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

Before I continued exploring the hollowed out fake apartment building, I glanced to see what Short Stack was after under the desk. He lost his life for it, so it had to be valuable. A small lever and a medium size box sat there. It was a simple wooden box with no words or a letter on top saying what it was. A purple quartz embedded on the top and flame icons burned into the side.

For an odd reason, my view numbers were going on up while I looked at this box. Anytime those went up, it meant I found something good.

"Purple stone and fire artwork. I bet you this will deal with my quest. There's always a key for these fetch quests later, too." I paused and rubbed my hands together. "Or this is bonus bounty."

I picked up the box, and a timer started above it.

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[Quest Notification! What's in the box?

You've activated the hunt! Bring this box to its destination immediately. Or be a good thief and run away fast.

Time Remaining: Four hours and twelve minutes.]

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"What? What is the box for? Where do I take it?" Panic filled me as I got another stupid side quest mission. I glanced under the desk for any sort of hints about what was the point of the box. There were two cups of tea and a lever underneath the table.

"Here's hoping for another secret passage." I said to the fans as I pulled the lever.

A loud rattling sound echoed through the small room. The illusioned wall walked through to arrive here, shimmered as blocks rose from the ground, destroying the illusion. Running over, I tapped and kicked the solid wall.

"Crap." The only silver lining about this situation was that my viewers were going to get entertained by my bad luck.

The purple flames blazed brighter and taller, their sizzling sound spreading throughout the apartment. Multiple of them lit the hallway leading out of the room.

"About time this game guides me," I declared to the viewers. "This box is probably what Bearita was looking for. Once it's turned in, everything will be fine."

Then I can get Naiad's gift and get out of there. A simple plan for a simple quest.

To free my hands, I ordered the box into my inventory. It didn't move. Again I tried griping the box tighter, thinking harder on it.

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[System notification: This is a stolen box! You can't move it to your inventory.]

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I wrapped my cloak around it, and the timer vanished instantly. "Not a problem. I can still get this quest done."

The game was determined to not make it that easy.

Ahead of me, I heard lots of units and metal clattering around and getting closer. From where I stood by the original entrance, there were no other doors. The only way out of here was through that hallway and the oncoming threat.

My hand rubbed against the wall, walking around the room, hoping there was another illusion somewhere. "Come on. Where is it?"

A bump here, an uneven paver there, a stubbed toe against a corner later.

I stood next to the desk again with no clues and only a stupid box counting down, with no instructions on what it was for. There was only the stupid lever left to pull. I yanked it back the other way, realizing how stupid I was to not doing it initially.

It clicked, and the grating sound of the door opened.

Ping!

An arrow scattered across the floor. More arrows pierced into the desk. I ducked down below it. I still wore a weak chess plate, and one of those arrows could wreck me.

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[Quest Update to "What's in the box?" The hunters have found you and will stop at nothing to get the box back.

Time Remaining: 2 hours and 8 minutes.]

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"What the hell? Why did the timer reduce? Shoot!" I still had the box wrapped up in my cloak. How did they know I had it?

The guards roared as they shot more arrows at me. A few more charged forward in the narrow hallway. With the odd purple flames lighting the place, I could estimate about ten guards attacked me.

I really needed Triangle's bomb damage about now.

Or Naiad's arrow attacks for additional damage.

With great risk was a greater reward.

I gripped the box tighter, reminded that I should've gotten the ring instead of Naiad. I would not risk another kid today, or my chance getting home to my family if I didn't get moving.

I stopped sitting like a duck and sprinted around the desk and to the entrance.

"Please!" I begged, as I tossed the box at the door.

It flew and out through the wall.

"Yes!" I cheered. Fake mushroom buff or not, I was lucky that hunch about the lever worked.

An arrow flew into my side, a critical hit as my health dropped by twenty-five percent.

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[Buff: You have received a bleed effect! You'll lose 2% of your health.

Duration 59 minutes and 59 seconds.]

