Murim Login - Chapter 7

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 7
I’m dreaming.
If you ask how I knew it was a dream, well…
‘Because I’m watching myself?’
Exactly. I’m observing myself. More precisely, I’m watching Jin Tae-kyung in the game world, not the real me.
“Gasp, huff.”
Jin Tae-kyung was breathing heavily. His clothes were torn, and his face and body were covered in bruises and swelling.
Meanwhile.
‘That bastard looks perfectly fine.’
Hyuk Moo-jin was unscathed. He even had the leisure to mock his opponent.
“You’re better than I expected… but what good is fighting so brutishly? A martial artist should use martial arts.”
Damn, that infuriating bastard. I wanted to rush over and smack the back of his head right then, but since this was a dream, I couldn’t move my body or speak aloud.
‘Watching it like this just makes me angrier.’
Right. This dream was showing me the fight with Hyuk Moo-jin from a third-person perspective.
“You son of a bitch!”
Jin Tae-kyung charged forward furiously, but it was futile. I knew because I’d lived it.
‘I was already exhausted by then.’
My limbs were heavy and my breath was ragged. The larger movements created openings.
Sure enough, Hyuk Moo-jin simply dodged the punch and swept Jin Tae-kyung’s leg, destroying his balance.
The movement was smooth and fluid as water, sharp and precise. Our entire fight had been a repetition of such scenes.
‘The bastard can fight, I’ll give him that.’
I had to admit it. Hyuk Moo-jin was stronger than me. He wielded his inner energy efficiently and neutralized me with mysterious martial techniques every time.
In short, he was a true martial artist of the Murim.
‘It was a shock.’
Right after crushing the Cheonryeok Bandits, I’d been drunk on arrogance. A vague confidence that I could handle this level of threat. Combined with my combat experience as a hunter and the system’s power, I thought logout was just a matter of time.
‘That was a death wish.’
The Cheonryeok Bandits and their thugs were nothing but tutorial monsters.
I’d been celebrating like I’d just hunted level-one rabbits in a beginner’s hunting ground. A seven-year hunter? My experience was laughably shallow.
‘I need to learn martial arts.’
This isn’t a simple game. My life is on the line.
To survive, I’ll do whatever it takes. Level up, martial arts—I’m prepared to learn anything and struggle with everything.
Ready to become a martial artist of the Murim, not an F-rank hunter.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
“Damn it. This bastard’s got a ridiculous constitution. Let go! I won’t let go!”
“Argh!”
Knocked down, thrown back, yet Jin Tae-kyung kept getting up. No—I kept getting up.
‘In the end, I took one final hit.’
Crack!
Yes, that’s how you do it. Like the past seven years. Like I’ve always done.
‘But what level is that bastard Hyuk Moo-jin?’
At that moment, as if in response, a system window materialized above Hyuk Moo-jin’s head.
[Lv.20 Hyuk Moo-jin]
…Should I just shut up and level up first?
* * *
– Sleep mode has ended.
I opened my eyes to the system’s voice. For a brief moment, I imagined waking in my room at the Gosiwon, but it was a futile fantasy.
“Are you conscious now?”
At the man’s words in white robes, I surveyed my surroundings. The neatly arranged room carried an unfamiliar scent.
Where am I?
The man answered as if he’d sensed my confusion.
“This is the Medicine King Hall. You regained consciousness merely half a shichen after losing it, sir.”
A traditional medicine clinic, then. This NPC was a Physician.
‘Half a shichen means… I was unconscious for an hour?’
That bastard Hyuk Moo-jin really knew how to land a punch.
“You’ll likely experience considerable pain from the contusions. Please remain still and rest for now.”
With those words, the Physician left the room. Once I confirmed his footsteps fading into the distance, I murmured quietly.
“Open status window.”
Ding.
Status Window
[Lv.11 Jin Tae-kyung]
Occupation
: Second-rate Martial Artist
Renown
: 10
Titles
: Scion of a Noble House / Disgrace of the Family (Title effects active)
Strength
: 40
Stamina
: 40
Agility
: 50
Intelligence
: 10
Charm
: 10
Internal Energy
: 10 years
Remaining Points
: 10
– Distribute your remaining points.
The 10 points I’d earned from capturing the Cheonryeok Bandits remained untouched. I’d postponed the distribution to prepare for unforeseen circumstances, but I never anticipated fighting Hyuk Moo-jin.
‘I never thought I’d get beaten down like that either.’
After a moment of deliberation, I invested all 10 points into Stamina.
The memory of myself gasping for breath, exhausted from the fight with Hyuk Moo-jin, was still fresh in my mind.
‘Would I have had a chance if I’d distributed the points beforehand?’
The thought crossed my mind, but I quickly shook my head.
‘The outcome wouldn’t have changed.’
A fight between an adult and a child. The gap between Hyuk Moo-jin and me was that vast.
And in my assessment, that disparity stemmed not from levels or stats, but from the presence or absence of martial arts mastery.
‘How could such responses, such movements, even be possible?’
Martial arts do exist in reality as well. Boxing, Krav Maga, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and so on—what modern times call practical combat techniques.
But the martial arts here operate on a different plane entirely.
Each movement is both practical and exquisite. They evoke the image of gears turning around an axis of inner force.
‘I need to learn martial arts.’
What if the one I’d encountered in the tutorial hadn’t been the Cheonryeok Bandits, but Hyuk Moo-jin?
The words defeat and death came to mind naturally.
I had to learn martial arts. I had to learn them to survive.
“Damn it….”
It was as I spat out a curse rising from deep within my chest.
A sound came from beyond the door.
“It’s this room.”
“Much obliged.”
Click.
The door swung open before I could respond. And there….
