Murim Login - Chapter 742

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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 742
— A new Quest has been generated!
— Sudden Quest,
[Death Unknown]
This is forcibly accepted!
Quest
[Death Unknown]
Siegfried Bassman, the reclusive Grand Archmage, has met an inexplicable death.
Yet all things have their causes.
Uncover how and by whom he was killed.
Rank
: Transcendent
Restriction
: Jin Tae-kyung
Objective
: Reveal the truth of his death (Incomplete)
Reward
: ???
Failure
: ???
I stared at the Quest window hovering in the empty air.
The name of the deceased inscribed in the first line of the description revealed that this corpse, which had met such a horrific end, was one of only three Grand Archmages in the entire world.
‘Siegfried Bassman.’
Also known as the ‘Hero’ Siegfried.
The greatest Hunter produced by the neutral nation of Switzerland, a Grand Archmage who demonstrated exceptional talent in summoning and barrier magic.
While Magic Johnson was a War Mage specialized in combat and lethal force, Siegfried was one of the rare scholarly mages who delved deeply into magic itself.
At least, until today, when he was discovered as a corpse in his hideout.
“Was it in this condition when you first arrived?”
Magic Johnson nodded with a gloomy expression at my question.
“Yeah. Even I had trouble believing it at first. I had to check several times before I realized that corpse was Siegfried.”
“What about his usual contact?”
“After he went into hiding, we’d exchange messages only once or twice a year, and even then, I’d have to contact him about ten times before getting a response much later. This is actually my first time visiting this place. He was so withdrawn by nature that he absolutely despised such visits.”
“Then the last contact was….”
“Hmm. Probably around three years ago.”
“Three years ago. I thought he’d been in hiding for nearly a decade now.”
“When we last met just before his retirement, he gave me a communication artifact he’d personally crafted. He said to use it if things ever got truly urgent.”
I accepted the artifact Magic Johnson produced from his pocket.
As if to prove it was personally crafted by a Grand Archmage, the object—brimming with considerable mana—was a crystal sphere no larger than an adult’s fist.
‘Of course, ordinary radio waves and communications would be impossible within this space, layered with barriers upon barriers. He likely anticipated that himself.’
I had never met Siegfried Bassman in person, but the public assessment of him was unmistakably that of a recluse.
On top of that, he was an otaku who desperately avoided people’s attention and focus, yet once he became interested in a field, he would dig into it relentlessly and dissect it completely.
“I sent him messages every Thanksgiving and Christmas, but three years ago, the replies stopped coming. Since I already knew his nature well, I accepted it as inevitable. He was uncomfortable with people calling him a hero, and he disliked media attention, so even after the great upheaval ended, he often immersed himself in lengthy research projects.”
I couldn’t quite grasp the situation.
A Grand Magus who had vanished to escape public scrutiny had met his end in such a grotesque state within his own hideout.
But one thing was certain….
“This isn’t a simple natural death. Even if he had stopped breathing for some reason, a corpse couldn’t deteriorate like this in merely three years.”
Perhaps it would be impossible even if three hundred years had passed.
Would the hideout of a hikikomori Grand Magus whose hobby was magical research and whose specialty was shutting himself away be powered by gas or electricity?
This massive Cave, which could only be entered by piercing through barriers, was filled with all manner of magic. A space where everything—temperature, humidity, and more—was controlled perfectly.
Moreover, from the corpse of Siegfried Bassman lying before me now, I could find no traces of natural decay, no putrefaction, no foul stench.
‘It’s simply… desiccated. As if all vitality had been absorbed by something.’
I had never witnessed a death so mysterious even in the Murim.
Which only deepened the mystery further.
How exactly had he met his end within his own hideout?
How deeply was this Grand Magus’s death connected to my enemies?
“Michael Silbert. And The Prophet.”
The two most likely suspects.
Magic Johnson, who grasped the meaning of my murmur, opened his mouth with a grave tone.
“If I had to choose between the two, I’d pick the former without hesitation.”
“And your reason?”
“Because there’s a definite connection between them at least. Based on all the circumstances so far, Michael Silbert clearly knows that Sky is in a comatose state. Otherwise, there’s no way he’d join forces with a terrorist and commit such insanity.”
It was a sufficiently plausible hypothesis.
Siegfried had created Area A, which was hidden in the Ares Guild Headquarters, and it was highly likely he learned the truth about Cheon Tae-min’s condition in that process.
But….
“I’m asking because I don’t know—did Siegfried Bassman have a close relationship with Michael Silbert when he was alive?”
“That was….”
“Then is there any possibility he would have disclosed that level of confidential information to him?”
Magic Johnson, who had paused for a moment, let out a low voice.
“Slim. Or rather, I’d say there’s virtually none. The people who formed connections with him were very few, including myself, and there was only one person who explicitly stated they genuinely admired him.”
Even without hearing the name, I felt I already knew it.
“Cheon Tae-min.”
Magic Johnson nodded in affirmation at my words and continued.
