Leveling Up By Surviving Alone - L.U.B.S.A Chapter 10

Early in the morning, Ji Yeonwoo felt groggy, perhaps from all that had happened the previous day.

He could have lit a fire to grill more bream steak for breakfast, but instead he had another option: the bamboo shoots he had boiled and saved the day before. Four of them, each slightly smaller in diameter than his forearm, floated in clear water, showing they were still in good shape.

There are many ways to eat bamboo shoots: blanching, grilling, seasoning… but in this situation, the most convenient method was to slice them up and dip them in something—what Koreans call “sukhoe” (lightly boiled, then eaten much like a salad or sashimi).

He took one of the wide, flat stones he’d been using, sliced the boiled bamboo shoots, and laid them out nicely. Then he sprinkled a bit of pink Himalayan salt on the side.

A plate of bamboo-shoot sukhoe was ready.

He picked up a piece, dipped it in the salt, and popped it into his mouth.

Crunch.

“…!”

The chewy texture could almost convince you it was meat if you ate it with your eyes closed. Each time his teeth bit into it, moisture hidden in its fibrous layers burst out, releasing a savory flavor. And as he kept chewing…

“It’s sweet…!”

He’d boiled them in salt water, yet they were somehow sweet.

The more he chewed, the sweeter it got—but before he knew it, the pieces were already sliding down his throat. The tender bamboo shoot slipped away so easily.

But he didn’t have to be disappointed—he still had more bamboo-shoot sukhoe left.

Crunch, munch… gulp.

“Khhh…!”

At that point, he couldn’t resist. He might be low on supplies, but if not now, then when would he use them?

He grabbed the red chili paste (gochujang) from his father’s spice box. Not content to just spoon it out, he mixed in some toasted sesame seeds, a pinch of sugar, and a single drop of sesame oil. Then he stirred it all up.

He took another bite.

“Woah… wow…!”

It was unbelievably delicious—so good it nearly brought tears to his eyes.

Meanwhile, the “chicken” next to him was eyeing him strangely, as if to say, “That’s tasty? Why not make me what you made yesterday?”

He grinned and picked up a piece of bamboo-shoot sukhoe, dipped it in salt, and offered it to the bird.

“Here, try it.”

“Cluck?”

“C’mon, just try.”

“Clu…!”

Kim Kkokko hesitated. It had never seen or tasted anything like this before. Though primarily a carnivorous bird, it knew the local flora well enough. Yet this… was completely new. Still, this was the same hairless creature that had shown it the wondrous taste of cooked Rift-Bream. For the sake of trust, it decided to try it.

Peck.

The bird took the bamboo shoot into its beak. It felt a crunchy texture and a distinct moistness. Plus, the Himalayan pink salt it had never encountered was enough to send shockwaves through its little avian mind. A total culture shock.

And the moment it swallowed, a new energy surged through its body…?

“Cluuu-ooork!”

Kim Kkokko went wild, devouring the bamboo-shoot sukhoe like mad.

“H-Hey…!”

Ji Yeonwoo, startled, hurriedly grabbed what remained of his share. But in the blink of an eye, all the bamboo shoot was gone.

“Dude! I barely ate ten bites…!”

Fwoosh—

Suddenly, a dazzling light radiated from Kim Kkokko’s body. Its size didn’t change this time, but an adorable little cone-shaped horn sprouted on its head.

“Whoa… that horn is awesome.”

“Cluck?”

“You’ve got a horn now.”

“Clu…?”

Raising its wing, the bird carefully touched the tiny horn. Its eyes opened wide.

Kim Kkokko had never had a horn in its entire life. This was an entirely new evolutionary direction, unlike anything before—a sign that it might grow even stronger.

Enthused by that possibility, Kim Kkokko became almost hysterical.

“Clu-e-e-e-ek!”

It clamored for more, but there were no more prepared bamboo shoots.

Sniff, sniff! Sniff!

It smelled something similar, at least vaguely: the patch of bamboo shoots that weren’t yet fully grown into bamboo. Its eyes gleamed, it tore one up, and bit down—

Crunch… crunch…

Moments later, it collapsed to the ground.

“Guh… g-ugh…!”

Ji Yeonwoo took the half-chewed bamboo shoot from Kim Kkokko’s beak and set it aside.

“See? That’s too astringent to eat raw.”

He intended to boil it and make it edible. Ji Yeonwoo just assumed the bird had choked on something bitter. Indeed, Kim Kkokko looked as if it had swallowed poison, but he didn’t pick up on that detail.

“Aww, man… I’m still hungry.”

He’d eaten everything else. Sure, he had more Rift-Bream fillets, but decided not to eat them yet. After all, he still had about 12 kilograms of fat stored in his body (per the last month’s InBody reading, anyway).

What mattered more were his plants—his “vegetable squad” and “fruit squad.” Ji Yeonwoo grabbed a full 1.5L bottle of water and headed over.

