Leveling Up By Surviving Alone - L.U.B.S.A Chapter 27

Five eggs, gleaming like rainbows painted on a white canvas!

Suddenly, Ji Yeonwoo recalled the very first time he’d encountered one of Kim Kkokko’s eggs. It had been a strange color—somewhere between white and pale blue—clearly an unfertilized egg. At the time, Kim Kkokko had told him it was fine to eat, or rather, begged him to get rid of it. Indeed, it had even precariously placed the egg where it might easily be stepped on, as if to say, “Go ahead and crush it.”

But this time was different.

“Just to be sure, is it okay if I eat these?”

*Kkok-kkok!*

Kim Kkokko nodded.

“What? So they’re okay to eat?”

He reached out, curious about the flavor—and possibly any skills, titles, or stat benefits these mystic eggs might bring. This time, there was a palpable greed in his fingertips as he reached for them.

*Kkugh…!*

Kim Kkokko’s eyes flickered. Even though it had just nodded, the closer Ji Yeonwoo’s hand got, the more it couldn’t stand the thought. Like how one can’t just let himself not breathe, Kim Kkokko’s wings moved on instinct, swatting away his hand.

*Smack!*

“Ow!”

*Kkoko-oooook!*

“What the—? So it’s not okay?”

*Kkok!*

“Then why nod yes?!”

*Kkoko-ooook!*

Come to think of it, the very fact that Kim Kkokko was sitting on eggs was extraordinary. Its actions might have seemed contradictory, but clearly these were fertilized eggs.

“So they’re really fertilized, huh? If you keep them warm, little chicks will hatch?”

*Kkok…*

Kim Kkokko looked sullen, reluctantly bobbing its head.

Good grief…

Ji Yeonwoo thought he could relate to Kim Kkokko’s feelings, at least somewhat. The poor creature hated laying eggs, yet here they were. So, by instinct, it decided to brood them—even though it clearly disliked the idea.

But a question still nagged at him.

“Usually, for eggs to be fertilized, you need a partner, right?”

That’s why, even if it was a stretch, he’d wondered for a moment if he might’ve been involved somehow. But, of course, there were other possibilities—certain animals could reproduce by cloning themselves, known as asexual reproduction. That was how some dinosaurs in old movies apparently bred, though that obviously didn’t apply to normal chickens.

But then again, Kim Kkokko wasn’t a normal chicken, was it?

Anyway…

“So that explains your huge appetite.”

Kim Kkokko had gone from being a picky eater that took just a single bite to devouring everything in sight. Realizing it was because it was carrying these eggs cleared up the mystery and lifted Ji Yeonwoo’s mood.

“Hey, once these hatch, I’ll be the best godfather ever!”

A big smile spread across his face. Why wouldn’t he be excited? Five chicks, all taking after Kim Kkokko?!

He was genuinely overjoyed, but Kim Kkokko did not share the sentiment. In fact, it found the situation infuriating.

*Kkok…!*

Remember, Kim Kkokko had only stuck around Ji Yeonwoo for one reason: to grow stronger. It needed his “transformed foods” to achieve evolutions it had never experienced before. Getting a horn was thrilling—so far, so good. Even laying the occasional unfertilized egg to release excess energy had been acceptable.

But… but!

*Kko-oooo-ooook!*

The precious energy it had been storing in that horn had split five ways to form these eggs! It felt like it had given birth to potential rivals—its own offspring that might one day challenge it. And in the brutal environment of the Rift, where survival of the fittest reigns, strong children can end up turning on the parent as competition. Even if they don’t, they might die off if they’re weak, wasting the energy Kim Kkokko had put into them. So from Kim Kkokko’s perspective, laying these eggs was an utterly useless evolutionary detour.

Upon laying them, it had even considered smashing them with its beak and reabsorbing what nutrients it could. That’s why it nodded when Ji Yeonwoo asked if he could eat them—if he got stronger, that would at least benefit Kim Kkokko in some way. But the moment his greedy hands got close, some primal maternal instinct flared, forcing Kim Kkokko to slap them away. Before it knew it, it was brooding the five eggs, staying close so it couldn’t leave them alone for long (not even to snack on Bamboo Shoots in peace). All the contradictory behavior—from wanting Ji Yeonwoo to take them away, to smacking his hand—stemmed from the same dilemma.

