Murim Login - Chapter 640

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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 640
Annihilation is a technique that doesn’t merely destroy its target—it obliterates it entirely.
By drawing forth all one’s power in an instant to unleash several times that force, the higher one’s cultivation, the more devastating Annihilation becomes.
Yet there is one thing. A fatal weakness, if I must name it….
Beep. Beep. Beep beep beep!
– You have exhausted all your power!
– Warning! Warning! The backlash from this reckless ability will rebound upon you!
– Status Abnormality,
[Internal Injury]
has been applied!
– Status Abnormality,
[Exhaustion]
has been applied!
– Status Abnormality,
[Anemia]
has been applied!
– Status Abnormality,
[Paralysis]
has been applied!
– Due to the stacking of status abnormalities, all stats are temporarily reduced by 100!
As the power of Annihilation grew stronger, so too did the intensity of its aftereffects.
‘…Damn it.’
My entire body trembled as if electrocuted, and my once-clear vision blurred like a screen filled with static.
The price for reducing thousands of venomous creatures to ash was far from trivial.
‘I thought I’d at least gain a level from this.’
The higher one’s level, the less experience points one gains per kill.
In my novice days when I’d struggled against a single peak master, leveling up could have covered the gap somewhat, but now that my vessel had grown, the experience required to fill it had grown exponentially as well.
“…Hah.”
Internal injury and exhaustion weren’t enough—anemia and paralysis too. It was a miracle I hadn’t lost consciousness.
My vision spinning, I staggered and managed to drive Baek Yeom into the ground with a trembling hand.
Thud!
Leaning pathetically against the spear for support, I found myself yearning for the Fire God Ghost Dance that Jeok Cheon-gang had yet to teach me.
Though asking would only yield the expected response.
‘Fire God Ghost Dance? Are you hoping to die young, you fool?’
That was his reasoning—too dangerous. But honestly, the difference was merely that between a pistol and an assault rifle.
At this rate, I’d likely die from using Annihilation before anything else got the chance.
Of course, I had no intention of dying in this godforsaken place.
‘That’s why I took out insurance.’
Just as I was muttering this to myself, the insurance agent—having noticed the client’s predicament—fell from the sky.
Whoosh. Crash!
A heavily built old man and a spider—a creature better described as gigantic than merely large.
Beast King Miao Wang settled onto the ground using the convulsing Thousand Year Spider, still clinging to life, as a cushion, his face flushed crimson as he spread both arms toward me.
“Whoa, whoa. That really crosses the line…”
Whoosh! Crack!
“I’ve never seen anything so incredibly monstrous!”
“Ugh! Aaaugh!”
“How on earth did you do that? Is it the poison techniques of the Yeolhwa Sect? Or perhaps the final secret technique taught by Old Master Jeok?”
Bang! Bang!
“Aaaaaagh!”
“Such a monster! I couldn’t believe it even as I watched!”
“Aaaaaaagh! You absolute madman!”
“What? Madman! Yes! That’s right! You’re the madman born of the Central Plains!”
I nearly died. And I’m not joking—I mean it sincerely.
And when the madman born of the Southern Wilderness finally released my body, I could hear a sorrowful notification transmitted to my ears.
Beep.
– Status Abnormality,
[Minor Ligament Rupture]
has been applied!
– Until recovery,
[Strength]
stat decreases by 20!
– Until recovery,
[Agility]
stat decreases by 20!
“…”
This is exactly why Doctor Octopus became a villain.
But now I didn’t even have the strength to protest. Gasping in pain, I glared at Beast King Miao Wang and barely managed to part my lips.
“Spider. Spider.”
“Spider? Ah. The Thousand Year Spider?”
“Hurry. Quickly.”
At my pitiful gesture, Beast King Miao Wang nodded with an expression of admiration.
“So that was your plan all along—to use the Thousand Year Spider to map out the Poison Blood Land? You’re certainly one of a kind.”
“Please, I beg you.”
“Heh heh, understood. I brought it here alive and well, just as you requested…”
Just as Beast King Miao Wang was about to continue his rambling.
“Grrrraaagh!”
I squeezed out what little strength remained and barely drew the White Flame, then drove it straight into the Thousand Year Spider’s skull. With the mindset of a patient collecting random insurance compensation.
Thud!
– Screeeee! Kiiieeeek!
Along with the monster’s brief death cry came the sound of a celestial bell ringing from somewhere.
Ding. Ding. Ding.
–
[Lv.119 Thousand Year Spider]
has been defeated!
– Bonus experience awarded for defeating a rare entity!
– Level Up!
– Significant portion of damaged body recovered!
– All status ailments cleared!
– Warning! Your body condition is not yet complete. Minor treatment and rest required!
Ah, this is why I took out that insurance policy.
If the experience from a single poison creature is a drop in the ocean, then the Thousand Year Spider is a downpour from the heavens.
The experience gained from eliminating thousands of poison creatures at once, combined with that of the Thousand Year Spider, breathed immediate vitality back into my dying body.
“Kheeegh.”
The sweetness of landing the finishing blow.
The ancient sages once said that a single level up rivals five loaves and two fish.
I’m not sure who exactly said it, but that’s how it went. This is real.
‘Phew. I’ve been given a second chance at life.’
Having barely pulled back from the brink of death, I felt a wave of satisfaction wash over my entire body and patted my stomach contentedly.
And in the next moment, my eyes met those of someone watching me with a displeased expression.
“What?”
“….”
“What is it?”
“….”
After a brief silence, Beast King Miao Wang opened his mouth with a cold, piercing gaze.
“Why did you ask me to spare it in the first place?”
