Murim Login - Chapter 76

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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 76
Ding.
– Guild,
[Peace]
You have joined!
– Achievement,
[Guild Membership]
Completed!
– You have earned 10 points as an Achievement completion reward.
‘Is this an Achievement too?’
Every time a System Message like this appeared, I felt like I’d become some kind of hero. An Achievement completion, no less. For someone who joined a Guild just to make money, it was quite the grandiose packaging.
‘Well, I’m not complaining.’
Ten points alone was a decent reward, but after hearing what Choi Team Leader said next, I had to suppress the smile that kept threatening to break across my face.
“The signing bonus will be processed by the end of today. As for housing and other matters….”
A signing bonus of 500 million won, a fixed monthly salary of 50 million won, and a 70% settlement ratio.
A house and car provided by the Guild, plus dozens of other benefits.
I’d already confirmed these details multiple times in the contract, but hearing it spoken aloud felt different somehow.
‘I’ve really made it.’
Just three months ago, I never could have imagined my life would unfold like this.
In Murim, I was the Sleeping Dragon of Shanxi; in reality, I’d become a Hunter earning tens of millions without breaking a sweat.
“Team Leader.”
“Regarding equipment rentals, aside from my personal collection, you’re welcome to use anything…. Huh?”
“Just give me one slap across the face. If this is a dream, I need to wake up fast.”
Before I could even finish speaking, my vision flashed white.
Thwack!
A thwack, not a smack?
I muttered while touching my aching jaw.
“You really don’t hold back, do you?”
“I have trouble refusing requests.”
“I don’t think I asked you to use your fist.”
“You didn’t tell me not to either.”
“….”
If I hadn’t developed the new [Resilience] stat, I would have crumpled to the ground in an ugly heap.
‘Right. This guy’s a B-rank Hunter.’
Without any warning stance, his fist connected perfectly with my jaw. The power, the impact point—flawless.
“Normally people would expect a slap, wouldn’t they?”
“There are exceptions. How about it—are you awake now?”
“…Yeah, very much so.”
“Good. It’s better to meet with a clear head anyway. Makes a better first impression, don’t you think?”
I asked back, bewildered by Choi Team Leader’s sudden remark.
“First impression? Who are we meeting?”
“Who else would it be?”
Choi Team Leader continued with a smile.
“The other Guild members, of course.”
“Ah.”
Then it struck me—a fact I’d completely forgotten.
You needed at least three people to establish a Guild.
“Shall we head out then?”
Choi Team Leader pointed toward the window. A sleek black limousine was gliding smoothly into the parking lot in front of the cafe.
* * *
“Congratulations.”
The owner of that dignified voice—the kind you’d hear in a coffee commercial—was Kim Butler. Even in the sweltering summer heat, he was impeccably dressed in formal attire as he expertly maneuvered the limousine.
“Ah, yes. Thank you.”
Strangely, words didn’t come easily in front of this man. Was it the image of a butler I’d only ever seen in dramas?
‘No, that doesn’t make sense. Choi Team Leader is even more intense than that.’
After a moment’s thought, I concluded it must be Kim Butler’s distinctive aura. Perhaps the unfamiliarity of riding in a limousine for the first time also played a part.
‘A limousine, no less.’
The interior was spacious, outfitted with all manner of amenities. For instance, the small refrigerator Choi Team Leader had just opened.
“Would you care for something to drink?”
“That sounds good.”
My throat was parched anyway.
“Water? Alcohol?”
“You have alcohol?”
Choi Team Leader nodded.
“Of course. Whatever you’d like.”
“Then I’ll have a somaek. Half and half.”
“…I’ll bring you water instead.”
The bottle of mineral water Choi Team Leader handed me bore no ordinary label.
According to Choi Team Leader, it was sourced from somewhere in the Himalayas—and I inwardly whistled at the thought.
‘This must cost a fortune.’
Extravagance on this level was something else. Still, after taking a sip, I had to admit it was refreshing.
Gulp.
Ding.
–
[Essence of the Himalayas]
has been consumed.
