Murim Login - Chapter 96

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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 96
Kim Jun-su was a C-rank Hunter belonging to the Security Team of Sangdong Guild.
He had zero talent for elemental magic, but fortunately, he’d awakened as a rare Familiar Mage, which allowed him to live a reasonably successful life.
‘If only I could actually go home.’
What good was owning an apartment over a thousand square feet when he was the only Familiar Mage in Sangdong Guild? The work never stopped coming.
Raid Teams got to clock out after clearing a Gate, but the Security Team had no such luxury—they had to pull all-nighters at constantly changing hideouts.
“Jun-su, did you pull an all-nighter?”
“Yes.”
A colleague from the Security Team clicked his tongue at the sight of Kim Jun-su’s hollow face. He was the one who’d stayed behind to guard the invaluable Familiar Mage.
“You’ve got it rough. How does that bastard not step foot outside his apartment?”
“Right? I’ve been watching for days now, and he’s only come out twice—twice. Once to a Real Estate Office in Goyang City and once to Ilsan Store.”
“This is why smoker targets are the best. At least they come out for cigarettes.”
He’d acquired a new cat as a familiar and waited all night at the apartment building entrance, but the target hadn’t budged an inch.
The only incident was the cat growing impatient, meowing pitifully, and nearly getting chased away by the security guard.
“Peace Guild? From what I saw, they’re pretty small—they don’t even run Raids.”
“They’re on vacation right now.”
“Vacation?”
“Yeah. My classmate in Team 2 is watching the other Peace Guild members, and he said they’re all just resting.”
“Ah… what’s the situation over there?”
“Withdrew as of yesterday. One woman and one man—it wrapped up quick. From the Team Leader’s reaction, it looks like they got something out of it, but I’m not sure what.”
“Phew. Let’s just wrap this up casually and pull out too.”
Kim Jun-su let out a deep sigh, and his colleague looked at him with sympathy.
“There’s got to be a reason they specifically assigned the only Familiar Mage in the entire guild.”
“Even so, he’s just a C-rank Hunter. Putting this much effort into it seems excessive, doesn’t it?”
“What can you do? Orders are orders. Even if the Team Leader nags us like yesterday, we just have to accept it.”
“He should at least nag appropriately. If they’d just talked to that Hong Woo-jin guy from the start and cooperated properly, this would’ve been over ages ago.”
“He wants to show the Guild Master. Our Security Team is far superior to Hong Woo-jin. My leadership is this exceptional. Besides, it’s already getting close to the second-half personnel reshuffle season—the Team Leader’s got plenty of reason to be nervous.”
“…This is driving me insane.”
“Yeah, it’s insane.”
Kim Jun-su wanted to tear his hair out, but he held back. If he did, the hair that had only recently started sprouting like spring shoots would all fall out.
‘The doctor said stress makes hair loss worse.’
Even if he was just a civilian doctor who couldn’t even use basic Light Magic, if he could just keep his hair full, Kim Jun-su would worship him like Jesus.
‘Come to think of it, it doesn’t seem like much hair fell out today.’
That was when Kim Jun-su carefully reached up to touch his crown.
– Target confirmed. Target confirmed. On the move!
Through the radio came his colleague’s low but urgent voice.
The two people in the room, and even the Security Team Leader snoring in the next room, bolted upright.
He wiped the saliva from the corner of his mouth and shouted.
“Hey! Kim Jun-su!”
Damn it. I haven’t even had breakfast yet.
If I use Familiar Magic, my hair falls out again!
‘Damn it, I’m quitting the Guild the moment this contract ends.’
Kim Jun-su swallowed his tears and drew up his mana. Heat flooded his head as consciousness began to slip away.
‘Faithful servant, answer my call. Link!’
Whoosh!
And in the next instant, the kitten crouched beneath the car snapped its eyes open.
Meow.
* * *
I stopped in my tracks. A black furry mass had suddenly bounded out with a cry.
