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

Moss led the way once they had exited the gates of Libreville. Zalan shined a light ahead of them and Rep and Slauson kept flames going to maintain warmth.

"I did not think I would miss the undead creatures, but being out here without them…" Moss trailed, and the others silently agreed with his sentiment.

The travelers had to keep their eyes peeled, constantly checking their surrounding area for warnings that the Fleshless would have sensed in the darkness. Zalan's breath was uneasy, shaking with every exhale. He almost wished something bad would happen to Libreville for throwing him and his allies out.

"Zalan, would you care to share how we survived the Beast of Slumber?" Slauson asked.

"Sure," Zalan said, welcoming the distraction. "I used King Docrun's crown to…"

"When did you get in front of the king?" Slauson asked. "Did you run around the monster with the Belt of Bolt?"

Zalan remembered that Slauson was slapped out of the way from the beginning, and couldn't see anything that transpired after.

"Right after you were hit, the Wrathgaze dug a claw down into the earth around me and tossed me backward. I landed right next to the king," Zalan said.

"Convenient that you get scooped like a precious flower and I get hit by a direct attack," Slauson grumbled. Zalan wasn't sure if Slauson was looking for a response, so he continued.

"I told Docrun to give me the Storm Caller, but he wouldn't give it up. And I couldn't overpower him since I had broken half of my body on the landing. Then the Beast of Slumber turned around to come and eat me. I remembered Slauson said that Docrun defies orders when his crown was touched, so I chucked it into the monster's open mouth. Docrun broke my jaw and ribs, then chased after the crown with the Storm Caller in his arm," Zalan said, rubbing his chin lightly.

"You trusted that the king would keep holding on to the Storm Caller even as he chased after his crown?" Slauson asked.

"I didn't really have time to think it through," Zalan admitted.

"That is why they call everything beyond Level 10 the Death Levels," Moss said. "You gambled your life on something you did not even think through. It happened to work out this time."

"It's not like I went out looking to fight this thing," Zalan said.

"I know, I do not believe in stopping at the Death Levels, anyway. I only wanted to sound smart," Moss said simply.

"Have you reached the Death Levels?" Slauson asked Moss.

"No, I have only gained a single Level since the tournament because I am not a madman that fights unbeatable creatures every day. I am Level 8," Moss said.

"If it is any consolation, then know that I am a Level higher than you," Slauson said.

"How is that a consolation?" Moss asked.

"It is a consolation to me for having to travel with you," Slauson smirked. Moss seemed to enjoy the joke at his expense.

Moss stopped walking abruptly and turned back to Libreville, unable to see it in the darkness of night. He ran a heel in the damp earth beneath his feet and drew a line.

"I can build us a structure to last the night. It will be very small, just enough for us to rest comfortably," Moss said.

"I do not know how comfortable I can rest out here," Rep said, looking around them.

Zalan looked around using his hands as flashlights. There were no monsters in the surrounding area, but neither were there any good landmarks or plants to hide behind. It was mostly bushes and low standing shrubs. Zalan reluctantly nodded.

"Let us know what you need for us to build this thing any faster," Zalan said.

Moss instructed them where to dig in the earth as he got on to creating thin bamboo poles one after another, dropping them in a pile. Rep and Zalan worked on tying bamboo rods together and Slauson stabbed them deep into the earth to stand rigid. Moss remained focused on only creating different pieces of wood and twine to keep the structure stable.

In less than twenty minutes, Zalan wiped sweat from his brow while looking upon the rudimentary building they had made. Considering how fast it came together, Zalan had no doubt that Moss could make the sweeping, decorative structures of his hometown.

"Good work, everyone," Moss said, breathing hard after exerting his Elemental Power nonstop. "Who will take the first watch?"

"I will," Rep, Zalan and Slauson said simultaneously. They shot glances at one another.

"Splendid. I was also going to take first watch. We can keep one another company!" Moss said, standing under the eave of the structure.

"You guys should sleep," Zalan said. "I'm really not tired."

"I suspect none of us are," Rep said, his eyes shifting to the surrounding area.

Everything beyond the light of their camp felt like a threat. Even the simple abyss of night felt like it was out to get them. Zalan wondered if there was a way to get enough people together to feel safe. Every time images of the Swampstomp flashed in his mind, he knew that there simply wasn't anything that would make him feel safe anymore. That must have been true of many inhabitants of the realm, on-edge and waiting for the next attack that their guards wouldn't be able to stop.

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

"Time to search for Aetheria?" Slauson asked.

"Now?" Zalan looked up at the sky, barely about to make out shapes of clouds covering stars above.

"When else? You need the darkness of night to see, and the guards of most towns will not allow you to use your power within their walls," Slauson said.

"He needs darkness to see?" Moss asked, confused.

"He can play with shadows using his Elemental Light, which only works in darkness," Slauson clarified.

"How do you intend to locate the city in the sky from here?" Rep asked.

"Perhaps if we squint hard enough," Moss said, already squinting at the sky.

"The idea is to put this behind the clouds," Zalan said, forming an orb of light the size of a soccer ball. "Then we can see the silhouette of the city fall on any particular cloud."

Zalan released the orb into the air and maintained a hold on it as it ascended. Drifting up like a balloon, the light rose as the three followed its path to the sky. Zalan marveled at his own power, especially as it cast light on the surrounding area and made it feel less foreboding. It no longer felt like he was sending a signal flare from his palms with a direct line back down to him. He had control over the source, and could keep it away from him and his friends. Light was an independent entity from him when he chose it to be.

