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

Slauson and Moss looked to Zalan in shock, where Gorb looked excited at the proposition.

"Take on the dragon ourselves! A bold strategy. It would never suspect we have a means of flight!" Gorb said. "Moss, how much of the balloon can you make?"

"I am at my limit, Gorb," Moss said.

"Gorbonifus," Gorb corrected him.

"Whatever your name is, I can not do it," Moss said.

"Do not fret, son, I am still here for you," Opal said.

"Not now, Mother," Gorb said automatically. He paused for a few seconds, staring between the others, trying to form a quick plan. He sighed in disappointment. "I apologize Mother, I misspoke, we may need you now."

"Of course, give me a few minutes, I am not at my peak," Opal said, extending an arm and emitting Elemental Plant Power very slowly. She was starting with the pieces of wood it would take to make a basket.

"What exactly are we referring to when we speak of a balloon?" Magnolia asked.

"Imagine a ship, but it can traverse the skies," Rep offered.

Magnolia scrunched her face at him.

"Captain Buttonwillow would certainly enjoy that." Enzo smiled.

"I think a ship in the sky begs more questions than answers," Magnolia said.

"You want us to go up there and take on the dragon when we are in a vessel that we can barely control?" Slauson asked.

"Well… yeah." Zalan nodded. "We already suspect that it'll be coming back down for another series of attacks in the evening, if not sooner. How else are we supposed to get the drop on it before that happens?"

"Perhaps by not throwing our lives away," Slauson said.

"I am with Slauson," Moss said. "We are in such a weak state that it will do us no good even if we are up there. Why rush to the sky when we might be able to recuperate our energies overnight?"

"Unless it burns the whole place down overnight," Zalan said.

"This is ridiculous," Dimak said firmly to Slauson and Moss, his hand on the injury on his head. "You were fighters in the Elemental Rage Tournament! I expected much more than cowards."

"This is not cowardice, this is practicality," Slauson said. "Racing to beat something you do not have the strength to fight is not bravery, it is foolhardiness."

"And I am neither a fool nor hardy," Moss said, patting his chest softly.

"Whatever your stance, I am going up there to confront the beast," Gorb said, serious. "You can choose to remain and protect the city, if it pleases you."

A dozen eyes turned to Zalan and he looked between them in slight embarrassment. Every single one of his friends were looking to him for instruction. He never expected to be in a leadership position over such powerful allies, but he wasn't going to back down either.

"I'm going up there. And after we take down the dragon, I'm going to Aetheria to fight the man killing Elementals. Well, after we get a Healing Rest, anyway," Zalan said.

"Very well, then I will join," Slauson said, kneeling down to rest as much as he could before being sent to the air.

"I still do not understand this vessel we will be traveling on," Magnolia said.

"You'll understand it soon enough," Zalan assured her.

"Do you have a plan to defeat the Elemental Dragon?" Enzo asked, hopeful.

"I do." Zalan pulled out the Oculus of Annihilation and Rep went stiff, biting at his lip.

"This Artifact causes mutual destruction. You just touch it against another living thing and share in the damage you want to cause it. An arm for an arm. A life for a life. If we can't take down the Elemental Dragon, I'm going to use this against it. And in the case I die while we're fighting the monster, one of you can take this from my body and use it," Zalan explained.

The others looked at him with an air of awe. It was one thing to fight to your last breath. It was another thing entirely to knowingly sacrifice yourself for others. The black eyeball of an Artifact had enraptured their attention. Carefully, Zalan stored it back in his pocket.

"It sounds to me like you are not considering exchanging any pieces of your bodies. Do you intend to sacrifice your life, then?" Gorb asked.

Zalan shrugged with one shoulder in assent.

"You can select any part of the body to mutually destroy?" Moss asked.

"I mean, I haven't used it before, but that's what I was told by Madam Hikma. You can destroy any attribute," Zalan replied.

"What if you intended to remove the Elemental Dragon's wings? Would that affect you in any way?" Moss asked.

Raising an eyebrow, Zalan was slightly stunned at the suggestion, tilting his head in thought. He turned to Rep who seemed equally surprised by the idea.

"I never thought about using it like that. I should try that first. And if that doesn't work, then I'll go for my original plan," Zalan said.

The others remained quiet, assessing Zalan with an aura of silent respect. Zalan felt like he didn't deserve the looks he was receiving, but at the same time wanted to have people he could trust around him for when they made it to Aetheria.

"I am done here," Opal said, stumbling back as she tossed the last piece of the basket forward into a large pile of sticks. "It is up to you to put it together, I am going to rest to ensure I have enough energy if the dragon comes early. I made enough materials for a balloon twice as large as last time to account for all the newcomers"

"Thank you, Mother," Gorb nodded with respect. "We should get to constructing the balloon immediately."

