Surviving the Game as a Barbarian

A test tube filled with green culture fluid.

Inside that test tube, dozens of dopplers curled up, all glaring at me simultaneously.

It wasn't just a coincidence.

Some blinked their eyes, and when I took a step, their pupils moved accordingly.

"...They're alive?"

From a modern person's perspective, it was such a grotesque sight that I involuntarily shrank back.

But...

"Why are they staring like that?"

Having endured countless hardships inhabiting the body of a barbarian, the sensibility of a modern person was now hard to find in me.

Of course, not completely gone...

"Hey, is this your first time seeing a barbarian?"

If I were to measure it precisely, maybe it's similar to truffle mushrooms added to truffle oil?

After scanning the surroundings briefly, I started moving forward.

Step, step.

Every time I passed down the corridor, their gazes followed me, but I didn't particularly mind.

After all, when it comes to grotesqueness, nothing beats a corpse golem.

Even then, this barbarian body moved indifferently without shrinking back.

Thud.

As I briskly walked, the end of the corridor appeared.

There was another room, and when I carefully opened the door and entered, it looked like a laboratory inside.

A huge test tube stood like a pillar at the center, filled only with green culture fluid...

Swish.

Turning my head sideways, I saw a bookshelf.

The wall was fully covered with shelves crammed with thick old books.

"Nothing here, huh."

I opened all the books from top to bottom hoping to find a clue, but there were no letters written in any of them.

They looked like props used for decoration.

'Well, not really surprising...'

Actually, empty books like this were often found during labyrinth explorations.

That's why sometimes books with actual content sold for high prices in the city.

Like the 'Necronomicon' coming from the Bloody Fortress.

'But... what is this?'

Turning away from the bookshelf, I approached the center of the laboratory.

In front of the giant test tube filled only with culture fluid was a lever of unknown purpose.

If this were a game, an interaction button would pop up as soon as I got close.

Naturally, I couldn't resist.

Clack, clunk!

Pulling with moderate force, the lever moved fully and caught at the end.

And at the same time—

Flash—!

Light burst out from the test tube.

It wasn't a blinding flash harsh enough to hurt the eyes.

But when the light subsided, something had appeared inside the culture fluid in the test tube.

'Doppler.'

The monster trapped inside the test tube in the corridor.

It was surprising that pulling one lever instantly generated a doppler inside the tube, but that was all.

Maybe it made sense in this world?

My attention soon shifted elsewhere.

'If the left lever is the generate key... then what's the right one?'

Looking at the other lever, I reached out my hand.

Because really, how could I resist?

Clack, clunk!

Like a true barbarian, I grabbed and pulled the lever at once.

And...

Flash—!

Light burst out from the test tube again, just like before.

Only this time, the result was completely the opposite.

'It disappeared.'

As the light faded, the doppler inside vanished without a trace.

'Is this the delete button?'

Hmm, I'm not sure.

Maybe it's a teleportation button or something.

Well, it wasn't really important at this moment.

'...So what exactly is this place?'

That was the biggest question after confirming the effect of both levers.

A generate lever and a delete lever.

I understood all that.

But why was a place like this hidden underground, and how had I managed to get here?

It couldn't be that someone made a place like this to come down alone and just play with levers...

"Hmm."

Come to think of it, when playing [Dungeon & Stone], there were these kinds of hidden pieces within hidden pieces.

Don't other online RPGs have those too?

Like a notebook or a note dropped on the path, and picking it up reveals someone's story.

Sometimes hidden quests would start from those, but ultimately the essence of those devices was to naturally reveal the game's worldview.

And if this is such a case...

'To give clues about the truth that the demi-humans were artificially created?'

That was the only thought that came to mind.

I had already roughly guessed the secret of the demi-humans even before coming here, but that was just luck.

If it hadn't been for that conversation with the vampire guy back then, I wouldn't have reached that conclusion.

'...Hmm, maybe this really is a place that exists for that purpose?'

By the way, there was another reason why this hypothesis felt plausible.

Is it because most of basement level 1 has this kind of atmosphere?

The more I explored, the more I felt something.

Like an invisible force was leading me somewhere, trying to tell me something.

'Anyway, it'd be a shame if this is all there is...'

Having dropped the lever, I searched the entire room thoroughly.

But despite the effort, I gained nothing notable, and there was only one thing left unchecked in this room.

"Sigh..."

I sighed and stared at the giant test tube filled with green culture fluid.

Even for a barbarian, known for boldness, this problem was a serious concern.

Because the only thing left was that one test tube.

'If I break it... will something come out?'

If I were playing a game, I would have pressed the attack button immediately.

Even if it became irreversible, I'd be satisfied with gaining information and would retry.

After all, [Dungeon & Stone] was that kind of game.

But...

'Not trying means I won't know anything.'

I hesitated but didn't take long to decide.

Ping—!

I flicked a 100-stone coin I carried in the city with my thumb.

If it landed heads, I'd toss it again.

If tails, I'd smash the test tube mercilessly with a hammer—

Roll roll roll.

The coin spun on the floor and stopped.

It was tails.

'Okay, no need to feel guilty then.'

As if waiting for that, I swung the hammer and smashed the glass of the test tube.

