Honey, I've Leveled the Kids [Family-Focus, LitRPG - COMPLETE]

"We just had a boss fight!" I shouted at the kids. "Who triggered it?"

Neither of the kids answered as the ground shook so hard pine needles fell on top of my head. Naiad covered her hair, the flower crown broken and dangling. I grabbed it, remembering the stones stacked by the large tree.

"Put it back!" I ordered in desperation. She had to undo whatever she did to trigger this fight.

"I didn't do anything," she countered.

"Is this part of your quest?" My raised voice cracked under the adrenaline pumping through me. I doomed the kids.

Before she answered, antlers crackled and formed out of the bark of the evergreen right by us. A crooked nose chiseled its way out of the tree's trunk. The nose grew into the angular head where the antlers connected. Bloody red moss draped down from the four arms as the creature pushed its bipedal body out of the tree. Jagged and sharp points, like pasted-on bark, covered its body while claws stuck off each limb. The angular face opened its pitch-black eyes that did not even reflect the daylight.

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[Level 12 Boss: Lady Branchelot! Type: Ent (mythical)

Description: The guardian of this forest, protector of all plants.

It accepts all souls and bodies to feed its allies.]

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I yanked Naiad's arm as the boss gave chase. The Shrimp Guild did not have a proper tank.

I didn't have a shield. I had a fish in my arms.

"We need to go back and restock to fight!" I called out, hoping Triangle heard me.

We should've done it instead of diving further in. The thrill of exploring a new zone and battling unfamiliar monsters had distracted me completely. I was too desperate to finish Naiad's class quest. I needed to do a better job planning so I was prepared for the kids.

I stumbled and let go of Naiad and Goldy to catch myself. My hand skidded on the ground, and roots lashed out at me to ensnare my hand. It forced me to a stop with a twisting pain in my wrist.

A level twelve boss had my pitifully small level five arm by its mere roots. I hacked at the ground with my axe and the creepy white tendrils reached up at my arm and my legs. I got up as fast as I could and rubbed off any roots that crawled along my clothes as if they were millipedes.

My veteran gaming experience shouted at me to turn and run away, across the dam rodent's bridge, and get the heck out of the boss zone as fast as possible.

Easy, if it was only me.

One kid stood near me, the other was missing.

We had to stick together to find Triangle.

Lady Branchelot transformed out of the shadow of the evergreen tree. All four of her limbs smashed down on the ground, shaking it. Behind the boss in the woods, a little gnome stumbled to the ground with a cry, squeezing tight the fish I dropped earlier.

Naiad pulled her bow out and aimed at the arm of Lady Branchelot's that reached for Triangle. This close, it was a solid, powerful hit as the arrow imbedded into the bark covered limb.

The ent didn't even flinch at the damage. It snatched up Triangle, its claws stretching long and tightening around the gnome. Triangle squirmed to get out of its grasp and cried, but only Goldy dropped to the ground.

"Dad!" he cried.

It was not the scream of joy playing a game, but of pure fear.

"Here!" I shouted back. But I needed to be there by him, destroying the guardian of the forest.

A torch appeared in my hand from my inventory. Running forward, I swung at the roots reaching with the fire, and hacked at branches that reached for me. Controlled by the ent or not, they were in the way of me and my child.

A five-minute timer counted down on the torch until it would extinguish.

Jeez, I need a fire spell.

An arrow zipped by my ear and hit the head of ent. A speck of health lowered, but it wasn't enough. Naiad needed better arrows and more strength.

One branchy limb of the boss held Triangle, tightening its claws around his small character.

"Let go!" I ordered, hitting the arm, but keeping a distance from hitting Triangle.

Triangle's health lowered with each passing second the monster held him. His screams scared me so much, I had to remind myself it was a game; he wasn't getting truly hurt. But they were still real screams. I got him this fear.

Another dagger hacked at the beast's back. Naiad gripped the handle with one hand and held the monster's stomach with another.

"No!" I screamed at her as I hacked again at the arm. "Stay back and use fire!"

I needed her to stay safe, to only risk me.

Lady Branchelot kicked at my feet. Claws reached to scratch at my chest. Each swipe taking a chunk of my health. I danced further back while looking up at Triangle and trying to watch for roots underfoot.

Left, right, and straight at my face, the three clawed arms came. The small level seven gnome didn't hinder Lady Branchelot's assault.

Naiad didn't argue or listen to me. I was too busy dancing into the glade to stop her. She leaped onto the limb that was wrapped around her brother and stabbed over and over into the ent. I couldn't attack with Naiad there on the arm.

My movement slowed as I entered the grass of the glade. It felt like running through water. The clawed attacks switched between me and Naiad. She clambered around, failing to avoid the oncoming hits. Only determined to free Triangle.

The sound of branches snapping filled the air. With a sinister cackle, the creature observed the minor damage to its arm while continuing to hurt Triangle. A bit of bark fell off the arm, exposing the cream fresh raw wood exposed underneath.

