Leveling Up By Surviving Alone - L.U.B.S.A Chapter 95

 

Had his son not been unconscious, the elder hare might have gotten a more detailed account.

Unable to hear the full story, the grandfather let out a mournful cry.

Biiiiiik!

Piiiiiiiiiiik!

The baby hare wailed, and the rest of the rabbit dynasty joined in.

A truly heartrending chorus.

The other hares lifted the father onto a makeshift stretcher, intent on treating him back at their base.

Once his son woke, he would tell him:

“I’ll avenge you!”

Biiiiiiiiik!

Whoosh. Shoop.

Shoop Shoop Shoop!

The entire group vanished into the snow, their path leading toward the mountain peak.

—

Jung Yaong couldn’t stay inside Snow Cave.

Not because the golden heat source was too warm—if anything, its cozy warmth was already missed.

No, there was only one reason the cub had stepped outside.

Zzzzz…!

Zzzzzzzzzz…!

Myaaoo…!

If the snoring was this loud outside, how unbearable must it have been inside?

Jung Yaong couldn’t fathom why this pseudo-monkey made such monstrous noises while sleeping.

Myaauu….

Whoooosh—

A cold wind blew.

Even for a native like Jung Yaong, the chill was unpleasant.

Fluffy body aside, the furless areas around its mouth hated the cold.

So the cub clamped its long tail between its teeth.

Had Yeonwoo seen it, he’d have clutched his chest from sheer cuteness overload.

Better.

Zzzzz…!

Zzzzzzz…!

Myaung…!

How had this guy survived so long when his snoring would’ve gotten him killed by wild animals?

What kind of safe place must he have lived in?

Not here.

So, since it had come to this, Jung Yaong decided to keep watch outside the snow cave.

Then, a question struck him.

Was there really a need to go this far?

This guy was loud, clumsy, and, from Jung Yaong’s perspective, pathetically weak.

But that didn’t mean he wasn’t worth protecting.

He was… useful.

Even in just the past day, he’d helped Jung Yaong several times.

To others, he might be nothing special, but to Jung Yaong, this guy was a treasure chest.

So, until his usefulness ran out, he couldn’t die.

Jung Yaong wanted to see him struggle, but he couldn’t knowingly send him into a death trap.

Myaauu….

Decision made, Jung Yaong reentered Snow Cave.

Zzzzzzz…!

It climbed onto Yeonwoo’s chest, where he lay snoring loudly, mouth agape.

The cub placed its front paws on his sternum.

And—

Press press press press.

He began to knead.

Not too hard, but just enough to be noticeable. Strangely, as he pressed, Jung Yaong started to feel good.

Purrr….

Purrrrr….

A purring sound escaped him unconsciously. It was an accidental act, yet oddly addictive, reminding him of something from long ago. Little did Jung Yaong know this was what Earth cats called “kneading.”

“Mmm…? Wha—?”

Purr, purrrr.

“Oh…! Did you wake me, Jung Yaong?”

Yeonwoo scooped the cub into a hug.

Instantly, Jung Yaong’s expression flattened.

It had remembered why it woke him.

Almost got distracted by kneading.

Wriggling free, the cub—

Myaaong.

—turned toward the cave entrance, tail curling into a question mark.

Even half-asleep, Yeonwoo understood.

“Hmm… Follow you?”

Myaong.

What’s it saying?

Did it spot prey on the way here?

Yeonwoo crawled out of his sleeping bag and suited up. The Hunting Suit clung to his body at a touch.

He tucked the golden sweet potato inside—outside the bag was danger, however briefly.

Emerging from Snow Cave, he spotted Jung Yaong already some distance away.

“Huh? What’s up?”

He trudged uphill toward the cub, who myaung-myaung-ed impatiently until Yeonwoo broke into a jog.

“What’s going on?”

Myaaung.

“Something there?”

Myaauuung.

“So articulate, so articulate.”

He felt deflated.

Now fully awake, it’d take a while to fall back asleep.

Still, he couldn’t resent Jung Yaong.

It must have really wanted to show him something.

“Let’s go.”

Grinning, Yeonwoo picked up the cub—

—and froze mid-smile.

CRASH—!

Snow Cave collapsed.

A dozen white fluffballs had descended like meteors, crushing it underfoot.

‘…Damn it!’

Only an idiot wouldn’t grasp the situation now.

“You saved me?”

Yeonwoo gave Jung Yaong a thumbs-up.

The cub tilted its head—Myaung?—but the meaning was lost on it.

