WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: DereKimchi
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Retuned Zenith wants to Rest ◈
Episode 7:
──────
A week later.
Yoon Seoha was on the way to the kendo school when the Hunter Association called.
“Am I speaking to Hunter Yoon Seoha?”
“Yes, that’s me.”
“This is the Hunter Association’s Sinyeong-dong branch. We’re calling to inform you that you’ve been selected for a special promotion assessment following the recent Sinyeong-dong gate incident.”
“A special promotion assessment?”
“You defeated ten ordinary goblins and one hobgoblin during the incident. The field report also records signs that you acquired a new skill.”
“Well, that’s...”
Seoha couldn’t finish the sentence.
Explaining that she had only killed six goblins and her master had killed the rest wasn’t going to work.
“Those results would have been nearly impossible with your previously measured F-rank abilities. Depending on the reassessment results, you could be promoted to E-rank, or even D-rank.”
D-rank.
Seoha swallowed without realizing it.
Not once since awakening had that rank seemed like a realistic goal.
F-rank and D-rank were only two ranks apart, but the treatment they received was completely different.
There would be more gates available to raid, and a larger share of the party’s earnings.
Most importantly, Seoha would no longer have to be treated like dead weight.
“Please come to the Sinyeong-dong branch by ten tomorrow morning. Will you be available?”
“Yes. I’ll be there.”
“Then we’ll see you tomorrow.”
The call ended.
Seoha stared at the phone screen for a while.
Having a chance at promotion was exciting.
But a practical problem soon came to mind.
“A promotion... Can I really manage it?”
Having those achievements recognized only qualified Seoha for reassessment. It didn’t guarantee a promotion.
“What do I do?”
If Seoha went to the assessment and her actual abilities were exposed, even the credit for defeating the hobgoblin might come under suspicion.
In the worst case, there might even be trouble over having received reward money she weren’t entitled to.
Seoha hurried to the kendo school.
After just a week, even the stairs leading up to it already felt familiar.
Bang!
“We have a problem!”
The door flew open, and Seoha rushed inside.
Yoo Kangmin, who had been sitting in the middle of the training hall, opened his eyes.
“You’ll break the door.”
“Is the door really important right now?”
“If it breaks, it’ll need fixing.”
“Well...”
At the mention of repair costs, Seoha’s voice grew a little quieter.
Still, there was something more important right now.
“Anyway, the Association just called.”
“What about?”
“They want me to take a special promotion assessment.”
“And?”
Kangmin sounded indifferent.
Seoha getting promoted had nothing to do with Kangmin, after all.
“What do you mean, ‘And?’ You’ll benefit too if I pass!”
“Huh? Why?”
“If I become D-rank, I’ll be able to enter different gates.”
“So?”
“And I’ll earn several times what I do now.”
“...”
“Oh, come on! Don’t you remember? I agreed to give you twenty percent of whatever I earn from gates.”
At those words, Kangmin sprang to his feet.
“What time did you say it was tomorrow?”
“Ten in the morning.”
“Be here by nine. No, why don’t we stay here and train overnight?”
“O-overnight?”
“Yes. As a special favor, I’ll personally stay by your side and supervise you all night. Free of charge.”
“Hold on a moment.”
Seoha hurriedly cut Kangmin off.
“Do you really think I can get promoted, Master?”
“Is there any reason you can’t?”
“Of course there is!”
Seoha’s voice rose.
“I haven’t held a sword once this entire week.”
“What have you learned instead?”
“The horse stance, standing, breathing...”
Those were the only three things Seoha had learned so far.
As if that weren’t enough, three days ago, Kangmin had strapped sandbag weights onto Seoha because she was getting a little used to the training.
“The promotion assessment is a practical test. I have to pick up a weapon and prove my combat ability, just like I’m fighting monsters.”
“Really? That sounds fairly practical.”
“Then how can you be so confident?”
“Because you’ve changed.”
“I have?”
Seoha looked down at her own body.
Apart from muscle pain becoming part of everyday life, nothing felt particularly different.
There were no new skills or increased stats.
