Leveling Up By Surviving Alone - L.U.B.S.A Chapter 51

Ji Yeonwoo, who had been smiling contentedly at the sight, rubbed his eyes.

He felt his eyelids growing heavy.

It was time to sleep.

“Goodnight, everyone. I’m going to bed first!”

With that, Ji Yeonwoo entered his tent and slipped into his lightning goose-feather sleeping bag.

“It’s been such a long time since I’ve had such a fulfilling days.”

The days after catching the bull shark and before the chicks hatched had been peaceful.

Peaceful was good, but it felt like something was missing.

However, after the chicks hatched, things became quite spectacular. Thinking about it, it felt like dopamine was flooding his brain, and sleep slowly began to drift away.

And then, another surge of dopamine hit.

Peep peep.

A guest entered the tent.

It was Hanari, one of the five chicks.

“You’re the leader, aren’t you? What’s up?”

Instead of answering, Hanari burrowed into Ji Yeonwoo’s lightning goose-feather sleeping bag. Seeing this, the other chicks followed Hanari’s lead. Before he knew it, Ji Yeonwoo was sharing his sleeping bag with five chicks, and he couldn’t contain the fluttering in his chest.

The fluffy, wriggly little ones pressed against his body!

A mix of emotions crossed Ji Yeonwoo’s face.

What if he accidentally squished them…?

He had lain down to sleep, but now he felt more awake than ever.

“Seriously….”

Who could sleep comfortably in this situation?

‘Am I going to end up staying awake all night?’

Snore…!

Peep…!

Hanari, who had been smiling brightly, frowned slightly.

Three days into chick life.

It wasn’t the first time Hanari had heard Ji Yeonwoo snore, but it was the first time hearing it this close. Hanari poked its head out of the sleeping bag and, before the third snore, betrayed Ji Yeonwoo and left the tent.

Once Hanari left, Duari, Seari, and finally Oari followed.

In front of the chicks stood the large, dependable figure of their big brother (…).

A majestic figure guarding the tent.

Peep…

Hanari, mesmerized by the large figure, began to mimic it.

The chick planted its feet firmly on the ground, puffed out its chest, and stood tall, keeping watch over the surroundings.

Peep…

Peep peep…

One by one, the other chicks followed Hanari’s lead.

…Kkok?

What are they doing now?

Kim Kkokko, watching this scene, was baffled.

Having hatched from an egg and spent an unfortunate (?) childhood without parental love, Kim Kkokko couldn’t quite understand the chicks.

Just because they mimic me, does that mean they’ll become like me? Why do they keep copying me?

But while it was baffling, it didn’t make her wary.

After all, mimicking her wouldn’t make them as strong as her.

There was only one creature in this world capable of such absurdity.

Grrr…!

Clack clack!

Suddenly reminded of that face, Kim Kkokko clacked her beak.

The wound in her chicken breast from that encounter still ached.

While lost in thought, the growing chicks had already fallen asleep.

Peep peep,

Peep peep peep~

Their sleeping posture awkwardly mimicked the hiding technique she had taught them.

Trying to blend in with their surroundings.

There were no rocks here, but something much sturdier than a rock was nearby, and eventually, the five chicks huddled together in a circle, using Kim Kkokko’s chicken feet as a pillow.

Pfft, the sound of a faint sigh escaping through her beak.

In the end, Kim Kkokko gave up standing and sat down.

It was because her legs were tired, not because she wanted to cradle the chicks.

But perhaps it was because she could feel the warmth the chicks had felt inside the egg against her skin? The chicks, peeping softly, burrowed into Kim Kkokko’s chest.

Kkok…

Since she had decided not to kill them until they grew up, a little cheekiness was fine.

—

– The Watcher says that on Earth, they call Kim Kkokko’s type a “tsundere” and seems pleased.

Kkok…?

—

– The Watcher smiles brightly and says, “See you tomorrow.”

What was that lingering thought blabbering about before leaving?

Regardless of Kim Kkokko’s pouty face, the temperature of the chicken breast cradling the five chicks naturally began to rise.

And so, the moon set, and the sun rose.

As the sunlight first touched her retina, Kim Kkokko didn’t resist her instincts.

—

  *

—

Kkokkokokooooook!

“Ugh…!”

Ji Yeonwoo woke up.

As always, Kim Kkokko’s morning call.

But this time, there were other morning calls too.

Peep peep peep~

“Oh my goodness!”

Ji Yeonwoo, with a wide smile, jumped up and ran outside.

So excited that he forgot to take off his sleeping bag, he crawled out like a caterpillar.

There, Kim Kkokko was leading the chorus, and the five chicks were harmonizing.

Kkokkokokooooook!

Peep peep peep~

“Mmm…! Such cuteness…!”

Hearts popped up all over Ji Yeonwoo’s face.

Kim Kkokko’s slightly annoyed expression as she led the chorus, and the five chicks’ adorable harmonizing.

“Such a cute and charming scene…!”

Ji Yeonwoo was on the verge of fainting.