‘They don’t know I’m here.’

Proof: the hares panicked upon realizing he wasn’t inside, frantically scanning the area.

Distance: about 200 meters.

Yeonwoo even held the high ground.

Fighting that many rabbits at once was suicidal.

‘Tactical retreat.’

Snow Cave could be rebuilt.

Live to fight another day.

But—

Freeze.

Yeonwoo couldn’t move.

Because the largest hare—likely the leader—was holding something.

It rummaged through the wreckage and pulled out an object.

Sniffed it (sniff sniff), peered inside the empty shell—then raged.

Piiiiiiik!

Grabbing it with both hands, it tried to rip it apart.

Tear. T-tear…!

Yeonwoo shouted before he could stop himself:

“NO!”

Put down my lightning-goose-feather sleeping bag!

……!

Dozens of eyes locked onto him.

Even the wind seemed to shift direction.

The smallest hare—that brat—sniffed the air (sniff sniff).

Then—

Piii!

Piiiiii!

It began shrieking like mad.

“That’s him! IT’S HIM!”

The already furious rabbits’ eyes glowed an even deeper red.

He needed to run, now.

“But… but…!”

The lightning goose-down sleeping bag. Without it, Ji Yeonwoo wouldn’t have slept comfortably, nor would he have made it this far without freezing to death.

And it would be the same going forward.

How could he sleep without it in this freezing hell?

The one thing that made him feel like he was wrapped in an electric blanket—he couldn’t abandon it.

Piii!

Piiiiii!

As the snowhares charged, Yeonwoo gritted his teeth.

‘Fighting again, huh?’

The beach had been different.

Sure, he’d fought bull sharks and root octopuses—but those were weeks of desperate survival.

Here? Two days in, and this was already his third battle.

“Ugh. Leaving home really was a mistake.”

This wasn’t his tent.

He was an outsider here.

But it had been the same when he first washed up on the beach.

Compared to then, things were better now.

Dozens of Frostfield Snowhares barreled toward him.

Thudthudthudthud!

At least the snow here wasn’t as deep—no ambushes from below.

But could he really take on dozens of B-rank monsters alone?

He had to.

Snap!

Jawsbar materialized in his grip.

Myaaong?

Jung Yaong startled at the sudden appearance of the massive blade. Even after seeing it multiple times, the mechanics baffled the cub.

“Stay back, Yaong. Unless you wanna get caught up in—!”

Distance: barely 10 meters.

Time to fight.

“Bring it!”

Thudthudthud!

The hares surged forward.

Yeonwoo glared back, teeth clenched.

He couldn’t run, couldn’t win… but he’d die before giving up his lightning goose-down sleeping bag.

Myaaong…!

Jung Yaong was dumbfounded.

After saving him, this idiot was charging to his doom?

Yet beneath the exasperation lay anticipation.

How will this pseudo-monkey handle things now?

The cub’s violet eyes gleamed.

Meanwhile, the snowhares scrambled uphill toward Yeonwoo.

He moved.

Snap.

He set Jawsbar down.

Then gently stepped onto its side.

—

*– Viscosity Control (A)*

The Combat Tanghulu’s surface grew sticky, fusing Jawsbar to his soles.

And then—

He rode.

Wheeeee…!

The massive blade slid downhill like a snowboard…!

Myaaa…?

Jung Yaong, who had been lounging like a loaf of bread, shot upright.

He’d never seen such a spectacle in his life.

And the spectacle kept evolving.

Yeonwoo weaved past the lead hares like slalom flags.

In snowboard terms? An S-turn.

A carved turn.

Pii! Piiii!

Some hares flailed and toppled over.

Those behind stumbled trying to catch them.

A domino effect.

And at the wave’s crest—Yeonwoo, riding it effortlessly.

Piiyaaaa!

One hare leapt high, aiming to collide mid-air.

Yeonwoo jumped, spun—cleared it.

Below him now: not snow, but a sea of rabbits.

As Jawsbar descended, the snowhares could only watch in stunned horror.

THUMP!

They were crushed underfoot as the blade skidded to a halt.

A perfect standoff.

Yeonwoo crouched like a rabbit, legs and hips coiled.

—

*– Rapid Swim*

CRASH—!

The pinned hares were flattened like bowling pins.

The recoil launched Yeonwoo like a cannonball.

—

*– Elasticity Control (A)*

WHOOSH!

Arms and legs splayed.

The Combat Tanghulu stretched between them like a membrane.

A flying squirrel?

No—wingsuit mode.