Leveling Up By Surviving Alone - L.U.B.S.A Chapter 59

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Ji Yeonwoo had succeeded in cutting off the root vine of the ????—something he initially thought would be impossible.

Sure, it was just the tip, and he’d needed the momentum from Rapid Swimming  combined with the Jawsbar’s skill, but still—he’d done it.

Of course, he’d thrown it away so Kim Kkokko could catch him.

But he wasn’t worried.

He’d tossed it toward the cliff, not the sea, and the beach wasn’t that wide anyway. Even if it was just the tip, something that tough and fibrous would stay intact—easy to find later.

Though,

“I didn’t expect it to still be alive.”

The thing was neatly cut into a triangular shape.

An eye sat at the tip, its hard eyelid blinking. Even now, it was wriggling its edges, trying to send thin roots into the cliffside.

Was it trying to plant itself? Or climb back up?

We’d never know.

Because Ji Yeonwoo stopped it.

In any case, he’d grabbed it by the… well, not the scruff of its neck, but the scruff of its root, dragging it over and plopping it onto a flat stone cutting board.

“Now, time to eat this thing, right?”

His speech was no longer slurred.

Despite it being less than an hour, his new teeth had already fully regrown, gleaming so brightly under the moonlight they were almost blinding.

Even a real shark’s teeth probably didn’t grow back this fast—but who cared? There was no reason to question something so advantageous.

Paching!

The Chinese cleaver’s blade reflected the root vine’s trembling form.

Did it know its fate? Its fist-sized eye blinked pitifully.

The sun had fully set.

The moon had fully risen.

The sea mirrored it like glass, while the shore glittered with the colorful bioluminescence of small fish.

“Perfect weather for slaughter, don’t you think?”

Ji Yeonwoo took a step forward as he said it.

Shiver—

Shiver-shiver!

The root vine’s eye trembled violently.

It tried to back away—but behind it stood Kim Kkokko, the ancient bird, twitching an eyebrow. Injured from shielding Ji Yeonwoo earlier, she wasn’t about to let the culprit off easy.

And when the big sister(?) showed hostility, the little siblings(?) followed suit.

Peep-peep! Peep! Peep-peep-peep!

The five ducklings puffed up, hopping around threateningly.

One even pecked the vine’s tip—pok!

Twitch-twitch! The vine flinched, blinking rapidly as if ticklish.

Blink-blink-blink-blink!

“Hmm…”

Its eyes looked like they were about to burst into tears.

Desperate, like it was trying to say something.

As if pleading, “Use your words…!”

But,

“Should’ve tried talking before we got to this point. Too late now.”

Ji Yeonwoo was the victim here.

This thing had scattered weird seeds down the cliff, and when he went to check it out, the vines attacked him. Even now, if he hadn’t caught it, the other three vines would’ve gleefully finished him off.

So,

“No mercy.”

The fight wasn’t over yet.

Three more roots remained, and who knew what else was lurking beyond them.

He needed to eat this thing—gain stats or skills—to gain any advantage in the next battle.

“And we’ve got a lot of mouths to feed.”

Kkok.

Kim Kkokko nodded solemnly.

—

– *The Watcher is extremely curious what this thing tastes like.*

The equally starved Watcher,

Peeep-yaaaak!

And the five ducklings—who could’ve just eaten fish but chose to wait hungrily for their share—all stared at the vine’s flesh with ravenous eyes.

“So the only kindness I can offer is killing you before we eat.”

Even if it had tried to kill him, Ji Yeonwoo wasn’t cruel enough to carve into it alive.

But where to strike for a clean kill?

Probably the eye, right?

He raised the cleaver.

The vine squeezed its eyes shut—

Clang!

The blade bounced off.

Yet the shockwave alone made its whole body tremble, sending vibrations strong enough to make the sand boil.

“Tch—Hey! You’re making me consider eating you alive! Is that what you want?!”

Shiver-shiver!

Blink-blink-blink!

“Ugh, I can’t understand a damn thing you’re saying.”

Besides, if it could talk, the sheer creep factor would make him kill it faster.

