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

Rep, Zalan, Oshrad, Kilile, and Rolcoth all struggled anxiously against their binds. Zalan resigned himself to the fact he was going to die on the head of a giant monster, but hoped he would at least get some last words. Fran got to say she had a great time in battle. Even Xavier got to flash one last smile. Zalan would die much like he imagined most others did. Without anything remarkable to do or say before passing.

The massive arm descended upon them and Zalan braced himself to be pulverized.

But the colossal palm suddenly stopped, just inches above him and his allies. He stared with wide eyes, trying to figure out if this was time slowing to a crawl before he was killed. He felt like he was waiting for something. Perhaps his life to flash before his eyes. Without warning, the vines went slack, no longer holding him or his companions down.

"Move!" Sir Kilile commanded the moment he tore the constraints off his mouth.

Before Zalan could shuffle off the remaining plants, a burst of air thrust him off the top like a broom sweeping him far away from the monster. As he sailed through the air, Zalan spotted a figure floating above the Swampstomp and his eyes widened in shock.

Ma was flying using Elemental Air, and was holding up the Swampstomp's colossal arm with her bare hands.

Zalan was twisted upright and caught on a floating pillar of rocks controlled by Oshrad.

"Was that everyone on the creature?" Ma asked, looking over the five injured men.

"I do not know," Oshrad replied like a soldier to a commander.

"So be it," Ma said gravely.

Oshrad pulled the floating earth away from Ma, allowing Zalan to get a clear view of her and the monster facing off. Jaws dropped all around the floating rock platform. Ma had no weapon on her person, and she floated in a ball of Elemental Air spinning around her. She was holding the massive creature's limb back with nothing more than her forearm. With a flick of her wrist, the Swampstomp's arm whipped upward, the creature stumbling back.

The monster put all its focus on Ma, the few others fighting below free to escape vine wrappings. Hundreds of green plants darted out of the mossy creature toward Ma. She floated in place, not even reacting to the oncoming attack. Her orb of Elemental Air blasted the vines aside as soon as they made contact, shredding several of them apart.

"Oshrad… What Level is Ma?" Zalan asked, enraptured by the battle.

"No one knows but Ma," Oshrad replied confidently.

The Swampstomp twisted in place, the vines on its body working against it and twisting around its neck. They squeezed like a vice, but the Swampstomp didn't look disturbed, lacking the need to breathe. Jets of highly pressured water shot out from Ma's orb, searing holes through the giant creature like a pressure washer firing through dirt at point blank. Holding its arm up to defend itself, the Swampstomp summoned a mountain of vines from beneath Ma, smashing into the orb and snuffing out her form.

The viewers watched in terrified silence.

A dark shadow cast over the Swampstomp, sickly dark circles began bubbling up from dozens of points on the creature and growing in size. At first, Zalan thought it was a new attack the monster was preparing to deliver, then realized that Ma had created the darkness with her Elemental Shadow Power. Decaying in seconds, the plants surrounding Ma shriveled and fell away.

The immense shadow grew and swarmed the monster, wrapping it in an opaque veil of black void. Ma shifted her arms around and a crack formed in the earth beneath the darkness. Like a catastrophic earthquake, the ground split open and the Swampstomp fell out of the void and into the newly formed hole in the earth.

The dark void of shadow evaporated and the earth squeezed in, pinning the monster's arms to its side. Its top half was falling apart, limbs held on by small sinewy tissues, life sucked away by Elemental Shadow Power. Immobilized from the chest down, vines grew fresh out of its head to rush Ma.

Ma drew in closer, then raised her arms above her head grandly as the vines approached. The Swampstomp was desperate, throwing everything it could at her, enough vines to swallow all of Oriton rising at once.

Ma thrust her arms downward, as though throwing a spear. Something detonated overhead.

Hair raised, Zalan and the others fell backward on the rock platform in fear. The sky looked as though it split in two as the flash of a bolt of lightning the size of a semi truck warped down from the sky. It was imbued in a vortex of hot flames. The moment Zalan registered its existence, it crashed into the Swampstomp's head and ignited into a devastating explosion.

