Murim Login - Chapter 296
Release schedule is every day except weekends around 5PM MST.
You can also join our Discord here.
I will re-publish the earlier chapters to fix those issues with the translation. I apologize in advance if it did not meet your standard. Please comment the chapters you find that is lacking in quality so I can fix them ASAP. Thanks for understanding!
Current re-published chapters (270 - 305)
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You can also join our Discord here.
I will re-publish the earlier chapters to fix those issues with the translation. I apologize in advance if it did not meet your standard. Please comment the chapters you find that is lacking in quality so I can fix them ASAP. Thanks for understanding!
Current re-published chapters (270 - 305)
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How much time has passed?
Names, family, friends, and lovers… He couldn’t even remember where he was born or what kind of life he had lived.
After passing through a long, deep darkness, he suddenly regained consciousness and found himself in a forest.
“Where am I?” The question only lingered for a moment.
Soon, he was consumed by the instincts of a monster and began a purposeless fight. He fought against humans, who once looked like himself, and also against monsters.
He had been an exceptional knight in his lifetime, growing stronger as he developed his magic. He became so powerful that he even surpassed the necromancer who controlled all the dead in the vast black forest.
“Y-You! How dare a mere skeleton knight…!”
“Ha! Ha! Ha!”
Thwack!
The fallen knight thus became the new ruler of the black forest. And finally, he emerged as a chosen being.
His new name was the Skeleton Warlord, the commander of the undead army.
“Is this what it feels like?” It was astonishing. Everything around him had changed. For some unknown reason, the mana flowing through the black forest had become denser, and even his body, reduced to mere bones, overflowed with immense power.
To someone who had been reborn in this way, a small group of humans was nothing more than insignificant pests.
“They are few in number and already terrified.” To humans, death is just another name for fear.
For him, who had already become one of the dead, such a sight was only amusing. “Run away. And bring me more, more lives!” He was now the ruler of the black forest and the commander of the undead.
The larger group of humans they would bring would soon become part of his army. Once he commanded thousands or tens of thousands of the dead… he wouldn’t be satisfied with just the black forest as his territory.
Then, he would truly become a ruler, not just the commander of the dead.
“I will leave this place and conquer even wider territories.” Just then, his eyes caught sight of a human among the fifty or so fleeing in panic.
“That guy…”
The human was fighting desperately, surrounded by three skeleton knights. Strangely enough, unlike the other humans who spoke in incomprehensible tongues, he could understand every word this one spoke.
“It’s okay! Go quickly!”
What is this? How is he so fluent in the language of demons?
Could he be a monster in human form?
He was unaware of the system that had been applied to Jin Tae-Kyung, nor did he know about the [Unified Language Pack] function.
He simply wanted to turn this human, who seemed quite capable, into one of the dead and take him as his subordinate.
“You… foolish… human…”
But he should have known better.
The one who was foolish was himself.
“Whew, finally… done.”
“…Huh?”
He should not have led all his forces into this narrow path.
“You’re all going to die here. That’s all you need to know.”
“W-What?”
The answer to his question came soon enough.
“Ilseom (One Slash)!”
With a burst, a dragon wrapped in blue flames soared upward, and the Skeleton Warlord felt an overwhelming terror closing in on him.
It was an emotion he had long forgotten. It was the fear of death, which had become more of a friend than an object of fear.
“E-Everyone… retreat…!”
The Warlord’s command was cut short.
The blue flames that swept through the path engulfed him and hundreds of skeletons.
Roar!
—
– All your internal energy and stamina have been exhausted!
– You have fallen into the status condition [Exhaustion]!
– You have defeated [Lv92. Skeleton Knight]!
– You have gained a significant amount of experience!
– You have defeated [Lv75. Skeleton Warrior]!
– You have gained a small amount of experience!
– You have defeated [Lv78. Skeleton Mage]!
– You have gained a small amount of experience…!
Ding. Ding. Ding.
The system notifications kept ringing in my ears.
For a moment, my vision spun, and my legs wobbled.
The spear in my hand suddenly felt so heavy.
I barely managed to stab the tip of the spear into the ground to support myself.
“Damn, I’m going to die.”
Ilseom is the only and strongest skill I possess. It converts both my internal energy and stamina into explosive power.
Although I can now control the amount of force applied as my martial arts skills have advanced, the aftereffects are still severe.
“Ilseom is as dangerous as it is destructive. If you keep thinking it’s all or nothing, you won’t survive long.”
The best course of action is to achieve maximum results with minimum effort.
Since I always strive for efficient combat, I can’t afford to use Ilseom recklessly. It’s a final move, one that leaves no room for failure.
But this time was different.
“When else would I use it if not now?”
A narrow path packed tightly with hundreds of monsters.
It was practically a stage set up for me to use Ilseom. Although I fell into the [Exhaustion] state as a result… every action has a countermeasure.
Ding.
– Massacre! You have gained a massive amount of experience!
– Level up!
– You have earned points!
– All status conditions have been cured!
As the long-awaited notification arrived, a refreshing sensation swept through my entire body.
Whoosh.
The empty dantian that had been drained by the aftereffects of Ilseom was refilled, and strength returned to my trembling limbs.
Finally, my vision, which had been bleached white, cleared up, allowing me to see the results of Ilseom.
“Wow… I expected this, but this is beyond my imagination.”
I clicked my tongue in awe at the scene before me.
Crackle, crackle.
The path had doubled in width due to Ilseom’s power.
The massive trees and rocks that once filled the area had been uprooted, and piles of bones engulfed in flames were slowly burning on the charred black ground.
“How many did I take down in one go?”
There were still a few, no, I should correct that to ‘there were a few undead monsters’ left moving, as they were already dead. Anyway, there were no more than fifty of them. And even they were in a state where they were practically out of combat.