But the vine kept its eyes locked shut.

Killing it cleanly was now a problem.

And he really didn’t want to carve into it while it was still alive.

But there was another way.

“Guess I’ll stab through the back of the head.”

Ji Yeonwoo grabbed the vine’s root-scruff, forcing it to expose the back of its eye.

As he raised the harpoon-formed multitool knife—

“Don’t worry, I’ll send your friends to join you soon.”

—the vine’s tightly shut eye snapped open.

Shiver-shiver-shiver!

It vibrated wildly—some last act of defiance?

But Ji Yeonwoo’s strike wouldn’t stop.

At least, not until two new shoots burst from its body.

Sprout!

“Huh…?”

From around its eye—where arms should be—two root-tendrils, as thick as a child’s forearm, sprouted.

“You trying to fight with those?”

The vine’s eye rolled side to side.

As if saying no.

Then, after a moment—

Pop!

“……?”

Pop-pop-pop-pop-pop!

Buds formed along the stems, swelling until small, clustered lumps began to grow.

Tiny somethings hung in bunches.

About five per stem—ten total.

And their shape was…

Surprisingly familiar.

A bit small, but wasn’t that…?

“Sweet potatoes?”

Pumpkin sweet potatoes, at that.

“You’re offering these in exchange for your life?”

The vine didn’t understand his words.

But it did pick up on the shift in atmosphere.

Nod-nod-nod!

Its intention was clear:

There’s a way to eat me without killing me.

“Hmm… I get what you’re saying, but I can’t promise to spare you. What if these taste like garbage?”

They looked like sweet potatoes, but who knew?

If they tasted bad, he’d be pissed. And if he was pissed, he’d kill the thing that tried to kill him. Simple as that.

Shiver—shiver!

At that, the vine quivered its stems, pushing them toward him.

As if saying, Try one!

“Hmm…!”

Skeptical, Ji Yeonwoo plucked one.

Pluck! The vine winced but didn’t resist.

About three knuckles long and two knuckles thick—small, but undeniably sweet potato-shaped.

He split it open—snap!—and a few droplets of moisture sprayed out.

The inside was pale yellow, glossy with starch—just like the real thing.

But he didn’t eat it.

One simple reason:

“Too small.”

Shiver-shiver-shiver!

Sensing his dissatisfaction, the vine strained, shedding all its current fruits before growing new, bigger ones.

The freshly grown pseudo-potatoes were noticeably larger.

Its clear eyes pleaded:

Is this okay?

Ji Yeonwoo shook his head.

Then, grinning, he held out his forearm.

“I want them this big.”

Shiver!

The vine’s eye trembled.

That was too big and beautiful.

But better than dying, right? Plop-plop-plop! It shed the ten new ones, then strained, eyes bulging like it was constipated.

And then—

Groooow—thunk!

An enormous pseudo-potato emerged.

Only six this time (three per stem), but each was big enough to satisfy even Ji Yeonwoo’s appetite.

“Huh. Didn’t actually need them this big.”

Finally satisfied, he plucked one.

Twenty tiny potatoes had been sacrificed for this moment.

The vine had spent all its energy.

Its eyes begged.

It couldn’t regrow roots to climb. Couldn’t send a telepathic SOS.

Its only hope for survival was proving its worth to this pseudo-monkey.

Ignoring its plight, Ji Yeonwoo took a serious bite.

Crunch. Munch.

Slightly astringent at first, then sweetness flooded his mouth.

The taste of sweet potatoes—enhanced with rift-creature umami!

This wasn’t just sweet potato. This was better.

“Hoh…!”

Delicious. Insanely so. The best sweet potato he’d ever eaten.

“This is good.”

Drip-drip-drip.

At those words, tears streamed from the vine’s eyes.

Meanwhile, a satisfied smile spread across Ji Yeonwoo’s face.

“Seriously tasty. This is…”

His expression suddenly blanked.

—

– *You have consumed Root Octopus’s Root Vine (A) from the Monster Compendium.*

Otaku_Senpai

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