I Know the Secret to Surpass Level 100

"I-Is this…" Ed trailed off after seeing the purplish gray arms sleeve on the table.

"It's imbued with Magic Suppressing Gems I got from Isabelle, then I Forged it myself," Elliot proudly said. "Looks sick, isn't it?"

"This looks awesome!" Ed yelled in excitement.

The arm sleeve had two portions, one for the forearm and the other for the arm. The knuckles and elbow were covered with a joint-like mechanism as to not limit Ed's movements. The gems were located on the upper arm, just below the shoulder.

"Put it on!" Connor cheered. "I wanna see how it looks like."

"Okay," Ed said and put on the sleeve. He had to tweak his Console to accept the sleeve as part of his equipment as an accessory. "It's in."

"So?" Connor leaned in. "How does it– arr!"

The arm sleeve glowed with a dull dark purple light. Ed lightly laughed after Connor screamed in surprise.

"It's the curse of the Eternal Chaos Sword, it's being pushed back," Ed said.

From his eyes alone, Elliot could see that his friend was happy and satisfied. Ed had been almost pushing his alcohol limit because of the stress brought on by the curse in his arm that it was affecting him badly.

With this item, they could now return to how they were before. Ed would have no more insecurities and pain over his arm.

"All done," Ed smirked. "My Console had accepted the item. But what does Mettelium mean? I haven't heard of it."

'Quest [ Mettelium for Ed ] finished.'

'Your reward is now in your Inventory.'

"It's a rare metal I found," Elliot said, pushing the notifications aside. "Anyway, now that that's done. I have to go to a shop."

He hurried to Josephine's shop to check on his items.

'Quest [ Harness the Threads II ] finished.'

"Hello, Mr. Elliot," Viper greeted once Elliot got inside. "Grandmother is just finishing the clothes but they're already done."

"Nice, okay," Elliot nodded and walked over to the counter where he saw Midnight checking on some gowns. "Hey."

Midnight jumped for a bit before he sighed and chuckled. "Hello. I see you found the best tailor in the city, or perhaps the kingdom."

"Your praises are too high, Mr. Midnight," Josephine walked over carrying a paper bag. "Mr. Elliot, here is your Glorious clothes."

"Thanks!" Elliot's eyes glimmered in happiness after feeling the special aura inside the paper bag. "These are high-quality pieces, love them."

"I know, right?" Midnight agreed on. "Ms. Josephine just makes the best clothes. Even imbued with magic, she can do just that."

"Yeah."

"You're both making this old woman fluster," Josephine chuckled. "I am honored to receive such praises from Adventurers."

The three ended their talk after Elliot and Midnight decided that it was time to head back. Elliot was pretty much satisfied in the outcome of the clothes since they all looked good."

He opened the Manual and checked the page where the new items were then took out the Gallant pieces from Francoise. Elliot then started to forge what he thought would be first thing he needed.

'Forging [[ The Creator's Valiance ]].'

'Forging time: 14 hours'

A sigh of disappointment escaped his lips after reading the notification. It will take him 14 more hours to finish, so he decided to go back to the guild house to eat dinner instead.

There, people seemed to crowd over the entrance. There were whispers and murmurs coming from the crowd, making Elliot come and check it out.

"She's pretty cute."

"I heard she's underage."

"Why is she an Adventurer then?"

"Her family's a noble."

…

"Florencia?" Elliot instantly recognized the little girl being crowded on. "What are you doing here?"

"Elliot, I'm here to repay your kindness in saving me from the ogre slash royal officer," Florencia said and handed Elliot a small box.

"You didn't have to," Elliot chuckled.

"Yeah, besides, I was the one who did all the work," Lance pouted.

Florencia didn't leave her gaze at Elliot until he took the small box. Plus he was also pressured by his guildmates since they were glaring at him, asking why he wasn't taking the gift the cute girl was offering.

"Well, thank you," Elliot gently scratched his nape, blushing.

This made Florencia gasp and look down. "I like you, Elliot!"

The guild was filled with yells, hollers and cheers. Everyone was surprised at the sudden confession.

"You go little girl!"

"Elliot's got a girlfriend!"

"Y'all, Elliot has a girlfriend now."

…

"Okay, guys, don't pressure the kids," Lance said.

"You're just jealous because you're already old and still single," one of the guild members laughed.

"Whatever," Lance said. "Girls fawn over me. They like me."

