Leveling Up By Surviving Alone - L.U.B.S.A Chapter 14

Before anything else, he had something to take care of.

 

He’d received a gift, so he needed to give something back in return. After all, Kim Kkokko had just laid an egg, depleting some of its energy, so he wanted to feed it first. The bamboo shoots he’d prepared the night before were perfect for that.

 

Kim Kkokko preferred untrimmed, conical bamboo shoots. Ji Yeonwoo held out one to the bird, who was sulking for some reason.

 

“Here. Eat this and cheer up.”

 

“Cluck…?!”

 

Kim Kkokko’s eyes went wide. It hurried over, snatched the bamboo shoot in its wing, and started nibbling it like candy.

 

Watching the bird use its wing almost like a hand, Ji Yeonwoo wondered, “You like it **that** much?”

 

He knew bamboo shoots were tasty, but it seemed almost *too* enthusiastic. The **Rift-Bream Steak** was arguably more delicious, yet Kim Kkokko always took only one bite of it and then wouldn’t eat more. Meanwhile, it savored bamboo shoots as if they were precious treasures, carefully gnawing at them.

 

“Could it be it likes bamboo shoots because they originally came from Earth…?”

 

It was plausible.

 

“I’ll have to feed it other things too later,” he mused.

 

For now, his “vegetable squad” and “fruit squad” weren’t ready, but one day they’d bear produce. When that happened, he planned to give Kim Kkokko more variety. After all, this bird was laying **rift eggs** for him!

 

A normal chicken can lay more than 25 eggs a month. How many would Kim Kkokko produce?

He was hoping for at least 25.

 

“Enjoy your bamboo shoot. I’ll get you more whenever you want!”

 

“Cluc-ooork!”

 

Kim Kkokko seemed to perk up, so now it was time for Ji Yeonwoo to perk up *his* mood with something special:

 

“Eggs… Eggs, oh my god… eggs!”

 

He jumped straight into action. He clipped off a bit more green onion that had regrown overnight, then finely chopped it. The partially dried pieces of Rift-Bream—he soaked them in salted water to soften them. With that all set, it was time for the grand event: cracking the egg.

 

He held up the huge egg, easily the size of two fists put together—likely equivalent to ten regular chicken eggs. Carefully, he used the butt of his hunting knife to crack it.

 

*Bang!* It sounded almost metallic at first, so he tapped a few more times. Finally, *crack!* and a fresh egg interior became visible. Clear egg white with a round orange yolk, exactly like a normal chicken egg.

 

“Wow…”

 

He poured it into a bowl, stirring in the chopped onion and soaked Rift-Bream shreds. As a final touch, he added a sprinkle of “the magic white powder.” Then he poured the mixture onto a preheated pan, letting it spread thin with a *sizzle!*

 

As soon as it started to cook, he used chopsticks to carefully lift the edge and roll it. A thin egg roll formed, but that was just the start. He slid the small roll to one side of the pan, poured in more egg mixture, and pulled the already-cooked roll up so fresh batter could flow underneath. He repeated this process, layer by layer.

 

It wasn’t easy—especially since he had no spatula and had to rely on chopsticks. But gradually, the little egg roll grew into a thick, fluffy log—visually the kind of “rolled omelet” a fancy pub might sell for 30,000 won.

 

He cut off a piece and popped it into his mouth:

 

At first, he tasted something *soft*. It was like biting into a piece of cloud, with a gentle texture. Each chew brought a subtle salty flavor and a touch of umami, followed by the rift ingredients’ natural sweetness. He almost wondered if he was eating “egg roll” or “cloud roll.” Occasionally, the morsels of soaked Rift-Bream added a chewy bite and extra savoriness, making him open his mouth in delight.

 

“Huh…!”

 

Steam curled up from his mouth whenever he opened it, reminding him just how freshly hot it was. After that, he devoured it eagerly. The batch was so large that even after eating a good amount, plenty remained.

 

He was happy.

 

But after a moment, he realized:

 

“Huh, no messages?”

 

When he ate the Rift-Bream, or even cooked it, he got stat boosts. Even using kelp had given him a stat gain and a chance at a skill. But this rift egg wasn’t triggering anything. Why not?

 

Right on cue, the system chimed:

 

—

– This food is *not* a living organism.

– Because it is not a living organism, cooking it will not grant any skills.

—

 

“Ah, so it really is an unfertilized egg,” he concluded.

 

If it wasn’t alive, there were no stats or skills to gain. A bit disappointing, but before he could dwell on that, a further alert appeared:

 

—

– You have consumed part of @#%@#%(??).

