[{"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-603":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},1327980,1764,"Chapter 603: Third record (6)","surviving-the-game-as-a-barbarian-chapter-603",603,"\u003Cp>When the guardian is defeated, the rift clears and a portal opens. Riding that portal allows return to the original entry point.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Well, at least that’s how it had been so far.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Two portals...?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And they’re even colored red and blue.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This isn’t some kind of pill.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If we pick the wrong one, do we end up somewhere strange...?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unexpected situations made me think a lot.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Somehow, nothing on this underground first floor ever proceeds normally.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Really feels like everything is shrouded in mystery.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Including this essence...’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The portals opened after clearing the rift don’t disappear over time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though, whether this rule properly applies here is uncertain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Anyway, I briefly took my eyes off the portals and examined the essence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“A truly mysterious color...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Chief’s eyes were still full of curiosity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Well, since he was from a time before Hierarchs and rifts, it was probably his first time seeing a rainbow-colored essence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Baron, can you explain what kind of essence this is?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I don’t know.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh, so even you are seeing this monster for the first time?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No, that’s not it...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Feeling frustrated, I sighed deeply and continued.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Soul Eater normally doesn’t drop essences.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not that I just haven’t gotten one yet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soul Eater is a monster that gives a huge amount of experience. Even if skipping other monsters, I always hunted this one when leveling a new character.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But not once has it dropped an essence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even with Beginner’s Luck, Melton’s Soul Clover, and max essence drop rate buffs, the result was the same.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So I thought it simply doesn’t drop essence...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Didn’t expect there’d be another way to obtain it like this.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then what’s the effect of the Soul Eater essence?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At least I expect it to include the active skill to summon ‘Soul Cavalry’...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But I’ll have to experiment after acquiring it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Oh, of course, I don’t plan to consume it myself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Gahun! Get up!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I put down Gahun, who had been carried on my shoulder, and gently slapped his cheek. Since the essence dropped, there was no time to wait leisurely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The essence must be placed in a test tube within 30 minutes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Gahun! Gahun! Gahun!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So I increased the slapping intensity gradually.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It wasn’t comfortable to do this to someone who had collapsed in pain...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But essence comes before people, right?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ugh...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Luckily, by the time his cheek had swollen, Gahun regained consciousness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ba...ron? I’m... dizzy...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He seemed still dizzy from the fall’s impact as he spoke vaguely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I briefly said the essentials.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Handling mages is similar anyway.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“While you were unconscious, the Soul Eater appeared as a guardian, and after killing it, guardian essence dropped.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“W-what...?!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As expected, Gahun’s expression instantly changed, and he jumped up. Right, how could a mage tolerate a new guardian essence?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Uh... I can’t get up.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Obviously. Your legs are all twisted like that. Even a barbarian couldn’t move with those legs—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...Eeeeek!!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only then did Gahun check his legs and make a strange noise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Still, he seemed to value the essence more than his broken legs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Move me... move me to the essence. I can’t walk.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I brought Gahun to the essence and handed him the test tube as requested.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How much time passed, I don’t know.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Phew... it’s done.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The essence slipped into the test tube, and Gahun carefully placed it in the essence storage box, ending the extraction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But... what are those portals...? Why are there two...?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh, that? We’ll think about that from now on. We don’t know yet either.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I see...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So, what’s your opinion?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If you ask me what I think—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Anything, just say what comes to mind.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hmm... I think one of them definitely connects to where we originally were...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gahun, randomly sharing his opinion, suddenly trailed off.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He made a somewhat blank expression for a moment, then—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The blue portal...!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He shouted with certainty as if he’d realized something.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If we take the blue portal, we return to where we originally were!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Clearly, his intuition, which had been sealed entering the Great Demon Mirror, reactivated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then what about the red portal? Do you know anything about that one?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Well... not really. It feels ambiguous. Dangerous, maybe... but not necessarily a bad choice.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Dangerous, but sure to have a reward... is that your interpretation?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Uh, yes. I have years of experience with Dungeon and Stone.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Like clockwork.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thanks to Gahun, the options narrowed down to two.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>...Well, technically it was always two choices.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Take the safe blue portal and leave.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Take the red portal and try for extra rewards.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before deciding, I had enough info to judge properly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Since clearing underground first floor is top priority, leaving now isn’t bad...’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Never forget that entering the rift is just a stepping stone to escape the first floor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And the rift is already cleared.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Just taking one Soul Eater essence and leaving feels a ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) bit dull...’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I haven’t been here a week, but the scale was such that three, including the Chief, were trapped here for over half a year.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Is this all the reward?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I don’t know the Soul Eater essence’s power yet, and the Archbishop became the Karui priest and disappeared without a trace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Time to decide. You decide. I’ll follow wherever you go.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Me too.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Chief and Elwen left the decision to me, while Gahun urgently tried to persuade me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Baron, give up greed. We lost the Archbishop already; pushing further is overambitious. Who knows what’s beyond?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gahun had a point.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But this isn’t just my personal greed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The additional reward beyond that portal?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fine. Whatever it is, it will help.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But I can live without it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What I’m expecting from the red portal is something else.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘If we cross there...’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Maybe we get closer to the labyrinth’s secret.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Maybe it helps to escape the first floor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Also—and most importantly...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘It’s too easy.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The difficulty is way too low.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yeah, we lost the Archbishop along the way...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But even considering that, it doesn’t add up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘...Still, something feels off.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From experience, situations like this usually have traps mixed in.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“For now, decision is postponed.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Postponed...?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If we return now, we don’t even know what will happen to the Archbishop.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That’s true, but...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gahun trailed off.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He nodded at ‘We don’t know yet,’ but both of us knew.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Returning now would most likely end it all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But it can’t be helped. Every event requires sacrifice. Several have already died since coming down here... If we die here, their sacrifices will have been in vain.