Leveling Up By Surviving Alone - L.U.B.S.A Chapter 9

 

Night fell, bringing a chilly wind. Ji Yeonwoo lit a campfire to drive away the cold.

 

*Fwoosh—*

 

Flames crackled to life, radiating a welcome warmth. Ji Yeonwoo carefully lifted the injured “chicken” and placed it near the fire. Not to roast it, but to help it recover.

 

Despite being handled, the bird acted like a sick hen, making feeble clucking sounds but otherwise remaining motionless. Ji Yeonwoo sighed as he watched it.

 

Why hadn’t he killed the creature? There were plenty of reasons.

 

First of all, while he knew how to clean fish, he had no particular experience butchering a chicken. Sure, he could fumble through it if he had to, but why bother when he already had four large bream fillets he couldn’t even finish right away? Where would he store the chicken’s meat if it started spoiling?

 

That, however, didn’t fully explain why he spared something that had nearly killed him.

 

As he stared into the dancing flames, an old memory bubbled up:

 

He was seven years old.

One day, his father came home with five baby chicks. They had supposedly just hatched that day.

 

> *Cheep, cheep!*

 

His mother smacked his father on the back and demanded to know why he’d brought home baby chicks out of the blue. But Ji Yeonwoo himself was over the moon. His mother hated the idea of raising dogs or cats, yet somehow, after a hushed discussion with his father, she heaved a long sigh. And a sigh from his mother usually meant reluctant approval.

 

> **- “Ugh… only for a month, right?”**

> **- “Yes, yes. I promise I’ll take care of them, honey.”**

> **- “Until August 14th?”**

> **- “Of course!”**

 

He’d thought, *So Mom hates cats and dogs, but she’s okay with birds?* He was thrilled.

 

> **“Dad, you’re the best! I swear I’ll take good care of them. I’ve always wanted a pet—thank you so much, Dad!”**

 

He hugged his father tight. Even as his father smiled, he looked oddly uneasy.

 

> **“R-right. Take good care of them, son.”**

> **“Yes! Hehehe!”**

 

After that, Ji Yeonwoo cared for them diligently. He caught worms for them in the front yard, changed their water daily, doted on them constantly. Over time, their “cheep cheep!” turned into “cluck cluck!” Their soft yellow fuzz gave way to coarse white feathers. He was shocked to discover they were all male—each grew a big, ugly comb. But he was so attached by then, he found the combs strangely cute.

 

He even slept with the little roosters, finding their warmth and fluffiness comforting.

 

Then one morning, he woke up, and they were gone.

 

Where could they have gone?

 

> **“Cluckooo? Clu-uuuuck… cluuuuuck!”**

 

He wandered around, crying all day, searching fruitlessly. By dinner, he was still sniffling. He asked his dad:

 

> **“Dad… where did my chickens go?”**

 

If he’d been a bit older, he might’ve understood that the live birds and the meat on the dinner table were one and the same. But back then, he was just a child. His father, silent, simply tore a drumstick off the simmering chicken on the table and handed it to him.

 

The drumstick was delicious.

 

Those young roosters never became much of a trauma for him. He searched a few more days, but eventually let it go. Now, he was even grateful—if he’d learned at that tender age that the yummy chicken stew on the table was his beloved pets, he might never have been able to enjoy chicken again.

 

So, should he eat this strange new bird?

 

“I’m not totally against it…”

 

It would surely taste amazing. Probably grant him a powerful skill, too—after all, it could fire those deadly wing blasts. Yet he couldn’t bring himself to kill it, maybe because he was projecting his childhood affection for those baby roosters onto this creature.

 

In truth, it wasn’t exactly a normal chicken. Its plump shape was chicken-like, but it had no comb. Its glossy feathers weren’t white but a pale sky-blue. And more perplexing…

 

“Why does a bird have eyelashes?”

 

Long, upward-curving lashes at that. They softened the bird’s expression, giving it a downright cute look in spite of its fearsome potential.

 

“Aargh… I just can’t kill something this cute.”

 

“Cluck…?”

 

Just then, the bird’s eyes snapped open. Startled, Ji Yeonwoo jumped back, but the bird merely gazed at him, making no move to raise its wings for another attack. He couldn’t exactly shove a spear in its face now. If he’d planned to kill it, he would’ve done so already.

 

Instead, he presented the meal he’d prepared: a freshly cooked piece of Rift-Bream steak.

 

“You look weak. Go ahead and eat this.”

 

He offered it within reach of the bird’s beak. The creature began pecking at the fish steak. Then—

 

“Cluck…?”

 

Wide-eyed, the bird glanced from the steak to Ji Yeonwoo, then…

 

“Clu—Oooorrrk!”

 

It buried its head in the food, devouring it eagerly.

 

“Heh. That good, huh?”

 

“Cluck!”

 

It almost seemed to be answering him. Could it really understand his words? He tested the idea:

 

“You… Do you understand me?”

 

“Cluck, cluck, cluck!”

