The concept of “mint chocolate scent” doesn’t actually exist.
To be precise, I perceive it as “mint chocolate scent,” but this aroma could easily go by another name.
For example, you could call it Kim Fenrir’s peculiar fragrance.
[Call it mint chocolate scent, nyah!]
That’s just a joke.
Kim Fenrir doesn’t actually smell peculiar; instead, there’s a mint chocolate scent.
What I’m trying to say is this: “An innate scent of the [Wind Attribute].”
Magic has a scent, and the fragrance of the Wind Attribute resembles mint chocolate.
This is part of the official lore from the Bread Academy developers, stating that characters whose primary attribute is [Wind] all love mint chocolate.
In other words, people who like mint chocolate likely have a higher disposition toward [Wind Attribute] mana.
Conversely, people who dislike mint chocolate either have significantly less Wind Attribute mana in their body or are more influenced by other attributes that clash with or suppress the Wind Attribute.
Humans with a higher proportion of Wind Attribute mana in their bodies tend to favor mint chocolate.
Mint chocolate, in essence, is the scent of Wind Attribute mana.
And Kim Fenrir, who resides within me, is the source of that Wind Attribute—a being foundational to Wind Attribute mana itself.
Although, to be precise, it’s infused with [Demonic Energy].
To clarify, it’s different from terrestrial Wind Attribute mana; it’s pure Wind Attribute mana.
– Earthly mana is infused with angelic energy. The moment even 0.01% of angelic energy is included, the mana becomes fundamentally different from our pure mana.
This was a common perspective among the Seven Dukes.
– It’s not that we possess demonic energy; their mana is infused with angelic energy.
From a color perspective, if the mana of the Demon World is the most vivid and saturated hue, terrestrial mana can be said to have a faint mix of angelic energy, akin to the color white.
In terms of RGB values, it’s not 255, 255, 255, but rather 255, 255, 250.
– From a surface perspective, it’s an entirely different color. Pfft.
They’re right.
As someone who was once on the surface, I can confirm that these two types of mana are distinctly different.
So, when discussing purity, which side can be said to be more “tainted”?
If beings who carried primordial, pure mana were exiled to the Demon World, while earthly mana has a faint infusion of angelic energy, which mana can truly be called “tainted”?
Which one has, in the truest sense, been “corrupted by demonic energy”?
It’s the frame of reference on Earth.
For centuries, angels oppressed the Demon World and the demons.
As a result of their defeat, the Demon World lost its ability to plead its case on Earth, leaving humanity unaware that their mana was infused with angelic energy.
However, humanity still subconsciously yearns for it.
The pure, original mana etched into their genes—free of angelic contamination and devoid of intrusive thoughts about gender-bending or anything of the sort. It’s an innate desire for the essence of mana.
Thus, to summarize.
[Mint chocolate is divine, and they are fanatics trying to covet the miracle of the divine, nyah!]
Keeeeeeeeeek!!
Beasts are approaching.
I climb to the top of the fortress walls with a Mint Choco Bun in hand, while the beasts ferociously attempt to scale the walls.
“What in the world…!”
Even veterans like Esta and Ludmila, who are battle-hardened, are bewildered by the situation but soon regain their composure and shout instructions to those around them.
“Taunt! The aggro’s been drawn, so focus your attacks!”
“Don’t let them climb up! We need support here!”
“O-Okay!!”
The hunters quickly snap out of their daze and begin to mobilize under the two’s orders.
I move toward the direction of the fortress wall, firing magic blasts downward and shooting mana-infused arrows to destroy the cores of the beasts.
While the situation may seem incomprehensible to some, the principles of beast hunting remain the same.
Tanks taunt, damage dealers deal damage, and supporters provide assistance.
Currently, the fortress itself is acting as the tank, drawing aggro, while I bait them with my crafted mana buns.
“What on earth is this…?”
“It’s nothing much.”
I create another mana bun, [Mint Choco Bun], and toss it toward the beasts.
“After remotely analyzing their mana patterns, I tailored the mana bun to incorporate elements that would trigger their ‘evolutionary potential’.”
“What are you even talking about?”
“Simply put, this mana bun acts as a kind of [Fruit of Evolution] for them.”
Though it’s just bread.
“Beasts grow stronger by devouring other beasts. This expands their cores. While inefficient, they continuously absorb cores—be it from kin or other sources—to amass mana and grow stronger.”
I lightly gripped the second [Mint Choco Bun] I had newly crafted.
“Miss Yunia, can you embed a spell into this? Like stuffing filling into a bun.”
“Uh, what kind of spell?”
“Well…”
I whispered the details to Yunia so that only she could hear. She looked at me in shock.
“Wait… are you serious?”
“Can you do it?”
“It’s not impossible, but I’ll need some time.”
“Alright, then I’ll leave it to you.”
After handing the second [Mint Choco Bun] to Yunia, I ran along the fortress wall.
“They’re clustering too much on one side. Shall we split the frontlines?”
Kieeeek!!
The beasts climbing the wall turned their heads left and right.
Even the one that had just been knocked back by Ludmila’s spear turned its attention toward me.
Thud-Thud-Thud!
