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

Rep and Zalan's feet were heavy as they walked. The floor was scattered with more globs of webbing, increasing the deeper they went within. They had a putrid smell, often being entangled with the remains of creatures of various shapes and sizes. Zalan grimaced as he stepped over grotesque shapes.

"Do you think we're going toward a giant spider nest?" Zalan asked.

"I like to hope that we killed the only monster in the mines. But I hear them in the shadows beyond. My true guess is that we are going towards more of them." Rep nodded forward.

Rep and Zalan kept their guard up, both of them wielding their swords ahead of them. They didn't want to waste the second it would take to unsheath their blade if they were surprised by another creature. The further they walked, the more grisly the ground grew ahead of them. Human skeletons and remains were scattered around the floor, the flesh peeled from most bones. Almost all of the remains were captured under the giant spider webs, rolled up like a bug before being consumed. Zalan swallowed hard. He wondered if they were alive or dead by the time they were fully captured. He hoped no one had to live through being tied up in a web.

"There's a lot of people in here," Zalan said solemnly.

"Indeed. It looks as though a massacre took place," Rep mentioned.

"How do you think they all got caught by spiders? The monsters are so weak, any Elemental attack could probably take them down. Even someone at like, Level 2, could probably have enough Strength to fight one off if they had a weapon," Zalan said, looking around and wondering what Level each adventurer perished at.

"I think we have our answer just ahead," Rep nodded.

Zalan peered in the dim firelight, then jumped back with his sword pointed toward a spider on the ground. It was twitching in agony, but looked as though it had no open wounds. Slowly, Rep and Zalan approached it to get a better look. Zalan was certain it wasn't hit by anything external, yet it still looked like it was dying, its limbs flailing sharply with every passing second.

"What happened to it?" Zalan asked.

"What I suspect happened to all the spider food in here. It was rendered in a state where it no longer has the will to live. It knows nothing but the pain of its mind."

Zalan was confused for a second, before realizing that he recently felt the same way. He rubbed his hands together anxiously.

"The Mind of Madness?"

Rep nodded.

"It blasts humans and nonhumans alike with its beams. I presume that all men and women who perished here were tied up in webs after being struck by the Mind of Madness's black beam. They were very much alive, but left for food for the spiders to consume."

"The Mind of Madness leaves all of its victims behind?" Zalan asked. "But then what does it eat?"

Rep thought about it for a few seconds, watching the spider flinch ahead of them. He breathed uncomfortably.

"The Mind of Madness has no mouth."

"So, you think it doesn't need to eat?"

"I believe it feeds off misery and darkness. That would explain why it roams the world doing nothing but giving people the worst visions imaginable. It has no need to consume all the things it renders catatonic. The act of depressing them is more than enough for its needs," Rep concluded.

Zalan took in the information uncomfortably as he watched the writhing spider. The idea made sense. The Mind of Madness was never in one place very long. He found it surprising that the monsters killed one another like this. Almost unnatural. He assumed monsters would always be on the same side. But the Mind of Madness wasn't like other monsters. He hoped to never come across it again for as long as he lived. Pure madness was one visit away. Especially in its lair.

The symbiotic relationship the monsters had with one another was interesting to Zalan. The Mind of Madness would render prey to a point where the weaker spiders could get easy meals. And the spider monsters kept the Mind of Madness's home free from wandering individuals. The area was as depressing and dangerous as was befitting of the giant head of pure morbidity. Benefits could be found for both creatures, despite the Mind of Madness blasting everything indiscriminately.

The spider ceased moving, dying in the throes of its anguished mind. Rep and Zalan looked at one another, turning away from the sight in revulsion. Zalan looked behind them, making sure the monstrous head hadn't suddenly appeared above them. He saw nothing, but still couldn't get over the feeling of something's eyes on him. His skin burned with discomfort, in a constant state of feeling watched.

He didn't want to be in the mines any longer. Even the idea of getting an Elemental Power didn't feel as enticing. He considered telling Rep that they should just use the Homeseeker while they still had the chance as they moved around the dead monster. He blinked with indecision, trying to figure out what the fallback would be if he didn't get his Elemental Power in the mines.

