Leveling Up By Surviving Alone - L.U.B.S.A Chapter 96

Thanks to that, Ji Yeonwoo could now somewhat control his direction.

The direction he wanted was toward the boss rabbit.

To be precise, it was the lightning goose-down sleeping bag the boss rabbit was holding.

Beeeek…!

Perhaps because he was dazed by the sight he was seeing for the first time in his life, the boss rabbit’s reaction to Ji Yeonwoo was half a beat too slow—

Thwak!

—and it was snatched away.

The rabbit’s front paws, not specialized for gripping, were also to blame.

Crash! Bang!

Ji Yeonwoo tumbled across the snowy ground. But like a rubber ball, he boing! bounced off the ground and managed to get back up properly.

In Ji Yeonwoo’s hands, along with the sleeping bag, was his hunting backpack.

Just like the boss rabbit, another rabbit had been holding Ji Yeonwoo’s hunting backpack but had flung it aside while charging at him, and Ji Yeonwoo had picked it up along the way.

Piiik!

For a moment, his eyes met the boss rabbit’s.

From behind, the subordinate rabbits were rushing in, and Ji Yeonwoo, as if by magic, was holding a Jaws Bar in his hand.

The boss rabbit prepared for battle.

It even prepared for death.

But—

“It’s mine. I took it back.”

Ji Yeonwoo took a few steps back and then disappeared into the darkness.

The Boss Rabbit felt both relief and the humiliation that came with it.

How can I just stand here when my child was wronged?!

BEEEEEEEEEEK!

The boss rabbit’s rage erupted.

The other rabbits rushed past their leader, chasing after Ji Yeonwoo.

Myaaong…!

Watching this scene from a high vantage point, Jung Yaong’s eyes flickered with interest.

—

*

“Aaaah!”

Ji Yeonwoo ran.

Piiiiiiiiik!

The mountain rabbits chased after him.

Even in the darkness shrouding the surroundings, the rabbits pursued Ji Yeonwoo as if it were broad daylight.

The only one in trouble was Ji Yeonwoo.

‘I can’t see well ahead!’

And soon enough, he tripped over a rock.

Crash! Bang!

Fortunately, his body bounced like a rubber ball.

Though he fell, Ji Yeonwoo somehow managed to get back up and picked up speed.

Ahead was a cliff as tall as a hill.

*– Rapid Swimming*

Bam! Boing! Baaang!

Using Rapid Swimming, he leveraged his leg strength to leap.

Jumping two or three times higher than usual, Ji Yeonwoo barely managed to land on the top before springing up again.

*– Elasticity Control (A)*

Ji Yeonwoo’s body, now in wingsuit mode, was propelled forward by elasticity, gliding smoothly.

The distance between him and the rabbits widened.

But he hadn’t completely shaken them off.

The rabbits were different—unnaturally so.

In just two or three leaps, they scaled the same mountain Ji Yeonwoo had crossed and were already closing the distance his wingsuit had created.

Worse yet—

“Keugh. Huhk. Hahk…!”

—he was starting to run out of breath.

His *High Altitude Adaptation* skill was too low to provide adequate support.

At this rate, he wouldn’t last five minutes.

‘Would it be better to just fight?’

If he fought now, it would be a fight to the death.

He’d have to slice them all apart with the Jawsbar and settle things once and for all.

‘If I want to survive, I have no choice.’

Just as he steeled himself to open the path of slaughter (…),

Myaooong!

Jung Yaong, with his adorable front and hind legs moving this way and that, approached Ji Yeonwoo.

Ji Yeonwoo’s expression brightened again.

“Hey! You were this fast?”

Myaong!

“Thanks for coming back for me!”

Honestly, he hadn’t expected the cub to come looking for him.

He thought the cub had no attachment to him—if anything, he was the one who cared more.

But here the cub was, panting heavily as he searched for him.

That made him so grateful.

Grateful, but…!

“Yaong-ah, you should leave. I’m in serious danger right now!”

Just as Ji Yeonwoo was preparing for battle, he even waved his hands to shoo the cub away.

If the rabbits harmed this tiny Jung Yaong, his heart would ache.

But the more he tried to push him away, the faster Jung Yaong ran, catching up to Ji Yeonwoo—then overtaking him and moving ahead.

Not only that, but the cub scaled a cliff in one swift motion.

“What the—you can climb just fine?”

How could this same cub have struggled so much to climb a cliff when they first met?

But there was no time to dwell on it.

Jung Yaong’s chubby little tail curled into a question mark.

“You want me to follow?”

Myaooong!

The cub turned back, hopping up and down as if urging him to hurry.

Ji Yeonwoo had no destination in mind anyway.

He had only considered fighting because, if he kept running aimlessly until his stamina ran out, death would be the only outcome.

Since following Jung Yaong had never led him astray before, Ji Yeonwoo chased after the cub again.

Tat-tat-tat!

He jumped over low cliffs and dug his hands into higher ones.

When he encountered solid bedrock like before, he adjusted the viscosity of his *Combat Tanghulu* to climb again.

When descending, he used the Jawsbar like a snowboard to slide down quickly, then leaped and safely glided in flying squirrel or parasail mode.

Then, he realized something.

‘The scenery… it’s changing!’

The snowy landscape around him was slowly shifting.

Amid the brown-and-white surroundings, other colors began to appear.

