Leveling Up By Surviving Alone - L.U.B.S.A Chapter 4

&4

 

Something was poking up out of the ground—something dark, maybe with a hint of purple, shaped vaguely like a flower bud. It was peeking out as though greeting him.

 

What is that? Ji Yeonwoo tilted his head for a moment, then realized what it was.

 

“A bamboo shoot…? Why is this popping up here?”

 

Indeed, it was a bamboo shoot just beginning to sprout.

 

Of course, Ji Yeonwoo hadn’t planted it. He had no idea how bamboo propagated itself, nor did he care much. He just found it odd that even beneath the path where people trod, bamboo was apparently growing.

 

Probably, this shoot would grow to about as thick as his forearm, just like all the bamboo around Mt. Taebaek.

 

“Bamboo shoots… are delicious.”

 

He swallowed hard.

 

Ji Yeonwoo was someone who liked bamboo shoots. They have a slightly sweet taste, a nice crunchy texture, and are rich in potassium, vitamin B1, and vitamin B2; for a plant, they also contain quite a bit of protein.

 

He knew this mainly because, when his father disappeared into the mountains for a week or a month at a time, he’d sometimes come back lugging enormous bamboo shoots. He’d then give a long lecture about why he’d picked them. Ji Yeonwoo’s mother would sigh and turn those shoots into delicious dishes, every time.

 

He still clearly remembered the childhood memory of accidentally gulping down the yellow water from boiling those giant bamboo shoots—thinking it might be some kind of drink—and ending up in the ER.

 

“And Dad got scolded on my behalf afterward.”

 

He naturally smiled at the memory. It was both nostalgic and comforting.

 

But Ji Yeonwoo refrained from harvesting the shoot prematurely. First, it wasn’t fully grown yet. Second, even if he pulled it now, bamboo shoots require several steps of preparation before eating; he couldn’t do that easily under the current circumstances.

 

Moreover, if he let it grow into an actual bamboo stalk, he could do a lot more with it. There’s a reason bamboo crafting is a thing—you can make all sorts of items.

 

Of course, he himself had never tried bamboo crafting… but at the very least, he could fashion a spear. And for someone whose only possessions were a pair of, well, “family jewels” and ten throwing knives, a spear would be a reassuring addition.

 

So instead of ripping out the shoot, he did something wiser—he sprinkled some of his precious water on it.

 

*Trickle…*

 

“Grow really fast for me, okay?”

 

Time for ramen. Ji Yeonwoo went back inside his tent, picked up his ramen and instant rice, and headed outside. All he had to do was add water and boil it. Then he realized something very obvious yet overlooked: he was standing on a completely barren beach of nothing but sand.

 

“How am I supposed to build a fire…?”

 

Images of various fire-starting methods flickered through his mind. Yet none of that mattered if he had no sustained fuel source to keep a decent fire going—there was nothing to properly maintain a flame. He had a few dried leaves carried over with the soil from Mt. Taebaek, but they would burn too fast to boil water.

 

For a moment, his gaze landed on the nicely growing bamboo shoot, but he quickly shook his head.

 

“That’s my future food supply.”

 

With a sigh, Ji Yeonwoo tore open the ramen packet.

 

When you don’t have teeth, you use your gums, as the saying goes. In this case, if he couldn’t boil water, he’d just eat the ramen dry.

 

“All the same when it hits your stomach.”

 

He sprinkled some of the seasoning powder on the raw noodles. Using the entire packet would be too salty, so he only used half and saved the rest for later. He set aside the dried veggie packet as well.

 

“I’m sure I can use it someday.”

 

*Crunch. Crunch!*

 

The unique crispness of raw ramen noodles, combined with the sprinkled flavor powder, tasted almost heavenly. Sure, boiled ramen is tastier, but it had been a while since he’d eaten it like this, and in some ways, it even felt nostalgic.

 

Eventually, his throat went dry. Time to wash it down.

 

*Gulp!*

 

The fresh water he’d gathered earlier was now a bit cooler, thanks to the evening air, and it tasted far more refreshing than before.

 

“Ahhh… Not bad at all. Great, even!”

 

He was tempted to open up the instant rice, but decided against it. Unlike ramen, instant rice doesn’t taste good if you eat it cold. Wasting such precious emergency rations on a moment’s whim would be foolish.

 

Feeling somewhat full now, he realized this was the best time to get some rest. The giant sun had set, and a huge moon had risen. Whether it was just his imagination or not, the moon seemed to be more perfectly round than it had been the night before. He recalled that if yesterday was a crescent, then today might be a full moon—a complete “manwol.”

 

“It’s really pretty… so pretty.”

 

The night sky was filled with countless stars. He’d been so stressed earlier that he hadn’t noticed them yesterday, but now he couldn’t help getting a little emotional. Sure, the arrangement of these stars was different from Earth’s, but it was hard not to feel stirred gazing at such a grand, starry sky in the middle of nature.

 

“Sigh! Let’s get some sleep.”

 

This time, before crawling into his tent, he took off his hunting suit. Yesterday he’d worn it to bed, fearing the unknown, but it had been uncomfortable. Now that the area seemed safe, sleeping with all those plates attached would do more harm than good. So he stripped down to just his underwear and undershirt, effectively “going natural.”

 

“I’d love to bathe… but that’s a luxury, right?”

