Surviving as a Barbarian in a Fantasy World

Chapter 191: Sanctuary of the Elves. Elfo Sagrado. (4)

A long time ago, in a past so distant that the concept of time itself is faint.

In a snow-covered field, a blizzard raged, making it impossible to see even an inch ahead.

At the edge of this white expanse stood a barbarian.

His name was Ketal.

The barbarian gazed silently beyond the snowfield.

In the distance, he could faintly see a patch of green vegetation.

He stared at it, entranced, as if it were the utopia of legends.

After a moment, he picked up his axe and swung it roughly.

CRACK!

The axe struck the air, causing it to crack as if space itself was breaking.

But the crack quickly repaired itself, vanishing completely, as if it had never existed.

It was as though this place beyond was forbidden to him.

Seeing this, the man\'s face twisted in agony.

He opened his mouth.

“Ahhh! Ahhhhh! Ahhhhhh! Why! Why! Why! When will it be allowed?!”

It was a cry of despair, a lament filled with anguish, like the wail of a prisoner in his cell, longing for something he could never attain.

The barbarian screamed for a long time in that place.

* * *

“What have I done?”

Ketal muttered as he recalled the memory.

His voice carried a faint emotion.

Arkamis, frightened by the sudden outburst, flinched.

“Oh, I remember you said you didn’t like to recall it. You don’t have to talk about it if it’s too painful.”

“No, it’s fine.”

Ketal shook his head.

Arkamis had done much for him.

She had given him the keys to unlocking mysteries and had recognized his unique abilities without asking for anything in return.

He couldn\'t refuse her request so easily.

“It’s a painful memory, but not one I need to bury.”

After all, the monster from that place was starting to crawl out, and he couldn’t ignore it forever.

Ketal began to explain slowly, and Arkamis closed her mouth, focusing intently.

“To be honest, I don’t remember much of my childhood. The first clear memory I have is of dying.”

“Dying?”

“I wasn’t in good shape.”

Back on Earth, he used to kneel and pray to all the gods for an hour before bed each night, hoping that when he woke up, he would be in a world of fantasy.

His wish was granted, but in a very twisted way.

When he woke up, he found himself as a barbarian in a snowfield.

Whether it was possession or his soul inhabiting a newly created body, he couldn’t tell.

All he knew was that this body was dying alone in the white wilderness.

Half-buried in ice and unable to move, his hands and feet had turned blue, and his eyelids were frozen shut.

As he realized his situation, a quest window appeared before him.

[First Quest.]

[Survive for one week.]

“Breaking out of the ice, I found myself in a vast, white world. I probably would have died if I had made even a small mistake.”

After that, a single quest window appeared.

“I see…”

Arkamis was listening to the legendary barbarian’s story with bated breath.

“I wandered alone for a long time after that.”

He drank from melting ice and hunted unknown monsters for food.

In a state where he didn’t even understand his situation, he moved solely for survival.

“After quite a while, I finally found others of my kind.”

“You mean the Ashen Barbarians?”

“Yes, I joined them and began living with them.”

It was then that Ketal realized he had been thrown into a horrific world.

At that point, he didn’t recognize it as a fantasy world.

All he could see were the white expanse and the alien monsters.

He thought the gods had played a cruel joke on him, casting him into this terrible place.

“Even after finding my kin, life wasn’t easy. We were fundamentally prey.”

“Really?”

Arkamis was shocked.

According to the legend, the Ashen Barbarians were considered quite dangerous.

Despite any exaggerations, she believed they must have been near the top of the food chain in the white wilderness.

But according to Ketal, the barbarians were actually at the bottom of the food chain.

“Survival wasn’t impossible, but it wasn’t easy either.”

They could hunt weaker monsters, but stronger ones hunted them.

Despite having a territory, daily invasions led to many of their kin dying.

“I lived there without any real purpose.”

He thought being cast into this horrific place was a punishment for his presumptuous dreams.

So, he didn’t pay much attention to the quests back then.

He was ready to accept death whenever it came.

But one day, he encountered an outsider.

“There was a man on the brink of death. He seemed like an explorer, carrying books. I barely saved him and brought him to the tribe.”

After nursing him back to health, he learned the language and they talked.

And at that moment, Ketal realized that the gods had granted his wish.

“From then on, I had one goal.”

“…To survive and make it outside?”

“Yes.”

He would leave this dreadful place and enjoy the fantasy world he had longed for.

From then on, Ketal lived solely for that purpose.

He knew he couldn’t leave the white snowfield through ordinary means.

He understood there were restrictions even then.

So how could he leave?

That’s when Ketal turned his attention to the quests he had been ignoring.

There were countless conditions and missions presented to him through the quest window.

He started working on them with a clear mind and no hesitation.

He began clearing the quests rapidly.

As a result, the strength of the tribe grew naturally.

With his numerous accomplishments, he began to be revered as the chieftain.