So Kim Kkokko couldn’t possibly feel good about any of this. Yet that clueless ape-human was practically bouncing for joy. He wasn’t the one who had to lay them, after all…

But Ji Yeonwoo just went off on another baffling tangent, suddenly dashing toward the beach. Of course, he had a plan in mind:

“Eggs are eggs—this is basically childbirth.”

And he knew exactly the food that’s best for recovery after giving birth:

“Seaweed soup.”

Wakame is rich in calcium, iodine, and iron; it can help replenish blood, lower blood pressure, and the alginic acid scrubs out your intestines—really, it’s a superfood. Seaweed soup, in particular, is a Korean classic for postpartum care. And he’d planted Wakame in the shallows not long ago.

So there was no need to hesitate.

“I haven’t made seaweed soup from fresh wakame in ages!”

*Splash!*

Diving into the shallows, Ji Yeonwoo headed for his little Wakame-and-Kelp farm. He wanted to grab some, rush back, and feed it to the sulking Kim Kkokko—maybe make bamboo shoot seaweed soup. But he suddenly froze in place.

In the shallow water where he’d planted the kelp and wakame, there were a lot of tiny, dark specks moving around. A swarm of something small and wriggly was gathering near the gently swaying seaweed.

“What the…?”

He rushed over and tried to scoop them up. *Swoosh, swoosh!* He failed at first, but after several attempts, he finally succeeded—thanks to his improved Agility. Once upon a time, he might have needed fifty tries just to catch one.

*Flap, flap!*

One tiny fish now flailed in his palm.

As he peered at it, the name appeared:

—

*Rift Filefish (Fry) (FF)*

—

“Ohh.”

So he was holding a baby Rift Filefish in his hand. *Flap, flap!*

He’d actually seen these fry before—dozens, if not hundreds, near the kelp forest. Like stars in the night sky, they were so abundant he’d ended up ignoring them. They were too small to eat, so they never really drew his attention.

It seemed that some of these fry had moved into the little patch of kelp and wakame he’d planted.

“Well, it’s safer here than out in the open.”

To these fish, the old kelp forest was full of predators. Larger filefish would eat them, as would other big fish. So they probably fled to this relatively safe area.

And not just Filefish fry—there were Flounder fry, Horse Mackerel fry, Scorpionfish fry, basically every species Ji Yeonwoo had been eating. They were now gathering in his newly planted kelp garden, forming small schools. They weren’t many yet, but who knew how big their numbers might get?

Watching them dart around the gently swaying kelp and wakame, Ji Yeonwoo was reminded of his father’s old aquarium, the “size 10” tank he used to keep at home—about a meter long. It was filled with colorful, exotic fish that his dad had been so proud of. His mom used to sigh heavily at it, and in those moments, his father would just smile ear to ear.

Eventually, their expressions reversed on the day his friend named Jeong Mandeok came over:

> “Look at all these pretty fish. They’re so cute!”

> “Wow…”

> “My dad said they’re tropical fish!”

> “But, uh, if they’re tropical fish, don’t they need warm water? It’s freezing outside…”

> “Right… If it’s this cold, won’t they die?”

So the boy poured in hot water, purely out of concern—and the shocked fish flipped belly-up.

…It was winter.

> “Noooo!”

> “Hohohoho!”

Ji Yeonwoo still remembered the tears in his father’s eyes. His mother had tears too, but for rather different reasons.

“Anyway, it’s practically the same scenario, just on a bigger scale.”

His father’s aquarium was a “size 10,” while he suddenly had a “size 100”—an entire natural lagoon. And he definitely wouldn’t be killing these fry. In fact, he resolved to create an even better environment for them, turning this into his own personal marine terrarium. Life on the island just got a bit more interesting.

“Maybe sea urchins and creatures like that will help the ecosystem?”

He’d have to bring them over—along with more kelp and wakame. Then even more fry would gather. Filefish, Scorpionfish, Flounder—they were all welcome. If he found some Sea Bream fry, he’d be absolutely over the moon.

Of course, there was one species he didn’t want:

“Please, no sea snakes…”

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