My heel kicked into the back of a stump. I stepped up on it, and jumped off to get onto the ent, swinging the torch at the monster.

Everyone screamed.

Naiad in frustration as it took three stabs on the monster to lower its health. Triangle in fear and panic as his own health lowered below a third.

"Fight me!" I grunted as I swung the torch at its head.

Lady Branchelot noticed the flames of the torches as they slammed into her face.

The monster was a good meter taller than me and my jumping momentum continued as I slammed into its lean body to knock it over. The smell of dirt and crushed pine surrounded me. My arms tangled with Lady Branchelot's and we fought against each other. I had the upper ground. While kneeling on it, I smashed the torch at its body again. Each hit lowering its health more than my axe did.

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It's weak to fire. My previous instinct was right.

Three of its limbs reached up at me, trapping me into a birdcage. Leaving only one open area, the limb lying on the ground where Triangle was. I tumbled toward him, finally having him in my reach. His health turned yellow, and he didn't move as I sat on the elbow of the boss.

Lady Branchelot didn't care that I was there. The evil cackle escaped from a jagged part on its face that could only be a mouth.

"Let go!" My words fell on dull ears.

My attacks lacked any sharpness or damage. The monster still had eighty-five percent of its health. Naiad stabbed at any part of the body she could hit. The ent ignored her.

I gave her instructions. "Use a healing scroll on Triang-oof"

The monster's claws pierced into my shoulder and knocked me down next to Triangle.

The distraction cost me my health.

The ground shook again as I heaved to stay on top of the arm, getting sliced by its claws, and slowing the damage done to my son. Out of the ground sprouted thin, white, young roots. They latched onto the ent instead of me.

With only two minutes left on my torch, I aimed at its head again.

The ent hissed, "You smell of death and ash."

I heard and felt the horrifying voice as the words vibrated off its chest. Leaves sprouted off its shoulders and covered the area on the ent's face that I burned earlier. Its health is rising back to ninety percent.

The trees nearby rustled and its voice came again.

"You shall pay for what you've done," it told me.

Triangle's health turned red as it entered the last five percent.

Naiad finally listened and stopped using her dagger. A healing scroll appeared in her hands, and she tore it to restore all of Triangle's hit points, her own, and half of mine.

Because of her attacks, and tearing the spell, she became rooted in the spot by the living roots. The white roots, cold and clammy, snaked around her body, constricting her with a muddy grip. She screamed, scrambling to find her knife.

I had to get them both out of here. We had never trained for fights like this.

"No! No! No!" I screamed as I waved the torch over toward Naiad, chasing the roots away from her.

A clawed hand stabbed again at my distracted self. My body doubled over and rolled off as it tried to catch its breath from the shock of pain.

Naiad was free and yanked the axe out of my hand to hack at the arm holding Triangle. He had full health.

The monster turned to look at her and I coughed out, "You're mine."

Naiad sliced down again on the arm.

It broke with a crack. Triangle and the arm flopped on the ground. Lady Branchelot's health dropped.

The ent let out a wail that sounded as if wood was going through a saw machine. It shoved me off and backed up, twisting its head in jerking, creaking motions as it check out its surroundings.

I really wish I had a chainsaw right now instead of a torch and nothing. Naiad still held onto my axe. I dragged another torch from the inventory as my second weapon, desperate to end this fight and save my kids.

Claws of the ent filled my sight as it launched back at me with level twelve speed.

"Crap!" I cried in surprise, but fear didn't take me. I put my hands up to block, planning to grab its antlers.

Before I reacted, a fire arrow landed on the moss of the ent's hand and crackled up along the beast, saving me.

Naiad stood a few feet back, face hard set as she pulled back another shot.

I was afraid for my daughter. As a ranger, she was too close to her target.

The ent chased after her, and she ran through the woods. She had more hit points than Triangle and acted as bait. I squatted next to the half-gnome and yanked the roots and limb that wrapped around his small frame, relieved to see he was alive and safe.

Triangle reached out for a hug, but I pushed back, focused on getting him to safety by pointing to the evergreen tree. "Place a timed bomb there and get further into the glade."

The gnome froze on the spot, head shaking.

I reached into Triangle's fanny pack, searching for one. I wanted to kill this boss. "Then give it to me and run."

A bomb appeared with a thirty-second timer from his inventory into my hands. "I didn't mean to start it now!"

"Sorry!" Triangle cried, red in the face, but his health was still full.

"Just go!" I shouted, hoping the ent heard me.

I threw the bomb directly under the evergreen. It bounced off the naked trunk of the tree. Its flesh exposed from where Lady Branchelot pulled herself from it.

[Guild Chat]

[Boulder: Lead it back to the evergreen. There's a bomb under it.]

"Seriously! Just shout!" Naiad cried. Her pink hair and shouting were too obvious in the woods, making it easy for me to spot her.

Lady Branchelot found her, too. "You must die. To pay the debt that is due: your life force."

