Chapter 196: High Elf Queen (4)

“I think it’s finished,” Karin said.

“Are you sure?” Ketal replied.

“Yes.” Karin nodded.

Ketal had succeeded in perfectly containing his aura.

“Arkemis. What do you think?” Ketal asked her.

“Karin’s right... I really can’t feel anything at all.” Arkemis stared at Ketal, clearly amazed.

The overwhelming pressure he once exuded was completely gone. No matter how hard she tried to sense it, she could only detect the faint Myst of a Novice. There was no longer any sense of intimidation or presence at all. Outwardly, he now just looked like a very large, ordinary barbarian. Of course, that alone was enough to feel a little out of place, but at least the instinctive alarm he used to provoke was no longer present.

“Oh, really?” Ketal’s face brightened. “Then I’ll step out for a bit.”

“Go and enjoy yourself,” Karin replied.

Ketal descended from the top of the World Tree to the land where the elves lived.

There, the elves went about their daily lives. People were taking walks, children were playing, and everything was as peaceful and ordinary as anywhere else. Up until now, any time Ketal approached, daily life was instantly shattered. But not anymore.

He walked among them, and the elves no longer reacted strongly. Some were startled at the sight of him, but they didn’t run or avoid him. Some even greeted him first.

“Nice to meet you...?” one of the elves said.

“Ah... nice to meet you.” Ketal nodded in reply.

He continued to wander among the elves, but they didn’t shun him anymore. Ketal was deeply moved—so much so that his eyes filled with tears.

Until now, the elves had always rejected him. Some had even attacked him without warning. His very first encounter with an elf had begun with an attack. It always felt as if they were telling him that he did not belong here. For Ketal, who desperately wanted to live in a fantasy world, it had been a painful experience.

However, now, things were different. The elves no longer rejected him. He felt genuinely moved. It was as if he had finally become a true part of this fantasy world.

After enjoying the experience enough, Ketal returned to the top of the World Tree. Arkemis greeted him with a smile. “How was it?”

“It was moving. Truly, sincerely—thank you, Karin. I will never forget this favor.”

“No problem,” Karin replied.

Ketal’s gratitude was sincere, and Karin was slightly flustered by it, but she accepted it all the same. She was beginning to understand the kind of person Ketal was.

He was straightforward about his feelings, and acted as his heart led him—very much an adventurer at heart. In a way, he was extremely pure. Usually, those who reached his level of Karma were broken in one way or another, which meant that Ketal was rare.

Or... am I wrong?

Karin thought. Perhaps he had broken in his own kind of purity. Karin briefly wondered about it.

Regardless, Ketal had accomplished his goal as he had explored the elven sacred ground. Because the elves no longer avoided him, he could fully enjoy their daily life. Ketal was truly happy. He recorded every little detail of their lives in his notebook.

Maybe I should buy another notebook soon,

he wondered. The one he had been jotting notes in was now about halfway full. He made a mental note to buy a slightly bigger one next time.

Ketal fully enjoyed the sacred ground of the elves, and soon, he realized something else.

There sure are a lot of spirits around.

Spirits, who until now had been suppressed by Ketal’s overwhelming presence, were now appearing everywhere.

They wandered around inside the sacred ground, playing with the elves. There were so many of them that they seemed to color the sky above the sacred ground. The sight was so beautiful that Ketal couldn’t take his eyes off it.

Late that night, Ketal returned home and asked Arkemis about the spirits. Arkemis answered, “It’s because the World Tree is here. This is the place in the Mortal Realm that is closest to the Spirit Realm.”

It was the only place where spirits could remain in the mortal world without needing a contract. So seeing many spirits here was only natural.

“The elves of the sacred ground grow up with spirits from childhood,” Arkemis continued. Because elves were beings of nature, growing up alongside spirits made them even more attuned to them. That was why it was so easy for them to make contracts with spirits. “In fact, I’m probably the only elf here who hasn’t made a contract with a spirit.”

It was only because Arkemis herself refused; if she wanted to, she could easily contract with an Epic spirit.

“A spirit mage, huh...,” Ketal muttered.

Beautiful spirits drifted about in various shapes and colors, most of them cute or lovely. The sight of green and blue spirits floating freely in the air was nothing short of spectacular.

Frankly, he found it incredibly appealing. He loved fantasy. He had, of course, read countless fantasy novels. As a child, he’d borrowed books from every rental store in his town and beyond. Many of the fantasy stories he read as a child had spirit mages as their protagonists.

Growing up with those kinds of stories, he naturally found himself wanting to make a spirit contract, too.

“Can I make a contract with a spirit?” Ketal asked her.

“Huh?” Arkemis hesitated. After a moment, she answered cautiously. “It would probably be hard...”

Spirit contracts were not something just anyone could make. For elves, it was easy, but for humans, unless they were born with a special talent, it was nearly impossible. Human spirit mages were rarer even than mages.

“I see...” Ketal looked disappointed. The sight of him looking so down made Arkemis’s heart skip a beat.

No, this can’t be!

Arkemis shouted in her mind. She wanted Ketal to become her family. Her goal was to grow closer to him and have children together. If Ketal left this place feeling disappointed, her goal might fail.

She hurriedly said, “But it’s not totally impossible! There’s a special way you can try to contract with a spirit! You might be able to do it!”

“Really?” Ketal’s face brightened, and Arkemis nodded quickly.