His innate cuteness meter was about to explode.

But if he made a bigger deal out of it, Kim Kkokko would get annoyed and might not show him such a scene again.

So, he barely held back his desire to gush and instead clenched his fist, trembling.

‘Such a happy daily life…!’

But in the rift, such happy daily lives didn’t last long.

Thud.

Thud thud thud.

……?

Ji Yeonwoo, Kim Kkokko, and the five chicks all turned their heads in unison.

The sound of something falling.

From the direction of the cliff.

“Huh? I heard a thudding sound…?”

Ji Yeonwoo squinted at the cliff.

The cliff was about 150 meters away.

Without any vision-enhancing skills, it was hard to see clearly.

If the Watcher were here, he might have known, but the Watcher hadn’t woken up and logged in yet, so he had no idea what it was.

It seemed like he’d have to go check it out.

And in situations like this, the head of the household (…) had to go.

“I’ll be back.”

Kkok.

At Ji Yeonwoo’s words, Kim Kkokko also nodded.

Overprotecting him wasn’t the solution.

The time for taking care of Ji Yeonwoo from head to toe was over.

Well, it was probably just a rock falling from the cliff.

With that, Ji Yeonwoo walked toward the source of the sound.

The five chicks followed in a line behind him.

.

.

.

“Hmm.”

Arriving at the cliff where the sound had come from, Ji Yeonwoo tilted his head.

Something had definitely fallen from the cliff.

A strangely round sphere.

The surface of the sphere was covered in a rough, fibrous texture, like a coconut.

There were more than five of them scattered around.

He had thought it was a rock, but upon closer inspection, it seemed more like some kind of fruit?

He looked up. Above him was a cliff that seemed to be at least 100 stories high.

Well, it could be 200 stories, or even 1,000 stories.

Because the clouds blocked the view beyond.

Something had fallen from there.

If it were a rock, it should have shattered, but the round sphere in front of him was perfectly intact.

Moreover, the symbols “?????” were written above the sphere.

“This is suspicious….”

This definitely wasn’t normal.

Just as he was about to call Kim Kkokko to come take a look,

Peep…?

The five chicks—especially Hanari, the most curious—showed great interest in the sphere. Without any caution, Hanari dashed toward it.

The sphere was slightly larger than a basketball.

Hanari, looking up at the sphere, pecked at it with its beak.

Tap tap.

Tap!

It seemed like nothing, right?

Peep peep peep!

Hanari turned its head to look at Ji Yeonwoo.

It seemed like it was about to boast that it had checked and there was no danger, but then it saw Ji Yeonwoo’s expression.

His mouth was wide open, and his eyes were bulging. Ji Yeonwoo’s gaze wasn’t on Hanari but on something behind it.

Hanari also turned around.

The round sphere had opened a mouth, and sticky saliva dripped from its teeth, which stretched out like threads. The organs inside the mouth writhed, ready to engulf Hanari.

Peep, peep…!

Hanari’s vision darkened.

Or so it thought.

Thwack!!

The round body fell backward.

Hanari, who had narrowly escaped death, plopped down.

A large, warm hand lifted Hanari up from behind.

“That was dangerous, you little rascal!”

Peep…!

Hanari, calming its startled heart, looked ahead.

Embedded in the forehead of the fallen round mouth was a rectangular kitchen knife.

Dad had saved it!

This was Hanari’s first experience with terror,

And the result of that experience was…

Peep peep peep peep!

A tantrum.

A tantrum that seemed to say, “Let me down! I’ll kill that thing!”

With Ji Yeonwoo behind it, Hanari had nothing to fear, and its cheeky anger was directed at the mysterious carnivorous sphere.

“Ugh… someone calm this kid down.”

Peep peep peep.

Ji Yeonwoo set Hanari down, and the other four chicks rushed over to calm it. Hanari hopped around, peeping loudly, as if saying, “Let me go! Let me at it!” But the other chicks, having witnessed Hanari almost being eaten, didn’t let it go and instead pulled it back.

Meanwhile, the sphere that had fallen backward began to bounce like a basketball.

It moved in a way that made it impossible to predict where it would go next.

Its movement shifted toward Ji Yeonwoo, charging at him.

Bang!

The distance between it and Ji Yeonwoo was about 5 meters. It closed the gap in a single leap.

Ji Yeonwoo didn’t dodge but stared at it.

This wasn’t the Ji Yeonwoo who would scream and run at the first sign of danger.

Over these weeks since being stranded,

He had grown.

Thinking about it, it was only natural.

As the things he could do increased, so did his confidence.

Moreover, he had more to protect now.

He had taken down a giant bull shark; a mouthy ball was nothing.

Coincidentally, embedded in the sphere’s forehead was Ji Yeonwoo’s multi-tool knife, transformed into a kitchen knife.

As he thought about retrieving it and changing it into a harpoon to stab the sphere, a better idea came to mind.

Ji Yeonwoo stretched out his hand and muttered,

“Jawsbar.”