[{"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-583":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},1328121,1764,"Chapter 583: Opening (4)","surviving-the-game-as-a-barbarian-chapter-583",583,"\u003Cp>A linear corridor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although the structure was similar, calling it a corridor might be a bit misleading.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The length-to-width ratio might be comparable, but there was a huge difference in absolute width.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This place seemed at least three times larger than the Hall of Glory where knighthood was bestowed...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Swoooosh—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even with the flare lighting the way, the end was nowhere in sight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dark shadows fell over the rows of statues standing in formation along the walls, creating an eerie atmosphere.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Statues of the guardians...’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What on earth was this place for?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Surely, it wasn’t a place meant for solo play rather than party play?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>While cautiously watching my surroundings for any hidden danger, the promised time passed and portals materialized in the air.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whooosh—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Portals just large enough for one person.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Each portal opened briefly, expelled one person, then vanished as if its purpose was fulfilled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Fortunately, everyone came out safe.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Amelia entered right after me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ugh... this place is creepier than I thought.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Next came Ainard, the warrior, showing no fighting spirit at all, looking completely unmotivated. After that, portals continued to open, letting our comrades inside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“There might be traps nearby, so stay put and wait!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though all temporary 4th Squad members had entered, I didn’t start the exploration immediately but waited for the rear guard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No harm in waiting until all preparations are complete before searching.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>3rd Squad, 2nd, 1st...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Quietly waiting, over a hundred people entered in sequence, including the chief.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Mages, secure sight first, and the rest, don’t act rashly—await orders!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The chief shouted with Jerome Saintred’s face, his forced acting somehow unsettling, but at the same time, it brought a bit of relief.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yeah, they really came in.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I had quietly worried if I’d be the only one thrown in.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Anyway, all have entered successfully...’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There seemed to be no limit or a very loose limit on the number of entrants here.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, that wasn’t cause for pure joy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because inDungeon & Stone, places like this usually had high difficulty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Baron Yandel, what should be our next move?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The chief approached and asked, and I pretended to consider before passing instructions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hmm... sounds reasonable.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Trying not to reveal his figurehead status, the chief feigned hesitation briefly before ordering the deputy commander:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We’ll first organize a search party and start investigating!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The search began.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Initially, the knights scouted the area, calling mages to investigate anything suspicious instead of touching it carelessly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before I knew it, the map was complete.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Having many people to delegate to sure makes things convenient.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It really felt like cheating.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If only our Anavada clan were here, making a map alone would have taken ages.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No monsters detected within the radius.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Do not touch any statues! There is a faint but unknown magical reaction coming from inside!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Though we passed through the portal, it seems this is not inside the rift.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“All terrain features here have restorative properties.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A task that would normally take all day was finished quickly thanks to the manpower.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I simply stayed quiet, listening to reports with the chief, organizing and making judgments.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Is this... the taste of power?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The convenience was so great it made my past barbaric expeditions look crude.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Instead of pen and paper, I racked my brain and summarized the collected info alone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Three main points stood out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If the mages’ guesses were right, these statues were no mere decorations.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They certainly had some role, and I had my suspicions—well, hopes, rather.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Not confirmed yet, so let’s skip for now...’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All statues represented guardians of fifth floor or below.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But peculiarly, among the statues was the vampire duke Cambormier, a sort of hidden boss...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet the real problem was different.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Why are some guardians here that I’ve never seen?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These were not unidentified entities.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if guardians, just like Cambormier was essentially a Grade 5 vampire monster, most had finished their experience gain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But here’s the issue...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Drakes shouldn’t appear as guardians, though...?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Among all rifts, drakes never show up as ‘guardians,’ yet one proudly stood among the statues.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Were these statues only of guardian monsters? It didn’t seem so, but all others had guardian traits.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Look at the lycanthrope statue.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only the tyrant Tarunbas from the Glacier Cave used an ice club like that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If that’s really a guardian... it means new guardian essences have appeared!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But nothing has been confirmed yet.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No, I’m sure! Just as Baron Yandel defeated the vampire guardian before and acquired its essence, these must be undiscovered guardians of unknown rifts!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Maybe this was truly a case similar to the Blood Castle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It’s hard to accept that so many rifts exist that I didn’t even know about.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the longer I stayed in this world, the more I quietly accepted it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I just knew far more than others.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Knowing everything aboutDungeon & Stoneis my arrogance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The first basement alone was proof.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I didn’t even know that a restrained wish could upgrade vampire essence into ogre essence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Anyway, next.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the end of the corridor, past the statues, stood a huge stone gate impervious even to first-rank magic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Simply put, only by fulfilling certain conditions with what we’ve found can the gate be opened and the next stage accessed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Therefore...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Search is enough for now. Gather everyone. ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) No, better to get them all together.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I told the figurehead chief to assemble the troops.