It’s an Academic Fact That Rankers Are Model Students – Chapter 98

Chapter 98: Mass Production Fantasy Bread (2)

Giant gears interlock and rotate intricately, while hot steam erupts from the steel carriage rushing from afar.

A typical factory scene unfolds.

People are lined up at regular intervals, like chickens in a coop, their faces smeared with soot, regardless of whether they are boys, girls, adults, or the elderly.

The Industrial Revolution.

It marked the beginning of the modern era in human history.

Then, what exactly was the beginning of the Industrial Revolution?

“The steam engine? The invention of the spinning jenny and the water frame? The development of the iron industry? Formation of a wider market due to the bourgeoisie and urbanization? Or the natural conditions of having coal nearby? Or perhaps the advancement of science?”

All correct.

They were all correct and very important factors in the Industrial Revolution.

However, none of them were the ‘beginning.’

“Even the wheel, considered the most historic and greatest invention, seems like nothing special and taken for granted at first glance.”

As always, the beginning of a great undertaking is often trivial.

Kyung-joon argued that the Industrial Revolution was no exception.

“The beginning of the Industrial Revolution was ‘division of labor.’”

People began to divide labor to maximize efficiency.

For example, the task of making a single pencil, which used to be done by one person, was now divided.

One person would only sharpen the wood.

Another would only insert the lead.

And the last person would only attach the eraser at the back.

By simplifying the work each person did as much as possible, the required skill level was drastically lowered.

Therefore, it was fast.

Because it was fast, it was efficient.

Three people could produce 100 pencils, while one person could only make 10 pencils a day.

“This is the power of the factory and mass production.”

The factory system and mass production.

This is the essence of the Industrial Revolution.

Some might say:

There is no craftsmanship in this.

Of course, that’s not entirely wrong.

However.

In highly specialized work, each individual can become a better craftsman than anyone else in that particular task.

“A baker from a bread factory who has kneaded bread 10,000 times may not be able to bake bread better than a baker, but they can definitely knead better.”

Thump! Thump! Thump!!

Slap! Slap! Slap!

The rhythmic sound of dough being kneaded!

<Dough Master at Study Villa>

▼Dough (NPC)

“Haaah!”

Slap! Slap! Slap!

Instantly mixes water and flour.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Then, in a flash, kneads it into dough.

From mixing water and flour to kneading and setting it aside, everything is extraordinary.

The extremely fast and rhythmic movements were like watching a well-oiled machine.

What’s even more amazing is that Dough doesn’t seem fazed at all, even though he’s handling such a massive amount of dough all by himself.

[Current Buffs on 『Dough (NPC)』]

▶Strength: 1 minute 17 seconds

Strength, a magic spell that increases muscle strength by consuming mana.

Besides the most basic magic spell, Energy Bolt, Dough didn’t know how to use any other magic.

This was because Kyung-joon only taught him Strength and made him practice it repeatedly.

Therefore.

Dough became better at using Strength than anyone else.

It’s safe to say that there’s no resident in Study Villa who can use Strength better than Dough right now.

<^o^>

<The flour milling next to it is also going smoothly.>

A little way from the kneading area where Dough was in charge, there was a milling area where wheat was being ground into flour.

Clatter! Clatter!

A watermill-powered flour mill, built using a waterway, rotates.

A resident quickly mills the flour using the mill, packs the flour, and rushes it to the kneading area!

<Study Villa’s Milling Master>

▼Milling (NPC)

“Faster! Faster! Faster!”

Whee! Wheee!

Every time Milling moves, a gust of wind blows strong enough to scatter the flour on the floor.

[Current Buffs on 『Milling (NPC)』]

▶Haste: 1 minute 32 seconds

Whoosh! Wheesh~!

Although not as fast as Kyung-joon, his speed is such that even an average intermediate thief wouldn’t stand a chance!

And it wasn’t just about being fast.

Thud! Thud!

From the way he packs the flour into the sack.