“Quite the spectacle.”
A middle-aged man stood in the doorway, his gaze cold and piercing.
* * *
“How is his condition?”
“He has some contusions, but nothing severe.”
“A pity. At least a broken leg would have been fitting.”
“….”
The middle-aged man regarded me with a sinister stare.
“You reckless fool!”
I kept my eyes lowered in silence. Though he was an NPC I’d never seen before, something told me this was the right approach.
No—it was absolutely necessary.
[Lv.???]
Three question marks. A level so high that even my Sense skill couldn’t discern it.
‘At least level 30 or higher.’
Hyuk Moo-jin seemed almost endearing by comparison. More than anything, judging by the Physician’s demeanor and his words toward me, this was no ordinary NPC.
At the very least, he seemed to possess enough authority to send the Third Young Master of the Taewon Jin Family flying with a single palm strike.
‘If I took a hit from that….’
Gulp.
The moment I saw that palm—large as a cauldron lid—I swallowed involuntarily.
Level or whatever, the whole thing just screamed danger.
Nearly two meters tall, muscles rippling across his entire frame like a bulletproof vest, and those cold, piercing eyes that could freeze a man solid.
In that instant, I found myself curious about the identity of this middle-aged man whose hobbies and specialties seemed to be murder.
‘But there’s something oddly familiar about his face.’
Where had I seen this man before? I racked my brain until it clicked.
‘Jin Tae-kyung?’
The middle-aged man resembled Jin Tae-kyung. Or rather, Jin Tae-kyung resembled him.
That impossibly high level, the way he crushed the Third Young Master of the Taewon Jin Family with his words and actions. And finally, his face.
There was only one conclusion. This had to be Jin Tae-kyung’s….
“Father?”
The moment those words tumbled from my lips unbidden, the middle-aged man’s eyes snapped wide open.
“F-Father?”
Even his fists trembled. Anyone watching would think I’d cursed out his mother. I carefully watched his fists as I spoke.
“Um, wait. Please just calm down for a moment….”
“Calm down? You dare speak such nonsense from that mouth? Even now you joke around!”
“If that’s not the case, I’m truly sorry. I’ve been rude.”
“Shut your mouth.”
With that cold gaze, he silenced me, then turned his head toward the Physician who was still waiting.
“Thank you for showing me the way. I’ll take it from here.”
I sent desperate distress signals with my eyes, but the Physician turned and fled with impressive speed.
‘No, damn it… a physician abandoning his patient?’
Bang. The sound of the door closing echoed like the gates of hell slamming shut.
Alone in the room now, he raised that cauldron-lid palm and began advancing toward me.
“There’s a limit to how much reckless nonsense you can pull! How much longer do you plan to live like this!”
Before I knew it, I’d leaped to my feet and was backing away in small, hurried steps.
Bruises? Pain? I couldn’t feel any of that anymore. Perhaps my body had already transcended the capacity to feel pain.
“P-Please, just give me ten minutes. No, just one moment, and I can explain everything! What’s making you so angry? Is it because I called you Father? Could you be my Mother?”
“You bastard!”
At that thunderous roar, my body went rigid. I felt my back press against the wall.
– You have entered a state of
[Confusion]
. You cannot move your body for 3 seconds!
I’d never seen such a dog-awful situation….
‘It’s over.’
My twenty-seven years of life flashed before my eyes like a lantern show. Adding a bit of exaggeration, I even recalled those fierce conception races back in my sperm days. That was truly exhausting.
‘Mom, Dad, Ha-yeon….’
The moment I closed my eyes, thinking of my family.
“Whenever you get a chance, you’re chasing after women!”
Pat, pat.
“Hanging around gambling dens!”
Fidget, fidget.
“This is why the family looks down on you!”
Rub, rub.
…What is this man doing right now?
His mouth spewed forth words of anger and reproach, yet his hands moved gently across my body, caressing me tenderly. A chill ran down my spine.
‘Surely not.’
Ding.
– You are
[Terrified]
You cannot move for 5 seconds!
“You are a disgrace to this family, a disgrace!”
I felt an overwhelming sense of shame. Being sexually harassed by an artificial intelligence, and by an NPC in the form of a middle-aged man no less.
‘Mother….’
It was only moments later that I realized my misunderstanding.
His hands moved with purpose. Yet they resembled those of a physician examining a patient.
He flipped back my eyelids, checked my pulse, and carefully inspected the bruised areas. With each touch, the pain melted away as if I were receiving a massage, leaving only relief.
“You reckless fool! If you keep acting this way, hmm? Yes! I’ll scold you severely. Do you understand?”
“….”
Finally, he ceased his examination and whispered softly.
“Fortunately, it’s more minor than I feared. Why did you fight anyway? You never even trained in martial arts.”
I opened my mouth with genuine sincerity. A single word laden with multiple meanings.
“Who are you?”
In that instant, the stern, solemn, serious face transformed into that of a wounded fawn.
“Why are you suddenly speaking so formally? What I said about being a disgrace to the family was just for others to hear… Did that hurt your feelings?”
“Pardon?”
“Your Elder Brother is sad. When you were young, I changed your dirty diapers every day, carried you when you cried, and soothed you to sleep. You know how dearly I raised you.”
“Pardon? Elder Brother?”
Silence fell upon us.
‘He wasn’t Father—he was Elder Brother?’
I was astonished that this aged man was my Elder Brother.
“Oh my, our youngest must have hit his head. Listen here. Physician! Physician!”
The middle-aged man rushed out, calling for the Physician. Watching his departing figure, a puzzle piece suddenly clicked into place.
‘Now I understand why Jin Tae-kyung turned out so badly.’
A textbook example of failed family education.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————