I Only Baked Bread, but I Was Mistaken for the Best - Chapter 116

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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 116. Steel Castella (4)
“Huh? What is this?”
“You got it too?”
“I got it as well, but what exactly is this?”
The murmuring grew louder and louder.
The effects of the Castella were manifesting.
Seeing this, Chi-ho nodded in approval.
‘I knew I could trust this.’
Though Wichi Food had no direct connection to him, he possessed a certain faith in it.
Faith that the owner who established and operated Wichi Food was quite favorable toward Hunters.
Otherwise, there’s no way they would have created Subunseo Cheong to stand against the Church, which uses gate conquests as a pretext to satisfy their own greed.
‘And with this, it will definitely be effective.’
Congratulating himself on his plan moving one step closer to fruition, Chi-ho took a bite of his Castella.
‘Damn, this tastes incredible. Really.’
Truly a destructive flavor.
As an S-rank Hunter who had always possessed considerable wealth, his palate was inevitably refined.
Nothing short of a gourmet course at a fine hotel or Michelin-level cuisine could satisfy his taste.
Yet this Castella, resembling something like a hotteok mix sold at a convenience store, delivered satisfaction beyond imagination.
Soft and sweetly delicious.
The fact that such simple texture and flavor could evoke such satisfaction when conveyed so intuitively was remarkable.
‘The skill is impressive, but producing this effect is even more extraordinary. Could they be a crafting-class Hunter with exceptional ability?’
Moreover, the Castella’s effect was to increase defense by 300% for two hours after consumption.
At first glance, one might think it wasn’t such an overwhelming effect.
But to Chi-ho, who had spent nearly his entire life rolling through gates since becoming a Hunter, it appeared entirely different.
‘The duration is absolutely overwhelming.’
While it’s true that gate conquests take considerable time, the actual intense battles end quickly.
It has to be that way.
How often would battles last days on end, like some legendary hero’s tale?
In that regard, maintaining the effect for two hours is remarkably reliable.
‘Beyond the destructive 300% multiplier, what matters more is that all defensive stats increase.’
The status window divides defense into three major categories.
Physical defense, magical defense, and resistance.
Direct impacts fall under physical defense, while magic falls under magical defense.
And when resistance increases, one becomes immune to debuffs like mental attacks or poison.
But a blanket 300% increase in defense with no specific criteria?
‘That’s literally becoming steel.’
Perhaps that’s why they named it this way.
Chi-ho thought while looking at the product name written on the packaging.
‘Steel Castella’ was what it said.
It would truly be no different from steel itself.
The hunters of the Reaper Guild who had just eaten the castella were now transformed.
“Everyone! Prepare for the assault! We have fifteen minutes! Regroup here after equipment check!”
“Yes, Guild Leader!”
Gone was the defeatist air that had hung over the guild members moments before.
Simply eating something delicious had lifted their spirits considerably.
Of course, none of them had gained confidence in their own abilities from this alone.
That was something they would build in the days ahead.
When the promised time passed and they advanced once more.
“Whispers sighted ahead! The count is… the count is…”
“Report!”
“Over fifty of them, sir!”
As they turned down a corridor, Whispers erupted from all sides as if they had been waiting.
The creatures twisted their grotesquely contorted faces and smacked their lips—enough to instill terror in any hunter.
“Hold your positions! Prepare for engagement!”
Even as Chi-ho issued the command, he exchanged a meaningful glance with Soo-min.
Training was important, as was assessing the enhanced abilities of the guild members who had eaten the castella, but above all else came safety.
Having already lost many comrades, he could not afford to lose those close to him.
“Something could go wrong, so you need to be ready.”
“Understood. Magical deployment preparations complete.”
Soo-min stood tense, her hand resting on the mana nodes nearby, braced for any contingency.
And so the Whispers and guild members clashed.
“Hrooooooo.”
“Guh… gaaahhh!”
Just as before, one hunter failed to respond properly and allowed the creature to reach his ear.
What would happen next was predictable.
The hunter would fall into mental confusion and become combat-ineffective.
But…
“Huh? What? Why am I fine?”
“Hrooo?”
“What is this? Die! [Fireball]!”
“Hroooooong…”
The Whisper let out a pathetic cry and burst into flames from the hunter’s spell.
The battle ended so anticlimactically that the hunter himself stood wide-eyed, staring down at his own hands.
“What is this… that status window… is it real?”
The anomalies did not stop there.
“My defense skill got even stronger!”
“It doesn’t hurt? It doesn’t hurt at all!”
“Hey! Aim properly! Why are you casting magic at me!”
“It doesn’t hurt anyway! Just go wild!”
The stats of hunters possessing defensive skills had increased by exactly three times.
The range, the precision, the stability—all of it was perfect.
Moreover, the Hunters struck by the stray magic didn’t even feel any pain.
Some of them even deliberately smashed their heads against the ruins’ walls to test if it was real.
But what shattered wasn’t the Hunter’s head—it was the wall.
“Ha ha… Is this really happening?”
The fifty Whispers were quickly eliminated.
It wasn’t just because they no longer needed to protect themselves.
“Do you know why I haven’t used my skills until now?! You phantom bastards!”
Boom!
“Ah! This feels so good! Really! No more worries and it’s amazing!”
Boom! Crash! Boom boom boom!
Most of those here were Hunters who couldn’t properly control their skills or hadn’t fully awakened them.
They were Hunters whose range was too short or whose power control was so difficult that they caused damage to their nearby colleagues or themselves.
