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

Rep, Finnegan, and Zalan all searched the immediate area for signs of an Emerald Earthenbeast. Zalan watched for green gashes in the rock, or anything that looked like an Earthenbeast sleeping within the walls. Finnegan suddenly rushed over, holding a sword overhead. Zalan blinked, once again having forgotten that a blade was missing.

"You two do a very poor job at keeping your swords on hand," he said as he held it out to Rep.

"Indeed. May you be better than we are when you come in the face of deadly combat," Rep said sincerely.

Finnegan's face went flush. He was trying to make fun of Rep but suddenly felt like he had been the one insulted. After all, Finnegan came into the mines to roll over and die. Both Rep and Zalan lost their blades in monster encounters.

"What exactly does an Earthenbeast look like inside a wall?" Zalan asked, pointing his light against the mines.

"It looks exactly like any other wall," Rep said.

"So… what are we looking for?"

"Footprints at the base of the walls. Large ones that could only be created by rock monsters. Either that or the gems that the creatures were made from. But remember, we only want to find the one made of emerald. If we kill it soon enough, it can not call for allies. It would be best not to invite a battle against all four, even with your newfound power."

"Right."

Finnegan remained close behind Zalan. Zalan fired off high-powered beams of light toward any pieces of the mine walls that didn't look like a simple gray pattern. A slight hint of green or shine was enough to endure a concentrated cone of luminosity. Zalan could see the light leave a marginal singe on the wall, giving him an idea of what kind of damage his new power could do. Burning like a laser, whether on flesh or wall. It gave him a new understanding for the Mind of Madness's beam of darkness. It was likely more than just the absence of light, but something much more infused with power.

"Perhaps here?" Rep pointed. "I see webs at the base. The Homeseeker was attached to its legs by Arachula webs."

"Yeah, go for it," Zalan said, drawing his sword.

Rep threw out a massive blast of flame, searing into the wall. Zalan felt more than just warmth, but serious heat coming off the fire. At first Zalan was surprised by the intensity, then realized that this was the best chance to get a surprise attack. And if they couldn't see the Homeseeker, it was probably safe behind the walls of the mines. The wall shifted quickly, and a shining black arm emerged.

"It is the Obsidian Earthenbeast," Rep declared, increasing his output of flame. It made sense to Zalan why there were webs at the base of this creature. The Arachulas were on this one's shoulder in the earlier fight.

Zalan joined in the attack, blasting the emerging monster with concentrated beams of Elemental Light. It pulled itself free, covering its face with one arm and stomping a foot blindly ahead of it. When Rep and Zalan continued their streams of power, the monster beat a fist against the walls.

"It is calling upon its brethren," Rep announced.

Finnegan stepped even closer behind Zalan, looking over his shoulder in fear. He shrunk with every movement made by the formidable monster towering over them.

"We should run," Finnegan said.

"No, this is exactly what we wanted," Zalan replied. "The Emerald Earthenbeast will make its way straight to us. We can grab the Homeseeker and use it as soon as it's in our grasp. And I can get it super easy by freeing it with my Elemental Light. We don't even have to fight them."

Finnegan saw a Diamond Eathenbeast emerging from the darkness, its eyes locked onto him. Each step was prodigious, causing the earth to rattle. Finnegan gripped anxiously to Zalan's clothes.

"Very well, please retrieve the Homeseeker quickly," Finnegan allowed.

"I don't plan on messing around," Zalan said.

"Zalan! There!" Rep pointed.

The Ruby and Emerald Earthenbeast approached from another dark abyss. They blocked the path forward. The other two Earthenbeasts moved to box them in as well. Zalan didn't care, focusing on the Emerald creature. His eyes peered at its legs, running them up and down in succession. There were cracks on its bare legs, evidence of the explosion from Rep in the last battle.

"Rep?" Zalan asked. "I don't see it!"

"Neither do I," Rep said, frustrated.

"The Emerald one is right there!" Finnegan shouted urgently.

"The Homeseeker's missing," Zalan said with chagrin.

Zalan lit up the creature's leg with a spotlight to be sure. There was a wisp of web clinging to its leg, burning away as Zalan's light came into contact with it. The rest of the wad of web and the attached Artifact were nowhere to be seen.

"Do you think it fell off and the creature stepped on it?" Rep asked, worry lines on his face.

"I think it's more likely that you might have knocked it off in the explosion," Zalan suggested.

Rep frowned and nodded in agreement.

"What does that mean? What do we do?" Finnegan asked.

"It means you were right. We should have run," Zalan admitted. Finnegan gripped tightly to his clothes, going rigid. "Don't worry. Last time we fought, we could barely see them," Zalan said confidently, pointing his sword to the nearest Earthenbeast towering over them.

