[{"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-611":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},1327988,1764,"Chapter 611: Mystery (4)","surviving-the-game-as-a-barbarian-chapter-611",611,"\u003Cp>A large ship stood alone in the middle of the jungle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>First, I made everyone disembark, then dismissed the summoning. The ship was quite exhausted, so staying on it was difficult...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Well, even if that weren’t the case, we had to get off quickly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, you can’t move around the jungle by ship—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Mo-monsters...?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What? Monsters!!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inevitably, Hamshik showed himself, causing quite a commotion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was something we had to go through at least once.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When we transferred ships during the rainy season, I had carried him inside my armor, but I couldn’t hide him forever...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, the reaction was completely different from what I expected.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“W-what kind of monster is that...?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“For a monster, it’s... kind of cute?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s a specimen I’ve never seen before.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was different from the terrible reaction Hamshik had back at the library.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The squad all saw Hamshik’s true form.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...So this is what he looks # Nоvеlight # like.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Amelia, who had gone ahead to patrol around after disembarking, returned and stood beside me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her eyes sparkled as she looked at Hamshik.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...Can I touch him?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ask him yourself... no, first let’s get the situation under control.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I quickly intervened and ordered Hamshik to lower his weapon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This creature is the one we encountered in the library and is not hostile to us.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Y-you mean it’s not a monster?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Well, I don’t know about that, but I believe this one will help us escape from the basement first floor.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ah... so that’s why we stopped by that island back then.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So when are you going to lower your weapon? Should I order it again?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ah, s-sorry!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In a military group, the rule is to obey orders from above.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At my command as commander, the squad maintained wary distance but took no unexpected actions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[...What’s going on? I can’t understand their words, but their gaze toward me feels a bit different than usual.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh, that. I guess everyone here can now see your true form properly.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[...What? But still, they’re wary of me...]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That’s natural. Even if it’s your true form, you’re still a stranger to us.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Ah... I guess that’s true...]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hamshik looked somewhat flustered, as if he hadn’t considered this obvious fact.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And maybe because he had nowhere else to rely on, he clung tightly to my collar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Don’t stay over there. Come here.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I grabbed Hamshik and placed him on my shoulder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At first, he seemed surprised and tried to struggle, but quickly found his balance and curled up comfortably, as if he liked being on my shoulder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Feels like I’m raising a pet.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Anyway, that settled the Hamshik issue for now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Scout captain.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I called out the short rank title, and Amelia finally took her eyes off Hamshik.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How’s the scouting going?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“There’s nothing around immediately nearby. The flying object you saw is also nowhere to be found, and the scouts’ mages didn’t find anything unusual.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I see.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Okay, that means no immediate danger...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tap tap.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After some thought, I ordered the deputy commander to set up camp first. Exploration was important, but rest and reorganization were even more urgent now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since every squad member was an expert, the camp was quickly established.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Everyone, gather here for a moment before resting.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I called the weary soldiers together.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Despite their exhaustion, there were no complaints. In a world where farewells were common, everyone already knew what was coming.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What I was about to do.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Deputy commander, I leave it to you from here.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Passing the baton to the deputy, he skillfully recited the names, ranks, and reasons for the fallen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Archbishop Altvehimen, please.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The priest prayed for their souls, and the mage handed the cremated ashes to the closest relatives, ending the funeral quickly as if roasting beans over lightning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Those not assigned to guard duty, get some rest quickly! This might be the last chance you have! And don’t forget your watch schedule!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without even the deputy commander’s urging, the exhausted troops hurried to their assigned resting places.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ah, of course, there were exceptions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Armin.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Muul Armin, leader of the Armin exploration squad.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He stood quietly in front of the place where the bodies had been cremated, though he would be assigned to guard duty much later.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What about White Hext?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...Seems like he went straight to sleep.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Well... he must be tired. But you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...I should get some rest soon as well.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He said that, but I suspected he would return to the barracks much later.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unlike the Hext clan, which had a somewhat corporate feel, the Armin squad had long-standing close bonds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Alright, go ahead first. You get some rest too.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I patrolled the camp.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Amelia, Elwen, Misha, Goblin, Versil... all seemed so tired they had already dozed off, and I slowly headed to my own barracks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My private single-person barracks located at the center of the camp.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The deputy commander pleaded that if I stayed only with Squad 4, my closest comrades, others might feel uneasy, so I had my own place...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘They even put a foldable bed here.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I chuckled quietly and laid Hamshik on the small bed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Good night.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For barbarians, a single blanket is enough.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The next day after the entire expedition rested fully, taking turns on guard duty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We resumed the exploration in earnest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, with over a hundred people, we couldn’t just start moving recklessly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Expedition leader.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...You know what this is about, right?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...Yes. I’ll return safely.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I assigned a scouting captain to the leader, who was an excellent mage, so they could recon further.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Based on that reconnaissance, we held an executive meeting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We expanded the search radius widely, but no monsters were found.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What about that temple we saw far away? Did you check there too?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes. We couldn’t check inside the temple, but no monsters were found nearby.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why couldn’t you check inside?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The entrance was blocked by some magical barrier.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Magical barrier?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I couldn’t believe such a high-level mage was saying that, but the expedition leader answered confidently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We investigated, but couldn’t figure out how it worked. We just assume it’s similar to the dimensional disruption phenomena often found at rifts.