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

The clay model bear wasn't perfect. Its paws were all different sizes. It had a long dog tail instead of the classic tiny fluff one, and one ear was pointy instead of round. Naiad tried carving out sharp teeth, but when she pushed them into the mouth, they turned into molar-shape teeth and it looked like a horse's mouth with a bear's muzzle. Triangle used a stick to squiggle in places to add fur lines and textures, but he went up and down, creating tiger stripes instead.

We should make monsters for the game instead.

"This isn't a bear," Naiad snorted, patting the bear's head.

Even I laughed as Triangle poked nostrils in the nose. "Roar!" he growled at it.

I laughed and took the chance to take a picture of all of around our magnificent creation. Making a giant statue was a lot of fun, even getting dirty when I didn't have to worry about the laundry. We climbed on out, done with our mud spa day, and followed the green slime path away from our bear model and, hopefully, toward the ozo.

"How long will your sticky-goo last?" I inquired about Triangle again.

"The game says a day. My first version was only a few hours! Look." He scooped mud off his fanny pack and opened it up to pull out two little green bombs.

The stats just listed the name of the Sticky-Nicky II, staying they were stronger than before. They didn't mention the time, but I believed Triangle. I noticed the time on the game. Despite it being Saturday, we shouldn't stay up too late playing games.

"It's late. Let's follow the path a little for now and then log out," I suggested. "We can pick up the trail tomorrow."

"Aww," the kids said in unison.

"But we got on late and we stayed up later yesterday," Naiad argued. "Its Sunday tomorrow and we can sleep in."

"And your mom was furious at me for that." I hated using Beth as an out, but she was the one I was keeping the promise to about not being a video gaming addict.

"Can we please play until we catch the ozo?" Triangle rubbed his hands together, flaking off the mud on his hands.

"Is your homework done? Homework has to come before video games." I took on the dad role.

"Yes!" Naiad raised her hand. I squinted at her and she opened up more. "I need to go over my report and make sure it's good since it's a make-up one. And I probably should study for my exam on Tuesday."

"I still have one worksheet," Triangle chimed in.

At least the kids were being honest, even though they were supposed to be done earlier. Also, I wasn't sure why Naiad had makeup homework. It meant she missed something or failed a test earlier. They had to finish tomorrow or no gaming.

"Fine, but we have to get off the moment I say so and we only do homework first tomorrow." I passed off the dad hat and took on the cool one Uncle Rick wore a lot. "Race you guys on the goop path!"

Naiad instantly took off ahead of us, beating me to the top of the hill. She showcased her tracker abilities by finding the green slime hiding in the green trees and pointing to the west. "It turned this way!"

"Make sure to have your weapons ready!" I called out to her. "That means Goldy for you, Triangle."

"Fine!" the little gnome ran after his sister.

The archerfish appeared in his hands. It was only seconds later that the impulse took him over as he blasted his sister.

"Again! I need this mud out of my hair." She called back to him, turning around.

Water blasted her face and made her cough before Triangle moved to her braids and clothes. The brown muck dripped down.

"You know, I wouldn't mind getting cleaned by Goldy, either," I spread my arms out, prepared for the cold water.

Triangle didn't want volunteers. He continued to blast his screaming sister instead. Finally he paused, dug through his fanny pack and pulled out two small clear bobbles. "I'll do the bubbles, it will get you really clean."

"Stop!" I said, and fortunately he listened. "Your bubbles will clean up the path."

"Right." He turned to face off Naiad again. "Oh, look!"

Fog crept around nearby trees, the deep white cloud crashing down in layers like waves. It was only a few trees away from Naiad. The rancid of the Sticky-Nicky smell came closer too.

"Quick, up the trees." I ran over and grabbed Triangle. "We still don't know how to make the ozo our friend yet."

Naiad climbed up the closest tree to her, weaving in and out of the evergreen branches. Triangle and I were further from the fog and had time to squeeze slowly around the rough branches. By the time the fog hit the base of our tree, we were already halfway up the trunk.

Naiad waved to me as she looked down below. Kerry landed in the tree next to her. We needed to work on it being a better scout. We almost got hit by the ozo's fog.

Naiad was still at risk as the fog was coming in higher than before and got on her too fast.

"Triangle," I whispered, "climb up higher. There's more fog."

I pushed his small frame up as he scampered up the small branches. They wouldn't hold my weight, but they would handle his. We both got marked by the Mark of Valiha earlier, and the ozo hunted those who had it and were in its territory.

"Dad?" he looked down at me and back at the fog. He reached a hand out, trying to help.

"It's going to be okay." I told him, but as the fog creeped over my shins, I grimaced.

We were going to learn how accurate the Mark of Valiha was soon.

The small waves of the fog crashed over my ankles and I jumped up to a higher branch and pulled my legs up like I was squatting. The branched cracked beneath my weight. "Please hold," I prayed to the real gods of the game, the developers.

