Murim Login - Chapter 79

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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 79
I opened my eyes to a dull throb in my head. Looking around, I found myself in an unfamiliar space—a spacious, immaculate hotel room.
Then the memories of last night came trickling back.
‘Ah, that’s right. We went to a hotel for the second round and had a champagne party.’
A champagne party at a hotel, no less. The world truly works in mysterious ways.
Saying it like this, I felt like some third-generation chaebol heir. Though come to think of it, Choi Team Leader might actually be a real third-generation heir.
“Krrrrgh-ack. Khhup!”
“….”
That man is genuinely a bandit.
What kind of snoring sounds like someone screaming? Jin Ho’s snoring is bad, but compared to this gentleman, it’s practically silent.
If I were the hotel manager, I would’ve thrown him out long ago….
Knock knock.
“Who is it?”
For a moment, I thought it might be a hotel staff member coming to notify me of forced checkout, but I was wrong. A clear, refreshing voice came from beyond the door.
“It’s me. Song Song-i.”
Wait. Who?
“Just a moment, please!”
I bolted toward the door at the speed of light and opened it. Not before spraying some of the room’s complimentary perfume and checking my appearance, of course.
Click.
My heart pounded as I met Song-i’s lake-like eyes gazing at me intently. I barely managed to pull out a trembling voice.
“Ah, did you sleep well?”
“No. I couldn’t sleep because of the snoring.”
“Ah.”
The start wasn’t good. I resented Lim Hyuk-jun, who was still snoring ferociously, and changed the subject.
“So what brings you here?”
“It’s breakfast time.”
“…You mean a meal?”
Song-i spoke with a look that asked what was wrong with that.
“Yes. Why?”
Why? Because I’m thrilled, that’s why.
In all my years, I never thought the day would come when I’d have breakfast alone with a woman—and one who was my ideal type at that. My eyes felt like they were getting misty.
‘An oasis has finally arrived in my desert of a life.’
With her, I wouldn’t even mind eating military rations for breakfast. I answered with determination.
“I’ll get ready right now.”
“Then could you wake up Hyuk-jun first?”
“…Why Lim Hyuk-jun?”
“Didn’t you check the message?”
Song-i held out her smartphone to me.
The screen displayed the guild group chat we’d created last night.
〈 Peace Guild
Choi Team Leader
Is everyone awake?
Kim Butler
I’m up.
Song Song-i
I’m awake too.
Choi Team Leader
What about the other two?
Song Song-i
Snoring away.
Choi Team Leader
…Wake them up and come down to the first-floor restaurant.
“….”
Damn it. Just when things were going well. This is what my life has become.
Song-i turned to leave, watching my dejected expression.
“Then I’ll head down first.”
I gazed endlessly at her retreating figure as she walked away with light, graceful steps.
“Even her back is beautiful.”
“Khehp, kheheup!”
“….”
Is this guy really not a bandit by origin?
* * *
I barely managed to wake Lim Hyuk-jun and headed down to the first floor.
Choi Team Leader, seated by the window, waved to acknowledge us.
“I ordered ahead. Please eat while it’s still hot.”
I’d worried that a hotel breakfast would be some meager pasta, but what arrived at the table was steaming hangover soup.
“Ah, you’re the best, Choi Team Leader!”
“You certainly know what you’re doing, sir.”
Though I still had some lingering hangover, a bowl of this soup would make any other breakfast unnecessary.
Choi Team Leader shook his head at our reactions.
“Song-i ordered it. I wanted pasta.”
“Song-i did?”
“Yes.”
His dark expression suggested he’d really been craving pasta.
Still, hangover soup from Song-i? By her appearance alone, she looked like a pampered wealthy girl, but considering what she showed yesterday, she had an unexpectedly straightforward side to her.
Slurrrp.
“Ahh, perfect. What are you all doing? You have to eat it while the broth is hot.”
Watching Song-i eat the soup with such gusto, warmth bloomed in my chest. Even the way she ate was blessed.
‘So this is what they mean by being full just from watching someone eat.’
In a state where I couldn’t tell if the rice was going into my nose or mouth, the meal came to an end. As the others around me stretched out in satisfaction, Choi Team Leader spoke.
“Now that we’ve eaten, shall we move to another place?”
What? I thought we were heading home to rest?
“Move where?”
Lim Hyuk-jun interjected at my words, patting his bloated belly.
“Where else? We’ve got to keep going like yesterday. How about some makgeolli tonight? I know a great place.”
“Oh, I really do love makgeolli.”
Kim Butler, who had been quietly listening to our conversation, smiled and continued.
“That’s a shame, but I think it’s better to save that place for the next company dinner. We have something more important to do today.”
Kim Butler is the Guild Master, but the real decision-maker is someone else.
Under everyone’s gaze, Choi Team Leader spoke up.
“We’ve eaten, drunk, and rested. Now it’s time to work.”
The Peace Guild’s first raid.
* * *
Humanity was shocked when the great upheaval came.
Gates that appeared without warning one day, and from them poured forth creatures of unknown origin.
– What, what is that?
– Monsters, they’re monsters!
We would have been less shocked if aliens with thin limbs and oversized heads had invaded instead. But they didn’t arrive in spaceships, nor did they fire weapons.
– Shrieeeeek!
– Craaaagh! Gruuuugh!
Terrible stench and eyes gleaming with murderous intent. Monsters that tore humans apart like paper swept through the cities and burned them to ash.
Creatures that seemed to belong only in novels, films, or ancient myths.
The Minotaur was one of them…or so I learned in history class.
“You know about the Minotaur, right?”
