Invincible Mumu - Chapter 42

WeTried Translations

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

Editor: Abstract

Chapter 42: ──────

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The First Class (1)

To her, archery was both love and resentment at once.

She was doing her best for the master who had taken her in, no, to uphold the dignity of the Sichuan Bow Emperor, but at some point her archery had stopped progressing.

Her senior brother had already reached the 7th tier of the Flowing Fire Bow Art, while she had only managed the 4th.

A full year had passed without her breaking through to the 5th tier, so she grit her teeth and even cut short her leaves to train every single night.

Even then, her archery still refused to improve.

Because of this, her nerves had worn down to a razor's edge, and she wouldn't tolerate anyone watching her train.

"Die!"

Thwack! Thwack!

"N-Na-yeon. I was just spotting you..."

"Shut your mouth and die!"

Cho Na-yeon stomped like a woman possessed on Oh In-haeng, who lay sprawled flat on his back.

Of course, she wasn't stomping hard enough to actually kill him, just enough to vent.

Her venting only stopped once Oh In-haeng passed out.

"Haah... haah..."

That felt a little better now.

Lately Ki Ma-jin hadn't been showing up as much, and now some other random guy was sneaking looks at her training.

Maybe her reaction seemed oversensitive, but did anyone wonder why she trained alone at night when no one was around?

Because she didn't want anyone watching her, that was why.

And yet someone sneaking a look anyway was practically an insult to her.

"Um... he's out cold."

At the voice coming from somewhere, Cho Na-yeon turned to look.

There stood Mumu, an arrow stuck in Ki Ma-jin's rear end, hauling him over one shoulder.

Cho Na-yeon's brow furrowed.

'My arrow?'

So that one had been watching too?

Cho Na-yeon kicked her bow up off the ground, caught it, pulled an arrow free, and drew the string.

Mumu waved his hands at her.

"Don't shoot. I just need to take this senior with me."

"That's a laugh. You've got some nerve saying that after peeping on someone's martial arts training."

Twang!

She let the string go, and the arrow tore through the air with a fierce whistle.

Mumu snatched the arrow flying straight at him out of the air with one hand, easy as anything.

Cho Na-yeon's eyes narrowed at the sight.

She'd put enough force behind it to give him a real scare, yet he'd caught it far too casually.

'...He's no ordinary one.'

Judging by that young face, one she'd never seen before, he had to be a new cadet.

But catching an arrow that fast, dead on target, meant he had some real skill.

Arrow in hand, Mumu started walking toward her.

"There's been a misunderstanding. I'll just take this senior and leave your training be, so..."

Thwip!

Mumu's words weren't even finished.

Cho Na-yeon pulled two arrows from her quiver and fired them at Mumu. At the same instant she drew a third, spun her body through a step, and loosed it in a curving arc.

Two arrows flying straight at him.

And one, strangely, curved off and sailed away from Mumu entirely.

But that was the trick.

'Willow Curve Shot.'

This was Willow Curve Shot, one of the techniques of the Flowing Fire Bow Art.

The arrow bent through the air and curved right back around behind Mumu.

A method that put spin on the shaft to alter its path mid-flight.

Three arrows converging from three directions, how would he possibly dodge or block them all?

Mumu set Ki Ma-jin down off his shoulder and caught the two arrows flying in from either side with both hands at once.

Thwack! Thwack!

"Ah."

A gasp slipped from her lips.

Unlike before, the first two arrows carried a deliberate "tremor" that made their paths unstable.

Yet he had read them perfectly and caught both at the same moment.

He had good eyes.

But then,

'What is he doing?'

The Willow Curve Shot was arcing around to strike from behind, and he wasn't even trying to dodge.

Alarmed, she shouted.

"Behind you!"

Mumu whipped his head around.

Thwack!

Something struck home.

At the sight, Cho Na-yeon shot toward Mumu in a panic.

Anyone with even a shred of Ki sense should have known instantly that the Willow Curve Shot would bend back around, so why hadn't he...

Whoosh!

Then she saw it. The arrow was clenched between Mumu's teeth, his head still turned.

'!?'

Cho Na-yeon, halfway to him, stopped dead, stunned speechless.

She'd assumed he would obviously dodge the arrow coming from behind, and instead he'd caught it in his mouth.

It was almost too absurd to process.

'Wait, there's ki behind that shot.'

Cho Na-yeon's eyes went wide.

