WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: DereKimchi
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Returned Zenith Wants to Rest ◈
Episode 12:
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The barbecue place that had opened near their home must have gained a reputation for good food. For a neighborhood restaurant, it had quite a lot of customers.
Fortunately, it was spacious enough that they could sit down without waiting.
“Whoo!”
Humming to herself, Yoo Gaeun busily took pictures of the meat with her phone, apparently delighted by something.
“What are you taking pictures for? You should take it all in with your eyes.”
“Shush.”
Sizzle.
Yoo Kangmin picked up the tongs and placed the meat on the grill.
“Mmm, that smells good!”
Since beef did not need much cooking, Kangmin flipped the meat at just the right moment.
Then, once the juices had risen to the surface, he cut it up and placed it on his mother’s plate first.
Gaeun’s plate came next.
“What’s gotten into you? Normally, you’d eat first.”
“Give it back if you don’t want it.”
When Kangmin reached out with the tongs, Gaeun immediately stuffed the meat into her mouth.
“It’s hot!”
“Eat slowly.”
That was what he said, but it made him smile.
Back in the martial world, he could not let down his guard even while eating.
‘At least there’s no damn Tang Clan here. In that respect, it’s nice.’
Even after undergoing Bone Rebirth and attaining immunity to all poisons, Yoo Kangmin had been pursued by the Tang Clan for a long time.
They had set out to create an ultimate poison that surpassed the Seven Great Poisons.
‘They made some garbage poison, so why did they throw a fit at me?’
Of course, the whole thing had started because Yoo Kangmin had casually swallowed the Tang Clan’s Seven Great Poisons as if they were water.
‘They mixed poison into water and gave it to me. I thought it was actually water...’
He had only asked for water because he was thirsty, then drank what he was given. From Kangmin’s perspective, it was simply unfair.
Still, the Tang Clan was no longer a threat. He only had to enjoy his meal in peace.
‘The only thing I have to worry about is not burning the meat.’
Kangmin put more meat on the grill.
This time, he intended to give it the attention it deserved.
That was when he heard a quiet voice from the next table.
“Unni. Some water, please.”
He had not meant to eavesdrop, but the voice carried to him.
It was not simply because it was pretty.
‘Mana?’
He could sense a faint trace of mana in that voice.
“You already finished it?”
“No.”
“Then what?”
“It got warm.”
Kangmin glanced to the side.
Two women were sitting across from each other. One had her hat pulled low and wore large glasses, while the other had her hair neatly tied back.
‘Oh?’
Kangmin had encountered countless martial artists in the martial world.
And through meeting Baek Dohee, he had gained a rough understanding of the characteristics of awakeners.
Now, he thought he could distinguish people with mana.
‘Hunters?’
The woman with tied hair casually took the water glass.
After looking around briefly, she took the chance to release mana.
Crack.
Frost instantly formed over the surface of the lukewarm cup.
She appeared to be a hunter who had awakened ice-type mana.
“Drink slowly.”
“Thanks.”
Because it was a barbecue restaurant, the place was full of smoke and heat.
Even so, Kangmin felt coolness reaching his table.
“Hm?”
As proof, Yoo Gaeun, who had been completely absorbed in eating meat across from him, raised her head and started looking around.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. Did the air conditioner get stronger? Doesn’t it suddenly feel cooler?”
“Just eat your meat.”
“Yay!”
He successfully redirected his younger sister’s attention by putting more meat on her plate.
‘Still...’
Even while grilling, Kangmin kept an eye on the neighboring table.
‘She’s pretty good.’
The woman handled cold qi with remarkable precision.
Being able to cool only a single cup meant she could control it very finely.
‘She’s fairly strong, but the problem is...’
The problem was the woman sitting across from her with the hat pulled low.
‘She looks ready to explode at any moment.’
If the woman with tied hair had ice mana, the woman in the hat had fire mana.
That alone would not have been an issue, but mana constantly churned within her body.
Seeing it, Kangmin let out a quiet sigh.
It was a typical imbalance.
‘She has too much mana.’
Kangmin had seen many people in the martial world suffer from similar conditions.
Usually, they had consumed too many spiritual elixirs. It could also happen to those who had undergone channel widening and acupoint opening from childhood to make cultivating internal qi easier, yet neglected physical training.
‘It usually happens to the children of prominent houses.’
The key was the balance between the body and internal qi.
If someone fell into the belief that internal qi was everything and neglected external arts, problems like that were inevitable.
The woman before him seemed to be in a similar situation.
‘Unlucky.’
There were two ways to restore the balance.
She could train her body until it was able to absorb all that qi.
Otherwise, she would have to regularly release the internal qi that had accumulated inside her.
‘Though I don’t know whether she knows that.’
Most likely, she did not.
Normally, people tried to seal in their qi by any means possible to prevent it from going out of control.
‘It’s strange that she hasn’t already exploded. Is it only because that woman is beside her?’
She was in a situation where it would be easy to suffer qi deviation, but fortunately, someone capable of handling cold qi was beside her, forcibly maintaining the balance.
Even now, cold qi from the woman with tied hair suppressed the heat.
‘Still, there’ll be a limit.’
That was only a temporary measure.
Eventually, it would reach its limit.
‘When that happens...’
If her rampaging mana could not be suppressed in time, it might go beyond mere qi deviation. In the worst case, the surrounding area could be reduced to ashes.
“Tsk.”
Kangmin clicked his tongue.
Gaeun, who had stopped eating, asked him, “What? What’s wrong? If you don’t want to grill the meat, hand over the tongs. I’ll do it.”
“It’s not that.”
Giving up the tongs was a matter of pride.
