Leveling Up By Surviving Alone - L.U.B.S.A Chapter 8

Ji Yeonwoo dug two holes and connected them with a tunnel-like passage. He set one hole up as the firebox, lined it with bamboo husks, and lit a fire there. Above that, he placed the pot. Without airflow, the fire would die out once the pot covered it, but thanks to the secondary tunnel, smoke escaped on the opposite side. This was the makeshift stove he built.

It didn’t take too long to make, so he went ahead and constructed two more simple fire pits just like it.

It was essentially a four-burner “kitchen.”

“I’ll have to make a more permanent version later,” he mused.

Bubble, bubble…

Within a few minutes, the seawater he’d poured into the pot was boiling. He dropped in his prepped bamboo shoots. If he let them boil for an hour or two, they’d become edible.

Grrrrr…

Did being in a rift mean you burned more calories? Or was it just that surviving kept him constantly moving? Or maybe the near-death experience had worked up his appetite again? Either way, although he’d stuffed himself not long ago, he was already hungry.

But waiting two hours for the bamboo shoots to finish wasn’t an option.

He sliced off the lowest portion of one of the hanging fish fillets he was drying. Part of the fillet dangled loose but was still attached high enough not to touch the ground.

“Thank goodness,” he murmured.

His plan was to tear off pieces bit by bit to cook. He laid the fish into his frying pan. It was so big that even his 24-inch (60cm) one-handled pot-frying pan couldn’t hold it without overlapping. He decided not to cut it into smaller chunks, opting to grill it as one piece.

He brought over his seasoning box from the tent. Among his limited supplies, he had about 500 milliliters of cooking oil. He used about 30 milliliters, enough to coat the pan, which was already piping hot. He placed the hunk of bream fillet in, skin side down.

Sssss—!

The intense heat transferred to the fish’s skin, causing the flesh to contract slightly. To prevent it from curling up, he pressed it firmly with a spatula. After about 30 seconds, the skin held its shape. Ji Yeonwoo moved the pan away from direct flame to achieve a medium heat and cooked it another minute.

No need to flip it. The fish was super fresh, after all—he’d just eaten it as sashimi. A long cook would be a waste.

He took advantage of the remaining oil in the pan by tossing in some chopped green onion, then added two spoons of soy sauce and a dash of “that magical white powder,” the source of all flavor (MSG). He would’ve liked a bit of butter, some onion, garlic, chili peppers… but resources were limited. Still, this was the best sauce he could manage under the circumstances.

He set the fish “steak” on the stone slab he’d used earlier as a serving plate. He poured the sauce to one side of it and squeezed out a little wasabi for good measure. With that, he’d completed his *Rift-Bream Steak*.

Gulp.

Using his hunting knife with some semblance of table manners, he cut a piece of the fish steak, dipped it into the sauce, and placed it in his mouth.

“…!”

Eating it raw had been incredible, but medium-rare was a different experience altogether. The flesh had become a bit more springy, while still retaining a delicate, slightly sticky texture from being just underdone. Each chew released savory juices that paired beautifully with his makeshift sauce, and the fish’s skin—crisp on the outside—offered a satisfying bite before slipping down his throat.

It was perfect, truly an ultimate bite.

“Wow… whoa… so good…!”

He was genuinely moved. It felt a bit silly to be on the verge of tears because of his own cooking, but what could he do? It was that delicious.

As if to confirm that sentiment, a voice sounded in his head:

—

– You have successfully cooked your first hunted monster.

– Your actions are being recorded.

– Cooking Satisfaction: 100%

– You may learn one skill from the Rift-Bream’s skill set.

—

“…What?”

He nearly jumped out of his skin. All he’d done was cook and eat, and now he could learn a *skill*?

Meanwhile, from within the dark, a pair of eyes silently watched him. A predator, drawn by the smell of the roasting Rift-Bream, lurked nearby.

—

“A skill? You’ve gotta be kidding me!!”

Ji Yeonwoo couldn’t hide his shock. Skills weren’t something anyone could just have. Many Hunters with decent stats still lacked any specific skill. Ji Yeonwoo himself had only acquired his skill, Perfect Aim, after scraping together enough money from half a year of labor to buy a random skill box. His luck had been poor, and that was what he got. Still, by training that mediocre skill to the limit, he’d managed to participate in E-rank hunting parties, which was above his usual pay grade.

In other words, skills were a big deal—sometimes an object of both adoration and resentment among Hunters.

But here, in this rift, he could gain a skill simply by cooking and eating a monster? This had to be some special property of this rift, not some general rule.

“That’s crazy…!”

Still, he saw a bright possibility that he just might find a way to leave this place. But that possibility dimmed a bit when he actually looked at the Rift-Bream’s available skills:

1. *Gill Breathing (F) [Passive]*

2. *Fin-Spine Shot (E) [Active]*

3. *Delicious Skin (C) [Passive]*

4. *Fish Vision (E) [Passive]*

“…Huh?”