 

Where would he find enough water for that? If he used the sea, the salt would dry him out like jerky. As for changing into the fresh underwear he’d packed for camping, that felt like another luxury he couldn’t afford in this place. He had to get used to being grimy.

 

‘What if I can’t sleep because I feel gross…?’

 

*Snorrrrk.*

 

Soon enough, the same notification as the night before popped up at a specific moment:

 

> **- You have successfully survived the second day (2/7)**

 

But of course, Ji Yeonwoo was sound asleep and heard none of it.

 

—

 

“…”

 

He’d felt pretty grimy when he closed his eyes, yet upon waking, he felt fresh, and it was already morning.

 

With a start, he sat up.

 

He gazed fondly at his lightning-goose-down sleeping bag.

 

“You really are something else, aren’t you!”

 

He patted the bag, grateful for another night of restful sleep, and began his daily routine.

 

First, he watered his “crops.” The banana he’d stuck in the soil was still there, unchanged. The patches of watermelon, orange, and garlic seeds hadn’t bulged up yet, either. The only good news was that the green onion seemed to have grown a bit. The length, which had run from his fingertip to his wrist, had extended about five centimeters.

 

“Five centimeters in a single day?”

 

That meant if he cut off a little each day to add to his ramen, he might be able to keep harvesting indefinitely. That was good enough for him.

 

Casually glancing over to where the bamboo shoot had been, he found that it was now about one meter tall.

 

“Does it always grow this fast?”

 

Granted, bamboo can grow a meter a day under certain conditions, like after heavy rain—but for it to shoot up this much just because he’d watered it? Still, he was glad he hadn’t torn it out.

 

“Keep it up—grow nice and strong.”

 

He poured some water around it. It had gotten bigger, so he gave it more this time.

 

Now it was time to eat some ramen. He felt both pleased and a bit disappointed, knowing he’d have to eat it raw again. It stung that he had no fuel to boil water.

 

Oddly enough, it was as if the bamboo itself sensed his frustration.

 

*Rustle.*

 

A single dried leaf-like husk fell to the ground from one of the bamboo’s joints. Once it had been a protective layer for the shoot; now that the bamboo had grown, it was nothing but a withered, papery husk. It was larger in area than his palm.

 

“…”

 

Entranced, Ji Yeonwoo approached the bamboo and carefully harvested the other dried husks barely clinging to each node. He gathered eight pieces. Then, taking out his fire steel, he tried lighting one on fire.

 

*Fwoosh—*

 

The edge caught quickly. Amazingly, it didn’t burn up all at once; it seemed like it would burn slowly, with enough steadiness to sustain a flame. Stacking four of those husks together generated enough firepower to boil water!

 

“Oooohhhh!”

 

He sprang into action. Who knew how long it would last? He had to heat water immediately.

 

He poured some water into a small pot and placed it over the flame. Holding the pot over the husk-fueled fire for several minutes, he didn’t even notice any arm fatigue. His entire focus was on the water inside, watching tiny bubbles form at the bottom.

 

Before long, *pop!* a bubble rose.

 

*Booooil—*

 

It started boiling!

 

Ji Yeonwoo quickly added ramen, seasoning powder, and the vegetable pack he’d saved. Even with his left hand, he was skillful—though the next four minutes felt eternal. Eventually, the cooking was done. But there was one finishing touch left.

 

“Excuse me~” he said, going over to the green onion. He carefully snapped off one leaf. If you add it at the end, after the ramen has boiled, the onion’s aroma intensifies rather than blending in. Ji Yeonwoo preferred it that way. 

 

Breaking the leaf into pieces, he sprinkled it on top of the ramen in the pot, then lifted some noodles to his mouth with his camping chopsticks.

 

*Slurp…!*

 

He sucked in the noodles confidently. The warmth spreading through his mouth felt like a reassuring pat on the back after these stressful days surviving in a rift.

 

*Slurp, slurp!*

 

His father, who’d served in the army, used to say that after a long march, nothing tasted better than a steaming bowl of spicy beef ramen. Ji Yeonwoo wanted to tell him: “Ramen boiled in another world is no joke, either!”

 

“Kheuh…!”

 

He couldn’t help himself. Tearing open a pouch of chilled instant rice, he dumped it straight into the pot. The still-burning bamboo husks further heated it, and the once-dry rice grains soaked up the broth, forming a marvelous ramen congee.

 

Scooping it up spoonful by spoonful, he finally ended his “ramen mukbang.”

 

“Thanks, bamboo!”

 

The flames that had danced along those dried husks began to wane. Checking the time on his phone (with 22% battery remaining), he realized four husks burned for about an hour. He spaced out, watching the dying embers, feeling the soothing delight of a mini “campfire” on the beach.

 

A scenic beach, satisfying ramen, and a cozy fire.

 

“What more could I want? It’s practically paradise.”

 

He glanced up to the sky, expecting to see a grand display of stars that would complete the romantic vibe. But something was off.

 

“Why aren’t there any stars tonight?”

 

Not only that—the moon was absent, too. The sky was completely empty.

 

It was a different scene from the night before.

 

And just then, the bamboo husk flames went out with a final sigh.

 

*Huff…*

 

Pure darkness descended, as if absolutely nothing existed. It felt like some dark force had been held back by the moonlight until now and was finally creeping in.

 

It was—

 

> **- The black energy, suppressed by the moon, is now unleashed.**

 

This was Ji Yeonwoo’s first night here without a moon.