Murim Login - Chapter 565

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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 565
After Magic Johnson departed, I left a message for Choi Team Leader, who wasn’t answering his phone, then headed straight to my private office on the top floor of the Guild House.
Slam.
I heard the door close roughly behind me and collapsed onto the floor.
A space of roughly two hundred square meters furnished with nothing but a small desk and a single chair.
A place called an office but which I read as a Training Ground—there, I immediately pulled out my smartphone and inserted the chip.
Click.
The latest smartphone I’d recently switched to lacked no features.
The hologram video playback function, which had become commonplace starting about a decade ago, was one of them.
Whirr.
Light streamed from the player mounted on my smartphone, accompanied by a faint hum.
I quickly drew closed curtains using the technique of Void Seizure, then focused on the hologram images beginning to fill the darkened office interior.
– Crackle. Crackle-crackle.
Noise.
– Boom, Kabooom!
Deafening roar.
– Shrieeeek!
The cries of monsters and.
– Aaaahhh!
Human screams.
All of it swirled and scattered before my eyes. The place, lined with countless large and small tents and buildings, had transformed into a horrific battlefield.
‘A mutated Gate.’
Those five words naturally flashed through my mind.
– In the name of Allah!
– Waaaaah!
A group wearing military caps and turbans advanced with furious roars.
Their entire bodies, apparently of Arab descent, were drenched in someone’s crimson blood.
Among them was even a child who appeared to be no more than an elementary school student.
‘A child, no less….’
These could not possibly be regular military forces.
From the moment I saw their disorganized and chaotic uniforms, I suspected as much—they were undoubtedly Arab insurgents who had stained the Middle East with blood even before the Great Cataclysm began.
And the next moment.
– Ahhh! God, God is great!
With the terrified cry of a Little Girl, countless firearms in their hands erupted with fire.
Rat-a-tat! Rat-a-tat-a-tat-tat!
Whoosh, Boom!
Firepower that would have turned an ordinary human into a sieve was unleashed in an instant. But the enemies they faced were neither ordinary nor human.
Kabooom!
Massive flames erupted with the explosion.
As the insurgents gasped for breath watching the black smoke fill their surroundings, the smoke parted left and right, and a flash of light blazed forth.
Shwick, crunch!
A single strike sufficed. The crimson mana extending in a crescent arc severed everything in its path.
Necks, waists, chests—each fell differently, yet the result remained identical.
Death.
Splooooosh!
A spray of blood erupted a beat too late, staining the sand crimson.
The rebel soldiers, witnessing the gruesome deaths of twenty comrades before their eyes, widened their gaze in horror.
– M-Masud!
– Oh God….
Yet their god neither revealed itself nor answered the voices of its believers.
What appeared in the god’s stead was a monster clad entirely in a verdant carapace.
– Chirp. Chirrrrrp.
A triangular head and two trembling antennae. The creature bearing sickle-like forearms was a mantis.
It towered over adult men, and its mana-infused body bore not a single scratch from the firepower the rebels had unleashed upon it.
– A G-Giant Mantis….
The moment someone groaned those words, the massive forearm descended through the air once more.
Whoosh, crunch!
The rebel’s body, frozen in shock, split left and right. The mana coursing through the forearm flew like an arrow, tearing through everything around it.
Crunch! Crunch! Kaboom!
Humans. Weapons. Even the hastily deployed tanks could not withstand the mana.
Explosions and screams erupted in succession as the strikes carved and split in all directions, and the Giant Mantises, now numbering five, lunged toward the humans.
– Chirp chirp chirp!
– Chirrrreee!
Splurt! Splooooosh!
With each strange cry, the limbs of nearly a hundred rebel soldiers flew and blood sprayed.
Those who had cried out to their god and those who had fled in terror alike collapsed in the desert, never to rise again.
– Ahhh, ahhhhhhh!
Thud!
The sickle-like forearm split the back and shattered the ribcage.