This was the place that Madam Hikma sent them. He understood now that there was a reason for it. The Guidance Gem revealed something to her that made it clear that his power was somewhere in here. It could even be that there was something more than Elemental Power to be found. Breathing deeply, Zalan decided to try and call for the Elemental once more, hoping to cut the endless delve into darkness short.

"Elemental?" Zalan called less confidently than the first time. "I'm here for your challenge! I don't care what kind of power, I'll take anything. Just appear already."

Rep and Zalan braced themselves, waiting for another monster to rush them at the sound of Zalan's call. Nothing came. But that brought Rep and Zalan no comfort. Not knowing what was out there felt almost as bad as knowing. Shuffling, thudding, and scuttling still filled the ambient, dark atmosphere. Somewhere in the vicinity, monsters were just waiting for the right opportunity.

"I suppose we continue further within?" Rep asked.

"We have to, right?" Zalan asked.

Rep didn't answer. With a worried determination, he continued trudging forward. Zalan followed closely, remaining in what little light was being emitted. It wasn't long before they came across another few paths splitting off their tunnel. They had three options this time, but went down the one on the right with no hesitation. They were silently sticking to Zalan's plan to treat the Depths of Despair as a maze.

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Zalan suddenly got a sense of vertigo when he realized he had no idea what time it was. He had no frame of reference for how much time had passed since they had entered a world of total darkness.

"How far are we from the entrance?" Zalan asked.

Rep suddenly twisted his head back in thought. He returned forward, a faraway look in his eyes.

"I have not the slightest idea. How long have we even been down here? Should we stop to eat?" Rep suggested.

Zalan didn't like the idea of sitting in one place in the Depths of Despair. It felt like it would be asking for a monster to attack them. Regardless, he nodded his assent.

They approached the closest cold wall to rest against. Striking with his blade, Zalan tested whether it was set to have a trap go off like the Island of Remains. Satisfied by the lack of death traps, they laid their backs to the wall and knelt down, keeping the flame ahead of them. Their backs were protected and the area ahead wouldn't be prone to any ambushes. Zalan knew that there was very little chance of stopping a surprise attack when visibility was so low, but it still felt smart to set themselves up in this manner.

They quickly pulled food from their bags and rapidly shoved it into their mouths. Every second spent chewing felt like a moment that could be used to spring webs at them, or for a new creature to appear from the endless abyss. They scarfed down food as fast as it took to chew, not taking even a second to savor any flavors. Zalan was about to ask why they didn't walk while they ate, but got a good look at Rep's face.

He was sweating, despite the cold. He had been emitting his flame nonstop for what must have been hours. He was breathing deeply, catching his breath between bites of food and sips of water. Despite having recently gained a Level, the constant flow of energy it took to maintain even a modest flame was taking its toll. He wasn't going to be able to hold out like this.

It was then that Zalan realized that their time in the mines was severely limited. It wasn't based on the amount of food they could maintain. Traveling in the Depths of Despair was one challenge, but it would be suicide to spend the night. Even leaving someone on watch wouldn't help when the brightest flame they could create only shined a few feet ahead of them. If a few monsters gathered together to strike in the darkness, they would be overwhelmed by the time they stood to fight. If they didn't succeed today, it was likely that they would have to use the Homeseeker to escape. And if he were to experience the warmth of the sun again, Zalan wondered whether he would ever have the courage to come back into the dreaded darkness.

If not, he would be powerless, knowing that he might have been only feet away from the next challenge. Morloch was free to roam the realm and rid it of any source of power. Left to his devious devices, Zalan would be powerless forever.

He had a hard time thinking he could win enough fights to go back home without an element. He was considering the acquisition of Elemental Power the kind of change he needed to become a better person like Penelope suggested. He didn't know whether he would be able to go on living in the shadow of his losses otherwise. He needed a tangible turning point in his life, not just a change in mentality.

Zalan suddenly grew antsy, running a hand through his hair. He didn't want to continue resting when he could be moving, looking for the Elemental within the mines. Time felt so fleeting. He looked at Rep, trying to read whether he had eaten enough to get going. Rep was breathing more smoothly, but the thin layer of sweat remained on his forehead. Rep was staring at the ground, focused on nothing in particular. Zalan continued to stare until Rep met his eyes.

