Murim Login - Chapter 90

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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 90
“A week off?”
– Yes. Exactly as you heard.
Choi Team Leader’s call that evening came as a surprise.
A whole week off? Had something gone wrong at the Guild?
As my thoughts drifted in that direction, something suddenly nagged at me.
“Um, there hasn’t been any trouble with the Sangdong Guild, has there?”
– The Sangdong Guild?
“No, I mean… because of the Im Chang-su situation…”
– Ah, you don’t need to worry about that. The Guild House remodeling is supposed to be finished in a week.
It’s a relief that there’s no problem, but do we really take breaks from Raids just because of Guild House remodeling?
‘A whole week off is nice, though.’
For the past seven years, I’d charged forward with tunnel vision. Lately, I’d been shuttling between Murim and reality without a moment’s rest.
Honestly, I wanted to rest… No, that’s not right. Times like these are when I need to push harder and work. I spoke with determination in my voice.
“Team Leader. I’d like to keep working.”
– Ah, it’s a vacation, but your salary will be paid normally.
“Then I’ll see you in a week.”
– ….
“I’m hanging up now. I need to go eat dinner.”
– …Yes.
As I ended the call, Ha-yeon hurried over and bowed respectfully.
“Big Brother. Dinner is ready, if you please.”
“…That formal speech is giving me chills. Can you stop?”
“Switching to casual mode requires a paid subscription.”
“You certainly have a roundabout way of asking for pocket money.”
I handed her two ten-thousand-won notes, and Ha-yeon giggled.
“Mom says to come eat.”
“Oh, what’s on the menu?”
“Beef bulgogi. And bean sprout soup that I made.”
“Beef bulgogi sounds delicious.”
“The bean sprout soup is good. Mom complimented it.”
“Mom’s beef bulgogi never disappoints. Always fresh, always the best, always exhilarating.”
….
My younger sister, thoroughly annoyed, and a table laden with Mother’s home cooking.
What’s a vacation? I should just eat and sleep at home to my heart’s content.
* * *
Click.
Choi Min-woo set down his smartphone after the call ended. Kim Butler, sitting across the table, asked a question.
“What did he say?”
“He was already worried about it. About the Sangdong Guild.”
“The more you observe him, the more fascinating this young man becomes. He acts without thinking, yet his situational awareness is remarkably sharp.”
Choi Min-woo tapped the table with his long fingers.
Jin Tae-kyung’s sudden appearance remained an enigma even now, after some time had passed.
When they first met, he was nothing more than a sincere F-rank Hunter, but yesterday he had single-handedly cleared a B-rank Gate.
‘He’s growing stronger by the day.’
Yesterday, suspicion had transformed into certainty.
Jin Tae-kyung was becoming stronger. And at an extraordinarily rapid pace!
“Is there no additional information regarding Jin Tae-kyung?”
“No, sir. We’ve conducted multiple verifications, but nothing has surfaced.”
Kim Butler was a man who handled matters with precision. But this time was different. Choi Min-woo spoke carefully.
“Kim Butler.”
“Yes, young master.”
“Could you perhaps search for cases of third-stage Awakened Ones?”
“I beg your pardon?”
Kim Butler’s eyebrows twitched.
Third-stage Awakened One? It was a term he had never heard of in his entire life. Had such a Hunter ever existed, no one would have used the word “Re-awakening.”
Re-awakening was called Re-awakening precisely because there was nothing beyond it.
“Young master, that’s—”
Just as he was about to express his hesitation, a name flashed through Kim Butler’s mind.
‘Jin Tae-kyung. If it’s that young man, then perhaps…’
Kim Butler was a living witness to the Great Cataclysm. He had achieved brilliant feats and participated in countless battles.
Yet even to his eyes, Jin Tae-kyung was exceptional.
‘Those movements… truly remarkable.’
Sometimes fierce, sometimes fluid—an innate combat sense with efficient offense-defense transitions and an instinctive understanding of when to advance and when to retreat.
Watching Jin Tae-kyung fight, there was only one word that came to mind: overwhelming.
