[{"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-577":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},1328109,1764,"Chapter 577: Return (3)","surviving-the-game-as-a-barbarian-chapter-577",577,"\u003Cp>As Fox left, the already reduced number of people dwindled further.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wolf, Goblin, Queen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, only three participants remained in the game.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Auril Gavis murmured while looking at the empty round table.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’ve prepared diligently, so it’s a bit disappointing. Only three left already.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It wasn’t that he disliked the situation; it was more of a surprise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Well, I could understand that feeling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I myself found this development a bit unexpected.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘I didn’t think the return tickets would be given up so easily.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Losing anonymity and having your identity exposed?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In this world where evil spirits are subject to immediate execution, it’s extremely dangerous. But if only one could return home, none of that would matter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So I thought a chicken game would unfold.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Jester and the Black Mask left from the start, Butterfly quickly quit, and Fox gave up saying living in this world wasn’t so bad.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They started leaving one after another even before the real game had begun...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then, you’ll continue.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as Auril Gavis was about to resume the OX quiz, Goblin cautiously raised his hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Um... I will quit here too...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The third quitting declaration following Butterfly and Fox.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Auril Gavis clicked his tongue.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Is that so? Then leave quickly.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Aren’t you going to ask me why...? I’m not complaining or anything... just curious...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...Alright, what’s the reason? Did Fox’s words change your mind?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Uh... well... I can’t say it had no influence...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No influence?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I... don’t quite know how to say it...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Enough, just say it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Auril Gavis said irritably, and Goblin averted his gaze and muttered quietly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I have a bad feeling.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hmm, Goblin’s intuition is trustworthy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I too thought that right away, but on the other hand, Auril Gavis seemed hardly worried.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I see. Now that I know the reason, leave quickly. Ah, do you need time to say goodbye?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh, yes... just briefly...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Goblin then spoke to everyone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I once heard from a friend at a language school that even brushing past someone’s clothes is fate. If that’s true, being dragged into this strange world and meeting while wearing masks is no ordinary fate. S-some of you might even know who I am.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A long prelude.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the main point was very short.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So, if you have to kill me, please spare me. Aren’t we all players?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What did he want to say?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...Is that all?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Eh? Ah, yes... that’s all I wanted to say.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then go.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ah... yes... then goodbye, everyone...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Goblin left, Queen and Wolf exchanged awkward looks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Suddenly, only two remained for the finals...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Is this the real endgame from now on?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That thought came first, but the situation then moved in an unexpected direction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’m quitting here too.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At those words, Auril Gavis showed genuine emotion for the first time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...What’s your reason?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His voice was angry, more than just displeased.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Well, it made sense. He seemed to have prepared something, but nothing was going well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The reason is simple. I don’t trust you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Distrust, huh... I do have the ability to send you home.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes. Maybe that’s true. No, I think it’s highly likely you have that ability. But still, I don’t trust you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Queen glanced at Wolf and added.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That person is closely connected with you, isn’t he?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It seemed Queen was worried.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That she might be toyed with endlessly, exploited for her wish to go home.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Even if he planned for that person to win in the end, I have no way to know. To decide the winner now, Wolf would have to quit, but I don’t think Wolf would make that choice.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A very rational judgment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But it clearly was influenced by seeing others quickly quitting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The greetings are done, so I’ll be going now.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Queen left without a farewell, and so the OX quiz winner was decided anticlimactically.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Uh... huh...?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The winner with the sweet reward was Wolf Mask.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wolf seemed dazed, as if it didn’t sink in, but then snapped out of it and asked excitedly,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Gavis, so... can I really go home now?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Did he not get the mood?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I didn’t know, but as a bystander, it was a great show.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Of course. A promise is a promise.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Th-thank you...! I really thank—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Now, would you please keep your mouth shut for a while?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When it came to the OX quiz, he seemed full of excitement.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘He’s mad, mad.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A very rare spectacle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Wolf finally realized the mood and closed his mouth, a heavy silence settled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet did he have courage even now?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So... when... do I get the reward...?