"Hmmph. You've done a good job, but you overdid it."
"W-what? Don't you like it?"
Ji Chulmook asked back in shock, with Kang Hyuk sighing in response.
"Well, what's done is done. I guess I just have to be careful."
"Of course."
Ji Chulmook then handed the key to Kang Hyuk as he spoke.
"All those traps and devices will not activate if the entrance is opened with this key. It is just a regular storage building if one came in with it. Hahaha."
"That's a relief."
"Besides, none of these anti-theft measures are life-threatening by any means. It just hurts a lot. Hahaha!"
Fortunately, Ji Chulmook was not one to go overboard too much.
'But why did he have to install so many anti-theft measures? There's nothing worth much in there… gosh.'
And that's when Ji Chulmook clapped his hand.
"Oh! I forgot to tell you one more thing."
"What is it?"
"I heard that students may come to the storage to fetch tools, so I hung up a motto in the room. Just for the students."
"A motto?"
"Yeah. It is a motto given to students of Hwachun Academy, from Elder Ji Chulmook of the Hwachun Clan."
"Uh-you mean that? There's no need to explain. I've seen it already."
"Oh, you did? Haha. That's good."
Kang Hyuk let out a sigh. The motto was surely very eye-catching, to say the least.
It was very late at night. A man was wearing tight-fitting black clothing with a black mask. It was obvious that this man was up to no good. He was looking at a certain direction as he stood on top of the roof of a building. He was looking at the Hwachun Academy.
'That's the place where the Bamboo Sword Emperor's masterpiece is being stored?'
This man was a renowned thief. He had proven himself through many of his works and was now being called the Great Thief. The secret to his success was simple. All he did was blend into his target place as if he had been there since the beginning, and wait for the opportunity to arise then which he s.n.a.t.c.hes the item and escapes. As such, he was also given the nickname of 'Unwanted Guest.'
Now, this unwanted guest was aiming for a new target.
He had heard a weird rumor recently. There was a rumor that Ji Chulmook's family had created a true masterpiece. Ji Chulmook's family was famous for being one of the pillars of Hwachun Clan and renowned martial artists, but they were also famous for being master weaponsmiths. All weapons crafted by the family were considered G.o.dly weapons, still being used by many of the finest warriors to aid in their conquest.
But the weirdest part of this rumor was that this masterpiece was now being stored at Hwachun Academy, specifically at the Yeonkyo Garden where horticulture lessons are being held at.
People considered the rumor to be falsified due to this reason, but Unwanted Guest confirmed that the rumor was not falsified at all. As evidence, he found a large amount of steel, Cold Iron, as well as Flame Iron being hauled into Ji Chulmook's mansion's forge and witnessed Ji Chulmook return to his home after all these years. In addition to this, he also confirmed that carriages were hauling something that seemed to be weapons created with those metals, heading towards the Academy.
He smiled from the opportunity. If he was successful to get his hands on the weapon created by Ji Chulmook's family, it was going to bring him fortune, as well as increase his fame.
This was surely an opportunity. Such a treasure was now being housed in an Academy that had weak security. Of course, it was an academy ran by the Hwachun Clan, so it had higher than average security, but it was still lacking in standards for the Unwanted Guest.
'Always take precautions. Let's dig into it first.'
It was the next morning. All of the staff in Hwachun Academy were called to gather in the yard. The Head of Staff was standing in front of everyone with someone by his side.
"Good morning everyone! I hope you all have a wonderful day today! But first, let me introduce our new staff! You can call him Mr. Cho!"
Mr. Cho looked like an ordinary man, smiling in a friendly manner as he introduced himself.
"Please call me Mr. Cho. I am 30 years old and I am good at heavy lifting. Call me if you need me!"
"Okay! Now, let us all go to our stations and begin our day!"
The Head of Staff then spoke to Mr. Cho.
"You can head to the campsites."
"Where is it?"
"There. The entrance to that forest is Yeonkyo Garden. If you go past that and cross a small bridge, there's the campsite. We have to prepare the site as we have the Spring Camp coming soon."
"Spring Camp? What is that?"
"It's an annual event. We camp out each season and since it's already spring, we have to prepare for it."
"I see."
"Off you go then."
The head bowed and went back to his office. Mr. Cho bowed, but his friendliness was now gone that no one was around. He was the Unwanted Guest. He had disguised himself as an Academy staff to sneak into the Academy. Being hired as a staff of Academy wasn't easy, but he had achieved it with a little bit of lying and tricks. It wouldn't last very long but that was enough time for him to get the target and escape.
'Should I go then?'