The territory expanded, and though conflicts arose, he crushed his opponents by any means necessary.

“A lot happened.”

There was one quest that he remembered vividly.

As Ketal was expanding his territory, a massive snake connecting the sky and earth appeared before him.

[You are the vermin that have been tainting the snowfield.]

It was his first encounter with the white snake.

As his tribesmen screamed and tried to flee, the quest window calmly informed him of his task.

[132nd Quest.]

[Drive the white snake out of your territory.]

Ketal immediately picked up his axe and charged at the snake.

After days of fierce fighting, with his blood staining the white world and his limbs nearly torn apart, he drove the white snake out.

“I didn’t live to become stronger.”

He lived to get out of this place, and naturally gained strength in the process.

“Well… After a while, things became more manageable. I obtained the largest territory in the snowfield. My tribesmen became strong enough to follow me. After that, my days were routine. I kept searching for ways to get out and failed repeatedly.”

And after an immeasurable amount of time, he finally made it out.

“I see…”

Arkamis let out a breath she had been holding.

She couldn’t fully grasp his life.

Carefully, she asked,

“…So you clashed with legendary creatures like the white snake and the white bear?”

“I often clashed with them. They were the biggest obstacles to expanding our territory.”

“…Who won?”

“I’m here now.”

Ketal said calmly, a definitive answer to her question.

Arkamis swallowed the breath she had released again.

‘My goodness.’

He had defeated legendary creatures.

She knew Ketal was a barbarian of the white snowfield, but she hadn’t thought he was strong enough to defeat such creatures.

After all, he was just a human.

But that was her arrogant misconception.

‘The Emperor wasn’t raving mad after all… He spoke only the truth.’

Realizing this, she shuddered.

“…Huh?”

“What’s wrong?”

“Oh, um, hold on a moment.”

Arkamis thought deeply and realized a contradiction.

“Ketal. When you first met the Ashen Barbarians, you said they were weak, right?”

“They were weak. Probably low on the food chain.”

“Huh, what?”

The timeline didn’t match.

According to Ketal, the barbarians grew strong after he joined the tribe and learned about the outside world.

From then, they quickly expanded their territory and gained strength befitting legends.

But according to the Emperor’s legend, the barbarians were already strong when he entered the snowfield.

And that was a long time ago, even before she was born.

The only explanation was if Ketal had lived since before the Emperor entered the snowfield.

“…Ketal, did you ever meet the Emperor?”

“You mean the legendary Emperor? I don’t recall seeing such an army.”

“Oh, really?”

“But I did meet someone spouting such nonsense long ago. Whether he was the Emperor, I’m not sure.”

“…”

Arkamis fell silent.

‘No way, really?’

If that were true, it would mean he had been in this world since before she was born.

How old could he possibly be?

She tried hard to dismiss that possibility.

“Have I answered sufficiently?”

“More than enough.”

She leaned back in her chair with a tired expression.

She had just heard firsthand accounts from a Ashen Barbarian about that place.

The unique satisfaction of knowing this secret alone made her feel a strange sense of elation.

“Then... I guess that explains the uniqueness of your body.”

An achievement that allowed him to withstand mysteries with his bare body.

It made sense if he had conquered the greatest Forbidden Land, the white snowfield.

But there were still parts that didn’t make sense.

‘How can that small body contain such immense mystery and stature?’

And why was that stature limited to his body alone?

It was puzzling.

She had resolved one question only to gain another.

Still, having solved the big question, Arkamis felt satisfied.

Ketal also seemed oddly relieved.

“You are the first I have shared my life story with.”

“Oh, really? Does that mean I\'m special?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm.”

Hearing that, Arkamis couldn’t help but smile.

After that, they exchanged more minor stories.

Arkamis asked Ketal about things she was curious about.

“Then, are there no mysteries in the snowfield?”

“None at all. Even my tribe didn’t know about them. The monsters used strange powers, but they couldn’t be called mysteries.”

“That’s strange…”

To Arkamis, this was very odd.

Mysteries were fundamental units of this world.

Saying there were no mysteries was like saying there was a world without water.

“So it really is a different world... Your tribe is strong even without mysteries?”

“They aren’t weak. At least they are strong enough to follow me.”

“Really?”

Arkamis paused for a moment.

“…Are your tribe members all as smart and intellectual as you?”

“Not at all. They are stupid and foolish. They don’t even listen to me properly. I can’t stand the sight of them.”

“…Compared to the barbarians outside?”

“The ones inside are even more ignorant.”

“I see.”

A possibility flashed through her mind.

The current world was distorting.

The existence of the Forbidden Lands was emerging outside.

If that was the case, couldn’t the Ashen Barbarians of the white snowfield come out just like Ketal did?

‘…Barbarians strong enough to follow Ketal, more ignorant than the barbarians outside, coming out all at once?’

A chill ran down her spine.

The mere thought made her body tremble.