"I still have no idea what we are constructing!" Magnolia said, annoyed.

"Just follow my lead, I'll tell you what goes where," Zalan said.

Zalan offered instruction to Enzo, Magnolia, and Dimak who were not around to ride the hot air balloon the first time around. They picked up on the idea quickly, but didn't understand how the basket was supposed to begin floating into the air, even with fire and air to support it. Zalan promised them it would work, concentrating on wrapping sticks together with only one working arm.

"It feels like everyone I knew for longer than two minutes in the realm somehow showed up," Zalan mentioned to Rep.

"If we had Finnegan, I would venture to say that we had everyone you could call a friend," Rep said.

"Finnegan!" Dimak raised his head. "As in Finnegan Swift? That scoundrel is the reason I am in this city to begin with!"

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

"How so?" Enzo asked politely.

"He had me dump every last coin I could get from my family into a single investment that ended up not existing. I was here to pay back the last member of my extended family," Dimak said.

"This Finnegan forced you to give him money?" Slauson asked, looking up from a loop he fed through the balloon and the basket.

"He told me it was a certain investment, with no downsides."

"But he did not force you to give him any money," Slauson concluded, some accusation in his voice.

"No, but he lied to me about it," Dimak said, beginning to sound a hint ashamed.

"I am just a little confused how you would be willing to put 'every last coin' into an investment that you did not first confirm was legitimate."

"He showed me the wealth he had! Gold and silver like I had never seen before! I later learned it was money he stole from others, but at the time his wealth seemed a good indication that he was being honest," Dimak said.

"Because we know that rich men are seldom liars," Moss said sarcastically. Slauson snorted in amusement.

"So it is my fault I met with a liar and a thief?" Dimak asked, offended.

"No, of course not," Slauson said. "But I think you share a little blame for the lost money. Though I suppose if he was a trusted elder, I would have fallen for it as well."

Dimak's eyes went downcast. Slauson looked at him in amusement, raising an eyebrow and smirking.

"How old did you say Finnegan was?" Slauson asked.

"A few years younger than us," Dimak muttered.

Slauson and Moss laughed aloud, Moss trying and failing to point with his exhausted limbs. Dimak's face had gone red and he focused on tying the basket together as he brooded alone.

"Enough of that," Rep said, though it also sounded like he was holding back some laughter. "We met Finnegan in Nightfall, when he braved the Depths of Despair with us. He has changed his ways and is a fine boy."

"Boy!" Moss repeated, going into another fit of laughter, grasping his sides in pain.

"It goes to show that one not need the best intelligence to win the Elemental Rage Tournament, eh?" Slauson said, nudging Moss with his elbow who fell to the floor laughing.

Zalan was going to say something to stop their taunts but found it somewhat heartwarming how well Slauson and Moss were getting along. He thought Slauson had ill feelings toward Moss previously, but now it seemed they were bantering like old friends. And Dimak, though embarrassed, didn't seem upset. He had thick skin and didn't show any malice toward the others. Even so, Zalan didn't want the conversation to be solely focused on making fun of Dimak and turned to Enzo and Magnolia.

"When did you end up leaving Oriton? You caught up to us so close after we arrived, were you behind us the whole time?" Zalan asked.

"We left a few days after the wedding. It took some time for Captain Buttonwillow to decide that he definitely wanted us to join you. And more time still to locate where Gorbonifus lived," Enzo said.

"Then how did you get here so fast?" Zalan asked.

"We rode in on horseback, avoiding all the monster encounters we could," Magnolia answered.

"Horseback?" Zalan said, looking up in shock. It always threw him off to be reminded that regular animals existed alongside the monsters of the realm.

"Yes, horseback. On the backs of horses," Enzo clarified.

"We were the ones that taught you about horses, Zalan," Gorb said, gesturing to himself and Rep. "We told you that they weren't monsters when you asked in Castle Docrun."

"I knew what horses were before that."

"He thought they were monsters?" Magnolia asked.

"He asked about killing them for Experience," Gorb nodded.

"It was a hypothetical!" Zalan insisted.

"Why would you want to kill horses? Is that something you often do?" Moss asked, sounding curious.

"No!"

"Well, 'often' is a subjective term. How many horses have you killed?" Moss asked.

"None! I don't want to kill horses!" Zalan said.

"Do you see how appalling your suggestion was?" Gorb asked. "Horses are a majestic animal that should not be harmed."

"Our horses were killed on the way inside the city by Grimfangs," Magnolia pointed out.

"I am sure Zalan is pleased to hear that," Moss said.

"Can we go back to talking about Dimak getting robbed by a child?" Zalan asked, embarrassed.

"I would lose my good fortune three times over before killing something as innocent as a horse," Dimak said.

