I Only Baked Bread, but I Was Mistaken for the Best - Chapter 89

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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 89. The Extreme Frozen Wasteland (2)
“This is really too much….”
I scratched my head and muttered to myself, watching the person collapse right before my eyes.
I understood.
I knew what kind of appearance I presented to others right now.
But even so, fainting seemed like an overreaction.
“It’s not just because of that reason alone, Owner.”
“Then? Is there another reason?”
“Of course. Your presence has grown in stature, Owner.”
“Stature?”
What was this suddenly about?
Growing in stature.
In this day and age, could people really be divided by their stature?
And it wasn’t as if I was an incredibly powerful hunter either.
As I pondered this alone, Noir answered.
“Haven’t you been baking bread diligently? You even created a summoned creature.”
“If you’re talking about Gora, then yes.”
“Each action a witch takes is an act of touching fate itself. By its very nature, it’s something an ordinary human could never experience. If one experiences many such things, the stature of one’s soul inevitably rises.”
According to Noir, the stature of my soul had risen because of everything I’d done so far.
Just as an S-rank hunter emanates a unique aura, it seemed I too had begun to radiate such a presence.
Though I myself was completely unaware of it.
“By human standards, Owner, you’re emanating an aura equivalent to an S-rank hunter, or perhaps even higher. Being in the Witch’s Cottage only amplifies this further, I’d say. Meow.”
“But that doesn’t mean I’m actually as strong as an S-rank hunter, does it?”
“Strength isn’t determined solely by martial prowess. What human could do the things you do?”
“Well, that’s true….”
Now that I thought about it, that made sense….
I decided not to dwell on it.
What good would it do for a bakery owner to become strong?
Well, technically just appearing strong.
Ah, though it might make dealing with hunters who come inside the Gate a bit easier.
“The more precise reason is that this woman’s life hangs by a thread, Owner.”
“What?”
“I can smell rotting blood from here, Owner. Meow.”
“Then you should have said that first!”
At Noir’s words, I rushed over to the collapsed woman and only then could I confirm it.
The situation was grave.
Her entire body was covered in a fierce blizzard as if frozen, appearing only white.
The skin beneath had turned blue, as if blood couldn’t even circulate through it.
Eyes devoid of focus, lifeless.
But the most critical part was her right thigh.
“What on earth is this…?”
Thighs tattered and shredded like rags.
If not for the pelvis above and calves below, I wouldn’t have recognized them as thighs at all—the wounds were that severe.
Torn by something sharp, with gaping holes ripped clean through.
The amount of blood that had poured from them seemed considerable.
Whether from age or the cold, the tissue had already turned black with necrosis, rotting away.
“It’s a miracle she managed to walk this far without collapsing.”
“What will you do, Owner?”
“What do you mean? I have to save her. That’s why I came here in the first place, isn’t it?”
I answered while gesturing at the blue thread extending from the woman and connecting to me.
The blue color represented fate—a possibility that could shift depending on my actions.
It was likely that the Witch’s Cottage had brought me to this harsh Gate precisely because of this woman.
“Miracle sent me some elixir before. I should have some left. I can use that. Chohong, could you help a little?”
“Kyuuu!”
As a temporary measure, I had Chohong spray her vital energy over the woman.
Since this vital energy could cause plants to overgrow in an instant, she wouldn’t die while I moved her.
I scooped the woman up in my arms and carried her into the Witch’s Cottage, laying her on the floor.
“The elixir I left should be in the cupboard… Ah, found it.”
Rummaging through the cupboard, I found several bottles of elixir I’d kept unused.
I grabbed two of them and went to where the woman lay, pouring one first onto her severely injured thigh.
“You said drinking or applying it has similar effects, right?”
There are actually differences.
Drinking it works uniformly across the entire body, but applying it externally causes the healing effect to take hold much faster on the localized area.
In this case, treating the most critical injury—her thigh—was the priority.
“The effect is definitely real.”
The moment the violet-tinged elixir was poured on, the necrotic tissue regenerated like fresh flesh sprouting, returning to normal.
At the same time, her labored breathing became steady.
I then spread the remaining bottle evenly across her entire body.
“Wouldn’t it be better to have her drink it?”
“Look. She’s not in any condition to drink right now.”
Media often depicts giving drinks to unconscious people, but that’s extremely dangerous.
If it goes down the wrong pipe, she could die from asphyxiation.
In any case, the elixir Miracle made was remarkably effective.
Just moments ago, the woman looked like she’d die any second, but her complexion improved noticeably, and soon her eyes opened.
“Ugh…”
“Are you conscious?”
“Where… where am I… Aah!”
The woman, who had been staring blankly around her, suddenly opened her eyes wide and sat up.
Then, with lightning speed, she put distance between herself and me.
“Danger detected.”
“The dangerous situation was earlier….”
“Abnormal phenomena within the guild and monster entity identified. No data available.”
“What kind of tone is that….”
A voice devoid of any emotion, as if it were flowing from a computer.
Her expression was the same.
She’d startled and backed away, so it would be natural if she were frightened.
Even as I was thinking such things, she continued to mutter something.
“Escalating current situation to Threat Level 1. Preparing countermeasures.”
“What do you mean by threat level….”
“[Invisibility].”
She raised both hands and drew strange shapes with her fingers before shouting “Invisibility.”
Could this actually be a skill?
Becoming invisible is a skill?
This was troublesome.
No matter what Noir said about the caliber of my soul or whatever, I was merely a bakery owner.
I’d never fought anyone in my life, and my strength was only on par with lower-ranked hunters at best.
But the woman before me was different.
