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

"How did you intend to get yourselves to Aetheria?" Gorb asked, then quickly corrected himself, frowning. "I mean, how did you intend to get us all in the sky?"

"That's why we came to see you," Zalan said. "You always said you wanted to fly, right? Is there any way you could get us up to the city the next time it drifts overhead?"

"If I am being honest, I will admit I have made a few attempts, but not anything in earnest. Something about Fran not being here to witness it made me feel a little less inclined to it," Gorb said solemnly. "It was something I wished for her to see with her excited demeanor. It felt less fulfilling to try in the absence of her presence."

The others were respectfully quiet as Gorb made the internal decision.

"But I am still a man of my word. If we must, I will attempt to take flight," Gorb said firmly. He stretched his arms out and looked to the others with a determination in his eyes.

"Prepare yourselves," Gorb said.

"You mean now?" Zalan asked, stunned.

"This will be a first attempt. I will not take us too high," Gorb assured them. "But it will be a good means to assess how many men I can carry simultaneously."

Zalan looked to each of his companions. Rep nodded confidently, Slauson shrugged and Moss bobbed in place, excited. Zalan turned back to Gorb and nodded. Gorb closed his eyes and breathed in deeply.

Snapping his eyes open, Gorb exhaled loudly and exploded in a blast of wind. Zalan felt the weight being picked out from under him and his clothes whipped around him powerfully. His ears could hear nothing but the air blasting past him, but his heart pumped excitedly. Slowly, he was lifting off the ground. Waving his arms to remain upright, Zalan felt his feet become weightless. He was floating.

Looking around at the others, Zalan could see every one of his friends were floating off the ground. The bales of hay remained on the ground, though the wind whipped through them and tore hay from the collective. Gorb was redirecting his power to focus it only on the humans. Moss was conjuring leaves to toss in the tornado of wind with glee. Slauson made an effort to try and remain as upright as possible, shifting his weight sporadically in the air. Rep was floating sideways, but he watched Gorb with consternation. Zalan joined him and saw an immediate issue.

Gorb had gone completely beet red in the face, gritting his teeth as he tried to maintain even the gradual floating he was supplying them. Facial hues adjusted from red to a tinge of purple, leaning into blue. With a groan, Gorb fell to the floor and the fans holding up Zalan and the others came to a stop, dropping them a foot to the ground.

Gorb was on all fours, heaving for air as natural color snuck back into his cheeks. Zalan approached him and knelt down to his level.

"That was amazing, Gorb," Zalan said.

"That was terrible," Gorb panted. "That was the absolute limit of my power. I can not get us all in the sky. I could perhaps launch myself and make sure I returned to the ground safely, but there is absolutely no way I can have us all ascend. I feel so close! Just a little more Wisdom…"

"It's fine, Gorb, we can think of something," Zalan said.

"I apologize for my weakness," Gorb said, sounding somewhat mortified at his display.

"You did an astounding job," Rep said, kneeling down and placing an arm on his shoulder. "The only shame you should feel is from being among those who are unworthy of having partook in such a display of your power."

"Your flattery will not work on me, Rep," Gorb said, but he cracked a smile between breaths.

"If you used all that power on only yourself, you could probably take flight! True flight. And if not now, in just a few more Levels," Rep told him.

Rep and Zalan pulled Gorb to his feet and he stared up at the sky.

"I may be able to redirect the Elemental Air in such a way that focuses the power much better. Perhaps having us all link together and using a single piece of air on our collective chain," Gorb said. "I could try that next time. But even then… I am skeptical to say the least."

"No worries, rest up," Zalan said. "We can try to think of ways to support your power in the meantime."

Zalan sat back down on a hay bale, sinking low into its shredded base. The wind hadn't been kind to it and straws of hay now littered the entire courtyard. Moss approached him and got in close.

"We seem to have an audience," he said, his tone uncharacteristically serious. He pointed with a quick flick of his head. "They do not seem pleased to see us."

Turning to see, Zalan witnessed an older man and woman watching from the sidelines of the courtyard. They looked to be about twice Zalan's age, and neither wore anything less than scrutiny on their face. Zalan thought they looked familiar, though he was certain he had never seen them before.

"Oh, no," Gorb muttered.

"Your parents?" Rep asked.

Zalan blinked in surprise, suddenly piecing together the puzzle of their faces. The woman had a tall build like Gorb, and the stature that looked as though she could topple a mountain. The man looked smaller, and while he looked to be assessing Zalan and his friends, there was a dance of amusement playing behind his eyes. Like he wanted to play a prank as soon as he could.