‘Third-stage Awakened One.’
It would take time, but it was certainly worth investigating.
Kim Butler bowed his head.
“I shall look into it.”
“Thank you. Ah, and what of the movements from the Sangdong Guild?”
“I’ve deployed surveillance operatives. We should have most of the information within a few days.”
Less than half a day had passed since they learned that Im Chang-su had been summoned to the Guild Master’s office and beaten like a dog, yet the surveillance operatives were already moving. It was faster than anticipated.
“Their target would be Jin Tae-kyung, then.”
“They’ve likely marked him as a key figure. For now, they’ll conduct a thorough analysis of the entire Guild.”
“What of the other Guild members?”
“There’s a possibility they might be tailed, so I’ve given them a heads-up. However…”
Kim Butler paused before continuing.
“Shouldn’t we inform Jin Tae-kyung as well?”
“That won’t be necessary. In fact, I’d prefer the Sangdong Guild’s intelligence capabilities to be far superior to ours.”
The most unknowable person, and yet the most exposed.
It was like looking at clear spring water yet being unable to see what lay within it.
Choi Min-woo wanted to get closer to Jin Tae-kyung’s true identity, even if it meant borrowing the power of the Sangdong Guild.
“More importantly, it seems the Sangdong Guild Master is quite upset.”
“Still, he seems to have become much more cautious. In the old days, he would have stormed in and caused a scene by now.”
“Ah, perhaps?”
At Choi Min-woo’s reaction, Kim Butler smiled and nodded.
“I have some history with the Sangdong Guild Master.”
“Is it a bad history?”
“Well, I suppose.”
Kim Butler’s smile deepened.
* * *
“What brings you in?”
I answered the Real Estate Agent, whose forehead gleamed with perspiration.
“I’m looking to view a property.”
“Are you looking for a monthly rental, a lease, or perhaps….”
“A purchase.”
“Oh my, a young entrepreneur! I’m sorry, but could you wait just a moment? Let me take care of this one thing and I’ll be right back. I really can’t hold it any longer.”
When I saw what he was taking care of, he was holding toilet paper in his hand.
Of all things, that was definitely something he needed to handle quickly. As I nodded, the Real Estate Agent dashed into the Bathroom.
“Please have a seat on the sofa and help yourself to the mocha bread on the table. Ahhhhh.”
Whoosh. Whoooosh.
“….”
I’d never be able to eat mocha bread again.
Inwardly lamenting, I leaned back into the sofa. A documentary about the Cataclysm was already playing on the television screen.
– Kyaaaaaaah!
– Boom! Crash!
– This is breaking news. Unidentified phenomena are occurring across the nation. In response, the government has declared martial law as of this moment….
People screaming and scattering, collapsing buildings and surging flames—news reports announcing the beginning of the Cataclysm flashed across the screen one after another, and the haggard face of the American President filled the display.
– We have yet to identify their nature, but one thing is certain. They are our enemy. Not just the United States, but the enemy of the entire world and all humanity. Even now, countless monsters are pouring through Gates and invading Earth.
Gate.
A Gate literally means a door. Demon King Asmodeus opened this door from beyond the dimensional veil and descended upon Earth. Along with an incalculable legion of monsters.
‘After that, it’s all in the textbooks.’
Humanity was helpless. In cities, countryside, mountains and seas, jungles—Gates appeared without regard for time or place, and the pouring monsters committed murder and destruction.
When the hellish time called the ‘Bloody Week’ ended after the Gates opened, casualties reached tens of millions, and property damage was so extensive that an accurate count couldn’t even be made.
– The Cataclysm: the most horrific ten years in human history.
As the documentary reached its midpoint with the caption, the Bathroom door suddenly burst open.
“Whew, I feel alive again.”
The Real Estate Agent wiped his glistening forehead with sweat and collapsed onto the sofa.
“I apologize for making you wait so long. You said you were interested in a purchase, correct?”
“Yes.”
“Did you stop by somewhere else on the way? There should have been plenty of real estate offices along the way.”
“No, this is my first time here.”
“Is that so?”