Green for grass, red for some kind of fruit—or maybe flowers. These sparse patches gradually multiplied.

Soon, a ravine came into view.

The V-shaped ravine was densely overgrown with lush grass.

Jung Yaong ran straight toward it without hesitation.

“Wait, how is grass growing in a place like this?”

He soon realized why.

The air against his skin felt warm.

“Is there some kind of heat source here?”

With that, Ji Yeonwoo followed Jung Yaong into the mouth of the ravine.

The rabbits chased after them.

No—

Piiiiiiik!

They couldn’t enter.

Ji Yeonwoo noticed and turned around.

The rabbits had stopped right at the entrance, glaring at him with hatred-filled eyes.

As if they couldn’t cross into this place.

“What? Why can’t they come in?”

Piiiiiiik!

As Ji Yeonwoo stood there blankly, the pursuing rabbits swarmed in. Their numbers had multiplied from five to dozens in an instant.

Sssk. Sssk.

They were furious.

But they didn’t dare step into this place, only glaring at Ji Yeonwoo.

Finally, the boss rabbit staggered forward from the back and—

Piiik… Piiiiiiik!

—made a face full of frustration and resentment.

Its gaze wasn’t fixed on Ji Yeonwoo.

It was looking further behind him, gritting its teeth as if something was there.

By now, Ji Yeonwoo had no choice but to look back too.

“There’s nothing here…?”

Ahead was just a path overgrown with grass.

Beyond that, nothing but scenery darkened by the night.

Whoooosh.

A gust of wind blew from deep within the ravine.

A heavy wind.

Piiiiik…!

Exposed to that heavy wind, the rabbits began to retreat hesitantly.

Piiiiiiiiik!

Letting out one last resentful shriek, they fully withdrew.

Their shoulders slumped weakly as they trudged away.

“Whew!”

Ji Yeonwoo sighed in relief.

He was endlessly grateful to Jung Yaong for leading him to this place.

“You’re a treasure. A real treasure!”

Pat pat.

Myaong~

Jung Yaong rubbed his face against Ji Yeonwoo’s hand.

A strange chill flickered across Jung Yaong’s smug expression, but the oblivious Ji Yeonwoo didn’t notice.

Myaong.

Jung Yaong suddenly stood up.

Then, he climbed the slope to the side and looked back.

His tail curled into a question mark.

It was a signal to follow.

Myaooong.

The cub called again.

Other places might be fine, but this one was truly dangerous.

The only reason he’d brought this pseudo-monkey here was because there was no other choice.

They had to leave quickly.

Jung Yaong knew a path where they could slip away quietly, unnoticed.

This pseudo-monkey had always followed his lead, so he had no doubt he would follow now.

It was arrogance. And prejudice.

Drip, drip, drip.

Ji Yeonwoo was already following the sound of flowing water from somewhere.

There was a pool.

The surface was hot from the heat.

Ji Yeonwoo reached out and touched it.

“A hot spring…!”

His eyes sparkled.

“A hot… spring. Hot… spring…!”

Of course, the water wasn’t as scalding as a proper hot spring.

But that was because this was just the edge. If he followed the stream, he’d find warmer water.

As if entranced, Ji Yeonwoo’s steps carried him deeper into the ravine.

Nya-nya-nya-nya!

Jung Yaong couldn’t just watch.

He blocked Ji Yeonwoo’s path, his tail standing straight like an exclamation mark.

A warning!

But to Ji Yeonwoo, it felt like following the question mark had led him to an exclamation mark.

Since he couldn’t understand Jung Yaong, misunderstandings like this were inevitable.

So Jung Yaong couldn’t stop Ji Yeonwoo’s advance.

Nyaooong!

Finally, the cub let out a loud cry—then clamped his mouth shut.

Jung Yaong’s fierce cry echoed through the ravine.

A flicker of unease passed through his eyes.

Meanwhile, Ji Yeonwoo kept walking deeper inside.

By now, the water had reached his ankles, and he wore a satisfied expression. Just as he’d guessed, the temperature rose the further he went.

Splash!

Ji Yeonwoo fully submerged himself.

Mist clouded the surroundings.

His expression shifted moment by moment.

“Ahh…!”

Like a tightly wound spool unraveling magically, like cotton candy melting in hot spring water—his expression softened. By the time the water reached his waist, he even removed his *Combat Tanghulu* and placed it on a rock jutting above the surface.

Now naked, he could fully appreciate the warmth of the water.

“Hah, haaaah…!”

The fatigue in his body melted away, leaving him utterly relaxed!

The water temperature was around 45°C?

Hot at first, but after 10 seconds, it became bearable. After a minute, it felt like every tightly wound screw in his body was loosening.

A sensation of his body blissfully falling apart.

No—being reborn!

It must have been so long since he last soaked in hot water.

“Huuuuuuh….”

For just a brief moment, Ji Yeonwoo’s awareness of how dangerous this place might be—or where he even was—grew dull.

If the Watcher had been here, he would’ve snapped him out of it. But the Watcher was fast asleep in dreamland, unable to connect here.

Of course, there was another pair of worried eyes in place of the Watcher.

Myaa… uuung…!

Jung Yaong alternated between glancing at the carefree Ji Yeonwoo and the depths of the ravine, restless. But soon, his face went blank again.

What am I even doing right now?

The weighing of choices had begun.