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

The land started transforming. Vines snaked across the ground entangling players. Trees sprouted, grew, and fell on players not paying attention or who lacked protections. Boss phase 2 began. Smoke filled the air as if the players were trying to reenact out the burning of Clingeo Grove.

I added more oil to my shield, fire proving to be the best defense against the vines from attacking my front. Now and then, I spun around to chase away the encroaching plant from my back. I tried running faster, but I had to weave my way in and out of our allies, holding a gulping fish in one hand.

Raising my shield, I barely stopped a branch from smashing us.

"By the light of Chiliam, we cleanse thee!" Darrell shouted in a pious voice as light flew out of his great-sword and metal armor. His blade stabbed into the branch and it fizzled up in gray smoke from the hit. "Boulder, there's darkness on the cliff by your guild."

"I know, but these branches keep trying to stop me from getting there," I replied.

The follower of Chiliam nodded, "Syriaca, escort him. Soldiers, keep attacking!"

"But there's not enough water that way and you know I can't control any of the plants here." The druid complained.

"There's a stream," I said smashing my shield into the root.

"There was! The water is gone with all the ground shaking, I think." She swung her ice mace around to hit the root.

"Just go!" Darrell ordered as he sliced the root again. "He needs help to stop Pantheon. We're almost done with this root and it will be safe."

We both ran up the hill, going wide to avoid the large-footed goddess from noticing and stomping on us. Or swinging one of her roots at us. The yellow shield health bar on Branchelot was almost gone. Which hopefully meant this fight would go easier. There weren't enough bombs going off.

I couldn't tell which arrows were Naiad's from the forest. The Brightstone Woods looked more like a jungle, with all the wild gray vines stretching around it. My kids were too quiet and missing.

[Guild Chat]

[Boulder: Naiad and Triangle, where are you?]

They didn't reply. I had to get to the cliff fast, but if we climbed it, we would be easy targets for the boss.

"How much water do you need? Can I give you water from this fish to make stairs for the cliffs?"

"I can," she said, taking the water Goldy sprayed out as I patted his berret hat.

She summoned the water to gather around her staff and transform into ice.

The terrain was rough with its latest changes and Syriaca was right that the stream was gone. With Branchelot's shield gone, her red health bars dropped faster. Another root nearby fell, sizzling away in the fire. Syriaca created the stairs by the cliff, helping us run up them, but before she got off, the bottom shattered in a glittering explosion.

A wooden spike stuck out of the bottom.

"Where are you going, my follower?" Branchelot had a hand pointed out to me.

"To find a better god than you!" I shouted at her. I wasn't her follower. "You're so drab in gray."

[Chiliam chuckles]

"Dad!" I heard Naiad's voice call further into the now burning woods.

"Duck!" Triangle screamed.

Syriaca and I both obeyed. Goldy flopped out of my arms and sprayed the attack at the incoming wooden shard flying right where we stood. It slammed into the forest behind, knocking over multiple trees.

"For a goddess of creation, you're destroying a lot!" I called Branchelot out.

She cackled again, even as her heath dropped, and a third root fell. "Fool. I'm the goddess of hell, of chaotic creation. You can't have life without death."

At her last word, she launched a volley of wooden shards at us and everyone on the battlefield. I reacted and grabbed Goldy behind my shield and blocked for Syriaca and I.

"Kids!" I screamed, hoping they could get further into the woods to block this attack.

A shard came right at us. My hand froze over as ice branched out and grew a wall in front of us. Goldy spat out more water as Syriaca froze it. Together with my ice and fire enforced shield. The shard slammed into us, causing us to dig our heels into the ground to avoid getting toppled over. But we stopped the attack, and the shard fell down the cliff below. I couldn't survive on my own.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

With that wave of an attack, Branchelot was entering a next phase of the fight. The army was making great progress.

"Thanks Syriaca and Goldy," I said as she unfroze my hand.

She was gasping for breath as she pulled out a mana potion. "You too."

I glanced down at the army as the flying sediment from the shard attack settled. A few magical shields stood up, but fewer than before and the attacks were less. In the middle was Branchelot, her hair attached to the ground again, with five roots and her yellow shield health bar back to full.

"I thought they destroyed two roots?" I asked Syriaca.

"They did. Look! she's regenerating health too!"

With Branchelot's shields back, each second she could regenerate her heath back. It wouldn't take her long to be back to full.

I cursed under my breath. "We're missing a trick to defeating her. All bosses have a trick. I'll look later after I get my kids back."

"Who is flying?" Syriaca pointed with her staff up in the sky above the burning forest. A large black bird with a crooked neck carried a full grown man dressed in black leathers. He swung his buccaneer sword not at Kerry, but at the ground as an arrow shot up into the air at him.

I chuckled as I ran to the burning smoke. "Follow me to the burning smoke. Those kids are the tricksters we need to defeat the god."

