Leveling Up By Surviving Alone - L.U.B.S.A Chapter 7

During the moonless night, the rain poured down relentlessly, and all that water collected in Ji Yeonwoo’s “magic wells.”

So what became of the 40-liter garbage bag he’d placed in the hole by the cliff?

Well, the result…

Wasn’t great.

“What the…!”

Ji Yeonwoo stood there, aghast. The 40-liter bag that he’d so carefully pinned down with chopsticks had somehow come loose and was lying crumpled outside the pit. He couldn’t fathom how it happened.

Yet as he got closer to the hole, the situation became perfectly clear.

“Whoa…”

He let out a hollow laugh.

Inside the pit was an abundance of water—so much that it overflowed, soaking the surrounding ground. The previous night’s torrential rain had gathered in that spot, filling and overfilling the excavated hole. Now it was more like a proper well: an expanse of crystal-clear water.

When he scooped some up with his hand and took a sip…

Gulp…

It was incredibly refreshing.

“Kha!”

Could this stuff contain sugar or something? There was a distinctly sweet aftertaste, different from normal spring water. The water was so clear that his own reflection showed on the surface.

Seeing his reflection, though, he couldn’t help but cringe.

“Ugh… I look exactly like some wild man.”

He usually prided himself on his looks—or at least harbored a sneaking suspicion that he was good-looking. Fresh out of the shower, he’d think stuff like, I could totally rival Won Bin(South Korean actor). Of course, whenever he dared mention such thoughts aloud, people vehemently disagreed, pointing out he wasn’t some celebrity. His sister in particular would give him looks of utter disgust, reminding him of his actual place. Still, he’d clung to the notion that he was “pretty handsome, all things considered.”

But that thought was laughable now. His untrimmed beard, darkened skin, and slightly hollow cheeks made him look like some cave-dwelling savage.

No help for it—he’d just have to get used to it. For now, he’d focus on being grateful for this well that wouldn’t run dry anytime soon.

“Man… guess that storm was really intense. Enough rain to fill this entire hole…”

Indeed, a lot had happened the previous night: thunder, lightning, and storms so wild he’d wondered if the tent would blow away or if he might die then and there. His precious vegetable and fruit “troops” would have been obliterated if not for him. Even he nearly lost it when he heard the roars of countless monsters behind the cliff.

“Now that I think of it, something really big crashed down last night, right? That was terrifying…”

Remembering that thunderous crash, Ji Yeonwoo froze.

“That’s right.”

He’d definitely heard a colossal impact not that far from his tent—meaning somewhere along this cliff. If he circled around, maybe he’d find out what fell.

So he set off.

…At first, he assumed it was nothing special, just some trees or rocks dislodged from the cliff edge by the storm. Perhaps if it were a monster, he would’ve noticed it earlier, or it would have died from the fall.

But when he reached the cliff’s edge, there was nothing.

Not surprising, really—he could see it was all barren.

Except he realized something upon getting closer:

“This isn’t actually the cliff’s end?”

He’d assumed the coastline was shaped like a smooth letter “n,” but that wasn’t the case. Off to the right, there was a separate path curling around a shallow, rocky shoreline.

So the beach wasn’t an “n”—it was more like an “m” shape.

“An M-shaped, receding-hairline coastline, huh?”

Indeed, the cliff wound around in an M, like someone’s receding hairline. What he’d thought was the far end of the cliff was really just a midpoint; a similar stretch extended beyond that.

“Looks like my world just got a bit bigger…”

It was a welcome discovery. Carefully trudging through shin-deep water to the opposite beach, Ji Yeonwoo found more featureless terrain. It was another deserted stretch of coastline, nothing else in sight.

Just as he began to question whether he’d imagined last night’s crash, he noticed something odd in the distance. Unlike the flat sands of his own beach, this one had a spot that seemed raised—or was it lowered?

He drew closer for a better look. Turned out the ground wasn’t higher; rather, there was a huge crater, as if something enormous had slammed into it, sinking the surface. Roughly twenty meters across, five meters deep—definitely hadn’t been there before.

“Did a meteor fall here…?”

Naturally, his gaze traveled to the center of the crater. Maybe a massive meteor still lay there, or the corpse of one of the giant monsters he’d glimpsed in the storm. He swallowed nervously at the possibility.

But there was nothing of the sort—empty. Maybe the thing that fell had fled. If so, it was probably some living creature, not an inanimate mass, that caused such a giant crater before escaping.

Therefore, the small, living thing standing there now definitely wasn’t the crater-maker.

It was small enough to fit in both arms if he hugged it. It had gleaming, faintly sky-blue feathers, an orange beak, and bright blue eyes…

“A… chicken?”