Dash! Thud!

To how quickly he slings it over his shoulder and carries it away.

Every single movement exuded a deep know-how.

Never seen such skilled flour transportation.

“Haha. It’s like watching a master craftsman show.”

There’s no one in Study Villa, let alone this bakery line, who can match Milling’s speed in milling and transporting flour.

Anyway.

With this, the milling and initial kneading process were completed.

“The dough that has completed its first kneading is transferred over there……”

Kyung-joon shifted his gaze to the next area, a place where storms and whirlwinds raged!

Swirling! Whoosh!

<Study Villa’s Fermentation Master 1>

▼Paste (NPC)

<Study Villa’s Fermentation Master 2>

▼Batter (NPC)

<Study Villa’s Fermentation Master 3>

▼Knead (NPC)

<Study Villa’s Fermentation Master 4>

▼Proof (NPC)

“……!!”

Unlike Dough or Milling earlier, the four masters weren’t making any sound.

They were just clenching their teeth, beads of sweat dripping from their foreheads!

Swirling! Whoosh!

Under their hands, a powerful vortex of mana was rotating the dough at high speed.

The so-called Chorleywood bread process, a method of ultra-fast kneading and fermentation!

It was the most crucial and important step in Study Villa’s bread factory line.

Kyung-joon carefully observed them and then nodded in satisfaction.

“Yes. That’s good enough.”

<Mana Baking is the part that Master focused on teaching the most.>

As Teemo said, Mana Baking was a much more complex magic than Strength or Haste.

That’s why Kyung-joon carefully selected residents with a talent for mana and taught them the magic with extra care.

After several days of teaching, he succeeded in having them learn Rare grade Mana Baking, though not at the Unique grade like himself.

“The mana flow looks a bit clunky and unstable, but it’s good enough to start production.”

Saying so, Kyung-joon walked on.

By the time they reach this line, the flour milling, kneading, and fermentation are complete.

All that’s left is baking the bread.

Of course, there’s one minor step before that.

Thud.

In front of the huge dough that had finished fermenting, a man stood poised.

<Study Villa’s Blade Master>

▼Cutter (NPC)

“Blade—”

The resident named Cutter uttered ‘Blade!’ and slashed the air with both hands.

But nothing happened.

“Hmph.”

Nevertheless, Cutter walked away with an expression as if he had accomplished something monumental.

To the other side of the giant dough.

That’s when it happened.

Shhwiiing!

Dozens of cuts instantly appeared on the giant dough, dividing it into 100 equal parts in a 10×10 grid!

“Whew.”

Cutter then carried the 100 pieces of neatly cut dough to the baking line next to him.

Then, he returned and repeated the 『Blade—』 and 『Hmph』 sequence.

<-_-a;;;>

<Cutter is much more talented than I thought.>

“……You’re right. He’s definitely got a knack for being a chuunibyou.”

<You mean it’s not magic? And what is chuunibyou?>

“Ah…… Well, it’s nothing.”

Kyung-joon shook his head, dismissing it as nothing.

Then, he spoke with a different expression than before.

“Cutter is indeed talented. He even learned the Wind Blade magic on his own without any help.”

Kyung-joon wasn’t directly involved in all aspects of the bread production division of labor.

He had already spent most of his time teaching the most important and difficult part, Mana Baking.

While he could quickly teach simple spells like Strength or Haste, which were well-known and not particularly difficult.

Not all magic was like that.

So, he proceeded by giving brief advice whenever residents asked him questions.

However, Cutter had mastered Wind Blade on his own, with only self-study and a few pointers from Kyung-joon.

“Originally, I was just going to have him learn Haste so he could cut quickly with a knife.”

<What an unexpected gain.>

“Yeah. And it’s not just about cutting the dough; I’m thinking of asking him to teach me later.”

Kyung-joon also had a cutting skill similar to Wind Blade.

Ultrasonic Mana Dagger.

