Leveling Up By Surviving Alone - L.U.B.S.A Chapter 44

“Wait a moment!”

 

Ji Yeonwoo began cooking. He filleted the fish, seasoned it with salt, and grilled it as usual. Of course, he didn’t forget to grill the bamboo shoots that Kim Kkokko loved.

 

He also boiled the leftover pufferfish seaweed soup and served it alongside.

 

Kim Kkokko’s eyes sparkled.

 

Kkokkooo!

 

She buried her head in the steak and bamboo shoots.

 

Though her posture was serious, seeing Kim Kkokko’s tail feathers wagging like a puppy’s as she ate the seaweed soup made him sure she was enjoying the meal.

 

– The Watcher drools.

– They ask if there’s any for them.

 

“You can’t have the pufferfish seaweed soup, but there’s something else for you!”

 

For the Watcher, Ji Yeonwoo served fish steak, bamboo shoots, and the bull shark’s liver.

 

The prepared food disappeared to Earth, and soon the Watcher’s heartfelt praise made Ji Yeonwoo happy.

 

Now it’s time to sleep.

 

But,

 

– The Watcher says there’s a change in the green onions and garlic.

– They recommend taking a closer look.

 

“Huh? Oh!”

 

The stems of the green onions and garlic had sprouted buds.

 

They were flower buds.

 

Once they bloom, he could get seeds.

 

He could plant them around!

 

Ji Yeonwoo stroked the buds of the green onions and garlic and smiled contentedly.

 

Is it because this is the Rift world, not reality? Come to think of it, they’re growing at an incredibly fast pace. Maybe it’s because they’re plants within the territory Ji Yeonwoo declared, so they grow faster?

 

“Grow strong and tall.”

 

The night deepened.

 

Now it’s really time to sleep.

 

Kim Kkokko buried her head in her chest and fell into a light sleep, and Ji Yeonwoo also went into the tent and snuggled into the lightning goose sleeping bag.

 

“It feels like a lot has happened these past two days.”

 

Catching the bull shark, cooking and eating it, dissecting it, making a weapon….

 

Naturally, the moments when he almost died while catching the bull shark came to mind.

 

Now, when he closes his eyes, those near-death moments will end.

 

– The second week survival have been completed (2/7).

 

“What?”

 

Just as he was about to fall asleep, Ji Yeonwoo suddenly sat up.

 

He thought he heard a familiar notification.

 

This time, it’s not 7 days but 7 weeks.

 

“What will happen after 7 weeks?”

 

He doesn’t know.

 

But he’s somewhat looking forward to it.

 

With that, he closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

 

And so, three weeks passed quickly.

 

* * *

 

The waves gently swayed with the direction of the wind.

 

But inside, a great battle was taking place.

 

A battle in silence.

 

It was a battle between the Giant Rift Sea Bream and the Rift Scorpionfish.

 

Each measuring 3 meters and 2 meters respectively… these two were rarely challenged in these shallow waters.

 

But they had met, and now they were fighting over this empty territory as if it were fate.

 

Kuguguuung!

 

Every time the two giants collided, strong shockwaves spread around.

 

The battle between the two, 10 meters below, was fierce.

 

The Giant Rift Sea Bream’s color was so red it looked like blood.

 

It had devoured many things and was large enough to earn the title “Giant.”

 

Its massive body and scales, which had surpassed their limits, were hardly damaged by the Rift Scorpionfish’s sharp spines, and it targeted the flesh between the spines.

 

At first glance, it seemed certain that the Rift Scorpionfish would lose.

 

But the Scorpionfish, with its long, sharp spines raised like a porcupine, was far from defeated.

 

The Scorpionfish hadn’t yet earned the title of “Giant.”

 

But no matter how giant the Sea Bream was, it was still a Sea Bream. How long could its soft scales hold against the Scorpionfish’s spines?

 

The Scorpionfish twisted its body wildly toward the Sea Bream’s attacking direction, its spines filled with venom, and eventually managed to pierce between the scales and inject its venom. This was repeated dozens of times.

 

The Giant Rift Sea Bream’s body slowed.

 

Its fin movements weren’t the same as before.

 

By the time it realized something was wrong, it was too late.

 

The Scorpionfish’s hard snout, as tough as the Sea Bream’s, bit into the Sea Bream’s defenseless flesh, tearing it apart.

 

Crunch!

 

Finally, the tables turned, and the Sea Bream’s eyes turned lifeless.

 

It was the moment the winner of this territory was decided.

 

The Scorpionfish, having secured its territory, trembled with joy.

 

If it ate the Giant Rift Sea Bream, it too would grow large enough to earn the title of “Giant.”

 

The Scorpionfish focused on tearing into the Sea Bream’s flesh.

 

But something was rapidly approaching the Scorpionfish.

 

Above the Scorpionfish’s head, on the water’s surface, a massive fin was cutting through the waves, approaching quickly.

 

A light blue fin.

 

The fin moved through the water as fast as any fish, closing in on the Scorpionfish. Then, with a *bang! bang!* sound, its speed multiplied several times.

 

By the time the Scorpionfish, with its head buried in the Sea Bream, turned around, it was too late.

 

The thing that sliced through the Scorpionfish’s body like pudding was the light blue **Jawsbar**.

 

‘Hmm.’

 

Ji Yeonwoo, preparing for his next attack, didn’t swing **Jawsbar** again.

