The Homeseeker: Elemental Adventurer LitRPG [Isekai] (Series Complete!)

Rep guided Zalan to a rocky path that led up the side of the volcano. He seemed to be familiar with the path he walked, confidently making his way forward as the path seemed to lead to nowhere. It wasn't the easiest hike up, but it was significantly better than going for a sheer climb up a rock wall.

"This is the route I took to scale the volcano. Fran went up the other side, which had far less navigable terrain" Rep informed him.

"I take it she wanted the more difficult side?" Zalan asked.

"She insisted on it." Rep nodded with a small smile.

The path spun around the side, reminding Zalan of hikes that he and his mother used to go on in Northern California. Long hot hikes where nothing shielded them from the heat of the sun, and the view was incredible. Turning one of the unstable corners, Zalan's eyes widened with shock and delight. For the first time in his life, Zalan witnessed a live lava flow. A river of molten hot earth casually rolling by below him. It gave him a morbid excitement. A fleeting thought wondered what it would be like to dive in, giving a thumbs up as he sank within. He ignored the call of the void as quickly as it came.

Rep and Zalan turned around one of the corners where they both stopped, stunned by the sight ahead of them. A large monster that had yet to take notice of them. Zalan blinked with recognition, realizing that he had seen it a long time ago. It was the first creature that Zalan ever came into contact with in this realm.

A Flamestriker.

The creature stood tall, looming about the area and searching for something to eat under a few rocks. Its hide was a spiky gray with an ashy texture that looked like gunpowder. Zalan couldn't forget the monster if he tried. It reminded him of where it all started. With a point of its claw, it had the potential to create explosions. Not to mention it withstood Zalan's punch against it, cutting his hand open while taking no damage of its own. Rep stared with interest. He leaned in to whisper to Zalan.

"A Flamestriker."

"Yeah, I remember it. What is it doing here?" Zalan asked.

"Flamestrikers are known to live near volcanic earth. They only leave when they seek to hunt," Rep explained.

"How are we gonna take it down?" Zalan asked.

Rep thought for a moment, a strange expression on his face. He looked at Zalan with interest.

"Do you wish to challenge it yourself?" Rep asked.

"No way, I couldn't leave a scratch on it when we first fought. It literally tore my arm open when I finally got a direct hit!" Zalan rejected.

"True, but you were only Level 1. And I was only Level 3. You are Level 8 now. Do you not wish to see how much you have progressed?" Rep said.

Zalan looked at the monster, then back to Rep. He rubbed his knuckles with uncertainty, remembering the pain of his last encounter with a Flamestriker. But Rep nodded in encouragement, fueling him with confidence.

"I'll be able to hurt it this time?" Zalan checked.

"You will be able to kill it." Rep assured him.

"You'll redirect all the explosions he tries to throw at me?" Zalan asked.

"Of course," Rep nodded. "Just be sure the explosion does not start from within you. I cannot redirect that anywhere safely."

"All right… Yeah, okay, I can do this," Zalan said, psyching himself up. "You sure you don't want to kill it, yourself? You've also grown a lot since your last fight with one."

"I… am not the one in need of a win right now," Rep said carefully.

Somehow Zalan didn't feel like he was being patronized. Rep had that effect when he was cognizant of his words and tone. Zalan had made his insecurities known when he went in against the Thorncrasher so recklessly. Rep was right. Zalan wanted to take the monster down himself. And he wanted to do it without taking the damage he did when fighting the Thorncharger.

As quiet as he could, Zalan drew his blade and crept out toward the Flamestriker from behind. The monster continued to search aimlessly for scraps of a meal while Zalan stealthily drew near. Rep watched closely, ready to protect Zalan in the case of any missteps. When he was a few paces away, the Flamestriker flinched. It began to sniff loudly, detecting the presence of something foreign.

Zalan raised his sword to slash the monster, but it spun around and parried it aside with its large claws. It roared in anticipation, excited by the strange turn of events. Somehow, a meal had decided to come to it rather than the need for a hunt.

The Flamestriker lunged forward and snapped its powerful jaws. Zalan ducked out of the way just in time, wincing at the powerful clamp of teeth above him. He thrust up his sword, only for it to be swatted aside by a flailing claw. With his free arm, Zalan thought fast. He jumped up, using the strength of his fist and momentum of his legs to give the creature an uppercut. He grit his teeth as he approached, scared his arm would tear open again.

A loud crack rang out and the Flamestriker stumbled back, falling to its rear. Its eyes rolled in its sockets and it sat in a daze. Zalan smiled, amazed by his Strength. He was able to punch a Flamestriker so hard that he got it off its feet. A noteworthy improvement on his last fight with one. On the ground, the Flamestriker panicked and raised an arm. An orange beam of light emanated, drawing near to Zalan.

Without wasting a moment, Zalan ran toward the beast, zipping around the beam of energy. The monster seemed somewhat surprised, expecting Zalan to run away. It tried to follow him with its claw, but Zalan ran up a mound of rocks and lept high. He landed on top of it, slamming it down and pinning it by its shoulders. It tried to wiggle free, its explosive light still ongoing in an unintended direction. It tried to sink its teeth into Zalan's ankles, only inches away from successfully removing his achilles tendon.

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Zalan moved quickly and slashed mercilessly down its chest. The monster split open and its head went from ravenous chomping to thudding against the volcanic earth. A moment later, an explosion rang out behind Zalan, the last attempt of an attack misfiring on the monster's death. Zalan spun around, worried that it struck Rep in some way.

"Well done!" Rep said, clearly out of the way of the explosion. He was applauding Zalan loudly. "Even at your Level, I would have expected the monster to be more of a challenge!"

"Thanks, I'm surprised, too," Zalan admitted.