Because of this, they couldn’t use their primary skills.
“Ah! This pathetic thing!”
That Hunter swinging his fists with a beaming smile was one with range problems.
He possessed an explosion skill with tremendous destructive power, but with a range of less than 30 centimeters, he couldn’t properly unleash his ability.
But not anymore.
He was now tearing through the Whispers while the Castella’s defense negated the impact on himself.
“Hahahaha! Die! All of you die!”
What about the Hunter spreading lightning in all directions with both arms extended?
He possessed a powerful electric-type skill with no limit to its discharge, but because its impact points were random, he had been causing damage to his surroundings.
But now that concern had vanished, and he was unleashing his full power, firing thick bolts of lightning across the entire area.
And that wasn’t all.
“This is really… amazing…”
“I agree…”
Those who had been unable to display their power for various reasons were now dominating the monsters like tanks firing magical bombardments.
Focusing only on offense without any thought to defense, their appearance resembled that of berserkers—or rather, battle mages.
“Guild Leader! We’ve cleared them all!”
“Still going strong!”
“May we advance to the next sector!”
Perhaps because they were pouring out all the anguish they’d accumulated until now.
All those Whispers were ground to dust.
Chi-ho’s prediction had been exactly right, and he lifted the corners of his mouth in a crooked smile as he spoke.
“Alright! Kill them all!”
“Uuuaaahhhhh!”
And that day, the trainees of the Reaper Guild, wrapped in torrents of magical power, charged forward and in exactly three seconds, defeated the B-rank danger boss monster, “The Weeping Woman.”
It was a new record that far surpassed the previous fifteen-second record held by Yu Ha-neul, which they had thought would never be broken.
* * *
“This is no joke. This…”
“I really didn’t expect it to reach this scale.”
A few days had passed since I returned from the capital and resumed operating the bakery as usual.
Then an incident erupted that shook the entire nation.
It was news that the Reaper Guild had organized a new squadron.
Simultaneously, the guild side released combat footage taken during the operation to publicize the squadron.
Right now, after Haeryang and I finished our business, we were watching the direct cam through YouTube.
“The squadron is called Wormage, right? The combat style really suits the name ‘Battle Mage.'”
I nodded at Haeryang’s words.
The strategy of these hunters, confirmed through the footage, was remarkably simple.
Minimize defense.
Redirect all resources to offense.
And that offense itself was unleashed at full power without any restraint.
Magic-type hunters who looked like they’d take three-versus-five-hundred hits without flinching were engaged in combat drenched in sweat, enduring damage and minor misfires with their bodies.
“This combat style is possible thanks to the Castella the Owner created, right?”
“That’s right…”
“That’s amazing!”
Unlike Haeryang, whose eyes sparkled as she even applauded, my feelings were inevitably complicated.
Of course, objectively, there were only good aspects.
Because their full power was formed thanks to Castella, Hwang Chi-ho, the Guild Leader of the Reaper Guild, proposed cooperation with Wichi Food.
In exchange for receiving ten billion won, after signing a contract to match the supply of Castella, Wichi Food began to flourish even more.
However…
“Ah. Thank you for keeping the secret, Haeryang. Your position must have been difficult.”
“It’s fine! It’s not enough to repay the favor of Salt Bread.”
As Wichi Food became known, both Nuri and I were mentioned in articles.
Especially I was referenced more frequently, because the product this time was bread.
A company that created bread providing a 300% defense increase for a full two hours, and the bakery owner who invested in that company.
If I were them, I’d be suspicious too.
Moreover, through reports from Han Yul and Pil-seong, who were overseeing Nuri’s protection, Sky from the Blue Dragon Guild and Gyu-ri from DragonHill Guild were equally suspicious.
It was Haeryang who prevented this.
“I told my sister that the Owner only helped with the recipe.”
“Thank goodness.”
Haeryang, who works with me, told her sister Sky, ‘The Owner only helped adjust the recipe! You know how well he bakes!’ Thanks to this, I managed to avoid some of the suspicion.
Though not all suspicion has been dispelled, as they occasionally visit the bakery.
“And when I ran into Chef Han Yeong-gu, I got a headache.”
“Ah… that time?”
There had been an occasion when Chef Young-gu, who kept asking to work at the bakery, and Sky had crossed paths.
Young-gu, who showed inexplicably strong affection, and Sky, who harbored suspicion toward me, naturally had to collide.
Thanks to promising to make separate plans afterward, I succeeded in sending them off.
“Come to think of it, today is when Chef Han Yeong-gu is coming.”
“You already look tired. Are you sure you’re okay?”
“No… Haven’t you already figured it out through detailed analysis?”
“I was just asking out of courtesy…”
My head was already throbbing, but what could I do?
It was a meeting I had proposed, after all.
Still, it would be rude to summon someone without offering any hospitality, so I was in the middle of preparing a plate with freshly baked bread and pastries when it happened.
Ding~
Someone entered with the chime of the bell.
Since the shop was already closed, there could only be one person visiting…
“Welcome, Chef Young-gu? Huh?”
But two people had arrived instead.
One was Chef Young-gu, just as I had expected.
And the other person was someone I knew.
A man who appeared to be in his fifties, limping slightly, dressed in neat but inexpensive comfortable clothes.
“Hello, Owner. It’s been a long time.”
Grandmother Man-ok, the previous owner of this building.
Her son, Heo Tae-woong, greeted me while removing the hat he was wearing.

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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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