The woman hopped over the fence in a clean jump and stomped over to Slauson, looking stern as she approached.

"Mother, please," Gorb pleaded.

"Not now, Gorb," Gorb's mother said.

She stopped a foot away from Slauson, looming down over him. Slauson stared back up defiantly, his eyes challenging her to say something. Gorb's mother narrowed her eyes. Slauson narrowed his own.

"So," she spat. "You must be Zalan."

Slauson blinked and lost all intensity in his pose.

"No, I am Slauson," Slauson said.

Gorb's mother narrowed her eyes even further, peering through Slauson. Then, her head snapped up and she quickly strode to Moss.

"So," she spat again. "You must be…"

"That one, Mother." Gorb pointed at Zalan, his face warm with embarrassment.

Gorb's mother wheeled around and looked at Zalan, trudging over to him in a single step. Zalan looked up at her, feeling a mix of emotions. At first he wanted to greet Fran and Gorb's parents warmly. Then, he wondered if he should run. After that he feared that they blamed him for Fran's death. He wasn't eager to face the consequences.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"So," she said, looking him up and down. "You must be Zalan."

"Uh, yeah." Zalan nodded, swallowing hard.

"I am Opal. My husband is Bartleby," she introduced them.

"Oh. Great, nice to meet you," Zalan said, a sense of relief flowing through him. He decided she was just intense, even making first impressions.

"Hit me," Opal said.

Zalan blinked, a nervous smile on his face.

"Sorry, what?" Zalan asked.

"Do you have an Elemental Power?"

"Y… Yeah."

"Hit me with it. Zap me. Burn me. Show me your power," Opal demanded.

Zalan blinked again, turning to Gorb. His mouth was pressed into a thin line, his face flush with embarrassment. Rep had gone pale.

"Hey! No!" Opal snapped her fingers and redrew Zalan's attention. "Do not look at Gorb. Look at me. Hit me."

"N… No?"

"No?" Opal sounded immensely offended.

"I don't want to hurt you," Zalan said.

"Ha! As if you could," Opal laughed. "Hit me as hard as you can and we will see if you leave a mark."

"Really, I don't want to hurt you," Zalan insisted.

"It does not matter!" Gorb's father called from the fence. "Any pain you induce can be healed away immediately. This is our home. Healing Rest is steps away."

"Excellent point, Bartleby," Opal said without turning his way. "Now stop stalling."

"But—"

"Hit me or I will hit you first," Opal insisted.

Zalan's eyes went wide when he saw sand at her feet tremble with intensity. It was likely she had Elemental Sand Power. Opal's lips slowly curved to a frown and her eyebrows started to descend. Intensity burned in her features. Zalan felt like he had no other choice.

"Fine!" Zalan screamed.

He threw his fists ahead of him and flashed them both like bulbs directed right for Opal's face. She screamed as her eyes burned and she fell back on the ground covering herself with the palms of her hands.

"I'm sorry!" Zalan said immediately. "I'm sorry, you just…"

Zalan's eyebrows crawled together as he saw her abdomen shaking with glee. Moments later, he heard her laughing. He stared in a mix of confusion and horror as she clapped her hands above her face in slow applause, her eyes still closed.

"Did he get you?" Bartleby asked enthusiastically.

"Very much so!" Opal rubbed her eyes and opened them slightly. "As though I have been staring into the sun."

"Oh fantastic," Bartleby said, climbing over the fence and helping his wife to her feet.

"Gorb, what does he call you?" Opal asked.

"He calls me Gorb."

"Good!" Opal said. "You are certainly strong. Have you learned to redirect? Or imbue?"

"Yeah, both," Zalan said.

"What about your ability to react in very urgent times?" Opal asked.

"I guess I ca—"

Opal thrust her arm out and vines sprouted from her wrists, darting toward Zalan. Reacting immediately, Zalan bent out of the way and imbued his hand as he pushed it aside. Opal laughed.

"Very good!" Opal said.

"What is going on?" Zalan asked no one in particular.

"Gorb has told us much about you," Bartleby said. "We wanted to know how much he was exaggerating."

"Gorb has a strong friend in you. Though, not so much I would call you 'otherworldly,'" Opal said.

"Oh. Thanks? I think?" Zalan said.

