[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-surviving-the-game-as-a-barbarian":3,"chapter-surviving-the-game-as-a-barbarian-surviving-the-game-as-a-barbarian-chapter-549":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Surviving the Game as a Barbarian",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1328226,1764,"Chapter 549: Secret Room (2)","surviving-the-game-as-a-barbarian-chapter-549",549,"\u003Cp>A giant hamster speaking human language.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even in this fantasy world where magic and different races exist, such a thing is remarkable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, monsters don’t communicate in words.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Some rare ones speak, but mostly just repeat preset phrases.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And in that sense...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Let me go! I said, let me go! You crazy rebels!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>...What the hell is this thing?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I furrowed my brow without realizing it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That’s because the language it was speaking was ‘Ancient Tongue.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Coincidentally, I had recently met a monster that used Ancient Tongue.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But was it really just coincidence?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My suspicion deepened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yandel, what’s wrong?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Is there a problem?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What? Their reactions?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Feeling the awkwardness, I immediately voiced my doubt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Don’t tell me you can’t understand a word it’s saying?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...Huh? Words?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We didn’t hear any words. Just unpleasant screeches.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Me too!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tsk, what kind of phenomenon is this?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looking down at the increasingly suspicious hamster, it suddenly stopped struggling and looked up at me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You...! You can understand my words?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Can it really hear its own voice?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I found no reason to answer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So I pressed the hamster harder, making it unable to resist, and tried to speak in Ancient Tongue.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ugh...! Let me go...! You barbarian... do you even know who I am...!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It spoke boldly, but I had no idea who it was.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What’s your relation to the chief?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I asked directly, deciding the first thing to check was whether it was the chief’s spy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But it looked completely clueless, so I mentioned the chief’s other name.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Cornelius Brüngrid. Don’t you know that name? A monster like you who also uses Ancient Tongue?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If it said no here too, I planned to call in an expert for interrogation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You insolent thing! I’m not a monster...!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Enough. Just answer the questions.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I tightened my grip briefly then released, and it spoke hurriedly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I-I don’t know! Don’t press me! I feel like throwing up...!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I see. That’s unfortunate. Then I’ll have to find out myself.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Find out yourself...?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You’ll know soon enough.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I called Amelia over, who pulled out a dagger to check its blade.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing that, maybe she pictured her own future.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“W-wait!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Did you remember something?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ancient Tongue...! If it’s a ‘monster’ using Ancient Tongue, there’s one I can think of! The one who rides a dragon!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>...Rides a dragon?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The chief’s human-era nickname was ‘Dragon Knight,’ after all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Emily, hold on a moment.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I led Amelia back and continued the opened conversation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You. Tell me more about that one who rides a dragon.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I-I don’t know much...! But I once came here before. That monster with blue skin and huge eyes! Lots of subordinates, and it used Ancient Tongue too!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sounds like it’s talking about the chief.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Blue skin, huge bulging eyes, a species using Ancient Tongue — there can’t be others like that around.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘The chief was lying to me again.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He told me they couldn’t go outside and didn’t know what was out there.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Turns out it was all blatant lies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“When did they come here?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Long ago — so long ago it’s meaningless to count.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’ll decide if it’s meaningless or not. Give me a number.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I don’t know exactly! But the skies have opened tens of thousands more times since those monsters last came!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sky has opened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That phrase seems to mean ‘rainy season.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If so, it makes sense counting is meaningless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘If the rainy season happened 10,000 times... about 833 years by outside time.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And it opened tens of thousands more times?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Meaning ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) the chief came here thousands of years ago.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So I stopped calculating.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What do you mean by riding a dragon?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Literally! Whenever they came here, they brought a big dragon with a bunch of followers on it!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So, they came multiple times?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“They used to come often. Then they stopped coming.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What did the chief do here back then?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Same as you! Messed up all the books I had worked hard to organize! Really—!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Wait, you organized the books?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...Yeah?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What is this thing?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What it said so far didn’t sound like lies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Honestly, I was more curious about what it really was than suspecting it as the chief’s spy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why did you organize the books?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The key to understanding someone is their motivation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I asked that, but the answer was vague.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Th-that’s... because I have to...!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What...?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Organizing books... that’s what I have to do. I’ve done it since I was born here!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So, organizing books is the reason you exist?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“N-not that grand... but it’s something I have to do.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It didn’t seem like it was hiding anything.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I asked repeatedly, but the answer never changed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Idiot! You think you need a reason for everything? It’s just like that! Just like that! I have to organize books!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So why do you have to organize?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When I asked again, the hamster seemed confused like it had never thought about it before, then exploded in anger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Looks like it doesn’t even understand its own behavior.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No use pressing further.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Time for the next step.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So, is there anything else here?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You know, like special books, treasures, strange monsters, hidden spaces... Or something you’re hiding from outsiders.