Unless someone could focus their internal energy into their mouth in that split second, they'd end up with cracked teeth or a torn-open mouth.

Crunch!

Then the arrow clamped between Mumu's teeth snapped in two.

At the two broken halves lying on the ground, Mumu lifted a hand slightly.

"Ah... sorry about that."

He said it like it was nothing at all.

"......"

Watching him with a look of pure disbelief, Cho Na-yeon lowered the bow in her hands, feeling suddenly hollow.

'Do I really have no talent for this?'

Even if he was only a floor leader's peer level, still, a mere first-year cadet had just blocked her bow technique.

And not even with his hands, but with his mouth.

The wave of emptiness washing over her was beyond words.

Seeing the bitter look on her face, Mumu scratched his head and said,

"I think there's been a misunderstanding... this senior and I just came here to catch Senior Ki Ma-jin, who snuck out of the dorm without permission."

"...Is that so."

Already emotionally drained, she waved her hand at his words.

A gesture telling him to just take the man and go.

Just then, Ki Ma-jin, still sprawled on the ground, mumbled something.

"Mmmm... Cho Na-yeon... you... suit a sword... more than a bow... mmph."

Words that had slipped out unconsciously, like sleep-talk.

"Who asked you!"

At those words, Cho Na-yeon's face twisted with fury, flushing red.

She was already struggling to make up for her lack of talent through sheer effort, and now she had to hear something like that from some Peeping Tom who did nothing but spy on people.

Thoroughly offended, Cho Na-yeon pulled out an arrow, intending to put it through Ki Ma-jin's other cheek.

Mumu stepped in and blocked with his body.

"That's enough."

"Move."

Cho Na-yeon said, her eyes reddening.

Others might think lightly of it, but archery was everything to her.

Even if she had talent with some other weapon instead.

"I said move!"

"Both cheeks feels a bit harsh, don't you think?"

"......"

At Mumu's interference, a single tear slid down Cho Na-yeon's right eye.

Her voice choked as she muttered.

"Who do you think you are... who are you to decide whether I have talent for archery or not..."

"Why are you listening so closely to what other people say?"

"What?"

At Mumu's sudden question, Cho Na-yeon's fine brow furrowed in confusion.

To her puzzled look, Mumu answered, fiddling with the arrow in his hand.

"My father told me. If you're lacking in something, you just fill that gap, so don't let yourself get shaken by whatever bad things other people say."

"......"

At Mumu's unexpected words, Cho Na-yeon's cheek twitched slightly.

She never expected to receive comfort like that from a junior she'd only just met.

She wiped her tears with her sleeve, and with the corners of her lips lifting slightly, she gave a small laugh.

"Your father sounds wise."

"He is."

"Then, from what you saw, do you think you know what's lacking in my archery?"

It had been a long time since she'd sparred with anyone using her bow.

It hadn't been at full strength, of course, but since Mumu had actually caught her techniques, she wondered if he might have noticed something she was missing.

At her question, Mumu tilted his head slightly.

'Hmm.'

He hadn't really thought about it at all.

He'd only been focused on catching the arrows flying at him.

But looking at the eager gleam in Cho Na-yeon's eyes, she clearly expected some kind of answer from him.

After a moment's thought, Mumu said, "Ah."

"Maybe you're lacking in strength?"

"...Strength?"

At that, Cho Na-yeon almost laughed.

He'd meant well with the comfort, but he really was just a new cadet who didn't understand archery.

The bow was a weapon where tension and spring mattered most.

If strength were the issue, she'd have built up more internal energy long ago, but that would only get her so far before...

Fwoooosh!

At that instant, something shot past right beside her.

It moved so fast her hair whipped violently.

Crack!

The sound of impact came from behind her.

In her vision, Mumu stood in a throwing stance, as if he'd just hurled something.

She slowly turned her head, and,

'!?'

There, buried deep in the wall of the special-grade training hall, was her own arrow.

Craaack!

The wall began to split slowly from the point where the arrow had struck, and soon a hole half a jang wide had opened straight through.

Her mouth fell open slightly at the sight.

The special-grade training hall, unlike the other training halls, was built of Gyeseseok stone.

That meant even an impact backed by considerable internal energy shouldn't crack it, and an arrow, even loaded with full force, should only manage to lodge its tip in a little way.

