I Only Baked Bread, but I Was Mistaken for the Best - Chapter 114

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 114. Steel Castella (2)
Having earned substantial profits from Subunseo Cheong, Nuri reinvested most of the money.
Thanks to this, the Moisture Sprout cultivation facilities expanded beyond their previous scale, and a factory where the Gingerbread Man could be deployed was finally constructed.
Yet the investments didn’t stop there, which led to the creation of a research laboratory.
Originally, it was meant to be a space for Nuri to research Gate-origin plants, but when Siwoo joined, it became a place to craft and test various tools as well.
“Good heavens, what is all this commotion?”
And at that very moment, a thunderous explosion echoed from within the research lab.
Because of this, Nuri, Han Yul, myself, and Noir all rushed toward it at once.
Upon arriving at the research lab, where smoke billowed thickly into the air, what greeted us was a scene of utter devastation caused by a powerful blast.
Of course, the two Hunters among us weren’t particularly worried.
“Wooooah! Success!”
Not long after we arrived, Siwoo’s triumphant cry rang out.
“Hahahaha! I knew we could do it! You magnificent thing! Hahahaha!”
Pil-seong joined in, beaming with equal joy.
“What on earth did you do to cause an explosion like that?! Do you have any idea how much this costs?!”
“Ah… I’m so sorry. I got caught up in the flow while conducting durability tests…”
“Don’t be too hard on the kid, Nuri. It couldn’t be helped.”
Though no one was injured, the facility would still require repair expenses.
Muttering “That’s worth fifty million won” under her breath, Nuri stepped aside as Siwoo, who had cast Gigantification to shield against the blast’s impact, turned his head toward me and spoke.
“Huh? But who is this person…?”
“Oh, hello there, Siwoo. I’m Han Seung-hyun, a co-investor in Witchfood. Nuri has mentioned you quite often.”
“The Bakery Owner who appeared on TV recently—you don’t know?”
“Oh! I’m terribly sorry… I’ve been cooped up doing research lately and haven’t watched TV in quite some time…”
As Siwoo deactivated his Gigantification, he scratched his head sheepishly, his face smudged with soot.
Yet an even brighter smile occupied his features.
Seeing him so transformed from when he’d come seeking the Witch’s house for his younger sister’s sake and his own survival, I felt reassured.
Yes, this was what it meant to live—pursuing what you truly wished to do.
“How is your younger sister doing?”
“Huh? How did you know I have a younger sister…?”
“Ah, well… you see… Nuri mentioned it!”
“Ah, I see! Hye-won is still at school! She said she’d stay for evening study sessions, so she’ll probably arrive late. But more importantly… look at this!”
After smoothly glossing over the topic of his younger sister, Siwoo trotted over and thrust something into my hands.
It was a tool that resembled a pot.
Despite having endured such a tremendous explosion, it bore not a single scratch.
This must be that legendary “Kopel” I’d only heard about.
“So this is…?”
“We decided to call it a Thermal Cell Pot! See, the mana stone embedded here generates heat, and…”
Siwoo’s explanation continued, but to be honest, I couldn’t fully grasp what he was saying.
Something about supersaturating the mana within the mana stone to produce heat, and then the direction that heat conducts—it was far too complex for someone like me who’d only ever baked bread.
Though there was one part I understood clearly enough…
“So it can generate heat on its own? And it won’t break from ordinary impacts?”
“Yes! Since it needs to be used in Gates! I used the same alloy we use for Hunter armor!”
With embedded mana stones generating the heat, there was no need for a separate heat source.
Moreover, because it utilized special materials, it could withstand ordinary impacts.
It seemed the explosion from earlier had occurred while testing it.
And the way the small containers could be stacked and fit perfectly inside each other—it really did feel just like a ‘Koppe’.
“With this, the food situation inside Gates could change completely!”
Siwoo hugged his invention tightly, unable to hide his anticipation.
Ah, I know that feeling.
Because I felt it too.
The excitement of placing bread I’d made with all my effort on the shelf for the first time and waiting for customers’ reactions.
How much more profound must those feelings be for something created after returning from death.
“Then shall we try making bread with this?”
“Huh? With this?”
“I’ve been thinking about it since I first heard about it.”
When I first made castella, I had to consider the heat source as well.
With water, using Subunseo Cheong was sufficient, but heat was different.
Not every raid party secured Hunters with flame-type skills in their roster.
So initially, I’d conceived of a package shaped like combat rations that generated heat when you pulled a lever.
But if Siwoo’s invention existed, things would be different.
There was no reason to make incomplete, inferior bread through one-time heat generation.
“Let’s give it a try.”
I pulled out a zipper bag from the castella kit I’d brought.
Just add water and the stick to the pre-mixed flour already inside, seal the opening tightly, and shake—that’s it.
“And then cut the end and pour it into here…”
I placed the batter into the built-in foldable heat-resistant container, fitted it snugly into the Thermal Cell Pot, and activated it.
Just pressing a few buttons released heat radiating through the mana stones.
Soon, as I gazed at the perfectly risen, appetizing castella, a status window appeared.
Ding
[Steel Castella]
▷ A castella designed for easy preparation. Through the perfect combination of cockatrice eggs, fairy wing powder, and golden wheat flour, it possesses a moist yet fragrant taste.
▷ Effects
① Stone Wall: Petrifies the body for 2 hours, increasing defense by 300%.
Long duration and excellent defensive performance.
That alone would make Hunters absolutely seek out this bread.
But if that were all, I would never have acknowledged it as bread.
“Mmm! This is delicious!”
“Wow. You really made bread like this?”
“Huh. This is much tastier than what you’d buy from ordinary bakeries.”