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wolf asked Auril Gavis again about the reward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’ll come to you when the time comes. So, wait outside for now.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His voice was deeply irritated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wolf didn’t press further and bowed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...Yes. Then I’ll wait outside, Gavis.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With Wolf gone, only two remained at the round table.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I, quietly watching, finally spoke.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Will you really send us home?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since only two remained, the question carried the meaning of ‘tell the truth.’ But that sly old man wouldn’t answer honestly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hmm, what do you think?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Well, honestly, I don’t think it will end well.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You lack faith in me.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>An utterly ridiculous remark.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then maybe act trustworthy sometimes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Anyway, it’s a pity. If we had played a few more rounds, you would have enjoyed watching.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Enjoy watching? You have unique tastes.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I won’t deny it... but isn’t that your place to say?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Well, I couldn’t deny it either.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What I did behind this mask wasn’t much different from this old man’s behavior.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I asked bluntly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So why did you do all this?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Apologies for unmasking or anything like that were just excuses.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But I still didn’t understand why he prepared this OX quiz game.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What on earth was the reason?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Faith is no different from gambling. I hope you return this time as much as you risk.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Before talking with you, I wanted to show you something. But... now it’s ridiculous to explain with words.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’re good at saying ‘it’s a secret’ for a long time.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Heh, then maybe you’re good at making everything simple and clear?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Damn, an old man who won’t say a word but expects others to talk.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The more I saw him, the more disgusting he was, but as someone raised in a Confucian country, I endured. We met after a long time; I couldn’t waste this opportunity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Enough. I have a question.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Question? Ask.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How did you find out about me?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a question I intended to ask when only the two of us were left.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because it didn’t feel like he was probing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Actually, isn’t this place more or less something you made?]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That old man came into the round table today and said that the moment he saw me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Simply put, he knew the Seeker mask was ‘Nibels Enche’ whom I met 20 years ago.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Actually, from how he talks, it seems he even knows I am Bjorn Yandel.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Anyway, before we start the real talk, I needed to check how much he knew...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But you speak briefly sometimes and at other times at length?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why, do you want me to call you ‘sir’ now?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I smiled and asked, and ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ Auril Gavis responded welcomingly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Uh... will you? Now that everyone left, I don’t need to pretend to be a Seeker...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Apparently, he was a bit uncomfortable with my blunt speech.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Well, fine. Let’s do that. It’s not hard. So, what about the answer? Is it a secret too?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ah, you asked how I found out about you? The answer is simple. I waited and waited for 20 years. There was so much information that it was easy to find out you were Bjorn Yandel.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hmm, that made sense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But here came a contradiction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But then, why didn’t you recognize me immediately when we first met at the round table?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Well, from your perspective, we hadn’t met yet. I judged it better to wait longer.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“And now is that time?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“About right. Until now, I tried to avoid meeting you as much as possible... but there was one thing I wanted to confirm as soon as possible.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ah, right, he said he came with questions for me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then speak quickly. What do you want to know?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Coolly asking as if he’d tell anything, the old man quickly took the chance and asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You said you met a witch here at this round table, right?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes. And?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I want to hear the details of where and how you met the witch.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It felt like déjà vu.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The exact same question Wolf asked me earlier.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Ah, since I didn’t answer, he came in person?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hmm, that seemed reasonable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That meant this information was important enough for him to revise his original plan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looking at it another way...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘So I’m the boss?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Realizing that, I was already sitting back arrogantly with crossed legs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A natural instinct of a K-Barbarian who senses an advantageous situation like a ghost.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Auril Gavis looked at my attitude change with suspicion but said nothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Okay, so he’ll just put up with this much.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tap tap.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My eyes caught the discarded OX signs that the old man had conjured with a single gesture.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Come to think of it, he said he regained all authority?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I smirked and ‘asked’ Auril Gavis.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Excuse me, sir? I’m thirsty, could you make me a cider?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“With lots of ice, very refreshing.”\u003C\u002Fp>",1577,"2026-06-05T19:33:16.709Z",1,"novelbin.me","5331d65ff3643f247038ac22ecc00c607110519ec5618b6d7a0ddf473dcbdee6","surviving-the-game-as-a-barbarian-chapter-756","surviving-the-game-as-a-barbarian-chapter-576",807,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fsurviving-the-game-as-a-barbarian-cover.jpg"]