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

Rep held a small flame in front of him as they proceeded further into the mines. No matter what size Rep increased the flame to, the amount of light and warmth always remained the same. The Depths of Despair wouldn't allow anything more than a few feet of light, barely enough to see where their next few steps would land. Rep had also cast a circle of protective flame around them, but it did little to help the light or temperature. Zalan always felt like it was just cold enough to shiver.

The sensation of something watching him over his shoulder had returned to Zalan. He was hoping it would go away with the death of the regret monster, but it lingered. He would whip his head around often, trying to catch a glimpse of this stalker. But the darkness wouldn't allow them to see anything that existed. But it did allow them to hear many unnerving things dwelling in the abyss.

Every few steps, Rep and Zalan would flinch upon hearing something shuffle next to them. They could feel that they were being stalked by creatures, but had no idea what kind of creature would make each noise. Sometimes it was a stomp, other times it sounded more like a scuttle. Other times, he was almost certain it was unnatural sounds of wind whooshing through the mines. All the noises felt different from the other entity watching him. None of them were comforting.

Rep and Zalan came to a halt when the path broke into two ahead of them. Each way looked equally dark and ominous. Rep looked to Zalan to make a decision. Zalan frowned in consternation. He turned around, braving the idea of seeing the stalking sensation. He looked back at the fork in the road and turned one way.

"Right," Zalan said. "We always go right. If we follow along the right side of the mines, eventually we'll end up back at the beginning."

"That does not sound like a reasonable expectation to me. Are you certain?" Rep asked, skeptically.

"Yeah, either that or we'll find another exit," Zalan nodded.

Zalan's confidence brought a slight comfort to Rep's face.

"Are mines something you studied about in your world?" Rep asked, leading the way down the right.

"No, not really," Zalan said. Then he realized how much more comforting it would be not to leave Rep unaware of the explanation, "It's a trick with mazes. You'll eventually go every path there is if you just follow one side."

"That always works?" Rep asked.

"Yeah. It also means you'll go down all the dead ends. But that's fine so long as you get to the exit. So this should be a decent plan. Unless there are more than two exits… Or the maze shifts while you're in it."

Rep and Zalan shuddered at the thought of the walls moving around them in the total darkness. It was hard to believe it could get any more disorienting. They already felt entirely lost as it was. Darkness in every direction that always felt the same, and noises that always threatened to creep in and devour them. Rep kept the Homeseeker at the edge of his finger in his pocket, ready to activate it at a moment's notice. He wasn't going to ask permission if he felt it was necessary.

Another shuffling sound passed them by, this one closer than most others. Rep and Zalan swung its way, only to see a shadow rush out of view. Rep's breath came out shakily and he raised his firelight. Zalan rubbed his arms for a hint of warmth.

"Should you throw some fire? Maybe you can light the way ahead of us before we walk that way?" Zalan asked.

"I do not want to provoke that which I can not see," Rep said, shaking his head.

Zalan silently agreed, despite desperately wanting to know what their surroundings looked like. Everything felt hostile. He could barely trust that his eyes were working. Flinching as often as he breathed, he wondered what could cause the mines to fall into this kind of state. No other location he visited ever felt like its existence was so hostile. It was a wonder that anything other than the Mind of Madness lived within. And it was maddening not to be able to see any of the other creatures. Zalan decided that it may have been an Elemental's challenge that plunged this place into an eerie disarray.

Zalan blinked at the thought of the Elemental.

"Do you think an Elemental is around? Should I ask for a challenge?" Zalan asked.

Rep made a face, looking around uncomfortably.

"I… I suppose so. It feels dangerous to do so in such close quarters," Rep said, then shook his head. "Hold on. Why do you suppose an Elemental may be around?"

"Madam Hikma said we would find one here and it feels like a good enough spot. Think about it. A place this dark is probably the home of the Dark Elemental. I could get Shadow Elemental Powers and figure out how to get rid of the overwhelming darkness," Zalan said.

