Leveling Up By Surviving Alone - L.U.B.S.A Chapter 55

—

The crack in the rock allowed Ji Yeonwoo to climb more easily.

But where there are advantages, there are also disadvantages.

Ji Yeonwoo gritted his teeth as he looked up.

What he saw wasn’t the sky but the cliff. From a distance, he hadn’t noticed, but as he got closer, the sloping section began to make its presence known.

“…I expected it, but the slope is really steep, huh?”

About a 45-degree incline.

It was like the ceiling of an attic.

Ji Yeonwoo had to climb it.

—

– The Watcher says the entire section is sloped, so it’s the same no matter where you go.

“I’m really glad there are so many cracks.”

Ji Yeonwoo’s feet left the rock face.

Like moving across a cloud ladder, he had to support his entire weight with just his hands until another rock face appeared.

“Ugh…!”

Groan.

Groan!

Perhaps from overuse? Ji Yeonwoo’s forearms swelled more than usual.

The result of his muscles, the veins there became more prominent.

—

– The Watcher’s face turns red.

“Huh, brother?”

—

– He says it’s nothing.

– He adds that the difficult section will be over soon.

“Ah! That’s a relief.”

As the Watcher said, the steep slope ended, and a normal cliff face came into view.

However, the slope, which started at 45 degrees, now exceeded 70 degrees, and the holds were farther than Ji Yeonwoo’s arms could reach.

– The Watcher says that after the 70-degree slope, there’s a 0-degree slope.

—

– The Watcher says the holds are out of reach and that Ji Yeonwoo would have to jump to grab them.

But there are only two holds on the way there, roughly 2 meters and 5 meters apart. Moreover, they’re located on a section where the slope bends again, making them almost invisible.

To grab them, he’d have to perform acrobatics like a monkey.

—

– The Watcher says he should really turn back this time…

“Haaa!”

Ji Yeonwoo let out a shout and swung his body like a pendulum before launching himself like a bullet. His body seemed to float for a moment before he reached for the hold 2 meters ahead.

No, just as he was about to grab it, the world began to slow down.

He had entered the zone.

‘Perfect timing!’

Dangling precariously.

He couldn’t even catch his breath, but moving was better than staying in the zone.

Thud.

He successfully grabbed the hold 3 meters ahead.

Now, the final one.

Bang…!

His body was completely airborne.

The ceiling-like slope ended, and the cliff face reappeared.

But Ji Yeonwoo’s body, having lost momentum, was slowly moving away from the cliff.

‘I need to find a hold.’

The frozen time was slowly but surely returning.

Proof that he was leaving the zone.

‘There it is!’

Just one spot.

As the Watcher had said, he found a hold just big enough for one hand.

His perception of time returned to normal.

He reached out.

What happened next was simultaneous.

Crash!

His left hand fit perfectly into the hold.

He had barely managed to wedge his hand into the crack in the cliff.

He had successfully passed the sloping cliff.

“Huuu…!”

It was half luck.

And that luck had run out.

Sliiide.

His hand slipped.

The dampness inside the cliff made even the salt useless.

The Watcher, seeing Ji Yeonwoo’s expression, quickly realized the situation.

—

– The Watcher screams at him to clench his fist immediately.

Even though it was a system message, the urgency was palpable.

A question mark formed in Ji Yeonwoo’s mind.

Why clench his fist?

Was he supposed to perform a falling ceremony or something?

But he soon understood. Clenching his fist increased the volume of his hand, allowing him to wedge it into the crack he had barely managed to grip.

“Wow… brother. I almost fell!”

—

– The Watcher says, in technical terms, that’s called a “hold.”

“A hold… wow. Wow!”

—

– The Watcher says there aren’t many holds ahead and tells him to rest while he can.

“Yeah. I’m completely drained.”

With that, Ji Yeonwoo slumped for a while, fist still clenched.

He relaxed every part of his body except his fist and took a break.

His entire body, which had been tense, relaxed.

But his tightly clenched fist was painful.

“Ugh… I’m at my limit.”

His limbs trembled as he moved. He wanted to rest his entire weight somewhere and relax.

—

– The Watcher says he probably exhausted himself from being too excited earlier.

“Ugh…”

He had no response.

He couldn’t even speak.

Whoosh!

The cold, sharp wind forced his mouth shut.

No matter how much Ji Yeonwoo’s strength and agility had improved, he was still below A-rank. He hadn’t expected to succeed in one climb.

“Instead of holding, I need to rest properly. Like lying down or something.”

—

– The Watcher asks if he’s crazy. How can he lie down here?

