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

Zalan and all of his allies quickly backed away from the incoming Elementals lowering themselves around Morloch.

"No!" Morloch pulled aggressively on the binds. "No, leave me be! I was Ascended! I could do anything!"

A Wind Elemental reached a hand over him, its robes made of a mix of clouds and miniature tornadoes spinning through its form. A Storm Elemental came next, lightning zipping through its robes as it latched its arms around Morloch. Zalan and his friends made fearful movements away from Morloch.

"Zalan! Yes, that is your name! I remember now! I always knew it deep down! Please, help me!" Morloch boomed a deafening, fearful roar.

Electricity ran up and down his body, followed by fire supplied by a Flame Elemental joining in grasping Morloch.

Like metal to a magnet, each of the different Elemental attached themselves to Morloch, running their Elemental Power through his body as he exploded in agony. Morloch was totally under their merciless grasp, no longer able to interact with them in the slightest. He shrieked in anger, fear, and mostly pain.

Zalan had to turn away from the sight, Morloch's skin was burning and looked like his blood was boiling underneath. The Elementals rose slowly, taking Morloch with them. Zalan saw Slauson, Moss and Dimak watching the scene in faciation as Morloch's screams began to grow distant. Seconds later, he was gone, trapped in a torturous embrace by the Elementals he sought to exterminate. Zalan cleared his throat uncomfortably.

"They all gone?" Zalan asked, his eyes still averted from the scene.

"One remains. It is looking at you," Slauson informed him.

Zalan squinted in confusion and turned to witness a Dark Elemental hovering just above him, its deep eyes of darkness unmistakably focused on him. The Dark Elemental's robes looked like holes in space where it floated, like Zalan could dive through to a different dimension. Two starry arms reached out from within the robes. The hole in space was a sickeningly disturbing sight to Zalan, and he realized he never felt comfortable in front of any Elemental.

"Zalan. You have saved the Elementals. What do you seek?"

Zalan blinked in a mix of excitement and fear. The Elemental was offering him something. He turned around to face Rep who was staring in awe.

"It wishes to repay you for defeating Morloch," Rep assessed.

"Yeah, I got that, but I didn't do it alone, shouldn't we all get something?" Zalan said, asking the question to the Elemental.

"We watched it all. Elementals and humans alike tried to take down the Ascended Being. Only one succeeded," the Dark Elemental stated.

Rep was floored, his jaw hanging agape. Zalan also felt totally thrown off. He blinked, searching for an explanation as to what was so uncanny before realizing that he had never had a back and forth conversation with an Elemental before. This was the first time he received what felt like a direct response to a question. The shock made him wonder why a Dark Elemental was the one to be addressing him when all the different types had appeared to carry Morloch off. He thought back to the books he read about Aetheria.

"Are you the Elemental that made this city float into the sky?" Zalan asked.

"Indeed. My challenge still stands."

"What is your challenge?" Moss asked.

The Dark Elemental ignored him, focusing solely on Zalan.

"You asked what I seek. What kind of stuff can you give me?" Zalan asked.

"It depends on what it is you seek. We can restore you to full power, if you wish. And more," the Dark Elemental replied patiently.

"You could get your Elemental Power back," Magnolia understood.

"I think it would be safe to ask for more than one. You could become an Ascended Being," Dimak added.

"You could gather more than five Elemental Powers," Enzo said, amazed. "What does it mean to have them all?"

"What if you asked to become an Elemental?" Moss asked.

"Why would he ever do that?" Slauson asked.

"Perhaps he wishes to be an Elemental?" Moss shrugged.

"For God's sake, stop offering terrible ideas," Slauson said.

Zalan looked to the crew from his original adventure, knowing they would be more familiar with him and knowing what he would seek. Yelsa, Gorb and Rep looked back at him with sincerity.

"I think you are searching for something beyond power," Yelsa said. "Otherwise you would not have been willing to give it up against Morloch."

"Do what you feel is best," Gorb said stoically. "You are the only reason any of us still breathe."

"I know what I would seek. I would ask the Elemental to guarantee that you had a means of going home," Rep said.

Zalan scoffed, shaking his head at him with a smile. Rep shrugged at his predictability.

"I think it's my turn to try and look out for you," Zalan said sincerely, turning back to the Dark Elemental. "Elemental. The things that we call the Beasts of Slumber. Do they still crawl around the surface of the realm?"

"They continue their movements, even now," the Dark Elemental replied.

"Can you stop them all?" Zalan asked.

The Dark Elemental hovered silently, registering a thought somewhere within itself.

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"We can send the creatures back into their states of slumber, but we will not destroy them," the Dark Elemental said.

Zalan turned back to the others, searching their faces to see if it was a good request. They all seemed stunned except for Rep who grinned with pride at his friend.

"I apologize for my earlier suggestion," Moss said, sounding embarrassed and ashamed. "This is a much better idea."

"You could have anything, but you would give to the realm you plan to leave?" Slauson asked.

"It is as his mother taught him," Yelsa said. "He once told me that she was an incredibly generous woman."

"What an amazing mother you must have had," Dimak said sincerely.

Zalan failed to hide back a smile as tears stung at his eyes. He wiped them away quickly, glad to still have a connection to his mother, even now. He saw Rep was also tearing up, but his companion did not bother to wipe them away. If only Zzalan could repay him for all he'd done.

Spinning back to the Dark Elemental, he looked up to it confidently.

"I have two requests if you would allow me. First, go and put the Beasts of Slumber back to rest," Zalan told it. "And second, please ask a Nature Elemental to issue a challenge to Ma in the port of Oriton. Say that it comes on behalf of Rep."

"It will be done," the Dark Elemental spoke, then faded from existence like a mirage in the desert.

