BXBX NOVEL Chapter 114 – High Elf (1)
Chapter 114 – High Elf (1)
“What… are you?”
At first, Arkamis mistook Ketal for a higher being like a dragon.
This was because the aura and presence emanating from Ketal were not something a human could produce.
They were closer to that of a predator.
That’s why she feared him and tried to exclude him.
However, after talking with him, she judged him to be just a barbarian with a slightly peculiar physique.
Quite unique but not that strong, she thought.
This opinion did not change even after observing his inner body.
The reason was simple: Ketal did not possess any mystical power.
“I thought you were just one of the barbarians from the north. It wouldn’t have been strange if there were barbarians who adapted to society among the many barbarians.”
But the power he showed in the battle against the demon was too different.
“You are strong,” said Arkamis.
Ketal did not know about mysticism.
And the power of someone who does not know mysticism has a limit.
Even if hundreds of them gathered, it would be normal if they couldn’t touch a single finger of Arkamis.
However, Ketal defeated the demon.
No, he overwhelmed it.
A demon with a name was toyed with.
It wouldn’t have been much different if she had been the opponent.
More than anything, what he did afterward, the expansion of his senses.
It was not an act that just anyone could do, closing their eyes and concentrating their senses.
Ketal expanded those senses beyond the forest to the capital.
“…Too strong.”
Arkamis swallowed hard.
She was not weak either.
She had the power to be called a true superhuman and could wield even greater power within her domain.
Even the renowned Swordmaster Maximus could not guarantee victory against her.
Her power was among the top in the entire continent.
But even she could not understand Ketal’s power.
To wield such power without knowing mysticism?
He is not a barbarian from the north.
No, it’s beyond that level.
He is not a being from this continent.
Something in the form of a barbarian.
She was convinced again.
“Hm.”
After a moment of silence, Ketal opened his mouth.
“I didn’t hide it on purpose. I just didn’t feel the need to mention it. I am just Ketal.”
Where he came from and what he did was not important at all.
At least, that’s what he thought.
“It seems you have a guess about where I came from.”
“…Yes.”
Arkamis swallowed hard.
During the battle with Butler, the power of severance cut Ketal’s clothes.
That’s why she could see it.
The large scar on Ketal’s chest.
A gray-haired barbarian.
And a large scar on the chest.
A legend known across the entire continent.
“When we talked about the hero back then, you mentioned a hero who went to the White Snowfield to prove their strength.”
About three months ago.
A hero who entered the White Snowfield by their own will.
“I said I couldn’t understand it. Why do such a thing? This place is a fantasy world itself.”
A world where dragons, magic, elves, and demons exist.
This continent was the world he had longed for, even in his dreams.
“Leaving such a place to enter a world of only white. I cannot understand it. That place is truly horrible.”
Ketal muttered quietly.
“There is nothing to eat. No plants exist. There is no liquid water, so you have to eat glaciers. It’s a harsh cold where you can’t even light a fire. When a child is born, more than half of them freeze to death within ten days.”
Arkamis’s eyes widened.
What Ketal was saying could only be said by someone who had lived in the White Snowfield.
Ketal opened his mouth.
“I came from the place you call the White Snowfield.”
* * *
Arkamis held her breath.
Long ago, a legend known to all races on the continent.
The emperor who ruled the continent went to the White Snowfield and returned after losing everything.
And the emperor said.
A white snake that devours icebergs.
A white bear that causes earthquakes.
A vile rat that pollutes the ocean.
And the ash-gray barbarians of the White Snowfield.
The being from that legend was right in front of her eyes.
“I didn’t hide it on purpose. Isn’t it funny to go around shouting that I’m a barbarian from the White Snowfield?”
Ketal didn’t particularly think of hiding that fact.
He lied to Elene, but that was only to calm her down, not to hide his identity.
However, he also had no intention of going around telling everyone.
Revealing his identity as one from the White Snowfield might prevent him from enjoying the fantasy he sought.
“I am just Ketal. That’s all.”
“That… well.”
Arkamis nodded slightly.
If she had learned that fact without knowing the person Ketal was, she might have been horrified and run away.
But now, she knew what kind of person Ketal was.
He was a bit unique and strange, but a sensible person.
He knew manners and how to consider others.
Most importantly, he had saved her life.
Though it was surprising that he was a barbarian of the White Snowfield, it wasn’t a reason to fear him.
“Did Milena know?”
“From the beginning. We met in the White Snowfield. I helped her with her trade mission. That bond continued even after we left the White Snowfield.”
“Ah. That’s right? Now that I think about it, she did mention something like that.”
