Ch. 17 My Mom

The new spells made me smile, adding to my flexibility in spell casting. The biggest surprise, but also dissappointment, was that I was only at level 6. The more I thought about it, the more I wanted to know. So of course I googled it.

It seemed like after you hit level 5 it became harder to level. There were some gamers who had even tried to break down the leveling aspect of the System, but none of them could agree on anything. All that I could really find was that it was a long grind to hit level 10.

Once you hit level 10 and completed your progress quest though, you would be able to level fairly quickly. Then you would stagnate at 15, until you hit 20.

'Oh well, not like it really matters anyways.' and it didn't. We had just finished moving into our new place 2 days ago and were still unpacking. Claire had taken the second biggest room, the babies each had a room of their own and of course Lynette and I had the Master bedroom.

It was a nice spacious house, 4 rooms upstairs, with an office, kitchen, dining room, living room and a laundry room downstairs. We had a front and back porch with a huge fenced in yard. We had to get a loan for 315,000 dollars to get the house, but I wasn't worried.

We also had 3 vehicles now. Well I say we but Claire had 1 of her own and we had 2. I had bought a Jeep that could open up all the way around, whereas Lynette had chosen the Mini-Van as hers. I liked this arrangement to be honest.

A week after we moved in, while I was painting the newest Babies' room, I got a call. "This is Odellin.", "Hey honey. I know it's been a while since we last spoke, but I wanted to know if I could come up and see you guys?"

I hadn't spoken to my mom in almost 4 months, not because we didn't get along, but because at the time I was working way too much. Of course the past 2 months had been crazy with everything going on, but my wife liked sending her pictures and texting her whenever she got a chance.

"Of course mom. When did you wanna come out?" She chuckled "What would you say if I said open your door?" I had to suppress the urge to groan...'I love my wife...don't kill my wife...my wife likes to surprise me'.

"Well then I should warn you about Bella and Nina." I said as I hurried downstairs. She hung up and I could hear the door opening and closing as I jumped down the stairs 5 at a time.

I heard a surprised yelp before I laughed and mentally high fived Bella. I got there in time to see Bella and Nina both sniffing my mom and taking turns nuzzling her face. She was half sitting and half laying on the ground.

"Well son, this is a fun greeting. I know I have seen pictures of your pets, but wow they're huge." She said with a big grin and grabbed the hand I offered to pull her up.

I hugged her and she sighed, then grabbed and squeezed my arms, then stepped back and looked me up and down "Well, being a Breaker is a good look on you." I just rolled my eyes at her giggle.

Lynette and Claire came out of the kitchen with a huge pot and a big platter of food, the babies trailing behind them. "Hey mom, come on in, the dining room is this way." She said and my mom smiled.

I hadn't seen her in person in over a year and a half and I could swear she was shorter. 5 foot 4 inches tall, dyed blonde hair that she had cut to her shoulders and of course wearing comfy leggings with a pale blue sweater, she got cold easily.

I heard another knock on the door after I assessed my mom's height and I went to open it. My mom grinned "By the way I hope you don't mind me bringing my fiancé with me?"

I looked at her oddly and she giggled. I opened the door and a face I had seen tons of times was standing right there in front of me. He was of course "Jordan Rockwell?"

Jordan grinned. He was just as big as they showed on TV. He was currently the 15th strongest Breaker in America, at level 30 his accomplishments were plenty.

He was about 6 foot 2 inches tall, had a very big build, not just muscular but broad as well. Short black hair, a thin moustache and a goatee. He was currently wearing his trademark 'Born to Ride' Shirt with a skull on fire and a pair of Camo pants.

"You must be Odellin? Your mom has told me all about you. I hear you just started Rift Breaking 2 months ago." he said as he held his hand out to me.

I took his hand and shook it, I was star struck. "Y..y..yeah. Wow, Jordan Rockwell is at my house...Wait, you're dating my mom?" it finally hit me.

He laughed and nodded "She's a wonderful lady." he said "We met when I was shopping for some new clothes. Most women try to flatter me or get in my good graces, but no, she insulted my fashion choice. Then helped me pick out something for the charity dinner I was going to. So naturally I asked her to come."

I was leading him into our Dining room while he talked "She and I have been together since." My mom just smiled at that as the girls were setting the table.

We stood there watching them for a minute before Jordan said "So I hear you're taking a ranged approach?"

I nodded and as I said that Bella and Nina both rushed Jordan. He looked down and laughed, putting his hands out to them "Ranged and Animal Companions. I like it. It's almost like you're a Ranger from Dungeons and Dragons." he said and I couldn't help but grin.

We all sat down at the table, it wasn't huge but we all managed to fit. "So how do you like it so far Odellin?" I shrugged, still trying to suppress my fan boyness. "I like it, it's not necessarily the easiest job, but I get a lot of home time."

