WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: DereKimchi
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Retuned Zenith wants to Rest ◈
Episode 5: (Revised)
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Yoon Seoha thought for a moment before speaking carefully.
“One million won. Per month.”
“Can you afford that?”
“I received compensation from the Association this time. I can use that money for now.”
Seoha didn’t have money to spare.
An F-rank hunter couldn’t earn much from gates.
After equipment repairs and potions, little remained.
And now that she’d been kicked out of her party, earning anything would be difficult for a while.
On top of that, she’d spent most of her savings trying one awakening academy after another.
For Seoha, one million won was a huge sum.
Without her part-time tutoring job, it would have been impossible.
Even so, she was determined to learn swordsmanship from Yoo Kangmin.
She’d experienced how just a few words from him could change the way she moved.
“Is that the compensation for killing the hobgoblin?”
“Yes. You should really have received that money, Kangmin…”
“You fought the goblins too. Spend what you received.”
“Th-thank you…”
Kangmin folded his arms.
‘Training fees, huh.’
He needed money to live peacefully.
He had no intention of doing nothing and leaving his mother to cover his living expenses.
Of course, there were plenty of ways to make money if he put his mind to it.
‘Well, I could earn some if I needed to…’
But he couldn’t do things the martial world’s way, raiding bandit storehouses or wiping out notorious unorthodox sects and looting their wealth.
If he did that in modern society, he’d be far from living quietly. He’d end up leading a life surrounded by blood and corpses again.
‘I need to earn it legally.’
Becoming a hunter and clearing gates was one option.
In a way, it was the easiest and fastest way to build wealth.
But Kangmin didn’t much like that idea either.
‘That would ruin my peaceful life.’
Didn’t great power always come with great responsibility?
The more power he revealed as a hunter, the more the world would watch him and fear him.
Living that sort of life once had been enough.
So Seoha’s proposal was tempting for Kangmin, who had no intention of stepping into the spotlight himself.
‘In that sense, reopening the kendo dojo might not be a bad idea.’
Teaching swordsmanship was something he’d always done.
Even in the martial world, he’d met many people and taught them martial arts.
Teaching students and collecting training fees was, in a way, no different from returning to his old profession.
‘Starting with just one student wouldn’t be bad.’
Of course, one million won was absurdly little in exchange for his martial arts instruction.
Leaders of famous sects had brought cartloads of gold chests, and the heads of martial clans had often offered spiritual elixirs passed down as family treasures.
‘To someone whose entire fortune is one million won, one million won is worth everything they own.’
Regardless of the amount, Seoha was practically staking her entire fortune on him.
“All right. One month to start.”
“Really?”
“I’ll teach you for a month. After that, we’ll discuss whether you want to continue.”
Seoha’s face lit up.
But Kangmin wasn’t finished.
“We should settle the terms first.”
“Yes. Go ahead.”
“Training fees are paid in advance.”
“That’s fine.”
“And while you’re learning here, you’ll give me twenty percent of your net earnings from gates.”
“Out of my share after splitting it with the party?”
“Yes.”
“After equipment repairs and potion costs too?”
“I mean I’ll take it from what’s left.”
“All right. But you have to teach me properly.”
“You needn’t worry about that.”
“Pardon?”
“You’re far more likely to find that you can’t endure my teaching.”
“I’m confident I can.”
“We’ll have to see just how confident you are.”
“All right. One million won a month, plus twenty percent of my net earnings from gates.”
“Then we have a deal.”
Seoha took out her phone.
“If you give me your account number, I’ll send it right away.”
“My account number…”
After a moment’s thought, Kangmin picked up his own phone.
He couldn’t remember the number at all.
That was only natural, since he hadn’t used it in sixty years.
“Where do I check that?”
“Don’t you have a banking app?”
“I do.”
Kangmin held out the screen.
Seoha pointed to an icon.
“Just open this.”
“Ah.”
Seeing the screen brought back a faint memory.
Kangmin checked his account and gave her the number.
“You must not have used your bank account in a long time.”
“I haven’t had a reason to.”
“Were you living up in the mountains or something?”
“Somewhere similar.”
Seoha gave a small laugh, apparently taking it as a joke.
Ding.
A moment later, a deposit notification sounded.
[Deposit: 1,000,000 won.]
Kangmin stared at the message for a moment.
He hadn’t expected to receive training fees again after the dojo had closed.
‘I’ve gained a student sooner than I thought.’
Just then, a bedroom door opened a crack.
Yoo Gaeun poked her head out.
“One million won?”
Both of them turned to look.
“Weren’t you resting?”
“I was going to, but then I heard someone say one million won.”
Gaeun came into the living room.
“Miss Yoon, what’s the money for?”
“I’m going to learn swordsmanship.”
“From my brother?”
“Yes.”
Gaeun looked at Kangmin.
“You’re going to teach Miss Yoon?”
“It’s what I always did at the dojo.”
“Well, that’s true…”
Tilting her head, Gaeun looked back at Seoha.
“But you’re a hunter, Miss Yoon. Don’t you learn at an academy?”
“I’ve tried that. But your brother corrected my stance yesterday, and it helped a lot.”
“How much?”
“Once I actually tried using my sword, I understood why I’d been struggling.”
Seoha was serious.
Seeing her expression, Gaeun couldn’t tease her any further.
