I Know The Secret To Surpass Level 100

Daniel stepped in front of Florencia with a wide grin. "I accept the challenge."

"Oh, you're on," Florencia crossed her arms, giving the other team an intimidating vibe.

"Okay," Daniel only smiled and turned. "But, just know that we don't hold back."

"No," Elliot said sternly. He pinched both of their ears and dragged them up. "Stop it."

"Ouch, ouch," Florencia groaned. "Okay, fine."

Elliot let go of their ears and crossed his arms. "What were you both thinking?"

"Tell that other kid to know his–"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Elliot," Daniel said with a frown. He played with his fingers in embarrassment, looking down to hide his face.

"Aw, Daniel," Elliot cooed. "It's not your fault."

This made Florencia scoff and the people around her drop their jaws. The girl groaned and turned, walking out of the fake beach.

"Florencia, wait," Viper ran to her, bowing and excused himself beforehand. "I'll go talk to her."

"We need to do something about this," Lance narrowed his eyes. "Come with me tonight."

–

The night came and it was time for bed. It was already late and Elliot decided to head to bed. Daniel's plan on playing with him all day succeeded, making him frustrated the night that came after.

In the dark halls of their inn, several people were walking tiptoed. They roamed the hallway with only the light of the moon to guide them.

"Why do we think Elliot's been trapped in a trance again?" Ee whispered. "Do we have a proof?"

"I'm half elf," Lance whispered to him. "My elven tribe doesn't have pointy ears like the others but I know a Forest Folk spell when I sense one."

Lance's friends looked at each other, shrugging after realizing that Lance had a point. His mother came from the Forest Folks, a similar magic would trigger his senses just like what he said it would. The only way he didn't sense the spell casted on his father was because it was from Malice, it was essentially from Hell.

"Let me get this straight," Connor said. "You're half elf, has both Dark and Light affinities, a Faint that keeps both affinities from killing each other, and you're a prince."

"I'm your friend," Lance shrugged with a slight smirk. "How about we just label me that?"

"And now let us label what magic they put on Elliot," Ed said. He opened Elliot's door, the old rusty hinges creaked as the wooden door slowly opened. 

"What counter do we have?" Connor asked, earning him a flicker in the forehead from Ed's fingers. 

"Who do you think I am? Magic boosting Edward?" Ed quirked his brow up and placed his right hand on Elliot's forehead. His metal sleeve shoned dimly under the light from the moon that passed through the windows. "Nullify."

The mist from his hand lit up with its dark purple color. It trailed from Elliot's head down to his body, another mist with a green color slowly seeped out of Elliot's body.

"What is this?" Connor scrunched his face in confusion. He leaned down Elliot's unconscious body and took a whiff of the green mist. "It smells alluring."

"Okay, you're our tester," Lance said. "What do you feel?"

"I think Daniel is a really nice person," Connor replied. His voice was flat, sounding like he was part of a low-budget play. "I want to take care of him."

Lance pulled Connor away to stop him from falling deeper into the trance. He slapped him gently twice just to wake him up.

"The slap was unnecessary," Connor groaned.

"There's something else here," Ed gasped in panic. "There's another energy coming from his body. It's strong, but I can nullify it."

"Then do it," Lance ordered. "That guild must've placed that on Elliot earlier. Take care of him, please."

"Got it," Ed replied and placed his other hand on Elliot's head. "Nullify."

A bright white light exploded from Elliot's chest. The light was so bright that everyone in the room had to cover their eyes. It took a few moments before the light died down. 

"What happened?!" Elliot gasped, sitting up and looking at everyone in the room. "What are you doing here?"

"You were under a trance," Lance said without hesitation. "We don't know who the culprit is, but it was from a Forest Folk. And there was a bright white light."

"F-Forest Folk?" Elliot knit his brows, falling into the pits of confusion. "Do you mean Lovely?"

"I didn't mention any names," Lance said. "We were just worried about you."

Elliot fell back into his bed and sighed. "What kind of trance was I in?"

"We tested it on Connot and it looked like it's a spell that makes you think highly of Daniel," Ed said. "He mentioned the kid about two times, and both times he sounded like Daniel was his king or something."

"Really?" Elliot asked. All four of his friends nodded, making him frown. "I'm sorry guys. I must've missed the spell or something."

"You need to apologize to your students though," Lance said. "They came all the way here to see you. You have a vacant day and you spent it with people you just met. How do you think they'll feel?"

"Probably not good," Elliot frowned. "I'll talk to them tomorrow. We'll spend the day strolling Solaguer. That should be nice."

"Do it then," Lance said before exiting the room with the others. Elliot was left in his bed, lying on the comfort of his sheets, looking at the ceiling.

"Why would Daniel do it?"

–

"P-Please stop," Daniel cried. His hands were tied to a cross while a blade slashed his arm, a small container awaiting for his blood to pour. "It's been days… I need to rest."

"Oh, no, no, no Danny boy," the woman who threatened them clicked her tongue. "You agreed to do this. Now you do it."

She turned to Daniel's guildmates who were trembling in the corner. One could see the fear and hopelessness in their eyes as they watched their friend suffer.

"Good acting today," the woman praised. "You deserve to know my name.. And that is Brazen, the Angel of Mimicry."