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

"Guys, you don't have time to run. The fog is coming here fast," Naiad called down to us from her tree.

"You heard, let's climb," I pointed to the tree Triangle was just collecting mushroom from.

He grabbed the mushroom to pull up, and it ripped off from the bark. "I can't!" turned and looked at me, storing the fungi in his inventory.

"I got you. Climb on my back and hold on," I instructed.

Squatting down, he leapt on and latched on tightly to my neck with his little arms. My long limbs were great at climbing the tree, with my legs pushing me up.

My dexterity made me go too slow. I could reach and pull us up the trunk bit by bit. The branches were too far out of my reach to really pull my whole body up.

"Dad… it's almost here." Whimpered Triangle in my ear.

With a grunt, I tried to pull up faster, the bark scratching at my palms and fingertips. Each one scaring me it would break off the tree with me yanking.

A cool moisture wrapped around my knees and below.

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[You've received the Mark of Valiha]

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"Dad, what does Valiha mean?" Triangle's fear grew and his grip around my neck tightened.

"Just hold on, and we'll find out soon enough. Naiad?" I grunted as I finally was high enough to grab a branch to get up higher.

We had to get up higher, like Naiad and hopefully out of reach of anything hiding in the fog. However, if the monster was a cat or bear—creatures with viciously sharp climbing claws—we'd be in serious trouble.

"Get up here. I don't know if it can climb." Naiad called out.

"You saw the monster?" I pulled up on more limb.

I spotted Naiad in the tree next to us with her bow drawn and pointing down. She must've hopped trees around like a little monkey or a squirrel.

"No, the fog is too thick. But there are no tracks of a large monster climbing the trees around us," she explained.

It just meant that the monster hadn't climbed these trees yet. It had no reason to until there were tasty treats sitting in it. The kids didn't need to worry about that, and Naiad was ready just in case.

"Did you see a spot to plant the seed?" Triangle asked, his voice trembling slightly with fear.

"Nope, got distracted by a fast-moving fog coming our way over the other hill." Green magic danced around her arrow as she charged a spell.

"When will Bird boy get here? Can he see the beast that's causing this fog?" I don't want to be blind to our situation. Our goal was to plant the seed, not hunt monsters.

"I called out to Kerry, but he didn't reply."

Triangle's grip adjusted on me. This was going to be his first monster fight since we left the city, and I had to check in on him. "Are you doing alright? What are you feeling?"

"Scared, but.. excited. Do you want my vision potion?" Triangle pulled out the Flying Eyes Potion from his inventory..

The vial's cap pushed up against my cheek instantly. "Down the hatch," I responded. I used one hand to undo the cap and drink it.

There first taste that hit me was coconut and sweetness, but there was an odd tang hiding in the back of my throat.

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[Buff: Bird's eye view! You can see that tiny pitiful mouse hopping through the field of grass while being a mile above the ground. See further away and clearer.

Duration: 3 minutes and 59 seconds.]

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"Ew Dad!," Naiad judged me. "Your drinking a bunch of flying eyeballs."

Before I could scout what was around us, Naiad released the spell on her arrow and fired

"Next time, wait to confirm that we have any enemy and not an ally," I reminded her.

The screaming, echoing beasts below us drowned out my last words. They were definitely not allies now and I don't think Triangle's childlike bonus points were going to save us here.

"Dad?" Triangle whimpered on my shoulder.

I pulled him off my back and had him sit down on the tree branch, with his back up against the trunk. "Don't worry, Naiad and I got you. Plus, if you have any bombs, throw them far down and away from us. It could scare the monsters away."

Any fear of the kid had vanished instantly as I mentioned the bombs. "I have lots of those!"

"Wait! Wait!" Naiad and I both chanted too slowly.

Jingle, jingle, jingle.

I really hated that sound. No matter how much I screamed no, the jingle bombs failed to weave through the branches. Instead, the jingle bell bombs bounced on the bounced on the nearby branches. With the shield still on my back, I wrapped my arms around Triangle to save him.

Dad, a solid trunk, and a shield. We'd survive the blast.

A loud crack erupted from the branch we stood on. I gripped Triangle and the trunk tighter, praying I could hang on, that my strength numbers weren't just for show. The branch fell away beneath us in jagged pieces. My arm socket hurt from the yanking force, but I held on.