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Nothing?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The hamster screamed loudly in disgust at my subtle question.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“N-no, no, no!!!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Strong denials can sometimes mean strong affirmations.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I thought so...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...!!!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You have something, don’t you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I started salivating unconsciously.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The conversation in similar form repeated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I said, there’s nothing!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Like a parrot, the hamster kept repeating ‘nothing.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ah, you just said you’ll show it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Like a barbarian, I ignored it completely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How many times do I have to say it before you understand? There’s nothing here!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Who said I’m taking it? I’m only going to look. Stop annoying me.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Argh, why can’t it believe human words?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I concluded it’s not someone to reason with nicely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hey.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I lowered my voice and spoke.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The hamster flinched and looked at me cautiously.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Am I your friend? Can’t you read the situation?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...No, no, I said there’s nothing... I really...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ah, then tell me something else.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Something else...?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yeah, like how to get out of here. Do you know?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...No.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The chief’s weaknesses or secrets?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then what do you want me to do? I need a reason too before I let you go or whatever. Or should I check if you have essence?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Haha, no answer, lips sealed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Is it that precious?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing threats didn’t work, I changed tactics.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hey, then tell me about yourself.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What are you? Why are you here? And where did you learn to speak human language?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ah, that...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Maybe this topic was easier.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It answered quite kindly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though it didn’t have any meaningful information.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So to sum up, you were born here and can speak human language?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Y-yeah... The chief! The chief was the first strange life form I saw.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Does the chief know about you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Probably not. I tried talking to him since he came close after hearing me speak... But that dumb guy didn’t understand a word.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Like the others who didn’t understand you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“By the way, who are you? How can you talk to me and not be scared?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Why did it suddenly become arrogant?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why are you asking me? Explain that.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Enough. Tell me, people are scared of you? Do you have some kind of ability?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...I don’t know. They all were. The chief drew weapons and swung when he saw me. You all were no different. So they tried to scare me off...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But you got caught like this.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why am I fine? You look like a normal rat to me.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“A rat? I’m not that!!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then what are you? Do you have a species name?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“N-no, not really...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then your name? Do you have one?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...I don’t need a name.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That’s why some never socialize... Names exist for convenience. So let me give you one.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...You’ll give me one?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yeah.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Living alone in the library for thousands of years without a name seemed a little sad, so I thought hard and named it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hamsik.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hamsik, that’s your name from now on.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What? Is there a problem with the name?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“N-no... no problem...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I am Bjorn, Yandel’s son. Yandel’s my family name, Bjorn my given name. Just call me Bjorn.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“B-bjorn... got it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Okay, now that introductions were done, time to resume the interrupted conversation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So... are we friends now?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hamsik suddenly asked that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Its voice was cautious and somewhat uneasy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I tilted my head, and it looked away, mumbling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But... I heard friends are those who call each other by name...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Where did you learn that?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Don’t know. I’ve known since birth. Like the language system I have.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Really?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I thought it was a weird creature with lots of questions, but also thought,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘I think I know how to handle it.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I released it and helped it stand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Facing it, I stretched out my arm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hamsik, I’m counting on you from now on.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why, you said when you introduce yourself you become friends, right? Friends shake hands. You don’t know that?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“N-no! Of course I know!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hamsik shyly reached out its fluffy paw.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I-I’m also... pleased to meet you...?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How badly does it want friends?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I don’t know, but now the friendship was sealed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Now tell me. Where is that treasure you were hiding?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Time to pay the friend fee.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hamsik looked at me with betrayed eyes and backed away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Come on, don’t be hurt among friends.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hamsik, friends don’t keep secrets.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“B-but...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Don’t you consider me a friend?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Piii...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hamsik squeaked awkwardly at my question.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I didn’t push further and waited quietly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a while.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Okay... I’ll show you... but don’t touch anything inside! Got it?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Of course.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Maybe relieved, Hamsik proudly raised its index finger like a pop singer showing off.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And then.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ssss—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Books slid out one by one from the shelves, half hanging off.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘So it’s a system where pulling certain books reveals a secret space?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Watching in a daze, the movement stopped.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And then.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Drdrdrdrdrdrdr—!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sealed stone door opened, revealing a hidden space.\u003C\u002Fp>",1701,"2026-06-05T19:33:16.156Z",1,"novelbin.me","e15f523fd0b58a2d80e10446b13c4176d2232ccf4003c21b81cf9226a6400bf1","surviving-the-game-as-a-barbarian-chapter-550","surviving-the-game-as-a-barbarian-chapter-548",807,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fsurviving-the-game-as-a-barbarian-cover.jpg"]