[{"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-671":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},1328048,1764,"Chapter 671: Star Tomb (2)","surviving-the-game-as-a-barbarian-chapter-671",671,"\u003Cp>“Deadred, the Lord of Darkness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One line is enough to explain just how powerful this guy is.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He’s the ruler of the 7th floor, the Dark Continent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Well, in the case of the 7th floor, there are unusually two rulers...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But that doesn’t mean their power is any less.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Anyway.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘How on earth did this guy manage to eat that...?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To be honest, I just can’t wrap my head around it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unlike the cheat version where you can just crush things with essences, on original difficulty, if you don’t know ‘that method,’ it’s practically impossible to clear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Could it be that I underestimated Ibaekho all this time?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Maybe this guy is unexpectedly impressive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘...Or he just got incredibly lucky.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I don’t know the exact circumstances of how he obtained Deadred’s essence, but if I were to guess, it’s probably been a very long time since he got it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For one thing...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Because the last time he was summoned was almost eight years ago.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Given that the labyrinth is always full of explorers, secretly summoning a floor lord is impossible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So, there’s no chance to obtain it within the last eight years, even if you wanted to.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ah, of course, by natural means.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘If it’s the royal family, they probably have at least one floor essence stored in a test tube.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It’s also possible, through some deal, that Ibaekho obtained it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though that possibility seems slim given the circumstances.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘...So he really was summoned that day.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The day when Ibaekho, dreaming of a harem while exploring the labyrinth, was exposed by a companion’s betrayal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Surprisingly, that timing fits exactly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So I thought the royal family used the excuse of a floor lord to cover up the incident with Ibaekho.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I’d heard that explorers were dying en masse in the labyrinth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Surely it was Ibaekho who summoned it.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If I speculate again, it would’ve been Ibaekho who summoned the floor lord.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When cornered, you have to gamble to shake up the game.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Every time I see it, its terrifying power never ceases to amaze...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lost in thought, Aures next to me let out a long sigh and muttered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Is everyone unharmed...?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Still, since he’s a tank, it seems like a habit to ask about his comrades’ well-being first.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’m fine.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Same here.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>While healer Jaina and archer Briot snapped out of it to answer Aures’ question, the GM, still slung over my shoulder like baggage, was different.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Should I say he was still out of it?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...W-what exactly was that just now?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What, has this guy never even beaten the Lord of Darkness in the game?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I immediately recognized the skill as soon as I saw it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I-I’ve never even heard of such a supernatural ability existing...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But I understood that vacant expression.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even I was getting goosebumps from actually seeing its power for the first time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Let alone someone who had no idea such a skill existed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chiiiiiik—!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The steam created as the heavy rain falling on the heated ground evaporated soared high like at a fire scene.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, that didn’t last long.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The heat cooled quickly, the steam vanished, and visibility was restored.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“......”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A crater far larger than when just one meteorite fell.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside stood only Ibaekho, lonely and solitary...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Surprise!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soon Ibaekho looked up at us with a playful expression and waved.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing that, he seemed like just a funny guy...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Who would have thought a nuclear bomb was hidden behind that smiling face.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Maybe I should reconsider now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I was certain he wouldn’t lose if we fought.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What are you waiting for? It’s all over, so come on!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At Ibaekho’s call, we approached the crater again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Old man of ruin! Take a look at this first! This is really expensive, right?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ibaekho pointed with sparkling eyes to a spot where a pure white orb lay.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chijijijik—!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside the orb, electric currents danced like a plasma ball.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You know the kind?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sort you might see as a prop in a tarot shop.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This is... the ‘Orb of Thunder.’”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh, right, that’s the name. So how much is it worth?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“For wizards, it’s a treasure that’s hard to put a price on.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No, I’m asking how much though?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At Ibaekho’s persistent question, the ruin scholar roughly guessed the price, and Ibaekho’s eyes went wide.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Wow, it’s that expensive? That could’ve been a disaster.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I could relate to Ibaekho’s relief.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wasn’t it the skill that erased a space over 70 meters in radius?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If it were an ordinary monster, it would’ve been completely annihilated with no byproducts to collect.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Uh? We just pick it up then?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Though it’s the first time I’ve actually seen one, I know that byproducts don’t require any special magical treatment.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh, I see... then give it here.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The dropped ‘Orb of Thunder’ immediately disappeared into Ibaekho’s pocket dimension.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For some reason, my stomach hurt, but I said nothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not simply because Ibaekho was much stronger than expected.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘I have to credit the skill he showed.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a secret trump card skill he’d been hiding.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If he’d saved it to show only at the end, the battle would’ve been much harder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Besides, we didn’t immediately need the ‘Orb of Thunder.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘It’d be nice to make a hammer with it when I go to the deal-tank barbarian...’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But since we already got the ‘No.87 Crawl’s Demon Crusher,’ it wasn’t that meaningful, and no one in the party needed a thunder weapon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So this time, I decided not to claim a share.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If something we really want appears later, we can use this concession as leverage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Okay, loot’s done... let’s get back to work.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Having finished the loot, Ibaekho immediately turned his back and approached a monument that had fallen to the ground when the crater was formed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Well, luckily there’s not a single scratch. Should we just put this into the pocket dimension as is? Might have some value as a material.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Ibaekho said that, it felt like he was trying to change the subject.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Maybe he’s avoiding bringing up [Star’s Extinction]?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I couldn’t tell his true intention, but because of that attitude, the timing to talk about the essence was lost.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘...Though asking probably wouldn’t have meant much.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Anyway, I was also curious about the monument, so I quickly approached them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ibaekho and Aures were in the middle of trying to put the monument into the pocket dimension...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Step aside. I’ll help too.