The blast was so immense that the resulting shockwave tore apart the rock platform the men were standing on, sending them flying violently groundward. Zalan wanted to brace himself, but could barely tell which way was up and had momentarily lost feeling in his arms. Suddenly, the earth was upon him as he smashed into the ground. He heard his arm and shoulder crack in ways they shouldn't have. Definitely broken bones. Zalan groaned for a moment, then saw that his body was glowing a bright white color. He was gaining a Level.

He burst into an explosion of light, and his arm seemed to mend back into place. Breathing deeply, he saw that he only had shallow cuts and bruises after gaining a Level. Rep approached him looking grateful to see that Zalan was still alive. They both looked up at the Swampstomp. What was left of it.

Everything above the monster's shoulders had been obliterated, not even the hint of a neck remaining after Ma's summoned explosion. The small wisp of smoke above it drifted casually, as though it was not the result of the most impressive display of power Zalan had ever witnessed in the realm.

"Did you gain a Level, too?" Zalan asked Rep, unable to look away from the monster's remains.

"Indeed. Myself and all the others, Oshrad included. A full 100 Experience. The most one can gain from a monster," Rep answered.

Zalan checked his stats. He had also gained exactly 100 Experience. There was a feeling that he should not be alive at the moment, the monster was clearly too powerful for him and the others. He was grateful that he and Rep were alive. He could still see the evidence of some of the fallen fighters of the battle, killed in an instant. Members of Journey House were gone. Even some of Ma's guards. The edge of Zalan's mouth curved downward. If Ma had come to help sooner, some more people might have survived.

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Ma floated down from the sky gradually, looking over her wrist in disappointment.

"Only two Experience. I expected three," she muttered.

Rep and Zalan exchanged a shocked glance.

"How high a Level are you, Ma?" Rep asked, amazed.

"High enough," Ma replied.

Zalan's frown grew slightly larger and Ma looked at him with mild interest.

"Something the matter, Zalan?"

"It's just… Why didn't you help earlier? More people could have been saved," Zalan said, unable to help himself.

Rep went tense, clearly hoping that Zalan hadn't offended her with the question.

"I used to work on the walls, you know," Ma said. Zalan thought she was changing the subject, but she continued. "I was a guard, stopping all manner of creatures that came to our city's borders. I was formidable when compared to the other guards around me. They often sent me first, to ensure that the monster would be handled without incident. And I was able to do exactly that, take down larger and larger creatures without fail. I would even be requested in other lands to take things down on my own. Do you know what kind of issues that caused?"

Ma looked at them expectantly. Zalan wasn't sure what this had to do with his question. Rep looked like he understood.

"You were the only one to gain any Experience," Rep determined.

"Precisely. And while I climbed to Levels the likes hitherto unseen by the realm, the remaining guards had no additional Strength or Wisdom to stop the next monster attack. Men and women never gained the necessary time in battle to be prepared for monsters they had not witnessed before. And people died."

The words hung in the air with the backdrop of the dead behind her.

"At some point I vowed never to help again. People continued to come and ask me for assistance, so I started to make them owe me in debts of favors for favors I would grant them in forms of killing monsters," Ma said, turning back to look at her latest kill.

Zalan felt ambivalence bounce in his chest. To his surprise, Rep spoke first.

"But you could still have saved these people's lives," Rep said nervously.

Zalan nodded in agreement, glad to see he wasn't alone in his thinking.

"Indeed I could. But now everyone is stronger to save far more lives. I do not want to be the only source of power in the realm. I already broke my vow not to fight more monsters beyond the walls. You are allowed to cast your judgment on my decisions, but only if you show that you would do better in my position. You are powerful, go out and save others," Ma said, waving her hand dismissively.

"Can you at least help us by taking down Morloch?" Zalan asked.

"You want another favor! I got Rep married and I saved both of your lives!" Ma snapped, irate. "How dare you be so ungrateful after I had done so much! You must do me a favor first! Get me a living Nature Elemental that gives me a challenge I can accomplish!"

Rep and Zalan looked at one another, confused. They turned back to the fuming Ma.

"You want another Elemental Power? I thought you were already an Ascended Being? You still want more?" Zalan asked.