Yes.

It looked like a chicken—an extremely appetizing chicken—staring right at Ji Yeonwoo.

“Cluck?”

“Chick…en…”

The moment their eyes met, his head filled with memories of enjoying delicious fried chicken—every part: legs, wings, breast, all equally glorious. This perfect food was literally sitting there, as if to say “Eat me, I dare you.”

“CHICKEN!!”

He lunged without a second thought. If he could handle that 60cm Rift-Bream, surely catching a chicken-sized monster was no big deal.

He tumbled down the side of the crater, hurling himself at the bird—

“Cluck.”

—only for it to straighten up and lift one wing.

Then…

*WHAM!*

“…!”

Ji Yeonwoo felt goosebumps. An inexplicable aura emanated from the bird. If he hadn’t twisted sideways at the last second—

*KA-BOOM!*

—the crater wall, which now bore a perfect wing-shaped imprint, would have been his body.

“Guh…”

He stared at the new imprint, precisely matching the shape of the bird’s wing.

“Are you kidding me?”

“Cluck!”

The bird’s right wing was still raised, poised for another strike. This time, reloading almost instantly.

“What… it can fire ki blasts or something?”

If that wing hit him, would it leave a wing-shaped bruise or a gaping hole? Both possibilities were equally undesirable.

Worse, Ji Yeonwoo had no real weapon on hand and wasn’t wearing his hunting suit. He cursed his earlier complacency, but it was too late now—he was practically on the verge of panic.

At least… at least a knife…

He reminded himself never to judge a rift monster by looks alone. Unlike the Rift-Bream, this “chicken” had just demonstrated a power far beyond mere fish bones.

Its second wing, now fully spread, was ready to unleash another, even more dangerous strike—a double wing strike that Ji Yeonwoo, as he was, couldn’t possibly handle.

Have to run.

He retreated, every muscle tense, prepared to dodge at a moment’s notice. But the bird didn’t move. He kept backing away, stumbled at one point on the crater slope—I’m gonna die, aren’t I?!—yet the chicken still didn’t finish him off.

“Gaaah!”

Even as he scrambled out of the crater and turned to look back, it just stood there, wing raised.

They stared each other down across the open space. Observing closely, Ji Yeonwoo noticed the ground around the bird was noticeably darker.

Is that… blood?

Sure enough, there were rivulets of blood beneath the creature’s feet. It was badly wounded, probably bleeding out, hence why it was merely threatening him instead of attacking. Even one more “wing strike” was precious energy it might not be able to spare.

He watched the blood continue to seep. For a bird that size, the amount of bleeding was definitely fatal.

No point provoking something that was going to die anyway.

“You just wait, you fried-chicken wannabe!”

With that, Ji Yeonwoo turned and ran back the way he came, across the M-shaped coastal bend, until he reached his tent.

The first thing he did was put on his hunting suit, still trembling. He also reattached the detachable spade and back plate—everything. Then he strapped on all ten throwing knives to his thighs. He even positioned one of his new bamboo spears within arm’s reach. Only then did his heart rate start to settle.

“Holy crap… I nearly died!”

Not from hunger, not from some massive brawl, but by foolishly rushing an apparently “harmless” chicken.

He had to learn from this. Never again. He took a few more moments to calm his nerves, then glanced around at everything he’d been working on.

The green onion had grown about a hand’s length taller overnight. The bamboo shoots had each grown another thirty centimeters. The five Rift-Bream fillets he’d skewered were drying out nicely in the sun and salt-laced sea breeze—already forming a crisp outer layer.

Then his eyes fell upon…

“Ah, right. The bamboo shoots!”

He’d harvested them earlier but hadn’t prepped them yet.

Time to deal with them. Whenever his father brought back huge piles of bamboo shoots, his mother would sigh, and Ji Yeonwoo would help her peel and trim them. He’d do the same now.

He cut each shoot in half, removing the tough outer layers until only the tender inner flesh remained. It was soft and mushroomy, but taking a raw bite would be a dreadful experience—bitter and astringent.

They needed to be boiled in salted water. He had a decent amount of salt, but not so much that he could just toss it freely into a pot. And he needed enough water to boil them. It felt wasteful.

Then a thought occurred: If only there were a place that had all the salty water we could ever want…

The sea.

He ran down to the shore and scooped seawater into a pot. Next, he needed a fire. But he’d have to boil the shoots for at least an hour, and he couldn’t exactly stand there holding the pot the whole time.

He needed a proper fire pit.

With his spade already attached to his back, he simply removed it again and started digging. He planned to whip up a makeshift fireplace on the spot.