The group laughed at Zalan's expense and he bore it as well as he could. The idea that he was an ignoramus grated on him, but he knew they were just joking. It was all idle talk to pass the time while they got the balloon tied together as fast as they could.

"It seems as though we are done," Magnolia declared, taking steps back from the balloon and basket. "How does it work now?"

"Everyone get inside the basket," Zalan ordered.

All eight of them — Moss, Dimak, Slauson, Enzo, Magnolia, Gorb, Rep and Zalan — entered one after the other. Zalan looked around in pleasant surprise. The basket was more than large enough to hold all of them and their weapons, with room to move around comfortably. He turned back to Opal and Bartleby who remained staring at the sky in preparation for another attempted attack.

"Your balloon measurements were great. Thank you for this," Zalan told them.

Opal sharply pulled her focus away from the sky, looking around the occupants of the hot air balloon before it lifted off. With three long strides, she stood right next to Gorb, looking him deep in the eyes.

"Be careful. Elemental Dragons are nothing to be trifled with. They are able to take on even the best fighters alive. Your sister…" Opal choked up. Gorb leaned over the basket, touching his forehead to hers.

"Not now, Mother," he said sweetly. "I will return. And if I do not, know that I was proud of my decisions, just as Fran was."

Opal nodded, rubbing at her eyes and ruffling Gorb's hair.

"Make sure it is a glorious fight," she said, pulling away from him. Gorb looked at Bartleby.

"Father," Gorb nodded to him.

"Son," Bartleby nodded back, a proud smile on his lips. And that was all that needed to be said.

Gorb nodded confidently, then turned and looked to Rep and Slauson expectantly. The two Elemental Fire users turned to Zalan for direction.

"Let's get this thing off the ground," Zalan said confidently.

Those who had ridden in the hot air balloon before hung on to the sides of the basket. Magnolia, Dimak, and Enzo stared in confusion as Rep and Slauson raised pieces of the balloon mesh and started a flame below it.

"If you're setting it on fire, should we not be outside of the basket?" Enzo asked.

"We are not setting it on fire," Rep assured them.

"Will someone explain to me exactly what is going on with this thing, already?" Magnolia asked impatiently.

Moments later, her jaw dropped as the balloon looked to be inflating itself, rising slowly from the ground and holding its own weight up. Not long after, the basket began to hover from the ground and slowly speed itself into a gradual ascent. Magnolia stared between the ground and the balloon several times, her neck flicking wildly. Then, she looked around at the others.

"You should have told me it was magic! I would have understood that much," Magnolia said.

"This isn't any magic," Zalan assured her. "You could do this with regular flames on a large enough pyre. This is just the best way to control the heat. And Gorb can steer."

Magnolia stared skeptically between Zalan and the floor receding below.

"It sounds like magic," she said uncertainly.

"Any eyes on the dragon?" Rep asked.

To Zalan's dismay, he could see sweat on both Rep and Slauson's foreheads. They had just started to fly and they were already looking extremely tired. They hadn't rested long enough after all the Grimfangs and now were pushing themselves to keep up Elemental Power output. Looking around, Zalan wasn't sure if he wanted to confront the dragon sooner or later. If they could take a breather while hovering in the air, it might give them enough time to regain some strength to fight the dragon.

"Look at that!" Dimak said, pointing out in surprise. "We are higher than the walls of the city! How high can this go?"

"Above the clouds," Zalan said.

"Amazing," Enzo exhaled.

"Just think of the tales you will be able to tell your father back home," Magnolia said.

"He seemed somewhat hopeful that we would find Aetheria and tell him of its legendary architecture. But this experience of flight alone is more than worthy of a story to tell him. And if I can remember how to construct the balloon, I may be able to ask Rosemary to make one and take my father up for a flight," Enzo said, sounding excited.

"Captain Buttonwillow would want to take the first ride in the ship that rides in the air," Magnolia said, running her arms across the basket with delight. Enzo chuckled in agreement.

The next two minutes went by agonizingly slowly, the riders of the balloon knowing that the dragon was somewhere in their vicinity, but having no idea where. Every shadow that passed them was scrutinized, and quickly dismissed as being part of a cloud above them. They were three hundred feet above the ground, the city starting to feel somewhat distant below them. It was like they were on a different plane of existence just a few feet in the air.

"Do you think Aetheria might pass us by?" Zalan asked. Rep considered and wiped sweat from his brow.

"Keep an eye out for a city among the clouds," Rep said to the group.

"There!" Moss pointed immediately.

The entirety of the basket shifted as the occupants moved quickly to identify the city. Squinting, they quickly realized that Moss wasn't pointing out buildings housed on top of a cloud. Instead, he was pointing out the Elemental Dragon racing toward them, ready to attack the balloon.