[{"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-673":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},1328050,1764,"Chapter 673: Star Tomb (4)","surviving-the-game-as-a-barbarian-chapter-673",673,"\u003Cp>It had been a long time since I’d last seen Hans.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So long, in fact, that it almost felt like a surprise to meet him again...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was Hans.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Last time was K...’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hans Kaiser.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Back when I was active as Rihen Shuitsu, I happened to encounter him on the Dark Continent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Less than two hours before, the Noark ambush started.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the end, we got through it without major losses, but it could have been disastrous.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If Raven hadn’t changed her mind midway, my journey that day might have ended trapped in the “Cage of Silence.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Anyway, that’s not what matters...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Hans L.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That’s the code name of the Hans we just met.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Well, I’m a bit skeptical whether a monster-turned-dead guy is really classified as ‘Hans.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Still, better to be cautious.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thump—!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Following the wildly pounding rhythm of my heart, I shouted with all my might.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Prepare to move!!!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, no one understood my reaction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...Huh? Suddenly?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We don’t detect any monster presence at all...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ibaekho and the archer gave puzzled looks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But seeing the urgency on my face, they straightened their posture and readied themselves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This is an emergency. We must get as far away from here as possible.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No, but why—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In emergencies, action beats words.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ignoring all questions, I took off running first, and everyone followed me without understanding why.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not just because of crowd mentality, but because they trusted that I had a reason for this behavior.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...Let’s move out! Baron Yandel wouldn’t act like this without a reason!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus began our unexpected escape.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But even as they followed me, they kept asking questions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Baron! So what is it? Tell us! At least what we’re running from!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fair questions, but I had no answers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because I didn’t know.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What exactly we were running from.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...You’ll find out soon enough.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was all I could say, so I dodged the questions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This Baron is really frustrating!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ibaekho sounded exasperated but didn’t stop or slow down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Some time passed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...A person?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the edge of our vision appeared the silhouette of a person.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Not a person, it’s a Bayon.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A monster with dark skin and a black spider clinging to its face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Surprisingly, it wasn’t just one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...There are quite a few.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Starting from one at the front, five more Bayons appeared from the shadows.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hey, Baron! What now!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Take them out as fast as possible and keep moving.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Okay, everyone heard that?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As soon as I gave the order, the party switched to battle mode and engaged the Bayons.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The fight itself wasn’t difficult.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since there were many enemies, Ibaekho didn’t recklessly rush in as before, and though fast, carefully assessed each Bayon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What the hell! Why are they using all their skills?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...It’s the Essence of the Guardian!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What? This weakling has the Essence of Pianil?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These Bayons had much higher essence levels than expected, so the fight took some time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Fifteen minutes...’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though killing six grade 3 monsters in that time was fast, my unease about Hans L. made it feel long.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Anyway, no one got hurt, so that’s good...’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I wanted to move on immediately after the battle, but my control didn’t stretch that far.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hey, are we leaving all this behind? Wait a moment. Let’s finish looting.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ignoring my rush to move, Ibaekho started looting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When I protested there wasn’t time, he just said to tell him why it was urgent if it mattered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Sigh...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I was frustrated too.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Honestly, even if I wanted to say something, I couldn’t.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If I said it was because of the name ‘Hans,’ they’d just laugh.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unless they saw, heard, and felt it themselves, no matter the example, they’d dismiss it as superstition.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And after that, they wouldn’t humor my stubbornness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So I had no choice but to watch them loot.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Six Bayons... that’s unusual.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yeah. Maybe in the Land of Immortality, but not common here.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Two mages exchanged opinions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As they said, so many Bayons was abnormal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘This can’t be all.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was hard to believe the ‘Hans effect’ ended there.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, what we’d suffered was no small matter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Okay, loot’s done!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Anyway, Ibaekho finished quickly, and we were ready to move again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But someone else held me back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Wait! Wait, everyone hold on!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The tank of Ibaekho’s team, Lek Aures, shouted as if he’d found something.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I tried to ignore him thinking it would be nonsense again, but—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“These guys! Their faces look familiar!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That couldn’t be ignored.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Briot! Come check this out! Aren’t these guys explorers on our side?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...What do you mean?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At Aures’ request, the archer approached and checked the Bayon corpses with the spiders removed from their faces.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That’s right. Not all, but [N O V E L I G H T] some faces are familiar.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Agreeing with Aures, Briot nodded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing this, the GM cautiously proposed a theory.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Could these be the companions of the man called Hans Deilan?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...Huh?