[{"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-718":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},1327945,1764,"Chapter 718: Audience (1)","surviving-the-game-as-a-barbarian-chapter-718",718,"\u003Cp>The royal prison’s basement 6th floor had no other access except through teleportation magic circles.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘She’s young.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The voice presumed to belong to a ‘young girl’ trapped there.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looking again at the palm prints, I realized their position was quite low.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>About the height a ten-year-old kid would reach standing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Wait a minute.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Like a philosopher crouched in a bathtub, a lightning bolt struck my head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘The Witch of the Land...?'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Witch of the Land.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The main villain who drove this world to ruin, the cause of the grotesque city called Laphdonia—the last stronghold.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But connecting the mysterious girl (?) trapped inside the box with the witch didn’t seem like an absurd leap.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, this was the ‘royal palace’ basement.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Considering the royal family’s countless secrets, it wouldn’t be strange if not the witch, but her grandfather were hidden here.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>More importantly...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—Is the Witch of the Land really dead?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When I once asked Auril Gavis this, he answered clearly:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—She is alive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Witch of the Land lives.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It might be hallucination, but I’ve met a girl inside the labyrinth several times who called herself ‘Alice Groundia.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So far, I thought the witch might be hiding and living inside the labyrinth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Well, that’s not the priority now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bang bang bang!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Knocking on the wall with fists the size of watermelons, trying to communicate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Who are you in there? Say something. Are you really trapped inside? Huh? Say it! Asking to be saved?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But for some reason, no reply came.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I even touched the wall, thinking maybe the voice wouldn’t carry through, but no response.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even the handprint that was once there inside disappeared without a trace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yandel, is there someone there?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Well... that is...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a moment’s hesitation, I simply asked Raven.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Raven, can you check if there’s a person inside?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hmm... I don’t think so.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...Without even trying?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why try? Judging by the mana amount, the volume of the portal inside won’t be much different from that cubic structure.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“In simpler terms, physically no living being could stand inside! Unless they’re crouching in a corner, they would’ve been sucked into the portal long ago!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Oh, I see.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Raven’s logical words made me wonder briefly if I had hallucinated, but the doubt quickly \u002FN_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t\u002F vanished.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, this is not the modern world but a fantasy one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With magic, psychic powers, holy power — a world with mysteries that can’t be explained by coordinate systems.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So what will you do? The magic circle can be activated anytime now.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Raven’s words made me ponder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What should I do?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Should I investigate the box further here?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yandel, you always told us one thing, right?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...Yeah?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Prioritize. What comes first? Curiosity? Or something else?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That stopped me cold.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Curiosity...’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not wrong, but strictly speaking, it wasn’t only curiosity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The moment I heard the voice from the box, I felt some inexplicable fate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As if someone trapped inside was calling me here.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Raven, what are the odds the floor would collapse while running along basement 5’s corridor and I’d fall down?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Extremely low. If it weren’t for two consecutive ‘Thunder’ explosions causing the underground prison collapse.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hey, no need to be sarcastic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You probably knew what I was implying.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Slowly, I looked up at the ceiling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There had originally been a hole there where we fell.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everything else was intact, but exactly where we were running, a hole appeared.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That hole was restored in less than a few minutes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since then, no more falling rubble, and the place didn’t shake — like a scientific bed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Raven, I get what you’re saying. I’m not trying to stop whatever you plan, but shouldn’t we decide quickly?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Prompted again by Raven, I asked one last thing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This... is a two-way magic circle, right?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes. Wherever we arrive, there should be the same magic circle there. Probably can return if desired.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Right, that makes things easier.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Activate the magic circle.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No doubt something huge was hidden here.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But now was not the time to investigate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I’d be satisfied for now to find the way and come back well-prepared to investigate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Raven said, everything has priorities.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>More important than investigations is how safely my comrades and I can get through this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Therefore...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Shall I proceed?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I nodded to Raven’s last question.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soon, the magic circle activated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Flash!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A blinding light filled my vision.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then the light slowly faded and vision returned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This place...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>White walls, white ceiling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A sealed chamber brightly lit like with daylight lamps.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Raven looked around anxiously and pointed at one wall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why is only this wall metallic?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hey, there seems to be a narrow gap between the metal plates. Looks like it opens sideways...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yandel? Yandel? Can you hear me?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...I’m listening.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I was momentarily dazed, but my senses were fine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Step, step.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I finally approached the metallic wall that I assumed was a door.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Raven muttered her guesses.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Maybe it needs magic? But I don’t feel mana, though...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Magic, mana...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The first guess a mage would have when seeing a ‘door’ without a handle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Usually, mages’ guesses are pretty accurate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Step aside.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...Huh? If you mean to open it by force—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Don’t worry, it’s not that.