Leveling Up By Surviving Alone - L.U.B.S.A Chapter 68

The combat sweet potato had truly grown.

With each swing, Ji Yeonwoo would leap onto smaller vines, severing their eyes and feeding them to the combat sweet potato for absorption.

Two, three—now the fourth vine had been consumed.

If these vines had originally split into four, absorbing them was no different from devouring an entire limb. The combat sweet potato now held the nutrients of three full legs.

The battle was undeniably getting easier.

*“Heh. Look at you now!”*

Ji Yeonwoo smirked triumphantly at the root octopus’ main body, eager to see the shock in its square-pupiled eyes.

But the emotion in those eyes wasn’t shock at all.

Rather—

‘…Laughing?’

How could it be laughing while its body was being torn apart?

Its scheme would soon be revealed.

– The Watcher shouts that the massive vines behind them are moving!

The massive vines—eight of them, distinctively thicker, longer, and darker than the others. Even after splitting, they had remained coiled tightly around the main body like clenched fists or fern fronds. Now, they unfurled like cobras rising to strike.

Simultaneously, every vine assaulting Ji Yeonwoo’s group(!) abruptly retreated.

A flawless, synchronized maneuver.

As if their mindless rush had been a setup for this.

The eyes at the tips of these cobra-like vines locked onto the combat sweet potato’s gaze with sniper-like precision. Then, from their “torsos,” circular suction cups opened.

No—those were barrels.

And from them, something began firing endlessly.

Pah-pah-pah-pah-PAK!

*“…!”*

Ji Yeonwoo’s eyes widened to their limits.

Time slowed to a crawl.

A round object suddenly appeared right before his nose.

‘It’s fast.’

More of them were flying toward him.

Small, but identical to what had fallen on his beach days ago.

‘Seeds…?’

Hahahahahah!

– The Watcher screams at the top of their lungs, warning Ji Yeonwoo to dodge!

‘Am I dead?’

No—the fact that he could even think that meant he wasn’t.

It didn’t hurt.

He’d dodged them all.

But his entire body broke out in goosebumps.

Ji Yeonwoo was more baffled than anything.

*“…How the hell did I dodge that?”*

He was already airborne.

The moment the barrage began, he’d leapt from Kim Kkokko’s back.

Thanks to that, Kim Kkokko had avoided the seed bombardment too.

But their evasion wasn’t just skill—this attack hadn’t been aimed at them in the first place.

Their gazes turned backward.

There, the combat sweet potato writhed in agony, its eyes bulging.

Gyaaaaaaaah!

Its body was riddled with round seeds. White sap oozed from each wound as the embedded seeds began gnawing into its flesh like ravenous mouths. The combat sweet potato’s pain-glazed eyes met Ji Yeonwoo’s.

Master… evade.

Run…!

Grrrrrr—!

As the bombardment ended, the root vines surged forward again.

Twelve remained after four had been absorbed—now merging into four thicker vines.

Though not as massive as the ones fully consumed, they were still far larger than before. They coiled around the combat sweet potato like pythons.

Like five-year-olds banding together to match a teenager—while said teenager was already battered and weakened.

The chaotic melee dragged on.

– The Watcher frets that they’ll lose at this rate—they have to do something!

*“Agreed. We’ve got to…!”*

But how?

*“Damn it!”*

Ji Yeonwoo’s eyes locked onto the eight suction-cup vines reopening their barrels.

As they took aim at the combat sweet potato, the tangled vines retreated like a receding tide.

Pah-pah-pah-pah-PAK!

Another seed salvo.

The combat sweet potato staggered, screaming as over half the shots landed. Seizing the chance, the vines lunged again.

A few more rounds of this, and defeat was inevitable.

*“We have to act.”*

Kkok!

Ji Yeonwoo and Kim Kkokko’s eyes met.

No words were needed—their bond was palpable.

They’d faced many foes on the cliff, but never had their synergy felt this vivid.

*“Let’s go!”*

Kkoooooooh!

– Your pet, Kim Kkokko’s affection, has increased by 5!

– Affection with Kim Kkokko: 42

Kim Kkokko shot forward with powerful wingbeats, accelerating toward the lead vine of the four charging at them. The vine twisted to evade, but Kim Kkokko pivoted mid-flight, racing toward its tip.

Ji Yeonwoo wasn’t idle either.

He drove the Jawsbar into the vine’s surface and ran.

Schiiiiing!

