Leveling Up By Surviving Alone - L.U.B.S.A Chapter 83
Ji Yeonwoo’s body soared past the rooted octopus, ascending higher and higher. Only after rising for over ten seconds did the deceleration begin. The pull of gravity gradually intensified until, finally, weightlessness took over. He had flown an additional 20 meters beyond the cliff’s edge.
‘Even after all that, I actually made it up here?’
He had been worried because he’d stuffed his suit full of insulation material, intending to make padding. But now he wondered—if he hadn’t, would he have been launched like a missile instead?
What came into Yeonwoo’s view was the top of the cliff.
‘Just like I saw a few days ago.’
An endless expanse of pure white snow stretched before him.
Not a single footprint marked its surface.
It merely reflected the sunlight like a mirror, stinging his eyes.
A few days ago, he had only managed to reach out a hand before plummeting back down.
Today, he had effortlessly traced a parabola and landed softly upon it.
*Crrrunch!*
This was the moment the first human footprint was imprinted onto the pristine snowfield.
To Ji Yeonwoo, it was just a single step.
But for humanity, it was a giant leap…!
—
*– The Watcher asks if you just had a strange thought.*
“Huh? Oh, no?”
*– The Watcher says the notification alerts them every time you have a frivolous thought.*
“I-It was just a misunderstanding.”
Snow sank up to his knees. With the next step, it reached his ankles. He couldn’t even begin to guess how deep the snow was piled. The mere fact that Yeonwoo was standing there felt miraculous and precious.
“Hehe.”
*Crunch. Crunch-crunch.*
*Crrrunch.*
“Hehehehe!”
For a while, Yeonwoo excitedly stomped and ran through the snow.
His giddiness made him look like a puppy seeing snow for the first time.
After watching Yeonwoo hop around happily, the Watcher spoke.
*– The Watcher asks why you’re stomping on the snow.*
“Hm? You still don’t get it? If you’re sharing my vision, could you take a look from an omniscient viewpoint?”
The Watcher actually did so and fell silent for a while.
Yeonwoo was writing letters with his footprints.
*[SOS]*
“Kuk-kuk. Whew… I’ve always wanted to try this… Whew… Something like this… Whew!”
*– The Watcher clicks their tongue, saying you’ll probably build a snowman next.*
“Should I try that? Whew…! Ugh, I’m out of breath. Wow… This is no joke. Hah-hah…”
Yeonwoo realized his stamina was weaker than usual.
He didn’t know how high up he was, but the oxygen concentration was lower than below.
Come to think of it, it was probably due to pressure. Deep-sea fish have their eyes bulge out when brought up in nets because of the pressure, and he had ascended from the beach to the cliff’s peak in less than a minute—so if anything, his situation was even more extreme.
If Yeonwoo hadn’t been an Awakened, if he hadn’t killed and absorbed enough creatures to raise his stamina to rival that of an A-rank tank, it would have been impossible to climb up in one go or hop around like this.
No, even that might not have been enough.
After all, despite learning the breath-holding skill from the Rift Serpent, he was still struggling. Without it, he might have been gasping for air, kneeling and choking to death by now.
—
*– The Watcher insists that, no matter how they think about it, your condition isn’t good. If you’re not going back down, they urge you to quickly scout the area, find food, and then leave.*
“Yeah… Hehe. Yeah, I should.”
But first, Yeonwoo looked down the cliff.
Beyond the clouds below stretched an endless horizon.
As expected, there was nothing blocking it. Even after climbing this high, it remained a straight, unbroken line.
If this were Earth, it would have curved.
“At this point, I have no choice but to admit it. I already knew, but…”
Grinning, Yeonwoo turned around this time.
The endlessly sprawling snowfield, neither too high nor too low, stung his eyes.
Unbeknownst to him, an ordinary person might have slowly lost their vision just by staring blankly at it. But Yeonwoo, oblivious to that, was too busy scanning his surroundings.
“Behind me is the cliff with the ocean, and ahead is an endless snowfield.”
In fact, it was so blindingly white that the horizon itself was hard to distinguish.
—
*– The Watcher says they’re uneasy and suggests turning back for today.*
“Aww… We’ve barely been here! Let’s look around a bit more!”
*– They sigh, saying you really have no fear.*
“I do, but I’m already here, right?”
Yeonwoo dismissed the Watcher’s concern.
Thanks to the insulation stuffed into his suit, it wasn’t as cold as he’d expected. And more importantly—how could they go back so soon after coming all this way?
Even the Watcher had nothing to say to that.
How could they suggest going back already? Even they knew it was an overreaction.