The sound of the explosion died down as leaves and pine needles fell to the ground below us. The smell of pine and freshly cut wood, along with burning tar, surrounded us. Before the thick fog rolled back in, I could see the forest through the trees a lot easier with the branches thinned by the bomb.

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"Get on the next branch," I grunted at Triangle as I lifted him up with one arm. My legs wrapped around the trunk, holding on tight. Triangle reached for a branch the moment he could and got on it easily. His dexterity stat was higher than mine… which meant he could've climbed the tree in the first place, but needed a hug in the scary situation. The young gnome reached out with a helping hand to pull me up.

It was the thought that counted, and it showed how calm he was in this situation. "Thanks, man."

With both of us now safe, I called out for Naiad. "Are you okay?"

[Team Chat]

[Naiad: Hush. There's something in the fog."]

The forest life stirred from the bomb going off. Branches fell from the cracked, groaning trees. Birds and animals hollered and hooted in response to the distraction. With the wood finally still, a persistent thumping sound filled the air, a heavy, rhythmic pulse that was definitely not the sound of branches falling.

Thanks to the vision potion, I could see the beast lumber toward our tree. A golden light shimmered around its body, its shape vaguely defined against the thick fog. It wasn't as large as an elephant, but bigger than a hippo. Through the darkness, its golden yellow eyes locked with mine while snapping and cracking sounds accompanied each of its heavy footstep nearing our tree.

[Team Chat]

[Naiad: Dad, what do we do?]

[Boulder: Stay still and avoid shooting any vining spells]

[Naiad: It's about to step into the area I shot at. The bomb ruined its effectiveness.]

If the spell did nothing, the beast might ignore us. If the beast attacked immediately, we would need it to slow it down to avoid us becoming sitting ducks in a tree. At least a duck could fly.

A low rumble emitted from its chest, and fog spewed out from the black nostrils of the monster like it was a dragon about to take flight. Its snarl warned humans to flee. Triangle shivered next to me, but he had a smile on his face.

I gave him a squeeze. "Thanks to your potion, I can see the monster's stats."

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[Level 22 The Ozo! Type: Terranean Bear (rare)

Description: It's big, it's large, and will hit you harder than a wrecking ball for invading its territory. There is only one thing that it hates more than humans. This alpha predator is not a threat as long as you leave it and its land alone.]

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A bear, and we were sitting in a tree in its territory. Its red dot approached ours. I glanced at the surrounding trees. There wasn't anywhere we could go but down. Soon, its red dot sat right below our blue ones on the map as it got up next to our tree.

I heard Naiad pulling her bow back. "What ever it is, my vines aren't stopping it."

More fog poured from its nostrils as it raised its front paws, ripping through the ensnaring vines with the ease of tearing paper. Its sharp claws landed on our tree before they glowed with a yellow light, charging up a spell.

If it climbed up here, Naiad could shoot a lot of arrows down at it. Triangle had a few bombs, but he would need to be careful to avoid knocking our tree down. I could throw my shield over and over at its head, by using the Chains of the Past to bring it back, but its blunt damage wouldn't do as much as my axe.

More vines snapped as it got its hind legs up on the tree. It was only twenty feet below us.

"I don't have a clear shot of it because of the fog. I can't tell if I'll hit a branch, tree, or you. Ugh," Naiad complained. She put her bow back on back and climbed around the trunk to get a better position.

I gave her the playing field. "It's a level twenty-two bear monster called an ozo, and it's climbing up our tree. There are no branches beneath Triangle and I. Can you two distract it?"

If they had nothing, I was going to drop my shield down on it repeatedly to stop it from climbing. The claws of the monster pierced into the tree, the gold spell shimmering each time.

"Yeah!" Both said.

Naiad was faster as she pulled her arrow and shot a jingle bell bomb tied to it further into the woods, away from us.

It struck over a hundred feet away, ozo twitched its round ears, but didn't bother turning its head away from the delicious target in front of it. It was focus driven, just like Triangle was looking for a bomb in his fanny pack.

"What was that?" A gargled a familiar voice in the direction the ozo originally came from the mountains.

"Don't let it run!" A higher pitch one started a battle cry, but stopped. "Don't use fire! Didn't you learn anything?"