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You know, I heard they were once over a hundred people wandering the outside world together... I wondered if these might be them...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Eh? But weren’t they said to have scattered?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Aures expressed doubt, but I thought it was quite possible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The best place to hide a lie is beside the truth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Hundreds remaining outside the city walls is truth.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But their scattering is false; perhaps they got caught up in some incident.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There’s actual evidence for that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...I think they’ve been monsters for at least several months.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What do you mean?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I don’t know much about Bayon, but look at this one’s neck wound. Surely this injury led to death and then ‘monstrosity.’”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...But?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But the blood stains on the upper chest are at least several months old.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A rational deduction worthy of a mage used to experiments.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even the old man of ruin nodded in agreement.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hmm... then maybe that Hans Deilan guy actually died months ago and turned monster—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I interrupted mid-sentence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Deilan.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Don’t say ‘Hans.’ Just call him Deilan.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because whenever I heard ‘Hans,’ my body twitched reflexively.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You worry about the strangest things.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He cut me off and teased, then the old man continued.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Anyway, if Deilan died months ago and turned monster, things get complicated.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes. That means the ‘Deilan’ we met wasn’t really Deilan.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Huh? What are you both talking about? I don’t get it at all!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Aures... Simply put, someone pretended to be ‘Deilan’ and led us here.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...What! Have we walked into a trap?!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jaina explained, and Aures screamed in shock.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was now familiar, so the two mages just kept chatting as if ignoring him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If our theory is right, this isn’t the end for the Bayons.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes... We don’t know the truth, but if over a hundred people had an accident here...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then many Bayons might still be wandering nearby.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two concluded with a banter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Monster approach detected!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The scout archer Briot shouted loudly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Five... no, six... seven, ten, fifteen...? The number keeps increasing!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Briot reported the number detected in real time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From five initially, the number quickly grew past thirty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Monster flood! This can rightly be called a monster flood!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A monster flood is an explorer term for monsters suddenly swarming...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Wow, a monster wave?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Players also call it a monster wave.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Briot, where did the flood start?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Everywhere. They’re swarming from all directions. Like we’re the target!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A clear abnormality.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bayons, which were rare and scattered, suddenly gathered in dozens.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘...Did killing one trigger something?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The details are unknown, but it was time to act rather than hesitate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Even with this team, dozens might be too much.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If other monsters show up or a meteor falls mid-fight, it’ll be a big problem.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The northeast direction has fewer numbers.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Lead the way. We’ll avoid combat as much as possible.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We assigned the archer with the widest detection range to lead, and followed behind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Being a top-class scout, he skillfully avoided most Bayons.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This way!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Using keen intuition, he expertly led us through without bumping into them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How’s our archer’s guidance? Not bad, huh?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ibaekho boasted, and the archer smiled awkwardly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Baekho, it was only possible because there was a gap. ...If we’d stayed at the original spot and realized late, battle would’ve been inevitable.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Huh? What do you mean?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“At first I was unsure, but now I’m certain. If we’d been there when we first killed a Bayon, we’d have already been completely surrounded when we detected their presence.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Briot’s humble words made Aures excited.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh, really?! Amazing, Baron! You said we needed to run!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...I’m curious too. How did the Baron know?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The archer agreed, and Ibaekho’s eyes gleamed slyly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Heh... Maybe our Baron has a skill like that? Let’s see, what detection skills does a tank have...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Believing I had such a detection skill, Ibaekho started shadow boxing sincerely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hmm, [Irritable Muscle] doesn’t have that effect, [Needle of Regret] definitely doesn’t, and ‘Fate Tracker’ didn’t react either... What could it be?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ibaekho threw guesses one by one, but I said nothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because how could I say it was not a skill but ‘Hans’?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if I explained, no one would believe me, and it’s better for me if they think I have another skill.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So I kept silent and focused on breaking through the Bayons’ encirclement and escaping.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Time passed again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「Character entered a special zone.」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We left the Old Rock Grassland and entered a new field.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「Field effect — Deadly Poison Lava Field is applied.」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「Character’s poison resistance is fixed at 0.」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「Soul recovery speed decreased by 99%.」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「Warning: Beware of explosions!」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Boiling green lava.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thick poisonous gas like smoke.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...Looks like they’re no longer following.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The scout said the situation was over upon entering the new field.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We survived.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Thankfully, the pursuit isn’t unconditional.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We escaped the Bayon monster wave.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But my warrior’s pounding heart still said otherwise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thump—!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This can’t be the end.\u003C\u002Fp>",1650,"2026-06-05T19:33:18.642Z",1,"novelbin.me","69ac4d125e29017900a5eac412e96ef236551048d0de1d49deaab988009b786d","surviving-the-game-as-a-barbarian-chapter-674","surviving-the-game-as-a-barbarian-chapter-672",807,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fsurviving-the-game-as-a-barbarian-cover.jpg"]