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

"A plane is something from my world that could fly around! We could make something like a makeshift plane to put ourselves on. Then use Gorb's air so that we could ride up to Aetheria," Zalan said, sliding his hand in the air.

"I do not understand," Moss said. "Gorb used his power to try and help us ascend, but could not. The solution to get around that is to… use his power to ascend?"

"Yeah, this is different. He won't have to use as much air, we'll be relying on pressure in the air to keep us aloft as much as we would use Gorb for steering and adjustments," Zalan explained.

The circle of people around him frowned, making it clear they weren't satisfied with his answer. Zalan's eyes bounced across the floor as he came up with a better way to define his idea.

"Moss, can you make me a parchment out of some plant?" Zalan asked.

Opal clapped her hands together, and like a magic trick opened her hands to reveal a large drying leaf. Moss stared, stunned at her speed. Zalan ran his fingers across the leaf and nodded, happy with the feeling. He tore off half of it and began folding it together quickly. The others peered in close, curious. Holding up a makeshift paper airplane, Zalan presented it to them.

"So this is a rough idea, but this is a plane," Zalan said.

"And we get on top of this?" Moss asked.

"No, not this," Zalan said.

"But you said…"

"This is a small replica of a plane! Not an actual plane!" Zalan corrected himself, looking at Moss impatiently. Moss nodded eagerly, waiting for more information.

"Okay, so, Gorb." Zalan raised the half of the leaf that he didn't fold together. "Can you make this hover with Elemental Air?"

Not waiting for an answer, Zalan tossed it up. Gorb let out small puffs of air from his fist, easily keeping it from touching the ground.

"How long could you keep this up?" Zalan asked.

"A long while," Gorb said.

"Give me a timeline. How long?"

"Hours," Gorb said, bouncing it from hand to hand in the air. "I would say something close to four hours."

"Okay, now keep this from touching the ground. Use the same amount of air as you're using now," Zalan said, tossing the leaf-paper airplane.

His audience murmured, impressed as it held itself aloft for a few seconds. Then, Gorb cast Elemental Air and bounced it up, allowing it to coast for another few seconds on its own. Each time it was close to touching the ground, Gorb lifted it high enough to have a long runway of air to fall down.

"How long do you think you could keep that up?" Zalan asked.

"I do not know, but longer. It holds itself in the air without nearly as much assistance," Gorb said.

"Exactly! That's what we would be building. And we could ride on that to Aetheria!" Zalan said, slicing his arm upward to the air.

The group looked up at the sky, then back down at the paper airplane as it landed on the ground.

"But how would we get so high into the air?" Slauson asked. "You had to throw it to begin with."

Zalan looked back down at his hands, thinking on the question.

"And you said that Aetheria is always moving," Gorb added. "I may be able to keep something small in the air for hours, but a plane that we are all aboard will spend my energy much faster."

"You should really work on your endurance," Opal said.

"Not now, Mother," Gorb sighed, embarrassed.

Zalan tried to think between both ideas. How to get them above ground and how to stay above ground when up in the air. Running a hand lightly through his hair, Zalan sighed in disappointment.

"Yeah, you guys make good points," Zalan said. "Maybe Gorb's parents can launch us into the air?"

"Without breaking the structure of your plane?" Bartleby asked. "I would not count on that."

Zalan nodded, disappointed. Rep pat him on the shoulder.

"It was a good idea," Rep said. "A brilliant idea to bring technology from your world into the realm. If only you had another plane on your world that was easier to launch and floated more gently."

Zalan blinked, turning to Rep.

"Like a hot air balloon!" Zalan exclaimed, excited.

"Indeed, like a... What is that?" Rep asked.

"It's like a plane! But wider and floats nicer! And it can be controlled by people with Elemental Air and Elemental Fire!" Zalan said pointing between Gorb, Rep, and Slauson.

"Why did you not lead with this?" Slauson asked.

"I didn't think about it until now," Zalan said, patting Rep on the back in thanks.

"So much for well-educated," Slauson muttered.

"Like you thought of anything better," Zalan shot back.

Slauson shrugged, crossing his arms.

"Okay, now let's make a little prototype. Can you make a little parchment-like thing, but this time more malleable? Something like the sails of a ship," Zalan said.

"How should I know what the sails of a ship are made from?" Opal asked, Moss nodding in agreement.

"Ummm," Zalan scratched the back of his head.

"Flax fiber!" Rep said helpfully. "Woven together like linen."

"You mean like this?" Opal asked.