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I slowly reached out my hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I still had no clue why ‘this’ existed in this world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But I knew how to use it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Click.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So I pressed a button with my index finger, about the size of a German sausage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soon after—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ding!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A surprisingly cheerful sound for this world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Drerruk.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The elevator door opened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She was only amazed by two things.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The shabby security of a door opening just by pressing a button.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And the absence of mana.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Other than that, no reaction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh, now I see. It’s like the mana elevator. We have something similar in our mage tower.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing that, I was sure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This ‘device’ didn’t work by mana.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though Raven still believed a subtle mana circuit existed...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘No way.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even without the mage tower, I’d ridden mana elevators a few times.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But they were completely different from this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They were barely safer than a cage, moved by mana-driven pulleys.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But this...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...Yandel?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whether it was stamina or mana, I couldn’t tell from outside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No, wait, could you tell?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Damn, why is this here...?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even from the design it was obviously different.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So elegant it wouldn’t look out of place in a million-won-a-night hotel...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Drerruk.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Very modern.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The ceiling lights, the button beside the door, even the mirror on the wall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beyond the mirror stood the barbarian and mage fully geared, yet inside this elevator I almost forgot this was fantasy and not modern.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But how do you operate elevators like this? Usually you ask a manager by voice...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Listening to Raven’s question, I naturally pressed a button.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was the only button besides open\u002Fclose.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh! It’s moving!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pressing the floor button, the elevator started.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It felt like it was going up, not down...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...Hey, Yandel, say something. You’re scaring me.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What if it stops and opens, and something comes out...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sure... that scared me too.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What could be beyond that door?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I couldn’t imagine at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whoooosh...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So I just waited quietly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ready to swing my weapon at any time, but not overly tense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One second, two seconds, three seconds...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Counting quietly, calming my breath.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And then...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Fifty seconds.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After about 50 seconds passed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whoooong...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The rising slowed and stopped smoothly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The door slowly opened, revealing the long-awaited sight beyond.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At first glance—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It looked like a hotel lobby.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A chandelier in the center, a small fountain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Polished marble floors.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Step.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A knight standing there.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The knight looked at us without surprise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As if he knew we would come.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Standing in front like a royal guard on duty, asking nothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘...Why is the dungeon’s first boss waiting at the entrance?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It felt like a miniboss appeared immediately upon entering the dungeon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I knew at a glance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This guy was no pushover.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Well, if he’s guarding a place like this, that says it all.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But I wasn’t intimidated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because who am I?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A top-tier barbarian confident he’d never lose to someone who uses aura.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The only question was whether I could protect Raven behind me...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Swoosh.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thinking that, I stepped back to a better position to guard Raven.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then the knight calmly drew his sword and aimed at me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘...Huh?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Swoosh—!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When I came to, a thin line was drawn on my cheek.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Drip drip.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A sharp sting accompanied by a drop of blood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Cut...?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was absurd.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, this knight might be a master of the quick blade, capable of cutting me without me noticing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And the distance between him and me was more than twenty paces, which was not impossible in this world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...Interesting.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If such a blow had pierced my physical resistance and made me bleed, that would be a different story.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, he didn’t even use aura just now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘If not aura...’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ignoring the cut, I stared calmly at him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>More precisely, at the sword he held.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Maybe it’s the sword...?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was a high chance the secret of the blow lay in that sword.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Oh, of course, I’d never seen that sword before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even my mental database contained no such numbered item.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But otherwise it made no sense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Therefore...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘I have to somehow take that sword away or stop him from using it to lead the fight—.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as I was forming a plan in my head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Clack.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Like to assert dominance, the knight suddenly sheathed his sword and turned his back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Follow me.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He started walking on the marble floor, turning his back with clacking footsteps.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Raven peeked out cautiously and asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Uh, where are you taking us...?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A voice like a terrified prey animal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The knight, unguarded with his back turned, answered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“To the audience chamber.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...What?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was totally unexpected.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The king has granted you an audience.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>...I never imagined I’d get a chance to meet the king like this.\u003C\u002Fp>",1676,"2026-06-05T19:33:18.959Z",1,"novelbin.me","ccd3d917a0a0c4045fcb69a813f787a1d464f9ba3475c87c007b6d4ea68b398c","surviving-the-game-as-a-barbarian-chapter-719","surviving-the-game-as-a-barbarian-chapter-717",807,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fsurviving-the-game-as-a-barbarian-cover.jpg"]