[{"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-621":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},1327998,1764,"Chapter 621: Return of the Golden Horse (4)","surviving-the-game-as-a-barbarian-chapter-621",621,"\u003Cp>It’s actually foolish to have high expectations.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Twenty-one total chances.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The probability that an essence will drop within that is extremely low, and on top of that, the color must be green, which has only a one-third chance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘If it comes out, then I won’t need to find Hiphramagent’s essence separately.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I still don’t know Hiphramagent’s stats or passives.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But whatever they are, I don’t think they’ll be better than this combination.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Arbet’s raw stats rival a grade 2 monster and come with special stats perfectly suited for a tank.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Woomdal’s passives are similar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Yeah, this combo is definitely way better than most grade 2 essence combos.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Maybe because I clearly recognize that in my head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thump-thump!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My heart starts pounding hard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even trying not to expect much, I couldn’t help but feel a spark of hope...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Flash!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The device activated and a synthetic monster was generated right at the center, and the first trial began immediately.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Behel—raaaaaaaah!!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Perhaps because the battle started surrounded by dealers finishing their casting?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The fight itself wasn’t that difficult.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not that it was easy either.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Anyway, the first trial was a bust.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The battle lasted about 15 minutes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since I held the main tank role firmly, there were no injuries.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Oof, my shoulder’s sore.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I managed to endure by using skills, equipment, the priest’s healing, and various buffs well, but it wasn’t an easy enemy by any means.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘A synthetic monster mixing grade 4, 3, and 5 monsters like this... if we raised the grade just a bit more, it’d be insanely hard.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I’ll have to be careful not to exceed an average grade of 3 in future synthetic monster combinations.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Well, that’s not the important thing right now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Flash!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Second attempt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Flash!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Third, fourth, fifth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Flash!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By the sixth attempt, I had kept going nonstop without rest, but unfortunately, no essence dropped.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Please!’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After the seventh failed attempt, I stopped the raid.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was my gut as a gamer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now is not the time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the saying goes, nothing comes for free.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This world runs on the law of equivalent exchange.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And I haven’t sacrificed anything yet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yeah, so...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Put this guy on hold for now. Let’s do the others first.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What? Suddenly stopping here? Everyone was just getting used to the fights.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Not my problem if you don’t understand. It’s a commander’s order.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No, why are you acting like it’s someone else! The commander is Mr. Yandel!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Damn, unnecessarily sharp-tongued.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I brushed off Raven’s criticism with a barbarian-style laugh and headed to where we stored the magic stones.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thousands upon thousands of magic stones with name tags attached over the past few months.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Let’s try Ainard’s first.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looking over the magic stones, I came back carrying three buckets full of stones.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Bjorn! Can I put them in this time?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ainard, you want to do it?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I think the rolling sound when inserting them looks fun!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I wondered how that could be fun, but I told him to go ahead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, this combination was for him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...Huh? Mine?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yeah, so put them in carefully. If an essence drops, put it in a test tube and feed it to you immediately.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By the way, the essence combos I prepared for Ainard were three in total, more than any other expedition member.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That’s because he changed class to spearman.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was a lot to remake starting from the bottom...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘It’s unlikely all three combos will drop, but it’d be nice if any did. That way he’ll be fine.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I set the passives and actives to suit a spearman, while slightly sacrificing stats to focus on those with strong fighting spirit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Alright, let’s do it!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After reorganizing formation, Ainard enthusiastically put the magic stones into the device.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Clatter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The first device responsible for stats had a grade 3 monster with fighting spirit and combat stats.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Clatter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The second device setting passives included a grade 4 combat support skill [War Machine].\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Clatter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The third device, active skill slot, aimed for grade 4 combat buffs [Indomitable Spirit] and [Nerve Stimulation], completing the first combo.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Come on! Give me an essence!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ainard cheered from afar, motivated by the idea of an essence being his.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The first battle took about 25 minutes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Raising the average grade by 0.6 made it much harder.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By the way, there were injuries during the fight, and nearby machines got damaged, so we had to wait for drones to come repair them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But what on earth was this?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh! Essence! Essence!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>An essence dropped on the first try.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And the color was blue, representing the top priority [Indomitable Spirit].\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘It just came out on the first try...?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I was dumbfounded watching it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the same time, I felt a bit bitter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘...Maybe I should have stubbornly kept going with mine first.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If I’d continued, maybe mine would’ve dropped at this timing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That thought kept coming back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...Then shall we collect it?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Raven approached and put the essence in a test tube, finishing the first combo.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then we waited while drones repaired the machine before starting the second combo.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Clatter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since there was room thanks to the essence on the first try, I put that stone back into the stats device.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Clatter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For the passive slot, I put the grade 4 defensive essence [Endurance], which maximizes the efficiency of [Crouch].\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Clatter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For the active slot, I put the grade 5 core skill for spear barbarians, [Focused Fire], like shield barbarian’s [Giant Form].