– Intellect increases by 1 for one hour.
…So that’s why people splurge like this. I suppose it does facilitate wealth redistribution and stimulate the economy. Well.
As I was contemplating whether to pocket a few bottles, the limousine came to a stop. Kim Butler spoke in that characteristic dignified tone of his.
“We’ve arrived.”
The moment I step out of the car, my jaw drops at the sight before me.
A towering skyscraper rises high into the sky. Its exterior gleams in the sunlight as if treated with some magical process, and uniformed security guards stand waiting at the entrance.
“Wow. Wow…”
Choi Team Leader approaches me as I continue to gasp in amazement.
“Impressive, isn’t it? It’s no exaggeration to say that branch offices of all the top 100 Guilds in the nation are gathered here. There are even offices of massive overseas Guilds that Tae-kyung would recognize just by name.”
I respond without tearing my eyes from the building.
“The land value must be astronomical.”
“Indeed. This is essentially the center of the Gates around Bucheon.”
“Like Gangnam used to be?”
“Neither Tae-kyung nor I lived through those times, but from what I understand, if anything, it’s even more valuable than it was back then.”
The value of land had shifted long ago.
Though it happened before I was born, middle-aged Hunters who lived through the pre-Cataclysm era would occasionally grow nostalgic and regale us with stories from those days.
‘Back then, owning a single house in Gangnam made you rich.’
‘As a joke, people used to say there’s Bundang above heaven—that’s how absurdly expensive the land was.’
‘Was it really that expensive?’
‘Obscenely expensive. Until the monsters came.’
The rest is history I know well. In the early days of the Cataclysm, well-developed metropolises and densely populated areas were the first targets of monster hordes, and humanity was helpless.
Modern-day Gangnam and Bundang are cities that have already been destroyed once and rebuilt. After the Cataclysm, truly valuable land divided into two categories.
‘Safety Sectors, and Gate-dense regions.’
Safety Sectors are areas with near-zero Gate occurrence rates—the ideal residential zones for ordinary people—while Gate-dense regions possess optimal conditions for Hunter Guilds to establish themselves.
‘Like a snack shop in front of an elementary school, you might say.’
Bucheon alone has roughly a hundred Gates. While many are low-rank Gates, by sheer numbers it ranks among the top ten most concentrated Gate regions in all of Korea.
‘And this is the center of it.’
You can tell just by looking at the high-rise buildings surrounding us. This is a neighborhood where even modest mid-sized Guilds can’t afford to set foot.
‘Such wealth…’
That’s when I was gazing at Choi Team Leader with awestruck eyes.
“Let’s work hard and move to a place like this too.”
“I pledge my loyalty… Wait?”
“Huh?”
“No, wait?”
“What’s wrong, sir?”
Damn it, what’s wrong? You don’t know?
After barely swallowing the words rising to my throat, my voice finally escapes.
“Didn’t you say we’d arrived?”
“Yes, we have.”
I whip my head around toward Kim Butler.
“Kim Butler. Is this the right place?”
“It is.”
Kim Butler nods without hesitation and adds:
“However, it seems the direction you’re looking is incorrect.”
“The direction?”
“Yes. If you turn your head slightly to the right from that position, you should be able to see it.”
I turned my head as he suggested, and after a moment of silence, I opened my mouth.
“What is that crumbling building?”
Nestled alone among the luxurious high-rise buildings, that structure looked particularly small and dilapidated.
Kim Butler kindly explained.
“To be precise, it’s a supermarket.”
“More precisely, it looks like a convenience store.”
I squinted at the crumbling convenience store. The yellowed sign read:
[Soon-i’s Supermarket]
“Who is Soon-i? The name sounds so provincial.”
“She was a grandmother. She lived here for 70 years.”
“Come to think of it, that’s quite refined. A name that suggests longevity and good fortune.”
“She passed away two months ago.”
“Ah.”
Why are you doing this to me?
“She was incredibly stubborn. During the redevelopment of the dense residential area, she refused no matter how much money was offered. Later, other Guilds had already established themselves… Eventually, we acquired it through her bereaved family.”