[Lv.2 Cat – Familiar]
“….”
Another cat. Do these people have no imagination whatsoever?
Well, one thing’s different. This one’s fur is pitch black.
Meow. Meooow.
The kitten approached with a surprisingly confident gait for its size, rubbing its entire body against my slippers. Whoever cast this knew their way around the club.
‘This is strange. I’m not used to getting attention this way.’
But the appearance of this new Familiar let me deduce something important.
‘Are these people working together?’
Two conspicuous Familiars like cats within a day’s interval? Hardly a sound strategy. If anything, it felt like they were desperately scrambling to keep up.
Meow!
At the kitten’s cries for attention, I couldn’t help but chuckle.
“You little thing, you’re cute.”
Should I take this one with me or not….
That’s when my mind was racing with possibilities.
“The cat’s quite affectionate. Is it yours, sir?”
A man approached, dragging his slippers. His face looked to be in his early forties—utterly ordinary—and his stretched-out t-shirt and soccer shorts stained with ramen broth seemed approachable.
“No. It seems to be a stray cat, but it suddenly started acting affectionate.”
“Oh, that’s exactly it. A dog-like cat.”
“Right? It was the same yesterday, and it seems the cats in this neighborhood are quite affectionate.”
“Yesterday?”
“Yes, I picked up another one yesterday. Also a dog-like cat.”
“That’s interesting.”
The man took a drag from his half-burned cigarette.
“When you think about it, all creatures seem to have their own fate. The cat acts affectionate because it senses you’ll be a good owner.”
“Ah, a good owner? I think it’s just naturally like that.”
“Is that so? Hey, hey, come here.”
The cat doesn’t budge at the man’s gesture.
In fact, it burrowed between my legs instead.
“Heh heh. Look at this little thing. Already knows how to pick people, young as it is.”
As I smiled silently, the man asked me a question.
“So, are you thinking of keeping it?”
“Well, I have some urgent business to take care of right now. If I still have it when I’m done, I’ll keep it for a few days and see how it goes.”
“I’m not sure if this little guy will still be here by then. Right, Butterfly?”
Meow.
“It won’t take long. I’m just heading to the Real Estate Office up ahead.”
“Is that so? By the way, I don’t think I’ve seen that young man before. I’ve lived here a long time and know most people around. Since you’re going to the Real Estate Office, are you moving in nearby?”
“I live elsewhere. I only visit occasionally to see my family. As for the Real Estate Office, I just have some business to handle there.”
“Ah, I see.”
The last wisps of smoke scattered on the breeze. The man flicked his cigarette butt to the ground and opened his mouth.
“Well, I’ve been holding up a busy person. I hope I didn’t offend you?”
“Not at all.”
“Then I’m relieved. Let’s acknowledge each other next time we meet. As neighbors.”
I replied.
“Yes, as neighbors.”
“Then I’ll be on my way. The weather’s nice—I should take a walk around the neighborhood.”
The affable man smiled and moved on. I watched his receding figure shuffle away for a moment, thinking.
‘That was some good acting.’
Meow.
Right, you were here too.
I’d encountered two actors the moment I left the house—a stray cat and a man masquerading as a neighbor.
“I’ll be back soon, so wait here quietly, okay?”
The cat tilted its head as if questioning what I’d said.
But I knew the truth. That creature understood every word I spoke, and it would remain in this spot no matter how many hours passed.
And one more thing.
[Lv.42 Kim Kwon-dong]
No Hunters lived in the building next to mine.
‘So they’re not on the same side after all.’
The appearance of these two actors was enough to transform suspicion into certainty.
My footsteps toward the Real Estate Office ahead felt noticeably lighter.
* * *
Late morning. A slovenly middle-aged man in casual attire, dragging his slippers and humming to himself—the kind of figure you’d see anywhere. The moment he turned the corner, he plucked a cigarette from his pocket and placed it between his lips.