Clapping her hands together, she produced a perfect small square of linen the length of her arm. Presenting it to Zalan, Moss stared at it in awe.

"How do you do that so fast?" Moss asked, astounded.

"I practiced for a long while," Opal said.

"That, and her Wisdom is 30!" Bartleby chuckled.

"That too," Opal agreed.

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Zalan pulled the fabric tight, making sure it was strong enough to stay together as he ignored the conversation. Tugging to his contentment, he looked back up to Moss and Opal.

"Okay, now some string and a little piece of wood as a base to tie to the fabric," Zalan said, looking over the fiber and ensuring it had no holes in it.

"What else?" Moss asked as he began to produce corn husks, thin like strings.

"That should be it," Zalan said, looking over his small collection of string, fabric, and wood.

"This will fly?" Gorb asked skeptically. "You could purchase all of these at a market."

"Of course you would insist on going to market when your mother is perfectly able to produce all the goods you need," Opal said.

"Not now, Mother," Gorb groaned.

"This will fly, just let me tie it together," Zalan said, quickly tying knots through the fiber. "You'll be able to trap warm air inside of this. Warm air is lighter than cold air, so it'll float."

"Air can be lighter than… air?" Slauson repeated.

"Trust him when he speaks of the abstract of this realm. He knows things that I do not otherwise understand," Gorb said, coming to his defense.

"Okay, this should do. Here, Slauson, you can make it fly." Zalan held up the fabric so Slauson could fit his hand under. "Light a small flame, keeping the heat inside of this little balloon part. This is called a balloon, by the way. And make it a hot fire."

"Very well," Slauson said, clearly not expecting much.

He stuck two fingers in the gap under the fabric and ignited a small flame. Raising an eyebrow at Zalan, he looked at him expectantly. At first, Zalan didn't feel any difference in the fabric. The lack of change made him think the hot air balloon would be another faulty idea. Then, he reconsidered, knowing that this would be significantly easier to steer than a plane, when the passengers could conjure fire and air on a whim.

Slowly, the small fabric above Slauson's fingers began to expand slightly. As Slauson peered closely in interest, Zalan felt confident enough to release his fingers and let the balloon hang on its own. The small audience gasped as it remained suspended in the air with no support. Exceedingly proud of himself, Zalan shined a bit of Elemental Light to showcase it like a new technology on display at a store.

"This is a hot air balloon!" he presented.

Opal and Bartleby murmured to one another, seemingly impressed. Rep, Gorb, and Moss stared with wide eyes and slightly open mouths. Slauson increased the intensity of his flame, then chuckled to himself when the balloon began to rise higher, carrying the small platform below it.

"Amazing," Slauson acknowledged, retracting his flame and allowing the balloon to gently descend. "This could work."

"So much for 'well-educated,' eh Slauson?" Moss asked.

"Yes, fine, I apologize for my earlier snipe," Slauson said quickly.

"Can we get working on a larger one right now?" Gorb asked, an excitement in his voice. "Mother, can you help in creating all of the necessary fabric?"

"Right now? Do you not have other plans to discuss in the meantime?" Opal asked.

Gorb looked at the miniature vessel as it began to deflate. He stared up at the sky.

"This will just be a test to see whether we can all ascend. But more importantly…" Gorb hesitated before sharing his next point. "It would allow me to finally fly."

Bartleby and Opal looked to one another, a mix of surprise and parental love flashing between their expressions.

"You are right!" Opal said proudly. "No reason to delay! Gorb needs to fly!"

Zalan tried to run what little calculations he could in accounting for what size of balloon would be able to accommodate the weight of the people. He wrote numbers and expressions on the ground using his sword imbued with Elemental Light. He knew the formula involved knowing what the density of the air within and outside of a flotation device would be, but he ran guesses on those while entering estimates for the weight of the crew and what he assumed was still the constant for the acceleration of gravity.

In the meantime, Opal and Moss worked together to create a rudimentary basket that could hold the five young men for a first test in the skies. They didn't intend to fly much higher than the walls surrounding the city and didn't focus too much on keeping it stable for a long term period. By the time Zalan had estimates for what the size of the flax fiber should be, they were already tying together thin pieces of wood into a basket.

Connecting the basket to the fiber was relatively quick with everyone helping—with the exception of Moss who needed to take a break after conjuring so many plants. In what may have been less than half an hour total, Zalan stood in the center of the basket and spun around in a quick circle.

"This feels like it could work!" he said, excitedly.