"That is not convincing in the slightest," Rep said, his voice shaky as he turned toward another noise at the edge of their vision.

"Well, I keep getting this feeling like something's watching me. It's been following us around since before getting inside. That feels like it could maybe be an Elemental," Zalan offered.

"That is only slightly more convincing," Rep said. "I do not want you shouting our location to the creatures in the mines."

"You think this fire is doing a good job at keeping us hidden?" Zalan raised an eyebrow.

Rep looked at his Elemental Flame, then out at the darkness around them. He shivered.

"I see your point. It would be nice to find the Elemental so close to the entrance. The sooner you get this Elemental Power, the sooner we can leave," Rep sighed. "Very well. Ask for its challenge. But if the challenge proves deadly, I am warping us out before you can try to convince me otherwise."

"Sure," Zalan agreed. He was scared enough to have no objections to an early exit.

They looked out into the endless black abyss for a second. Zalan breathed in deeply, trying to control his nerves. Rep spun around slowly, watching all angles for any hint of an Elemental being.

Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

"Elemental! I am here for your challenge!" Zalan yelled, the loudest he had been since entering the Depths of Despair.

His voice rang out, echoing into the dark. Rep and Zalan remained still as they awaited a response. The echoing noise faded away, leaving them with nothing but the scuffling of their surroundings.

"Should I ask again?" Zalan asked.

"You think it is being coy?" Rep asked skeptically.

"No, I just… I don't know."

"Then I suppose we should look deeper for better evidence of an Elemental to call upon."

"Ah!" Zalan screamed for an instant before being slapped in the face by a silky blob. Zalan smacked his arms to his face, finding that the sticky item was stuck to his face. He pulled at it frantically.

"Hold still," Rep said, getting a grip on the mesh.

He gripped tightly and tore the globule of sticky texture off with one tug. Zalan screamed, feeling like duct tape just got pulled off his face. The substance was the size of his fist.

"What is this?" Rep held it away from himself.

"I think that was a spider web! Rolled up in a ball or something!" Zalan said, disgusted.

Rep tried to shake the web off, when another one struck him under his arm, sticking his arm to his side. He looked at it with repugnance and confusion.

"It certainly feels like a spider web! Sticky, webby, difficult to shake off. But even moreso than a natural spider. There is something sickly to this," Rep agreed, failing to shake free. "But where did it come from?"

"Burn it!" Zalan said.

"It feels as though it has oil. I am concerned it will explode in flame and burn you," Rep said.

"That doesn't make sense! This is sticky, not oily!"

"I am unconvinced that it is safe."

"Then redirect it or something, just get it off before—"

Zalan's foot was then shot with the webby material. He was caught in place, unable to pull his foot free on his first tug.

"Rep, hurry," Zalan said.

"Cut it off with your sword!" Rep said.

"Just imbue yourself already!" Zalan said, pulling his sword out.

He stabbed down into the sticky web, only to find his sword didn't come back out easily. It felt like he dipped it deep into a tar pit. He pulled against it, looking into the direction the webs were being shot from. He was able to tear through slowly, like pulling apart a mix of molasses and silly string.

"I think it's getting closer," Zalan said.

Rep was no longer concerned about provoking the unknown. He threw a fireball in the direction of the monster's attacks to confirm, expanding the circle of fire around them in a large attack. Sure enough, a giant spider the size of a large dog was skittering their way, deftly avoiding the fire. It was hairless, with a sheen to its smooth outer body, and three small red eyes instead of eight. Somehow the number was extra discomforting to Zalan.

It shot another wad of webs from its fanged mouth, catching Rep's free arm in the net of webs. He was immobile from the waist up. He could barely hold his illuminating flame away from the webs enough not to burn them.

"It shoots webs from its mouth?" Zalan said, repulsed by the idea.

