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

The full view of Aetheria's shadow was cast upon the plume of smoke. Zalan was a mix of baffled, amazed, and excited at the sight. The city was a lot larger than he expected a sky city to look like. By the different heights of the shadows, it looked like there could easily be a few hundred buildings, and that was only what he could see from the silhouette. Zalan searched the cloud itself, ignoring its shadow for a moment. He could see no hint of a city on top of it, looking like just another ordinary cloud from below.

"I knew, deep down, it existed. At first I was skeptical, but my travels made me believe otherwise. When multiple people told us they had come from there I no longer denied it. But seeing it is…" Rep slowly shook his head in wonder.

"Unreal," Slauson completed his sentence. "All this time there was a city in the clouds."

The cloud finished passing in front of the smoke, and the outline of the city disappeared from view. Zalan turned his two spotlights to the cloud that Aetheria stood upon, tracking it as it continued to float by in the sky.

"Well, what do we do now?" Zalan asked. "We found it, but there's no way we're getting up there without Gorb."

"Now we know how to find it. Even if it takes several days to do so once more, we have a surefire way of locating it," Rep said confidently. "That should help us immensely when Gorb is involved."

"I just wish we had a way to track it," Zalan said.

"If you came up with this plan, I am sure you will be able to come up with another," Slauson said.

The trio continued to focus on the cloud passing by, several different expressions passing through their faces. Most common between them was excitement. It was like discovering something that previously did not exist. Slowly, the cloud began to gather more darkness as it exited Zalan's sphere of illumination. Straining himself further, Zalan tried to see if the cloud of Aetheria turned away or always drifted on the same path.

"You are pushing yourself when we have already located the city," Rep said. "You can go inside and rest now, you look exhausted."

"I just wanna see if…"

Zalan blinked as one of his two orbs suddenly blinked out of existence, his grasp over it disappearing in an instant. At first he thought he was too tired to maintain it, then looked up to confirm. A massive beast flew overhead, two outspread wings blocking out part of the sky.

"Is that a dragon?" Slauson asked, confirming Zalan's suspicions.

It circled above them, then Zalan's heart fell into his stomach when a second, larger dragon joined. Then another. Three dragons circling far overhead like vultures. One looked like the size of a bus. The other two the size of a cargo plane.

"Do you think they see us?" Zalan asked.

"Put out the fire!" Rep said urgently.

He and Slauson pointed at the pile of pine needles, snuffing out the flame with their Elemental Power. The only light remaining was one of Zalan's orbs, barely illuminating the three creatures overhead.

"Moss!" Zalan whispered urgently. "Moss, get out here! Quickly! And quietly!"

After a few rustles behind the quickly-built structure, Moss's tired face peaked out, rubbing one of his eyes.

"Hmm?" he asked.

"Three dragons overhead. Do you have any Artifacts that could help?" Zalan asked.

Moss's eyes shot wide open, his neck cracking to look above. The dragons persisted in their continuous spinning, and Zalan was growing certain that they had spotted them.

"Dragons are not that strong," Moss said nervously. "They are supposed to be able to be handled by a team of people who are Level 5."

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"The small one is a regular dragon," Slauson said, looking serious. "The other two are too big. Perhaps Elemental Dragons. The three together will be far too powerful for us. Even a single Elemental Dragon is deadly so long as it can send destruction upon us and fly high before we have a chance to retaliate."

"Anyone have ideas?" Zalan asked, feeling his pockets for the Homeseeker and Oculus of Annihilation.

Rep bit the inside of his lip as he looked at Zalan with a sad sincerity.

"It may be time to use the Homeseeker," Rep said, sounding ashamed.

Zalan looked up at him, his lip twitching with ambivalence.

"Now? Just like that? We found Aetheria! And we're so close to Gorb!" Zalan said.

"I know. But all of that will mean nothing if we are killed by dragons at this time. There may be another way of sending you home. But not if you are dead," Rep said, forlorn.

