Leveling Up By Surviving Alone - L.U.B.S.A Chapter 20

—

 

Why would she give him the same question if the answer was the same? There had to be some other meaning behind it. Under that assumption, there were too many variables. He didn’t know whether that “friend” was a close friend or just an acquaintance, nor could he predict whether the apples that friend gave him were bigger or smaller than the ones he already had. Wishing for bigger apples, he said **twelve**, but his mother’s face fell immediately.

 

The next day, his father came back from a camping trip. With a serious expression, he handed Yeonwoo three apples and said:

 

> “Yeonwoo, what’s three plus two?”

> “Five!”

> “Right. Now I’ve just given you three apples, and then I give you two more. How many apples is that?”

 

This clearly wasn’t just a simple question either!

 

Wanting not to disappoint his dad—especially after what happened with his mom—Yeonwoo deliberated even more carefully. The second batch of apples he received was larger than the first. So, taking the first batch of apples as his baseline, he answered with confidence:

 

> “6.2 apples…?”

> “….”

 

After that, his parents never again forced him to study. Instead, they focused all their expectations on his little sister, who ended up getting into Seoul National University and graduated successfully. These days, however, she’s stuck at home, scratching her rear end because her standards are too high to land a job. Truly unfilial behavior, if you think about it.

 

“Well, I’m not really in a position to judge.”

 

Ji Yeonwoo, who’d gone missing in a Rift—no one knowing whether he was dead or alive—might be even more unfilial. But in the midst of his so-called “unfilial life,” he had managed to gain enhanced stats, new skills, a title, and even a job.

 

“Man, this might actually be going better than my life on Earth ever did…”

 

Still, that’s only relevant if he makes it back to Earth alive. For now, he needed to figure out exactly what he had gained.

 

“So… can I open a status window now?”

 

Awakeners who only have a “type” of ability (i.e., no official job) can’t instantly view their own status. Once a year, they can get a free check at the district office, but otherwise, they’d have to pay a hefty one million won to hire a Hunter with the Scan skill.

 

But that changes once you have a job. It’s like you’ve been granted a proper license to access the system, so you can check your status anytime you want.

 

That’s why he tried calling it out:

 

“Status… window?”

 

—

 

**Name:** Ji Yeonwoo

**Job:** Romantic Rift Survivor

**Survival:** Day 7

 

**Stats**

– Strength: 23 + 20%

– Stamina: 32 + 20%

– Agility: 45 + 20%

– Mana: 15 + 20%

 

**Titles Held:** 1

 

**Skills Held**

– **Passive:** Fish Vision (E), Breath Holding (E), Enhancement (F)

– **Active:** Perfect Accuracy (C), Rapid Swimming (F)

 

**Job Skills**

– **Passive:** Otherworldly Communication (F), Unwavering Appetite (F), Tireless Digestion (F)

– **Active:** Multi-Tool (F), Domain Declaration (F), Effect Activation (F), Wish Granting (F)

 

**Declared Domains:** 1

**Pets Owned:** 1

**Plants Owned:** 8

 

—

 

“Woah…”

 

Compared to the data he’d gotten from the district office a year ago, this was on a whole different level. Aside from his agility, all his other stats had been barely at F-grade or below—but now he was at a point where saying “I’m E-grade” didn’t seem out of place at all. And factoring in the 20% benefit from his title, he might even be on par with C-grade.

 

The same was true for his skills. He now had five regular skills. Sure, most of them seemed beneficial only underwater, but still—a large increase in quantity.

 

Above all…

 

“I actually got a profission, right?”

 

And he had **seven** initial job skills! Normally, a job gives you only one skill, maybe two if you’re lucky. Starting out with five—no, seven—was practically unheard of.

 

Of course, in typical unhelpful system fashion, it hadn’t provided any explanations. (Possibly it had while he was sleeping, so he missed it.) But as always, once he needed them, the system would show him how they worked. He’d get around to testing them all soon enough.

 

“I wonder what my teammates would say if they saw me now.”

 

They’d probably treat him a lot differently than before.

 

“Kekeke… those guys.”

 

But his snickering soon died down. None of it meant a thing unless he escaped the Rift. Dying here now or dying later as an S-rank made no difference.

 

Still, circumstances had improved dramatically since he’d first fallen in seven days ago.

 

“So I’ll make sure I survive and get back!”

 

**Growl.**

 

For that, he needed to keep his belly full. He wondered what to eat and headed behind his tent.

 

Today, there was a gift from Kim Kkokko.

 

“You didn’t lay one yesterday, but you did today!”

 

He’d warned that leaving eggs right in front of the tent might cause them to get stepped on, and it seemed Kim Kkokko had understood, laying them in a safer spot.

 

He had lots to do, so he chose a quick dish: a fluffy “cloud omelet.” He lit a fire, heated up a frying pan, and drizzled in some oil. Then he took some half-dried filefish, tore it into shreds, plucked a piece of green onion, and started chopping it.

