[{"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-616":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},1327993,1764,"Chapter 616: Homunculus (3)","surviving-the-game-as-a-barbarian-chapter-616",616,"\u003Cp>A device that turns monsters into magic stones.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What happens if a human is put into that device?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I don’t have data on that yet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thud—!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The moment I saw Raven, I pushed off the ground and shot forward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The fact that the kidnapped Raven was standing on that rail already proved something: that device doesn’t turn only monsters into magic stones.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zzzzzzing—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Luckily, pulling Raven off the moving rail wasn’t too difficult.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There were no restraints to begin with.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All I had to do was grab Raven’s waist from above, lift him, and set him down...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Raven! Raven! Snap out of it!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No matter how much I shook his shoulders, he just stared blankly into space, refusing to wake up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thud, thud.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I didn’t stop at shaking— I slapped his cheek firmly, but it was the same—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ugh...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What, is this working?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing him groan like sleep-talking, I slapped him harder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Smack, smack.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ugh...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thunk! Thunk!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“St... stop...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Raven’s condition seemed to improve as he muttered barely formed words.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Maybe the condition to break the charm requires a certain amount of damage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With that in mind, I hit him harder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Raven! Raven! Get up!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thunk! Thunk!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“St- stop...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thunk! Thwack!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“St- stop... it...!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“He’s awake!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My effort paid off as intelligence slowly returned to Raven’s eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You okay? Can you move? Anything strange? Where are the others? Ah, want some water?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...Water.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Here. I’ll tilt it for you—drink slowly.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I brought the water pouch to his lips like a baby bottle, and Raven fully regained consciousness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Thank you for saving me.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No need to thank me. It’s what I should do.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My jaw is sore, but my mind is clear now.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“There’s a saying ‘a beating is a medicine.’”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“A bit bitter medicine, though.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Okay, judging by the jokes, he seemed fully fine now...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So what happened?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...It seems like some kind of mind control. Not long after you entered, we all lost consciousness.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So you don’t remember anything?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No. Not completely unconscious...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Raven slowly began explaining, vaguely remembering things as if dreaming.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It felt like being controlled by something else while heavily drunk.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When I touched the strange stone and fainted,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Raven and the others who lost consciousness just staggered and stood blankly with other members.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then flying objects came from the sky,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They were carried across the river and dragged to the temple.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“After that, it felt like waiting for something. While gathered, one by one, people were dragged away somewhere. And this time, it was my turn...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“One by one.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...What?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Dragged away one by one...?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My heart sank.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Raven didn’t seem to notice my serious expression.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Phew... better to see it for yourself.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I headed toward where Raven’s rail was going—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To the place with the device that turns monsters into magic stones.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Flash—!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Monsters transformed into fist-sized magic stones by the beam.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Wh-what...?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Raven’s face went pale realizing that if I had been a moment later, I’d have passed that place.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Did he also realize the cause of my grim expression?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Could it be that all those dragged away before were...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Raven couldn’t finish the sentence, afraid his words would summon misfortune.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was time for me to steel my mind and confirm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Raven, how many were dragged away?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I don’t know exactly, but definitely more than ten.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Who were they...?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Frowning, Raven strained his memory and named them one by one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then suddenly he stopped speaking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thump—!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My heart jolted strongly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My subconscious, hardened by countless misfortunes, already guessed why Raven stopped talking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Tell me. Who were they?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Raven’s small lips parted, and the bad premonition was realized.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Emily Raines...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Damn it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My heart raced.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thump—!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though the heart should evenly supply blood, it felt like all the blood gathered in my head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“She was right before me...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In other words, it was already too late.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Still, I forced myself calm and confirmed what I could.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Where are the remaining people...?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I don’t know well. I don’t remember everything... It was a large rectangular space, though...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The priority was rescuing the remaining members, but sadly Raven didn’t know the way.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘So I have to search the whole building...’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The problem was the rails.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If the rails kept working, victims would keep appearing as I searched.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kraaaaash—!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I struck the rails with ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) my hammer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Screech, screech—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The rails broke with sounds and stopped operating.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the same time—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beeeeep! Beeeep! Beeeep!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>An alarm blared as drones headed this way.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I thought maybe the drones would finally recognize me as an enemy and attack.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But oddly, they just passed by and stationed themselves in front of the broken rails.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“They seem to be trying to repair it?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What will you do?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“For now, I’ll leave it be.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I had a feeling destroying the drones would be a waste of time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They’d probably come again to fix it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Better to find out exactly how long repairs take.