The Akasha family had been on the verge of collapse.
Milena had managed to revive it by succeeding in her trade mission.
Arkamis had heard that story too.
“So, that was about the White Snowfield.”
“Yes.”
“…Ha.”
She took a deep breath.
It was finally starting to sink in.
The person in front of her was a legend, a being from the White Snowfield.
* * *
Ketal was a barbarian from the White Snowfield.
But that didn’t make him scary or intimidating.
With that realization, she naturally felt a strong interest.
A barbarian from the White Snowfield, a figure only mentioned in legends, was standing before her.
As an alchemist with a strong curiosity about the unknown, she asked Ketal about the things she was curious about.
Ketal was happy to respond.
Arkamis’s attitude hadn’t changed from before.
It meant she accepted him as a person.
It was immensely gratifying for Ketal to be recognized by someone from a fantasy world.
He answered her questions as best as he could.
“Then, is your unique physique also because you’re a barbarian of the White Snowfield?”
Ketal’s body was special.
Its mystery was so profound that it was almost impossible to fully comprehend.
Even drugs that were meant to reveal such mysteries didn’t work, requiring the use of special ingredients like iridescent particles.
Back then, she couldn’t grasp what kind of body it was, but if he was a barbarian of the White Snowfield, it made sense.
Ketal shook his head.
“Even if you say so, I don’t know. There was no such thing as mystery in the White Snowfield.”
“Not just you, but all barbarians didn’t know?”
“That’s right.”
“…And yet you survived in the White Snowfield?”
Mystery was akin to a miracle.
Handling it versus not handling it was the difference between heaven and earth.
Surviving in a Forbidden Land like the White Snowfield without any mystery was unbelievable.
Arkamis was momentarily taken aback, but soon accepted it.
“Well, with your body, that might be possible.”
Ketal had shattered the power of severance with his bare hands.
The power of severance was demonic, capable of severing all things in the world.
Overcoming that with just his physical body meant that Ketal’s body itself was a form of mystery.
Arkamis looked at him with curiosity.
“How did you get such a body?”
“I don’t know. It wasn’t like I tried to become stronger. It was just to survive.”
Strength was never Ketal’s interest.
It was merely a byproduct.
At those words, Arkamis realized something.
The White Snowfield was not just home to barbarians.
There were white snakes that devoured icebergs, white bears that caused earthquakes, and vile rats that polluted the seas.
Ketal lived in the same realm as these legendary beasts.
She cautiously asked,
“…Did you encounter those monsters?”
“I met them a few times. Not particularly fond memories.”
Ketal replied with a bitter expression.
They were generally beings that devoured his kin and disrupted the environment, so they weren’t pleasant encounters.
‘I smashed them every time, though.’
Since these creatures didn’t grasp the concept of death, they were always tenacious and troublesome.
Arkamis looked at him with sympathy.
“That must have been tough.”
Ketal was undoubtedly strong.
His strength was exceptionally special.
However, it didn’t seem like it was at a level where he could confront legendary monsters that could cause natural disasters just by moving.
Naturally, Arkamis thought that Ketal had lived avoiding these legendary beasts.
‘In the legends, it was said that barbarians of the White Snowfield were more dangerous than those monsters.’
Clearly, that legend was wrong.
Historians often debated this topic.
Whether it was possible for mere humans to defeat such monsters, and how even heroes could slay dragons, they frequently discussed.
But now, hearing Ketal’s story, it was clear.
The crazed emperor must have been spouting nonsense.
It wasn’t sensible for a mere human, who couldn’t even handle mysteries, to overpower such beings.
Arkamis was excited, thinking she had found a flaw in the legend.
She didn’t realize that she was mistaken in her conclusion, feeling only the exhilaration of uncovering a hidden truth.
“Then, how did you come out into the outside world?”
It was a widely accepted fact that beings from the White Snowfield couldn’t leave.
The reason was simple.
If they could, there was no reason why the monsters of the White Snowfield wouldn’t come out.
The White Snowfield was extremely cold and barren.
The fact that its monsters didn’t come out implied there were forced constraints.
Ketal answered,
“I ended up being able to come out somehow. I don’t know the exact reason.”
He had a rough idea but didn’t know precisely.
Following a quest and dealing with a few beings allowed him to leave.
‘Why isn’t this quest window appearing now?’
The demonic invasion.
It was no small event.
From the conversation with Barbosa, it was clear that it marked the beginning of a changing world.
Yet, the quest window remained silent during this demonic descent.
‘Is it only related to Forbidden Lands?’
So far, that seemed to be the case.
But it felt wrong to think that way entirely.
Something about it was off.