If she could enter a dangerous snowy gate at first glance, she had to be at least B-rank or higher.
As I swallowed hard and watched the woman….
“Phew… I thought I was going to die….”
“Huh?”
The woman let out a long sigh right in front of me while touching her face.
Without even noticing me tilting my head in confusion at the completely different atmosphere, she continued talking to herself.
“If this keeps up, I really would have died, but how did I survive? No! More importantly! Where on earth is this place! A candy house?! I’ve never heard of such a thing!”
Her demeanor and tone were overflowing with vitality, the complete opposite of when she was speaking to me.
On the surface, this might seem like a more natural reaction, but something felt off.
Could a person really change their attitude like this just from casting one skill?
“And I have no idea what that smoke is. It looks like smoke from charcoal grilling pork belly that got completely burned, gathered up and clumped together like cotton candy, but it’s shaped like a person and moving! Ah, talking about cotton candy makes me want some.”
And to be honest….
She was a bit scatterbrained.
No, she was very scatterbrained.
Her speech was rapid and her voice was high-pitched, making it difficult for my ears to keep up with how fast she was talking.
“Really, if it wasn’t for my invisibility, escaping from here would have been difficult, right? As expected, my, Park Su-min’s, invisibility is the best! Since I’m not visible or audible now, all I need to do is hurry and open the door to leave! Ah, the door opening will be visible, so I should focus on that!”
Now I understood.
Why the woman—Su-min, as she’d revealed—had suddenly changed her behavior pattern by 180 degrees.
She genuinely believed it.
That I couldn’t see or hear her.
“But it’s way too visible… Did the skill fail to activate?”
“No. I can clearly feel energy flowing. This is also due to your soul’s rank increasing. Master.”
“This too?”
“Meow. Yes, that’s right. A child’s lies cannot deceive an adult—think of it as a similar principle. Well, causing physical damage is possible, but that’s about it.”
In other words, no matter how powerful a skill is, if it doesn’t have direct effects, I’ve become immune to all of it.
Simply because my soul’s rank is higher than Soo-min’s.
So to summarize, Soo-min really did use her skill, but I’m in a position where I can perceive her.
To put it plainly….
“If I told you I could see it, you’d be embarrassed, wouldn’t you?”
“Why would the Owner concern himself with that?”
“No… I’ve had a similar experience….”
It was from my days at the Bakery School.
While everyone had left and I was practicing alone, I suddenly found myself dancing to a song that popped into my head.
I was in such a good mood that day, dancing with abandon, and the moment I executed a perfect turn.
I saw her.
My supervising professor standing at the doorway, watching me.
‘Hmm… Seung-hyun? Are you alright?’
‘From when did you see me, Professor….’
‘From when you gracefully pointed your fingers toward the sky.’
She’d seen it all from the beginning.
“Anyway, I’m experiencing secondhand embarrassment right now.”
“What does it matter? The Owner needs to fulfill this woman’s wish and connect her fate anyway. To do that, you both need to recognize each other and speak, don’t you?”
“That’s true, but… sigh….”
“Then speak to her, Owner. I’ll be generous and keep the door from opening. Meow!”
I called out to Soo-min, who was still standing in front of the door handle, muttering to herself, ‘If I carefully and slowly turn it, maybe I can sneak out without being noticed!’
“Excuse me? Park Su-min?”
“Why won’t this open… Yes? You called…. Kyaaaah! How!”
“How? Well, your skills don’t work on me, that’s all.”
“Uh… uh… uhhhhh!”
The moment she learned the truth, her face flushed crimson, and Soo-min immediately shut down.
“Hearing this is really difficult. Humans truly are inefficient creatures, I think. Meow.”
“Be quiet, Noir.”
Of course, I was half in agreement myself.
* * *
“Distress signal! Confirmed!”
Association employees busily manipulating computers with a massive screen displayed on one side.
They had gathered to confirm the distress signal received from the A-rank Gate, ‘Frozen Pulse’.
To receive the first signal since 52 people, led by Park Su-min, the vice-guild master of the Reaper Guild and A-rank Hunter known as the ‘Silent Mage’, had entered.
“Of the total 52 people… deaths… 51…. Currently only Hunter Park Su-min is alive….”
“Grrrrk.”
Chi-ho, the guild master of the Reaper Guild, clenched his teeth.
Though he had a carefree personality, his care for his guild members was second to none.
‘Damn it… if only the field hadn’t been like this….’
His skill was none other than Starlight Magic.
Literally, he was a mage who borrowed the light of stars to crush his opponents with intense brilliance and heat.
But the light of stars became useless whenever the sky was obscured.
For this reason, he couldn’t participate in the ‘Frozen Pulse’ Gate.
In that gate where the sky was blocked by fierce blizzards, he couldn’t even use half of his power.
“Damn it!”
Crash!
So all he could do was strike the innocent wall with his fists.
The woman beside him opened her mouth as she watched the wall fragments crumble like dust.
“I’ll go instead. If it’s ice, my abilities are well-suited for it.”
“You’d do that for me? Hunter Yu Ha-neul?”
At the request of Association Director Gyu-hwan, who stood beside him, Ha-neul quietly nodded.
“Since the Blue Dragon Guild agreed to provide backup when situations like this arise, it’s only natural.”
“Damn… I’m counting on you….”
“I’ll be back. Please prepare the team members.”
“Understood.”
With those words, Ha-neul turned her steps toward the Gate.
She had no idea that one of the association staff dispatched with her had stopped by the restroom just before to make a call.
She had no idea that the call contained the words ‘variable, Yu Ha-neul entering the battle’.

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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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