Leveling Up By Surviving Alone - L.U.B.S.A Chapter 57

—

There was definitely going to be a click sound.

It was inevitable due to the structure.

And once that sound was made, hiding would be over.

But it was a battle that was bound to happen anyway. It was better to take the hit quickly. Rather than giving up the third layer of the lunchbox and engaging in combat with 60% mana, it was better to take the risk and aim for 100%.

—

– The Watcher says it should be fine for a while.

– Rest as much as possible until he gives the signal…

Click!

Rumble!

With the deafening sound of dozens of trees breaking, the end of a vine as thick as a tree trunk moved.

A sphere larger than a basketball stared at Ji Yeonwoo and blinked its eyelid.

‘It was an eye!’

It made eye contact with Ji Yeonwoo.

An unexpected exchange of glances.

Instead of greeting it, Ji Yeonwoo shoved two sharp bamboo shoots into his mouth. Thanks to the pointed ends of the bamboo shoots, his face transformed into something resembling a saber-toothed tiger.

—

– The Watcher shouts, asking if he’s imitating a sea lion in this situation.

“Call it a saber-toothed tiger, please!”

—

– The Watcher tells him to dodge immediately…!

He was already planning to do so.

Ji Yeonwoo, who had been stuffing his mouth with bamboo shoots, flung his body to the left.

Crash!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Four whips came down one after another.

The rock they struck couldn’t withstand the force and caved in, leaving deep marks.

‘Wow.’

If I get hit by that…

‘I don’t think even my bones would survive…!’

Even in the midst of this, Ji Yeonwoo was falling, and one second later, two vines swung where he was supposed to be.

If this continued, he would inevitably get hit.

Ji Yeonwoo raised his hand, retrieved the Jawsbar, and swung it with all his might.

The back of the Jawsbar, made of bull shark teeth, stuck into the rock like a pickaxe.

Ji Yeonwoo’s body was barely secured, and below him…

Crash!

A massive sound echoed, leaving a deep mark.

“……”

‘Looking at that mark, I couldn’t help but feel that if I got hit by it, there would be no body left to recover.’

Grind! Grind! Grind!

The four tentacles stretched beyond a straight line, arching like a bow.

Once fully extended,

they would come down again.

If there was any consolation, it was that the larger they were, the longer it took for them to reload.

Calculating the time it would take for them to fully extend,

‘About a 5-second cooldown?’

It felt like a countdown to death: 5, 4, 3, 2… the next attack would kill me.

—

– The Watcher tells him to let go.

– He advises hiding in the deep marks left by the vines.

Who would doubt his words?

Ji Yeonwoo immediately let go of the Jawsbar, twisted his falling body, and landed in the depression formed by the marks.

Once inside, there was enough space for Ji Yeonwoo’s body to fit.

About a meter deep.

But the inner wall had the same color as the rock from the early climb.

He pressed it with his finger to check.

Squish.

‘As expected.’

It goes in.

Unlike the hard surface, the inside wasn’t solid.

In any case, once Ji Yeonwoo entered the trench, the vines that were about to strike stopped.

From their perspective, it seemed like he had suddenly disappeared.

—

– The Watcher tells him to dodge to the left.

“…!”

Jump!

Crash!

The vine came down vertically, creating a cross-shaped mark.

Ji Yeonwoo watched the vine strike right next to him.

The root, covered in fuzzy hair like a kiwi’s skin.

The root retracted, and the eye at the end met Ji Yeonwoo’s gaze.

Blink.

The giant eye blinked.

Blink. Blink.

Ji Yeonwoo’s eyes blinked too.

‘Haha…’

What an awkward situation.

Ji Yeonwoo reflexively threw a right straight punch into the eye.

Smack!

The eyelid quickly closed.

It was blocked, but he could feel it. Because his fist, which had struck the hard, chalky eyelid, was throbbing with pain.

If I’m in pain,

you must be in even more pain, right?

Screaaam!

As expected, a deafening roar, like a scream, came from inside the cliff!

The remaining vines indiscriminately struck where Ji Yeonwoo had been.

Crash!

He dodged one,

Crash!

and the second one too, but…

—

– The Watcher screams that he won’t be able to dodge this one.

Does that mean he can’t dodge the third one?

Ji Yeonwoo retrieved the Jawsbar and shielded himself with its side.

Soon, his vision turned black.

Crash!

The vine came down,

Ssshhhk. The vine lifted back up.

What was revealed was the Jawsbar, embedded in the cliff like a stamp.

—

– The Watcher screams.

– The Watcher disconnects.

“Oh my… he fainted again.”

Does he think I’m dead?

The Jawsbar acted as a shield, and Ji Yeonwoo was still alive.

In fact, he was relatively unscathed?

At this point, you’d think he’d be shaken up inside and puking blood, but it was just a slight tingling.

The space behind Ji Yeonwoo must have been larger than he thought. Otherwise, it wouldn’t make sense.

