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

Chapter 35 - Healing Potions



Calmly, I repeated my question with less flying coconut water. "Where did you get that much coin?"

"I put items on the market. They sell when you go a coin cheaper than others. I noticed I get more coin back when I put more items up. I only do it once a day," Tristan explained.

We had only been playing for a few days, but he had a ton of money. "What potion do you sell the most?"

"The healing potions sell for a lot." He ran over and grabbed another coconut water and came back to his seat.

His face was bright with excitement. The fear of earlier was gone. So it isn't the game that's scaring him. It was the monsters. Lady Branchelot fight had been too much. A reminder I picked the wrong server again. I had to keep him safe, which meant I couldn't be sight-seeing through hell.

Listening to him now, I didn't know if taking him out of the city was the right move.

"Oh!" Tristan exclaimed to get my attention. "My favorite is combining two potions."

"What's it called?" I leaned on the table.

"I call it Shadow Disappear," he beamed.

"Does it make fog?"

"Nope. Lots of bright and colorful lights show up like fireworks. Without the sound." Tristan stuffed his mouth with his pretzel and wiggled his fingers to emphasize the effects.

A flash bomb.

"Oh, I also do liquid band aids. It says it stops bleeding effects. I like I can help people getting hurt by monsters."

"Wow, that's really cool that you can make those. You've grown a lot since we last played together." I titled my glass near his.

Tristan grinned as he tapped my glass with his. "Can we eat the ice cream now?"

I ruffled his brown mop head. "Sure. Let me get the spoons and show you how to make a sundae. You can make a recipe card for it."

"Oh! So cool. I like making them."

He ran and got the paper, but took a stop in the bathroom.

I took the chance to put a few dishes away from the dishwasher. When I got to the plates, I noticed my phone in the cabinet, face down. Now would be the best time to look to see if there was any more news. It was a while since I last checked it.

There could be someone talking about my stream on a forum, praising me. I was getting fame with this legendary quest, and soon I would be more powerful. Boss raids or sieges would be the next step. With my stream getting popular, there would be invites coming into my inbox asking me to help slay bosses and guardians. I could see how my stats were with just turning on my phone quickly.

My finger tapped next to the case of my upside down phone with anticipation.

I jerked my hand back far from the phone and closed the cabinet shut, backing up.

"I didn't slip. I'm okay. It's only a game." I whispered the mantra. "It's not my game or life."

Today wasn't about me. It was about Tristan and his fear of death. I had to make amends for pushing him aside for so many days. I focused on the dishes, ignoring the black phone in the cabinet.

Tristan came back, looking pale.

"You alright bud?" Concern rose in my voice. Did I miss something else?

"Yep. I want to make a card and eat ice cream." He grabbed a spoon, already digging into the soft vanilla creamy goodness.

He hummed to himself, like a kid pretending to not hide something. Both kids had a bad habit of lying lately. With the good mood set, it was best to get to the point of this. I passed him a peeled, under-ripe banana. I was too full to eat another bite.

I sat down next to him around the table. "Sounds like you enjoy the game. But are there parts you don't like?"

"The coin system. I never have enough."

Seconds-Over teaching a valuable life lesson there about money.

Keeping my eyes on him, I said, "Be careful how you spend it. But if you ever want more. Let me know–except for the dragon claw. I can't afford that. Is there anything else you don't like or fear?"

Tristan remained focused on sundae making instead of me. He wrote each step down on his card, then squeezed out the chocolate sauce, converting the vanilla ice cream to be the backdrop of his dessert. "I.. don't want to be afraid."

He shook the sprinkles aggressively, scattering on the table. Once done, he chomped down on the sugar mix, not excited, but mad and not elaborating on more.

I put the ice cream away and sat back down, ready to talk. "You know, getting afraid happens a lot to me, too. It's what makes me brave. It's not easy."

"What made you afraid?"

"The last fight your sister and I did yesterday," I said earnestly. "But winning that fight is fun for me. But it doesn't seem like it is for you?"

Tristan only shook his head as chocolate covered his upper lip.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

I worked to find a similar ground to connect with him. "Hearing you went to the market alone in town, I got nervous. But look, you do it often, and you are fine!"

"But it's only people in town." Triangle tilted his head, spoon out full of ice cream, waiting to be delivered.

"Exactly."

I didn't want to scare him further off what I was afraid of: that a player could hurt him in town one day. I also didn't want him to make the game bigger than it was. It should only be an adventure family fun time. Quests he could handle and one's Elaine wanted.

"It's in a game that can feel real. But you can always escape. You always have a choice, to play, or not to. To see what will happen if you face your fear, or turn back and do something else." I said. He could choose to turn it off and I would follow.

Tristan added peanuts to his sundae. Munching, thinking, and processing his emotions. It was all his brain could handle at this age. I gave him an extra cherry before standing up and putting the last of the clean dishes away. The battle against the growing dishes was finally turning the other way. Today we will regain the lost land called counter space again. The day was a success.

With the sink sparkling after a scrub down from me, and one counter filled with drying dishes, it was close to eleven. I turned and looked at Tristan, seeing him use his spoon to stir his colorful, milky mixture of melted ice cream. The banana untouched.

"Bud, you feeling alright?" I asked.

"I want more, but my stomach hurts." He grabbed at his abdomen.

"This happens when you eat too many sweets. Now you know. Drink some water and rest. I'm going to check in on my work."

He got up from the table, but went to the hallway instead of the family room to watch television.

The doorbell rang, setting Ghost off on a barking rant. The dog tore through the house to get to the front door and defend it from the polite intruder.

I gave a batch of pointless commands to the riled up dog. "Back. Sit. No, sit and stay!"