 

At that, the bird looked up, meeting his eyes and… nodded.

 

Ji Yeonwoo felt an odd stirring in his chest. What was this feeling? A sense of connection, like locking eyes with a dog or cat—something he couldn’t fully explain. He couldn’t understand the bird’s noises, but it seemed to understand him.

 

“…So you do, huh?”

 

Without letting up, the bird demolished the entire bream steak in the frying pan. Then:

 

*Fwoom—*

 

Its body glowed, suddenly growing in size. It was no longer just a plump little chicken—it swelled to the dimensions of a medium-sized dog.

 

*Blink, blink…*

 

Then it leapt forward.

 

“Gah!”

 

In that split second, a flurry of thoughts rushed through Ji Yeonwoo’s mind: *I should’ve never spared it. I’m about to die like an idiot. Should I fight back?*

 

But the bird simply hopped over and nestled close beside him, staring at the fire as if wanting a bit of extra warmth.

 

“Uh…”

 

Ji Yeonwoo remained frozen, spear raised in reflex. Relieved, he lowered his arm—awkwardly—and decided to give the bird a tentative pat.

 

*Pat.*

 

Its sky-blue feathers felt as silky and fluffy as a cat’s belly. The creature didn’t resist his touch.

 

It was the fourth day since Ji Yeonwoo fell into the rift.

 

This was the day he acquired a pet bird, which he decided to call “Kim Kkokko.”

 

—

 

From the bird’s perspective:

 

Its blood loss was severe, leaving it barely clinging to life. Suddenly, a strange, hairless ape-like creature appeared—like a monkey without fur or a tail, clearly weak and unprotected. It rushed at the bird, perhaps sensing how feeble it had become.

 

It tried to kill the hairless creature with a cutting gust of wind, but the ape dodged swiftly, leaving the bird surprised. The two faced off, yet the bird was bleeding out fast. A prolonged fight would be disastrous. So it let the ape escape rather than waste precious energy in a failed attack.

 

But its bleeding wasn’t stopping. As the bird’s consciousness faded, a tantalizing smell reached its beak—something beyond anything it had known. Even on the brink of death, its limbs moved, drawn to that irresistible aroma.

 

The bird wobbled its way to the source, only to find that same ape-like creature. Right when it thought *What do I do?*, the hairless creature wandered off, giving the bird the perfect chance to snatch some food and flee. But it was immediately caught… and then it collapsed.

 

Strangely, the ape didn’t kill it. Instead, once the bird regained its senses, the ape *offered* it food—some kind of cooked Rift-Bream. The bird had eaten many Rift-Breams in its life, but never one so tasty, bursting with a restorative energy. It even felt its body inching closer to its final form, just from that one meal.

 

> *Cluck!*

 

The bird realized this hairless creature could enhance and transform ordinary ingredients into powerful nourishment. But the ape itself looked fragile, likely to get killed sooner or later unless someone protected it. So the bird decided:

 

*I’ll stay with this creature, protect it, and reap the benefits.*

 

It acted friendly, letting the ape pet it—though it found that vaguely insulting. But for a greater cause, one must surrender smaller things. It even tolerated the strange name the ape kept calling it: “Kim Kkokko.” The crucial thing was to win this creature’s trust, and the ape had already lowered its guard so completely that it slept soundly in front of the bird.

 

> *Cur-hurrr…!*

 

Had it not trusted the bird, it wouldn’t be dozing so peacefully. So Kim Kkokko stood guard while the ape slept.

 

The bird itself didn’t need sleep. Eons ago, upon reaching its former evolution, it also had no need for rest. But at this stage, in this weaker state, it couldn’t fully resist certain instincts. When the sun rose, a burst of bright light flooded its retinas, triggering a primal urge from deep within. It tried to hold back, but lacking the self-control of its final form, it couldn’t resist.

 

Kim Kkokko puffed up its chest.

 

And then:

 

*Clu…!*

 

—

 

“Cluck-oooo-OOOO-oorrrrk!!”

 

“Aaaagh!!”

 

Ji Yeonwoo jolted awake at the booming cry. “What the heck was that?” It echoed in his ears, but oddly didn’t upset him. Actually, it didn’t sound too unpleasant…

 

“Cluck…-oooo-OOO-ooork!!”

 

The second cry made everything clear.

 

Kim Kkokko.

 

“So you’re the culprit…? And you’re a rooster, huh?”

 

“Clu-ook!”

 

As if to confirm, it let out another vigorous crow. Ji Yeonwoo smirked.

 

“Heh, guess I don’t need an alarm clock anymore. Thanks, Kim Kkokko.”

 

There was no grand reason behind the name “Kim Kkokko.” When he’d been young, he’d called his chickens “Kkokko.” Logically, he might have used his own surname—Ji—making “Ji Kkokko.” But that didn’t roll off the tongue, so he borrowed his mother’s surname, “Kim,” for a better ring.

 

In any case:

 

*Grrrr…*

 

His stomach growled. He was hungry again.