“Oh…!”

His eyes widened. Instead of bare dirt, he now saw tiny sprouts pushing up from the soil. The seeds weren’t just sitting idle underground; each had shot up a tiny leaf.

“Amazing! All that watering paid off!”

Onion, ginger, chili peppers, and garlic—each had begun to sprout. They had all grown at about the same rate. Right now, each had just a single, tiny leaf, but once fully grown, they’d enrich his survival here.

The orange, watermelon, and banana seeds still hadn’t shown any change.

“Maybe they died?”

No, he believed they’d each prove their worth in time. As a “commander,” he wouldn’t lose faith in his troops.

“Your commanding officer hasn’t given up on you. Just grow strong and healthy!”

Confident in them, he poured the bottle of water evenly over all the plants.

Trickle, trickle…

Once the bottle was empty, Ji Yeonwoo headed over to the cliff again—specifically, the little “spring” or well he’d discovered. It was as full as ever, possibly even muddier around the edges from all the moisture.

Should I dig more? Should I bring the shovel?

He decided to postpone that idea. He was more curious about what lay underwater at the beach, which he’d glimpsed briefly the day before.

Returning to the tent, he donned his hunting suit, grabbed his now-empty backpack, and picked up a bamboo spear. He planned to explore the seafloor in hopes of maybe catching another fish.

Meanwhile, Kim Kkokko was still sprawled out, panting.

“Yeah, guess you really can’t eat that astringent stuff raw. Hang in there. I’ll cook it nicely for you later.”

“Clu-aaack…”

He decided to set up one of his little fire pits again, slicing two more bamboo shoots to boil in seawater. By the time he finished his beach exploration, they’d hopefully be cooked.

Splash!

He dived into the sea.

The beach floor sloped about 50 meters out into shallow water, then dropped off into a deeper zone with rocks and reefs. That’s where the marine life gathered. From yesterday’s brief venture, he recalled seeing quite a few sea creatures. Today, it was the same scene: about ten minutes of wading and swimming brought him to about 15 meters deep.

He was a half-decent swimmer, so he wasn’t too worried. Besides, thanks to the *Fish Vision* skill, he could see around 50 meters underwater as clearly as if he were on land.

No creatures bigger than me, he thought.

He didn’t spot any sharks… In a rift full of monsters, even a small one could be deadly, but if he worried about that, he’d never do anything. He had to explore; doing nothing was a slow death. To truly survive, not just eke out an existence, he had to take risks.

That said, he didn’t plan on gawking at the pretty cobalt-blue depths and forgetting his situation—he was the slowest, the one who couldn’t breathe underwater for long. So he dove straight down to collect what he had in mind.

He used his hunting knife to cut off the base of that swaying seaweed he’d spotted yesterday, then carefully scooped up some spiny organisms with two knives, stowing them in his backpack.

Kelp and sea urchins. Rift-kelp was roughly 1.5 times larger than Earth’s, and the sea urchins were about the size of handballs. He saw fish hiding in the kelp beds, but as soon as he approached, they darted off, too fast to chase.

Bringing this spear was pointless, huh?

A spear this size was useless underwater. The buoyancy messed with his aim, and even his *Perfect Aim* skill didn’t function optimally in aquatic conditions.

I need a new method!

He decided to head back. Though he hadn’t caught any fish, he was content with the bounty: a massive kelp “blanket” and three handball-sized urchins. That alone had sapped his energy. As a non-aquatic being, he could hold his breath for barely a minute at a time, so this was enough for now.

I’ll go back and cook something with Kkokko.

He turned in the direction of land and began swimming, but suddenly noticed something out of place: a big lump on a flat rock that looked different from its surroundings—like a peculiar texture.

About the size of a basketball.

He tilted his head, then his eyes widened.

A shellfish?

More specifically, a huge clam. Visions of various recipes flickered through his mind: grilled, steamed… And the shell could double as a fancy serving dish.

It was quite a find, especially on his way back. He had to have it.

He swam over, trying to pry it off the rock, but it was wedged firmly. After whacking around it with his hunting knife to loosen it, he managed to free the clam.

Even as he ran low on air, he refused to let go, fearing he might lose it if he surfaced. With final effort, he stuffed it into his backpack.

There’s so much food here… so much food!

His hunting backpack was large. Even with all these finds inside, it was only half full. It might be enough to feed him, but with Kim Kkokko having grown bigger, he felt he might need more. But he was satisfied for now.

So he was so focused on his backpack—and he didn’t notice something approaching.

Then, a sudden alert:

—

– *The onlooker is panicking about the danger creeping up behind you.*

– *The onlooker is shouting for you to turn around, quickly!*

—

“…?”

Who are you? he thought.

He turned around—only to see a black-and-white, zebra-patterned sea snake.

Wait, why is there a sea snake…?

Save me.

Otaku_Senpai

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