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Raven, follow me for a bit.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Uh, where to?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I need to find out what this place is.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I led Raven along the stopped rails.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soon we found other rails working normally, carrying boxes full of magic stones somewhere.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But... wouldn’t it have been better to wait here? Wouldn’t others have come?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...That’s one way.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ah... you didn’t think of that.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No matter how calm I tried to be, it wasn’t easy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone has a breaking point.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Anyway, look around carefully. There might be a way to rescue those who went ahead.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Following the rails that carried the boxes, we came to a place with three unknown machines.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hooks, like those in claw machines, hung from the ceiling, picking up magic stones and putting them into the machines.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thud, roll.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A magic stone rolled into the machine’s inlet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Something on the ceiling glowed, and when the light faded, something had formed beyond a transparent glass plate at the center.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“......”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a monster.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It had features of goblins, orcs, and ghouls combined.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A grotesque monster I’d never seen in the labyrinth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What... what is that...?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If we follow it, maybe we’ll find out.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The monster, created by the machine, boarded the rails that started moving again, and we cautiously followed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then I fully understood the factory’s structure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Flash—!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The monster rode the rails back into the machine and was turned back into magic stones.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Strangely, there were three stones, not one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Flash—!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The three stones passed through the machines once more, and were reborn as goblin, orc, and ghoul...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘What kind of stupid nonsense is this?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all the procedures, the monsters came under drone control and were taken upstairs, locked in a prison.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Could it be that... this repeats endlessly?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...Seems so.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>More confusing than when I knew nothing about this place.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What is this place?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Why do they keep repeating this pointless cycle?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Still, I felt some relief.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If that’s the case... maybe everyone’s still alive?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...Let’s hope.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Anyway, repairs seem almost done.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When we went back down, the badly damaged rails had been partially restored.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So I thought about breaking them again...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How about listening to me? We don’t even know where the others are trapped.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Following Raven’s advice, I held off breaking the rails.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’ll stay here and try to rescue people. You go search around. Isn’t that more reasonable?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was indeed safer thinking ahead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if I couldn’t find the trapped spots, more comrades could be saved.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though I still felt uneasy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It looks okay now, but something dangerous could happen while I’m gone.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That’s true, but...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’ll stay with you. After waking about ten more, it’ll be fine even if I’m not here.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh... that might be better.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After agreeing on that, we sat by the rails, waiting for comrades.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One hour, two hours, three hours...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Waiting without a clear end, we kept exchanging thoughts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You lost consciousness the moment you grabbed that stone, right?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes. But when I woke, the stone was gone and ten days had passed.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No physical problems?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Not yet.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Raven’s face grew serious hearing what happened to me, but he couldn’t offer much advice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Do you know what that stone was?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No. I don’t know. But...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Raven hesitated, then asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Do you know what a homunculus is?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Of course. An eighth-tier monster, right?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mainly found in the Witch’s Forest on floor three, but can appear anywhere unexpectedly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I caught many of them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Raven shook his head at my answer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I meant the alchemical homunculus.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I don’t know that.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“In alchemy, a homunculus is an artificial life form—or more precisely, an artificially created ‘human.’”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“True... the homunculus in the Witch’s Forest was humanoid.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“In form, yes. But as it walked, its skin dripped, genetically closer to slime than humans.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So what’s your point?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Just... I started doubting the magic stones themselves. We saw monsters turn into magic stones, then stones become monsters again.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But what about it?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I wondered if the legendary ‘Philosopher’s Stone’ really exists, maybe magic stones share very similar properties...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It sounded like a wizard’s fantasy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Or maybe not just fantasy?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Magic stones...’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as I felt that ticklish sensation, a flutter like a feather inside my head...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Uh...?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Raven’s eyes widened, staring in one direction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I quickly looked that way.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A comrade was entering on the rails.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A loyal knight who joined the Islock expedition.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Sir Meland Kaislan!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing him, I quickly approached and got off the rails.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And was about to slap his cheek...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Wait!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Raven stopped me and pulled out something from the pocket dimension.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That thing was called...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Crown of Anguish?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes. I thought it might help him regain consciousness.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hmm, that might work...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But isn’t there already a proven method?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, but I still taste blood in my mouth.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ah...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No wonder his cheeks were swollen compared to usual.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I nodded, signaling to proceed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Raven carefully placed the crown on him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a while...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ugh...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kaislan regained consciousness.\u003C\u002Fp>",1663,"2026-06-05T19:33:18.084Z",1,"novelbin.me","808e1210115e884f609acc1a0647458f55e484282b35148a1f27f4d915e263b5","surviving-the-game-as-a-barbarian-chapter-617","surviving-the-game-as-a-barbarian-chapter-615",807,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fsurviving-the-game-as-a-barbarian-cover.jpg"]