More importantly, without getting to swing a sword, Seoha had no way to check whether she had grown stronger.
“I don’t feel like anything’s changed.”
“Know thyself. If that were as easy as it sounds, everyone would be Socrates.”
“What?”
“I mean that I know how much you’ve improved.”
With that, Kangmin slowly circled Seoha.
Upon reaching Seoha’s blind spot, Kangmin quietly picked up a bamboo sword lying nearby.
“Have I really...?”
While Seoha was tilting her head in doubt, Kangmin moved.
Whoosh!
The bamboo sword swung toward Seoha’s side.
It was clearly a surprise attack aimed at a blind spot.
“Ah!”
But instead of simply taking the hit, Seoha instinctively pivoted on her right foot.
Swish!
The bamboo sword brushed past Seoha’s clothes.
Seoha stared at Kangmin in shock.
“What do you think you’re doing?!”
“See? Do you think you could have dodged my attack before?”
“...! N-now that you mention it.”
“Not holding a sword doesn’t mean you haven’t been learning swordsmanship.”
Resting the bamboo sword on one shoulder, Kangmin continued.
“The horse stance builds a stable center that won’t collapse when you swing your sword. Breathing lets you keep moving without tiring.”
All of the training was ultimately preparation for swinging a sword.
“You don’t swing a sword with your hands alone.”
Kangmin pointed the bamboo sword at Seoha’s feet.
“It starts in your feet, travels through your legs, waist, and shoulders, and finally reaches your hands. What you’ve learned this past week is that first step.”
“But it’s only been a week.”
“They say well begun is half done. You’re already halfway there, so don’t worry.”
Kangmin had taught martial arts to countless martial artists.
Some students had been overflowing with talent. Others had been geniuses who could grasp ten things after being taught just one.
With that experience, there was no way Kangmin could fail to recognize Seoha’s progress.
“You’ve definitely changed.”
“But I still can’t believe in myself.”
There were too many memories of failure for that.
Memories of a past in which nothing had changed, no matter how hard Seoha tried, were holding her back.
Too many failures had piled up to believe that a mere week of training had changed anything.
“If you can’t trust yourself, trust me.”
There wasn’t a trace of doubt in Kangmin’s voice.
That certainty only left Seoha more bewildered.
“Do you believe in me, Master?”
“No. I believe in myself. I’m the one who taught you.”
“...”
“If I say you’ll pass, you’ll pass.”
It could have sounded arrogant.
Yet strangely, hearing it eased Seoha’s anxiety a little.
No one had ever shown this much faith in her before.
“If you really can’t believe it, how about a bet?”
“A-a bet?”
“Yes. I’m only suggesting it because you’re so anxious. I’ll bet that you pass the promotion assessment.”
“W-wait. Then what about me?”
“You bet on failing.”
“What if I fail on purpose?”
“Then you’re no longer my disciple, obviously. Oh, the same goes if you fail normally.”
Seoha looked incredulous.
“So I have to succeed no matter what! What kind of bet is that?!”
“Not confident?”
“Who said I wasn’t?”
“Then it’s settled.”
Kangmin held out a hand.
After a moment’s hesitation, Seoha took it.
“Now, let’s begin our overnight training.”
“We’re not doing that.”
“Why?”
“My assessment is tomorrow! How am I supposed to take it after staying up all night?”
“Of course, rest is also part of training. But sometimes, you see, there are also things you can realize by pushing your body to its limits.”
“No! Absolutely not! I haven’t prepared anything!”
“Prepared? Prepared what?”
“Well, I need toiletries...”
“There’s a convenience store.”
“And a change of clothes...”
“I can just ask my younger sister for those.”
“A-anyway, I said no!”
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. Young people these days have no perseverance.”
“You’re young too, Master! You’re hardly much older than me.”
In the end, the overnight training was canceled.
Instead, Seoha only got to go home after holding the horse stance for twice as long as usual.
* * *
The next day.
Kangmin visited the Hunter Association’s Sinyeong-dong branch with Seoha.
“Well, now.”
