Leveling Up By Surviving Alone - L.U.B.S.A Chapter 39

But if it’s too hot, it’ll burn the roof of your mouth.

It needed to cool for about 5 minutes,

and there was a dish that could be made and eaten within those 5 minutes.

Since there was steamed shark fin and the prepared soup sauce, reheating and combining them would complete the shark fin soup.

And so, the reheated shark fin and sauce were combined to recreate the Bull Shark Fin Soup, the Bull Shark Liver Roll steamed using shark skin, and finally, the Bull Shark Back Meat Fish and Chips, made by sacrificing the precious flour, were all completed.

“Hoho! At this point, wouldn’t it be fair to say this is a full meal from one bull shark?”

He wanted to eat it with everyone, but he couldn’t.

Because Ji Yeonwoo had to play the role of the royal taster.

Just because the shark fin didn’t have pufferfish toxin, who’s to say the liver and back meat were safe?

The liver is a detoxifying organ, and the back meat was the area pierced by the toxin-coated harpoon. Of course, he worked with undamaged parts, but it could still be dangerous.

So Ji Yeonwoo put a piece of shark fin in his mouth.

The texture of the collagen fibers pushing against his teeth, the bursting juices. All of it was the same as before.

Next was the bull shark’s liver.

He picked up a piece with his chopsticks, dipped it in soy sauce, and brought it to his mouth…

“…Wow.”

Back in his clueless days, Ji Yeonwoo had once tried foie gras.

The omakase chef, who had quit running a sushi restaurant, gave it to him as a treat, saying he had some expensive ingredients left.

The taste of foie gras was rich and fatty, delicious at first but not so much afterward.

The bull shark’s liver resembled foie gras more than monkfish liver.

But unlike monkfish liver, it didn’t get tiresome, and he felt like he could keep eating it.

Even just dipped in soy sauce, it was this good?

As if entranced, he took another bite.

Finally, the Bull Shark Fish and Chips, made by sacrificing the last of the flour, the dish he poured his heart into!

Crunch.

“Whoa…”

A puff of smoke burst out of his mouth like a chimney as he exclaimed in admiration.

Coincidentally, the smoke was shaped like a donut.

It rose into the sky, as if declaring that the taste of the Bull Shark Fish and Chips was more O than X.

“It’s delicious… really, really delicious…!”

But no one responded.

The Watcher was just waiting for his next words,

and Kim Kokko was holding their breath, reading the mood.

And Ji Yeonwoo didn’t hesitate to tell them.

Whether the delicious and flavorful liver provided some resistance to tetrodotoxin, or the shark was simply too large for the toxin to take effect, he couldn’t tell, but…

“There’s no poison!”

– The Watcher hops around excitedly.

– They say to hurry up and bring it, that they want to eat it too!

Kokkoo!

Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud!

Kim Kokko, reading the mood, picked up a nearby pot and started banging it on the ground.

It was a silent protest to bring the food over.

“Alright, alright! Of course, I’ll bring it!”

Ji Yeonwoo served them a full meal of Rift Bull Shark dishes.

And he himself began to enjoy the meal he had prepared.

All three dishes were delicious, but the most delicious by far was the Bull Shark Fish and Chips, made by sacrificing the flour. The umami from the fried kelp chips infused into the oil, elevating his fish and chips to a whole new level.

And so, one Ji Yeonwoo, one Watcher, and one Kim Kokko began to silently devour the food.

There was no time to talk.

It was just too delicious.

In that atmosphere, a system notification cautiously chimed.

– You have extracted all skills from this monster.

– Rift Bull Shark Shark Fin Soup satisfaction: 50%

– Rift Bull Shark Liver Roll satisfaction: 75%

– Rift Bull Shark Fish and Chips satisfaction: 100%

– A total of 9 skills are listed.

– Please choose 3 skills.

“Ohh…!”

He was sad that only 2 skills came from the shark fin soup.

But the bull shark liver roll, and especially the fish and chips, made up for that loss.

A total of 9 skills.

Ji Yeonwoo had to choose 3 from them.

Here. No, among all the monsters Ji Yeonwoo had encountered in his life, the most powerful one, the juvenile Rift Bull Shark.

What kind of skills did it have?

1. Regrowing Teeth (B) (Passive)

2. Enhanced Liver Flavor (B) (Active)

3. Shark Bite (B) (Active)

4. Tenacious Bite Force (B) (Active)

5. Fish Vision (B) (Passive)

6. 500-Meter Dive (C) (Passive)

7. Fin Salt Regulation (B) (Passive)

8. Uncontrollable Rage (A) (Passive)

9. Prey on the Weak (A) (Active)

“Ohhhhh…!”