"Should we get going?" Zalan asked.

Rep winced to himself and looked up further into the mines. His face was the epitome of reluctance, several lines on his forehead above his twitching eyebrows. Despite his apparent hesitations, Rep closed his eyes and quelled his nerves with a deep breath. He reopened them and looked to Zalan, not one to want to disappoint.

"Let us continue," Rep nodded.

Zalan stood and held out an arm to help Rep stand. Rep took it and Zalan had to pull harder than he expected to get him to his feet. Carrying a significant amount of his weight, Zalan considered that he might be trying to conserve as much energy as possible. The other possibility was that they had even less time than Zalan imagined. Worried, he began to walk. He picked up the pace they set earlier, and Rep matched him.

They passed another fork in the path, furthering them in the seemingly endless maze of darkness. Zalan recalled the underground trap in the Island of Remains that was similarly opaque. But that place didn't eat away at light, nor did it take such a toll on his mind. He had nothing but silence then, where now every noise felt like a threat on his life. The mines were a different breed. It also reminded him of the Bright Elemental he saw on the island. If only he could have solved the challenge, he would have Elemental Light Power. It would be the perfect thing to get him through. Having his own source of light would make him feel in control. Powerful, even.

He realized that if he had gained the power, there never would have been a reason to go to Nightfall. Avoiding the Depths of Despair altogether, all tied to the single moment in time. It got him thinking about the challenge given to him by the Elemental again:

In the three darknesses, you must find the light.

Zalan tried not to dwell on it, when he already felt he had failed. He couldn't help thinking about the riddle. What would it have taken to get Elemental Light? It was a power he had never seen used in the realm, but one he had been interested in since first reading about it. Could the three darknesses be three different monsters, like the five mysterious Monsters of the Mindscape? Or maybe it was metaphors upon metaphors? Could he go back and ask the Elemental for its challenge a second time? Had Morloch already killed it? Zalan remembered that Morloch implicitly told the Bright Elemental he intended to kill it when he rescued Zalan from the undergrounds.

"Zalan!" Rep pulled his friend's shoulder hard and stopped him.

Zalan blinked, realizing he'd been totally zoned out. He looked around urgently.

"What? I don't see anything," Zalan said.

His surroundings rumbled marginally, only for a moment. Then, another rumble, like a tremor generator on a timer. Something was stomping toward them. Something big.

He and Rep took a few steps backward, then came to the sickening realization that the footsteps were approaching them from behind. They were blocked off from the way out. Rep bit his lips in fear. Zalan watched the darkness closely, waiting for something to creep out of the black-ink abyss.

Emerging from the darkness was a humanoid monster at least twice the size of them, approaching with ponderous steps. It was a creature made entirely of black obsidian, with two red ruby eyes looking down at them. On its shoulders were two giant spiders, crawling around and looking for meals. They had differing numbers of eyes. One with four, the other with seven. Another symbiotic relationship between different monsters, Zalan presumed.

"That is an Earthenbeast," Rep said.

"I thought they were made of clay or rock. Don't they sleep on the sides of cliffs?" Zalan said, raising his sword.

The monster stopped to look down at the two humans on its path. It twisted its head one way, curious.

"I thought so too, but this one must have formed from the rare treasures in the walls of the mines," Rep said. "Perhaps they can sleep in the walls of any natural earth formation."

The monster looked frustrated. It shooed at Rep and Zalan. Neither of them moved, not certain how to react. Then, the monster struck the side of the mines powerfully. Rep and Zalan flinched. A single punch felt like an earthquake. There was further rumbling around them. Rep gasped. He twisted his head around, listening closely.

"It summoned other Earthenbeasts," Rep said gravely.

"What?" Zalan said, looking around rapidly. "Where?"

As if to answer, the walls themselves began shifting. Zalan stared in horror as the mines came to life with movement. Giant monsters of various rare earth gems emerged. Obsidian, Emerald, Ruby, and Diamond. Rep and Zalan were surrounded by four Earthenbeasts, with no path to run through for escape.