Chapter 253: The End of the Test

{I want to let everyone know that I have a p-a-t-r-e-o-n with two new exclusive stories on it. One is The Aeternus Universe, and the other is a new story with a basketball system. I hope you guys will give it a chance. The link is https://www.p-a-t-r-e-o-n.com/easyread. Remove the dashes. Webnovel censors the word.}

My missing son and daughter are probably fighting way stronger creatures than us. Wherever they are. Chris and I are taking a little bit of a breather, and Marcus is taking care of the current swarm coming at us. "Don't worry, Violet. We'll find them eventually. We shouldn't worry so much anyway. They're adults and can take care of themselves. I'm willing to bet all the money we've made so far that both of them are doing way better than the three of us combined on their own." Chris wraps his arm around me and comforts me as we watch Marcus kill monster after monster.

I wonder how close we are to that total kill goal the system gave all the players. With millions of players killing one to two monsters, it should be fast. I hope this doesn't last too long. I'm already pretty tired, and I don't know how long all three of us can fight. "I know that, Chris... I'm their mother... I can't help worrying about them... Missing them... They were a part of my life every day until we got stuck here... It's hard to shake that off..." Chris leans in and kisses the side of my head. Worrying about them right now will do no good. As we watch Marcus, a world announcement goes off.

[Worldwide Announcement: The players have reached the total kill goal, and the monster attacks on the players will stop! Rewards will be given out accordingly, and many should expect to be rewarded greatly for every little work! For those that did lots of work against stronger enemies, you'll all get bonus rewards! The monster swarms will stop, and the storms will dissipate!]

I take a breath and release a sigh of relief. I look around and see many burnt bodies that are also cut up. Marcus has done a wonderful job killing so many monsters. Now that the players in the capital city Genoy aren't fighting and causing destruction. The king is sure to ban all the players currently here. I stand up, and I'll say I'm extremely grateful for this young and youthful body. I couldn't imagine trying to fight in my late 40's. Being back in my mid 20's again is amazing, and while we haven't had a chance yet.

My husband and I have been a bit physical. Getting to touch each other when the chance arises. It's hard to get any further than that with Marcus around. I can tell that it's really frustrating for my husband. "We should get any supplies we can from the city before all the players aren't welcomed here anymore." Chris stands up himself and stretches his body too. He is right in saying that we should get any food and rations before starting our next trip. While the airships are great, and the teleporter is convenient. 

We can't get into many fights and dungeons traveling that way. We made the decision a while ago to travel by foot and through dangerous areas. Hitting any dungeons and bosses, we come across in the meantime. "Lot's of other people are going to be thinking the same thing, so we should hurry." I add my part to the conversation, and we both walk over to Marcus as he finishes looting some of the monster corpses. The system didn't say when the rewards will be given out, but I can assume that it's going to be sometime in the next hour.

Marcus stands up and smiles. I place my hand on his head and ruffle his hair. He blushes and pushes my hand away gently. "Mooom... Stop doing that... I'm not a little kid anymore... I'm a legendary mage..." I chuckle and kneel down to give him a kiss on the forehead. Further embarrassing him. "Mooom!" I stand up and laugh. I need to have as many of these moments as I can. Who knows how many more I have left with Marcus. I'm not going to get any more with Hailey or Cera. All three of us make it to a part of the city that isn't ruined.

I'm sure that every city and town across Gaia looks somewhat similar to this. Some players are going into stores that are still taking us. We head to a butcher shop and load up on supplies for all of us. The inventory keeps things fresh, and you can pretty much put anything in the inventory if it's not alive and it's not bigger than you are. We exit the shop now that we have everything we need, and there are already city guards and soldiers yelling at players to leave. That's also our queue to get out of here without any problems. 

We make our way to the city exit and start on the road again. We are heading for a coastal Kingdom. Chris wants to see the clean oceans of Gaia, and I don't blame him. I'd love to see them too. Earth's oceans were beyond polluted. Only specially lined ships could travel certain routes. The marine life was quickly going extinct, and there was nothing we could do. It was too late, 40 years before Chris and I were born. The mistakes of our forefathers are falling on us now. It's a sad reality. I don't regret having kids. I never will.

Sometimes I curse myself for being so selfish to have them. Subjecting them to a doomed future. After Hailey was born, I fell in love with being a mother. After we learned enough from raising Hailey, I got pregnant with Cera. He was so much easier to raise than other kids. Yes, he cried when he was a baby. However, he never threw a fit when it was time to stop something fun. He didn't demand toys and objects. Understanding our financial situation since he was young. When I see all that money in our account, I nearly died.

To find out it came from Cera made my whole life that much brighter. There is no greater feeling in the world than having a child be more successful than you. I was wrong in thinking that. It's when that child shares their success with you. Showing that all your hard work paid off. That going without food to feed them was worth it. That sacrificing the free time you used to have for them was worth every second. I would've loved to spend that money and spoil the crap out of my babies, but that dream was cut short. 

I feel Chris grab my hand and hold it in his. Pulling me out of my thoughts. "Whatcha thinking about? You had a faraway look just now." I smile as all the memories I have with my husband rush back to me. All the years we've spent together. I can't imagine my life without him... If he'd die. I'd lose my soul. "You still thinking about Hailey and Cera?" I nod my head. I'm really thinking about my entire family. We are outside the city now and walking on a cobblestone path that's soon to turn into dirt. Heading on our next adventure.

He's waiting for me to talk more, and I see no reason to. Marcus is playing with his magic up ahead. "I was just going through my memories of all the kids... Of our time before them..." She smiles and has a stupid look on his face. Likely thinking about all our restless nights chasing our desires. That's how we ended up with Hailey in the first place. I elbow him in the ribs and bring him out of his fantasies. "Y'know... We'll need to find a way to get some alone time. Marcus is starting to go on adventures on his own when we set up camp. You want to try then?" I watch his eyes light up.

Now that the damage to my body from having three kids is undone and I'm young again, I'm sure he wants to try some things. I'll admit that I want to do it too, relive the widest moments of our youth. However, I couldn't live with myself if Marcus caught us, which is why I have reservations. "You really mean that?" I look at him in shock as his voice begins to tear up. "I can't remember the last time we did it... Was it the night we got all that money?" He tries to stop the comical tears, but to no avail. 

I smile and lean against him as we walk side by side. "We'll try the next time Marcus is away. You better not force him to leave. Let him go out on his own. He stays away for longer when he does it on his own." He nods his head, and to my surprise, he picks me up in his arms as if I weigh nothing. Carrying me as he used to around the house before Hailey was born. It's a nice feeling I've forgotten. I lean my head against his chest, and I find myself drifting off to sleep. The events of today are starting to spread across my body.