“Hmm! It seems possible. I’ll try it, and if it doesn’t work, I’ll just fall, I guess.”

The Watcher had no response to Ji Yeonwoo’s casual remark.

He was probably sighing deeply.

Ji Yeonwoo trusted Kim Kkokko, but honestly, how could he not be scared falling from such a height?

He just didn’t show it to avoid worrying the Watcher.

‘Actually, I’m shaking like crazy….’

That’s why he tried not to look down.

Ji Yeonwoo thought he didn’t have a fear of heights.

After all, he had fallen from 11 meters, the height at which humans feel the most fear.

But now it seemed that 11 meters wasn’t the height at which humans feel the most fear.

‘Those lying broadcasters….’

Looking down made his head spin.

He felt like he was losing his mind.

He couldn’t even make out the shapes of the chicks or Kim Kkokko.

The vast sea. The giant sun, seemingly on the verge of setting.

It was a magnificent sight,

but it would get even colder at night.

Fall or hold on.

‘Please let my strategy be right.’

With his left fist still wedged, Ji Yeonwoo summoned his multi-tool knife in his right hand.

The multi-tool knife was in the form of a kitchen knife, easy to grip.

He rotated it halfway so the back of the blade faced forward.

Then he transformed it.

“Jawsbar.”

Whoosh.

It grew heavier as it enlarged. Once Jawsbar took shape, it became difficult to hold with one hand.

Moreover, his left fist, still wedged, felt like it was about to break.

—

– The Watcher asks what on earth he’s doing.

Ji Yeonwoo, gritting his teeth, couldn’t answer.

Instead, he acted.

A horizontal slash with all his strength was his answer.

Whoosh!

The back of the blade struck like a club.

The back of the blade, lined with dozens of bull shark teeth, gleamed.

And an active skill was added.

—

*Shark Bite (B)*

A mist-like airflow formed around Jawsbar.

For a brief moment, it seemed to take the shape of a bull shark’s jaw—or was that an illusion?

Crash…!

While harpoons, cleavers, and kitchen knives couldn’t penetrate, Jawsbar was different.

It dug straight into the solid cliff face.

Just like when it had bitten Ji Yeonwoo’s left arm a week ago, it lodged itself firmly.

He let go of the sword.

The heavy sword remained embedded in the cliff, not budging an inch.

Its solidity meant it was firmly fixed once embedded.

Ji Yeonwoo pressed it a few times, then grabbed the hilt again and released his left fist. Even as his weight shifted to the sword hilt, Jawsbar didn’t move a millimeter.

The width of Jawsbar, excluding the teeth, was about 50 centimeters. Its length was 1.7 meters.

In other words, a perfect bench had been created in the middle of a thousand-foot cliff.

“Haaaaa….”

Ji Yeonwoo immediately lay down. Even though it was a greatsword, he was careful with the edge since he had positioned it well. It was precarious, but there was enough space to squeeze his body in.

From here, the clouds looked much closer than from the ground.

“I think I’m halfway there. Right?”

After that, the Watcher was silent for a while.

Was he too stunned to speak?

The Watcher finally spoke again when Ji Yeonwoo started dozing off.

—

– The Watcher asks if he’s really falling asleep in this situation.

– He warns that even a slight movement could make him fall.

“Ugh… you’re right. But I’m so tired.”

Clearly, he shouldn’t sleep here.

He was already prone to sleeping, and if he fell asleep here, he might never wake up.

“If I fall from here, Kim Kkokko will catch me, right…?”

—

– ……

“Tell me she will….”

—

– ……

“…Did I come too far?”

—

– ……

“Sniff….”

It was cold and dark.

A sense of unease began to creep in.

This wasn’t like Ji Yeonwoo at all.

It seemed like the cold and hunger were affecting his mood.

Ji Yeonwoo opened his hunting backpack, which he had been using as a pillow.

Inside was a hunting lunchbox and some dried fish.

“No matter how I think about it, rock climbing is better after eating. Right?”

—

– The Watcher says that’s not how the phrase “better after eating” is used.

“Ah, you know what I mean!”

With that, he opened the lunchbox.

Inside was still-steaming fish cake stew.

—

– The Watcher asks when he even prepared this.

“Brother, you left for about 30 minutes earlier to look up rock climbing, remember?”

—

– The Watcher says he’s quick with his hands.

“Want some?”

—

– He says he really wants to but probably shouldn’t right now.

“Hahaha… right. You can’t steal this from me.”

The fish cake stew, filled with fish cakes.

As he stared at it, a system message appeared.

—

– This ingredient has an effect.

– Would you like to use your profession skill, “Effect Manifestation”?