So Kangmin focused on the meat for now.
She was not about to lose control immediately.
For now, the beef came first.
* * *
“Give me the tongs.”
“I can grill it.”
“Only the side you’re holding is burning.”
Lee Serin looked down at the tongs.
The meat had all been placed on the same grill.
Yet only the meat she had flipped had blackened edges.
“Maybe the grill is the problem.”
“Then I guess the grill has a grudge against only you.”
In the end, her tongs were taken away.
Serin pursed her lips.
The woman across from her was her dedicated manager, Han Jisu, a B-rank ice-type hunter.
Originally, Jisu had managed all of NOVA, but lately she had effectively become Serin’s personal manager.
The reason was Serin’s suddenly increased mana.
As her mana capacity rose, the output of her skills had increased too. Some had even said she now had the potential to reach S-rank.
At first, Serin had been happy.
But as time passed, things worsened.
At first, the phone in her hand would overheat, or cold drinks would turn warm before she could take more than a few sips.
Recently, though, the symptoms had become increasingly severe. At a water-bomb event, she had even heated an entire swimming pool.
That was why Han Jisu, an ice-type hunter, stayed by her side and suppressed her fiery qi as much as possible.
“Haah. I’m the one who wanted beef, so why am I the one grilling it?”
“Because your grilling tastes better, Unni?”
“Flattery won’t get you another piece.”
“That’s so mean.”
Serin pouted.
“You won’t get any by pouting, either.”
“I haven’t even said anything yet.”
“Your face did.”
Serin idly fiddled with her water glass.
Crimson hair that had slipped out from beneath her hat tickled her cheek.
Normally, she would have taken the hat off because it was uncomfortable.
But she could not do that now.
Her hair color was one thing, but if her face were exposed too, this rare meal out might turn into a fan meeting in an instant.
Han Jisu placed some well-cooked meat on Serin’s small plate.
“Hurry and eat. We have to leave early tomorrow too.”
“Okay.”
Serin nodded.
At that moment, hot qi gathered deep in her chest.
‘Again.’
As usual, she steadied her breathing and tried to control her rampaging mana.
“Want help?”
“Yeah...”
Han Jisu hurried to the seat beside her and helped Serin control her mana.
Even so, she could not completely stop the heat from gradually spreading outward.
“Oh my. The fire suddenly got stronger.”
At the words from the neighboring table, Serin’s shoulders flinched.
A middle-aged woman was fanning herself.
‘Did some leak out?’
Jisu seemed to notice too and moved her hand.
She only needed to send out cold qi to counter the spreading heat.
But before she could, the man at the next table spoke.
“Miss. I know it’s hot, but don’t send it this way.”
Caught off guard, Serin panicked.
“W-what?”
“The heat.”
Han Jisu immediately bowed her head.
“Were you inconvenienced? I’m sorry. I’ll take care of it.”
Cold qi formed at her fingertips.
The man shook his head.
“Not you, miss.”
His gaze turned to Serin.
“The person spilling it should clean it up. How long are you going to make the person beside you do it for you?”
“Th-that, h-how do you...?”
“Oppa! What are you suddenly talking about? Stay quiet! The flames just flared up. Why are you taking it out on her?!”
Yoo Gaeun hurriedly tried to stop Yoo Kangmin, but he continued.
“Don’t try to force it down. Just let it go.”
“Oh, seriously! What’s wrong with you?! I-I’m sorry. My brother isn’t a bad person or anything...”
“N-no, it’s okay!”
Serin waved both hands and said she was fine.
At that moment, before she even realized it, heat burst from her hand.
Just as it was about to shoot toward Yoo Gaeun, Kangmin clicked his tongue and held a piece of meat out with his chopsticks.
“Tsk.”
Fwoosh!
The perfectly cooked meat instantly burned black.
“...!”
Serin’s face went pale.
A person had nearly been hurt.
“The meat burned.”
Having casually prevented a disaster, Kangmin calmly set the meat down.
Gaeun blinked, still unable to understand what had happened, but Han Jisu had seen it.
The instant his chopsticks moved, the heat rushing toward Gaeun had gathered into a single piece of meat.
‘What did he just do?’
There was much she wanted to ask, but this was not the time.
“I-I’m sor...”
“Forget apologizing. Breathe.”
“Pardon?”
“Exhale first. Slowly, all the way. Don’t try to forcibly hold the heat in. Let it flow naturally downward.”
Twitch!
Her mana moved.
As she instinctively tried to suppress it, his voice immediately came again.
“You’re holding it again.”
“...!”
At those words, as though bewitched, Serin relaxed.
Then the heat that had gathered in her chest gradually moved downward.
“Huh?”
Why?
The suffocating feeling eased.
Her fingertips were no longer hot.
Han Jisu stared at her with a shocked expression as well.
“Breathe like that for the time being.”
“W-wait. Could you explain what you just said a little more?”
Serin hurriedly took off her glasses.
As she did, some of the crimson hair tucked beneath her hat slipped out.
Clatter.
Gaeun’s chopsticks fell onto her plate.
“S-Serin Unni?”
Only then did Serin look down at her glasses.
She realized her mistake, but it was already too late.
“H-hello.”
“Huh, wow! Th-that’s incredible!”
Just as Gaeun was about to scream, Kangmin tossed a piece of beef into her open mouth.
“Mmph!”
Seizing the moment, Serin said to Gaeun, “Could you keep your voice down a little?”
“Ah!”
Gaeun nodded so hard her neck looked ready to snap.
“You know her?”
Gaeun glared at him.
Her eyes clearly told him to realize how rude he had just been.
“It’s NOVA, you idiot, Oppa!”
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