The Island's Bread King

Baking.

Unlike hunting, or simple crafting, it was a discipline that demanded precise knowledge and true skill of the hands.

Minhyuk, however, had once studied pastry and bread in earnest.

How many years ago was that, again…….

Back when he was nothing but a pint-sized middle schooler, he had joined the bakery club to chase his first love from the same class. For all three years he trailed after a girl everyone else said he would never win, and poured himself into that club.

The result was a win at the school bakery competition, and a rather dazzling title besides: silver medal, middle-school division, in the pastry and bread category of the KOREA World Food Championship. Somewhere along the way, his first love had quietly vanished into the arms of an upperclassman.

Ah…… that aching memory I'd worked so hard to forget…….

Jiwoo.

Are you doing all right?

Thanks to you, I grew into a perfectly respectable adult who can bake bread even on a deserted island.

"Boss. You crying?"

"……No. It's hot. I'm sweating."

Anyway. When it came to baking, he was more confident than anyone.

"First the oven…… no, wait. I ought to make the flour first."

Minhyuk fed the wheat in a little at a time and turned the millstone. Fortunately, there was no absurd mishap of the handle popping clean off.

Grrrrk—

Hmm. Whoever had made the thing, its performance alone was outstanding.

Trr-trr-trr—

He thriftily gathered not only the flour spilling out to either side, but even the powder caught in the gaps once he took the stones apart. More flour came out than he had expected. At this rate, two morning rolls might actually be possible.

"Let's see……."

From the Survivor Shop, newly promoted to level 2, Minhyuk bought the ingredients he needed.

To that he added milk squeezed fresh that very day, butter rendered from coconut, salt, sugar, and the rest.

Preparations, complete. Minhyuk rolled up his sleeves.

Glug, glug, glug—

First he poured milk, just lukewarm, into a wooden bowl. A pinch of sugar went in, and over the top he dusted the Simple Fermenting Yeast in a soft shower.

Bubble, bubble—

While bubbles rose on the surface, he mixed flour, sugar, and salt, then opened a volcano-like well in the center of the mound. Into that hollow went the egg and the yeast water, and he stirred gently with his hands until the dough gathered into a mass.

Slap— slap—

He struck it, folded it, and pushed it, and little by little the dough took on a deeper elasticity. Now and then he worked in butter, building the flavor as he went. Leave the butter out, and it would no longer be a morning roll. It would just be milk bread.

"Hoo…… done."

Before he knew it, a glossy sheen was pouring over the dough. Minhyuk set the wooden bowl on a rock where the sunlight fell full and warm.

All that remained was to wait until it proofed.

"It's been a while. This is fun."

Minhyuk grinned and wiped the beads of sweat from his brow. Old memories were welling up, one after another.

"All right. That's enough reminiscing for now."

While the dough rose, he might as well build an oven to bake it in.

Tak-tak— tak-tak—

Stone, mud, and wood, mixed together: an eco-friendly oven in the signature style of the Safe Zone was complete.

Poof— poof—

In the meantime, the dough had risen just enough. He had worried the proofing might fail, but that had been needless anxiety. Beaming, Minhyuk checked the oven he had preheated.

Whoosh—

Okay. Nicely hot.

He divided the dough into two, brushed egg wash over the crusts, set them in a cast-iron frying pan, and launched the pan into the oven.

"Hooo. This had better turn out."

Minhyuk rubbed his hands together and peered inside. After about five minutes, a savory butter aroma began to spread, the kind that set the mouth watering.

Sniff, sniff—

"Smells delicious……."

The meerkats and Elia crowded in together before the oven.

Those two had said they were busy, and they still hadn't left.

Anyway.

Another ten minutes passed.

"Ah, hot, hot—"

Minhyuk drew the cast-iron pan back out of the oven.

"Ooh!"

As the curling wisps of smoke cleared, a plump, rounded shape slowly revealed itself. The morning rolls, baked to perfection, flashed a dazzling gold. Minhyuk immediately snatched one up and tore it in half.

Shhhk—

A snow-white crumb split apart like cloud. He gave half to Elia, then tried the remaining half himself. Between the soft layers of crumb, a savory richness spread through his mouth in a wave of bliss. It was a fantastic flavor — the sort where two people could be eating, and if one of them dropped dead, the other might never notice.