Why? Obviously to pocket the experience points.
But years of grinding away in the guild had cultivated a sense of tact and social awareness I never possessed before.
I answered with a sorrowful yet rigidly composed expression.
“I wanted to exact vengeance with these hands myself.”
“What?”
“The vengeance of the Southern Wilderness warriors who fell victim not to those creatures’ claws—but to their mucus and webs.”
“…!”
A subtle ripple passed through Beast King Miao Wang’s widened eyes.
He gazed at me silently, his eyes trembling faintly, before speaking in a hoarse voice.
“Hmm. I’m at a loss for words.”
“Shh. Don’t say anything. I already understand without words.”
“You, you bastard!”
Romantic atmosphere…is bullshit. Get lost. I’m about to retch.
But one thing was certain: unmistakable emotion was spreading across Beast King Miao Wang’s face.
‘Well. I suppose the results speak for themselves?’
I don’t think I need to feel guilty about it.
It’s true that I mourned the deaths of the Southern Wilderness warriors, and it’s equally true that I needed the experience points to recover my body.
What matters is that my quick justification brought about a better outcome.
‘If this news spreads through the Southern Wilderness, the probability of the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace joining the Martial Alliance might increase by about 10%.’
Yet on the other hand, there was no denying the heaviness in one corner of my heart.
It was guilt over failing to prevent hundreds of people from being slaughtered in a place less than two hours away.
‘…Damn it.’
My mouth tasted bitter.
Probably at this very moment, countless people were dying in various places throughout the Modern World and the Martial World.
Their causes of death could be something as simple as a traffic accident, or death by monster.
If they were Martial World practitioners, they might draw their blades over a dispute at an Inn and meet a sudden, violent end.
Perhaps there were also unnamed wandering heroes who lost their lives fighting against villains.
I knew it too. That I couldn’t save them all.
But inevitably, I was human, and I hated seeing people like me die.
Moreover, I felt regret—the regret of wondering if I had been there, couldn’t I have saved innocent lives?
‘With great power comes great responsibility.’
That line from some hero movie had, at some point, become a massive boulder crushing down on my body and soul.
It was even present during my concentration on the breathing technique I needed to focus on.
‘Perhaps this too is a heart demon.’
With a small sigh and a shake of my head, I left the corpse of the Thousand Year Spider behind and resumed moving forward.
Deeper and more concealed into the interior of the Poison Blood Land.
Squelch. Squelch.
Beast King Miao Wang’s and my footsteps became even more cautious.
Thanks to eliminating five Thousand Year Spiders and an enormous number of venomous creatures, the surroundings had fallen silent, but that was still no reason to let our guard down.
‘Among them, that one is the biggest problem.’
The Spirit of Mount Aenoe.
The Black Tiger, whose name matched exactly what the system had revealed, was a target requiring utmost caution at the Specter rank.
Its massive body and movements swift as wind, combined with the formidable yet desolate aura I’d felt for that brief moment, were proof that it was an existence far beyond the limits of ordinary spirits or venomous creatures.
– Where could it be by now?
Having someone beside me who thinks the same way I do is a great advantage.
At Beast King Miao Wang’s telepathic message piercing my ear, my lips moved slightly.
– I’m not sure. But what’s certain is that it’s still in the Poison Blood Land.
– I ask because it’s hard to understand. It lured us all the way here, yet why hasn’t it appeared? If it had been an hour earlier, we would certainly have found ourselves in a battle unfavorable to us.
Beast King Miao Wang’s words were undeniably true.
The five Thousand Year Spiders proved to be easier opponents than their notorious reputation suggested, and the same went for thousands of venomous creatures, but if the Spirit of Mount Aenoe had joined in, the situation would certainly have been different.
‘If it had joined from the beginning, we might have managed to hold our own. But if it had appeared right after I used the One-Flash Strike….’
Even with the best response, it would have been an extremely difficult battle.
It possessed teeth that could withstand strong energy, incredible speed, and an aura that lived up to its name—utterly imperceptible, like a phantom.
Perhaps one of us, Beast King Miao Wang or I, would have died, or we would have had to leave with a missing limb.
Of course, in the worst case scenario, there would be no question—we both would have perished.
‘But why? Why didn’t it appear even in such a situation?’
I couldn’t pinpoint the exact reason, but among the thoughts flickering through my mind, there were only two hypotheses worth considering.
First: ‘Heh, the Thousand Year Spider is merely the weakest of our four great poisons’—the kind of island-nation narrative twist.
And second.
‘The Spirit of Mount Aenoe has no intention of harming us.’
As I continued forward cautiously, wrestling with my thoughts, I swiftly discarded the second hypothesis. No matter how I examined it, the possibility seemed utterly nonexistent.
Before I could pursue the thought further, Beast King Miao Wang’s thick palm—trailing behind me while keeping watch over our flanks and rear—pressed against my shoulder.
Tap.
‘Damn.’
He’d startled me. My heart nearly leaped from my chest.
After steadying myself from the shock, I turned my head in the direction his finger was pointing.
Beyond the thickening poison mist and the dark jungle sprawling in all directions, I could make out a faint, mysterious light emanating from somewhere ahead.
‘Could it be?’
No further words were necessary. My instincts had already revealed the answer before reason could catch up.
Rustle. Crackle.
We cut through the grass-laden swamp, faintly tinged with toxins, and reached the source of that light. What greeted us made us both freeze, our mouths falling open in shock.
“This is…!”
A vast swampland bathed in pale moonlight.
Waiting for us there were countless somethings suspended and wrapped tightly in transparent spider silk, alongside pristine white eggs.

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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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