Homunculus (1)

Inside the test tubes filled with a mysterious green fluid, dozens of curled-up Dopple stared directly at me in sync.

It wasn’t some odd coincidence.

Some even blinked, and when I moved a step, their pupils followed.

“…They’re alive?”

It was a horrifying sight that would make even someone from the modern world recoil in fear.

But…

“What are you all staring at?”

After enduring countless trials in this barbarian body, I had lost much of that modern sensitivity.

Of course, it wasn’t completely gone……

“Hey, is this your first time seeing a Barbarian?”

To be precise, it was probably about as faint as the truffle in truffle oil.

After scanning my surroundings, I decided to move forward.

Step, step.

As I walked down the hallway, I felt their gazes on me, but it didn’t bother me much.

Frankly, when it comes to disgusting things, nothing beats the Corpse Golem.

Nevertheless, I did my best to hold my barbarian body tall and proud.

Step step

As I continued walking slowly, I soon reached the end of the hallway. There was a door to another room, and when I slowly opened it, it resembled something like a laboratory.

A massive test tube stood in the center like a pillar, filled with nothing but green culture fluid…

Swish.

I turned my head to the side and saw a bookshelf.

It covered the entire wall and was crammed with thick books.

“Nothing useful.”

I checked every book from top to bottom for clues, but not a single word was written in them.

They were just like props for interior decoration.

‘Well, it’s not exactly surprising…’

Honestly, empty books like these were common in labyrinth explorations. That’s why books with actual content sometimes sold for high prices in cities.

Like the Necronomicon from the Blood Tinted Fortress.

‘But… what’s this?’

Losing interest in the bookshelf, I turned my attention to the center of the lab.

In front of the massive test tube filled with nutrient fluid was a lever. If this were a game, an interaction button would probably pop up the moment I got close.

Naturally, it was hard to resist.

Creak, clunk!

With a bit of force, the lever moved and locked into place.

And at the same time—

Flash—!

Light erupted from the test tube.

It wasn’t an intense flash.

But by the time the light faded, something had formed in the nutrient fluid inside the test tube.

‘A Doppler.’

It was the same monster that had been trapped in the test tubes in the hallway.

The fact that one had materialized just from pulling a lever was fascinating, but that was all.

Maybe I wasn’t impressed because of the world I lived in.

Instead, my attention shifted elsewhere.

‘If the left lever creates… what does the right one do?’

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

Honestly, how could I resist?

Creak, clunk!

Like a Barbarian, I yanked the lever in one go.

And—

Flash—!

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

But the result was the exact opposite.

‘It disappeared.’

The moment the light faded, the Doppler vanished without a trace.

‘Is this the delete button?’

Hmm, I’m not sure.

Maybe it’s a button that teleports it somewhere else.

Well, it’s not that important right now.

‘…So what exactly is this place for?’

After figuring out what the two levers did, this became the biggest question on my mind.

The creation lever and the removal lever.

Got it.

But what’s with this underground space, and why was I allowed in?

I had a feeling this place wasn’t meant just for me to mess around with a few levers.

“Hmm.”

Come to think of it, [Dungeon & Stone] did have hidden pieces like this.

It was present in other online RPGs too, like a notebook or scrap of paper lying on the ground at the end of some random street, waiting to be picked up, containing the story of some unknown person.

Sometimes hidden quests would start from those items, but ultimately, the purpose of these mechanics was to naturally reveal the game’s world-building.

If this was one of those…

‘Is it meant to hint that these races were artificially created?’

That’s one possibility.

I already had a hunch about the non-humans’ secret before coming here, but that was just luck.

If it weren’t for that conversation with the vampire guy, I wouldn’t have reached that conclusion.

‘…Huh, maybe this place really exists for that purpose.’

And there was another reason this theory felt plausible.

The entire basement floor has given me a similar vibe. The more I explore, the more I feel like something invisible is guiding me somewhere, trying to tell me something.

‘Anyway, it’d be a shame if this was the end…’

‘Still, if this is all there is, that’s kinda disappointing…’

After stepping away from the levers, I searched the room thoroughly. But despite my efforts, however, I didn’t find anything.

“Haah……”

I sighed and glared at the massive test tube filled with green nutrient fluid.

 

Even for a barbarian, the epitome of recklessness, this was a dilemma.

Because the only thing left was the test tube.

‘If I break it… will something come out?’

If I were playing a game, I’d have smashed it immediately. Even if it led to irreversible consequences, I’d be satisfied with the information gained and just retry.

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

But……

‘A game where you can’t know anything unless you try, right?’

It was a dilemma, but the decision was easy.

Ting—!

I flicked a 100-Stone coin with my thumb.

If it’s heads, I’ll flip it again.

If it lands on tails, I’ll break the test tube without hesitation—

Clink-clink…

The coin rolled across the floor and stopped.

Tails.

‘Okay, no reason for hesitation then.’

As if waiting for this moment, I smashed the glass without hesitation. I was worried it might be indestructible, but fortunately, it shattered like any regular glass.

Splaaash—!

Green liquid gushed out through the broken glass.

Since I didn’t know what it was, I climbed onto a desk to avoid getting wet.