Syriaca and I worked together to cut down a walking tree that tried to ambush us. It fell as easily as the growing graying vines in the area. Besides that mob, the walk in the forest was a simple trip as we approached a burning ring. As we got near, I heard the man in the sky scream as he fell to the ground and into the fire pit.

I patted Goldy's top. "Blast him to the goddess."

Michael failed to block another arrow from Naiad as he panicked in free-fall. He couldn't dodge the waterfall attack from Goldy that transformed into a giant icicle under Syriaca's command. The ice spear shoved him through the air and over the Brightstone Woods toward the goddess. The goddess grabbed him and smashed him in her rage. Her dark eyes locked on our location.

"Send me to hell," the goddess pleaded with me. It was tempting to end this fight, but then my whole family would be cursed.

"That was mine!" Naiad complained at me from the middle of the fire ring.

Triangle gripped her leg. "Help!"

Syriaca sighed, "Oh dear, that will make my class harder to level up for a bit. I didn't mean to kill him."

"I did. The Pantheon guild is threatening too many people and won't listen," I told her.

Without opening the conversation more, I jogged over to the fire ring and had Goldy spray the water.

"Don't!" Naiad screamed at me. Her nerves were on edge. She took a breath, but her emotions were still high as she waved her bow around. "I need that. The other players realized the smoke will hide us from Branchelot and her rooted ability. But then that Michael guy tried pouncing us in here. But I didn't dare make us leave this circle, even when he walked in, because if either of us left, Branchelot finds us and then drains us. Triangle and I tried shoving him out, and he screamed at the flames. He bragged about being the last one and the one to bring Pantheon's honor back, all by himself. It was just-"

I made Goldy spray me with water and tucked him under my shirt as we sprinted inside the circle. I ran up to my family, dropped my shield, and wrapped my arms around them. "It's going to be fine. We're together, and you two are incredible."

The words fell out naturally as confidence filled me. The kids were powerful and were fighting off the Pantheon guild with their own plans. A goddess from hell wouldn't have any chance against them. Naiad squeezed my arm tighter and took another deep breath before talking. "What do we do?"

"We need to figure out how to destroy those roots faster."

"We no longer having to worry about the Pantheon jerks," Naiad followed up. "That gives Triangle and I a chance to do more damage."

"But I can't throw my bombs way back," Triangle pouted.

"I can bring you closer and stay to defend you. But that leaves your sister alone."

"I'll be fine," Naiad pulled at her bow string. I'm hiding in my fire circle.

"I'll stay nearby too," Syriaca said as she paced outside of the fire circle. "Each circle rotation is a timer on my spells."

I smiled. "Sounds like we have a team plan. Syriaca, thanks."

"Of course, I got to make up all the experience I've missed thanks to the Clingeo Grove being burnt down," she winked at us, "and the Pantheon Guild messing with the city."

"Ready Triangle?" I offered him my hand to climb up.

"Nope," the boy stuck out his hand. "I want my coconut. Please."

"I have to do it because you said please," I joked as I pulled out the coconut.

He snatched the coconut and Goldy from my arms, hugging the fish tight in his arms before moving it back into his tank. "You need your nap. Dad, take these bombs. I want to stay here."

I put my hand out as Triangle dug in his fanny pack and pulled out eight bombs. I slid them into my inventory. Two were Advance Jingle Bombs, with a status of unsteady next to them.

"Oh, you need to work on your bomb handling." Triangle tapped the two advance jingle bombs. "These do more damage, but I suggest you toss them soon so you don't blow up."

"Triangle!" Naiad and I shouted.

Triangle hummed and tapped at the coconut holes. "I think that means it's ripe! Go quick Dad. I'm out of bombs."

"Dad go!" Naiad begged.

I snatched up my shield and shoved my way out of the flames. Rolling on the ground quickly on the other side. Each stick I stepped on snapped made my heart race more and my heartbeat was the ticking timer left on the bomb. There was no way for me to know if was a twenty-second or two-minute timer left either on these bombs. I weaved around the last few trees, seeing the monstrosity of a boss, and breathed a sigh of relief.

Syriaca was next to me, trying to keep up. "Give me an advance bomb and half the others. I told Darrell to talk to the others, to focus on three of the roots. You and I will have to do these two alone."

With more care than an egg race, I passed her the bombs. One jingled, and we both held our breaths. Now we had three unstable bombs. The letters on the advance bombs were larger and turning red, a warning we had little time left with them. "When will I know to throw?"

"Look for the orange message," she explained. "Gods, keep me safe."

I even followed up with a prayer to the gaming devs, and my wife. The ring was in my pocket tempting me. If I put it on, I would gain protection, or worse, cursed by Leith since I was attacking her ally.

It would be better to blow it up, but a safer bet would be not letting the ring go near the goddess.