Zalan ran a hand through his hair as he stared back up to the three creatures. He grimaced as he pulled the Homeseeker from his pocket.

"Fine. Come on guys. Grab on and you'll be sent back home," Zalan said.

"How will we meet up after that?" Slauson asked.

"I don't know," Zalan said, exasperated. "Maybe meet in your town. Whatever it was called?"

"Winkerton."

"One of the dragons has broken from the pack," Moss pointed skyward as he walked toward Zalan.

In a panic, Zalan was about to slam the trigger to activate the Homeseeker, but Rep caught his arm, staring upward. Shocked by Rep of all people to prevent a quick escape, Zalan looked up and saw the smallest dragon flying off to the side, away from their campsite. Zalan heaved a sigh in relief.

"Looks like we put out the fire in time," Zalan smiled.

Zalan's face shined from a massive, volatile fire appearing in the distance. He blinked once then joined the others in turning to the source of the explosive light. The dragon had swooped down and let out a maelstrom of flame on the outer walls of Libreville. With an icy feeling in Zalan's heart, he looked back up, confirming the other two dragons were following. One let out a burst of lightning directly on the center of the town. The other coughed up icicles, sealing the gate shut.

The dragons were attacking the city. And two were Elemental Dragons.

An explosion of color shot up from the walls, all the guards firing their respective Elemental Powers. They focused their energies on the smallest dragon, hitting it with imbued spears and arrows. Its wings were badly wounded and it fell to the ground, unable to keep itself aloft.

"Do you think they'll be able to take on the dragons?" Zalan asked, hopeful at the sight of the first one falling.

"I do not know. Perhaps if they are trained for fighting dragons. But I have never seen a pack of dragons hunt like this before. The outcome is unpredictable," Slauson said.

The battlefield of the walls of Libreville was lit by fire, ice, and a single Elemental Lightning user all firing in succession. Elemental Air sent guards rocketing into the air, trying to combat the Elemental Dragons from above. Zalan felt useless. In the time it would take to run all the way back to the city, the battle would already be over. They had moved so far that it looked like a miniature fortress on the horizon.

The tiny shapes of men Zalan could make out dove in two directions. They focused entirely on the weaker dragon on the ground or the one hovering above, shooting random elements. One of the two Elemental Dragons brought down a deluge of water, enough to flood the city with at least knee-high waters. The other blew air strong enough to blow guards off the wall.

The smaller dragon toppled to the ground, at least twenty different swords sticking out of its back. The guards rushed upward, all of them concentrated on launching toward one of the Elemental Dragons. As they ascended with the assistance of Elemental Air, a few of them began glowing. To Zalan's delight, he realized they were swarming one of the dragons while they all gained a Level from the lower dragon. The resulting explosions that came with the Level was enough to overwhelm the larger dragon, sending it crashing to the floor.

The last Elemental Dragon roared in rage and swooped down. It let out a storm of lightning, incinerating tens of guards before bashing down a wall. Then, it shot up and took to the skies. After several minutes of waiting, it became clear that the final dragon would not return. Libreville had successfully fended off three dragons.

"My God, what a battle," Moss said.

"They survived," Zalan breathed.

"Barely. Now they have fewer guards and must repair the wall before more monsters approach," Slauson said solemnly.

"Better than losing the lives of all the innocent people within the walls," Rep said, looking satisfied at the result.

They stared at the darkness. Without the ongoing battle, there wasn't enough light to see Libreville any longer. Zalan realized how tired he felt, and finally let the other orb of light in the sky die out. Looking out at the total darkness, he wondered how all the other cities in the realm were faring.

"Are some of you still taking first watch?" Moss asked, rubbing his eyes.

Rep and Slauson nodded.

"Do not wake me for anything less than a Beast of Slumber," Moss said, making his way to their structure. He called out more instructions from inside. "Scratch that! Let it kill me. I really can not function well without good sleep, so I would be useless either way."