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When I joined in, the monument, which weighed more than a ton, was easily lifted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And then...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ugh?!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As soon as the edge entered the pocket dimension, it was violently bounced out by a tremendous repulsive force.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kuuuung—!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The monument crashed halfway into the ground with a heavy thud.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Damn! What is this!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ibaekho fussed while the GM crouched beside the monument.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...This is very unusual. There’s absolutely no magical circuits or anything inside, yet the pocket dimension has such intense rejection.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It is definitely suspicious.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes... we need to investigate it more precisely over time.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What do you think? I want to investigate this for a while... Ah, Baron, you agree?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Watching Ibaekho trying to regain initiative naturally, I smirked but nodded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yeah, I agree.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Heavy rain poured down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A dangerous area where meteorites even occasionally fell, but maybe this is the key to returning where we belong.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Well... then we’ll first analyze the composition. Aures, could you hold this for a moment?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh! Of course!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Time passed quickly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The 9th floor, Star Grave.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Strictly speaking, it’s a place very similar to that, but anyway.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This place wasn’t good for thoroughly researching anything in one spot.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Swoooosh—!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The pouring rain # Nоvеlight # was like a storm, rising the water level like a flood beyond cold or discomfort.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kwahaaaang—!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Meteorites occasionally fell.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Flash!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lightning, blizzard, strong winds, hail, earthquake, hurricane, and so on.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All kinds of natural disasters occurred, and during all that, monsters kept appearing and fighting was unavoidable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The problem was...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hey, if we had a week, shouldn’t we have figured something out by now?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“......”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Old man of ruin, I didn’t think you were like this, so why? If you can’t do it, just say so. That way we won’t waste our time. Okay?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even after a week of precise examination, all we found out was that this monument was very sturdy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But on the bright side, there was some gain elsewhere.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the number of battles increased, we learned more details about the monsters here.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘The threat gauge is completely dead.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It’s hard to draw aggro here properly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not because of some field effect or anything making threat zero.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It seems like it’s because the monsters here are intelligent.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At first, monsters would charge excitedly, but if I stood firm, they quickly changed their minds and targeted the dealers first.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Like they were learning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Since aggro doesn’t work properly, the difficulty feels like three or four times harder.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, it wasn’t that I narrowly survived every battle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There were some truly dangerous moments, but...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Isn’t it said that humans are the most adaptable animals?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Monsters spotted north-northeast ahead!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...Reditrous.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“To your positions!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Instead of charging forward as the main tank alone, I stayed near the group and acted as a shield.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s only one! Don’t rush, focus on protection!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Using the fact that monsters here were extremely few compared to normal fields, we fought as safely as possible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hey, why are you trying to collect all the materials from these grade 5 trash mobs? We have no space, so just dump the bulky ones!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Even if the grade is low, they’re very rare materials. If we return to the city later—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’re so greedy. Even if we only bring back the essentials, that’d be a huge haul.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“......”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Among the byproducts, I kept mostly the valuable ones and discarded the rest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since returning to the city would take at least several months, the inventory might be full by then.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a choice to reduce time waste.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...So, Baron, what do you plan to do?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I think it’s time to stop investigating and start moving.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Where to?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“First, I think it’s best to just keep moving steadily in one direction.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Well, that might be better. But which direction?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We were currently on the 9th floor Star Grave.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And in the center is the ‘Primeval Land.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By the way, if certain conditions are met here, you can summon the ‘Primeval Dragon’ and kill it...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘But summoning it means game over, so I’ll skip that...’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I said the destination I’d been thinking of.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“To the west.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“To the west from here... the Old Rock Grassland? Why there?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Simple reason.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“There’s a ‘Spirit Gate’ in the Old Rock Grassland.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh, you want to check where it leads?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Well, not sure if it even exists.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I see. I thought you wanted to go there for the level 8 engraving materials!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>...That perceptive guy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Enough, let’s get moving. There’s no use investigating here any longer.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, yes! Everyone heard that? Let’s go!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After wrapping up, we moved westward as planned, and about four days later, the Old Rock Grassland appeared.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...Ha, I never imagined we’d be stuck here.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>About halfway through the Old Rock Grassland, a dead-end blocked us.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Swoooosh—!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A gray world, dying and losing all color, like what we saw once on the Lapdonia coastline.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Don’t get close. Touching it means instant death.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Oh, so if we push here, Ibaekho dies?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I thought that for a moment but didn’t try it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>First priority was to work together to get out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Let’s try moving around following the boundary.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From then on, we moved with the boundary on our left.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One day, two days, three days, four days...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And then, fifteen days.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After moving quickly for a whole 15 days, we gradually grew silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The more we completed the map’s outskirts, the more ominous certainty rose.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hey, um...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Just stay quiet. Nothing’s certain yet.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Okay...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Two more days passed, bringing us to the 17th day.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We returned to the Old Rock Grassland again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We’d made a large loop with the boundary on our left...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Siiiiiick.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Drawing a line connecting the incomplete circle on the map, I sighed deeply.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No longer was there any point in denial or holding back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Damn it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We’re trapped here.\u003C\u002Fp>",2049,"2026-06-05T19:33:18.642Z",1,"novelbin.me","06a2ad9df859447f3d3b571fb9a3d14a0a1e1b144d4c2bbb749422ef79ef8b4b","surviving-the-game-as-a-barbarian-chapter-672","surviving-the-game-as-a-barbarian-chapter-670",807,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fsurviving-the-game-as-a-barbarian-cover.jpg"]