Watching his eyes dart around, it was clear he was debating whether to try and take advantage of me. I pretended not to notice and handed over a slip of paper.
The note had an address I’d written down beforehand.
“I’d prefer to look at properties in this area if possible.”
“This address… that’s in the Safety Sector?”
“Yes.”
“You’re looking to buy, right? Did I mishear earlier because I was in a rush?”
As I nodded, the Real Estate Agent’s eyes swept up and down, sizing me up.
Blue jeans, white t-shirt, twenty-thousand-won sneakers I’d bought online at the market. No matter who looked, I didn’t exactly cut an impressive figure.
“What line of work are you in, if I may ask?”
“I clear Gates.”
“Ah, a Hunter? That explains it. You’ve done well for yourself at such a young age.”
The Real Estate Agent’s face broke into a wide smile. Hunters were among the most lucrative professions. It wasn’t uncommon for young, successful Hunters to purchase expensive homes and cars.
He asked in a noticeably friendlier tone.
“Have you looked into the market prices at all?”
“I searched online on the way here.”
“You’re in luck. We do have some listings available. Let me see…”
The Real Estate Agent seemed energized, immediately making calls in rapid succession.
After hanging up and calling again repeatedly, about five minutes had passed when he pocketed his smartphone and turned back to me.
“I found the perfect property for you. How about it—if you’re not busy, would you like to go take a look right now?”
“Sure, why not.”
With me being on vacation, there was no reason to refuse. As I stood up, the Real Estate Agent broke into a beaming smile.
* * *
Vroom.
I sat in the passenger seat of the car, watching the scenery drift past. Single-family homes lined up in rows, scattered commercial buildings here and there, playgrounds and schools.
“It’s changed so much…”
At my murmur, the Real Estate Agent glanced sideways at me.
“Did you live around here?”
“When I was young.”
Third year of middle school. Sixteen years old, which meant exactly eleven years ago from now. Since I was born and raised here, this was my hometown.
“This area went through redevelopment about ten years ago, so it’s changed quite a bit. It used to be an old Apartment Complex, but once word got out that a Hunter Association Branch was being built thirty minutes away, they tore it all down.”
“I see.”
I already knew this. Property values had skyrocketed the moment redevelopment rumors started circulating, and unable to afford the jeonse deposits that had risen by hundreds of millions, we’d decided to move.
‘It was shortly after Father passed away.’
The night before the move, I saw Mother crying quietly, holding back her sobs.
It wasn’t until years later that I learned the place had been my parents’ newlywed home.
“We’ve arrived.”
I snapped back to attention at the Real Estate Agent’s words. As I stepped out of the car, a single-family house with a yard came into view.
“This is the address the Restaurant Owner mentioned. Since the landlord isn’t home anyway, let’s take a quick look and head out.”
“Ah, just a moment.”
Perhaps it was nostalgia—the old Apartment Complex had already been torn down, yet something about this place felt strangely familiar.
‘Still… I’m relieved it hasn’t changed too drastically.’
Even after redevelopment, traces of the old landscape remained. As I gazed around, lost in sentiment, the Real Estate Agent smacked his lips.
“Looks like you’re happy to be back after so long. Want to take a stroll around the neighborhood while you’re at it?”
“Is that alright?”
“You’re going to sign the contract anyway, aren’t you?”
“No, I mean—yes, that’s right.”
I had to buy this house, no matter what.
The Real Estate Agent chuckled softly and pulled out a cigarette.
“Then I should make it easy for you. How long does it take to walk around the neighborhood anyway? I’ll smoke a cigarette here, so don’t worry about me and take your time.”
After offering my thanks, I began walking slowly.
‘Is this the right way?’
The moment I passed through the alley and spotted the convenience store I’d frequented as a child.
“This used to be my hideout when I was little, you know. Back in middle school when I’d just started smoking, the grandmother who ran this place was so old that…”
A gleaming foreign car parked in front of the convenience store. The couple conversing nearby froze when they saw me.
Or rather, it was the man who did. He tilted his head curiously and approached me.
“Do you happen to know me?”

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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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