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That much clue was sufficient, right?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Prepare for battle, all units...!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The deputy commander shouted, commanding the troops, and I slowly approached the statues amid the tense atmosphere.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Step, step.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I first laid my hand on the easiest King Slime statue.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ziiiiiing—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For some reason, I felt an electric current run through my fingertips.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I instinctively knew something had activated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘This I didn’t expect.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I only guessed the statues would come to life, so I was quite taken aback.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...A portal?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A portal appeared around the statue.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The portal opened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The portal that appeared after opening the unknown stone gate in the first basement level.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It wasn’t hard to guess where this portal led.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Is it a portal to the Green Mine...?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That seems highly likely.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing the whispers, other explorers seemed to share my thoughts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But I didn’t rush to conclusions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We need to decide who goes through first.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was no guarantee the portal connected to the Green Mine, nor how many could pass at once.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So I began personnel selection with great care.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There were three portal types:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This includes dimensional steles.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though in the rift, such portals haven’t opened yet, so unlikely here.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Typical for first-floor rifts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When a rift opens, dozens of portals appear, and when five pass, all vanish.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The doppelganger forest on the 4th floor is this type.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Portals can be used only once.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If someone is bound nearby, they also move together.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was proven long ago even for six-person bonds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Okay, personnel selection is done...’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For teams of 5, 6, 10, 12, 15, 18... arranged in multiples of 5 and 6, and order set.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Might all be useless, but I believed not preparing was a sin in the labyrinth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then I’ll go in first.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After freshly casting the bonding magic, I carefully stepped into the portal, soon to be surprised.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Iron rails covered the floor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Scrap materials scattered around.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A broken cart wheel and coal inside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So far, no problem.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The place I arrived was indeed the Green Mine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But if there was a serious problem here...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What the hell is this? Why is no one coming?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No matter how much time passed, no one entered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I explored around just in case and waited longer, but the portal showed no sign of reopening.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My thoughts grew more complicated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Why aren’t they coming?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Is there a problem outside?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Could the chief be scheming again?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Or maybe everyone entered but at different start points, so we haven’t met?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...I’ll proceed alone for now.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Waiting here seemed pointless, so I slowly started the攻略.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was no ordinary Green Mine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Strong monsters could appear any moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Repeating caution in my mind, I moved carefully.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...Huh?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After just a short walk, a sudden clearing appeared.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And then—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Kyuuiiiit-!]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Green Mine’s guardian appeared abruptly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Normally, I’d have to walk much further after defeating the mid-boss...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Crack!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As soon as it saw me, it charged, so I killed it with my hammer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「King Slime defeated.」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「Guardian defeat bonus. EXP +3」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>...Looks like I got proper experience.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Maybe just my imagination, so I put it aside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Swoooosh!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I stared blankly at the portal that appeared right after the kill.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Is this the end...?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A little anticlimactic, but it really felt like the end.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unless some other event awaited beyond the portal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since the portal wouldn’t disappear immediately, I gradually regained composure and checked the fallen King Slime’s spot.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Could at least have dropped a Rift Stone.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The loot was a rainbow-colored essence proving it was a guardian’s.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Trash to me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if I put it in a test tube and sold it, it wouldn’t be worth much...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And no mage would bother putting it in a test tube anyway.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not like I’d consume it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thud.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without any regrets, I tore my eyes away from the guardian essence and quickly exited through the portal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ah, sir...!!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thankfully, I arrived back at the previous place through the portal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Bjorn...!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Thank goodness! Captain!!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My squad members rushed to me worriedly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before telling my story, I first listened to theirs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Why hadn’t anyone followed?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The answer matched my expectation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sadly indeed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“They didn’t not enter, they couldn’t enter. Bjorn, the portal disappeared right after you went in.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>...So it really was a one-person rift.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Well, better than others being blocked by outside problems...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Phew...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I sighed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Taking my eyes off my comrades, I scanned the statues in the corridor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Different types, difficulties, and ways to fight—guardians below the fifth floor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘I have to kill all of these alone...’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I could already see the hard road ahead.\u003C\u002Fp>",1673,"2026-06-05T19:33:16.709Z",1,"novelbin.me","0c7916235f333d60ffa8bbaf1f6071bc85e472e93cbf7080f06d17be6133ec1e","surviving-the-game-as-a-barbarian-chapter-762","surviving-the-game-as-a-barbarian-chapter-761",807,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fsurviving-the-game-as-a-barbarian-cover.jpg"]