I Know the Secret to Surpass Level 100

As Biankka's dead body laid dead on the ground, her army stopped fighting and notifications flooded Elliot's vision.

"The Consort is dead!" Lance yelled. "Retreat now and you shall be spared!"

The knights were hesitant at first. They were wondering if they could win the battle on their own after their commander's defeat.

"Retreat!" One knight yelled. "Retreat and report back to Zachariah!"

Zachariah? Elliot thought but brushed it away. If someone's going to be after them again, they'll going to suffer the same fate as Biankka. Especially when they triggered something from the Manual.

The Adventurers watched the Black Knights retreated. They opened several portals to where they passed through. The portal looked dark and barren inside, much like the Palace grounds.

"Are they gone?"

"We defeated the boss, right?"

"Is it all over?"

…

There were murmurs, whispers and questions lingering in the air. Frederick raised his hand and shot a fast butterfly made of flames in the air. The butterfly exploded like fireworks, signaling the battle was over.

They had won.

The crowd immediately burst in cheers and hollers. The Adventurers had successfully protected their city from an Alpha Strike. The odds were all against them but in the end, they still succeeded.

'Quest [ Save Etheoria ] finished.'

'Reward in Inventory.'

Elliot checked his Inventory and saw a chunk of dark gray metal. He had cleared his Inventory of unnecessary things already. He now had 8 vacant slots available, only placing the perishable items like body parts.

[[ Gallantrium ]]

X 42

// Malleable as raw metal but hard as Valorium when forged. Commonly made as trinkets or embellishments.

The Gallantrium had a X 42 number on it, meaning Elliot had 42 pieces. He was going to look for a recipe he could use the metal with. Maybe sell it as jewelry.

'Quest [ Kill the Snake Woman ] finished.'

'Reward Azure Phantom Finger'

The finger looked disgusting but Elliot had seen worse. If he could have a weapon every time the Manual would require something disgusting, he could open up a weapon shop that would make Francoise swoon.

Elliot moved on to the last and most exciting notification he got out of the three.

'Skill [ Serpent Calls ] gained.'

[ Serpent Calls

Cost: 2,500 MP

// Fires snakes from the caster's desired direction that would form a high-magic resistant shield. The shield lasts for 20 seconds.

Second Skill: When activated, the caster can communicate with snakes for 30 seconds..

]

A skill that could make Elliot protect people besides himself. This made him grin in happiness.

Indeed he was quite strong, but he had to admit that he still lacked the ability to protect those around him. Everything would only be a waste if he couldn't protect his friends.

Friends.

As the word lingered in Elliot's mind, he had found himself once again get foreign feels with the word. He glanced at his bickering friends and a smile etched across his face.

'You will get stronger when you have something to protect.'

Elliot stopped when the voice spoke inside his head.

'But beware…'

'Along with betrayal, friendship would also become your weakness.'

'Remember, APRIL…'

'Your friends are close, but your enemies are closer.'

I am not–

The ground shook and several portals opened all at once. People crossed the portals with panic and worry. They did not look aggressive or looked like they were about to fight.

They looked like they were the ones who needed help.

Frederick dashed in front of everyone and raised his hands beside him. He pointed his palms flat on either side of him and fired a trail of flames on each side.

"Who are you and what do you want?" Frederick asked.

"We're the citizens of Etheoria," an old man cried. "Henrietta had destroyed our kingdom! And they're going to destroy the whole realm!"

"Henrietta?" Lance asked out loud and looked like he was in deep thought. "I feel like I've heard that name before."

His eyes became as wide as saucers as a realization hit his mind. "Zachariah and Henrietta are part of the Hell's Court!"

"What?" Frederick looked back at Lance.

"Henrietta, Geneva, Lazarus, and Zachariah. The Four of Hell's Courtmen!"

Just as Lance finished, the sky gloomed in an instant. It was so dark that it felt like it was nighttime.

"Despair, Blue, Death, and Covet," Lance recited. "Their embodiments that maintained the darkness that covered hell like it was their air."

"Pathetic Biankka," a woman said. She appeared behind the clouds and slowly flew down just above the Adventurers. "She tried to snake her way into the Queen's Court but failed miserably so she tried conquering Etheoria. Still failed, but this time, things got interesting."