"Ascension is such an arbitrary power! I do not care to interact with Elementals. If you have Elemental Plant Power and over 30 Wisdom, you can conjure whatever plant you desire!" Ma said grandly.

"Like Nightbloom," Rep concluded.

"Precisely."

"And I take it that you've seen a Nature Elemental before, but its challenge was too hard because you already have a ton of Elemental Powers?" Zalan asked.

"Now you are understanding," Ma nodded. "Get me the Elemental Power, and I will personally bring Aetheria to the ground for you. Until then, I am not leaving my town."

"But—"

Ma blasted into the sky like a firework, flying back to Oriton in a flash. Rep and Zalan followed her with their eyes, then looked back at the damage she had left behind.

"How are we supposed to get a Nature Elemental when the Elementals are migrating and running around enough to summon things like this?" Zalan asked.

"Ma knows it is impossible. I believe she was telling us that her debts to us were repaid and it would take much to earn her favor once more," Rep suggested.

"Yeah, makes sense I guess. Well, as much sense as Ma ever makes. Because all her stuff about letting people die definitely doesn't add up, even if it's to supposedly make them stronger." Zalan looked at the surrounding destruction.

The duo made their way over to Sir Rolcoth and Sir Kilile who were still staring in shock at the defeated Swampstomp.

"We live," Sir Kilile said in disbelief.

"You lost an arm," Zalan pointed out.

"And gained another day of life," Sir Kilile said, not even looking at the garish wound on his shoulder.

Zalan was amazed by how nonchalant Sir Kilile acted toward the loss of his limb, especially when he was still bleeding from a fresh hit. His gaining a Level stopped the bulk of the blood, but he was far from having the injury addressed. The danger of infection and blood loss all meant so little to the people of the realm when they were close to getting Healing Rest. While Sir Kilile wouldn't grow an arm back, he could still heal from the serious attacks he received. And probably stop waves of pain that were currently emitted from his shoulder. But he was in no rush when Oriton was so close.

"It is no wonder Ma has so many following her. Perhaps I should join her ranks, myself," Sir Rolcoth mused aloud.

"She is an incredible leader," Oshrad corroborated.

"If there are gonna be more monsters like this roaming around, I think Oriton needs as many people as they can get on the walls," Zalan said.

Oshrad looked disappointed when Rolcoth nodded in agreement.

"Speaking of which, would you like to join us as guards on the walls of Oriton? I saw how bravely you both fought, we could use your strengths," Sir Kilile said to Rep and Zalan.

Rep lit up, excited to hear the offer, then shook his head.

"We are off to try and stop the deaths of Elementals. We can not remain in place," Rep said.

"Very well," Sir Kilile nodded.

"Did you tell Ma I saved your life?" Oshrad asked Zalan.

"No. But I don't think she's a big fan of us anymore after we said she could have saved more lives," Zalan replied.

"I see. Perhaps it was for the best that I was not mentioned in that conversation," Oshrad determined.

"Do any of you know where Gorb is? We need his help with the Elemental stuff," Zalan said.

"Gorbonifus," Rep corrected when he saw the confused look on Sir Kilile's face.

"Last we spoke was a week ago, when he visited his guild," Sir Rolcoth said "He came to tell me he was retiring to move back home to Wollstone and work as a guard on their walls. A shame, as he never learned how to properly fly before retiring."

"Wollstone. Is that far?" Zalan asked.

"A few days' journey in that direction. It should be easy on one's toes. Unless you see more creatures such as this on the way," Oshrad said ominously.

The five men looked back at the dead Swampstomp half-buried into the earth. Zalan wondered how long it would sit out there. Would the creature rot and decompose over time? Would people try to eat it? Would anyone have the Strength to remove it even if they wanted to? Zalan got the feeling that it would stay there unless Ma decided otherwise.

"I will gather and give the dead a proper burial. Ma will take care of their families, I assure you" Oshrad said formally. "If you can prevent this from happening again, then make haste on your journey."

"Well then, I suppose we are off to Wollstone," Rep said, turning the exact opposite direction Oshrad pointed to for the city.

"Where are you going?" Oshrad asked, annoyed.

"Ma just blew up our weapons! And we gotta rest first!" Zalan said, following Rep to fully heal before the treacherous journey ahead.