“But one million won is still expensive.”
“That’s why I’m only trying it for a month first. This is something I want to learn, so you don’t need to worry.”
Gaeun studied Kangmin for a moment.
She found it hard to connect the sight of him dropping crumbs while eating snacks with the image of him teaching swordsmanship.
Still, it wasn’t as if she didn’t know he’d taught at the kendo dojo.
“Kangmin.”
“What?”
“If you’ve taken her money, teach her properly.”
“That’s the plan.”
“And give her a refund if she says it’s no good.”
“You’ve certainly found yourself a reliable guarantor.”
Seoha laughed.
Only then did Gaeun seem a little more at ease.
“Still, Miss Yoon, tell me if he makes you do anything weird.”
“I will.”
Kangmin stood up.
“Follow me.”
“Where?”
“You should see the dojo first. It’s where you’ll be training.”
“Oh.”
Seoha immediately picked up her bag.
Watching her, Gaeun pointed at her arm.
“Miss Yoon hurt her arm, though. Can she start training today?”
“Today will just be a taste.”
“Okay.”
Seoha couldn’t hide her smile as she put on her shoes.
Only yesterday, she’d been thinking of quitting as a hunter.
Now she was wondering what she would learn next.
Once the two had left, Gaeun stared at the closed front door.
“Someone who’s even been to an academy is learning from my brother?”
The more she thought about it, the stranger it seemed.
Deciding to ask how the lesson had gone later, she threw herself onto the sofa.
For now, it was time to rest.
Gaeun picked up the remote.
When she turned on the TV, a dazzling music show performance filled the screen.
“Oh, right! Their comeback was today!”
Gaeun quickly turned up the volume.
Five women were dancing in formation onstage.
NOVA, South Korea’s first girl group made up entirely of awakeners.
They weren’t just idols borrowing the image of hunters.
Every member was an officially registered active hunter, and they were famous for taking part in actual gate raids during breaks from performing.
Even the flames and beams of light that looked like elaborate stage effects weren’t produced by machines. They were skills the members used themselves.
“Serin’s the prettiest, as always.”
Gaeun’s gaze settled on the woman at the center of the stage.
NOVA’s leader and main vocalist.
The A-rank fire hunter, Lee Serin.
As the song reached its climax, Serin raised a hand.
“Flame Lord.”
Fwoooosh!
Crimson flames transformed into enormous wings above the stage.
Cheers erupted from the audience.
With the flames behind her, Serin gave a perfect smile.
On the screen, the performance looked flawless.
“Wow…”
Gaeun watched intently, her eyes shining.
The bright smile of Lee Serin, South Korea’s most dazzling hunter idol, filled the screen.
* * *
The two arrived at a kendo dojo a little over ten minutes from home.
The closure notice was still posted on the metal shutter.
“This place…”
Seoha looked across from the dojo.
A large awakening academy covered in brilliant lights stood opposite it.
“So this is the dojo Gaeun told me about.”
“Though it closed yesterday.”
Kangmin took a key from his pocket.
Clack.
The shutter rose with a loud rattle.
They climbed the dark stairs and entered the dojo.
Though it seemed only about a day had passed, it smelled as if it hadn’t been aired out in ages.
Click.
The lights came on, revealing a familiar sight.
Training uniforms hung on the wall, and bamboo swords stood neatly in place.
Little had changed since the dojo closed.
Kangmin looked around the room for a moment.
Memories of teaching students here with his father came flooding back.
“This is where you’ll train.”
Seoha asked carefully.
“Are you thinking of reopening the dojo?”
“Who knows? For now, we’re just using it temporarily. I haven’t decided yet. Perhaps you’ll pay me enough to reopen it.”
With that, Kangmin picked up one of the bamboo swords standing against the wall.
He gave it a light swing, cutting through the air.
“Hmm.”
After checking its condition, he tossed it to Seoha.
“Catch.”
“Oh!”
Seoha hurriedly caught the bamboo sword.
With her right hand injured, she barely managed to catch it in her left.
“Are we starting right away?”
“You said you didn’t want to waste time.”
Nervousness and anticipation crossed Seoha’s face.
The movements Kangmin had shown her at the convenience store flashed through her mind.
He’d caught an axe blade between two fingers and cut down a hobgoblin in a single stroke with a broken sword. Now she would be able to learn that kind of strength.
“What skill will I learn first?”
“Skill?”
“Or will you teach me swordsmanship like yesterday?”
Kangmin chuckled.
“So many questions already.”
“Sorry. I’m a little excited…”
“If you’re curious, ask. It’s better than following along without understanding.”
Seoha nodded.
Her grip on the bamboo sword tightened.
“But I’ll have to see you move before deciding what to teach.”
“Will it be all right if I only use my left hand?”
“Of course not.”
Kangmin strode up to Seoha and took hold of her injured arm.
“…?!”
At the same time, he sent the qi of the Limitless Heavenly Origin Art into her.
Whooooom!
The qi lingered in Seoha’s arm, soothing the injury.
To her amazement, the pain vanished, as if the wound had healed completely.
“M-my arm?”
“It’s a temporary measure. First, I need to see what level you’re at.”
“Huh?”
Standing in the center of the dojo, Kangmin beckoned lightly to her.
“So come at me with everything you’ve got.”
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