Yet this arrow had nearly punched clean through, and the wall hadn't even been able to withstand the shock, tearing open into a hole?

'Ha......'

To her, speechless, Mumu said,

"If you're lacking strength, you just add more strength."

"What kind of logic is... ah!"

Cho Na-yeon's eyes went wide.

Until now, she had obsessed only over hitting a fixed target with pinpoint accuracy, chasing precision above everything else.

But that hadn't been the right answer at all.

If the force from the arrow could be transferred outward into the surroundings, it could produce a far greater effect.

The hole punched through that wall was living proof of exactly that.

"Aaah!"

Her face lit up with realization.

She had finally found the thread that could carry her up to the 5th tier of the Flowing Fire Bow Art.

Overjoyed, she looked at Mumu.

'To think he'd lead me to it like that.'

How foolish she'd been.

That vague comment about filling in whatever strength she lacked must have been meant to let her work out for herself exactly what she was missing.

To show such kindness in a place as cutthroat as Changcheon Martial Academy, where everyone competed against everyone else... even as a first-year, he had a character admirable enough to leave her in awe.

"Why are you staring like that?"

At Mumu's question, Cho Na-yeon startled and whipped her head away.

Looking a little embarrassed, she twisted her legs together and said,

"Th... thanks. Thanks to you, I know what I was missing."

She wanted to thank him more properly, but the moment their eyes met, she felt strangely shy.

She couldn't quite name what this feeling was.

"Glad to hear it. Guess I'll get going then. Up we go!"

Mumu hoisted the unconscious Oh In-haeng and Ki Ma-jin, one over each shoulder, and turned to leave.

'Ah......'

He could have easily basked in giving her that realization and lorded it over her a little, but the sight of him leaving without a shred of attachment to the moment made her see him in an even different light. She called after him.

"W-wait a second. What's your name?"

"Me? Mumu."

"Mumu......"

An unusual name, she thought.

After Mumu left, she found herself repeating that name in her head for a long while.

* * *

The next day,

Mo Il-hwa doubled over laughing, holding her stomach.

"Pfft, hahahaha. What do you mean? So you got lectured by that senior who fainted for over an hour in the middle of the night?"

"Yeah... it got pretty tiring."

Mumu had never known Oh In-haeng could talk that much.

He waved a hand as if exhausted just thinking about it.

Watching him, Jin-hyeok clicked his tongue inwardly.

He genuinely wondered how one person could keep running into this many incidents.

'You really are something else.'

Just then, Hae Ryang of the Hao clan approached and greeted them.

"Good morning, everyone. Have you all finished registering for your electives?"

"Of course!"

Mo Il-hwa pulled a paper out from inside her robe.

The paper listed the various courses available for enrollment.

Among them, the papers stamped with a red seal marked the required courses that all first-year cadets had to take.

[Understanding Graceful Movement Skills]

[Fist and Foot Techniques, and Bare-Handed Combat]

[Introduction to Weapons]

[Basic Defense Against Heterodox Demonic Arts]

[Advanced Introduction to Internal Energy Studies]

[Applications of Grappling Holds]

[Practical Sparring]

[The Great Learning]

Those were the eight required courses every first-year had to take, without exception.

Beyond those eight required courses, cadets also had to complete three to four elective courses.

At first, Mo Il-hwa had suggested they coordinate and take the same electives together, but according to what Hae Ryang had found out, if you failed to register for the elective you wanted, you might end up stuck with a class you hated. He said it would be better for each of them to pick their own.

So they'd decided to each choose their own electives separately.

"Here's what I picked."

[History of the Martial World]

[Basics of Point-Pressing Techniques]

[Basics of Antidote Techniques]

Even though they were electives, most of the options were dull, dry things, so Mo Il-hwa had looked them over carefully and picked the ones she actually wanted to learn.

Most of them were also the kind she could easily pull good grades in.

Jin-hyeok, on the other hand, had chosen,

[Advanced Internal Force Manipulation]

[Differences Between Frontier Martial Arts and Central Plains Martial Arts]

[Deep Understanding of Breathing Techniques and Meridians]

"...Ugh, those really look boring."

Mo Il-hwa clicked her tongue at Jin-hyeok's choice of electives.

She had no idea why he'd pick nothing but the hardest ones to score well in.

Mo Il-hwa then turned to Mumu and asked,

"What about you, Mumu?"

"Me?"

Mumu pulled out his own registration paper.