At the cracking sound, the ozo rumbled beneath to our tree. Its gray outline glistening with the gold. Underneath our tree, it lay stretched out, resembling a dog poised to destroy a new toy, exhaling more fog from its nostrils. Wave by wave, the fog rose toward me, the thickness blocking out the ground and the bear completely. It touched and covered my muddy legs. Triangle's little fingers stretched out to me, trying to help pull me up higher.

Naiad gasped. "It's leaving."

The fog thinned down, trailing after the direction of the ozo back toward the south. Something had changed since the last time it approached us.

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"Let's follow it carefully. Did anyone get the Mark of Valiha on them?" I pulled up my buffs.

The mark was gone. There was a huge timer on it before I thought, like days. But I didn't write it down in my notes or anything. But I know I got hit by the fog, so why didn't I have it? I climbed down the tree and jogged over to the last bit of fog.

The mark never showed up.

"Hey kids, come on down. Looks like the fog isn't doing anything to mark us this time."

This was going to make it easier to chase the ozo. Then we could stalk and study it to better figure out how to befriend it. We just had to stay on alert that the fog didn't change and mark us.

Triangle jumped and laughed. "Catch!"

I ran forward to catch the falling child. "Please give me more of a heads up next time."

He only giggled as he adjusted his muddy pink hat. Then he was off twirling in the fog.

"Hey, I thought you said I wouldn't get a mark." Naiad paused, climbing the tree. Her ankles were just touching the fog. "The system just gave it to me."

"Odd. Triangle, do you have it? Look at your status effect section."

"Nope, it's not on there." He said. "Do you think it's going out to meet our mud friend?"

"Not now Triangle. Naiad, can you scout to see if the ozo is coming back?"

"Already on it," she said, exasperated. "How come I have it and you don't?"

"Sorry, I don't know," I called up to her. I didn't understand why Triangle and I lost the mark.

Kerry was flying above and past us toward the ozo. Triangle and I waited below a tree for her to say something, keeping a close on the fog to see if became thicker or changed. Instead, it continued to thin out, making it easier to see the whole forest as daylight broke through on the ground.

"Found it." She said, "It's eating off a… a random fancy plate, Chinaware? In the middle of the woods. Oh, snap!"

Naiad jumped down the tree and tree and ran to be near us, loading her drawstring. "The snake! It's after Kerry."

"Is it coming this way?" I asked, pulling out my shield first, then my axe, keeping Triangle behind me and near the tree.

"I don't think so. It looked like two players and the snake were watching the ozo."

"And you only saw the ozo eat?" I asked for confirmation.

"Yes! I only had a glance," she complained back.

Offering a peaceful smile, I said, "I know, I'm impressed you got that much information as is. Great work." That appeased the teenager. "Let's walk that way, out of the bear path and log off for the night before it gets too late."

Once Naiad was down from the tree, we kept our guard up and moved through the thin forest, watching out for any monsters through the foggy woods until it became clear. Kerry kept Naiad updated on if our target was moving. I kept my shield out at the ready as we moved.

Naiad drew her bow. "Mobs over by those trees on the ground."

Her arrow fired just as I saw the target ahead of us.

A nest of giant rats. There were 3 or more large, King Rat-sized creatures acting as generals above ground for the smaller rats.

"Try giving us more time to set up before you shoot," I pleaded.

Following her quick initiation, I drew my axe and ran forward, screaming to get the monsters' attention. Another arrow flew past my shoulder to hit a second rat by the time I was on top of the nest.

"Dad!" Triangle's voice quivered with fear.

I stopped running and backed up slowly. That's right, I was the tank, not the damage dealer. I had to stay in a defensive position to save the kids for when something happened. Quickly, I jotted down in my notes to get a crowd control spell, like a taunt, to save the kids in the future.

"I'm right here," I told him as much as the rats.

The enormous rats that hissed at me, enraged by the two arrows that struck the group.

Smacking my axe into my shield, I called them out. "Come and get it, you stinky rats!"

They only hissed at me. Like an alley cat, I hissed back, and swung my axe up at them.

Both that action and Naiad's next arrow striking a rat king grabbed their attention. The small rats scattered forward faster than the large, lumbering beasts.

"No!" Naiad snapped. "Use Goldy so you don't hurt dad."

I didn't need to look back to know Triangle was about to cause some chaos. He was only a kid using what he was comfortable with, and that was bombs. A bomb would wrap up this monster fight fast one way or another.

A shower of arrows dropped on the stampeding rodent group, mere inches from where I stood. Naiad's aim was getting better. I brought my shield up as a protection as a rat king got right up into my face.

"Squeak!" I mocked it as I swung my axe up into its long nose.

The hit sliced and flip the rat over. Last time I fought one, my shield broke, but I doubt that would happen with the current one I had. Running forward, I pushed the rat king and its hoard back into the raining arrows from Naiad.