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Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

Grunting, and bracing for more bad luck, I ran into the wall - and through its illusion. My luck held, ignoring the arrow in my side. I put my hands out to brace for impact into the real wall of the neighboring building.

I didn't crash into a wall. I tripped right over the box as soon as I ran outside; the greaves saving my shins. The box still won as I stumbled over and landed in a thick, wet mud puddle.

First step of any plan is to survive. The archers were going to have a simple time shooting at me in that tiny area, like a fish in a barrel. As a precaution, I pulled out my shield and held it in front of me while I looked for the important box I threw.

My feet sunk into the deep water around. The warm water drawing my attention instantly. The grasses were shorter here, but I was definitely back in the familiar bog from yesterday.

"Where the hell did the wall go?" I cried.

"You need to pull the lever only halfway." A young man with a Boston accent said. "Always gets the new hires."

Next to the box stood a man with a wide rimmed hat, with a small purple torch glowing in the middle, reminiscent of an old miner's hat. He looked directly at me with it, causing spots to dance around my vision.

I didn't have time to talk, as multiple guards ran out of a rune circle and toward me.

They too tripped over the box one by one. A third guard tripped over the box and landed on top of his fellow allies. Their weapons making it clear they had zero plans to make amends with me.

Neither did I. I pulled out my axe and swung.

I hit the first guard on top of the pile. The others squirmed their arms around in the puddle. The mucky water flew up as my axe heaved down again on them. I used the shield as a meat tenderizer, wishing I had kept both of my axes out instead.

An archer gracefully stepped from the entrance and gasped at seeing me. I threw my stupid, heavy shield at the guard. The bow flew from his hands, and he stumbled back, but the rune entrance didn't take them back.

"Oh, crap!" The miner cap man exclaimed next to me. "Stop!"

The bog water around me turned a deep red as I jumped on the useful box and attacked the archer. He blocked the first swing of my axe with their bow. He twisted it around to disarm me, but I jumped down, shifting my entire momentum to follow his plan and add my weight to it to throw him off balance.

I brought the handle of my axe to their chin and finished them with my next attack. The soft ground of the bog embraced the archer. I picked up my shield, glad none of the kids saw me throw it and demand a cookie.

My vision became spotty again as the man directed his lamp at me. I brought up my axe up, trying to find him, but his body danced in and out of the spots. "Stop that, warrior," he lectured me.

He ran over with a charred stick, a wand, and scratched out the magic circle by my feet. The wand didn't glow with further spells, but he pointed at me while holding a tube in his other hand, dripping with bog water.

"Where is your balaclava?" he snapped at me. "Without it, the demons will find us here."

The candle bothered my eyes even more. "Seriously, can you point lower that? You're a player?"

I felt the tick of my health lower again from the arrow still embedded in my back. I pulled out a health potion, topped up to full, but the bleeding didn't stop. The arrow was worse than a back itch, and I could not reach it. I turned my back to the guy. "Mind helping pull that out?"

The player shook his head. "Nope. You've interrupted my quest and I need to find another location." He kicked the box at my feet. "Well, now hold on."

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[System notification from Spazim Streams: Congrats on hitting over 50,000 live views!]

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That was the highest number I ever had for a live view. Being solo was the only reason I could think of why the views were going up. Was soloing more interesting to viewers than my team? Perhaps I should extend this a bit further to earn extra money for the family.

The other player squatted near the box, interested in it. I snatched it up and picked it up. "Not yours. This is mine."

The player looked up at me. The light hitting my eyes and creating spots on my peripherals while he spoke. "I can see the timer marking you as a thief above the box." The wand appeared in his hands. The wand had a deep blue crystal glowed at its end, ivory wrapped around its center. "Why don't you give me that box and we go our separate ways?"

I stared at him and his maroon balaclava he wore and his gear. He was four levels above me with that expensive wand. Same with the finely woven and decorated tunic and pants. But it was only cloth, and I had one sharp axe ready to go.

With a deep breath to calm down from the fight, I asked him, "What's your name?"

The player sighed and took his balaclava off. "Don't you recognize me?"