The Earthenbeasts continued to close in with gradual steps. Before they could get too close, Zalan ran forward and attacked the nearest Earthenbeast. To his frustration, the sword bounced off. He had been so focused on imbuing his own self, he had neglected to imbue his blade. He reduced the light coming off of his body and imbued his blade with searing, bright Elemental Light. He focused sternly on his weapon, honing the light around the edge to a laser-fine point.

"Zalan!" Rep shoved him aside.

Zalan stumbled and rolled to get himself upright. A fist smashed down where he previously stood. He had grown familiar with Rep protecting him in the heat of battle. He trusted him to keep him safe even without looking up from what he was doing. Finnegan was breathing loudly, panicking in the face of the oncoming threat. He didn't know what to do against monsters; he was nowhere near strong enough to fight such creatures.

"Focus on the diamond monster," Rep said. "Cut its legs!"

"On it," Zalan nodded.

Rep had already rushed forward and slashed at the monster's feet, dealing a shallow cut. He looked up and dove out of the way before a foot kicked him aside. Zalan ran in immediately after, focusing all of his Elemental Power into the sword. The Ruby Earthenbeast reacted to his approach too quickly and threw a fist at him before Zalan could get to the diamond legs. Zalan dipped back into a slide and ran his sword upward through the ruby fist coming his way as he slid under it. His sword sliced cleanly, as though burning through butter. The massive limb fell to the floor with a loud thud. The Ruby Earthenbeast took a step back in confusion as it peered at the nub of its arm.

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Zalan, Rep, Finnegan and the Earthenbeasts stared at the arm in shock. The shining, detached ruby hand sizzled, tiny wisps of smoke wafting up.

"My God, Zalan, your sword of light could cut through iron," Rep said excitedly.

"Let's see if it can cut through all these different gems first."

Zalan ran back to the Ruby Earthenbeast, taking advantage of the monster's hesitation at the sight of being overpowered. He jumped up and drove his sword into its shining, red chest, pulling downward and splitting the creature in half. Without a sound, its broken body fell in two directions.

"Go, Finnegan!" Zalan ordered.

"Go? Where!?" Finnegan exclaimed, fidgeting wildly.

"Get out of the circle of Earthenbeasts so we don't have to watch out for you," Zalan commanded.

"Oh! Right!" Finnegan ran over the corpse of the Ruby Earthenbeast and exited the makeshift arena.

Rep and Zalan dove between different punches and kicks as the Earthenbeasts became enraged at the sight of the fallen monster. It seemed they were something like a unit that cared whether the others lived or died. Their speed had increased and their attacks even more earth-rumbling.

"Help! There are Arachulas out here coming toward—" Finnegan tried to cry out, but the sound of a web hitting his mouth cut him off.

Two Arachulas rapidly climbed onto the shoulders of the Obsidian Earthenbeast. Zalan wondered if they were the same two from their previous bout. They watched one another closely, Zalan trying to figure out which monster to deal with first. Rep didn't hesitate to throw a ball of flame at the two spiders. The Obsidian Earthenbeast moved to defend it with an open black palm.

"Zalan?" Rep asked.

"Already on it," Zalan moved forward to cut down the Obsidian Earthenbeast.

The two Arachulas fired globs of webs to stop him. Rep was able to explode one in the air, causing the three remaining Earthenbeasts to recoil in fear. It seemed they still remembered the larger explosion that Rep put them through in the earlier fight. The other web stuck Zalan in the foot, tugging him to stop in place. He aimed Elemental Light at the web and began to disintegrate it away.

"Zalan! Down!" Rep ordered.

Zalan knelt down as far as he could, feeling the wind of a massive rock fist passing overhead. He didn't have to look up to know how close he was to being decapitated.

He freed himself of the web and dove forward to slash the Obsidian Earthenbeast with the light-imbued blade. The two spiders tried to stop him with more webs, but Zalan connected his attack first. Thrusting at the giant black knee with all his might.

The blade bounced off to the side. Zalan opened his eyes wide in shock. The Earthenbeasts of different gems had different levels of defense.

"My Strength and Wisdom still aren't enough to hurt it!" Zalan shouted.

"Try the others! I will distract the Arachulas!" Rep said.

Zalan rushed toward the Diamond Earthenbeast while Rep threw flame after flame at the obsidian one. It shielded the two spiders on its shoulders, both preventing it from trying to attack and blocking any webs the Arachulas would try to spit. The Diamond Earthenbeast beat both fists to the ground, rumbling the world with enough force to throw Zalan off balance. But with his Elemental light illuminating the room, Zalan wasn't nearly as disoriented by the shifting world below him. He could see, so he could fight.

Zalan stumbled, but kept his momentum forward. He crashed into the Diamond Earthenbeast with his sword, slicing clean through its leg. The Earthenbeast collapsed to the side, losing all sense of balance. Zalan wasted no time cutting his head off, then spun in place to take on the Emerald Earthenbeast. The creature seemed hesitant after seeing the second of its kin fall to the light blade.

"Rep?" Zalan asked with a quick glance.

