Leveling Up By Surviving Alone - L.U.B.S.A Chapter 85

By switching the multi-tool knife to spatula mode, the rope stayed on Yeonwoo’s feet, and the spatula plummeted below. With his body now lighter, Yeonwoo finally began to decelerate properly.

Starting from the middle of the cliff, he gradually descended downward.

“Wow, thank you so much. I totally blanked on that.”

This was a method Yeonwoo had devised while experimenting with the Battle Tanghulu’s functions—officially dubbed “paraglider Mode.”

He’d come up with many other practical applications too.

At the time, he’d thought it was great to have so many situational uses, but what good were they if he couldn’t even remember to employ them like this?

“Tsk… I really need to reflect.”

—

*– The Watcher disagrees, saying it’s only been a few days, so it’s natural to forget, comforting you.*

*– They add that since they reminded you, you still ended up using it.*

*– They tell you to rest assured while they’re here, promising to help you utilize it properly from now on.*

“Ha… Bro…!”

The Watcher’s warm words made Yeonwoo’s eyes sting, on the verge of tearing up.

Had his back not been freezing, he might have fully embraced the emotion.

“…Still, Parasail Mode is… cold.”

Parasail Mode maximized elasticity control, inflating the back panel of the suit like a parachute during descent.

Naturally, this left Yeonwoo exposed from the waist up.

Thankfully, he still had his underwear on—otherwise, his entire backside would have been on display.

—

*– The Watcher’s face turns red.*

*– They try their best not to look at your back.*

“Please don’t stare… Even if we’re both guys, this is embarrassing….”

—

*– The Watcher’s face turns even redder.*

“It’s my face that’s red from the cold….”

Regardless, thanks to his exposed back (…), Yeonwoo descended smoothly.

The sheer cliff face was oddly welcoming.

The ground below was entirely blanketed in snow, making it impossible to discern the terrain.

‘Still, I’d like to find the safest spot possible…’

Just as he was staring down, pondering—

Maaah.

“…?”

Maaah-ah-ah.

“…!”

Yeonwoo’s eyes widened.

That was unmistakably the cry of something.

How could he hear it from the middle of a cliff? And not from below—but from the side!

Yeonwoo turned his head toward the sound.

And there it was.

A white, four-legged creature stood on the sheer cliff face like a painting.

‘How… is it standing?’

Literally like a painting.

As if someone had drawn a cliff and then haphazardly added an animal onto it.

‘What’s even supporting it?’

He looked closer.

Its hooves were wedged into cracks barely wide enough for a finger. Yet it effortlessly supported its massive frame—nearly three meters tall.

Herbivore hooves. A shaggy white coat. Square pupils. The shape of the horns on its forehead.

“Are you… a goat?”

Maaah-ah.

Even at Yeonwoo’s question, the creature kept chewing, utterly absorbed in whatever was in its mouth.

It seemed to have been grazing on the lush grass growing from the cliff cracks before locking eyes with Yeonwoo.

Above its head, a status appeared:

*[Rift Cliff Goat (B+)]*

‘Called it.’

The distance between them was barely three meters.

The first four-legged creature he’d encountered here!

Pure delight made Yeonwoo wave.

“Hi?”

It was unexpected.

He’d come all this way craving meat, yet seeing this thing filled him with the warmth of reuniting with an old friend.

But the goat didn’t seem to share the sentiment.

After staring blankly at Yeonwoo, it swallowed its mouthful of grass and spat something out as he descended further.

Ptui!

The sound alone was telling.

“D-Did it just… spit at me?”

Sssssss!

The spit was so corrosive it began smoking.

Where?

Right on the top of the Battle Tanghulu’s parasail!

—

*– The Watcher is horrified.*

*– They scream that the damn goat’s spit just pierced through the Tanghulu!*

“Damn it! And I even waved at it…!”

But that wasn’t the immediate problem.

The damaged Battle Tanghulu wobbled violently, sending Yeonwoo swaying uncontrollably. Then, with a shrink, it crumpled into a lump. As he began plummeting again, Yeonwoo reset the elasticity and curled into a ball.

His body hit the ground arms-first, face buried in the snow.

THUD! CRUNCH. THUMP…!

“Ghk…!”

Yeonwoo gritted his teeth.

The ground was solid bedrock.

Had it not been for the waist-deep snow cushioning the fall, his entire body might have shattered—not just felt like it.

But perhaps thanks to his Elastic Body skill, the initial pain spread to his extremities before fading. The insulation from Kim Kkokko, the Aris, and the great root octopus’s fur also served as excellent cushioning…

“Whoa… whoa… Seriously. Whoa…!”