– You have acquired the **Title: ‘One Who Ate @#%@#%’s Egg (S)’**.

– As a bonus, all of your stats increase by 20%.

—

 

“…Uh…?”

 

He couldn’t parse that message right away. *@#%@#%*? And (??) seemed like some glitch or censorship. Usually, the system displayed something like “Rift-Bream (E).” So maybe @#%@#% was the monster’s name, and ?? was its rank?

 

But one thing was crystal clear: he’d just gotten an **S-rank Title**. And it granted a bonus of +20% to **all** his stats. That was absurd. At lower levels, you might not notice much, but the stronger he became, the more that +20% would lead to an insane synergy.

 

“Who *are* you, exactly?” he muttered, eyeing Kim Kkokko.

 

“Cluck?”

 

Kim Kkokko was happily nibbling on more bamboo shoot, looking kind of cute and clueless. Could this silly bird be something that warranted an S-rank Title?

 

“…Hmm.”

 

The crucial point was that @#%@#% referred to Kim Kkokko, and by eating part of it—the egg—he’d obtained a special perk. With that in mind, Ji Yeonwoo took another bite of rift egg roll. By now, he was filling up, and there was still a lot left. Worse yet, half the egg mixture was still unused, liable to spoil if not cooked soon.

 

At that moment, another message appeared:

 

—

– The Watcher is drooling at the sight of your food.

– They’re very curious how it tastes.

—

 

“Oh! So you *can* eat, huh? I’d love to share, but I can’t exactly…”

 

He had leftover batter that would otherwise go bad. He *would* share if he could—but how?

 

—

– Will you offer the food to the Watcher?

—

 

“…Huh?”

 

So it *was* possible?

 

“It says I can give it to you?”

 

—

– The Watcher is surprised.

– They don’t believe it’s possible.

—

 

“That’s weird, it says it *is* possible…”

 

Better to show than tell. Ji Yeonwoo fired up the frying pan again, repeating the steps from earlier. The sound of sizzling, the savory aroma. He formed another cloud-like egg roll, steam rising, golden and fluffy.

 

—

– Would you like to send this to the Watcher now?

—

 

“So I *can* send it?”

 

*Shwoop!*

 

Before he finished speaking, the egg roll vanished into thin air.

 

“Clu-eak?!”

 

Kim Kkokko’s eyes bulged. It was obviously shocked, and so was Ji Yeonwoo. He’d figured there must be some method of transfer, but the dish just straight-up disappeared.

 

“Whoa. So it’s really gone?” he marveled. He couldn’t help but wonder: how was the Watcher receiving it? Did they get a plate? The stone platter was still there—only the food was gone.

 

—

– The Watcher is astonished by the sudden appearance of this dish.

– They regret not having a proper setup, but promise to enjoy it fully.

—

 

“Figures it caused some stir,” Ji Yeonwoo murmured, picturing the Watcher holding the egg roll.

 

“All right then. I guess that’s it?”

 

He hadn’t done it hoping for any reward. He just hated to see food go to waste. The fact that the Watcher could enjoy it was enough.

 

He glanced skyward, feeling slightly silly:

 

—

– The Watcher is in awe of the taste, as if entranced.

—

 

Yes, that reaction was what a cook lives for.

 

“Hehe! Glad it’s tasty.”

 

He remembered how phenomenal the egg roll had tasted, even better than any he’d made before. The second batch might’ve turned out even fluffier, so the Watcher’s portion was probably extra delicious.

 

—

– The Watcher sheds tears.

– They’ve never had such an amazing egg roll before.

—

 

“Huh? That good? Ha ha…”

 

He rubbed his nose, smiling sheepishly.

 

—

– The Watcher is fully satisfied and expresses their gratitude.

—

 

“I’m happy you like it. I still have no idea who you are, though,” he teased.

 

He wasn’t expecting anything in return. All he’d done was transform leftover ingredients into a meal rather than throw them away, and he was content if someone enjoyed it.

 

…

 

With breakfast behind him, it was time for his next routine. He watered his “vegetable squad” and “fruit squad.” Even though he kept clipping it, the green onion had grown noticeably overnight. The onion, ginger sprouts, and so on had also shot up. The fruit seeds were also showing signs of progress.

 

The surprising dark horse was the banana. The little sprout pushing up from where he’d stuck in the banana had already outgrown the banana piece itself.

 

The bamboo shoots? No contest. He already had five new shoots today, and the older ones had grown tall enough to be considered actual bamboo stalks.