
The land of evil. The monsters’ homeland. The Demon King’s domain.
An unknown dimension no human had ever set foot in, one that could never be glimpsed. That was how humanity had defined it.
But what if this capsule before me was a gateway to yet another dimension? What if Murim was an undiscovered alternate reality…?
‘Murim is another reality.’
Everything I saw and experienced there.
Water, earth, wind. And people too.
‘They weren’t NPCs.’
I stared at my vacant reflection on the faded surface of the capsule.
And for a long time after that.

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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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