I worried there might be a "cannot be destroyed" option, but luckily the test tube shattered with a clear tinkling sound like ordinary glass.

Shshshshsh—!

Green liquid poured out through the broken glass cracks.

Since it was unknown what it was, I climbed onto the desk to avoid getting wet.

Although I got a little wet when breaking it with the hammer, the parts touched didn't sting.

Step.

The liquid wet the floor but quickly drained away, as if there was an invisible drainage below.

Only then did I get down from the desk and approached the test tube.

And...

Grin.

I smiled as I saw a mysterious stone buried among the glass shards.

'Yeah, I knew there'd be something.'

Damn, I've been playing this game for years.

The cracks that looked like lava flowing inside leaked a red light, clearly not an ordinary item.

Swish.

So I bent down and picked up the stone with my gloved hand.

And then...

"...Huh?"

I lost consciousness.

[Character acquired 'Philosopher's Stone.']

[Malignant genetic factors engraved on the character's body have been removed.]

When I opened my eyes, the first thought that came to mind was one thing.

I'm hungry.

I felt a hunger stronger than ever before, which raised a question.

'How much time has passed?'

I shouldn't be this hungry just from fainting for a moment.

First, I steadied myself with my hands on the floor and stood up.

There were glass shards everywhere, but thanks to my high physical resistance stats, it didn't sting.

"..."

At first, nothing around me had changed.

The test tube was smashed, and the bookshelf on one wall was a mess since I had pulled out the books.

The only difference was...

"Where's that thing?"

No matter how much I looked, I couldn't find the stone.

I clearly lost consciousness while holding it last, but when I came to, it had vanished like foam.

Two possibilities immediately came to mind.

I didn't know which was true, but I judged the latter was more likely.

After all, this type of item or event isn't unheard of in [Dungeon & Stone].

'The problem is, there's no way for me to know its effect...'

Whether it's a potion, curse, or buff.

Since I couldn't check the character log, I had no idea.

There were no obvious changes in my body either.

'By the way, how much time really passed?'

Putting the stone aside, I checked my watch.

The hour hand was about seven hours ahead of the last time I checked, but it was too early to be relieved.

The advanced explorer's watch even shows how many days have passed.

"...No wonder I was hungry."

When I realized more than ten days had passed, I sighed.

Sigh, just imagining how much the comrades would scold me when I return.

Creak, creak.

Since it was like this, I slowly chewed on some jerky to fill my stomach.

Then I got up and left the laboratory.

As when ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don't copy, read here) I came here, as soon as I stepped into the corridor, the dopplers trapped in the test tubes glared at me.

Given the background, it wasn't annoying enough to be frustrating.

But...

'I guess I have to break these too.'

Once an idea popped up, a barbarian's spirit is to act.

I smashed the test tubes along the corridor, crushing the heads of the crawling dopplers.

But aside from relieving my stuffy feeling a little, I gained no other results.

"Oh, that reminds me."

As I passed through, I noticed another hole leading downward.

Now that I was this late, I might as well check it before going back.

Amelia would probably be furious, but anyway, she'd be mad even if I returned now.

I climbed down the ladder and searched below.

It was similar in structure to when I first entered this bunker-like space.

A straight corridor ending in a round iron door.

The only difference was that knocking, touching, or yelling loudly didn't open the door.

'...There must be some condition to open it. But then, why did the first door open immediately?'

I didn't know, but there was nothing else to do here.

With that thought, I climbed the ladder and returned the way I came.

It didn't take long to reach the point where the dimensional rupture phenomenon blocked Amelia from following me.

But...

"...What?"

For some reason, no one was there.

An ominous feeling.

I never dismiss such feelings as superstition or mood.

There's a saying that bad premonitions never miss.

And in fact, bad premonitions are often correct.

Feeling that way means my unconscious mind already sensed it.

A discrepancy between what my eyes and ears perceived.

Thump, thump—!

My heart raced.

Amelia or anyone else should have been here.

Normally, if a barbarian like me acted recklessly and disappeared, comrades would worry and wait here.

But now, why was there no one?

Even if they moved somewhere, it would be rational to leave at least one person here.

'I guess something must have happened.'

With that in mind, I quickly climbed the ladder to the surface.

But even on the ground, thick with bushes, no one was in sight.

"Emily! Ainard! Raven! Misha...!!"

No matter how much I shouted, no answer came back.

It was too quiet, so quiet that I wondered if I was the only one left in this world.

Whatever the situation, I needed to check the main base temple first.

As soon as possible.

Tat-tat-tat.

Thinking that, I ran madly, and after a day had passed, I reached a river I had passed before.

It was the biggest obstacle to reaching the temple.

I didn't care whether the water was harmful to my body or not.

Still, it wasn't a hopeless situation.

I just couldn't swim, but barbarians could walk through river water.

Like this.

Splash—!

I jumped as far as I could, submerged, and waited until my body sank all the way down to the bottom.

And...

Thunk—!

Once my feet touched down, I trusted my lung capacity and walked as fast as possible.

"Huff—huff!"

Damn, I really thought I was going to die.

I couldn't see ahead and didn't know if I was going the right way.

"Huff, huff."

After barely crossing the river, I ran toward the temple without even shaking off the black water.