女神归来的夏天

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

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

~~~(Time: 11:48 AM)~~~

The teleportation gates getting here weren\'t cheap, but I personally think they\'re worth the price The Adventurers Guild has them at. Many wouldn\'t agree with my sentiment, but it saved me days of travel, and now I\'m where I\'m supposed to be in minutes.

Mom and Dad are supposed to be here around Noon, and that\'s not that long from now. I\'ve been waiting on a bench and watching the teleportation area for them to show up.

Hailey and Cera aren\'t coming since they\'re busy. I was hoping that I\'d get the chance to show them how strong I\'ve gotten. That doesn\'t seem to be happening for a while at this point.

"Hey, little guy. Are you looking for your Mom and Dad?"

A voice grabs my attention, and I stop staring at the ground to see the person. It\'s a girl in her early twenties, but every Player looks like they\'re in their early twenties. If I had to guess, I\'d say she\'s a mother herself that gained her youth back.

There have been a lot of female Players that lost children in The Collision, and some have never mentally recovered. I\'ve been approached by wayward Mothers trying to find some solace. They see a young Player like me, and they are reminded of the children they lost.

"I\'m just waiting for them. They\'re coming through the teleportation gates around Noon. You\'re nice for checking on me, but I don\'t need anyone\'s help."

She smiles and takes a seat next to me. This isn\'t how I thought this conversation would go, but it\'s not like I can kick her off the bench. This is public property, and anyone can sit here.

Since I\'m so young, many are concerned about me being alone at times. I resent that in many ways since I\'m probably the strongest person in the city. But that doesn\'t matter when you look like me. People are still gonna treat me like a kid.

To be fair... I am still a kid, but it gets annoying real fast.

"You remind me of my little brother... I practically raised him back on Earth... He was independent and smart... Always looking to prove himself... The day that I lost him stings, and I know I\'ll never be seeing him again... Just don\'t try to do everything on your own, little guy."

Getting called little guy isn\'t something I\'m fond of, but the way she makes it sound takes the edge off. She sounds like the many Moms that have approached me seeking some comfort about losing their child.

She\'s a sister that raised her little brother. So there are some similarities. My sister would never spend a second trying to raise me. I don\'t think she would even if I were her last family member. It\'s cruel to say, but Hailey doesn\'t know how to do something like that.

"That\'s really nice, strange woman. But I\'m not the kid that you lost in The Collision. I\'m sorry your little brother got Dusted like so many others, but please don\'t project that loss on me."

The look on her face is priceless. A mixture of bewilderment and amusement. I\'m probably talking like someone not my age, and that\'s because I\'m smarter and more mature than someone my age would be. My blunt words cause her to smile and start laughing.

"My, aren\'t you the forward one. Sparing no feelings whatsoever. You\'ve probably had to deal with lost women like me, huh..."

At least she\'s able to recognize what she\'s doing. The Mothers I\'ve run into seeking some form of closure, love, or hope have all been in denial of what they\'re doing. It\'s probably because this woman lost her little brother and not a son.

There is a difference, and it\'d have varying effects on different people. From the way this woman talks, I can tell she has a loving and kind disposition, but she\'s been through a lot of pain in her life.

"I\'ve dealt with my fair share of sad Mothers looking for something similar to the child they lost. At first, I would try and help them. But after the 13th time, I stopped trying so hard since it\'d just run in circles."

It\'s a little funny that I\'m having such a conversation with a complete stranger. I\'d ask her for her name, but that seems too personal.

I don\'t want her getting attached to me in any way. I\'ve had that problem too. Devastated Mothers trying to hang around me because I remind them of their lost kids, but that isn\'t something I\'m into. I\'ve already got a Mom and a really good one at that.

"You\'re a strange little guy, but I suppose there is nothing for me to worry about after all. I hope that you\'re parents get here soon. Do you mind if I sit here and wait with you? It\'s been a long time since I talked to someone who is speaking so honestly..."

She doesn\'t know how right she is about people speaking honestly. I\'ve seen so many Players getting swindled or manipulated. Gaia is an unkind place for the mentally weak. When I first left out on my own, I knew people would try to take advantage of me.

But I never let them. If they proved to be any sort of danger to me in terms of taking my items. I\'d kill them. Being a Legendary Class holder means I pack a serious punch.

Besides, who said I\'m traveling alone. My Phoenix Egg is really close to hatching, and after tomorrow, I\'ll be meeting my pet for the first time.

"You can wait with me. Just don\'t try any funny business. I heard that older women have a thing for younger men, and my Mom warned me about girls like you."

The expression this time is one of shock and giddy surprise. I\'m definitely the first person to ever say that to her, and she\'s probably wondering if she comes off like that.

Her mouth hangs open, and her eyes blink fast as she tries to find the right words to respond. And as a smile creeps on my features, she can\'t help but start laughing. I might be making her grow more attracted, but that isn\'t my intention.

"Well, you have me rethinking my approach to younger kids now. But your Mom and Dad would be proud to see how responsible you are all on your own. I\'m sure of it."

Speaking of Mom and Dad, they should be getting here any minute now. I got a message around 11:00 AM telling me they\'re on their way via teleportation gates, but it seems their going to cut it to the last minute.

A few minutes pass, and I\'m still watching the teleportation area. People are coming and going at a regular rate, and I see a new arrival. My Mom is the first to show up, and I don\'t think Dad would be far behind her.

They\'ll be seeing each other for the first time in a good chunk of time apart. I stand up and wave, calling my Mom by her first name to get her attention. She turns toward me, and a bright smile graces her features.

She actually runs to me and lifts me off the bench, and squeezes me in her arms.

"Oh, my little Marcus! I\'m so glad that you\'re okay! Leaving you to do your tier-up quests was the hardest thing I\'ve ever had to do before!!"

Mom sets me down, and she looks at the woman that\'s sitting with me. She looks at me for an explanation, but I just shrug my shoulders. The woman stands up and holds out her hand for a handshake.

"I\'m Mary Grant. It\'s nice to meet you."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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]

[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]