They all had bizarre names, and there were no descriptions beyond that. He’d have to guess their functions from the names alone. Actually, they all looked rather underwhelming. Gill Breathing presumably let you breathe underwater, Fin-Spine Shot must be what the fish had used to shoot spines, and Fish Vision probably granted clear sight underwater. One might think he should simply pick the skill with the highest rank, *Delicious Skin (C)*…

“I absolutely do not want that one…”

He wasn’t about to choose a skill that made his own hide tastier to predators. So he settled on *Gill Breathing*, but…

—

– You cannot learn it because you lack gills.

—

Next:

—

– You cannot learn Fin-Spine Shot because you do not have fins.

—

Apparently, being a fish-based monster meant that he lacked the necessary body parts for most of these skills. And while he did have skin of sorts, he wasn’t about to make himself more appetizing to anything else.

So that left only one choice:

*Fish Vision*.

The moment he made up his mind, a voice echoed:

—

– You have learned the Passive Skill: [Fish Vision (E)].

– You can perceive your surroundings clearly underwater.

—

“Oh?”

So, no more need for goggles, right?

“…That’s actually pretty good.”

When you get a new skill, you have to try it out. So, wearing his hunting suit, Ji Yeonwoo sprinted straight to the beach and dove in.

Splash!

Usually, diving into seawater with open eyes meant blurred vision, stinging, and you couldn’t keep your eyes open for long. But instead of pain, he could see as if wearing perfectly sealed goggles. Not only that, his range of vision was far greater than normal. While underwater might typically be foggy past a few meters, here he felt he could see up to about fifty meters.

And what lay beneath the surface…

So it wasn’t just empty…

There were swaying marine plants, sharp rocky formations, and while there were no huge fish like the Rift-Bream, he did see plenty of palm-sized fish and various creatures scuttling on the seafloor—likely food for bigger fish.

He considered venturing deeper, but…

That’s enough for today.

Nightfall wasn’t far off; if it got dark while he was exploring, he’d be in trouble. Besides, he could float but wasn’t a strong swimmer. His hunting suit provided a bit of buoyancy, but no propulsion.

He waded back onto the sand, dried himself off, and headed toward his tent to finish his meal. One advantage of being stranded alone on an uninhabited beach: no one else would snatch your food…

…So he thought, until he realized that wasn’t quite true.

While he’d been in the water, a certain chicken had crept up and was this close to stealing his bream steak from the frying pan.

“Cluck…?”

“Caught you red-handed!”

“CLO-OOK!”

The startled chicken tried to dart away, but Ji Yeonwoo hurled a throwing knife without hesitation. It quivered in the ground right in front of the bird. The chicken flailed backward, and each retreating step pinned another of Ji Yeonwoo’s knives into the sand, forming a fence of sorts. He’d thrown all ten knives, dashing toward the bream steak, and by the time he reached it, the chicken was cornered.

Thwack!

He faced off against the winged menace barehanded, but he had a backup plan. Nearby was the bamboo spear he’d stuck in the ground—he grabbed it, eyes grim. The razor-sharp point aimed straight at the chicken’s heart.

“Taste my spear!”

He’d run away before, but not this time. Now he wore his reinforced suit, carried a spear, and had knives within easy reach. Plus, this was his territory. Even a mutt at home is half a step ahead of intruders. For Ji Yeonwoo, there was also the added sting of nearly dying to this thing earlier. Fueled by indignation, he resolved to transform this “Ki-Blast Chicken” into dinner. His spear trembled with that determination.

“Cluck!”

Shing!

The chicken puffed its feathers, raising its wings again. It could likely fire off two more of those deadly “wing strikes.” Ji Yeonwoo would need to dodge both, then impale the bird’s heart in one clean thrust.

He could do it.

No—

He had to do it.

One would die here—that’s what he believed, locking eyes with the chicken. The tension crackled.

But suddenly, the one to move first… wasn’t Ji Yeonwoo. The chicken seemed to collapse on its own, knees buckling under it.

Thump.

“Huh?”

Ji Yeonwoo just stared, dumbfounded, at the bird sprawled on the sand. He’d been all set to dodge a flying wing blade, then counter with a spear, but the chicken had gone down before he could do anything. The anticlimax left him feeling oddly deflated.

He dashed forward anyway, raising his spear as if to strike, but the bird only wheezed, doing nothing.

It was truly a “here I am, finish me” moment.

Yet precisely because of that…

He couldn’t bring himself to do it.

“Cluck… coo…”

“Hmm…”

He just stood there, watching the dying chicken. Did it even know how close he’d come to death earlier? Feathers ruffled, it panted like a sick, bedraggled hen.