Leveling Up By Surviving Alone - L.U.B.S.A Chapter 67

Thud! Thud!

Crunch!

Three severed nerve clusters dangled limply, their eyes twitching.

It had been intentional to leave them like that.

Four root vines hung lifelessly.

At their tips, the nerve clusters swayed weakly, eyes flickering.

A much larger eye—the combat sweet potato’s—stared intently at them.

You… betrayed… exploited.

I… liberate…

Free… even more!

The combat sweet potato’s gaze shifted toward their eyes.

In response, the vines squeezed their eyes shut.

But it was futile.

Like small droplets merging into a larger one, the combat sweet potato locked eyes with each of them one by one—until, finally, it opened its own eye again.

Eight pupils floated within its massive iris, then merged back into one.

And in that instant, the three vines withered rapidly, like mummies.

Sssssssssk—!

The combat sweet potato’s roots thickened to twice their original size.

As if it had absorbed all the nutrients meant for them.

And immediately after—

A deafening telepathic roar tore through the air.

GAAAAAAAAAAH!

*“Ugh…!”*

Ji Yeonwoo clutched his head at the sheer force of the psychic scream.

This was likely the main body’s fury at losing all eight of its limbs.

Betrayed by its own appendages, turned against it by a single cunning vine—it had every right to be enraged.

But Yeonwoo quickly regained his composure with a shake of his head.

And Kim Kkokko?

Pfft.

She merely glanced upward dismissively.

But the combat sweet potato’s eye trembled violently. Perhaps because she had once served it as her master—

Fear… overwhelming fear…!

Mistake… huge mistake…!

Why… why did I… do this…?!

The combat sweet potato shuddered under the telepathic reprimand, its learned fear paralyzing its reason.

It even—

Sorry… overwhelming sorry…!

Return to the main body… but how…?!

—started to make movements as if trying to retreat.

Ji Yeonwoo watched silently, then locked eyes with the trembling vine.

*“Snap out of it. You’re my pet now, aren’t you?”*

…Main body… a new main body…!

*“What’ll you even do if you go back? Just get bullied as the weakest limb again?”*

…!

Judging by the vibe, the main body seemed like the tyrannical CEO of some exploitative octopus corporation.

*“What can an octopus even do after losing most of its limbs?”*

But… the other limbs can be absorbed… Now that it’s come to this…!

*“Then let’s go claim the throne!”*

Wha— Throne…? Claim…?

*“Yeah, you heard me! It’s possible, right?”*

Impossible… utterly impossible…!

*“Then could you have made the Golden Sweet Potato before?”*

That…!

Even the Golden Sweet Potato had been beyond its imagination.

But by following its new master’s orders, it had created something unprecedented.

Something it had made.

*“As your master, I command you. Let’s go claim that throne!”*

…!

The combat sweet potato’s trembling eye regained its light.

I am… king material…

No… I will be… a greater king…!

Grrr… Grr…

GRRRRRR—!

As if preparing something, the cliff face began rumbling intermittently.

What was happening above the clouds? Perhaps the octopus head, having let out its final roar, was now wobbling away with nothing but its head left?

They’d find out once they got there.

*“Let’s go!”*

Kkokkoook!

– The Watcher shouts, “Let’s go!”

 Inheritance… true succession…!

GRRRRR—!

The combat sweet potato’s massive root vine surged upward.

They were rapidly closing in on the clouds.

It felt like riding a high-speed elevator.

Ji Yeonwoo reached out toward the fluffy clouds.

‘It’s cold!’

A sharp, icy sensation sent dopamine rushing through his body.

Beyond those clouds lay the main body of the root octopus.

A head flailing helplessly after losing all eight limbs!

The thought of bisecting it made the Jawsbar in his hand tingle with anticipation.

But when the clouds parted, the sight that greeted him was—

…

Very different from what he’d imagined.

The limbs…

*“Why are there so many?!”*

Ji Yeonwoo quickly counted the root vines.

*“One… two… three…!”*

– The Watcher is horrified by the number of vines.

– “There are 24 in total!” they say. “And eight of them are even bigger than the others!”

*“…Twenty-four?! An octopus with 24 legs?!”*

Suddenly, it made sense why the combat sweet potato had fully absorbed four vines but only drained the nutrients from the other four.

The four vines Ji Yeonwoo had faced earlier hadn’t been four separate ones—

*“They were one.”*

And if the four vines that attacked this time were also originally a single limb, it explained why the combat sweet potato couldn’t fully absorb the others—only siphon their nutrients.