He was proud of himself. He had Strength. Enough to take out the monster that once almost killed him, without too much trouble. And in a few minutes, he would have Elemental Power again. He would be fine in the realm. He would be able to handily take care of himself. He quickly went to Rep.

"Let's go, I'm ready to use my Wisdom on top of all this Strength," Zalan said.

"I look forward to that," Rep nodded, leading the way.

They continued to hike and climb their way up the volcano. On multiple occasions, Zalan saw Flamestrikers on the outskirts of the path they traveled. None were in the way of them making progress up the mountain. They could easily sneak around them and continue their way up. Knowing that he could kill one if he really wanted to, Zalan was no longer interested in stopping for a fight. He had proven himself for his own sake.

After climbing up a more steep side of the volcanic earth, Rep and Zalan were met with a large flow of lava. It was at least a hundred feet across, rolling by slowly with feverish warmth. Zalan looked up and down the river of molten earth, covering his face from the emanating heat. He scrunched his face, unable to see the way forward.

"Where did you cross last time?" Zalan asked.

"Here. This flow was not nearly this high before," Rep said.

Zalan ran a hand through his hair, looking further down the lava flow. He tried not to think about it too much. If the flow wasn't this high before, does that mean that the Elemental stopped controlling it because it left? He knew he shouldn't be concerned, considering nobody saw the volcano erupt.

"We might have to go another way up. How long would it take for us to go around?" he asked.

"Perhaps a few hours more," Rep shrugged, not seeing an easy way to cross. "But let me try something…"

Rep reached out his hands and twisted his palms a few times. He pursed his lips and stretched himself with effort. His forearms flexed and unflexed several times as his arms danced above the lava flow. Zalan squinted, trying to decipher the ritual.

"What are you doing?" Zalan asked.

"I am trying to redirect the lava," Rep said, his teeth grit.

"With Elemental Fire? Have you ever tried to redirect something that isn't a flame? Lava is molten rock, I don't think it counts as fire," Zalan considered.

"This is not rock, it is clearly a liquid," Rep pointed out.

"It's a rock that got so hot that it melted," Zalan corrected. "This is still in the melted form, but it'll turn back to rock when it cools down. Either way, fire is technically a plasma. It's neither liquid nor solid."

"Your otherworldly logic does not apply here," Rep said, clearly uninterested in Zalan's lesson. "The Flame Elemental has made its home here. Surely it has control over the substance. Regardless of the makeup of the matter."

"I don't know if that makes sense. The Storm Elemental lived in a desert, that didn't mean it could control the sand," Zalan said.

Ignoring him, Rep tried once more to turn the lava in a different direction. He gripped his hands into fists, trying to pull at it. The motions reminded Zalan of when he tried to pull lightning from the sky. After a few more waves of his arms, Rep sighed, defeated. He tried to shoot fire at the lava to change its course, but his efforts made no changes to its flow.

Then, he suddenly had a new idea. Rep rubbed his hands together, then pointed to his feet, igniting them both. Rep wiggled his imbued feet, looking over the hot flames cautiously. Zalan raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"When did you figure out how to imbue your feet without hurting yourself?" Zalan asked.

"When you were lying in Journey House. I was frustrated by my lack of control over the situation. And Liv was constantly straining me, having surpassed me in power since we last fought in the tournament. It grated me to watch her laugh as she practiced, whipping fire around effortlessly. So, I worked myself to better control my power. It helped me control my impatience with you," Rep said.

"Oh… right," Zalan said, remembering how long he had spent in the guild the past few days.

Rep reached out his foot toward the lava. He arched his toes downward, like he was going to test if a pool was too cold to swim.

"Watch it! What are you doing?" Zalan asked, scared for him.

Rep touched the lava and winced. Then, he raised his eyebrows in surprise. He looked at Zalan and beamed.

"I am fine," Rep said, putting more weight on the foot. "The flame protects me from the liquid flame."

"Your imbued fire is an insulator?" Zalan said, baffled. "That doesn't make any sense!"

"I told you that your logic does not apply here," Rep said confidently, standing up on the molten earth.

His full weight was on the lava, and he walked lightly along the shore, making sure he didn't sink down in the hot substance. Zalan stared in amazement. He immediately decided that he wanted to try that as soon as he got Elemental Fire Power.

"Okay, looks like you have a way across. Find a way for me, too. Maybe get a bunch of rocks to make a bridge," Zalan said.

"I already have a better idea than that," Rep said, placing a hand on his hip.

"What idea…"

By the time the full word came out of his mouth, Rep had warped him across using the Belt of Bolt. Zalan tumbled to the ground, crying out in shock and pain. He took a moment to collect himself, breathing heavily. The hot air burned his terrified lungs. He groaned as the pain flared up in his chest.

"Do you have any idea how much that hurts? You gotta warn me before you move me around with that thing," Zalan whined.

"I was worried you would refuse," Rep said.

"I probably would have!" Zalan said, then realized that he just proved Rep's point. Rep smiled faintly.

"We are almost at the top," Rep said, pointing up the next ledge.

Zalan opened his mouth to throw more frustrations on Rep, then looked at the peak of the volcano. They were so close. He didn't have to worry about petty things like this.

"Whatever, fine," Zalan said, dropping the rest of his complaints.

Assisting one another, they climbed to the very top of the volcano where a long plateau dipped into a pit of boiling lava. The crater at the top of the volcano, filled with boiling earth.

Rep and Zalan stared with wide eyes at something they witnessed on the plateau, at the lip of the volcano. Rep's mouth had fallen slack. Zalan blinked a few times, ensuring he wasn't seeing things. He was almost certain the sight he beheld was supposed to be impossible.

At the edge of the pit, just ahead of the drop into the volcano, was the Flame Elemental.

Lying dead on the floor.