In terms of cutting power, the Ultrasonic Mana Dagger was far superior to Wind Blade.

However, the two were slightly different in their approach.

‘Mine cuts with instantaneous heat, while Wind Blade…… I think it shoots thinly compressed air to cut. Anyway, it’s quite interesting.’

And finally, the last step in the bread factory line.

Baking the bread.

<Study Villa’s Oven Master>

▶Bake (NPC)

“For the first 30 seconds, raise the oven temperature to 573 Kelvin with a power of 5,000 watts…… Then, using convection, maintain a 20 Kelvin temperature difference between the lower and upper heat…… After 10 minutes, equalize the temperature difference……”

Flare! Whoosh!

Using Energy Bolt to adjust the oven temperature in real-time!

Bake had memorized all the formulas from the thermodynamics knowledge Kyung-joon had taught him, knowing exactly how much mana to use and how to manipulate it to bake delicious bread.

People say baking is all about intuition, but Bake had no such thing.

There were only clear formulas and calculations.

And so.

Milling, first kneading, high-speed kneading and fermentation, cutting, baking.

After going through all five of these processes, a large quantity of bread is finally completed.

[Mass-Produced Bread Infused with Mana]

▶Mass-produced bread baked with the knowledge of another world. A moderate mana flavor can be felt.

▶Restores 10% satiety, increases stamina/mana by 5% for 1 hour, and slightly recovers HP by 0.2% per second.

▶Permanently increases stamina and mana by 1 (48-hour cooldown) (4 times limit in total)

▶Item Grade: Rare

The Rare bread made by the residents was, at best, only half as effective as the Unique bread made by Kyung-joon.

However, in terms of ‘mass production,’ the residents’ Rare bread was quite remarkable.

Think of it this way.

“An effect that’s half as good as Unique bread! This is a jackpot!”

Currently, Unique bread is selling for an average of 1.32 million liyan on the Player Auction House.

Even if he only sells 10 a day, after deducting fees, it’s worth almost 1 million won!

But there’s just one problem……

Kyung-joon barely has time to make bread because he’s busy studying!

Moreover, most of what he makes is consumed by Kyung-joon himself for studying, and only a few are put up for auction.

As BlackChef said, it’s a case of ‘selling like hotcakes’ because there’s simply not enough supply.

“But this Rare bread is different.”

Currently, operating the bread factory line in Study Villa can produce over 2,000 loaves of bread per day.

Bread with half the effect of Unique bread will flood the market in an instant.

<But wouldn’t BlackChef still say it tastes like mass-produced bread and call it tasteless?>

“Well, that might be true. But for now, this is enough.”

After all, the reason Kyung-joon’s bread sells right now is because of its ‘effects’, not its ‘taste.’

However.

“I did tell him I’d show him more delicious bread later. I have to keep my word.”

<Right now?>

“No? I said I would, but I never said when, did I?”

<^o^>

<You’re quite shrewd.>

“That’s the nature of promises. And right now, figuring out how to sell this mass-produced bread is more important than improving the taste.”

Putting it up on the Player Auction House like before would sell, but it wasn’t the best choice.

A hefty 30% commission fee.

A limited market restricted to players only.

It was time to break free from this.

“I can’t waste inventory in this outdated market when I’ve gone through the trouble of setting up a mass production system.”

This is World.

A fantasy game world inhabited by elves, fairies, dwarves, demons, and dragons soaring through the sky.

He hasn’t truly conquered the market if he can’t capture them, the NPCs.

<It’s finally time to make that call.>

“Indeed. It’s finally time.”

Kyung-joon took out a card from his inventory.

[TheWorld’sGreatestMerchant’s Business Card]

▶When used, opens a chat window allowing conversation with ‘TheWorld’sGreatestMerchant’ for a certain period.

▶Item Grade: High

It was a business card.

Given to him by the guild master of 『World’s Best』, the only merchant player who came close to the top rank among players.

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