Even though some of it splashed on me when I broke it with the hammer, it didn’t sting or anything.

Squelch

The liquid that had soaked the floor disappeared quickly, as if there was a hidden drain underneath. Only then did I climb down from the desk and approach the test tube.

And then……

Heh.

I smirked at the mysterious stone buried among the glass shards.

‘Knew there’d be something.’

After all, I’ve played this game for years.

I could tell it wasn’t an ordinary item when I saw the red light, similar to magma, shining through the broken shards.

Swipe.

I bent down and picked it up with a gloved hand.

And then—

“…Huh?”

I lost consciousness.

「The character has acquired the ‘Philosopher’s Stone.’」

「The malignant gene engraved in the character’s body are removed.」

When I opened my eyes, my first thought was simple.

I am hungry.

A hunger unlike anything I’d felt before gripped me, and it raised a question.

‘How much time has passed?’

There’s no way I could be this hungry from just a short blackout.

I pushed myself off the floor.

There were shards of glass everywhere, but thanks to my high physical resistance, I wasn’t even scratched.

“……”

The room looked the same as before.

“…….”

At first glance, nothing around me had changed.

But there was one thing.

“…Where’d it go?”

 

No matter how hard I looked, the stone was gone.

I clearly remember holding it before blacking out.

Now it had vanished like foam.

Two possibilities came to mind:

Someone took the stone while I was unconscious.

It was a consumable item that activated immediately upon pick up.

I couldn’t determine which was true, but I judged the latter to be more likely.

After all, [Dungeon & Stone] had items or events like this.

‘The problem is, I have no way of knowing what effect it had……’

Was it a potion? A curse? A buff?

Without access to the character log, I couldn’t tell.

Not to mention, I couldn’t feel any changes in my body.

‘Anyway, how much time has passed?’

I checked my watch.

The hour hand had moved about seven hours from when I last checked, but I couldn’t relax yet.

My high-end explorer watch also showed how many days had passed.

“…No wonder I’m starving.”

I sighed when I realized over ten days had passed. Ugh! My teammates are going to scold me so hard.

Creaaaak…

Since I was already here, I slowly chewed on some jerky to fill my stomach. Then I got up and left the laboratory.

Just as when I arrived, the Dopplers in the test tubes glared at me as soon as I stepped into the hallway.

If this were just part of the setting, it wouldn’t be too annoying.

But……

‘Guess I should break these too, huh?’

A Barbarian acts on their thoughts.

I shattered the tubes as I passed and crushed the Dopplers’ heads one by one.

But aside from feeling slightly less frustrated, I didn’t gain anything meaningful.

“Ah, that was there too.”

As I exited the hallway, I saw another tunnel leading downward.

Now that I think about it, what’s down there?

‘Since I’m already late, might as well check it out before heading back.’

Amelia will probably be furious, but she’ll be mad either way.

I immediately climbed down the ladder to investigate.

The lower flower had a similar structure to when I first entered this bunker-like space.

A straight hallway with a circular iron door at the end.

The only difference was that no matter how much I knocked, touched, or even screamed, the door wouldn’t open.

‘…Does it require some condition to open? Wait, why did the first door open so easily then?’

No idea, but there was nothing left to do here.

So I climbed back up and retraced my steps to where the dimensional severance had kept Amelia from following me.

Didn’t take long.

But then…

“…What?”

For some reason, no one was there.

***

An ominous feeling.

I never dismiss such feelings as superstition or mood swings.

There’s a reason why people say bad premonitions always come true.

And in reality, they often come true.

If I was feeling this way, it meant my subconscious had already picked up on something.

The mismatch between the visuals and the words.

Thump, thump—!

My heart raced.

Someone should have been here Amelia or anyone.

If a reckless Barbarian like me disappeared, it was normal for the party to wait here worried.

So why was no one here now?

Even if they had to leave, it would’ve been reasonable to leave at least one person behind.

‘Something must’ve happened.’

With that thought, I quickly climbed the ladder back to the surface.

But even in the forest above, there was no one.

“Emily! Aynar! Raven! Misha…!!”

No matter how much I shouted, there was no response.

It was so quiet that I started wondering if I was the only one left in this world.

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

As fast as possible.

Thud, thud, thud—!

Fueled by that thought, I sprinted nonstop.

After about a day, I reached the river I’d crossed before.

It was the biggest obstacle between me and the temple.

Whether the water was harmful or not didn’t even matter.

1. Barbarians can’t swim.

2. My old boat got wrecked during the rainy season and won’t float anymore.

3. No sign of the boats I’d left nearby.

Still, it wasn’t hopeless.

Barbarians might not swim, but they could walk through rivers.

Like this.

Splash—!

I jumped as far as I could, submerged, and waited for my body to sink straight to the bottom.

And then……

Thud—!

Once my feet touched the bottom, I walked as fast as I could, relying on my lung capacity.

“Huff…!”

Damn, I thought I was gonna die.

I couldn’t see where I was going and had no idea if I was heading in the right direction.

“Cough, cough.”

But after barely making it across, I didn’t even bother shaking off the dark water stains and ran straight toward the temple.

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