All three of us who tasted it gave favorable reviews about the flavor.
A perfect success, in other words.
Siwoo’s thermal cell port presented no issues whatsoever.
Then only one thing remained.
“Let’s launch it.”
“Yes! We’re already fully prepared!”
Witch Food’s new product was ready for deployment.
* * *
“Sigh. How am I supposed to process this?”
The man fluttered the report in his hand as he exhaled a heavy sigh.
Hair dyed yellow and slicked back in a pompadour.
He wore a garishly colorful Hawaiian shirt, complete with black sunglasses.
In sandals and jangling accessories, he looked exactly like some neighborhood thug, though within South Korea, there was scarcely anyone who would dare say so.
“Guild Master. Please maintain some dignity.”
“Ah, you’re really something. Tsk. I should’ve just turned him over to the police back then.”
“Indoor sunglasses. Incomprehensible.”
“Ah, I got it!”
Let me correct myself.
There was at least one person in South Korea who would—Soo-min.
At Soo-min’s words, he quickly removed the sunglasses he’d been wearing, revealing eyes stained yellow.
It wasn’t dye or contact lenses.
It was simply a bodily transformation caused by his awakened skill, ‘Stellar Radiance.’
His body had adapted to accommodate the powerful skill that required him to absorb starlight.
S-rank Hunter and Guild Master of the Reaper Guild, Hwang Chi-ho, clicked his tongue and continued.
“Anyway, I’m serious—how am I supposed to process this?”
Recently, he’d been quite troubled.
The Guild Master was an S-rank Hunter.
And the Vice Guild Master was solidly A-rank.
So why would such a guild’s master be troubled?
“You. What exactly happened?”
“No comment.”
“Ugh.”
During this recent conquest, Soo-min had surpassed her previous ceiling.
Though she still remained at A-rank, Chi-ho could say with certainty:
She had obtained the enlightenment to reach S-rank in the near future.
‘At that point, she might even match me. Or perhaps… surpass me.’
Unlike himself, who could do nothing but manipulate starlight, Soo-min had somehow learned to execute virtually every form of magic.
Their recent sparring session had been shocking.
She could dismantle his attacks with merely a few finger movements.
‘Probably, if I’m excluded, magic-type hunters won’t stand a chance against Soo-min.’
So was this why his head ached?
That wasn’t it.
Now that I regarded my niece with affection, Soo-min’s growth was something to welcome, not something to stress over.
Then what on earth was….
“We’re severely understaffed.”
The reason was none other than the deaths of raid members from the Frozen Pulse Gate.
The personnel who had participated in this gate raid were essentially the elite of the Reaper Guild.
They had a deep understanding of magic and had worked together for so long that they moved in perfect synchronization.
“I never thought something like this would happen.”
But they were completely annihilated.
The only one who returned alive was Soo-min, the vice guild master.
This alone dealt a tremendous blow to the Reaper Guild.
Guilds that lost their elite always followed the path to quietly disappearing or being disbanded.
“The only people left are those who were on standby….”
As the saying goes, even rotten fish is still fish.
Despite suffering massive personnel losses, the Reaper Guild’s members hadn’t completely vanished.
However, these weren’t elite.
Those who had been with the guild for a long time but had clear limitations in their skills and abilities.
Or mostly newcomers who still hadn’t grasped how to use their own skills.
With such clearly defined limitations, tackling A-rank Gates like before was nearly impossible.
“Is there really no way….”
“Training needed.”
“I know that too. We need to recruit more personnel urgently.”
The advantage of magic-type hunters is the ability to attack freely from a distance.
But the remaining personnel now had magic skills only useful in close range.
No matter how much training we provide, could we overcome the inherent limitations of their skills?
“Plus, the Church keeps applying pressure too. It’s infuriating.”
Losing hunters with high utility skills was also a major blow.
Taking advantage of that gap, the Church side has been making aggressive recruitment of various utility-type hunters and continuing to make proposals—if you could call them that.
I called them “proposals” for a reason.
“What? Five hundred million per session as compensation for lending hunters with protection and healing skills? Are they joking? Money-grubbing bastards.”
The Church now wasn’t what it used to be—those who followed God.
Instead, it had become a corrupted organization obsessed with power and chasing only money.
At least, that’s what Chi-ho thought.
“I really can’t just burn it all down.”
“Method exists.”
“Huh? There’s a way?”
“Affirmative. Please check.”
Saying so, Soo-min searched something on her phone and showed me the screen.
Four large characters were displayed on the screen.
“Witches’ Food? Isn’t this the place that sold Subunseo Cheong?”
“Affirmative.”
Witch Food, and Subunseo Cheong.
Witch Food was the company that had drastically diminished the Church’s influence by developing Subunseo Cheong, which enabled smooth moisture supply within gates where water replenishment was otherwise difficult.
Perhaps numerous money-grubbing hypocrites wearing crosses while harboring no faith in God were grinding their teeth over this very fact.
The mere thought of it brought Chi-ho genuine satisfaction.
“But why bring this up all of a sudden?”
“New product launch.”
“What? A new product?”
“Affirmative. Defense increase of 300%.”
“A threefold increase in defense? Wait… then that means….”
Chi-ho’s mind raced at the unprecedented performance of a 300% defense boost.
And the conclusion crystallized.
“This is it. This is our only answer.”
“Already purchased 1,000 units from the initial batch.”
“No. That’s not enough.”
“Question?”
It was precisely when Soo-min tilted her head in confusion at Chi-ho’s insistence that 1,000 units—secured with impressive speed—were insufficient.
“Buy everything available right now. All of it. If we run short on funds, just tell me. I’ll provide my personal card.”
S-rank Hunters were invariably wealthy.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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