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A logically sound opinion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though there was a petty undertone prioritizing self-preservation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I’m petty too.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Regardless of the Archbishop’s fate, before taking the portal, we should explore more. We must have missed something on the way here.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Four gorges.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The field debuff that messes with the mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Lord of Silence and Karui’s priest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The anticlimactic boss battle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though the rift cleared and portals opened, I’d missed so much.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And if I leave now, I might never find out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...Is that really necessary? I can barely move now.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Don’t worry. I’ll carry you well and protect you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Sigh...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Having heard many sighs before, I immediately recognized Gahun’s as consent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Okay, persuasion done...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Now, let’s go.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I memorized the portal location again and set off, leading with the Chief.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This isn’t the direction where that monster was?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Lord of Silence, Silierat, was buried there.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before full exploration, I intended to return there once more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because now Gahun was with us.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That intuition still works, right?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“For now... yes.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You won’t be able to talk near it, so investigate as best as you can. Don’t be too scared since it can’t move.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Y-yes...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gahun seemed eager to jump beyond the blue portal immediately, but someone who couldn’t even walk wasn’t escaping my shoulder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soon, we entered its domain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The character has entered the [Silent Curse]’s range.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“All essence skills are sealed.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing the sound disappear, luckily, it still seemed alive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soon, the Lord of Silence buried in debris appeared.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It still looked at me with weak eyes, and I approached, bending down so Gahun could see.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At first trembling, Gahun realized it wasn’t dangerous and even reached out to touch its skin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Some time passed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tap tap.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gahun tapped my shoulder, signaling to leave.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How was it?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After quickly leaving the area, what I heard was simple.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...It definitely doesn’t seem like our enemy. When our eyes met, an alarm rang in my head not to kill it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>...Hmm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My guess is... maybe the guardian was weak because of your actions, Baron.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My actions?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You didn’t kill it but passed by. I think that’s the cause.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Simply put, if we had killed it, the boss battle might have been much harder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘If true, it explains the easy boss fight...’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then what about the Archbishop?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Suddenly he switched to being Karui’s priest and disappeared.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Is that a planned event?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Or something we could have stopped with better handling?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Feels more like the latter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If it were the former, it’d be too unreasonable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ka-BOOM!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Suddenly, an explosion from afar shook the ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The source was near the Lord of Silence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Sealant Silierat has died.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What the hell was that?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I got the answer from Gahun’s mouth, carried on my shoulder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Lord of Silence, Silierat, has died.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We have to run! Now is no time to worry about what we missed!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Calm down and explain properly—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The portal’s closing soon!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No way!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No need to ask how he knew.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Surely, his intuition was active again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Run!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There’s still time to think later.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For now, we sprinted full speed toward the portal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Sir! Behind! The Archbishop is following from behind!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As expected, it seemed that the Archbishop was the one who killed the Lord of Silence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How’s the speed?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“About the same as us... Be careful!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Careful of what?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I don’t know, but twisted my body a little.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And at that moment—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thud!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Something sharp pierced my left shoulder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The wound wasn’t deep.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I was carrying Gahun on that shoulder after all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ugh, ugh!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Blood Gahun vomited dyed my upper body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Uh... huff... huh...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gahun was barely breathing, but it wasn’t a big problem.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Luckily, the portal was right in front.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once through, intense treatment from numerous priests could save him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So then...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thunk.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As soon as we reached the portal, I pushed Gahun’s body inside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whoooooosh!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was about half the size from earlier, but thankfully the portal worked properly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Elwen, you too.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Sir! What about you—!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before it shrank further, I quickly pushed Elwen through.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“And you? Why aren’t you going?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No matter how I think, this doesn’t feel right.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I turned and saw the Chief frowning, and beyond him, the approaching Archbishop.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Archbishop’s spine was grotesquely bent, surrounded by tentacles, floating in midair.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just looking was horrifying.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You don’t plan to take the other portal, do you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“First, I need to check one thing.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’re consistent, even now. What do you need to check?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Earlier... you said if I go all out, I can kill the Archbishop... Is that still possible?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Chief paused a moment before answering.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Well...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though he said that, his eyes showed no doubt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No one else will see this. No matter how wrecked the body is, once you die once, you’ll be fine again...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Get to the point.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hmm, looks like you can.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Chief shrugged and asked me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But why the sudden thought? It’d be easier to leave now, right?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Didn’t I say? I have to check. So will you help?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...Promise to keep it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he said that, aura bloomed over the Chief’s sword.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whoooosh!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The pure white aura was Count Saintred’s trademark.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the Chief’s aura was a bit different from the original owner’s.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘What the—?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The aura around the sword kept growing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As if it had no limits.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whoooosshhhh!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even the Archbishop, who was about to lose control and rush madly, stopped briefly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How is this possible...? Can you really use your living powers?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I muttered unknowingly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Well, if that’s called living powers, then yes.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Chief chuckled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The knights of this era are terrible, you see.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Aura isn’t meant to be used like that, you know.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After that—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>——————!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A flash of light.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Special Condition - Third Record Achieved.]\u003C\u002Fp>",2059,"2026-06-05T19:33:18.084Z",1,"novelbin.me","62cf2e91a82c81942fda3ac4bddd297b96266d3a94280a1318e36b97e34b1de8","surviving-the-game-as-a-barbarian-chapter-604","surviving-the-game-as-a-barbarian-chapter-602",807,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fsurviving-the-game-as-a-barbarian-cover.jpg"]