“So you’re saying Soon-i’s Supermarket is our Guild headquarters?”
“Correct.”
I gazed at the half-collapsed Soon-i’s Supermarket with a complicated expression.
A Guild headquarters is the face and banner of a Guild. No matter how expensive the land in this neighborhood is, to use a place like that…
‘No, wait. For a newly founded Guild, this is actually impressive.’
My expectations had simply been too high. In this world where all sorts of fraud runs rampant, the sincerity Choi Team Leader has shown me is more than enough to trust and follow.
“Choi Team Leader.”
“Yes, Tae-kyung.”
I grasped Choi Team Leader’s hand firmly.
“I really will work hard. Whether the Guild headquarters is Soon-i’s Supermarket or Soon-i’s Building doesn’t matter to me.”
Choi Team Leader replied with a somewhat awkward expression.
“Thank you for understanding.”
“There’s a saying like this, isn’t there? Though the beginning is humble, the end shall be glorious!”
“It’s already quite glorious. Kim Butler, how much did it cost to acquire that property?”
Kim Butler answered.
“Slightly over 2 billion per pyeong.”
“…2 billion per pyeong?”
“Yes.”
After a moment of silence, I opened my mouth.
“Though the beginning is glorious, I believe the end will be even more glorious.”
“…”
“…”
Choi Team Leader and Kim Butler’s gazes pierced me like arrows. In that moment, they stared at me with expressions that seemed to ask, “What kind of person is this?”
Screeeech. Crash!
[Soon-i’s Supermarket]
The weathered sign, its letters printed in neat Hancom Batang font across decades of history, came crashing down to the pavement.
“…It should be fine once we remodel it.”
As Choi Team Leader murmured in a mosquito-thin voice, the supermarket door swung open and a figure emerged.
“Ugh, this thing fell again.”
A powerfully built man lifted the fallen sign with one hand while grumbling. At the unexpected appearance of this person, my jaw dropped.
“Lim Hyuk-jun?”
The good-natured middle-aged E-rank Hunter, Lim Hyuk-jun, spotted us and waved cheerfully with a bright smile.
“Oh, Tae-kyung!”
What? What’s going on here?
While I stood there stunned, Lim Hyuk-jun approached and patted my shoulder.
“Kid. How’ve you been? I heard you made it to C-rank?”
“Wait, sir, what are you doing here?”
“Ha ha! What do you mean? A Guild member being at the Guild house is wrong?”
He continued with a hearty laugh.
“I was stuck lying in the hospital, and then Choi Team Leader here suddenly showed up asking if I wanted to join the Guild. I didn’t hesitate to say yes.”
Choi Team Leader, who had been staring at the sign with sad eyes, added a comment.
“He seemed like someone trustworthy.”
“This young man has integrity. Driver Kim over there is quiet, but he’s a good person too. And Song—no need to even mention her.”
“Wait, hold on. Just a moment.”
What kind of situation is this?
I asked in the calmest tone I could manage.
“You joined recently?”
“Yeah.”
Choi Team Leader interjected again.
“He seemed like someone trustworthy.”
“This young man has integrity. Driver Kim over there is quiet, but….”
I’m going to lose it.
“I already heard that. So what about the others?”
“Huh?”
“Where are the other Guild members? Don’t tell me these four people here are all of them?”
“Of course not.”
Lim Hyuk-jun answered curtly and added,
“Song went shopping. She’s throwing you a welcome party.”
“Song? You mean that’s it?”
“Yeah. With Song, that makes five of us. She left less than an hour ago, so she should be back soon.”
His next words didn’t even register.
‘Five people?’
Is this a dream?
It was Lim Hyuk-jun’s booming voice that snapped me out of my daze as I stared at Soon-i’s Supermarket crumbling before my eyes.
“Hey, there she is. Song! Over here, over here! The newbie’s arrived!”
I turned my head, following Lim Hyuk-jun’s gaze.
The last Guild member of Chomi Guild and a founding member.
‘She’ was standing there.

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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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