When the ball reached about eight hundred feet into the sky, a small dot, Zalan went taut, his face scrunching. Slauson peered at it for a few seconds, then turned to Zalan.

"You stopped moving it?" Slauson asked.

"I can't move it anymore," Zalan said, straining himself as he tried to extend his power.

"You are already at an impressive distance. You need more Wisdom. Which will be difficult to come by when you are already Level 11," Moss said.

"That or a Ring of Range. Do you have one you are hiding?" Slauson asked Moss.

"No, not this time," Moss answered.

"The light does not look to be above the clouds," Rep said. "How high are clouds?"

"The lowest clouds can start at a thousand feet, but some go way higher," Zalan said.

"Oddly specific knowledge about clouds," Slauson pointed out.

"Zalan is well-educated," Rep said.

Zalan was staring at the dot of light he controlled, wracking his brain with an idea that would work. He played with the orb, changing its shape to something more like a star, then tested if he could emit light from the orb. He could, shining it down in his face and turning away quickly from blinding light in the middle of the night.

Continuing to fiddle with the ball of power, Zalan ran a hand through his hair. Something about the mention of being well-educated made Zalan feel crazy for not having a solution to this problem. He had control over light itself and couldn't see anything! Images of his college classes flashed before his mind's eye. Something about the projector in his classes called out to him.

"So much for that idea," Moss said. "Perhaps we need to fly up there ourselves to see the city. We are in search of an Elemental Air user named Gorbonifus, yes? That should be of great help."

"Unless he has not yet learned how to fly. Even if he knows how to fly, how would he get us up there?" Slauson asked.

"Wait, I got it!" Zalan waved his hand excitedly. "Moss you need to make a ton of leaves. Green plants. Pine needles would work well. And then Rep and Slauson need to burn those. It should produce a ton of smoke. Don't breathe any of it in, just make a lot of smoke and let it waft up."

"I am producing things only to have them immediately be burned?" Moss asked, disappointed.

"Yeah, I can shine stuff on it to work the same way to find Aetheria," Zalan was speaking rapidly, producing another orb of light and allowing it to ascend.

"Any smoke will do?" Slauson asked.

"Yeah, just make a lot of it," Zalan nodded. "This would be a lot easier with white smoke."

"How do we make white smoke?" Rep asked.

"I don't know, I never really studied Chemistry," Zalan said quickly. "Go make the smoke so I can see if this works. Away from here, we don't want our campsite covered in smoke."

"Very well," Moss said reluctantly, massaging his arms.

Zalan continued to focus his energies on getting the two orbs of light at the correct angles while the three others covered a short distance. Moss created a pile of pine leaves and Rep and Slauson set it ablaze, keeping it lit as Moss added more fuel. Ethereal plumes of smoke danced upward like phantoms in the firelight. The wind was weak and the smoke was allowed a mostly undisturbed ascent. The ballet of ash and ember reached beyond the light of the firelight and became one with the night sky.

Moss, Rep, and Slauson stared up at their work before looking back at Zalan fiddling with two orbs hundreds of feet away from him.

"Is whatever you are doing working?" Slauson asked.

"Hang on," Zalan said.

Sprinkles of sweat coating his forehead, Zalan was pushing the two orbs of light as far away from each other as possible. When he felt their distance was sufficient, Zalan finally managed to activate the two orbs simultaneously, flashing two floodlights in the sky. Zalan beamed, feeling like he had two helicopters and their spotlight under his control. He pointed one of the two at the smoke, casting it in a faint, warm glow. The other spotlight was pointed above, where clouds would be passing by.

His companions approached him, staring up all the while. Slauson seemed the most confused while Rep grew a small smile.

"Oh, I see! We can see the cloud's shadows on the smoke!" Rep said.

Zalan nodded just as the first cloud passed by. A perfectly visible outline of a cloud drifted across the smoke. Slauson raised his eyebrows, impressed. Moss stifled a yawn.

"I have decided that I will no longer volunteer to take the first watch. All this plant formation has taken much out of me. Let me know if anything interesting happens," Moss said, heading within the bamboo structure to rest.

Rep, Slauson, and Zalan continued to stare up at the night sky, Zalan breathing steadily with the exertion it took to maintain his light show. He would often have to adjust the angle of his light to make sure he captured every cloud that passed by. Dozens did, and each looked almost identical to the last. Slow, drifting manifestations of nondescript water vapor and air. The more energy the Elemental Light sapped out of him, the less he felt confident in his plan to find the city in the sky.

"Regardless of whether you locate the city tonight, this was an impressive plan. I never could have dreamed of something like this," Slauson said. "Did they teach you about clouds in your studies and education?"

"Not really," Zalan said, wondering if he ever had a textbook with clouds in it past the sixth grade.

"Then, are you literate?" Slauson asked.

"Very literate." Rep nodded enthusiastically.

"I don't think someone can be 'very' literate. Maybe you mean well-read," Zalan replied.

"The kind of nuance only a very literate person would care about," Slauson said.

Zalan had no reply, instead his jaw had dropped and he stared upward with wide eyes. Following his gaze, Rep and Slauson soon joined in his expression, an elation growing between the three of them.

Drifting gradually across the smoke was the clear shadow of an outline of buildings settled on top of a cloud. Zalan had located Aetheria.