The list of so many skills!

Ji Yeonwoo’s eyes spun.

Was it because it was an elite monster? Even though there were 9 skills, there weren’t many duds.

‘Well, there’s Enhanced Liver Flavor, but…!’

Even that was the highest rank among the liver flavor skills he had seen.

If he learned that skill, his liver might turn into foie gras, or he might even die from fatty liver disease.

The ultimate skill to satisfy whoever eats him, not himself!

And this time, it’s an active skill, not passive.

So, if the predator trying to eat him is to his liking, he can use the skill, and if not, he can choose not to…?

‘Of course, I’ll skip it….’

After encountering so many nonsensical skills in the Rift, he had developed a discerning eye.

Just by the names, he could roughly guess what the skills did.

But skills like Berserk or Prey on the Weak didn’t give him a good feeling just from their names.

The skill he was most curious about was…

“There’s a skill called Fin Salt Regulation. What’s that?”

After Ji Yeonwoo’s question, the Watcher answered after some time.

– The Watcher says it seems to be a unique trait of bull sharks.

– They explain that bull sharks can live in freshwater as well as saltwater because they can regulate the salt in their bodies. In freshwater, they store salt in their tails to prevent osmotic pressure issues and increase liver fat to maintain buoyancy, allowing them to survive in freshwater.

Bull sharks are one of the few sharks that can regulate the salt in their bodies. By concentrating the salt absorbed from seawater in one part of their body, they prevent osmotic pressure issues and store fat in their liver to maintain buoyancy, allowing them to survive in freshwater.

Most sharks can’t do this, which is why they can’t go into freshwater. Just a sip of freshwater would cause osmotic pressure to burst their bodies, killing them.

“Ah… So that’s why Enhanced Liver Flavor is an active skill, not passive. That’s amazing.”

Of course, whether it’s passive or active, it’s useless to Ji Yeonwoo, but still.

“Wow… How do you know all this so well?”

– The Watcher says it’s nothing special and twists their body.

– They cautiously speculate that learning this skill might allow one to survive by drinking seawater.

“If that’s true, it’s not bad, right?”

Right now, there’s a spring, but it might disappear someday.

In fact, the spring isn’t as deep as it used to be.

That’s probably because, after the moonless night, it hasn’t rained, and the underground water flowing down from the cliff has weakened.

Someday, there might come a time when freshwater is no longer available.

Even if that doesn’t happen, there are many situations where one might be stranded at sea…

If there’s a way to drink seawater like freshwater, wouldn’t that be great?

“That’s really tempting…?”

– The Watcher says that’s something only bull sharks can do.

– They suggest focusing on unique skills like that when choosing.

“Right… you’re right.”

Thinking like that, it seemed like he could make a pretty good choice among the 9 skills.

Biting active attacks, strengthened jaws, fish vision, 500-meter dives, etc… All of them are good skills, but they’re skills he could probably get from other sharks or fish in the future.

But Fin Salt Regulation isn’t like that.

– Will you learn Fin Salt Regulation (B) (Passive)?

“But can I even learn it?”

Ji Yeonwoo doesn’t have fins.

So he thought he might not be able to learn it, but he decided to try anyway.

But,

– You have learned Fin Salt Regulation (B) (Passive).

“Really!”

He learned it.

It seems that fins are equivalent to limbs in humans.

Since it’s not an entirely unfamiliar body part like gills, he thought it might be possible, and now he can store salt in his arms or legs.

Now it’s time to learn the remaining skills.

“Skills that only this guy has…”

Those were Uncontrollable Rage/Berserk and Prey on the Weak.

And both are A-rank.

So, should he just learn both?

‘Ah… The names are something else.’

Prey on the Weak is one thing, but Uncontrollable Rage sounds terrifying just by its name. Learning it might make him unable to control his anger.

Suddenly, he remembered the bull shark, furious after being stabbed by the toxin-coated harpoon, charging at him to kill him.

“I really don’t want to learn Uncontrollable Rage …”

In that sense, Prey on the Weak is also a bit unsettling, but if he avoids all of them, the only unique skill he can learn from this guy is Fin Salt Regulation.

So he mustered his courage.

– You have learned Prey on the Weak (A) (Active).

– One skill remains.

“Hmm!”

What should he learn for the last skill?

Tenacious Bite Force? Shark Bite? Wider vision? 500-meter dive, which he doesn’t need yet…?

What Ji Yeonwoo chose was none of those.

The skill he truly wanted,

the one that caught his eye from the start, the one he absolutely wanted to learn was…!

– You have learned Regrowing Teeth (B) (Passive).

“Hehe…!”

It was the Regrowing Teeth skill.

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