‘I got lucky.’

Gulp.

Even while getting hit, he managed to chew and swallow all the mana bamboo shoots.

—

– Mana recovered by 20%.

– Mana recovered by 20%.

With this, his mana was fully replenished.

His stamina was being drained, but having his mana fully restored was reassuring.

Ssshhhk.

Even now, the vines were moving upward.

‘I can’t keep taking hits.’

It was time to show this giant worm-like creature that even a worm will wiggle if stepped on.

Ji Yeonwoo changed the Jawsbar into a knife shape to secure his vision and climbed up following the vine.

The eye at the end of the vine noticed Ji Yeonwoo.

Was it just his imagination, or were the pupils trembling?

Ji Yeonwoo stabbed his fingers into the vine and hopped up, swinging the knife at the creature’s eye.

Just before the strike landed, he didn’t forget to transform it back into the Jawsbar.

Crash!

The creature dodged.

The Jawsbar embedded itself into the rock.

Ji Yeonwoo used it as a foothold to leap up.

Rapid Swimming.

Crash—!

Ji Yeonwoo, who had swiftly climbed up, landed on the creature’s side.

Even the creature’s surface was covered in rough, fuzzy hair, resembling kiwi skin.

“I wish it tasted as good as a kiwi.”

Just like with the bull shark,

to turn this situation around, he needed to take a big bite out of this creature.

Gleam.

Ji Yeonwoo’s teeth gleamed.

His sturdy teeth, like those of a rockfish, sank into the creature’s body.

The eye at the end of the tentacle trembled as it watched.

Chomp!

…

To cut to the chase, Ji Yeonwoo failed to bite through the creature.

It seemed that the force needed to break through the rock wasn’t just about weight—the creature’s skin was tough and elastic.

No matter how much force he applied, it only dented, not tearing.

But he couldn’t just pull back with an awkward, “Heh, didn’t work, huh?”

Instead, he applied even more force.

Crunch!

“…!”

A sound of something breaking echoed.

A chill, the kind you’d feel at a dentist’s office, ran through his entire body.

The taste of blood in his mouth…

wasn’t someone else’s.

Ji Yeonwoo’s precious molars had been completely shattered!

Rustle…

‘Damn it…!’

Regret flooded in.

I should’ve chosen Sturdy Teeth (B) instead of that useless Body Elasticity Enhancement (B)!

But of course, Ji Yeonwoo wasn’t one to give up.

‘Plan B.’

He retrieved the multi-tool knife in the form of a saw and immediately struck.

The sharp blade…

…didn’t cut through the root’s surface.

Squish.

It just sank in due to the elasticity.

Well then,

‘Plan C!’

The raised saw began to transform into the Jawsbar.

With the added weight, he put his entire body into the swing, adding a skill to the mix.

—

*Shark Bite (B)*

A mist-like aura formed around the Jawsbar.

Like a bull shark taking a big bite, it surged toward the creature’s root.

But,

Thud!

It only embedded itself, failing to cut through.

The minor wound, like a single axe strike on a log, left Ji Yeonwoo feeling hollow.

Ji Yeonwoo glared at the eye watching all of this.

“You… what the hell are you made of?”

Massive and heavy. Strong enough to shatter cliffs, and neither teeth, blades, nor skills could pierce it.

A wave of helplessness washed over him.

In this state… it seemed impossible to win.

Just as he was feeling defeated, the sky darkened.

One of the remaining three vine roots was descending toward Ji Yeonwoo.

“…!”

Crash!

He barely dodged.

As a result, the vine root he had been standing on had to bear the full brunt of the strike.

Groooan!

The eye on the vine that had been struck widened as if tearing apart.

The tip of the tentacle also twitched before drooping down. It looked like the flailing of a fish.

As if in pain, whining,

yet the second vine root showed no mercy.

It was descending in real-time, aiming for Ji Yeonwoo’s head, even though its companion was below.

‘Then?’

His vision darkened.

Looking up, he saw the vine coming straight for him.

He had to dodge.

No, there had to be a better way.

Ssshhhk.

Every nerve in his body tensed up.

Time slowed down for Ji Yeonwoo.

The urgency to dodge immediately faded.

Watching the slowly descending vine, he pondered.

There were many options.

He could just jump out of the way.

But the path to what Ji Yeonwoo wanted required a bit more thought.

The vine was getting closer.

If he didn’t dodge now, he’d have to take the hit knowingly.

But he waited until the very last moment.

And just when it seemed like he was about to get hit, instead of leaping away, Ji Yeonwoo let go of the vine’s hair.

Gravity pulled his body down, barely getting him out of the strike’s range.

Crash!

The massive vine struck right in front of him.

Even though it didn’t hit him directly, the shockwave made his body tremble.

The reason he did this was to reach the end of the first vine below faster than if he had leaped.

The vine above him, like a ceiling.

Twisting his body upside down,

he kicked it.

—

*Rapid Swimming (D)*

Crash!