I peeked through to see an old man in his mid sixties with a short beard and bald head. Hands buried in the zip up vest he wore no matter what the season, while wearing a jean long sleeve shirt. I opened the door to let him in. "Uncle Rick, what are you doing here?"

"The ma'am sent me." Rick nodded and stepped into the family room.

"Beth? What's this about?"

After studying me for a bit and the house, he grunted. "You're fine. Where's Tristan?"

"Bathroom. Mind telling me what's going on? Is Beth okay?" Dread slipped into my voice. I jinxed this day, thinking today was a day I won.

"Yeah. Fussing that her husband didn't answer his phone." Rick shortly said.

I laughed, "Beth worries too much. Come on in. We got a bunch of snacks today for Tristan."

"No school?" Rick inquired, pausing in the hallway by the closed bathroom door.

"I took him out. Tristan will be out in a minute."

"You forgot to tell the school that. They called Beth." Rick finally used enough words to explain the situation.

"Crap. I took him out because he wasn't feeling well. Excuse me, let me grab my phone." I walked past him, annoyed the school again defaulted to Beth as the primary parent.

"Before you get too crossed. She also sent me here to help fix what's in there." Rick pointed at the bathroom door.

I frowned. "I can take care of my kid. He doesn't need fixing."

He waved at me to calm down. "I'm talking about the sink."

"Oh, uh sorry. Yeah, it's broken. Thank you though, I got it. You're retired, and it hurts your back to lie on the ground like that."

"Not yours. Beth wants you to have some help. Says that you're slipping." He pointed at me.

My jaw tightened at hearing someone else now accuse me of messing up. I could handle this situation and clean up my mess to prove I wasn't getting addicted again, the game only helping me unwind. "I'm working on it. If she wants to direct the household, she can do it here in person. And, I'm not slipping. It's why I took Tristan out of school to patch things up. We're good. It's why I need to fix my own messes."

I walked over to the door. "Thanks, but I will talk to Beth on my own. This is my family's matter and my mess to clean up."

Even through the mustache of Rick's beard, I could see his lips twist with disapproval. That there was more. "You're my family. If ya need me, I'm around. I'll let Beth know the family is fine."

"You're right. Thank you. I appreciate you coming out this way," I told Rick with a smile.

Rick started to walk to the door when Tristan shouted from the bathroom. "Hey Dad!"

Those words caused me to pause. Nothing good starts with "hey dad".

Rick paused, but I waved him on away from my family problems. He dealt with it enough from me as a kid. Plus, I wanted to prove to Beth I could do it, that I wasn't getting addicted to the game again. I had complete control.

"What?" I called out to Tristan.

"How come toilet rolls can't go down the toilet?"

I grumbled as the day went down the toilet. First was controlling what I could by fixing my own messes. "Please tell Beth things are fine."

"Hm," he grunted. "I've got a snake in the truck."

"That's a good idea. I've got mine under the sink already," I chuckled, to make light of the situation. "Not my first rodeo, you know that. You taught me. I need to shut off the water first, right?"

"Ya," Rick answered. "Then snake and clean."

"Then snake and clean." I repeated his words. "I'm good."

"Communicating goes both ways," Rick said from the door. "You got to listen and talk."

"I'll keep that in mind," I earnestly told him. "Thank you again for keeping an eye on me and offering to help."

Rick was only trying to help. With those words, he left, and I turned my focus back to my kid.

"Dad?" Tristan opened the door, looking sweaty and pale.

"Woah, you sit down on the couch, grab the garbage bin. I'll be there in a moment." I could hear the water flowing on the toilet and see it acting like a new fountain.

With the tools under the sink, and the mop, since I couldn't find a clean towel, I could clean up everything fairly quickly.

"Okay, next task to get under control, your Mother." I told Tristan with a smile.

He was holding my phone and sitting upright on the couch, his skin color looking better.

"I ate too many sweets." Tristan confessed to the jury on the other line.

Crap, he was already talking to her. How did he find my phone? She didn't need to know everything. With a plastered on smile, I walked and sat next to him.

Through the speaker, I heard Beth frown. "Hmm, so that's how you got sick. Was there a parent around to stop you?"

"No, Dad ate with me too." Tristan said happily. "Are you coming home tonight?"

"No honey. I'm sorry for how long this is taking. We'll do a nice vacation on the holidays-when you're supposed to be out of school. Can you get your dad on the phone?"

"Here." I said.

"Take it off speaker." Beth ordered, no longer concerned about her cute son. I left the family room and went to the kitchen table.

"Why didn't you call the school that he was skipping?" She said, enunciating each word like I was an idiot.

It made me hate talking to her right now. "I hear you. I'll try to do better."

"Did you get the kitchen cleaned?" Beth was grasping for control in a situation she had none and I was her lifeline.

"I finished. Dishes are on the counter drying."

"Thanks. Put them away before I get home. He got sick because you gave him too many sweets. Why did you even take him out? I've wasted enough time on this situation hunting around for him, you, and then Rick," Beth gasped and took a few breaths on the other side of the line. "Sorry, I shouldn't say that. Please focus more on the kids and the house instead of the game."

It hurt to hear the anger slip through her voice. "We all just need a bit more of time. Love you."

"Yeah. Love you. I'll dig up your therapist's contact again and send it to you." The phone clicked as the call ended. The sound felt like an old receiver slamming down in my gut.

I put the phone in my pocket, annoyed at how I missed so much today. I couldn't win by putting the phone away and muting it. With a defiant act against previous temptations, I'd silenced all forum notifications and cranked my phone's ringer to its highest volume. I was determined to be in control of my life and involved.


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