“Now, where’s the lighter…”
His hands moved slowly through his pockets, but his eyes darted about restlessly.
After confirming no one was nearby, what he produced instead of a lighter was a miniature walkie-talkie.
“How was the acting? Maybe I should’ve become an actor instead of a Hunter. Seems I’m better at performing than actual combat.”
– This is the Team Leader.
The cigarette dropped from his lips with a soft tap. His now-freed mouth hung open awkwardly.
Shit, this is bad.
Kim Kwon-dong, a C-rank Hunter from the Security Team, hastily composed himself and responded.
“Ah, yes. Team Leader, sir.”
– Wow, Kim Kwon-dong’s quite the actor. He could quit the Guild and head to Hollywood.
“I-I’m sorry.”
– Don’t be nervous, that was a compliment. Anyway, what about the target? You didn’t catch their scent, right?
“That’s my assessment.”
Even though I’d already overheard the conversation through Kim Jun-su, who was using Familiar Magic, I needed to double-check for a simple reason.
A cat’s perspective couldn’t capture every detail of the target clearly.
– You sure? 100%?
“90%.”
– Kid, is 90% supposed to be certain? You should commit with confidence in situations like this.
“Hasty judgments are dangerous.”
Kim Kwon-dong cursed the Team Leader under his breath.
‘What good does it do to commit confidently? He’ll be the first to blame me if things go wrong later.’
He needed to leave himself an escape route like this. Kim Kwon-dong’s 90% only became complete when the Team Leader’s 10% was added.
– That attitude looks very good. You know what to do next?
The Team Leader’s pleased tone was the signal that it had finally reached 100%.
Kim Kwon-dong quietly changed direction to avoid a resident walking toward him from afar.
“Yes. I’ll observe naturally while circling the area.”
– Right, report immediately if anything unusual comes up.
“Yes.”
– Then get to it.
The brief conversation between the two went unheard by anyone.
Kim Kwon-dong pulled out a real lighter this time and lit his cigarette, then inhaled the smoke deeply.
“Damn, I’ll probably die from lung cancer faster than getting killed by a monster.”
* * *
The Security Team Leader had his hands full. Three external surveillance personnel in total. He had to issue orders to the remaining two and ensure everything was airtight.
“Number One.”
– Number One is in position.
“You’re listening on the main channel, right? What about the Real Estate Office the target’s heading to?”
– There are two nearby shops, and we’ve planted eavesdropping magic equipment in both.
“Good work. Target’s location?”
– Not visible yet… Ah, they’ve appeared. Approaching from about 300 meters away.
“Leave your position. Since we’ve got the equipment set up, there’s no need for unnecessary contact.”
– Understood. I’ll report immediately if anything unusual occurs.
“Okay. Number Two?”
– Currently waiting at the designated location.
A thick voice came through the radio.
The Security Team Leader nodded at the response from another team member hiding in a nearby shop.
“This bastard might slip away through another route, so keep a close watch.”
– Understood.
Four C-rank Hunters specializing in concealment and tracking, plus one Familiar Mage.
Their combat prowess may have been lacking, but in this field, they were all veterans brimming with experience.
‘More than enough to be assigned to a single C-rank Hunter.’
Initially, there had been some wariness. The Guild Master had made a point of mentioning something specific about the target.
‘He supposedly cleared a B-rank Gate solo, if I recall correctly.’
But the more information I gathered about him, the more I observed him, the more convinced I became that it wasn’t true. What put an end to my doubts was discovering that Im Chang-su was the source of the intelligence.
‘That reckless bastard just bared his teeth because he didn’t want to get beaten to death.’
An ordinary C-rank Hunter you could find anywhere.
That was all Jin Tae-kyung amounted to in my eyes.
Beep.
– Target entering the Real Estate Office.
A radio transmission from the team member keeping watch.
The Sangdong Guild Security Team tensed.

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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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