Like a knife through butter—or more accurately, a blade dragged from knee to toe. The vine’s eye bulged in unbearable agony as Kim Kkokko and Ji Yeonwoo scaled its length. They reached the tip, where the Jawsbar should’ve cleaved the giant eye in two.

He was certain it had.

Schwak!

But the Jawsbar sliced through empty air?

*“…?”*

Ji Yeonwoo froze.

Where the eye should’ve been, there was nothing.

He glanced around. Three tendrils with three eyes glared at him. Below, the massive vine remained intact.

‘Only the tip split into three…?’

They’d been played.

The divided vines merged again—trapping Ji Yeonwoo and Kim Kkokko at their center.

Schwaaaak!

Kkoooooooh!

Kim Kkokko dodged. Ji Yeonwoo didn’t.

His arms and legs bound, he was hoisted into the air.

Kim Kkokko shrieked as she plummeted. The Watcher could only scream helplessly.

The eight suction-cup vines stared at Ji Yeonwoo. Behind them, the square-pupiled main body’s eyelids curved like crescent moons.

Ji Yeonwoo had been the target all along.

The one who’d led its “innocent” subordinate astray.

He deserved to die.

*“Damn it…!”*

No matter how he struggled, he couldn’t break free.

Kim Kkokko screeched as she charged back, but the eight barrels looked ready to fire at any second.

No—they were merging. Two suction-cup vines fused into one, their barrels combining into a single, massive maw.

Die.

Pooooosh!

…!

Ji Yeonwoo’s world slowed again.

What erupted from the barrel was a clumped mass of seeds—dozens packed together.

The moment it launched, it burst apart, scattering like shrapnel.

A shotgun blast. No—a claymore, sweeping across the entire area, Ji Yeonwoo included.

‘There’s nothing I can do…!’

Was this really how he’d die?

His limbs are bound, and the Jawsbar is dropped below. He could summon it back, but what good would that do with his arms tied?

‘I wish I could be summoned to the Jawsbar instead…!’

– Your yearning has been reflected.

‘What damn use is that now?!’

Even as he cursed, the seed shrapnel inched closer.

In his slowed perception, they’d hit in about 3 seconds—but he couldn’t dodge.

Then, between him and the seeds—a wall rose.

A wall with an eye.

A giant eye, curved in a crescent moon as it gazed at Ji Yeonwoo.

The combat sweet potato was smiling.

Pah-pah-pah-pah-PAK!

Gyaaaaaaaaaah!

The massive vine, shielding Ji Yeonwoo from the blast, collapsed.

As it fell, its weight crushed the attacking vines, scattering them in three directions—and launching Ji Yeonwoo into the air.

He grabbed onto the combat sweet potato’s withering vine and climbed.

At the top, a shrunken, egg-sized eye peered up at him weakly.

Orders… unfulfilled.

Apologies… deepest apologies…

Master… but.

Relieved,

Protected….

The smiling eye slowly closed.

– The combat sweet potato is dying.

Even now, the merciless system coldly narrated.

Once the vine fully slumped against the cliff, the impact would surely finish it off.

Ji Yeonwoo gritted his teeth.

*“…Thank you.”*

Memories flashed through his mind.

Their first encounter.

The punches he’d thrown.

The cuts he’d made.

The life he’d drained from it.

Even his playful decision to spare it because the sweet potato tasted good—every memory was tinged with guilt, and now those were ending too.

So at the very least—

He had to avenge it.

Ji Yeonwoo gave what might be his final command.

*“Throw me with everything you’ve got left.”*

Orders… obey.

Absolutely obedience!

The eye, now egg-sized, bulged with effort.

Channeling every last nutrient into its ravaged body, it strained to fulfill Ji Yeonwoo’s wish.

The massive vine bent like a bow—then lashed like a whip.

One final, desperate motion.

And with it, Ji Yeonwoo was launched like a bullet.

Swaaaaaa—ng!

His body rocketed through the sky.

The root octopus’ vines swiped at him but missed.

Seeds fired, but only grazed where he had been.

The main body’s eyes loomed close—then fell away.

He soared over the cliff.

The air grew colder.

White frost coated the cliff’s surface.

And then—the summit filled his vision.

A snow-covered expanse, untouched by footprints, reflecting the sun’s glare so brightly it stung his eyes.

Reaching out, Ji Yeonwoo thought:

‘What’s beyond that?’

No way to know.

But one thing was certain—to clear this place, he had to reach it.

So he would.

‘Right after I take that damn octopus’ head!’