Having driven a final blow into the back of the last resisting rebel, the Giant Mantis suddenly turned.
Its bulbous red eye, protruding beside its face, stared directly at the camera.
‘It found the camera.’
It saw the camera, and I saw it.
And the moment the Giant Mantis, sensing something amiss, cautiously approached the camera.
– Let the divine flame descend upon this place. Fire Rain!
Whoosh!
Someone’s furious cry. Simultaneously, dozens of mana-formed fireballs poured down like meteors over the Giant Mantis’s shoulder.
– Chirrrrrp!
The Giant Mantis, emitting a strange cry, swung its forearms toward the fireballs.
Kaboom!
With the collision, the screen—no, the entire surroundings—blazed crimson. Dozens of Hunters emerged from the distance, tearing through the erupting inferno as they charged across the Battlefield.
– God is great!
– The Divine is mighty! Slay these demons, every last one!
– Krrgh, screech!
Human and monster. Monster and human.
The two races had begun their dance of death anew. Yet I could not remain to witness this battle’s conclusion.
Crackle. Crackle-crackle. Pop!
It was but a fleeting instant.
With a deafening screech, the holographic image that had filled the room vanished without a trace.
“…Sigh.”
I exhaled the breath I’d been holding and picked up the smartphone I’d set aside moments before.
Checking the list embedded in the chip, I found more than twenty videos remaining.
‘Damn it. How long has it been since I last received these videos?’
A seven percent increase in mana levels compared to the previous year.
Some fool might dismiss it as ‘merely’ a marginal rise.
But just as a drop in oxygen concentration by even a few percent triggers catastrophe, this was evidence that the situation was spiraling into chaos.
Or perhaps….
‘This could be the beginning of the Second Cataclysm.’
And as I reviewed each remaining video in sequence, the unease dwelling in my heart began to take tangible form.
‘Europe. Middle East, West Africa. Southeast Asia… It’s like a global festival of calamity.’
Changes were already occurring simultaneously across the world.
New Gates manifested in Switzerland’s verdant hillsides—the sort of place where one might expect a beloved character to frolic—while insurgents and regular forces exchanged artillery fire, and from neglected lower-tier Gates, monsters poured forth unchecked.
In some videos, swift suppression succeeded thanks to thorough preparations, but in the majority of cases, substantial casualties were inflicted before the monsters could be vanquished.
‘This is…’
As I continued reviewing the footage, my brow furrowed suddenly.
I had realized that such devastation stemmed not merely from insufficient Gate defenses.
And in that moment, what arrived was more than mere understanding.
Ding.
The faint hum of the Elevator pierced my ears, accompanied by the gradually approaching presence of two people.
Recognizing the identity of these uninvited guests, I extended my hand.
Whoosh.
A warm breeze swept forth.
As the energy flowing from my palm gently pushed the door open, familiar faces came into view.
“Now you show up? How long has it been since I sent that message?”
“My apologies. I was in a situation where contact was impossible.”
I tilted my head at the latecomer’s excuse.
“A situation where contact was impossible? Did you just come back from a Gate?”
“Well, something similar.”
“…Either yes or no. What’s this ‘something similar’ nonsense?”
“Kim Butler and I had somewhere to stop by briefly. It was an urgent matter, so it couldn’t be helped.”
Choi Team Leader answered smoothly and stepped inside. Driver Kim, who had naturally followed him in, closed the door behind us with a light nod of acknowledgment.
‘It’s been a while since I’ve seen him.’
Driver Kim, who hadn’t shown his face at the Guild in ages, must have something important. What could it be?
Though a question lingered alongside this face I hadn’t seen in about a week, more pressing matters awaited us now.
Choi Team Leader, who surely understood this, spoke first.
“Let’s set that aside for now and first verify the information Mr. Johnson provided.”
“Ah, right here.”
The hologram footage played once more, and I lost track of how much time had passed.
After reviewing all the footage and attached materials, both of our expressions had hardened into stone.