"Yeah, old women likes you," Ethan came smirking. "No one as cute as little Florencia here."

Lance pouted, watching Elliot having an awkward interaction with Florencia, not knowing what to do.

"I– err," Elliot stuttered. "Thanks?"

This little gusture made Florencia blush and look down, playing with her fingers as she did. "Okay. I will wait for your reply soon."

"Reply?" Elliot gulped, clearly nervous. "I mean–"

"Don't reject me yet," Florencia huffed. "I will show you that you need a girlfriend. I will show you."

"Florencia–"

"Hey, kid," a man with dark curly hair slung his arm over Elliot. This was Zest. He's one of the older members of the guild, joining after he became a veteran Adventurer from another guild. "I don't think you understand how cute this girl is. It's rare for Adventurers to find people to like them."

Feeling like he was pressured, Elliot sighed. He took Florencia's hand and dragged her to the side of the guild. When his guildmates were about to follow him, Frederick walked over and quirked his brow up.

"Don't anyone of you have jobs to do?" he asked, making everyone shuffle away quickly.

"You're ruining the kid's chances to become a real man," Luck walked over. "Let him feel the pressure and court his first woman."

"And end up like you?" Frederick retorted. "No thanks, Luck."

"Hey," Luck huffed, watching the guild master walk away. He looked at the door where Elliot and Florencia just walked out of. "Go get her, tiger."

"Do you like me too now?" Florencia instantly asked when they got to the side.

"No, I–" Elliot paused and breathed deeply. "I don't think I like you that way."

"What way?" the girl pouted. "You're a boy, I'm a girl. What's so wrong if we like each other?"

"Err," Elliot scratched his nape, thinking of ways to get out of the situation.

"Look at that doe, beating dragons and all kinds of beasts and then getting flustered after a girl confessed to him," Connor said, narrowing his eyes to take a closer look.

He was in the corner with Lance, Hope, and Ed, taking a peak of what was happening.

"I know right," Ed smirked. "He has incredible magic but looked so powerless in front of a girl."

"Maybe that's why he's not usually with girls?" Hope asked. "Because he's a p*ssy."

"Where in the hell did you learn that?" Connor gasped.

Hope grinned, "From Mr. Ed."

Connor narrowed his eyes at their friend. "You–"

"Shh, I'm listening here," Lance shushed them. "You're so loud."

"We are not," Connor defended but only received a glare from Lance.

"Why are you so keen on listening anyway?" Ed asked. "We look so suspicious here."

"There are just some things that I can't explain yet," Lance replied. "But I will when the time comes."

As the three listened intently, Elliot had bowed in front of Florencia. "I'm sorry."

"W-What?" Florencia pursed her lips. "Am I not pretty enough?"

"No, you're very pretty, but–"

"Am I too young? I will wait for you until you think I'm ready."

"No, it's just–"

"What then?" Florencia cried. "Why?"

Elliot took a deep breath, carefully laying out the words that would come from his mouth. "I think you're pretty, as well as any sane guy would. You are young but that's not the problem. It's just… I don't think I could enter that kind of relationship. After all, I made a promise with four certain people that all of us would stay single until we ran out of years."

"T-That's–"

"Insane, I know," Elliot chuckled, shaking his head as he remembered his friends. "When I started being an Adventurer, I only wanted power. But I realized that if I gained that power, what do I do next? Where would I go next? The answer? I don't need power. I already have it now. What I need is a life worth living."

Florencia tilted her head, "But what does that have to do with having a girlfriend?"

"Well, I think having a girlfriend would only burden me," Elliot confessed. "I mean, it's not like girls are bothersome, but I don't really know how to handle that."

Florencia slowly nodded. "Now I think I get it."

This made Elliot smile and nod. "Yeah. I hope you understand."

"I do, fully," she sighed and then something sparked in her eyes. "I think I just like you more."

"What?!"

Four voices made the two snap their heads at the direction of where the sound came from.

Lance was the first one to run, pushing Connor over and using his magic to disappear into thin air. Connor who was now in the middle of the alley looked around and when he didn't know what to do, he did his special skill.

"Connor, stop pretend fainting!" Ed called, crawling and dragging his friend by the feet.

Ed had ran after Lance, sitting in a random table and pretended talking to the Adventurers there.

"Now I see why you'd rather be with them," Florencia smirked.

"Yeah," Elliot smiled, shaking his head. "They're the best."