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

The Wrathgaze continued its approach toward him, ravaging the earth with every movement. Its one eye oppressed the air above Zalan, consuming his vision with the single, wrathful organ. The monster used its impressive momentum to swing its head down, moving in to eat him.

The stratosphere exploded with a shockwave of sound, as though struck by a hammer and cracking open. To Zalan's shock, the Beast of Slumber hesitated and looked upward, its one eye opening wide. At the last second, its focus had been pulled away.

The blue sky twisted in an unfathomable manner, folding together until a crack showed itself shredding apart. As the sky looked to be falling, an Elemental floated its way out of the void behind the broken sky. By the mass of the snow swirling at its base like a small blizzard, Zalan assumed it had to be a Frost Elemental.

The Frost Elemental's robes glistened, transparent ice cubes that looked to be woven together into a single garment. Its arms were white, covered in a layer of frost that extended up to its face. Its eyes looked like tiny capsules of the Northern Lights, a mix of greens rolling in a black backdrop. The creature drifted downward and the Wrathgaze swung a massive claw at it, trying to smack it out of the air with the brutality it treated everything on the ground.

Its arm passed harmlessly through the Elemental. Another loud crack shot through the air, and a small tornado of snow began to grow from within the Frost Elemental, growing with every second. The Beast of Slumber tried to swipe at it again, but only got its arm covered in a mass of snow. Wind picked up around Zalan, and his wounds stung as the air chilled at an alarming rate. Less than ten seconds from when the Frost Elemental arrived, a full on blizzard had formed, smacking snow sharply against Zalan and the monster above him alike.

Zalan could hardly feel any part of his body, bloody and beaten by both the Wrathgaze and King Docrun. But in what he could perceive, he was certain that the Beast of Slumber was hesitating. More than that, the monster looked scared. It swung its colossal arms at the Frost Elemental in succession, desperate to strike it down, but each attack had no effect. Eventually, the Beast of Slumber had a hefty pile of snow on its back and it shook it off by thrashing to and fro.

With one last stab at the Frost Elemental, the Wrathgaze grew frustrated and smashed its claws into the ground, tearing deep holes. To Zalan's surprise, it began pulling itself away from the Frost Elemental. It was running away. And it wasn't headed in the direction of the nearby town, instead rushing back to where it came from. The Frost Elemental followed the Artifact within the creature's stomach, remaining floating above it. The ice storm continued to pelt away at the fleeing creature.

Though only hit by tertiary pieces of snow, Zalan was covered from head to toe. Breathing was already difficult through the stinging in his cracked chest, and the snow made it feel like he wore a tight mask over his mouth and nose. He was almost certain he would end up buried and suffocated in a few more seconds. But as soon as the monster fled, it took the snowstorm along with it.

Zalan remained stuck in place, his bones broken and his body in disarray. As the rumbles of the earth faded with the leaving beast, Zalan began to listen for any survivors. He hadn't been able to move his neck, but he was still searching for Rep and Moss before being partially buried. As the calamitous monster faded from the area, the earthquakes subsided and Zalan finally had some quiet to listen with. Zalan perked up his ears, closing his eyes to focus.

"Zalan?" Rep screamed. "Are you out here?"

"I told you, I saw someone holding the Storm Caller run into his mouth," Moss said sadly.

"Zalan wouldn't do that!" Rep snapped.

Zalan felt a pit of disgrace in his heart, wondering why Rep would think so little of him. Would he be able to sacrifice himself like that? He liked to think so.

"Why not? Was he… not brave?" Moss asked.

"Because Zalan is smarter than that!" Rep shouted. "He would have used the Oculus of Annihilation and destroyed the monster! He would not have risked his life just to let it kill another day."

Breathing with relief, Zalan felt an ease enter his soul. Rep didn't think poorly of him after all.

"Zalan?" Rep called out again.

Attempting to call out, Zalan found that he couldn't move his mouth. His jaw had been broken by King Docrun before he dove into the Wrathgaze's mouth. Closing his eyes tightly, wondering if he would be found under the small pile of snow or be left behind to die in the shallow, icy tomb.

"How much are you going to melt?" Moss asked.

"All of it, if I have to!" Rep said. "I have to find him. Or at least…" Rep's voice went low. "His body."

With an eye widening in recognition, Zalan realized that Rep was going to melt all the snow with his Elemental Fire. It made it obvious what Zalan should have done from the beginning. He imbued his body with Elemental Light, blinking like a car signal under the snow. His mind swam with pain and he could only make himself shine so much, and still had faith that it was enough. It didn't take long for Zalan's efforts to pay off.

"What is that?" Moss asked.

"Zalan!" Rep called urgently.

Hearing the crunch of Rep's feet on snow, he knew he would be saved. Snow began to fall off from atop him, gently being brushed aside by four hands. He continued to blink with his power, not willing to let up until he was certain that he was free. Finally, a hand ran over his face and Rep beamed at him. Moss poked his head out next to him and jumped from smile to mortification in the span of a second.

"Dear Lord, he was destroyed," Moss whispered.

"Good to see you alive, Zalan," Rep said.

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Zalan shined his power warmly in reply. Carefully scooping the rest of the snow away, Rep and Moss looked over him. Zalan's eyes scanned the two, wondering how they could have possibly taken on the monster without any serious injuries. Rep looked like he had a few bruises, and Moss looked totally unscathed.

"I take it you can not walk. Or move. Or speak," Moss assessed, speaking to Zalan.

Zalan blinked his eyes in response, but also wiggled the fingers on one hand. The last piece of his body that wasn't swarming with pain.