The woman disappeared from where she was and appeared right in front of Connor.

"Tell me, Ruler of Inferno, why are you here?"

Connor's eyes widened after the woman asked the question. Elliot could tell that he was actually trembling in fear but tried hiding it.

"The Queen was wondering why you left your realm and join the Terrans, is there a special reason?" the woman asked. Her eyes seemed like they going to make one's soul fall into deep oblivion just by looking at them. It was sad, awful, indescribably sorrowful.

"Henrietta of Despair," Midnight said with his calm tone. He had returned to his human form and was standing beside Henrietta and Connor. "Why are you here?"

"Oh," Henrietta grinned. "A strong human. What a glorious day to see someone like you."

"Answer my question," Midnight said firmly, showing no signs of backing down. "What do you need from our guild member?"

Henrietta laughed and raised her hands up, "Relax, kitty. I don't need anything more but to quench the question my Queen has."

"And that is?"

"Why is an Eternal together with another?" Henrietta deadpanned. "And in another realm too."

Midnight was speechless. Either he didn't knew what to say next or he was afraid to say something he didn't mean.

"Well, it seems like you know me, you're not as clueless then," Henrietta said. "Well, you see, when an Eternal leaves their realm, it is bound to be taken over with nothing but destruction. Just as what happened to Etheoria. But when an Eternal comes back, they– oh."

"What?" Midnight grit his teeth.

Henrietta was staring into the city like she sensed something inside. "I could feel a faint presence of an Eternal inside. Either they're about to die or they're only young."

"What do you mean?" Frederick walked over and glared at Henrietta.

"Don't be a b*tch," Henrietta scoffed. "I could tell that the Duke does not want to rule his realm. However, I could feel someone fitting to replace him instead."

"Someone fitting to replace me?" Ed asked.

Henrietta nodded and pointed at the city, "I could tell that there's someone in there from Etheoria who shares the same blood as the previous Duke and the Snake Woman."

"Biankka's child?" Everyone gasped.

"Not really my expertise but I know something happened at the Duke's chambers for all these years," Henrietta joked and laughed, snorting loudly as she did. "Find the boy and he will rule instead of you. That is, if you don't want to."

Henrietta looked at Connor, "And punishment should be enough for your substitute."

She clapped her hands and was about to go away when Elliot stopped her.

"Why are you helping us?" he asked. "Just a moment ago, you were threatening to destroy Etheoria and now you tell us all rhese things?"

"I'm happy," Henrietta answered quickly. "I was going to destoy Etheoria, yes, but something familiar lingered in the air and I just can't help but feel fuzzy inside."

Henrietta giggled and bounced around before she raised her hand and a lightning struck in her. When it dissipated, she had already disappeared from everyone's sight.

Midnight instantly fell to his knees that was barely caught by Sun. "I was so terrified."

"Was that Henrietta of Despair, really?" Sun looked at Frederick.

"She seemed too happy to embody despair," Lance sighed. "But I don't think that's what's important right now. We need to sort the people of Etheoria out first."

"Glitch," Frederick called from his Console. "Bring me the Etheorians."

There was a buzzing sound and a light coming from the city. It was quick and flashy, making everyone it pass through cover their eyes to avoid blindness.

The light dissipated and Glitch fell panting into the ground along with Xelon, Keurig, and Nataniel. "Carrying three people is not my thing."

"Nataniel," Frederick leaned down in front of the boy. "Do you know who your parents are?"

Xelon and Keurig looked at each other before Xelon answered. "He's the Consort's son. The one who would take over after her."

"What happened?" Keurig asked seemingly worried.

Frederick smiled at Nataniel, "Don't worry, your mother is resting now."

"It's okay," Nataniel smiled. "All I ever get from her is torture anyway, why bother?"

Ed leaned down and hugged the little boy. "I'm sorry if I wasn't there for you."

Nataniel scrunched his face, trying to look strong and holding the tears back but he gave in. "I always wanted to hug you, big brother."

This prompted Ed to cry. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

"You guys are ugly when crying," Elliot snuffled, wiping tears away. "Look, now I'm crying too."

Their group laughed everything off as if nothing had happened. It was their victory. The battle against an Alpha Strike and a very formidable opponent had ended. They wanted to savor their success, and it was a good thing that they did.

Because something bigger was coming for them.