"Whoa…… it's sooo good……."

Elia flared her nostrils and shot him a double thumbs-up. The meerkats, perhaps because they preferred their food raw, showed no particular interest.

Tsk. Times like this, it is a little disappointing.

Still, these folks were here.

"Here you go. Try a bite."

Minhyuk split the remaining morning roll and shared it between the spirits.

"Unfortunately I'm out of wheat, so that might be difficult…… By the way, didn't you say you had some meeting to get to?"

"Well. Back in middle school, my nickname was Bread King Ji Takgu."

Wheat, once the number-one treasure of Minhyuk's Safe Zone. Only after making morning rolls and eating them himself did he understand. Wheat was not number one. It was number zero.

The single finest resource a castaway life on a deserted island could not do without. A treasure among treasures, to be defended at all costs.

"All right. Shall we get started?"

Minhyuk took up his wooden hoe and headed for the plain. Eight thousand five hundred grains of wheat remained. He meant to invest every last one of them in farming. Of course, 8,500 was a quantity on par with every seed he had planted so far, all added together.

"Kkurung—!"

"Kkororok—! Kkuruk-kkuruk—!"

But Minhyuk had reinforcements: sturdy, and soft as down.

"All right, kids. From here on we're farming wheat, and I'll show you how it's done."

Nod—

The Meerkat Brothers bobbed their heads up and down as one. Ah, of course. Before the farming proper, there was a step that had to come first.

"Before that! Try one grain each. They're tasty even plain."

A wheat tasting, in other words. They hadn't even eaten the morning rolls. He ought to look after them at least this much.

Nom, nom, nom—

The Meerkat Brothers each ate a single grain.

"Kkureuung~"

"Kkuruk-kkuruk……!"

At the savory taste of the wheat, every face flushed rosy. For brothers who loved their food raw, there could be no finer delicacy.

"We're going to plant these tasty little things, and the spacing matters, all right? I'll dig the holes at even intervals first. You just drop a grain into each one. Got it?"

"Kkurung—!"

"Kkureureuk—!"

Morale soaring, the Meerkat Brothers flung both arms into the air as if to say leave it to them. The sight alone was reassuring. Minhyuk and the brothers set to the wheat farming in earnest.

Thud—! Thud—! Thud—! Thud—! Thud—!

Whenever Minhyuk raked out evenly spaced holes with the wooden hoe and backed away—

Tock— tock— tock— tock— tock—

—the Meerkat Brothers, drawn up shoulder to shoulder in a single rank, advanced by tucking grains neatly into the holes. The spacing was only about ten centimeters, so there was no need to scramble this way and that. Even the reach of Minhyuk's arms covered it easily. The meerkats could follow at an easy pace, and no one ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had to wait on anyone else.

Thud—! Thud—! Thud—!

Tock— tock— tock—

Their hands locked together like the parts of a machine. Working in tandem like that, even 8,500 grains were cleared in a flash.

Trickle, trickle—

Afterward, just as the Spirit of the Forest had taught him, he gave them only half the usual water, and that was the end of it.

"Everyone, good work. Free time from here on!"

Once the farming was done, the Meerkat Brothers rode the Dimensional Leap Ring and headed for the sea. Minhyuk sat on the wooden sofa, eating a Special-grade banana and taking his rest.

"Heheh. If they grow up nice and strong this time too……."

A full 1,275,000 grains. Well over a million. And if he planted every last one of those and grew them again?

That's a promotion. Wheat tycoon of the deserted island. Heh heh.

He couldn't say for certain, but it seemed he might even be able to make wheat his staple.

A happy future — the kind that brought a beaming smile from the imagining alone.

"Speaking of which, how far have the scouts gotten?"

Minhyuk checked the slate map for the first time in a while.

"Oh?"

It had already climbed by two percent. The mapped area was wider than the last time he had looked, and there were emoticons he had never seen before. Give them wings with the Dimensional Leap Ring, and they were practically soaring.

"Let's see……."

Minhyuk looked over the newly added emoticons the way one might browse a menu.

This wavy mark is a river, right?

Besides that, there was a mysterious nut painted black — or was it red? A weed that looked like a green onion. This one was shaped like a wolf, so he would do well not to go anywhere near it. And the thing visible at the far western edge…….