He was a young man in his mid-twenties, colored yellow eyes, sporting the largest comb up, not over, hair that would be impossible in this game without magic, which explained everything about him. Superficial.

I told him, "Nope. If you will not help me or answer my questions. We're done."

I stepped away from him, not daring to turn my back to this guy. His face reddened as he swung the wand around in a figure out and pointed it. "Seriously, you don't know who I am?"

I kept my mouth shut and shook my head.

"These old players don't know what's what anymore. I'm Alcender the Great."

Someone must've taken the name Alexander.

"Advice from a veteran, a mustache that you can twirl will complete your look." It would match his villainous personality.

"I don't know. I like how Alcender sounds and it be a shame to hide this pretty face behind facial hair." The kid dashed over to grab his supplies sitting by another pond and joined up with me, putting his wand away. "We both know I could take the box from you. But the fans won't like it if I pick on a poor, lost, low level like you."

"Jee I appreciate your charity." I snapped back. I resisted saying how he should get lost. If he was streaming, this was the best chance for people to join mine. "I'm streaming too right now. Sucks, we can't see what they are saying with Second-Over rules."

Alcender stumbled and dropped a few items. "You should create your own server to talk to people. You really never did the quest to get the balaclava from the mayor? It lets you talk to your guild members and private messages."

I finally stopped and held the box in my arms, looking back and forth between it and him. My vision felt smaller, like the helmet shrunk down. I had to stay focused. "Do you know what this box is for, then?"

"Of course," a key appeared in his hand, with the matching purple gem stone as the box. "I've been wanting to get my hands on it. We can work together on it if you want?"

His free hand went to his face, and he stroked the bottom of his chin, even though there was no beard there. A habit from reality. He put his key away and brought his wand out, and twirled it around a small spelling growing at the tip. "What's your answer?"

Alcender rather stab me in the back if it wasn't for his stream. I had no certain way of knowing when he would do that, either. My stream was the only way to keep me safe.

"You don't listen, do you?" I stated. "I said no. and if you take this, everyone on my stream will talk about it."

The laugh that came from Alcender told me everything about him as it didn't reach his eyes. He was a liar, killer, and I had to get far away from him.

Alcender spell hung on the tip of his wand as he said. "It seems you don't trust me. But if you don't team up with me," tapped the side of head, and the light blinded my eyes again, "The demons will find you out there. They've been very active since yesterday, too. Howling for blood."

And I could hear them now in the distance, screaming in rage. The far cry of the whale echoed.

Alcender continued with his blabbing. "Even the god, Kujira is mad."

And I knew why. The seed in my inventory was calling to them, a thing of growing life, in the land of death and they wanted it back. But I wanted to finish my quest more. I just had to dash over there and grab some dirt, finish Bearita's quest, and get home.

Alcender didn't stop walking with me. I stopped and looked at him. "Tell me at least what you want out of this."

"Split the quest rewards with me. Nothing else," he smiled before putting his balaclava on over head, adjusting it so his yellow eyes looked at me.

"Deal." I put my hand out, but was lying through my teeth. I knew this guy would betray me the moment he had the chance. It's a move I did when I played Globe of Battlecraft.

Alcender had to add more flair to this exchange. He stuck his nose up and didn't shake. "Your blood is going to call all those demons over here, and they will then take the box and be gone. You need to fix the bleed."

"I asked you to take the arrow out," I reminded him, annoyed at his lack of listening.

"I'm thee Alcender the Great. The master of spell and alchemy. I don't give my gifts away for free."

"Gifts are free. That's why they are called gifts." I pointed to the arrow on the back. "Take this gift."

"You buy gifts. I will give you a bleed potion for a discounted rate of five hundred."

I stared at him as more demons calls followed up and got louder, calling out for their ally to join their pack. Looking up to the sky to address my stream, I said, "That's the number of the day folks, five hundred. With that, you can buy a horse, or one measly bleed potion."

His hand wiggled at me as the whale god's sound closed in. "It's not so measly now, is it?"