The ozo looked toward the speakers, and their battle cries, ears twitching before focusing back to us. It climbed the tree another few feet. Stretched out, the ozo was definitely taller than and any grizzly bear I ever saw in the zoo. Its golden fur glistened faster as it smacked the tree, as if trying to shake the honey hive down, and we were the honey.

"Aaa!" Triangle cried in panic.

Naiad followed up. "Triangle!"

Neither of them could see through the fog the ozo made.

I gripped the tree tighter with one hand and grabbed Triangle with the other. He continued to search for something in his fanny pack. "We're still okay," I updated Naiad.

"I hear it!" called out the strangers. There were three small humanoid creatures running toward us.

I didn't want more players to show up. If they found us, they could share where we hid the seed. I wanted this bear to chase them off before players found us.

The ozo was still more focused on my family as it climbed again, only a couple feet away from me and Triangle. I took my shield off my back and prepared to attack.

"I use Sticky-Nicky With Skunk Attack!" Triangle cried next to me as he launched his personal creation thing down at the bear.

The green orb bounced down in the fog and exploded right below my feet. The green goop covered my feet, weighing them down and sticking me to the bark of the tree. It plopped down on the ozo, who harrumphed in annoyance. The slime coating dulled the glitter of its fur as it jumped. The ozo shook and clawed at its body, scrapped its nose and whined.

I also cried and gagged with it. The smell was horrible, worse than I remember. Triangle saw my face and laughed in between his own coughing fits.

"Oh. My. Gawd. You made it way worse." Naiad complained next to us. At least she didn't get hit by it.

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[Upgraded Sticky-Nicky Bombs! Variant Stinky IV (uncommon)

Description: This slime will stick to everything and will make you reek. And everyone will know it for hours. They can either follow the green slime left behind or the constant lingering odor. Both make it easy to track the target down. The sticky slime will slow you down, making it easier to pin down the target.

Duration: 3 days, 23 hours, 59 minutes]

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The ozo ran off, no longer wanting to be part of it this zone. I pitied the poor beast for being covered with the slime. I wanted to get away too. The smell was too realistic and bile grew in the back of my throat.

"Triangle, um, how do I get rid of this smell? It says it lasts for four days?" I tried breathing through my mouth.

The fog below us thinned out with the bear gone, green slime stretched out in places like spider web on the floor beneath us. A trap waiting for us, and those unexpected players from earlier. I looked back toward where I saw them last, but I couldn't see that far anymore with the vision buff being done.

"I'm not touching that stuff until it's cleaned up." Naiad rolled up the cinnamon stick in a cloth and then wrapped it around her mouth.

"We aren't sitting in the tree for four days. We can log out and come back?" I suggested, though really, I wanted to plant the seed. We had five days left on the Root and Seeds of the Problem quest, and we still had to grow a tree in that remaining time.

"No," Naiad said. "We don't have time for that."

"I got this!" Triangle spoke over her.

He didn't even give me a chance to react. Goldy appeared inches away from and Triangle dropped one glorious bath bomb in front of the fish.

"Car wash time!" Triangle giggled as he ordered Goldy to blast me with water.

I once stuck my foot in front of a power washer out of stupid curiosity. This felt like that moment. I got pelted with water and bubbles so hard it compared to needles going into my skin. Like the manly man I was, I put the shield in front of me to stop the bubble attack.

It hit so hard my balance was gone and I slipped from the tree branch and down.

"Sorry!" Triangle reached down at me, while still continuing to spray me with Goldy, power pushing me down faster to the ground.

I felt a rush of air leave my lungs and a sensation of bubbles filling my chest. Falling from a tree took a bit of my health. If the ozo came back, I would lose a lot more.

"Oh, hi!" Naiad said, mocking me for hitting the ground, like I didn't know it was there.

Goldy finally stopped spraying me with water and bubbles, giving me a chance to actually breath in dry air to catch my breath.

"Human rock, Jingles, and the pink haired one, what a surprise." The gargled voice from before came to my right.

Rolling over to my side, I recognized the three figures from their size and built. The NPCs held onto their tails and tip-toed around the sticky slime.

"What an odd smell this is," Fireclaw said stated casually. "Have you by chance, seen an ozo? We're trying to capture one."

Incoming side quest, I thought as I tried to catch my breath before the kids accepted it.