Water blasted into the group, keeping the little ones in there too. Triangle laughed from next to Naiad. "I got them!"

The shower of arrows stopped and half the rats were already dead, along with one king rat. Multiple rats went to bite my ankles, but Triangle blasted them away and killed them. The rat king swiped at my shield, and as it opened its mouth, Naiad hit its uvula for the final kill shot.

Triangle giggled and in the calming down sound, I heard my least favorite sound as it flew over my head toward the nest.

Jingle, jingle, jingle.

"Not again," I grumbled.

Naiad let out a few curse words she shouldn't be saying. The children were too far from me for me to protect them from the bombs in the air. I prayed that meant they wouldn't get hit by the explosion like I would. I smacked my shield down into the ground as the rats scratched up at me.

The jingling stopped, and the rats continued to nip and run around my shield.

With the bomb explosion about to happen, I grimaced as I ignored the tiny bites from the rodents and braced for what was to come.

After the fifth bite, I heard Triangle laughing as he blasted rat away from me. There was no explosion.

I yelled, "It's a dud!", unsure whether to laugh or be frustrated.

"Jingle Bells without a boom," cackled the child.

Naiad stomped down on a rat, laughing. "Oh, you!" there was a mean word hanging off her tongue, but the prank he played got us both.

I caved in and laughed as we stomped the rest of the rats and finished them easily. I was the only one who lost a smidgen of health to the rats. We went over to the nest to loot it, making sure to save a lot of the rat skins and meat.

"We can use this to feed the ozo." Naiad said. "It could be why it hunts their nests."

"We coud put them next to the bear like it's a playdate." Triangle casually grabbed a corpse and put it in his bag.

"All sounds like a great idea," I chimed in.

Anything that was food, like the berries we found in a bush nearby, we put in Naiad's inventory with her food tag. Naiad taught me how to turn on categories and create tags to help sort my inventory. My inventory needed organization, something I would slowly poke at now that I was playing the game slower, and enjoying it. The money from the nest we divided up. For any strange loot, like an indecipherable parchment, we decided ownership with a game of rock-paper-scissors.

The moment the nest was clear of mobs, the map marked the area as a possible safe zone for the camping gear. Triangle dragged the thread around to create a safe zone while Naiad set up the tent. Though I knew she had a hammer in her camping gear, she opted for a rock to drive the nail in, aiming for a more rustic experience. To activate the safety, she quickly lit the campfire with flint before more mobs arrived.

As the flames grew, so did her smile. "I want to go camping for real."

"We will when the weather gets good. Let's log off. Great job setting up everyone." I promised to look up campsites tomorrow while they worked on homework.

I watched both Naiad and Triangle log off before I followed them.

Exiting the VR capsule, my eyes readjusted to the blue LED-lit gaming room. I couldn't help it, as a smile stretched across my face. Today, I had fun playing with the kids, and they were happy. Even now, I listened to them come up with even more unique ideas on the quest.

"Give it fish, I'm telling you, Goldy is the perfect size." Elaine teased.

"No! Stop being mean," Tristan pushed her.

"Never! I'm going to race you to the bathroom."

She sprinted down the hallway to the bathroom, slamming the door. "I win!"

Tristan hadn't even left the gaming room. He crossed his arms and turned away.

"I'll talk to her," I promised as I patted Tristan's back. "She's only getting under your skin, but I will make sure she won't use Goldy in the game. Got any other ideas?"

Tristan tapped at his chin. "Something that smells good. It didn't like the stinky bomb and I bet it wants something new to smell, like those burning sticks mom does!"

"We can figure out an incense or perfume with the lizard-folk tomorrow. We need to get you to bed before mom shows up."

The kid yawned, hands outstretched. "Carry me?"

"You're six and I'm too old in this world to do that."

Tristan pouted and dragged his feet to his room.

The garage door rumbled a minute later.

"Mom!" Both kids jumped back into the hallway with excitement.

Unlike yesterday when I met Beth, I didn't have dread that she was home. I had everything done on the list. My priorities were in order, and we still played the game on Elaine's and Tristan's terms. I couldn't wait for Beth to check out the sink. Uncle Rick was a huge help on that project.

Beth's shoes came off with a hard sound as they hit the wall. Only Ghost continued walking to her. The kids stopped moving in the hallway.

"How could he let that happen?" Beth complained to Ghost, her voice full of anger and disappointment.

Her tone was enough to send both Elaine and Tristan into their respective rooms, quietly closing the doors and turning out the lights.

They went from excited to terrified and ditching me to handle the new challenge. I didn't mind being in the front as the tank for them, but something fishy was up that the kids didn't tell me.

"There you are," Beth said, exasperated when she saw me standing in the hallway alone. "I want those gaming stations turned off and sold first thing tomorrow."