“A seven percent increase in global mana levels?”
His usually gentle voice cracked. Driver Kim, who had murmured like a groan, turned his head toward Choi Team Leader.
“Young Master.”
“Yes. The situation is progressing faster than we anticipated. It’s grave.”
Seven percent wasn’t an increase—it was a surge, a skyrocketing spike.
And this dramatic shift in mana levels was particularly pronounced in the footage.
“The monsters….”
I nodded and continued Choi Team Leader’s thought.
“Yes. They’ve become incredibly powerful.”
An increase in mana levels meant the monsters’ strength had grown exponentially.
You could see it just from the first footage—a Giant Mantis still fighting after taking a Fire Rain attack.
‘It’s like watching a Chikorita get a tan from Charizard’s flames.’
Type matchups existed for a reason, but these strengthened monsters, bolstered by rising mana, were gradually ignoring those advantages.
In such a hellish situation, any organization that had been operating with minimal Hunter deployment as a cost-saving measure would crumble helplessly.
To summarize the current state in one phrase….
“We’re completely screwed. We’re five minutes away from total chaos.”
The progression has gone insane. At this rate, by year’s end, monsters might actually appear in the weather forecast.
Some beautiful news anchor would point at a tiny map of the Korean Peninsula and explain it methodically.
– Tomorrow in Gangwon Province Cheorwon, instead of heavy snow, we’re expecting goblins. They’ll accumulate to heights of twenty meters, so residents should grab shields and antitoxins and evacuate immediately.
“….”
Damn it, blizzards are annoying enough—is this monster rain actually happening?
Monsters pouring down from the sky like rain—just thinking about it made my chest tighten.
Of course, I won’t just sit around twiddling my thumbs until then. I have to prevent South Korea from becoming a hellscape, no matter what it takes.
‘I’d considered contingencies, but… this progression is definitely too fast.’
I’d thought we had more time, and as I contemplated accelerating that plan I’d been gradually preparing since the Murim, my heart grew heavy.
“At this rate, we can’t hide it any longer.”
Choi Team Leader, who had turned off the hologram, continued in a subdued voice.
“The government’s capacity for concealment has already been exceeded. If we delay revealing this any further, it will only amplify the chaos.”
This crisis wasn’t a passing wave—it was a tsunami that could sweep away entire cities.
I exhaled deeply and opened my mouth.
“What are you thinking of doing, Choi Team Leader?”
“Right now, fortifying the Gate is our top priority. We need to build a breakwater before the tsunami hits.”
“You’re strengthening Gate security?”
“If we do that, our Raid Team manpower will shrink, and we won’t be able to fully utilize all the Gates the Peace Guild possesses. But I understand what takes precedence.”
“Well, that’s reassuring.”
A soft chuckle escaped me at hearing those welcome words.
Choi Team Leader certainly adheres to principle. Despite harboring grand ambitions to devour the Ares Guild, he knows when to advance and when to hold his ground.
‘That’s the biggest difference between him and Lee Jung-yong.’
Having silently mused on this, I opened my mouth again.
“Then we should focus on the Gates first. It’s unfortunate, but regarding the Ares Guild, we’ll have to set that aside for now….”
“Jin Tae-kyung.”
“Yes?”
Choi Team Leader’s transparent eyes had fixed upon me with unwavering focus.
“I said Gate security would be my top priority, but I never said I’d postpone matters concerning the Ares Guild.”
“…!”
What?
My eyes widened involuntarily, and Choi Team Leader’s voice continued.
“I mentioned it before—I had an important matter to attend to.”
“Then this important matter you speak of is…?”
“A key figure within the Ares Guild. A war hero who once aided my Maternal Grandfather in quelling the Great Calamity, a friend whom Lee Jung-yong once trusted above all others, and now the leader of the most dangerous internal faction threatening Seok Go-jun.”
His voice was softer than ever, yet laced with hidden thorns as it pierced my ears.
“Everything crumbles from within.”

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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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