Yeonwoo shot upright.

Now fully clothed again, his lower back felt freezing.

—

*– The Watcher says there’s a hole punched clean through the center of your back, like a cigarette burn.*

“Goddamn it, really?!”

Sure, the self-repair would fix it soon, but the thought of his spine being exposed in the meantime only stoked his fury.

He looked up at the cliff.

The three-meter goat was still there, grazing as if nothing had happened.

Maaah-ah!

“……”

Yeonwoo had no animal-communication skills.

But even he could tell what emotion was behind that cry. The way it curled its lips back, baring yellowed teeth, made it obvious. That expression screamed, “What? Still alive? Keh-keh-keh-keh!”

Yeonwoo quietly summoned the Jawsbar. Gripping the cleaver, he wound up for a throw.

“Bro… ever had goat meat before?”

—

*– The Watcher says they haven’t, but today seems like a good day to try.*

“It’s delicious… Surprisingly gourmet.”

—

*– They growl, saying they definitely want to taste it now.*

“Eat your fill… There’ll be plenty to go around…!”

*[ Accurate Shot (C)]*

Whoosh—!

Yeonwoo’s Jawsbar sliced through the air. Empowered by the skill, the spinning cleaver flew straight for the Cliff Goat’s neck.

But—

Clang!

Whirr-whirr-whirr—THUNK.

…

The cleaver bounced off something and lodged at Yeonwoo’s feet.

The Cliff Goat’s horns gleamed mockingly under the harsh sunlight.

“Right… Where’s the fun if prey just dies?”

The Jawsbar reappeared in Yeonwoo’s hand.

This time, he threw it straight—no spin.

The goat’s head jerked again.

Clang!

Whirr-whirr—THUNK.

…

Maaah-ah-ah~

Curling its lips into a grin, it spat again.

Ptui-ptui-PTOOEY!

“HYEEK!”

Yeonwoo’s eyes flared as he scrambled back—only to slip on the snow and fall flat. Three fist-sized globs of spit landed where he’d been standing.

Sssssss!

Acrid smoke rose as the ground began melting.

“……”

Had that hit him, it wouldn’t be the ground dissolving.

“I am unbelievably pissed off now!”

Yeonwoo charged at the cliff in a blind rage.

The goat responded with a brazen, mocking grin.

It was perched 50 meters up a sheer cliff.

This was like a monkey trying to climb a tree in front of another monkey—only more ridiculous.

How could it not laugh?

Using the climbing technique he’d learned from the Watcher, Yeonwoo scaled the cliff with surprising agility.

Fast, but still pitiful to the goat.

Deciding to end this in one move, the goat looked skyward.

Huaaack!

Yeonwoo, clinging to the cliff face, paled.

If its earlier spit was bad, this was a full-blown loogie—a fist-sized glob of acidic phlegm hurtling down.

Sploosh!

It landed right where Yeonwoo had been clinging.

But he wasn’t there anymore.

While the goat was distracted looking up, Yeonwoo had dug his fingers into the cliff and lunged forward, closing the gap in an instant.

Tap! Planting his hands, he kicked off and leaped the remaining distance.

Now face-to-face, barely a meter apart.

“Huff, huff… Hi?”

M-Maaah…?

The same situation as before.

The only difference?

Yeonwoo wasn’t in Parasail Mode—instead, he gripped the Jawsbar with both hands.

The raised cleaver came down on the goat’s neck like a guillotine.

CRACK—THUD!

The cliff face shattered under the force of the blow.

The recoil sent Yeonwoo flying backward.

‘I lost the Jawsbar…!’

His grip had faltered.

His body wasn’t at full strength.

Even this much exertion had his breath ragged, lungs burning.

‘Did I overdo it?’

The answer was obvious—the Jawsbar was embedded halfway into the cliff wall.

The backlash from that destructive strike was no joke.

And the target of that strike?

The Cliff Goat.

Maaah… ah…!

Its neck hung at a grotesque angle, half-severed. One horn was cleanly sliced off; the other dangled by a thread. Blood dripped steadily from the wound. Its face, once smug, was now pale with terror.

Seemed like it had tried to block with its horns—and paid the price.

‘I could’ve finished it in one hit…!’

His oxygen-deprived body must have weakened the strike.

Whoosh!

He activated Parasail Mode again. Though still full of holes, it slowed his fall just enough.

“Huff… Huff…! Hah…!”

Gasping for air, Yeonwoo glared up at the cliff.

The goat was scrambling upward like its life depended on it.

Fleeing death itself.

Yeonwoo had become the predator it desperately needed to escape.