 

As usual, he reached for his throwing knife to cut the scallions. That was when:

 

– This object can be affected by your job skill, **Multi-Tool (F)**.

– Would you like to apply it?

 

“…Huh?”

 

So this was another skill like **Effect Activation** and **Domain Declaration**, something that required an object to function. Naturally, he gave it a try.

 

**Shiiiing!**

 

The hunting knife shone white, then changed shape. It turned into—

“Is that… a sashimi knife?”

 

He gawked at the sleek, 30-centimeter blade. Just then, an explanation appeared in the air beside him:

 

—

**[Romantic Rift Survivor’s Multi-Tool Knife]**

– Can transform into any registered shape within a 3kg weight limit.

– Has a “Recall” function, allowing it to be used even from a distance.

– Current registered forms (5/5): Harpoon, Saw, Scissors, Spatula, Sashimi Knife

—

 

“Whoa…?”

 

He remembered how the system had once mentioned something about ‘reflecting’ his longing for that MacGyver knife and for his father.

 

“So that’s what it meant…?”

 

The throwing-knife shape he started with aside, the spear, saw, scissors, spatula, and sashimi knife were precisely the items he’d most wished for while using the hunting knife over the past week.

 

“Heh…”

 

But for some reason, it made him feel wistful. If he’d known he would get a skill like this…

 

“I’d have wished for something else…!”

 

Sure, except for the spatula, they’re all somewhat combat-related, but if he had known the system’s intentions, he might’ve wished for something more combat-oriented, like a giant sword or a bow.

 

He couldn’t really blame the system, though, since these were indeed the things he truly had wanted most over the week.

 

He grabbed the Multi-Tool—currently in its sashimi-knife form—and started chopping scallions.

 

**Chop, chop, chop, chop!**

 

“Ohhh!”

 

He’d always been disappointed by how quickly his original hunting knife dulled. It had been okay at first, but after cutting up fish, it had lost its edge, and he didn’t have a whetstone to sharpen it (he’d brought a fire starter, but no whetstone). He’d been rotating among ten throwing knives for cooking, but that, too, had its limits.

 

In contrast, this sashimi knife was extremely sharp. And if, as he suspected, it returned to its pristine default state every time it transformed, it might remain sharp forever.

 

**Ssssssizzle!**

 

He poured the egg mixture into the preheated frying pan.

 

**Whoooosh!**

 

In a thought, he changed the sashimi knife into a spatula using Multi-Tool.

 

**Flip, flip, fliiip…**

 

Everything flipped so easily! Gone were the days of awkwardly using chopsticks to turn the omelet.

 

“Nice!”

 

He felt a sudden sense of bliss. People say a true master never blames their tools, but that’s only because a real master already has all the best tools in the first place. In that sense, Ji Yeonwoo finally felt like an omelet-making virtuoso.

 

And the finished dish actually looked different this time—puffy and golden, steam rising invitingly. Just then, another alert popped up:

 

– You’ve prepared this dish with heartfelt dedication.

– This dish has an effect.

– Would you like to use **Effect Activation**?

 

Soon, a small amount of mana flowed out of him, and the cloud omelet glimmered:

 

—

**[Filefish Cloud Omelet]**

1. When fully consumed, Strength and Endurance increase by 15% for two hours.

—

 

“Wow!”

 

The filefish cloud omelet was delicious. After eating it all, a message confirmed that his Strength and Endurance had increased by 15%. He could feel vigor coursing through his body.

 

He intended to head out to sea on a boat, and the omen felt good.

 

“Come to think of it, why is big brother “the watcher” so late?”

 

In the end, the watcher didn’t show up for breakfast. It was a shame, but he couldn’t wait around forever.

 

“Well, even cold, omelets still taste good. I’ll just tell him I’ll cook for him at home later!”

 

Leaving behind a pre-made portion, Ji Yeonwoo headed off to the bamboo raft he’d built the day before. The rising sun was already climbing high. It was hunting time.

 

—

 

When Ji Yeonwoo arrived at the shore with his raft, he jumped on without delay. Next, he had to move forward. Gripping the oar he’d fashioned out of bamboo—about three meters long—he dug it into the ground and shoved off, guiding the raft onto the open water.

 

**Splash!**

 

At first, the raft got pushed back by the waves, but soon it started moving forward more smoothly. Ji Yeonwoo paddled left twice, then right twice, inching ahead. It was slower than swimming, so it would probably take half an hour to reach his target spot.

 

He didn’t mind the slow pace. The real problem was that the raft sank a little bit each time a wave washed over it.

 

“Ah, crap.”

 

Maybe the construction was flawed, or maybe it was designed for calmer rivers rather than ocean waves. As the raft bobbed up and down with the swells, it kept taking on water and gradually submerged further.

 

“I spent twelve hours making this thing…”

 

He was feeling disappointed when a system message appeared:

 

– This object can become one of your personal ‘creations.’

– Would you like to register it as your creation?