I Know the Secret to Surpass Level 100

Breaking the level limit allowed not only Elliot to reach greater heights with his physical abilities, but so did his skills and system. From one glance, it was evident how the style of the system drastically improved.

The colors matched Elliot's red and black aesthetic more, the letters were more readable, and the screen did not block his vision. His system broke the level threshold along with him.

"Hasty Aspire is now Reckless Faith, Lotus Blast is now Flower of Divinity," Elliot whispered to himself, referring to his most used abilities that had been upgraded. "Even the Supreme Dragon Emperor Crest has been optimized. Reduced cooldown, huh?"

While he was in the middle of his soliloquy, Malice was parading the skies with the swords that she conjured. The boy took his time to dodge all of her attacks while reading all the upgrades he got from his leveling up.

"Reckless Faith now has greater speed bonus, reduced cooldown, and even new feature," Elliot continued. "It can enhance my movement speed, attack speed, and even intellectual capabilities by tenfold. Much better than Hasty Aspire who only boosts my physical speed.

"Flower of Divinity still has eight petals, but now with one flower that guarantees a critical hit. If the enemy has been hit with 32 petals, the next flower hit will guarantee a kill," Elliot smirked. "That means all I have to do is hit the enemy with 4 consecutive attacks and the next flower would kill them."

As much as Elliot wanted to take his time reading everything that changed with his system, he had an enemy to fight. The Black Queen was now more than enraged after feeling ignored by her opponent.

"You dare forget about me while you dangle around the skies and avoid my attacks!" Malice yelled. "Have you forgotten that I am a Candidate for the next Absolute? It wasn't easy tricking Sariel. That Angel was a headache. But it was all worth it, it should've been if you didn't mess around with me!"

Malice growled. Her body exuded a deadly aura, covering her entire skin with black energy. The energy poured like water, the woman's body melting along with it. Initially, Elliot thought that the woman just gave up. He immediately stopped that thought when the ground shook with immense power.

"What's happening?" Elliot grunted, seeing the power that the shaking was brought. He could only look around to see the buildings on the nearby town collapsing from the shock. "Malice, where are you?!"

Midnight, Sun, and Francoise evacuated from the site. They left Elliot to deal with Malice, knowing that they would only drag him down if they stayed.

"Malice has gotten stronger than the last time I saw her," Francoise said. "But it would be a hassle for Elliot if we stay. He'll need as much space as possible if he wants to fight Malice head on. That woman has tricks up her sleeves, ones that could really pose a threat."

"But Elliot can handle her," Midnight said as she stared right in front of her, not looking at her guardian. "He's a boy who has the potential to become the greatest being in all the realms. We should just trust him."

"I agree," Sun said. "That boy has come a long way. He even broke Level 100, which means he chose the right path."

Francoise sighed, looking back one more time at the scene. "I just hope that he's truly grown."

As the three reached the borders of the castle, a faint light caught their attention. A small woman was running away from the castle, on her hands was a small wooden frame that contained a photo of a woman.

"What's that?" Francoise asked the woman as he landed. She was frightened, looking back and then sprinting away from the man.

Midnight landed right in front of her, making the woman scream and fall back. Sun was there to catch her, spreading his arms to fully catch the woman before she could fall.

"Who are you?" the woman asked. She wore a black shoal over her head that covered her nose and mouth, leaving only her green eyes to be seen. "I'm just here to leave with this portrait of the princess. I'm not doing anything wrong."

"You can relax, madam," Francoise chuckled. "We are your allies. From the moment I felt your presence, I knew something was odd and I just had to inspect."

"Something odd?" the woman asked. "But I have never done anything wrong. I'm just here to leave and exit the palace forever."

"That photo seem to have a curse, no, actually it's a very potent spell," Midnight said. "It's not dark or light, not elemental, but... spatial."

The woman cried and kneeled, hugging the frame with her frail body. She was old. Her knees were weak, and her skin was wrinkly, yet she was trying her best to protect the portrait.

"Worry not," Francoise chuckled. "We are allies of Princesses Melissa and her son. She should be safe inside there, yeah?"

The woman looked up and saw that the three were not a threat to her. She bawled, but still lumped while hugging the painting. "My sisters... they died as they cast the spell just so the princess would be safe. When the prince battled with the queen, my sisters and I went to her chambers to set her free.

"She was unwilling. Oh, how the cruel queen broke her spirit. I pity the princess, but I pity myself more. I could not do anything to protect her, or the ones before her," the woman sighed. "But it was as I swear to the prince of Angels, I will protect princess as muh as I can, with as much powers as I could muster."

"And you protected her well," Francoise said. "You did your best and it was more than enough, thank you. My name is Francoise, and you?"

"Elena," the woman said. "I am the nanny of Malice's daughters. There were four of us, but the others... I couldn't save them."

"And the princess is inside that painting?" Midnight asked. "Let's not summon her here."

Elena nodded. She let Sun hold the portrait and Francoise to carry her. Their plan was to run to the others before they release Melissa from the seal. There, it wouldn't raise Malice's suspicion while he battles with Elliot.

"The prince," Elena thought out loud. "He looked just like his mother and father. I could not believe I would see him."

Francoise chuckled. "That boy has much more than their blood. He has their hope and future. He's not just the Prophecized Boy, he's the Boy of the Future."

"I'd like to think so," Elena thought. "Then we'd all be free from Malice's monstrosities. She's —"

A black sword was launched from nowhere. Sun immediately noticed this and blocked the attack by making his wings harder than steel. He covered Elena with his wings and stopped the attack.

"The nanny, leaving? That's not right," Malice's voice echoed throughout the skies. "No worker leaves the castle. I will make sure of that."

"This woman is crazy," Francoise sighed. "Where are you?"

Malice chuckled, then erupted in a fit of laugter. "I am... the sky."

The entire skies darkened, with four gigantic eyes opening from the center. "I am... a god."