"They reek of oil as well. I do not think it is wise to use my flames on the webbing. Quick! Reach for the Homeseeker!" Rep said.

Zalan leaned forward, but his immobilized foot was holding him back far enough that he couldn't get to Rep. The large spider's steps came clear. It would be upon them in seconds, large legs approaching the edge of the firelight. The scuttling reminded Zalan of Roaches, and he felt like molting out of his skin. Rep shot a blast of fire at it from his right foot, redirecting his flame to try and hit the spider while it ran. It dashed out of the way.

It lept upward toward Zalan. It bared its fangs the size of needles and was emitting a string of thick webbing from its rear.

"Ah! No! Stay back!" Zalan panicked, swinging both fists at the monster.

The giant spider let out a noise that sounded like a cross between hiss and a shriek. Zalan's flailing arms crashed into its abdomen. The shrieking stopped and it flew across the cave, colliding powerfully into the wall. It slid down slowly, then plopped onto the rocky ground.

Zalan and Rep stared at the monster, waiting for it to leap at them again. It twitched a few times before its legs enclosed above it, turning motionless. Rep and Zalan looked at one another, covered in the spider's webs. They began to shuffle off the webbing quickly, tearing it off of them in a painfully slow fashion.

"Did it hurt you?" Rep asked.

"No. I expected it to be a lot more difficult to beat," Zalan admitted.

"Do not forget that your Strength is considerable at Level 8. But this creature seems to be especially weak. It must rely on its ability to stop its prey from moving with the webs. I suppose you were not supposed to be able to attack it in time," Rep said.

"Its fangs seemed kinda small, too. Well, small for its size, anyway. I don't think it wanted to eat us right now, but tie us up and save us for later."

"I am glad we did not find out."

Rep and Zalan spent the next minute prying the web off of them, rolling it down their arms and legs until they were free to move. There was still a bit of sticky sensation on them, like melted marshmallows had been dragged across them. Rep and Zalan stretched and rotated their limbs, ensuring they were at full movement before continuing down the abyss of the darkness.

"I still think it would have been easier to beat if you used your fire to free yourself," Zalan said.

Rep rolled his eyes and looked at the globs of webs they had cast off themselves. He pulled himself and Zalan a few steps back then sent out a tiny ember of fire at the webs of the floor. They erupted in a massive explosion of flame, hot enough to overcome even the constant cold of the mines. Even at a few feet of distance, Rep and Zalan were hit with the force of the blast, pushed back with enough energy that their feet scraped against the ground. The fire was gone as fast as it started, flashing out of existence once it had consumed all of the webbing.

Zalan's ears were ringing slightly, and he imagined that he could go a lot more deaf if he was closer to the blast when it went off. Rep turned to Zalan and raised an eyebrow slightly in amusement, his "I told you so" held frankly in his silent expression. Zalan tried to find words to counter the face.

"Yeah, well that just means that you could have used your fire against the spider directly and killed it! Look how flammable its insides were!" Zalan said.

"I could have killed it, yes, but I suspect I would have killed us in the process. Attacking the source would likely create an even larger explosion," Rep said.

"I'm sure that you could redirect something that big, especially now that you're Level 7, with over 10 Wisdom," Zalan said.

"I only just turned Level 7, I still have not practiced with my new power. A flame that large has the potential to overwhelm me, especially with the force it emits at the same time. Redirecting that could be incredibly difficult at such a close distance," Rep assessed.

"Yeah, well you don't know that," Zalan said, sounding defeated.

"Neither do you."

They stared at the spot where the webs had burned for a few more moments, then turned to look down the dark path further within the mines. Rep looked anxious to have to go any further within.

"Do you want to call out to the Elemental again? Before we discover an unfamiliar monster we can not handle?" Rep asked.

"Not if monsters are gonna react every time. Let's see if there's a sign of an Elemental further in."

Rep bit his lip and nodded. He held out his dim flame ahead of them and they walked further into the mysterious mines.