*– The Watcher says, fine, let’s go just a little farther ahead.*
“Hehe. Follow me, okay?”
*Crunch. Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.*
Yeonwoo took steps forward, each one producing an adorable sound. His lips curled up in response.
*Crunch. Crunch. Crunch… Crunch.*
*Cru… nch.*
*Crunch. Cru….*
*nch…!*
But the farther he walked, the more his smile began to fade. Suddenly, he turned around. The cliff was no longer visible—he had come so far, yet he hadn’t found a single living creature.
“Ah… This can’t be…!”
Of course, creatures could be hiding beneath the snow. So he turned on his light and scanned the field. Though he couldn’t see through the snow, his ??? ID allowed him to detect the presence of monsters.
That was why he had confidently set out to find new food—so how could there not be a single monster in sight?
—
*– The Watcher says to turn back now.*
*– They coax you, saying you should at least eat at home.*
“Ugh…!”
Yeonwoo stopped being stubborn.
Or rather, he couldn’t be.
He needed some justification to drag the Watcher along…
‘I have no excuse… no reason…!’
There was nothing in sight except snow in every direction—what could he possibly point to and say, Let’s keep going?
His feet were starting to grow numb.
The insulation was working, but for some reason, while his chest—the most critical area—remained warm… the sweat on his soles was freezing, stealing away his body heat, and his toes were beginning to itch.
“Tsk… Alright. Should we head back?”
—
*– The Watcher applauds your decision.*
*– They say let’s hurry back and eat ‘that thing’.*
“Haha… yeah. Gotta eat ‘that.’ You’ve been waiting a long time because of me, haven’t you?”
Just as Yeonwoo turned to leave, something flickered into view.
What his eyes caught wasn’t flat ground…
“…It’s a downhill slope?”
It wasn’t steep. In fact, it was subtle enough to almost seem flat. But the fact that it wasn’t flat piqued Yeonwoo’s curiosity.
“Should we go a bit farther? I can’t just return empty-handed…”
—
*– The Watcher sighs. They say fine, let’s go just a little way down this slope, and if there’s nothing, we’ll turn back.*
“Yes~!”
*Crrunch. Crr-runch.*
A tantalizingly gradual downhill slope stretched ahead.
*Crunch… Crunch…!*
Yeonwoo’s expression darkened again.
He felt like there might be something at the end, but walking there was frustrating—he wanted to see it quickly and go back.
‘In that case…!’
*Grin.*
*Flare-flare.*
Yeonwoo’s nostrils twitched peculiarly.
It was the expression he made when something caught his interest.
The Watcher, with over a month of experience, knew exactly how dangerous that expression was.
—
*– They nervously ask why you’re making that face.*
*– They plead, saying let’s go back now, or we might not make it back today.*
“I can’t take it anymore… You’ve gotta see this…!”
Yeonwoo pulled out the multi-tool knife strapped to his thigh. Originally folded into a spatula shape, it now returned to its true form— Jawsbar.
Its broad, flat blade wasn’t summoned to be swung.
Instead, Yeonwoo laid it flat on the snow and stepped onto it.
After roughly adjusting his stance, he took a rope from his backpack and began tying the Jawsbar to his feet. The fact that his insteps were part of the binding was definitely no accident.
At this point, only a fool wouldn’t know what Yeonwoo was planning.
—
*– The Watcher screams, asking if you’ve lost your mind, what the hell are you doing?*
*– They yell at you to stop immediately—this is no place for games!*
“Ah, come on, bro. This isn’t playing around.”
If a man draws his blade, he must cut something!
And Yeonwoo had done nothing since coming all this way.
The appearance of a downhill slope just as they were about to leave was nothing short of fate!
At that moment, the option to turn back vanished from Yeonwoo’s mind.
So, should he just run down there?
No, he couldn’t. Even if he found something, he wouldn’t have the stamina to return. He had already walked too much just to reach this point. He needed a way to descend quickly and safely while conserving energy—and he’d found it.
“Besides, doesn’t it look fun?”
—
*– The Watcher is worried sick.*
“Eh… It’s fine. I won’t die.”
He was somewhat confident.
Because Yeonwoo…
“I’ve even thought about becoming a snowboard instructor, you know?”
—
*– ….*
The Watcher couldn’t say another word.
Because the makeshift snowboard—crafted from the Jawsbar—had already begun sliding down the slope, picking up speed.
“Yahooo!”
As the speed increased, a cry of exhilaration escaped Yeonwoo’s lips.
His body skillfully rode down the incline.
“YAHOOOOO!”
—
*– ….*
He really shouldn’t have.
Otaku_Senpai
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