Leveling Up By Surviving Alone - L.U.B.S.A Chapter 63

—

 

If the first condition were true, **Prey on the Weak** would be way too overpowered—its activation range would be absurdly broad.

 

Skills in the Hunter universe aren’t *that* carelessly designed, so registering it as a pet must have played a big role.

 

In other words, Ji Yeonwoo’s choice to learn **Plant Communication** had indirectly triggered **Prey on the Weak**.

 

Of course, the truth was unknowable.

 

What *mattered* was that Ji Yeonwoo’s Jawsbar was now dealing *double damage*.

 

Three tentacles, each tipped with a glaring eye.

 

Those eyes locked onto Ji Yeonwoo before the vines arched forward like drawn bows.

 

A sequential attack.

 

Yesterday, he wouldn’t have been able to dodge.

 

Because it wasn’t flat ground—it was a cliff.

 

It was *still* a cliff.

 

But thanks to Kim Kkokko, it might as well have been flat ground.

 

*Kko-kko-koooook!*

 

Kim Kkokko’s powerful talons dashed across the rock face as if it were level.

 

A massive root vine loomed over her, but—

 

*Crash!*

 

She easily pivoted out of the way.

 

Ji Yeonwoo, already braced on her back, leaped off like a frog.

 

*Hop!*

 

His target? The middle section of the vine.

 

Thick enough that three grown men linking hands would barely encircle it—roughly two meters in diameter.

 

Into this, the 1.7-meter Jawsbar plunged.

 

—

 

**Shark Bite (B)**

 

As the aura-clad Jawsbar activated **Shark Bite**, a blue bull shark materialized—different from usual.

 

*Crunch!*

 

The shark tore halfway through the vine.

 

The eye at the tip convulsed wildly.

 

*Screeeeam!*

 

The massive root reared like a bowstring, trying to fling Ji Yeonwoo off.

 

If it succeeded, the kinetic energy would send him flying like an arrow.

 

So he jumped *first*.

 

No ground—just the cliff.

 

What awaited him wasn’t the earth but the sturdy back of an ancient bird.

 

Kim Kkokko, having launched him (?!), had anchored herself to the cliff and now shot forward like a bullet to catch him.

 

The result?

 

*Thud!*

 

A perfect landing!

 

No words were exchanged.

 

Ji Yeonwoo simply raised a palm midair, and Kim Kkokko slapped it with her wingtip as she raced past—*smack!*

 

*Thud!*

 

“Nice catch, Kim Kkokko!”

 

*Kko-kko-koooook!*

 

Flawless teamwork!

 

The result? A Jawsbar embedded *more than halfway* into the thick vine.

 

One more strike like that, and it would snap.

 

But Ji Yeonwoo didn’t go for the kill.

 

Instead, he triggered a skill that activated when the *entire* blade was lodged in the target.

 

—

 

**Tenacious Bite (B)**

 

*Crunch!*

 

Aura-formed teeth sprouted along the blade’s edge.

 

The sides split open like scissors.

 

The separated parts twisted backward, then rotated clockwise to meet the front.

 

The teeth at the front and rear interlocked like a *real* shark’s jaws.

 

*Snap!*

 

And the vine caught in the middle?

 

*Crunch-crunch-crunch—CRACK!*

 

It *had* to break.

 

*Screeeeam!*

 

The wound left behind looked exactly like a shark bite—ragged and torn.

 

The vine shrieked before going limp.

 

Literally *hanging* by a thread.

 

The nerve clusters at its center must have been severed.

 

It hadn’t fallen yet, but it was now in the same state as Combat Sweet Potato had been.

 

This proved that even these massive root vines could be neutralized by embedding the blade deep enough.

 

“One down…!”

 

*Survive…*

 

*Please survive…!*

 

“Oh! Right!”

 

Killing the vines *wasn’t* the priority.

 

Twelve hours had passed since he’d heard Combat Sweet Potato’s lifespan—to keep harvesting those sweet potatoes, he *had* to save it.

 

“Just hang in there.”

 

*Sur…vive…!*

 

*Kko-kko-koooook!*

 

The Kim Kkokko Express was back on track.

 

Her talons never stopped moving, carrying Ji Yeonwoo even higher.

 

Soon, the severed end of Combat Sweet Potato’s original root came into view.

 

All he had to do was reattach it.

 

But Ji Yeonwoo didn’t rush over—because two fresh vines were already lashing down at him.

 

They pursued relentlessly.

 

Forced to overshoot his target, Ji Yeonwoo climbed even higher, the two vines hot on Kim Kkokko’s tail.

 

Then, they struck.

 

Not simultaneously—*sequentially*, cutting off any escape.

 

—

 

– **The Watcher says their movements are too precise—there’s no way to dodge.**

 

“I *know*!”

 

Ji Yeonwoo had faced this before.

 

Outnumbered, forced to take a hit he saw coming.

 

But this time was different.

 

Because he wasn’t alone.

 

Suddenly, Ji Yeonwoo let go of Kim Kkokko’s feathers.