Staring at the empty space, Zalan was stunned to see the negotiations end so smoothly. It almost felt anticlimactic to deal with an Elemental and not feel like he was on the brink of death. Then, he turned to his friends.

The friends and allies looked between one another then at the torn rope sitting a few feet away. The remains of Morloch's restraints. Moss began to laugh loudly, clapping to himself with mirth.

"We did it! The realm is no longer at the whims of the deadliest monsters!" Moss said, then his glee toned down to a casual smile. "And I should have expected that someone from Oriton would make a request on behalf of the infamous 'Ma.'"

Rep smiled knowingly, but didn't say anything.

"Now what?" Moss said, breaking the silence.

Zalan pulled out the Homeseeker with one hand and the Rings of Range with the other.

"I think it's time to go home," Zalan said, somewhat bittersweet.

The others watched with bated breath as Zalan attempted to insert a Ring of Range into the slots at the side of the Homeseeker. They slid inside snugly, like they were designed specifically for this purpose. Zalan filled in all the six slots around the cube of the Homeseeker and looked at his work, satisfied.

"Two leftover rings, does anyone want them?" Zalan asked, holding up two Artifacts.

"Can I have one as a keepsake to give my father? A long-standing reminder of the journey we went on together?" Enzo asked politely. Zalan nodded and tossed it to him.

"May I have the other?" Slauson asked.

"Why?" Zalan asked, feeling like Enzo had a good reason.

"Do I need a reason? Because no one else was asking for it," Slauson said.

Zalan shrugged and handed it over. Then he looked down at the Homeseeker with a hint of nervousness. This would be the true end. If this worked, he would be back home. No coming back to the realm. Looking up at Rep, he could see a similar nervousness on his face.

"I have spent such a long time searching for a way to send you home… I do not know what I will do once you have returned," Rep said.

"Probably hang out with your wife."

"Obviously, and I am very excited to do so. But I also worry that to have you gone would be akin to thinking you have passed away. There will be no way of knowing if you are alive and well. That is what I am concerned about facing," Rep said.

Eyes on the floor, Zalan thought about it for a moment, knowing he would likely be thinking about Rep in the same capacity. If his friend died at the hands of a monster, he would never know back in his world. Then he smiled to himself and looked back at Rep.

"Well, first you might be a little thrown off and not accepting the reality that I'm gone. Once you overcome that, you might get angry that your friend is gone. Then you might bargain, looking for ways for us to meet up again. Then, you may get depressed over the fact that our adventures are over. And finally you'll learn to accept it," Zalan said.

Rep stared at him with a hint of fascination.

"The Five Monsters of the Mindscape?" Rep asked.

"Exactly. But you could just skip over all that and jump straight to accepting, like Madam Hikma suggested from the beginning," Zalan said.

Rep smiled and nodded confidently. The two friends clasped forearms in brotherly comradery. Looking around at the others, Zalan determined it was time to go home.

"If you wanna go home, you gotta touch the Homeseeker," Zalan said. "This Artifact only has one use left."

He touched the trigger on the Homeseeker and it began to glow a dark black. Everyone gathered and placed their hands on the Artifact, all prepared to return home. Save for Yelsa, who didn't need the ride back.

"If any of you want to meet after this, I live in Moonwell," Slauson told the others.

"I will make my way there as soon as I can," Moss said.

"Dear Lord, I regret saying anything," Slauson said, but everyone could see he looked forward to some company.

"If we find another Realm Summoner, can we bring you back to the realm?" Rep asked Zalan hopefully.

"Just make sure you have a Homeseeker and a couple Rings of Range. Then yeah, I'd love to come visit," Zalan said.

"Deal," Rep grinned widely.

With that, all nine companions popped out of existence, transported away by the Artifact.

Zalan woke with a start, his eyes shooting open and gazing at the ceiling above him. To his shock, awe, and delight, he saw a slowly spinning ceiling fan over the couch in his living room.

He had returned home. His own world.

The sun was bleeding in through the blinds as Zalan bounced up to a seated position. He startled as he realized there was a small amount of weight in his hands.

The Homeseeker.

The Artifact sat there for two more seconds before a large crack formed along its side. Gradually, it began disintegrating into dust on his lap, followed by the Rings of Range.

Shocked, Zalan could only laugh at the sight. It was the clearest confirmation that everything he had been through was real. The realm was out there and he had just jumped back to his own world. He wondered if he would have retained his powers if he didn't give them up against Morloch.

"Hey!" Asher, Zalan's cousin, was in the doorway to the living room, brought out by the sound of Zalan's laugh. "Dude, I literally just cleaned this place. What did you do, dump out the vacuum cleaner on your lap?"

Zalan jumped up and gave Asher a tight hug, then released him and looked him up and down with glee. He was back in the world, and Asher was still there with him.

"Uhhh… you good?" Asher asked, dusting ash from his pajamas.

"How long have I been asleep?" Zalan asked.

"I don't know, like nine hours? I didn't count."

"Those pills you gave me, what was in them?" Zalan asked, pointing to the medicine left by his side. "The weird purple looking ones."

"Am I supposed to be a pharmacist?" Asher asked. "They're just regular sleeping pills. Why? Did they work well? You want more?"

Zalan smiled, shaking his head.

"Just regular sleeping pills? Nothing special about them?" Zalan prodded.

"No, why? What's going on?"

"Thanks for checking on me, Ash. Really, I appreciate it so much."

"Sure man, of course. We care about you," Asher said sincerely, a little thrown off by the energy Zalan was putting off.

"Can…" Zalan swallowed hard and steeled himself. "Can we go visit Mom?"

Asher stood straighter, a softness in his expression. Evaluating his cousin, he looked confused but grateful to see him on his feet.

"Sure," Asher replied. "You wanna go right now?"

"Yeah," Zalan said. "I think it's long overdue."