"I will be traveling with them," Gorb announced. "He intends to take us to Aetheria."

"Aetheria?" Both parents scoffed.

"I thought it was far-fetched enough that you told us he claimed to be from another world. But now he talks of the city in the sky?" Opal asked, disappointed.

"Rep said it was real. He has seen proof with his own eyes," Gorb said simply.

Opal and Bartleby went quiet. It seemed they were familiar with Rep from more of Gorb's stories. They stared for a long stretch of seconds, then moved as one to bend their necks to look up at the sky.

"You think you have seen it all, and then this happens," Bartleby said.

"I wonder if the city hovers above a mountain, hidden from the rest of the realm," Opal mused.

"No, it floats around like a cloud, always on the move as far as we know," Zalan replied.

"You intend to go up there?" Bartleby pointed, looking back down to Zalan.

"That's the plan. To take down Morloch, the man that's been killing Elementals," Zalan said.

"If you do not mind my saying…" Rep chimed in, taking a few steps to approach Gorb's parents. "Gorb told us when we were traveling to Castle Docrun that you were very powerful. Would you happen to wish to join us in taking down the man at fault for all of this?"

"No," Bartleby said simply.

"Oh," Rep said, clearing his throat in disappointment.

"Why not?" Moss asked, curious.

"To be frank, if a Beast of Slumber were to make an appearance at the gates of Wollstone, Opal and I would be the only means for the residents to escape," Bartleby said confidently.

"Really?" Slauson asked, raising an eyebrow. "You can not possibly be that powerful."

Bartleby raised an eyebrow in return and took a few steps back from the group. Cracking his neck to one side, he grinned slightly. Taking an impressive step forward, Bartleby stomped the earth and brought his arms to the ground with tightly gripped fists. He held the pose for a few seconds, and the group watched silently. Zalan peered at him, not understanding what the display was intended for. Slauson scoffed.

"I am not sure I understood what just happened," Moss said, voicing the concern that Zalan felt too polite to point out.

Bartleby remained quiet and pointed a finger at the sky. By the time Zalan twisted his neck partly upward, a freezing rush of water drenched him, as though a bucket was dumped directly on top of him. Spitting out water in surprise, Zalan looked out at his soaked arms, rainwater continuing to pour heavily on them. It was like a storm was summoned just above them. Rubbing his eyes free of water, Zalan looked up and saw Bartleby and Opal standing perfectly dry, water skirting immediately around them. In fact, the courtyard itself was the only area covered with rainfall, enough to drown crops in minutes.

"Enough, Father!" Gorb pleaded.

"What was that, Gorb?" Bartleby asked, rising on a massive pillar of water and placing a hand to his ear.

"I said enough!" Gorb exploded, his voice enhanced by his Elemental Air.

"Very well," Bartleby said, snapping his fingers.

All of the water being dumped upon them stopped in an instant, as though swallowed by an invisible entity just above them. Zalan chuckled, amazed at the display. Rep was patting himself up and down and looking up at Bartleby in bafflement. It took Zalan a moment to realize what Rep had noticed. He was completely dry. Bartleby took all the water in his little snap.

"By God, what Level are you, Bartleby?" Slauson asked, awash with deference to the man.

"I am a humble Level 20. Opal is Level 21," Bartleby said.

"Dear Lord," Rep whispered.

"How?" Moss asked, baffled.

"They call them the Death Levels," Opal said with disdain. "But those who call it that are cowards! To live years without any progress feels like death itself! We had to go out and kill more monsters! I was gaining about a Level every year and only decided to stop when my husband reached Level 20."

"I would have liked to meet her at Level 21, but it was a miracle in itself that I reached Level 20. I thought we had run out of monsters that were worth our time. So many come and go and give you no Experience," Bartleby explained. "And those that increase you at all give you a pittance. 1 Experience for a Leviathan at Level 19."

"I could not imagine fighting hordes of monsters only to gain no Experience," Slauson said.

"You do not have to imagine it. Go out and kill Roaches. You already gain no Experience from the pathetic little creatures," Opal said.

"I hate Roaches," Zalan murmured.

"I used to hate them, but now I can kick them far into the air, they fly around like a…" Opal searched for a word.

"A plane?" Zalan offered.

"No, a Bloodbeak. What is a plane?" she asked.

"A large bird," Rep chimed in helpfully.

Zalan's jaw had dropped open and he stared up at a cloud. He had an idea for how he would reach the city in the sky.