 

*Whoosh!*

 

Midair, the two vines’ eyes locked onto him.

 

But it was too late.

 

Ji Yeonwoo clung to the cliff face and began scrambling *down*.

 

The rock was too hard to dig his fingers into—but it didn’t matter.

 

Kim Kkokko’s talons had left plenty of footholds.

 

Soon, he reached the severed end of the sweet potato vine.

 

Combat Sweet Potato, now small enough to hold in one hand, had shrunk to a triangular lump with tiny eyes.

 

Ji Yeonwoo pressed it against the 70-centimeter-wide stump at the center.

 

The vine’s dull, dying eyes shot open—then its body began to swell like a sponge soaking up water.

 

*Groooow!*

 

The growth was so rapid it sent Ji Yeonwoo flying backward.

 

“Grow nice and strong!”

 

Barely catching himself, Ji Yeonwoo looked up.

 

Kim Kkokko was fending off the two vines trying to reach him.

 

*Kkok! Kko-kko-koooook!*

 

*Slash!*

 

One was kicked away, the other blocked by a wing gust.

 

“So reliable!”

 

But the two vines were still charging toward *him*.

 

Kim Kkokko was right behind them, but she probably wasn’t fast enough to intercept.

 

Which meant—

 

*‘I’ll handle this myself.’*

 

He couldn’t dodge at the last second like usual.

 

If he did, Combat Sweet Potato would take the hit.

 

These things had beaten up their own kind—did he really expect camaraderie *now*?

 

So Ji Yeonwoo had to tough it out.

 

“Tch!”

 

He sprinted *along* the cliff face.

 

Putting as much distance as possible between himself and the reattaching vine.

 

The two roots adjusted their trajectory, following him.

 

He’d successfully redirected the attack—but now he *had* to take the hit.

 

Time to trust his stats.

 

The +15 Strength and Stamina.

 

And the **Body Elasticity Enhancement** skill!

 

Ji Yeonwoo summoned the Jawsbar and shielded himself like last time.

 

The moment he did, his vision darkened under the crushing weight.

 

*CRASH!*

 

*”Hurts.”*

 

A *lot*.

 

But the fact that he was *alive* to feel pain after two massive vines piledrove him was absurd in itself.

 

Even the pain itself surged through his body like a wave before dissipating from his extremities.

 

If *this* was the extent of it—

 

“I could take, like, *five* more of these!”

 

—

 

– **The Watcher freaks out, asking what kind of insane statement that is.**

– **He says he’s embarrassed *for* Ji Yeonwoo, face turning red.**

 

“…Huh? Why?”

 

Did I say something weird?

 

In any case, Ji Yeonwoo was *fine*.

 

Ten seconds after the impact, he was mobile again.

 

The vines retracted, sliding back up.

 

Inevitably, their eyes would meet his again—just like when he’d stabbed Combat Sweet Potato’s eye yesterday.

 

*Ssshhhk.* The sound of something massive ascending.

 

The thick vine tapered as it rose, its tip’s eye widening to inspect its prey.

 

But what filled its vision wasn’t Ji Yeonwoo.

 

It was the *Jawsbar*!

 

The vine shut its eyes—so Ji Yeonwoo struck the *underside*, softer than the hardened eyelid.

 

**Prey on the Weak** still active, the blade cleanly snipped the tip.

 

But did these vines share vision?

 

*Slice!*

 

It wasn’t a clean cut—the vine had dodged awkwardly.

 

Still, severing the nerve cluster was a 70% success.

 

*Screeeeam!*

 

The massive vine flopped like a decapitated fish!

 

With the way now clear, Ji Yeonwoo scanned his surroundings.

 

*Kko-kko-koooook!*

 

Kim Kkokko was flying toward him.

 

Her expression was strained—her wing bones must have been stressed—but she could still stay airborne.

 

Ji Yeonwoo leaped to lighten her load.

 

Midair, the two were about to reunite and resume their three-dimensional battle—

 

When,

 

*CRASH!*

 

A *third* vine suddenly lashed out, aiming for the exact spot where they’d meet.

 

It planned to strike the moment they connected.

 

Worse, it came from an *unexpected* angle—physically and psychologically impossible to counter.

 

Ji Yeonwoo saw it.

 

At its tip? Combat Sweet Potato’s gleaming, *fully restored* eye.

 

*‘This little—!’*

 

That’s right.

 

The vine hurtling toward him belonged to the very creature he’d *saved*.

 

A telepathic wave of fury hit him.

 

Activating **Plant Communication**, he heard its thoughts:

 

*Revenge…*

 

*Definitive revenge…!*

 

Betrayal *right* after becoming a pet?

 

“Couldn’t we have *talked*…?”

 

But Combat Sweet Potato wasn’t interested in talking.

 

Now at full strength, it had completely lost its mind.

 

Its movements didn’t just resume—they *accelerated*.

 

So fast that,

 

it crossed the interception point *before* Kim Kkokko and Ji Yeonwoo could meet.