He nodded "Yeah we do." he said and took the plate Claire offered. My mom was eyeing her strangely "Oh shoot, mom this is Claire. She's a Breaker too." I said and explained Claire's situation.

"Nice to meet you Claire, I am Sally." my mom said shaking Claire's hand. When we all finally got introduced we began to eat. Lynette had cooked Steaks, Steamed Carrots, Steamed Asparagus and mashed potatoes.

Mom was having fun feeding the babies with Claire and Lynette while I was chatting up Jordan.

"So what do you think these changes to the Rifts mean?" I asked him and he sighed "Honestly I don't know. I mean Rifts in my level range were more or less all the same, Lycans and Vampires, then the changes came and now we are dealing with Liches and Hags as well."

I nodded as I said "All of them in my level range were Goblins and Kobolds, Now we have Shapeshifters and Gnomes too." He nodded "Yeah I don't know what's going on with these Rifts. But hey, as long as we can keep getting stronger it'll be fine."

We continued to talk for a while. I explained that I was going for a Ranger/Mage build. He nodded "That's actually pretty cool. I myself am a full on Tank. I've been focusing my CON and STR mostly." I nodded "DEX and INT for me."

So we sat there comparing notes and Character Sheets, I was surprised by how average his other stats were. He was up to 20 in DEX, his STR was over 70, his CON was over 80, but INT, WIS and CHA were only 11, 12 and 10. It was kind of cool to be honest. I guess Min-Maxing is a thing even for famous Breakers.

We continued to chat for a while, talking about everything we've seen. When I told him about the young boy we found his ears perked up "Oh? I have had one of those gates too. Ours was an older woman.", "Are Rifts like that common?" he shook his head "Not necessarily."

"Do you know how Rifts are created?" I shook my head so he explained "So we all know that they are some kind of portal leading to a small area. Sometimes a cave, a castle, a forest, etcetera. These Rifts usually take about 3 hours to appear."

"In that time, small spacial fluctuations occur. They look like the heat off a car on a hot summer day, rippling in the air. Every now and then though, a Rift will just appear suddenly without any warning. That's what usually causes the Gold Rifts."

"Are they special though? Like are they instantly formed so they can capture people?" He shrugged and said "I have no clue. You'd be better off asking the Association. Their scientists have been working on this since the first Rift was discovered." I nodded as we continued to chat about Breaking.

I loved how normal Jordan seemed while we were talking. I mean, sitting here at my dining table was one of the most famous celebrities in the USA and we were chatting like old friends. It was awesome. Which reminds me "Jordan would you sign my Autograph book?" I said running to get it and a pen.

He laughed and signed it. I grinned and put my book away. I was about to ask him what it was like being in a guild, but my mom interrupted "So Odellin, Lynette has been giving me updates on everything, but I haven't heard it from you yet. What is it like being a Breaker?"

I didn't know how to explain how I felt, so I just sat there telling her about everything that has happened so far and the emotions I went through. She listened intently and I could see Jordan nodding as he listened. It took almost 2 hours to tell them everything, 'Damn, I didn't realize how much I have done since being a Breaker'.

"Well, it sounds like your start in being a Breaker was better than mine." I looked up at Jordan questioningly and he nodded solemnly "I was serving as an officer in Los Angeles. This was just after people discovered that we could become stronger when consuming the Mana Stones."

"A Rift we hadn't been able to detect had broken open in a run down ghetto that had been abandoned a year before. Kobolds came out of it and would have become a problem had there not been a patrol nearby. SWAT was called, but my partner and I had to try and stand our ground against 10 of those scaly lizards."

I nodded as I listened. "Our shotguns put down all but 2 before we ran out of shells. So we had to try and hold them off hand to hand." He pulled up the sleeve on his right arm and showed me a scar, it was 3 long gashes that looked just like a Kobold claw.

"The one I fought gave me this before I became a part of the system. I managed to run it through with one of it's fellows spears. My partner wasn't so lucky. She had taken a spear to the heart. I was able to kill the one that killed her and decided on that day I would become strong enough that no more of my friends would be hurt."

I nodded as I thought about his story. "I know what you mean. I am in no way a hero type of guy, but I have been known to have bouts of selflessness." Claire giggled at that and so did Lynette.

"Just remember to always be safe. You can't help anyone else if you die." Jordan said seriously and I nodded. We all sat there for a minute before we heard and saw Bella and Nina running around the kitchen table to gather up the babies.

We all walked into the front room and smiled at the scene of the babies playing with the fur balls. "I'm proud of you kiddo. And I am really happy you've found something to be passionate about" my mom said as we watched the babies playing.

My mom coming by was a surprise that I definitely was not ready for or expecting, but it was nice. It was also nice that I had met Jordan, okay maybe it was better than nice. 'So awesome.'