\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s, it’s here!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since the synthetic monster was mixed from three large monsters, it looked very powerful.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though maybe because the average grade dropped a bit?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The fight itself was much easier than before, and we quickly used up the remaining tries.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One, two, three, four...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the fifteenth try...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hey, essence!!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>An essence dropped, but unfortunately the color didn’t match, so it was just put in a test tube.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Phew... well, that’s normal.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tsk, still, since it’s a core skill, I really hoped for that essence...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Should I go sacrifice more offerings now?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I thought that, but suddenly changing tactics here would ruin my prestige as commander.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Well, it’s just probability after all.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So I kept burning through the remaining tries.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sixteen, seventeen, eighteen...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The chances quickly dwindled, and with only three tries left before finishing, at that moment—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...Oh! Bjornnnnn! Essence! Essence! The yellow one you mentioned!!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>...What is this guy, seriously?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ainard got two essences in a flash.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At least the heavens have some conscience — the third combo’s essence didn’t drop.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Phew, since the first two came out well, I reworked the combos and made the best one.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though catching three essences while killing fewer than a hundred monsters was absurd.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘He... is going to become a monster when he goes back.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With the Fresh Growth, Hiphramagent, and the grade 3 Speardiver, plus two customized essences.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even just swapping essences at the shrine would make Ainard insanely strong.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So now, will you go back to fighting the one we were fighting earlier?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No, I’ll do the others first...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not having the courage to keep grinding my essence combo right after such ridiculous luck, I summoned other synthetic monsters for quite a while.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Amelia, Misha, Elwen...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if not combos prepared specifically for these three, there were many combos to summon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The expedition members also suggested combos they wanted, and the vice commander requested some too.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For example, essences needed to present to the royal family?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Most combos were suitable for knights.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘...If I hadn’t used the magitech propulsion, I could have tried way more times.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looking back now, I regret spending so many magic stones.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, most stones inserted into the propulsion were grade 6 or lower...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But I did use some higher-grade stones as well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Luckily, we gathered many high-grade stones on Library Island, and the ones brought from the royal family were mostly high-grade too.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One day, two days, three days, four days...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The raids continued day and night, and through them, I realized one thing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Drop rates... seem higher than outside.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>During tests with lower-grade monsters earlier, nothing dropped and I thought the rates were abysmal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But that must have been a particularly unlucky period.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That’s why Ainard got two essences from those offerings.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Already twenty days have passed.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Twenty days since starting the factory raids.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To summarize mid-point:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Amelia, Elwen, and Misha each got an essence, and Muul Armin, who received my essence combo recommendation, also got one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Additionally, other expedition members collected eleven essences with leftover magic stones, and seven essences were collected for the royal family.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why hasn’t mine come out again?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How many tries has it been now?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Surprisingly, that record held for three days.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We’ve probably killed thousands of monsters by now. Strange. Is the device broken?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even the members who’d been raiding together for three days started to voice concerns.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Now.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Feeling the optimal moment sharply, I stopped the raid. Then hastily grabbed my combo stones.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ainard.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...Yes?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I called out to Ainard, who was leisurely resting while chewing jerky.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You put the stones in.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh? Sure.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) asking why, Ainard agreed immediately.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A bit worried, I carefully explained and checked which stones went into which devices.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Yeah, at this point, even he won’t mess up.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Indeed, Ainard inserted the stones into the correct devices perfectly without a single mistake.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eight times, nine times, ten times...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Putting the stones in correctly didn’t guarantee an essence drop.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eleven, twelve, thirteen...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the attempts continued, my heartbeat quickened a little.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fourteen, fifteen, sixteen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They say little drops of rain soak your clothes without you realizing it — that was exactly how I felt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soon only five tries remained.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Perhaps because blood rushed to my head, even ideas I’d never normally consider flashed through my mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Goblin.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yeah, I’d use Sven Parab’s intuition.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It seemed like an ability that activated only when misfortune was about to strike.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘I’d tie it up somewhere and threaten to smash its head if this essence doesn’t drop this time.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then maybe I could perfectly time the drop.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It sounded absurd, but it seemed worth a try.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just then, I glanced at the goblin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘What’s up with it now?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The goblin, a little way off, was staring at me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Like someone desperately needing to go to the bathroom.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing its fidgeting, I wondered if it was reacting to the thought I just had.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But then...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Commander, may I speak with you for a moment?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The goblin who called me aside said something completely different.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...I have a feeling we need to leave here soon.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The goblin’s intuition activated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Stronger than ever before.”\u003C\u002Fp>",1773,"2026-06-05T19:33:18.084Z",1,"novelbin.me","ff80fd90b6176052a1531d0a1ce6967079d11ce339a6411bd3ee23fd367940e4","surviving-the-game-as-a-barbarian-chapter-622","surviving-the-game-as-a-barbarian-chapter-620",807,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fsurviving-the-game-as-a-barbarian-cover.jpg"]