Surviving as a Barbarian in a Fantasy World

Chapter 124: The Knight of the High Elf (2)

A place a little away from Arkamis’s house.

In a clearing in the forest, Ketal and Parco stood facing each other.

Ketal spoke first.

“Let’s keep it simple. If I am defeated by you, I will no longer interfere. I will never appear before you again. And Arkamis will also give up alchemy.”

Ketal looked at Arkamis.

“Is that alright with you?”

“I don’t care.”

“Thank you. On the other hand, if you are defeated by me, you will not interfere with Arkamis practicing alchemy. Even if she goes to the sanctuary.”

“Do as you please.”

Parco spoke confidently.

His voice carried an unwavering confidence that he would never lose.

He was determined to show this unpleasant barbarian the difference in their strength.

“Are you alright with this, Arkamis? Betting something you hold dear to this barbarian?”

Parco looked at Arkamis.

If Ketal were to be defeated here, Arkamis would have to abandon alchemy.

It was an act of entrusting something she cherished to another.

Parco’s gaze questioned her sincerity.

“Well… do as you like.”

Arkamis muttered indifferently.

Parco’s eyebrows twitched at her attitude.

It was as if she had no doubt that the barbarian would win.

“Hmph. Make your declaration.”

Parco said gruffly.

“I, Parco Venezia Celt, swear on my honor that if I lose this duel, I will no longer interfere with Arkamis’s alchemy and will become her shield.”

“I, the barbarian Ketal, swear on my honor that if I lose this duel, I will no longer involve myself with you.”

Ketal spoke leisurely.

With the declarations made, the atmosphere changed.

The wind sharply brushed past Ketal’s body.

“How dare a vermin like you cling to Arkamis. It’s because of humans like you that she is defiled.”

“Is that so?”

Ketal smiled faintly.

Parco narrowed his eyes.

‘…I do sense some mystery.’

But it was very little.

Even at best, he was second-rate.

However, Ketal shattered the sphere of wind he had gathered.

‘He must have some trump card.’

But it would be just a trick.

If so, his task was simple.

Break it with force.

Parco quickly spoke.

“Turn! Take form! Wind! Bind my enemy with your free body!”

Whirrr!

The wind, sharply sliced, moved.

Taking the form of threads, it bound Ketal’s arms and legs.

“Oh!”

Ketal opened his eyes wide.

Nature itself, with physical force, bound Ketal.

Arkamis or magicians, and even Adamanth wielded similar powers, but the process was very different.

Arkamis controlled nature within her domain using alchemy.

Adamanth did the same.

They controlled nature with mana.

While they forcibly controlled nature, Parco made it feel like nature itself had a will and moved in harmony.

‘Indeed, it’s different from magic and spirit arts.’

Ketal did not move.

Confident that he had subdued him, Parco raised his hand.

Shruuu!

The wind gathered, forming a bow.

“Oh.”

‘So he intended to make a bow this way, huh.’

As Ketal watched in wonder, Parco drew the wind-formed bowstring.

The wind began to gather and condense.

“Spirits of the wind walking upon the earth. Gather and gather. Condense and rotate.”

Kagagagaga!

A storm formed into the shape of an arrow.

Parco declared.

“Understand the sin of defying an elf.”

And released the bowstring.

The storm arrow flew towards Ketal.

Ketal calmly watched the arrow.

The arrow hit Ketal’s body.

Kwaaaaang!

Then the storm exploded.

The wind, condensed to its limit, formed and surged.

Kagagagagak!

A hurricane roared.

But it had no effect on the surroundings.

It was extreme concentration and control.

Truly a superhuman level of power.

“He is strong.”

Arkamis muttered as she quietly watched.

Parco was strong.

His strength was truly superhuman.

Even at her best, she couldn’t easily win.

Without the help of her domain, she would lose.

From the beginning, being a knight of the high elves meant being such a being.

Only those with extraordinary power among the elves of the sanctuary could attain that position.

Arkamis narrowed her eyes.

“But you, you tried to kill Ketal.”

“If he has the strength he claims, he wouldn’t have died.”

Parco looked at Arkamis.

“Lady Arkamis, you are a noble high elf.”

His voice carried the emotion of scolding an unruly child.

“It is unfortunate that you are not only obsessed with material concepts like alchemy but also associating with such a worthless barbarian.”

Parco bowed deeply as if he was genuinely sorry.

“It’s all to bring you back to your senses, Lady Arkamis. Forget the worthless barbarian and join us.”

However, Arkamis’s expression did not change.

“Well, it doesn’t matter. If you win, that is.”

“What?”

Parco raised his head with a puzzled look.

The storm arrow had hit directly.

Even if he didn’t die, he should be critically injured.

Parco soon realized what Arkamis meant.

Rumble…

The wind subsided.

Parco’s pupils widened.

“What!”

There stood Ketal, unchanged from the beginning.

“Hmm.”

Ketal nodded as if he understood.

“It’s similar to Marsilia.”