“I must have taken down about three hundred, huh?”
I now understood why the system referred to it as a massacre.
Of course, despite the grand word choice, the experience points were disappointingly small.
“Just one level-up? So stingy.”
Clicking my tongue, I started finishing off the remaining skeletons.
Every little bit counts when the experience points required to level up keep piling up like a mountain.
– Screech. Screech.
Crunch!
I crushed the skull of a skeleton that was desperately crawling with both legs lost.
Ding.
– You have defeated [Lv73. Skeleton Warrior]!
– You have gained a small amount of experience!
Damn, the experience points are really stingy.
As I grumbled and turned my head to find the next monster, I was suddenly struck by something.
“Oh! Oh! Could it be…!”
My eyes widened, and I felt a warmth in my chest.
With a sense of excitement, I approached the skeleton half-buried in a pile of dirt.
Its head was the only thing left, trembling slightly. The green ghost flames that once burned like a torch had dwindled down to a flicker, but it was still recognizable.
[Lv105. Skeleton Warlord]
With a wide grin, I waved my hand at the skull.
“Nice to see you, my friend!”
“So you were here all along! Why didn’t you speak up sooner?”
– Click. Click?
This sneaky bastard was pretending to be a skeleton warrior?
Feigning disappointment, I raised my spear.
“Oh, never mind. It’s just a lowly monster. I’ll just kill you.”
– W-Wait!
“Huh? You’re talking? Could it be?”
– That’s right. It is I.
The Skeleton Warlord continued, his voice trembling.
– The ruler of the black forest. The commander of the dead. It is I, the Warlord.
“Wow! A Warlord!”
– So, you finally recognize me?
“Wow! Experience points!”
– …What?
Sensing something was off, the Warlord hastily continued.
– Surely, you do not intend to kill me?
This bastard… His speech becomes smoother when he’s desperate.
“Who said anything about killing? You’re already dead.”
– I may die and be reborn a hundred times!
“…Is that a quote from Jeong Mong-ju?”
Has this guy read “The Song of Loyalty”?
As I stared at him in disbelief, the Warlord’s jaw clicked nervously.
– Human, why don’t we make a deal?
“A deal?”
– Yes. I can offer you many things.
“Give me a preview.”
– A preview? What do you mean?
“Tell me what you can offer. I’ll decide after listening.”
The Warlord, after a moment of contemplation, responded.
– I am the ruler of the forest. I can give you this vast black forest!
“The black forest already belongs to us.”
“…Huh?”
“We have a gate monopoly, so it doesn’t matter.”
– A gate monopoly? I don’t know what that is, but becoming the ruler of the forest is far better!
“No, I’d rather come here and do a monster roundup every time they respawn.”
– M-Monster roundup? How dare a human hunt us!
“Yeah, and I’m thinking of taking down one of you right now.”
Crack.
As I tightened my grip on his skull, the Warlord’s jaw quivered violently, and he shouted in panic.
“W-Wait! Just wait! I heard something strange just now!”
“Wait a second. You don’t even have eardrums, and you can still hear? Fascinating.”
“My skull! There’s a crack in my crown! If this continues, I’ll be destroyed!”
“Wow, experience points, how delightful!”
“You fool! I am the ruler of the black forest, the commander of the dead—!”
Crack!
“The ruler of the black forest! The lord of the dead! Have mercy on me!”
This guy’s change in tone was lightning fast. It was almost as if he were on the brink of enlightenment.
It’s amusing to be having this kind of conversation with a monster, but I think it’s time to wrap this up.
“Inventory open. Summon dagger.”
Shing.
The sound of a blade slicing through the air echoed as I held the sharp dagger before the Warlord’s eye sockets. His voice trembled as he asked,
“W-What are you planning to do?”
“Hmm? It’s nothing special. Just close your eyes, and stay still. It’ll be over quickly.”
“Over? What do you mean?”
“Shh. Just stay quiet. If your bones get damaged, their value will drop.”
The last monster I took down, a wyvern with a single eye, turned out to be a goldmine. But this skeleton… I’m not sure which parts are worth anything.
“Still, a named monster’s skull decoration could fetch a high price, right?”
Even if the bones are from a skeleton, the surface has a glossy black sheen that looks quite nice. I planned to finish him off properly and then collect the bones nearby.
“W-Wait! Please, wait!”
Click! Clack-clack-clack!
Wow, this guy sure is noisy.
Just as I was about to firmly grasp the Warlord’s jaw, he blurted out,
“Experience points! I’ll give you experience points!”
“Hmm? Isn’t that what I’m about to get from you anyway? Just stay still, will you? Besides, you don’t even know what experience points are.”
“No! I will give them to you! Somehow, I’ll make my subordinates gather them and offer them to you!”
“What nonsense are you spouting now? Experience points aren’t some kind of object…”
I was about to continue, but I paused as a thought crossed my mind.
Could this actually work?
“You said you’re the ruler of the black forest, right?”
“Y-Yes, yes!”
“How many subordinates do you have?”
“All of them! All of them! Not immediately, but if I search the forest, I can gather over a thousand!”
“A thousand?”
“That’s the minimum! Have you forgotten who I am?”
“Skeleton Warlord.”
“Yes! No soldier dares defy their commander. The lower ranks wouldn’t dare challenge me!”
“Hmm…”
“I’ll search every corner of the black forest, or even turn it upside down, to bring you what you desire!”
As I watched the green flames in his eyes flicker desperately, I began to formulate a plan.
And it didn’t take long to make a decision.
“Hey.”
“Y-Yes?”
“Let’s do some work together.”
“W-Work? What kind of work?”
“Something special. You just need to do as I say.”
At my ominous grin, the Warlord’s skull trembled with fear.