Chapter 502 Smothering

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~~~(POV: Marcus Adamo)~~~

~~~(Location: Capital City Avalon, The Kingdom of Avalon)~~~

~~~(Time: 12:02 AM)~~~

So Mary Grant has been the woman talking to me. Mom sets me back on the bench, and she shakes the woman's hand with a suspicious look in her eyes. Mom is still being overprotective, even now. Mary, on the other hand, has a nervous smile at the look my Mom is giving her.

"I'm Violet Adamo, and this is my youngest son Marcus Adamo. From what I saw, my son doesn't know you. So why are you hanging around him?"

Way to be subtle, Mom... Mary is a nice enough person from what I saw, but it's not like I know her like a friend or something. Mom has every right to be suspicious.

Mary doesn't help her case by scratching the back over her head and stumbling over her words. What's worse is she starts to avoid eye contact, which is a sign of guilt.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Adamo... He just reminded me of my little brother... They were around the same age, and I lost him... Marcus was kind enough to talk with me... Said he's dealt with a lot of Mothers... It was never my intent to do any malicious."

Way to go, Mary. You've thoroughly placed my Moms attention on me and taken it off you. She didn't need to know about me having to deal with a bunch of traumatized strangers.

Mom's eyes are filled with piercing disapproval. It's a look that Hailey would normally get from her. And it's not one that I thought I'd ever get. In her mind, it's probably something I should never do.

"Marcus, I'll deal with that later. But you."

Her focus shifts to Mary, and her expression has relaxed more than before. She's not so judgemental now.

"I'm sorry for your loss... I'm very protective of my youngest since my two oldest are off doing who knows what. They don't update me enough on what they're doing. If you'd like, you can wait with us while my Husband gets here."

I'm surprised by Mom's soft and caring voice, and I guess it isn't something that I can understand between the two. Mothers and women in general and better than men when it comes to unconditional love.

So they're more understanding of each other when it comes to love and family on a fundamental level. Maybe I'm wrong. No way for me to tell at this point in my life. In truth, kids my age don't think this way.

But seeing how much my parents love each other and how much they love us. I learned that love is important, and that's why I think about it often.

"That's extremely kind of you to offer, Ms. Adamo. It's been so long since I met a person that was being genuine, let alone two of them in one day."

Mary has had a rough time... A way harder time than what my family has gone through... So I see now that's why Mom is doing this.

The two of them join me on the bench, and I'm in the middle of them. I'm watching the teleportation area for Dad while the two of them talk. It's not that interesting to me, but I have no choice but to listen. So is the curse of being a kid.

"I'd ask what you're doing in Capital City Avalon, but since you're a Player, it's because you're doing your tier-up quests. Marcus just finished his third one, and I'm done with all mine. The only one in our family that hasn't finished all his is my oldest son."

I wish Dad were here...

"Yeah, I'm almost done with my second one, and that'll mark the end of it until I need to start working on them again by level up. From the sounds of it, your entire family has made it alive... Most haven't been as fortunate..."

Somehow, I knew the conversation would steer this way, but it's Mom's problem to deal with. She'll be better to talk about it with anyway.

"Yeah... I'd be devastated if any one of my children didn't make it... I'm glad that I listen to my oldest son... He's the one that helped all of us get into the game... Before the governments made the gaming pods practically free..."

Cera is the only reason we're here. Without him, we'd all be Dusted too, and he'd be alone. Probably wouldn't have ever met Sally too.

"Sounds like an extraordinary boy..."

There is no way my older brother is a boy, not after all the things he does with Sally when they're alone. Never meant to hear that, but I made sure to leave as soon as I knew what was going on.

"Cera is almost 21 now... He's no boy anymore. And Marcus may be young, but he's stronger than me and his Father. Probably everyone in Avalon combined too."

Parents love to talk about their kids, and I don't like how I can't tell her to stop talking about me. You never tell a Mom to stop talking about you. Bad things will happen.

Mary doesn't act all that surprised, and that's because I told her without saying that I'm strong. But she's apprehensive about stronger than everyone in all of Avalon combined, and that's an exaggeration, in my opinion.

"That's impressive for one his age... I'm tempted to know more about your other kids if Marcus is this strong."

This is when I subtly tug on Mom's armor, and she looks down at me. I give her the look she needs to see. Cera said to never talk in-depth about our family's power.

Mom gets the message and quickly changes the subject. I do the best I can to tune them out and watch for Dad, but Mom makes it hard when she grabs my head and wraps me in a hug. Firmly between her chest. Embarrassing, to say the least.

"Yeah! He's my little hero! Always helping any way he can despite how young he is!"

I struggle free with a red face from what just happened.

"Geez, Mom! I'm not a little kid anymore... I don't like that..."

Mary can't stop from giggling, and I see the expression on my Mom's face darken. She's mumbling incoherently under her breath. And then she bites her lower lip to the point it bleeds.

"Now my youngest is too old to even want hugs from his Mommy, huh... When did you stop being my little hero, Marcus..."

Her dark expression lifts, and a sad one takes its place. I can't help feeling bad, and also a little manipulated. Mom knows that when it comes to crying, it's my weak point.

I have to fold and give her a hug of my own free volition. And she hugs me back with a smile of victory.

"Now I see where Hailey learned to manipulate Dad... She got it from you..."

The words that come out of my mouth as I pull away put a fresh frown on my Moms face.

"That's not true! Your older sister didn't learn anything from me like that! She'd have to pay attention to me to learn it."

She's not wrong... Hailey really ignored Mom when she started to go from a girl to a woman. And Mary just laughs at our antics, but I turn to see Dad pop up in the teleportation area.

"Mom! Dads here!"

The conversation between the two is stopped as Mom stands up and starts waving to Dad and saying his name. He sees us and smiles. Quickly jogging toward us.

'Follow current novels ON N (ovelB in.)',

But Mom can't wait any longer and starts running to meet him halfway. Jumping into his arms and kissing him. Causing me to turn away and let out an annoyed groan.

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A/N: Below this line, I'll be keeping Cera's player information. That way, I won't have to place it into the story above anymore. It takes about 180 words up.

[Slayer (Zern) Lvl.228][Tier-3]

[Exp: 42/100%]

[Title: The Son of Arch-Angel Michael (Hidden)]

[Stats] [Strength - 7095][Endurance - 7045][Dexterity - 7215][Speed - 8240][Focus - 19,660]

[Mana aura control: 6/100%]

[Health: 76,560,000,000/76,560,000,000] [Mana: 216,600,000,000/216,600,000,000]

[Stat Points: 350] [Armor rating: 500]

[Inventory] [Dice of Wayland (Divine)] [Hardened Tree sap Armor (Very Rare)] [The Witness (Legendary Sword)] [Fenrir's Whistle (Divine)] [Camping gear] [Food Rations 3x] [Dried meat 3x] [Fishing poles 2x] [Fish 8x] [Festival Garbs 2x] [4x EXP Boosts]

[Passive Perks]

[Inheritor of the Sword] [Son of Heaven] [Slayer of Evil] [Holy Willow Trees Savior] [Finder of Legends] [The Divine who has Legend] [Destined for Greatness] [Dungeon Diver] [An Overachiever]

[Active Skills]

'Follow current novels on No v elBin.',

[Heavens light Lvl.74 325/7400] [Protected by Heaven Lvl.74 225/7400] [Slash Lvl.92 4600/21000] [Parry Lvl.68 85/6800] [Double Strike N/A] [Kingslayer N/A] [Raging Machine N/A] [Winged Glory] [Angelic Flight] [Divine Pressure Exertion] [Divinity Pulse] [Controlled Fun]