The elf queen he first encountered, Marsilia.

Parco was not much different from her.

“But not superior. Slightly below, it seems.”

“You, you wretch.”

Parco pulled the bow in panic.

The wind arrows descended in an instant.

Ketal stepped forward lightly.

A very light advance.

With that alone, all the arrows were shattered and crushed.

Ketal’s body arrived right in front of Parco in an instant.

Their gazes met.

Parco, shocked, kicked off.

Riding the wind, he flew into the sky.

“Can you do that too? Interesting.”

Ketal smiled.

Parco hurriedly shot arrows.

A rain of arrows descended.

And Ketal evaded them all with light movements.

“Argh!”

Parco gritted his teeth and pulled the bowstring roughly.

The wind gathered and condensed.

“Explode!”

The arrows exploded.

The rain of wind poured down.

An attack so dense that evasion was impossible.

“Oh, impressive.”

Ketal lightly exclaimed and swung his fist.

Boom!

The rain of wind was buried and blown away by a stronger wind.

Parco was speechless.

“What is this!”

The attacks continued afterward, but no significant change was achieved.

“Well, that figures.”

Arkamis had a calm expression.

Parco was certainly strong.

Even among all elves, he was at the top, possessing top-level superhuman strength.

But in other words, that was all.

There wasn’t much difference between him and her.

On the other hand, Ketal had easily defeated Butler, a demon with a name.

Even at the minimum, his strength was at the top superhuman level.

He was clearly stronger than Parco.

‘What on earth is he?’

Arkamis looked at Ketal with a curious expression.

Even after spending considerable time together, Ketal’s power was still beyond her understanding.

‘To overcome with only the strength of his body without dealing with mysteries.’

In fact, that body itself could be considered a mystery.

If so.

‘…Is the level of his physical body itself high?’

Arkamis quietly pondered.

Meanwhile, the battle continued. All of Parco’s attacks were blocked and broken. Ketal looked up at Parco, who was floating in the sky.

“Are you not planning to come down? I’m getting a bit bored.”

His expression truly showed boredom.

Seeing that, Parco felt intense humiliation.

“…Fine. I’ll make you regret it.”

Parco gritted his teeth and descended.

“Human. You were hiding your strength.”

“I wasn’t, though.”

“Shut up. Fine. I acknowledge it. You are strong. So I will treat you accordingly.”

Parco took a deep breath and brought his hands together.

The wind blew.

The stirring wind quickly grew in size.

“I summon you! Born within the wind!”

“…Huh?”

For the first time, Arkamis’s calm expression changed.

Shock registered on her face.

“I summon you! Controller of the raging storm!”

“Oh!”

Ketal’s eyes sparkled.

He realized that his opponent was summoning a spirit.

‘A new spirit, perhaps!’

He was extremely excited.

With an intrigued expression, Ketal watched the incantation closely.

“Come forth! You who treads upon the sky and gazes upon the earth!”

Parco shouted roughly.

“Brunstad!”

Whirrr!

The swirling wind began to take shape.

It gathered and condensed until it soon became tangible.

The wind thus gathered soon formed a single shape.

That shape had four legs.

It raised its head quietly, with horns befitting its large body.

A massive spirit in the form of a reindeer, Brunstad.

[You called.]

“What?”

Arkamis was stunned.

“You made a pact with a high-level spirit?”

Spirits are beings of nature.

And elves, being in harmony with nature, can summon spirits more easily than other races.

But there are limits.

The higher the rank of the spirit, the prouder they are, and the more stringent they are in choosing a contractor.

At the high-level spirit tier, even among elves, those with contracts are rare.

Considering that there are only a few individuals across the entire continent who have contracts with the highest-tier spirits, contracting with a high-level spirit was an extraordinary achievement.

“Haha, hahaha!”

Parco burst into laughter.

He was confident of his victory.

“Despair, human!”

Parco was sure of his victory.

High-level spirits are incredibly strong.

The fact that a being of nature has a clear ego means it possesses commensurate power and rank.

That power was above even Arkamis or Parco himself.

“High-level spirit, Brunstad! Defeat my enemy!”

[Understood.]

Brunstad quietly shook its horns.

Brunstad’s voice was confident.

It was the confidence that only those who believe in their absolute power can have.

Parco roughly pointed a finger.

“That barbarian!”

[I will fulfill the contract.]

With calm words, hostility emanated.

Parco twisted his lips into a smile.

“Surrender before overwhelming power!”

Parco was certain Ketal would show a shocked expression.

He had no doubt it would be filled with despair and confusion.

It was inevitable.

A high-level spirit was a mighty force known through countless records.

No matter how strong Ketal was, he would pale before a high-level spirit.

Parco believed this.

Looking at Ketal confidently, Parco was momentarily taken aback.

Ketal’s expression was entirely different from what he had expected.

Instead of despair and confusion, there was disappointment.

“Hmm….”

Ketal muttered with a dissatisfied expression.

“A high-level spirit. Hmm… I see.”