Lim Hyuk-jun answered Choi Team Leader’s question proudly.
“Of course. I saw it in a Greek and Roman mythology manga when I was in elementary school. It was really cool, with those massive muscles.”
“…And you, Tae-kyung?”
“I’ve never even seen one.”
The Minotaur ranks fairly high even among B-rank monsters. There was about five hundred light-years of distance between it and someone like me, who had been perpetually F-rank.
“That’s fine. You can get a look at one today.”
“….”
Is the Gate some kind of zoo? Are we just going to look around?
Choi Team Leader, who had answered so casually as if it wasn’t his concern, handed me a tablet.
“Here.”
“What is this?”
“It’s a next-generation tablet powered by C-rank mana stones. With its elegant design and outstanding performance, it’s sold exclusively to a select few VIPs….”
“Just the conclusion.”
“I’ve loaded raid footage on it. Take a look.”
He should have said that from the start. Lim Hyuk-jun and I put our heads together and watched the video saved on the tablet.
– Alright, stay calm. Stay calm. Especially you tanks! Keep those shields up tight. If this breaks through, everyone here dies. Of course, you’ll die by my hand first.
– Yes!
A dozen hunters formed up in perfect unison at the raid leader’s command. Tension hung thick in the air around all of them.
‘Four tanks, melee dealers, ranged dealers. Even a mage and a healer.’
The teamwork was solid, and the composition was well-balanced.
And….
‘There’s the Minotaur.’
A B-rank monster that I’d only ever seen in the Monster Encyclopedia materialized before us.
– Mooooo.
Seven Minotaurs—half-human, half-beast creatures with bovine heads and human bodies—advanced toward the intruders.
No, they charged.
– Mooooooo!
Their roars echoed through the Cave. Beneath the shower of stone dust shaken loose by the tremor, battle erupted.
– Ranged! Fire!
The raid leader’s voice tore through the air. Simultaneously, twenty arrows infused with mana embedded themselves in the lead Minotaur’s head.
Thwip thwip thwip!
Concentrating fire on a single target instead of spreading damage was the right call. Especially aiming precisely at the head proved effective.
Even a B-rank monster couldn’t reinforce its eyeballs.
– Mooo!
Its allies finished off the creature as it thrashed in agony, clawing at its own face.
Crack!
A dark iron club shattered the bovine skull. And then.
Boom boom boom!
‘Heh.’
They used the corpse as a shield and charged forward. Arrows and spells rained down, reducing the body to tatters, but the Minotaurs sheltered behind it remained unscathed.
‘These bastards….’
They actually knew how to think strategically. At minimum, they possessed intelligence comparable to goblins, but they were dozens of times stronger.
Which made them far more dangerous.
– Hold the line!
– Uuuugh!
At the leader’s command, the tanks’ veins bulged. Shimmering mana shields blocked the iron clubs swung with tremendous force.
Crash bang!
A small shadow dropped from the air. The stealth-class hunter plunged a blackened dagger into another Minotaur’s eye socket and vanished.
– Mooo….
B-rank monsters weren’t invincible. With support from the other melee dealers, archers, and mages, two more fell in the blink of an eye.
But the crisis came swiftly.
‘They’re breaking through!’
The moment the thought crossed my mind, the precarious tank line collapsed.
Boom crash!
– Aaaaagh!
– Healer, heal!
Screams and roars erupted everywhere. Beyond the swirling dust, I could see cow-headed brutes wielding iron clubs, tearing through the formation.
– Mooooo!
– Tanks, Dealers! Ranged units, don’t hold back on mana—pour it all out! Ranged, spread your distance!
Boom-boom-boom!
– Mooooooo!
– Healer!
The footage lasted roughly ten minutes before cutting off. Not because the battle had ended, but because the camera had been smashed to pieces by an iron club.
– Mooooooo!
Crackle-crackle-crack.
With the Minotaur’s roar, the screen dissolved into static and darkness. Lim Hyuk-jun swallowed hard.
“…This is no joke.”
Of course it isn’t, you fool.
I handed the tablet to Choi Team Leader and asked, “Which Guild is this?”
“This is raid footage from the Bucheon Terminal Guild from last week.”
“….”
Whoever named that place had zero sense. Not that I have room to talk, having just joined the Peace Guild, but at least it’s better than Bucheon Terminal Guild.
“What was the outcome?”
“The Minotaur was annihilated. Two Hunters died.”
Deaths during raids weren’t uncommon. Hunters were professionals at dancing on the edge of death, after all.
Yet my chest still grew heavy. It was the weight that the survivors would carry for the rest of their lives.
Just like I do now.
“I see.”
That was all I could manage to say. I pulled out my smartphone and searched—a few related news articles appeared.
[A Certain Bucheon Guild. The Sacrifice Brought by Reckless Raiding]
On the 16th, C-rank Hunters Lee and Park died in the B-rank Gate “Minotaur’s Labyrinth.” The Hunter Association authorities….
So the deceased were C-rank Hunters. It made sense—a mid-tier Guild like that wouldn’t have the talent pool to fill a dozen spots with B-rank Hunters.
‘Then….’
I quickly scanned through the Guild members. But before I could, [Insight] activated, revealing their level windows.
Ding. Ding. Ding.
[Lv.75 Choi Min-woo]
[Lv.80 Kim Hwa-jong]
[Lv.64 Song Song-i]
And in the next moment, my eyes locked directly with Lim Hyuk-jun’s.
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s nothing.”
I answered as casually as I could and turned away, but my true thoughts were far different.
[Lv.24 Lim Hyuk-jun]
This raid is dangerous.
This raid is dangerous.

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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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