“Normally it’s impossible, but who am I? I’m a High Elf!”

One of the rarest, purest, noblest elves in the world—that was Arkemis.

“I’ll ask Her Majesty tomorrow. I’m sure we can work something out.”

“Wow! As expected of Arkemis! There’s no one like you! Thank you so much!” Ketal beamed and thanked her, and Arkemis grinned sheepishly.

The next day, Karin gave Arkemis a cold look when she came to see her.

“Arkemis. Are you joking?”

Arkemis shrank and fell silent. It was the complete opposite of the confidence she’d shown to Ketal.

“I know what you’re trying to say, but do you really think it’s possible?” Karin asked her.

“But, but can’t we at least try once? Who knows? Maybe it’ll work? Please? For my sake, can’t we at least try?”

Karin closed her mouth and sighed. Arkemis waited nervously as she saw Karin hesitate.

“Fine.” After a moment, Karin nodded. “There’s no harm in checking, and we might as well try. Bring him here.”

“Wow! I knew it! I’ll bring him right away!” Arkemis dashed off. Karin gave a wry smile.

A little later, Ketal arrived, looking hopeful.

“Is it really possible?” he asked Karin. He hadn’t expected much, but after hearing there was a chance, he couldn’t help but feel excited.

“Before we start, let me explain how spirit contracts are made,” Karin explained carefully.

Someone with sufficient affinity for nature would perform a ritual in the right place to summon a spirit. A summoning circle would appear, drawing the attention of spirits from the Spirit Realm. Among them, if a spirit took a liking to the candidate, a contract could be formed.

“It’s the spirit who gets to choose in the end,” Karin said.

“By that logic, I really don’t think any spirit would want to contract with me,” Ketal replied, dejected.

“You’re probably right.”

Even though Ketal had learned to contain his presence, he hadn’t gained any favor from the spirits. None of the spirits overflowing within the sacred ground had ever approached him.

Well, that’s that. I guess it was impossible after all

, Ketal thought.

Just as disappointment started to show on Ketal’s face, Karin spoke up.

“What I just described is the normal way. But there’s another method.”

“What is it?”

“You go to the Spirit Realm yourself.”

“What?” Ketal’s eyes widened.

Karin continued, “You directly enter the Spirit Realm and find a spirit whose resonance matches yours. You’ll meet far more spirits than through a summoning circle. Since you can meet and talk directly, your odds of forming a contract are much higher.”

Ketal’s voice trembled. “Is that even possible?”

“Normally, no. But here, we have the World Tree.”

It was the place in the Mortal Realm closest to the Spirit Realm. The boundaries were faint.

“And I’m here,” Karin continued. An elf with a contract with the Spirit King—if she were present, she could open the way. “You’ll have to enter the Spirit Realm yourself, which can be dangerous... is that alright?”

“Of course!” Ketal nodded vigorously.

The Spirit Realm!

The thought of entering it made his heart race with excitement. He wanted to beg to go.

“Alright, let’s get ready. But there’s one problem...,” Karin continued, a little taken aback by his enthusiasm. The amount of Myst Ketal possessed was extremely low. “You’ll constantly consume Myst while in the Spirit Realm. With what you have now, you’ll only last a few minutes at best.”

He would need to increase his supply of Myst. Ketal pulled a blue gem out of his subspace pouch—a catalyst he’d received from the merfolk as a reward.

“Can I use this?” Ketal asked her.

“That’s...” Karin was surprised. The amount of Myst in that blue gem was extraordinary, a catalyst even she, as the High Elf Queen, rarely saw. “With that, you should be fine.”

“Alright, Arkemis. Help me out.”

“Okay.”

With Arkemis’s help, Ketal absorbed the Myst from the blue gem into his body. As a result, the amount of Myst he possessed increased dramatically. Relatively speaking, it was now at an Intermediate level.

“Even with a catalyst like that, you only just reach the Intermediate tier? Do you think you’ll be able to use Myst now?” Arkemis asked him, dumbfounded.

“No. I still don’t think it’s possible.”

“Even that’s not enough? Why is your fuel efficiency so bad?”

Most likely, his Myst’s quality and quantity were still overwhelmingly insufficient for his body’s level.

How much Myst would it take to get that body to use it properly?

Arkemis wondered. “Would he need something like a Dragon Heart?”

“You’d probably need a catalyst of that level... Well, you’ll be able to stay in the Spirit Realm long enough for now, so that’s fine,” Karin replied.

“By the way, Your Majesty, you know some dragons, don’t you?” Arkemis asked her.

“Yes, I do.” Karin nodded. As the High Elf Queen, she had lived a very long time. Among her many connections, there were a few dragons. “It’s been a while since I’ve contacted them, but I still know where they are.”

“You do?” Ketal’s eyes shone dangerously. “Karin, is there a dragon among them you dislike?”

“What?”

“Any dragon you want dead, maybe one you have a grudge against? I figure after a long life, you’re bound to have at least one enemy.”

“I have many enemies, but none of them are dragons.”

“I see... That’s a shame.” Ketal looked genuinely disappointed. “If you ever do have a falling out with a dragon, don’t hesitate to tell me. You’ve done a lot for me—I could handle that much for you.”

“Oh... Alright.” Karin looked at Ketal with a dubious expression. For a moment, a suspicion passed through her mind.

Is he seriously thinking of killing a dragon and taking its heart?