"Oh? A strawberry?"

A round body, a pointed leafy cap, seeds packed in tight. No mistake.

"Okay. This time, I've decided on you."

Of course, sitting as it did at the map's very edge, the odds were high that some terrifying ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠demonic beast lurked nearby. But so what?

(^o^) "Kiyo—!"

They had their SS+-Rank strategic weapon, Kiyomi.

Salute—!

And the Little Wooden Soldiers, armed with Sapphire Rifles (SS).

"Kkurung—! Kkurung-kkurung—!"

Oh, right. Their little darling, Kkureung, was here too.

"All right, troops! We move out!"

Minhyuk led his legion into the jungle.

Salute— salute— salute—

Using the slate map as a navigation system, Minhyuk's legion advanced without hesitation. But with the destination — the strawberry emoticon — right in front of them, they had no choice but to halt the march.

Doom—!

A cliff as huge as a mountain peak sat squarely across the path. Minhyuk looked from the sheer summit to the slate map and back again. The strawberries, it seemed, were up on top of that cliff.

"Little Wooden Soldiers and Kkureung, stand by here for a bit. Kiyomi, you can fly, right?"

(^o^) "Kiyo—!"

"Got it. Then just you come with me, Kiyomi."

(^o^) "Kiyo-kiyo—!"

Orders given, Minhyuk loosened up with a few light stretches. Wrists, ankles, knees, waist, elbows. Not a single joint left out.

"Been a while. Let's see if I've still got it."

Minhyuk looked up at the cliff top, rising as if it might touch the sky, and a crooked grin tugged at his mouth.

"Of course. What, are you going to lend me some gear?"

He'd heard they still hadn't recovered their strength. Did they have some other way?

Hmm. So they were just worried I might die.

"Honestly. What ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠do you take me for? I may not look like much, but I'm the man who beat even the monkey who represents his whole tribe."

Look at these two. They don't believe me, right to the very end.

"Well, suit yourselves. I'll be heading up first, then."

Fwat—!

Minhyuk began to climb the sheer cliff.

Papapapat—!

Stepping on jutting corners of rock and on branches, he climbed by the optimal route. He scaled the cliff as quickly and as steadily as if he were crawling across flat ground.

Papapapapat—!

An unhesitating vertical sprint. And whenever there was no foothold to step on, or the next one sat too far away—

Hop—!

—he kicked off his planted foot, leapt, and caught himself in midair.

Was it because his stats had risen so much? Or because Climbing had reached level 2? He couldn't say exactly why.

"What? It's already over?"

Without a single slip, he reached the top of the cliff in short order. Minhyuk looked down and gave a light shrug.

Drift—

Right on cue, Kiyomi rose in a smooth, unhurried drift, like a flying saucer. His reliable strategic weapon had arrived, so it was time to occupy the strawberry field in earnest. Consulting the slate map, Minhyuk moved his feet with care.

"Oh."

Before long he found a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠thicket crowded with bright red strawberries. And…….

As expected, he had also found the demonic beast standing guard over the strawberry field. Its upper body was a robed figure in a hood, but everything below was a scrap of rag torn to tatters. It had no lower body at all, and it floated in the empty air.

A monster that looks like a ghost.

Maybe because the giant bear he had met last time had been built for such obvious violence, this one wasn't particularly frightening.

Minhyuk prepared for battle at once.

First, get a barrier around them.

"Kiyomi."

(^o^) "Kiyo—!"

"Fire a destruction beam at that ragged thing over there."

(^o^) "Kiyo-kiyo—!"

At Minhyuk's command, Kiyomi nodded its whole body. Then it opened its mouth and began drawing in blue particles.

(ºOº)

Hssss—

That was when it happened.

Huh? Physical attacks don't work?

Minhyuk held Kiyomi's attack for a moment.

Hmm. A little late for that. He'd already heard a rather decisive hint.

"Yeah, well. I'll handle it myself."

Minhyuk gathered mana at his fingertips.

A pure-white brilliance bloomed from his fingertips. So this was what he was supposed to use. Still, walking right up and jabbing the thing with a finger felt a little off.

"……."

Minhyuk, who had been sneaking glances for a cue, quietly picked up a stone.

Just like that, he threw it at the spirit beast.

Kweeeeeek—!

"Oh. This actually works?"