As I ran along the wall, I raised the third [Mint Choco Bun] high above my head.
“Could it be…? Everyone, spread out the aggro! Hunters heading to the second ‘symbol,’ focus there!”
Instructor Esta, who was slashing through beasts with her sword aura, followed close behind me. She barked orders at the startled hunters who hesitated at my sudden move.
“Damn it, I don’t know what’s going on, but this is like a [Crystal Tower], isn’t it?!”
A Crystal Tower—a massive mana stone in each city, brimming with mana that naturally draws colossal beasts toward it.
In RPGs or defense games, they’re like turrets, symbols, or icons that players must protect during relentless monster waves.
Right now, the mana buns are serving that function.
Or, more accurately, I am.
Kieeeek!!
The beasts split into three distinct groups.
One group, driven mad, desperately clawed its way toward the first mana bun, trampling over the corpses of their comrades.
Another group wavered, cautiously observing the situation near the second mana bun.
The final group locked onto the scent of the third mana bun and charged furiously in my direction.
Like rabid dogs drooling with tongues lolling out, they lost all reason, sprinting along the fortress wall and trying to climb it.
“Take this!”
Evangeline threw a doll over the wall.
The doll instantly grew to an enormous size, slamming into the beasts below with a massive body slam, crushing them completely.
If the beasts bled, the scene would have been grotesque. Instead, only black wind erupted as they were smashed to pieces.
Swoosh!
The beasts beneath the giant teddy bear crumbled into dust.
In a single slam, dozens were obliterated, and the bear began to rise, ready to charge forward.
“Evangeline! Reverse summon it!”
“Ah, oh, okay…!”
Before I could finish shouting, Evangeline panicked but moved to follow my instructions.
Keeeeeek!!
Perhaps due to their obsessive fixation on the mint chocolate scent, the beasts started climbing the giant teddy bear’s body, using it as a platform to leap higher.
“Eek…!”
The sight resembled a swarm of insects crawling over a person from below, and Evangeline screamed in horror.
Boom!
Though she reverse-summoned the doll and severed its mana link, some of the beasts had already reached the wall.
“Ludmila! Take advantage of the chaos when the ‘big one’ awakens and launch your spear!”
“…Understood!”
Ludmila, who had been smashing beasts with her spear as they leapt onto the wall, began to gather her mana at my command.
“Haaah!”
With the precision of a professional baseball player, I hurled the third mana bun forward with all my might.
Whoosh!
The mana bun flew straight through the air, drawing the beasts’ attention away from the wall.
Those about to breach the wall shifted their focus entirely toward the “fruit of evolution” soaring into their territory.
And soon…
Kieeeek!!
Even the beasts that had climbed to the top of the wall leaped off with a whoosh, hurtling toward the spot where the mana bun seemed likely to fall. In an instant, the beasts swarmed the area, trampling over one another in their frenzy to reach it.
“As I was saying earlier, this is like… a miracle drug for them.”
To put it in gaming terms, it’s akin to a cheat code.
“It’s mana designed to fill in the gaps in their core. Once absorbed, it fits perfectly into the 99% empty space of their core, instantly elevating it by one tier—a magic item, essentially.”
In simpler terms, it’s like throwing an evolutionary stone at an Eevee.
Snap!
The fastest beast bit into the mana bun. The others turned on it, trying to tear it apart—
Boom!!
—But mint-colored wind erupted from the beast like a storm, blowing its attackers away in an instant.
As the beast’s core pulsed, its body began to grow, one meter, then two meters, expanding rapidly.
Kiiiiiik!
Its rank as a beast increased, its form evolving into a higher tier. Just as it reached the threshold of its transformation—
Wham!
Ludmila’s thrown spear struck the creature squarely between the eyes.
Crack!
The spear pierced clean through the beast, shattering its core into countless fragments.
“See? This is how you can efficiently lure them in.”
“…”
“And this isn’t the only way to use it. Yunia!”
“Yes!”
“Throw it!”
“Got it!”
Following my example, Yunia hurled another mana bun with all her might.
“Air Blast!”
She channeled her mana to propel the bun even farther, launching it like a cannonball. The beasts, now completely frenzied, abandoned all reason and charged after it.
“Won’t it be too far to manage?”
“It’s fine.”
Yunia replied confidently, giving a big thumbs-up.
“I’ve embedded an explosive spell in the filling!”
“What?!”
■■■■■■■────!!!
A massive mint-chocolate-colored mushroom cloud rose from the plains.
“Now that’s what I’m talking about.”
I nodded in satisfaction, savoring the mint-chocolate-scented shockwave.
‘Mint Choco Buns are bombs.’
Mint chocolate.
While I might grudgingly tolerate it in ice cream form, mint chocolate buns like these? They deserve nothing less than to explode gloriously.
[I think it would be nice to eat frozen, nyah!]
Kim Fenrir might believe that, but these mana buns are fundamentally constructed based on the memories of food I’ve consumed.
‘They fed me one that had been microwaved.’
[Ah.]
I’ve eaten countless mint-chocolate-flavored items, but among them, mint chocolate buns stood out as one of the worst.
And so, they exploded.
The Mint Chocolate Boom.
Letting it blow up is the rightful course for this world.