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Dimensional disruption phenomenon... Ah, no need to explain; explorers would know what that is.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The dimensional disruption phenomenon is basically a ‘barrier.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Like at the witch’s hut or the blood-red fortress.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though the portal leads you inside what looks like another world, a surrounding barrier is in place that can’t be broken no matter what you do.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“In any case, if that’s true, forcibly breaking in is impossible.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes. It’s possible the terrain itself is inaccessible.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No, I don’t think so.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes...?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...I just have that feeling.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I avoided going into detail in a barbarian way but had some basis for that feeling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Strictly speaking, it was statistics, not evidence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘We’ve seen places where you can’t get out past a certain boundary, but we’ve never encountered any structure completely sealed off from entry.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It’s more likely that you enter by fulfilling some condition.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...So, can I continue reporting?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, go ahead.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After that, the leader reported everything they saw or learned while scouting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No insects were found in the jungle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Plants usually found in the dark continent were growing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rusty iron scraps were found on the ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Such seemingly trivial information could be useful someday, and I recorded it carefully.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I made a decision after all reports were finished.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Prepare for deployment after the meeting.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Are we going to the temple?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since the temple was the only place found nearby, I planned to go myself and check it out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If it wasn’t dangerous, we’d expand the search radius again from there.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘No matter what, making a map first is the best.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, the exploration began.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Over a hundred people maintained formation as they crossed the jungle, eventually reaching the temple.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There were dozens of stone buildings, with a huge temple in the center.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hmm... somehow this looks familiar.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Me too. It feels like somewhere I know.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“When was the last time I visited a place like this?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Judging by the squad’s reactions, I knew I wasn’t mistaken.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...Panthelion Ruins.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Huh?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The ruins we saw there gave off this exact feeling, didn’t they?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh! If those ruins were still intact, I think it would look just like this!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If my guess was right, the place we were at was the Panthelion Ruins in the 7th floor of the Dark Continent. Or more precisely, a prototype of that place.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Well then, let’s check the temple first.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So, we headed straight to the temple as soon as we arrived.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The central staircase wasn’t very high, and the entrance was located roughly at the level of the third floor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a stone door that looked like it could open sideways or up and down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Expedition leader, is there any other way to get inside?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No. The dimensional disruption phenomenon isn’t limited to this stone door but seems to cover the entire temple...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I see. Then you don’t need to participate in the exploration; just keep investigating the temple.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Baron... no, Commander, where are you going?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Not now. I plan to expand the search radius around here for a few days. It’s easier with a map.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I left the investigation to them and concentrated on making a map.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Each squad sent several members to widen the search radius, prioritizing map creation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a week-long search, we didn’t learn much.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘It’s huge.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unlike rifts where dimensional disruption is visible near the edges, this place is enormous.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘A river.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A river flows east of the temple.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Assuming this was the Panthelion Ruins, this could be the Aribeona river mouth...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘But it’s quite different.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was so different from the Aribeona river mouth I knew that I’m still confused.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘We’ll decide later whether to search beyond the river...’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though exploration and investigation had been slow, Raven’s research department, where he served as head, made an unexpected discovery.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“These iron scraps found in the forest... they’re not ordinary iron.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“A new kind of metal?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes. I don’t even know if this can be called metal. Rust corrodes metal, but no metal in this world decays like this.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Showing me the sample, it looked like rotten flesh, blackened and giving off a foul odor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You can see the corrosion shrinking its size.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...A strange metal indeed.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At first, I just reacted mildly, but Raven’s next words changed my perspective.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But... when I saw this, it reminded me of something.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The study of alchemy. Apparently, alchemy was originally a science aimed at creating ‘humans’.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I’d heard that story before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nowadays, alchemy is just a technique to use magical stones to create resources.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I was interested and studied it before. Do you know why ancient alchemy failed to create humans? Because it couldn’t create flesh.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Flesh?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes. Flesh, skin, muscles... those things. So no matter how you breathe life into it or do whatever, it wouldn’t become human. Unless it was a magical golem with a soul. You know about the Melt-Eye statue, right?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The steel golem that protected the palace during the Iron Wall Rebellion and was destroyed?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes. Melt-Eye is a representative golem made by inserting a human soul. But making golems with souls is now illegal, and no one dares research it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Oh, I didn’t know that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...Enough, so what are you trying to say?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I asked bluntly, and Raven looked embarrassed but summed it up in one sentence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I just wonder if such metal existed back then, maybe those things could have been possible.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was an unsettling story, sticky in my mind, and kept coming up again and again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Maybe we had just discovered a new material that could be useful someday.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Raven, research it well. Think about where and how it could be used.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was the end of my conversation with Raven, and as time passed, my interest in the new material naturally waned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Commander!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A few days after that story, I was abruptly woken by an urgent report.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I was stunned and frozen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Humans!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“An unidentified group of humans was discovered near the river mouth!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For some reason, the first thing that came to mind was the conversation I had with Raven.\u003C\u002Fp>",2046,"2026-06-05T19:33:18.084Z",1,"novelbin.me","48d04529c96e9a39ff226fca9b2400602531d61d66aa056db856588dd74c608c","surviving-the-game-as-a-barbarian-chapter-612","surviving-the-game-as-a-barbarian-chapter-610",807,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fsurviving-the-game-as-a-barbarian-cover.jpg"]