Gorb, Rep, Slauson, and Moss joined Zalan aboard the basket and waited for further instruction. Zalan grabbed onto one end of the balloon, held it up high, and invited Rep and Slauson to fill the inside with flames. Gorb gripped the edges of the basket tightly, a nervous grin on his face. As Rep and Slauson blasted hot air into the balloon and it grew, Gorb began to throw tiny gusts of air in preparation to steer. Opal and Bartleby watched from just beyond the courtyard.

"What a wonderful new technology you have made, Opal," Bartleby marveled.

"Only with the instruction of the newcomer. I never would have thought of this myself. Do you think we can utilize this in battle?" Opal asked.

"I was thinking the same thing! We could create one and attack Beasts of Slumber from above who are unaware!" Bartleby said.

"Do not go seeking out the Beasts of Slumber!" Gorb chided his parents, tearing his attention away from the balloon growing tall above him.

"Do not concern yourself with the affairs of your parents," Bartleby replied.

"My parents' are my own affairs," Gorb replied.

"That is not true! And besides, we are only speaking in hypotheticals. Remain focused on the very real ascension you are about to experience!" Opal called.

With that, the basket jolted to one side, leaning heavily one way. The ropes they had tied turned out to be short on one end, causing them all to be spilled slightly to the opposite side. Zalan looked at it first in disappointment, then realized they were floating a foot off the ground.

The hot air balloon was working.

"Yes!" Gorb exclaimed, more excitement in his voice than Zalan had ever heard before. "Flight! Yes!"

Gorb shot a blast of air downward, bumping the basket and balloon another few feet upward. Zalan was looking between the basket and balloon, making sure everything would stay together for an extended enough period of time that they could theoretically hover in the air long enough for Aetheria to pass by under them.

"You can stop with fire, Slauson. Rep, keep adding as necessary to keep us floating," Zalan instructed.

"No! Higher! Faster!" Gorb said. "I want to fly higher than the walls!"

"Gorb, we're still testing," Zalan said.

"More fire!" Gorb demanded, pushing Slauson's arm upward.

Slauson looked at him like he was insane, but obeyed nonetheless, adding more fuel to the balloon. Higher they went, climbing over the height of Gorb's family home. Gorb ran around the basket, looking like a school boy on his first field trip.

"This is incredible! I need Elemental Fire! Then I could fly high whenever it pleased me!" Gorb said.

Feeling somewhat optimistic about the balloon holding together, Zalan finally allowed himself to enjoy the view. Gorb's home was still closeby below, but he could see the city sprawled out beneath him in one snapshot. He smiled at the view of people staring up in surprise, pointing and shaking one another in fascination. Turning his focus upward, Zalan wondered how long it would take to be higher than the clouds and able to see Aetheria from above.

"This is incredible," Rep said. "We could even sneak up on Morloch! Why would he ever think to look above him for danger?"

"Perhaps he needs to be on the lookout for dragons?" Moss suggested.

"We have reached the height of the walls," Slauson pointed out.

"Just a bit higher, then I will be more than pleased with the test. I have never been able to sit so high above the walls of Wollstone," Gorb said, pushing more air below to increase their vertical velocity.

Rep and Slauson emitted more searing hot air into the balloon until they were about a story above the highest point on the walls. Looking around them, they had a good view of both the city and the realm surrounding it. Each of the travelers looked out in a different direction, studying the world from a point of view they had never experienced before.

"There is something beautiful about flight, I will admit," Slauson said.

The bells of the town began to ring loudly, alerting the residents. Gorb went tense, looking around quickly. The residents below began to run around in panic, fleeing the streets. Zalan tried to peer out at the guards on the walls to figure out what they were alarmed about.

"I see monsters out there!" Moss said, throwing a hand forward to point out of the city. "So many of them! It is like an army!"

"They are rather large, I see. But they are very far," Gorb said, gazing out to where Moss pointed. "The bells would not be rung unless it was a much closer threat. Or if they were attacking the walls directly. It is unlikely that those monsters will turn our way unless something is loud enough to attract their attention. There is nothing around here that I would have rung the alarms for."

"Perhaps you are simply too brave to understand your fellow man," Moss said sympathetically.

"The guards don't look like they're looking outward," Zalan mentioned, suddenly feeling nervous.

"What do you mean? Why would they look inward toward the city? Were we invaded?" Gorb asked, serious.

"It's us! They're attacking us!" Zalan said ducking down.

A dozen guards had imbued their spears and thrown them with all their might at the hot air balloon above the city.