"Excellent. Well, not excellent, but good to see we have one method of communication," Moss said. "I will create a soft bed for us to drag you out of here. With some luck, we will have you behind a wall and enjoying Healing Rest by the time night falls."

Zalan blinked again, unsure of how else to express his gratitude. Then, he blinked again quickly.

Rep and Moss looked at one another.

"Is there something else you need?" Rep asked.

Zalan blinked, wiggling his fingers urgently.

"I can not tell if that was a 'yes,'" Moss mumbled.

"Blink once if it can wait until we are on the move. Twice if we must deal with this now," Rep said.

Zalan blinked twice.

"That looked to be two blinks. But what if the second blink was because something got in his eyes?" Moss asked.

Rep ignored him. "Do you need water? Do you want to use the Homeseeker?"

His throbbing wounds trying to consume him, Zalan pointed out a finger and fired Elemental Light from it like a laser beam, pointing it at a patch of melting snow. He couldn't see where the light was landing and had to guess what shape he was making.

"Is he writing something?" Rep asked, squinting at the melting ice.

"Yes. It says… 'Sawsome.' It must be a term that is common in the world he comes from," Moss said confidently.

"Slauson?" Rep turned back to Zalan.

Zalan blinked several times in confirmation.

"He has not moved at all," Rep said gravely.

"A brave man, but he could not have survived that," Moss said, rolling up his sleeves. Narrowing his eyes in concentration, Moss began to extend an arm, emitting a thin branch from within him.

Zalan tried to write another word in the snow as Moss worked on the stretcher they would use to drag him into town.

"It says 'bery?' Are you hungry? I can make any berry!" Moss said quickly.

"You want to bury Slauson?" Rep asked.

Zalan blinked quickly in confirmation. Moss seemed disappointed.

"We will, just let us get you in a harness first," Rep assured him.

Zalan waited impatiently, feeling maddeningly useless with all his broken bones. Less than twenty minutes ago, he was running. Now, he would have been left out to die were it not for his friends. He wondered if the people of the realm knew anything about being disabled. Were people born without limbs? Were there things that did not recover with a Healing Rest?

Moss wove the thin branches together into a long rectangle, then began to emit large leaves from his arm, like those of a palm tree. He strained himself as he created each piece of the plant and Zalan found it to be a fascinating procedure. It may not have been the best Elemental ability in terms of pure combat strength, but it looked to be the most useful. Like being your own 3D Printer. Zalan wondered if it felt the same as emitting any other power. Elemental Light and Elemental Lightning had enough similarities that Zalan could get the hang of it pretty quickly. Would he need to relearn everything if he ever got another power?

Rep and Moss knelt down and raised Zalan inches off the ground to slide the stretcher beneath him. Zalan screamed at the moment he was touched, but was glad they didn't stop for his sake. He just wanted to get it over with. Finally, Zalan's face drenched in blood and sweat, he was lifted off the ground.

"That way to Slauson," Rep said solemnly, leading the way.

"Oh, I did not expect that," Moss said.

With a widening of his eyes, Zalan was able to make out what Moss was referring to from the periphery of his vision. The two Fleshless that were sent off to distract the Wrathgaze were standing vigilantly over Slauson's overturned body. They had returned just like they were ordered to. Slauson's body was face first into the ground, his arms and legs twisted in grotesque directions. Zalan wondered if the Fleshless still had to follow commands even when their commander had perished. Would King Docrun have remained standing in place for the rest of time?

When they got within a dozen feet, the Fleshless turned toward them sharply, placing their arms open to protect Slauson. Rep and Moss stopped and lowered Zalan gently to the ground so as not to be attacked while holding onto him.

"I did not expect this," Moss repeated, impressed.

"We would just like to bury him," Rep explained. "Ah, wait, explaining is useless. Let us take the Resurrector from him and command them to assist us with the grave."

"Mmph."

Zalan's eyes went wide. It sounded as though one of the Fleshless had spoken, but neither of their lips moved. He saw that Rep and Moss shared his expression.

"Did that Fleshless just try to speak?" Moss asked, sounding both shocked and offended. "Could have done that a lot sooner."

"It does not matter, let us do this quickly," Rep said, taking a step forward.

"Mmph."

This time, all eyes dropped to the ground.

"Slauson? Are you alive?" Moss asked.

"Mmph."

"It would be very funny if he just said 'no,'" Moss said, smiling at his own joke.

"Tell your Fleshless to back down so we can assist you. Either that or we can just kill them," Rep said.

"Mmph! Mmph!"

Rep and Moss looked at one another, confused.

"Can you make a twine to tie them together? And then I can grab the Ressurector? That way we do not have to kill them if Slauson wishes to preserve them," Rep explained.

"You could just burn them to a crisp and save us the time," Moss said.

"Just do it."

Moss rolled his eyes and complied, bringing out what looked like corn husks. Rep tied them together as fast as Moss produced them. Pulling it tight, Rep had a sort of lasso he spun over his head and cast at the Fleshless. He landed it around their legs, then gave the end of the plant rope to Moss.

"Keep them off me," Rep said.

Rep walked toward Slauson and Moss walked away, dragging the protesting Fleshless along with him. Kneeling down, Rep touched the Ressurector at Slauson's hip.

"Stop… ummm… Doing anything," Rep commanded.

The Fleshless stood in place, looking out aimlessly. Rep turned back to Slauson and very gingerly raised his neck. Slauson let out a groan.

"You live!" Rep confirmed.

"I think every bone in my body is broken," Slauson replied.

"Not every bone! Zalan has you beat! He can not even speak!" Moss said merrily.

Slauson exhaled in frustration.

"Just shut up and get me to a town."