I Know the Secret to Surpass Level 100

Chapter 173: A Vampire

In Viper's eyes, everything felt like it was on slow motion. The snake turned, showing its rhorny tail that was coming towards him but he couldn't react on time.

Before he could even take a second to blink, a figure appeared in front of him. Elliot raised his sword to block the tail of the snake, slamming his boots to the ground to avoid losing his balance.

"Hasty Aspire!" Elliot yelled and spun, slashing his sword to deflect the tail away. When the snake felt the immense pressure coming from Elliot it sensed fear and dug back itself under the ground.

"Are you alright?" Elliot turned to Viper, touching the younger boy's forehead and tapping the parts of his body. "Viper, do not do something like that ever again."

"I-I" Viper was speechless. 

The thing they told him that life flashed before your very eyes a moment before death was true. He saw everything his life in that split-second time.

"Now I feel how everyone feels when I rush suddenly," Elliot chuckled and ruffled Viper's hair. "You weren't hurt, right?"

Viper slowly shook his head, "You're not angry?"

"Why would I be angry?" Elliot tilted his head. "I was just surprised. I never thought you would do such a thing. That was very dangerous, you know oh."

Viper wrapped his arms around Elliot, feeling the tear well in his eyes slowly. "Thank you."

"Don't worry about it," Elliot tapped Viper's back a couple of times. "You're okay. Everything is okay."

"Vi!" Florencia yelled, running to them with Christina trailing her. "Vi, what were you thinking? That snake was big enough to swallow you and you decided to be chased by it?"

"Come on," Elliot chuckled and ruffled Florencia's hair this time. "Just give the man some credit for distracting the snake, yeah? He did saved the villagers."

"I guess, yeah," Florencia scratched the back of her head, embarrassed by her sudden outburst. "I guess I was just scared. Vi could've died."

"I almost did," Elliot whispered to himself, closing the notification.

'Supreme Dragon Emperor Immunity Crest activated.'

When things had slowly calmed down, Viper pulled Florencia to the side. They waited for everyone else to walk back to camp so it would just be them.

"Hey, Flo," Viper whispered. "Something weird happened earlier."

"What? The part that you just ran and screamed for the beast to follow you?" Florencia retorted. "Seriously though. Do not do that again. You're going to"

"Yeah, I won't," Viper rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Seriously though, the snake had thorns in its tail. I could swear that the horns hit Elliot, all of them. Yet he came out safe."

"Can't we just be happy that he's alive aftet saving you?" Florencia crossed her arms. "What is your point with this anyway?"

"I think Elliot is immortal," Viper confessed. "Or at least invincible. I mean, before I closed by eyes to brace for impact, the thorns were the only thing that was on my mind. The force from the tail, I think I would survive that. But those thorns? I could never."

"Maybe with his speed, he was able to block the thorns?" Florencia muttered, placing her finger on her chin. "He's fast, you know that. Maybe he has reached that speed?"

"Whatever he is" Christina trailed off that made the two froze in spot. "We can just safe to assume that he's hiding things for our own good."

"H-How long have you been there?" Viper asked, fear in his eyes. "Don't tell Mr. Elliot about anything I said, okay?"

"I won't," Christina said. "But you have to drop your suspicions. The man is helping us in any way he can."

"Okay," Florencia sighed out. "I guess we can agree to at least respect his decisions, right?"

"Right," Christina said. "And before you think of anything mad again, ask me beforehand. I may be younger than you two but I have an earlier wake up call from life."

"About that," Florencia crossed his arms. "Why are you so strong? You're already at Sacred-tier and yet you're younger than us."

"That's because I've been Adventuring for 4 years," Christina said. "And in those years, I had my guards take care of everything. I never had to actually go into a fight. Just deal some damage and then level up. It wasn't the best times of my life."

"Lucky you," Florencia said. "Because though I enjoyed a bit of freedom, I didn't actually enjoyed convoys for quests. I actually grinded my way up to this level. And it's just a matter of time before I reach Sacred too."

"That's nice," Christina said.

They both turned to Viper who had just passed Rare tier. He chuckled awkwardly and scratched the back of his head. "Well, you know. I couldn't enjoy the luxury of money, so I didn't have the time to go on other jobs except helping my grandmother in the shop."

"Must be tough," Christina said with a sad smile. "But it made you tougher than us. Among the three of us, you're the strongest and the bravest, being able to get through such a hard life."

"I don't think so," Viper pouted. "I bet you didn't enjoy leveling up without having to exert effort, right?"

Christina shook her head. "I don't think I liked the idea."

Viper nodded and turned to Florencia, "And Flo, you said before that you felt neglected, did you liked that?"

When the girl shook her head, Viper clapped his hands once.

"So we all had it rough. We're all strong, albiet the difference in our situations," Viper said. "And I think Mr. Elliot saw that in us, that was why he took us in his care. He saw the three of us having the potential of becoming strong and he wanted us to fulfill that."

"Maybe," Elliot said and walked over to them. "I heard everything. And it's about time I tell you something."

The three gulped as the older boy approached them. Though dark, his smile shone under the moonlight, his face barely lit but the smile was clear. Yet it was intimidating as he took his steps forward.

"But you have to promise me one thing," Elliot said, leaning close. "That you must never say this secret to anyone."

The three leaned in towards him, ears wide open for the words that came out of his mouth.

"I'm a vampire, rawr."