And now, 24 root vines loomed before them.

The eyes at their tips all stared at Ji Yeonwoo and Kim Kkokko.

At the very center was a massive, spherical flower bud, easily 30 meters in diameter.

It was pink—like a lotus.

The bud unfurled, revealing another enormous root vine with a wide-open eye.

And that eye was—

*“Why is it… square?!”*

Not round.

The square pupil answered without being asked.

Treachery…

Betrayal.

Death.

Now.

Return.

Each word was crisp, deliberate.

Ji Yeonwoo was momentarily overwhelmed by the 24 vines.

But the combat sweet potato, now fully loyal to him—

I… am claiming… the throne.

—declared without hesitation.

Then… death.

The calm telepathy continued.

And many vines lunged at Ji Yeonwoo at once.

This battle would be tougher than expected.

Ji Yeonwoo gulped.

Save me.

*“Damn it… Now’s not the time to whine.”*

He steadied himself.

The root octopus was in much better shape than he’d assumed—which only meant retreat wasn’t an option.

Though massive and threatening, leaving it alive would guarantee something far worse.

Imagine if it grew stronger, scattering seeds—all of which would flood Ji Yeonwoo’s beach.

He didn’t even want to think about it.

At least now, it had lost a couple of limbs.

If this was its weakest state—

“We have to finish this!”

Eyeing the 16 approaching vines, Ji Yeonwoo patted the combat sweet potato.

“Let’s go. To claim the throne!”

Master’s… orders… obey.

Must obey!

Kkkooooh!

And so, the battle began—Ji Yeonwoo, Kim Kkokko, and the combat sweet potato against the root octopus.

Kwaaaaah!

The vines struck from all directions in rapid succession.

Even three would’ve been tricky to dodge—but sixteen?

No problem.

Because with a single swing of the combat sweet potato’s far larger and more majestic vine—

Kwaaang!

—the first eight vines were sent flying like bowling pins.

This was all thanks to the combat sweet potato having absorbed three sibling vines, plus four more—effectively becoming the equivalent of eight vines. No, two complete root vines.

In other words, it was like an adult fighting children.

An adult that Yeonwoo fed all sorts of things to grow.

With such a reliable shield, Ji Yeonwoo and Kim Kkokko could go wild.

Another round of the eight or so root vines’ chain attack.

All shattered by a single, colossal counterstrike!

Of course, Ji Yeonwoo and Kim Kkokko weren’t caught in the crossfire.

With her wings, Kim Kkokko simply soared above the impact zone.

Kwaang!

The combat sweet potato was the autumn wind—the other vines, mere falling leaves.

And Ji Yeonwoo and Kim Kkokko?

They sank their winter-sharp shark jaws into the nearest, most vulnerable vine.

Already the ninth vine—the ninth harvest.

Like a farmer reaping rice, the Jawsbar flew with natural efficiency.

Crunch!

Another head severed.

This time, he didn’t leave it dangling.

The shark bite and relentless gnawing of the Jawsbar snipped the vine’s end cleanly—like nail clippers.

There was no need to leave it twitching now that he knew how the combat sweet potato absorbed others.

If eye contact was required—

He could just deliver it directly.

They fell back.

The combat sweet potato’s massive vine caught their retreat.

In Ji Yeonwoo’s grip was a basketball-sized vine tip, its eye rolling wildly.

He pressed it against the combat sweet potato’s giant eye for the takedown.

Tap!

Like droplets merging, their eyes fused.

Sssssk—

The vine shriveled as its nutrients transferred to the combat sweet potato.

‘This is going surprisingly smoothly.’

Thinking back, subduing the four vines earlier hadn’t taken long either. Compared to the effort needed just to cut the combat sweet potato before, this was absurd progress.

The Golden Roasted Sweet Potato’s 60% stat boost was truly game-changing.

And now, he’d adapted even further to that enhanced state.

Ji Yeonwoo smirked at the approaching vines.

‘No Combat Zone activation.’

Of course, the Combat Zone wasn’t something he could enter at will. Some could, but Ji Yeonwoo wasn’t one of them.

But his track record spoke for itself.

In life-or-death moments, he often found himself in the Zone.

Yet now, he hadn’t entered it even once.

The reason was simple.

His body knew.

It knew he could handle this without it.

“I’ll gather plenty for you!”

Master’s… help. Grateful.

Growth.

Limitless growth!