 

Cutting the already bisected Scorpionfish into more pieces would just make it harder to carry. Fortunately, the Rift Scorpionfish’s bisected body was still connected by a thin dorsal fin, so it looked like he could carry it with one hand.

 

Just as he was about to lift the fin, something massive sinking not far away caught his eye.

 

‘The Rift Sea Bream…?’

 

Yes, but no.

 

It was too big.

 

The words “Giant” were written on the Sea Bream’s forehead.

 

The two had fought, and it seemed the Scorpionfish had won.

 

But the final victor was Ji Yeonwoo himself.

 

‘Talk about reaping the rewards.’

 

The same went for the Giant Rift Sea Bream. Ji Yeonwoo grabbed the fins of both creatures and carefully moved them.

 

If this were the Ji Yeonwoo who had first arrived here, this would’ve been impossible, but the current Ji Yeonwoo had no trouble moving these two.

 

As he moved them to the raft, he fell into thought.

 

‘This kind of thing has been happening a lot lately.’

 

Recently, larger fish like triggerfish and rockfish, over 1 meter long, had been entering the kelp forest to feast, so he’d been catching them often.

 

But this was the first time he’d seen a creature over 3 meters and another nearly 2 meters in these waters.

 

Ji Yeonwoo wasn’t a fool, so he had a vague idea of why this was happening.

 

‘It’s because the Rift Bull Shark died, right?’

 

The Rift Bull Shark must have been the boss monster of this area.

 

The fact that it was an elite monster alone was enough to confirm that.

 

When the lion is gone, the fox becomes king.

 

But if there are too many foxes, they start fighting among themselves.

 

This situation seemed to follow that logic.

 

‘Will this kind of thing keep happening?’

 

He didn’t know, but he couldn’t be too optimistic.

 

But would this be a bad thing for Ji Yeonwoo?

 

Not at all.

 

If the strong fish started causing trouble on their own, he could just catch and eat them, becoming the lion of this territory himself.

 

In fact, his combat skills had improved a lot.

 

The attack he used earlier with **Jawsbar**, utilizing his wish, is a good example.

 

The strange method of swimming with the tip of the sword sticking out like a fin, doubling his swimming speed. Adding **Rapid Swimming** to that for three more bursts of speed created an incredible, albeit brief, velocity. If he swung **Jawsbar** with that momentum, a fish over 2 meters could be bisected in an instant, as had just happened.

 

When this wish first appeared, Ji Yeonwoo thought his subconscious was being foolish, but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise, allowing him to use this ambush-like method.

 

Ji Yeonwoo named this technique **Shark Ambush**.

 

It’s a combination of abilities so impressive it could be considered a skill.

 

So, as the saying goes, every cloud has a silver lining!

 

‘Everything has its use, huh?’

 

…Though his subconscious, which had wished for light blue, was still a bit foolish.

 

With that, he arrived at the raft.

 

Despite the gently swaying waves, the raft didn’t budge an inch.

 

He placed his hand on the raft and lifted himself up. Even so, the raft didn’t tilt downward easily.

 

This was partly because the raft had grown to 10 meters in length and width, and partly because the remaining bull shark jawbones attached to the corners balanced the weight… but ultimately, it was thanks to the strengthened wish that came with reinforcing the raft.

 

After the bull shark incident was fully resolved, Ji Yeonwoo began repairing the raft, and in the process, he expanded the 3-meter-long raft to 10 meters, strengthening the existing wish and adding a new one.

 

The existing wish was strengthened, allowing the raft to float even better on water.

 

However, it still couldn’t fully support Ji Yeonwoo’s weight and the weight of the two monsters he was carrying.

 

But the fact that it floated better now was thanks to the new wish’s function.

 

– The name of the Combat Bamboo Raft has been changed to **Enhanced Combat Bamboo Raft**.

– Its grade has been upgraded from E to D.

– A new wish has been added.

– You can now anchor the raft to a specific location in the sea.

 

Perhaps it was because of the terrifying memory of the raft being pushed further from shore by the bull shark’s force? A wish to anchor the raft to a specific spot in the sea had been granted. Thanks to this, Ji Yeonwoo was able to successfully haul the two monsters onto the **Enhanced Combat Bamboo Raft** without much trouble.

 

With the hunt complete, it was time to go home.

 

– The anchoring of the **Enhanced Combat Bamboo Raft** has been released.

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There was no need for oars to move this large bamboo raft.

 

Ji Yeonwoo could just jump into the sea and use **Rapid Swimming** in the direction he wanted to go.

 

Bang! Bang! Bang!

 

The **Enhanced Combat Bamboo Raft**, with its added momentum, glided forward.

 

What about changing direction?

 

Ji Yeonwoo, standing on the raft, raised his hand.

 

**Jawsbar**, embedded in the sea, was summoned into the air and caught.

 

He planted the thick blade in the opposite direction and swung it to steer.

 

Swinging it to the left turned the raft right, and swinging it to the right turned it left. **Jawsbar** was serving as an excellent rudder for the raft.

 

In this way, Ji Yeonwoo reached the shore in just 5 minutes, a trip that would’ve taken 20 minutes of rowing a few weeks ago.

 

As the raft appeared, the fry hiding in the seaweed and kelp reacted.

 

Instead of fleeing, they began to gather around the raft.

 

Splash, splash, splash!

 

Watching the fry flapping on the surface of the water, Ji Yeonwoo smiled contentedly. It reminded him of how his father’s tropical fish would follow him as he moved around.

 

Even these small fry seemed to recognize the one who fed them.