“…penter.”
“…”
“Mister Carpenter!”
Ji Chulmook, who had been reminiscing about the past, snapped back to reality thanks to Chun Haekwang’s loud calling.
“Did you call me?”
“Yes, sir. Why don’t you join me for lunch? I’m making dumplings.”
“Dumplings, eh…? That sounds good.”
Chun Haekwang then began heading for the kitchen at Ji Chulmook’s answer.
“Oh, by the way.”
“What is it?”
“Don’t you think our cook is pretty?”
“UGH!”
Ji Chulmook felt like he got sick from the dumplings even though he had not eaten it yet.
“We’re here.”
Kang Hyuk said, and all of the students behind him immediately raised their arms up high instinctively.
“Yeahhh!!!”
“We’re finally back at the Academy!!”
They were truly glad to be back. The Academy used to be a place of boredom. As such, they wished that they got out of the Academy at least once. But now that they did, they realized that the Academy was a safe haven that provided them with comfort and opportunity with no danger.
“You have done a good job. I and Elder Shim will report to the Principal, so all of you can go ahead and take a rest.”
“Yes, sir! Thank you.”
All students bowed to show respect as Kang Hyuk waved, dismissing them.
“It seems they’re really happy to be back.”
Baek Kap said, and Kang Hyuk nodded.
“Of course they are.”
Byuk Aerin then smiled slightly as she spoke.
“And I’m sure they are not aware.”
“Aware of what?”
“That they have extra sessions on the afternoon starting tomorrow.”
Students in the Academy were never allowed to skip their classes. As such, even if they left the Academy due to missions or such, they were forced to take extra classes to make up those sessions. At least, that was the case for Martial Arts classes.
Of course, Kang Hyuk felt no remorse for these students who will be taking those extra sessions starting tomorrow.
‘They brought this upon themselves, haha.’
After finishing his report to Eun Myungmyung, Kang Hyuk returned to his house. Baek Kap was already back at the residence, cleaning up while Byuk Aerin was preparing a delicious dinner.
“Woof woof!”
Deuk ran around, wagging his tail at the sight of Kang Hyuk.
“Good boy. Are you happy to see me?”
“Welcome back, sir.”
Chun Haekwang bowed.
“Yes. How did it go while I was not around?”
“There was nothing unusual. I do have few things to report, however.”
“I see.”
“Oh, and also… Teacher Tang Euna and Ok Haemi visited early in the morning to see you. They both said that they will return in the future. Mister Carpenter also came. It seems the construction of the storage shed is finished.”
“Good. I see.”
After dinner, Kang Hyuk headed for the Yeonkyo Garden alone to have a look at the storage. He remembered what Ji Chulmook had said to him before.
“If you don’t inspect it for the last time, it is not finished even if the construction is finished!”
Kang Hyuk smiled.
‘He must be getting nervous even when he’s already done with the building.’
As Kang Hyuk arrived at the storage building, Ji Chulmook quickly scurried toward him with a nervous look.
“B-big brother!”
“Yeah, is the storage finished?”
“Yes, it is finished!”
Ji Chulmook had a hint of pride in his eyes as he replied, which gave Kang Hyuk an eerie feeling.
‘He always makes something extraordinary when he makes that kind of face…’
Kang Hyuk merely wanted an ordinary storage shed to store ordinary gardening tools. He did not want to have some sort of magnum opus. But in front of Kang Hyuk, was a building that seemed to scream extraordinary.
“Ta-da! This is the building!”
Ji Chulmook pointed at the building with both hands. It was about twenty feet wide.
“If you see here, the entrance has a special padlock on it to avoid any burglary. The door handle is created with an angle that contours best with the ergonomics of a human body…”
It was clear that the building was made at the highest level of his skills, just from hearing the explanation of door handles.
“If you forcefully open this door without the key, then the trap in front of the entrance will activate. The floor will open up, pulling the trespasser down into the pit where thousands of needles are waiting.
“I only wanted you to make a storage shed. Why is there a trap?”
“It’s not just a storage shed! It’s YOUR gardening tool storage shed! Besides, one of my finest masterpieces is inside this building.”
“Your masterpiece?”
“Yeah!”
Ji Chulmook then opened the entrance and proudly walked in. He then opened a door that was in front of him.
“Look at those tools hanging on the shelves!”
At the direction where Ji Chulmook pointed were a bunch of gardening tools hanging on the walls. These tools seemed to be very elegantly crafted. Kang Hyuk went for the sickles.
“Hmm? The hilt seems very durable. Did you use a teel Wood?”
Steel Wood was a type of wood that had the durability of steel. As such, it was known to be hard to cut down. As for crafting, its cost was very expensive.
“Yeah! We can’t afford a broken hilt, right?”
“That’s true.”
“As for its blade, I mixed Cold Iron with Flame Iron along with some steel to increase its durability, and kept its energy characteristics balanced on both sides.”
All these metals were known for their strengths. Cold Iron was iron that contained cold energy while Flame Iron contained heat energy. It was amazing that Ji Chulmook had gotten his hands on these metals, but it was more amazing that he actually mixed them in. These two types of iron were famous for not being able to unify as one.
“Hmm?”
The sickle was unbelievably light. All those three metals were very durable but were very heavy as a trade-off.
“Did you also use Light Steel?”
“Oh! I knew you would notice it, Big Brother!”
Light Steel was a type of metal that was light enough to float on water. It made any metal that it gets mixed with become light, so it was widely used for jewelry to ease the weight. Unfortunately, it was not widely used for weapons as taking off weight usually resulted in a less powerful weapon.
Of course, the weight of a weapon became pointless once the user got close to the stage of a superior master.
“I mixed in Light Steel since students will be using it. It shouldn’t be that heavy.”
“I see. Good. That is a fine job, indeed.”
“Thank you, big brother!”