“That’s right. Siegfried genuinely admired Sky. From my perspective, having conversed with him about it, it was almost akin to veneration. In the past, he even mentioned him himself during interviews with the media.”
“Ah, I think I know what you mean.”
I have a faint memory of seeing that interview myself.
For well-known Hunters, all sorts of information was organized into documents online, and Siegfried Bassman was one of them.
His giving interviews to the media and expressing that level of mention and emotion toward someone else was so unusual that it had apparently become a major topic of discussion at the time.
“Perhaps… it was for that very reason that Lee Jung-yong commissioned Area A from Siegfried.”
Choi Team Leader, who suddenly spoke up, continued slowly.
“Siegfried Bassman is a master in his field and has a narrow circle of relationships. Moreover, since he deeply admired my grandfather, he would have kept the secret.”
Magic Johnson gave a small nod.
“That’s true. Even I, who stood closest to him, knew nothing about Area A. I never even imagined he’d receive a commission from someone.”
“At least Lee Jung-yong’s judgment regarding secrecy was sound. However, if it wasn’t a leak, questions remain….”
“How did Michael Silbert come to know that fact?”
I muttered softly to myself, then examined the corpse once more with meticulous care.
I searched for any signs of torture, and though I heightened every sense to scrutinize the body, nothing changed in what I observed.
‘If this isn’t simply cutting off the lizard’s tail, there must have been a reason to kill him.’
Though I had no concrete evidence, Michael Silbert remained the most likely suspect thus far.
Uncovering that would be the first button to unravel him.
‘There’s definitely something, something here….’
I continued muttering inwardly as I examined the corpse for some time.
When I lifted my head with frustration, a figure came into view.
More precisely, a monster wearing human form.
“Why are you standing there posing like an idiot? You haven’t said a word since earlier.”
Skeleton King, who had been standing with arms crossed and lost in thought, furrowed his brow.
“Be quiet, you foolish human. I was engaged in profound contemplation.”
“What kind of ridiculous nonsense were you thinking about?”
“Don’t you feel it?”
I paused momentarily and asked back.
“Feel what?”
“This space. The concentration of magical energy is denser than elsewhere.”
Had Skeleton King spoken of mana, I would have immediately refuted him.
My ki-sensing was superior to anyone present, and I had detected nothing amiss until now.
But demonic energy was a different matter entirely.
Skeleton King was an S-rank monster in every sense. In matters of demonic energy, even I couldn’t match him.
“Big human. You didn’t sense it?”
At Skeleton King’s question, Magic Johnson scratched the back of his head.
“Not as much as you, but I’ve been sensing something. However, I didn’t think it was particularly strange.”
“Infinitely foolish compared to me. Why is that?”
“This place isn’t just a house. It’s also a laboratory equipped with everything Siegfried Bassman desires. Just search through the storage warehouse alone and you’ll find corpses of all manner of monsters and magical stones piled high.”
“…Huh?”
Now that I thought about it, that made sense.
Just as even purified sewage never becomes perfectly clear, the same applies to magical stones and monster corpses.
No matter how much purification is performed, a minimum amount of demonic energy always remains.
Siegfried Bassman’s hideout was filled with things brimming with demonic energy wherever one looked, making the concentration inevitably dense.
“I understand what you’re thinking, but even if the dense demonic energy is due to monsters, that doesn’t really change anything. If a monster killed Siegfried Bassman, there should have been at least traces of combat.”
“…Uh, uh-huh?”
I was the fool for hoping.
Faced with Magic Johnson’s logical rebuttal, Skeleton King’s eyes merely blinked, and I muttered softly.
“Damn stupid bastard.”
“How dare this wicked human speak to me like that!”
“Keep quiet before I separate your jawbone. I’ll overlook it this time since you at least attempted to think.”
“….”
“What are you doing interfering with the investigation? My head’s already pounding.”
The Demon Realm is distant, but the fist is near.
When Skeleton King closed his mouth with a disgruntled expression, Choi Team Leader, who had been meticulously examining the corpse, clicked his tongue softly.
“If this were an assassination, there should be at least minimal wounds, but the body bears no injuries whatsoever. It’s pristine.”
“Then….”
“Within the bounds of common knowledge I possess, magic is the only explanation.”
Yet Magic Johnson, the Grand Mage himself, expressed reluctance.
“No matter how specialized I am in offensive magic… I’ve never heard of anything like this. This is far more complex and sinister than the standard magic we use. If I had to compare it, it’d be closer to that one over there.”
At those words, ‘that one’ who had been keeping his mouth firmly shut furrowed his brow.
“I merely breathe resentful spirits into dead flesh. I know nothing of such sinister magic.”
“…?”
“…?”
“…?”
Isn’t that already incredibly sinister magic in itself?
But since he claims ignorance, there’s nothing to say. Besides, he’s far removed from an ordinary monster, so there’s no reason for him to lie.
‘Damn it. It has to be him.’
Michael Silbert.
That name kept circling through my mind.

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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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