Armed hunters were a common sight there.
After entering the building, Kangmin looked around with interest.
‘It’s not all that different from the Martial Alliance.’
Even in different worlds, people lived much the same way.
The only difference was that the people gathered here were hunters who had acquired skills, rather than martial artists who had learned martial arts.
‘But... they’re all a mess. Well, I suppose that’s only natural when they don’t train properly.’
To be honest, it was disappointing.
Seoha at least had the excuse of being F-rank, but even the higher-ranked hunters were hardly any better.
“Why are you staring like that?”
Seoha spoke in a quiet voice.
“Because they’re a mess.”
“Who?”
“All of them.”
“Don’t just say things like that. Most of the people here are higher-ranked than me.”
“Being high-ranked and knowing how to fight properly are two separate things.”
“Please, just don’t say anything.”
“I’m only stating the facts.”
“And those facts are going to get us into a fight.”
Seoha was already growing anxious.
She was heading toward the reception desk when a voice called out.
“Yoon Seoha?”
Seoha stopped at the familiar voice.
A man standing in front of the elevator was looking their way.
On his back was a shield large enough to cover his entire upper body.
Jang Taeho, a D-rank tank.
He was the leader of the party Seoha had belonged to until recently.
Three familiar party members were standing beside him.
Taeho approached Seoha.
“What brings you here? Looking for a new party?”
“No.”
“Then?”
“I’m here for a special promotion assessment.”
“A promotion?”
Taeho gave a disbelieving laugh.
“You?”
The party members beside him looked equally incredulous.
Taeho knew Seoha’s abilities better than anyone.
Back when Seoha was in his party, even handling two goblins alone had been a struggle.
“What did you do to earn that?”
“I killed a hobgoblin at the Sinyeong-dong gate.”
“What?”
Taeho stopped laughing.
After staring at Seoha’s face for a while, he snorted.
“I know your abilities better than anyone.”
“...”
“You couldn’t even kill two goblins on your own, and now you’re telling me you killed a hobgoblin?”
“Yes. If you don’t believe me, check the official records.”
“Hmph. You probably just swooped in for the finishing blow.”
Seoha’s expression stiffened.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t entirely wrong.
“The Association doesn’t seem to know what really happened. Don’t get greedy. You’ll only embarrass yourself when the assessment exposes you.”
“I’ll handle that myself.”
“Hold on.”
“What?”
“If you really do get promoted all the way to D-rank, I could consider letting you back into our party.”
“...”
“But don’t expect the same share as the existing members right away. Around ten percent of the earnings should be suitable for a while.”
He had treated Seoha like dead weight when throwing her out. Now he was acting as though offering a chance to return was some great favor.
It was disgusting.
“I’m not coming back.”
“What?”
“I have no intention of ever joining that party again.”
“After all the time I spent letting an F-rank like you tag along?”
“And you took enough of my share to make up for it.”
“Do you think you could have entered a gate alone?”
“That’s why I’m going to try doing it on my own now.”
Taeho’s eyebrow twitched at Seoha’s answer.
Only then did his gaze turn to Kangmin, who was standing beside Seoha.
“Who’s this, anyway? Your new party leader?”
“My master.”
“Your master?”
Taeho looked Kangmin up and down.
“Which awakening academy does your master teach at?”
“It’s not an awakening academy,” Seoha said.
“Then?”
“My master runs a kendo school.”
There was a brief silence.
Then Taeho and his party members burst out laughing.
“Pwahahahahaha! A kendo school?”
“Don’t tell me you came for a promotion assessment after swinging a bamboo sword around at a kendo school.”
“Do hunters still learn kendo these days?”
“Forget it. Just forget it. Knowing when to grab an opportunity I offer you is a skill too.”
“Haah.”
Kangmin shook his head while listening to the conversation.
That brief exchange had been enough to make their relationship clear.
“You got kicked out by someone like him?”
“Yes.”
“How shameful.”
“Wait, why am I the one getting scolded?”
“Being under someone like him in the first place is shameful.”
Taeho’s laughter stopped.
“What did you just say?”
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