"I am fine, keep up your attacks," Rep said, continuing to emit his onslaught of Elemental Fire at the Obsidian Earthenbeast.

"On it."

After another moment of contemplation, the Emerald creature decided to be the first to strike. Zalan waited for the Emerald Earthenbeast to stomp down hard, trying to crush him. With its slow speed, Zalan could easily telegraph the crushing move and sidestep it. As soon as it came down, Zalan cut through the base of its leg. The Earthenbeast swatted at him, but Zalan simply held up his sword and allowed it to slice its own arm off. It fell backward, flailing with its remaining arm and leg. Without a moment's thought, Zalan rushed around it and removed its head while it was disoriented. Only the Obsidian Elemental seemed too powerful for him to strike through.

"Done here," Zalan said. "Should we run from this one?"

"With the Arachulas on its shoulders, we will not get far. They will stick us in place and pursue us. And so long as the Obsidian Earthenbeast protects them, we can not get at them. Any ideas?" Rep asked.

Zalan raised his hands and blasted light at the sides of the pronounced obsidian shoulders. Concentrating hard, he tried to redirect light to hit the Arachula's from behind. He could barely get the Elemental Light to bend, even with his advanced Wisdom. With Elemental Lightning, it took him a while to get it to move midair, but bending Elemental Light seemed entirely out of his grasp. The Arachulas were safe, and Zalan lowered his hands in a disappointed defeat.

Rep stopped emitting flame to catch his breath. The Arachulas jumped on the opportunity quickly. They appeared from behind the Obsidian Earthenbeast's head and hissed at the duo under them. A wad of webbing plopped on the floor between Rep and Zalan. Zalan raised his arm to burn it away, then hesitated.

"An idea?" Rep asked hopefully.

"Yeah, let the spiders pile up a bunch of webs in one spot."

"I hope you do not intend to try and take it down with an explosion. I already tried to take them down with the web explosion earlier," Rep reminded, presenting his scarred arms for effect.

"This is different. Finnegan inspired the plan. Try to get them firing in one place."

Rep nodded with no further questions. He and Zalan remained as close as they could to the web on the ground without sticking to it. The Arachulas fired again, and Rep and Zalan dodged enough for more sticky substance to gather in one spot. A small pile was forming, like a collection of used napkins.

The Obsidian Earthenbeast brought its arms down to try and pancake Rep and Zalan in a clap. Rep and Zalan dove out of the way, blasted back by the sound wave produced by two massive rock arms colliding. Zalan felt like the world was spinning above him. Before Rep could stand, Arachula web stuck his arm to the ground. Without a word, Zalan freed him by burning off the web. They regrouped ahead of the growing pile of webbing once more. The Arachulas fired again. The pile was substantial, as tall as Zalan's waist.

"All right, get the Earthenbeast to hit the webs!" Zalan said.

"How?" Rep asked.

Zalan shrugged, then fired light at the two Arachulas. The Obsidian Earthenbeast protected them with its arms, then tried to crush Rep and Zalan with a stomp. Its foot landed squarely in the center of the web. It tried to take another step, but was caught in place, the webs holding it down.

"Perfect," Zalan smiled.

"Now what?" Rep asked.

Zalan looked at him with a confident gaze.

"Run! Shoot at the Arachulas while we get out of here and we can outrun them! They'll be blocked by the Obsidian Earthenbeast and prevented from attacking!"

"But so long as they live, they can chase and slow us down!"

Zalan pursed his lips in quick thought.

"Hold them down, I have an idea," Zalan said.

Immediately, Rep unleashed two ropes of flame targeting the Arachulas which were quickly protected. Zalan spun in place and grabbed the Diamond Earthenbeast's head. Weighing it in hand, he ran forward and chucked it at the Obsidian Earthenbeast. While it arced in the air, Zalan blasted it with brilliant light, and the mines exploded in a disco ball of radiance. The light jumped out at all angles, striking the Arachulas over the Earthenbeast's shoulders despite its attempts to protect them. The monsters shrieked and died before the brilliant diamond hit the ground.

"Okay, now let's get out of here!" Zalan said, pleased with himself by how well the plan went.

"But we do not know which way is the direction out! We could be running deeper into the Depths of Despair!" Rep protested.

Zalan stared at him, the idea not having occurred to him until that moment. They still had no idea where to find the Homeseeker. Zalan ran his hand through his hair and groaned in annoyance. The Obsidian Earthenbeast seemed to become aware of the fact that the webs were preventing it from moving. It began to struggle against the floor.

"We can't kill this thing either way! Why should we remain close to it?" Zalan asked.

"Right," Rep agreed reluctantly.

They ran out of the circle of dead Earthenbeasts and approached Finnegan. Finnegan had removed the webs from over his lips, but had errant remains over his cheeks and chin. Zalan shined him with Elemental Light, burning off the remainder. Rep and Zalan pulled Finnegan to their momentum and continued their escape into the mysterious darkness.