The ent created an echo cry that made even the trees wave to the sound. Its antlers moved in and out with the spell.

"It's calling reinforcements! Group up!" I explained.

I rather we use the bomb to hurt the guardian. But we had to prepare for what was coming. I had an endless inventory, and I couldn't find anything useful to defend us. Triangle ran out to the field and let out a scream as the dam rodents attacked him with water. Naiad ran under the evergreen tree and toward me.

Twelve seconds remained on the bomb. She was moving too fast for the plan to work.

But not fast enough to get away from the new enemies. All sorts of small critters ran down and out of the forest, hunting her. Rabbits, foxes, and even a few deer chased after her.

A few curse words ran through my mind as I charged toward Naiad and a counting down bomb with no shield or weapon to help.

"It's just a game!" I said, trying to comfort her.

The words were for reassuring me too as I rushed forward with only one working torch. If only I wasn't a tank and had real sharp weapons. I needed to do reliable damage to save the kids. "Run past me and help your brother."

She finally listened to me.

Two meters away from the tree, I stopped, seeing the timer on the bomb. The deer changed direction to come at me as the closer target now. Chipmunks climbed over Naiad as she yanked them and threw them away as she passed by me. I braced myself and grabbed the antlers of a buck. The force shoved me backward, my heels dug into the ground. My flaming torch fell to the grasses. Now I finally had a meat shield.

Two seconds left, and the ent ran under the shade of the evergreen.

"Over here Woody!" I called for its attention to delay it.

The timer hit zero.

The shouts and explosions all blurred together. Pine needles and dirt shards flew up as the ground shook. Bark flew and my ears rattled.

The boss's health dropped below half and the deer in front of me kicked to get away, but it was too weak compared to me after the bomb explosion. I still had more than half my health. I punched to kill the deer and get the experience.

"Everyone okay?" I called out, but didn't turn around to check on the Shrimp Guild.

A quick glance at the nearby guild stat information showed the kids still lived. They should be able to handle a few forest critters while I took care of the bigger prey.

Lady Branchelot scraped at the evergreen tree, its claws merged and wrapped around the trunk, absorbing it. Tick by tick, her health returned. "Take my energy," the guardian hissed at the plant.

"No, you don't!" I charged and tackled her like a defensive lineman.

My ears were still ringing, but I felt the vibrating scream the ent made as I hit it with my fists. The ent hardly moved, still attached to the evergreen, trying to recover. A second arm snapped, weakened by the bomb, but Lady Branchelot still held on with its remaining two limbs, white roots slithered to connect to her. The boss's health recovery slowed.

"Finish it," it's voice cracked.

Hit over hit, I smashed at Lady Branchelot for what it did to my family. Its jaw splintered, making the health drop and stop regenerating, but still not at zero. I grabbed a nearby rock, and smashed down on the antlers of the ent, to disarm her from impaling me as it thrashed about.

A limb broke free of the evergreen, its claws reached for my neck.

In its last percentage of health, it summoned the roots again. Only a few popped out of the ground, smaller and younger than the ones before. They tickled at my ankles, trying to make me stop.

A fire arrow smashed into the skull, but wasn't enough to kill it. It took one last hit from my stone to finish it and grant those nearby a new achievement. The music for the boss crescendo and faded out as the monster fighting in the background still continued. It was too distracting, I went into my features to turn off the music effects of the game.

Everyone ignored the achievements to focus on the remaining monsters fighting. The dam rodents drenched both Naiad and Triangle. Triangle countered with holding Goldy in his hands and squirting them back. I had no clue how both the small half-gnome and the fish survived, but because they did, it made the glory and excitement of this battle so much more. I laughed and felt relieved as I hit the next woodland mob with my bare hands while I searched for my axe and monitored the kids' fighting.

Naiad did the actual damage to the remaining monsters. She was down to three arrows fighting the last few dam rodents, but she would be fine with her knife. She had leveled twice since coming here. Triangle only leveled once. I leveled three times.

I wanted to do this again. Have more of these epic fights. It was like back in Globe of Battlecraft all over again with epic raids and boss fights. I could easily train Naiad and Triangle to create a meta team built like a glass cannon and buffed by a support. Our damage would be up and would be unstoppable for fights.

This was the most leveling we've ever done in a single day. We should've left Fanamel sooner. We had to go back now to restock, and I would grab myself some axes to increase our damage output.

"Great job everyone. We did it. You were both amazing in taking out a guardian Let's regroup in town. Skip your announcements until then." I instructed. "We can't afford any more one off distractions. We were lucky to survive this."

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[You have Unlocked a Legendary Quest

Root and Seeds of the Problem

Description: You've slain a guardian of a god, causing a disruption in the balance of their worlds. Not that the gods are known for their balanced number of blessings and curses.

Reward: Title and abilities for Jaguar of Chiliam

Time remaining: 9 days 23 hours 54 minutes]

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