Rot Heart: A LitRPG of Rot Magic in an Ancient World (Book 1 completed)

Div and Lugsellos sat together with Tougen in the mountaineers' camp. Segorix and Ambisena were looking for firewood.

Speaking Lienien so that the stone mage could not understand, they discussed their next steps.

"Will we really kill them?" Div asked, his brows furrowed.

"We don't have a choice, Div. We can't escort two prisoners all the way to Camboaci. We are not equipped for this."

"I know," Div sighed. "It just feels wrong, and wasteful. Some people in the village would be a lot better at interrogating them."

Lugsellos paused for a moment. He tapped his left foot on the ground and scratched his calf.

"I…" he started. "I'm not so sure about that. I never thought about it before, but Sense Emotion is the perfect interrogation skill. I can feel their doubts, their lies, their sincerity."

Div locked eyes with Lugsellos who immediately turned away and broke contact. He understood that a skill like Lug's wasn't simple. It was a burden especially now that they entered morally grey territory.

Using Sense Emotion to better connect with his friends was one thing. Using it to torture their captives was something else entirely.

"Lug," Div said, his voice soft. "If you don't want to do it, that's okay."

"No, I have to. What Tougen told us is alarming, if those deep mountain clans turn their gaze toward the Lien River basin, we need all the information we can get."

Lug paused and passed a hand over his face.

"It's just…" he continued. "I realized I need to study my skills a lot more. Find all its applications. It's one level away from the cap, I have to start thinking about evolution."

"You can lean on me, Lug," Div said, putting a hand on his friend's shoulder. "I know a thing or two about ambivalent skills."

This was enough to steal a smile from Lug.

"You sure do. It's like you're collecting them."

Segorix and Ambisena came back with enough fuel for the night. There were plenty of dead trees in the forest, but the rain made lighting a fire more complicated than it should have been.

The two Basic Rank captives were tied up and sleeping in a corner. Div had undone his still-unnamed spell, it wasn't enough to undo the damage, but it started their road to recovery. They hoped they would be ready to talk before night fell.

He really needed to find a name for this spell.

His first spell, and it was entirely self-made.

Twisting Decay? No… It was too much.

"Tougen," Div said, speaking Ameian. "Have you ever named a spell?"

"I haven't. Stone magic is well studied in the valleys, I'm not talented enough to come up with a brand new spell. Something my forefathers haven't discovered? It seems difficult."

"I see…" Div said, disappointed.

"May I ask why?"

"My magic is unconventional. I've never heard of someone else practicing it."

"So, you've come up with a spell?" Tougen asked, his eyes lighting up. "If that's the case, you must name it. Trust me, you will not regret it."

"Hmm?"

"Naming a spell is extremely important," Tougen explained. "Let me demonstrate."

Div nodded, giving the permission for Tougen to use his magic. With Lugsellos' constant reassurances that the man didn't harbor any ill will, he believed it was an acceptable level of risk.

Tougen picked up a stone and willed his mana to take shape around it.

"This is a minor variation of a spell named Crumble," Tougen said. "The variation is unnamed, but on a stone this size there shouldn't be any structural difference. Take it."

Passing the enchanted stone to Div, Tougen instructed him to crush it in his hand. The stone was brittle, and some pieces fell off.

"Now," the mage continued, picking another stone. "A named Crumble."

He shaped his mana around the new stone.

"Crumble."

Without exerting any pressure, the stone turned to dust inside Tougen's hand. He shook his hand, letting the remains of the stone fall off to the ground.

"That's the power of names," he said.

"How does it work?" Div asked. "The structure of the spell didn't change."

"Magic is more than technique. It is intent, will, and naturally a good dose of mastery."

It wasn't the first time Div heard those words. Theaphilia had made sure to hammer it into his brain in every lesson she gave him. But now that he had a spell under his belt, the knowledge hit differently.

"How do I name my spell?"

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

"Every spell has a name. You don't need to come up with one; you need to find it."

It was easier said than done. Unfortunately, Tougen didn't have experience finding the name of a spell. Div would have to do it himself.

With time on his hands, he focused and shaped his spell in the air. He didn't activate it, instead, he observed the pattern and contemplated his work.

The twirling spiral of rot-attuned mana was fascinating, almost hypnotic.

But it wouldn't do anything without a target. Dispelling the spell, he stood up and looked for a plant he could practice on. He had a hard time finding something alive. The forest was in terrible shape to the point he felt bad killing another plant for his study of magic.

Still, when he located a fern, he steeled himself. The plant wouldn't survive long in this dead land, it didn't matter if he killed it now.

Once more, he cast his spell. He molded the pattern of rot-attuned mana directly within the fern.

It wasn't complicated. All it did was use the rotlife existing in all living beings and turn it against the host. Simple, efficient, it needed very little input from him. The only challenge was in shaping the spell directly inside the living, something he could only do against weaker creatures or people.

But when he succeeded, he turned their biology against them.

Turn…

"Turn."

Div cast his spell. Tougen was right, it had been named Turn all along. He just needed to see it. The poor fern twisted as it wilted, turning from green to brown too fast for Div's brain to compute. The rotlife inside was going wild, devouring the plant from inside out.

The world recognizes your feat, new title acquired: Spellmaker.

"Did you get the title?" Tougen asked.

"How did you know?"

"Ancestors of my clan had it," Tougen shrugged. "It's been ages since one of us discovered a new spell though."

Div thanked Tougen. Internally, he praised Lugsellos for Sense Emotion. Without his friend's skill, he would have never trusted the mountaineer enough to take magical advice from him.

He was confident he would have named his spell eventually. After all, he had teachers at home. But sooner was better. He was now better equipped for the trip back to Camboaci.

"They're awake," Lugsellos said, putting an end to Div's training. The four Camboacians and their semi-captive mage gathered near the two Basic Rank prisoners.

The man and woman who had been hit by Div's magic were not in good shape. Sickly pale, they had lost a lot of weight to the point their bones were showing through their skin. A startling change considering it had only been a few hours.

Div didn't dare to imagine how bad it would be now that he had named Turn. He couldn't help but feel a little bad for them. But they were enemies, he had to be strong.

"Names?" Lugsellos asked the two prisoners.

With them not speaking Lienien or Amiean, Tougen had to translate. Lugsellos' Sense Emotion ensured the process was mostly accurate. He could sense if they were lying. He could sense Tougen's doubts as he stumbled on a word when translating from his language to Ameian. He could feel Div take liberties when he converted Tougen's words from Ameian to Lienien.

It was a complex process, far from perfect, but it was all they could do at the moment.

"I really need to learn Ameian…" Lugsellos complained. "This is so tedious."

Ameian was widely spoken around the Great Sea. Even as far inland as they were, elites would at worst know a few words.

The captives shared their names honestly. Lugsellos had only asked the question to test his skill through the translation process. Tougen had already told them all he knew about their two subjects.

"Why are you here?" Lugsellos asked.

"Tougen," the man spat. "You traitor. The deep clans will hunt you down."

"Answer my question," Lugsellos insisted. Intimidating their captives through two layers of translation was difficult. The interrogation was going to take a while.

"We'll never collaborate with you, river boy," the woman spat. "Let us go."

Div let Lugsellos take the lead with the investigation. His skill made him the best suited for it. Segorix and Ambisena were content to simply watch. None of the four were happy about it.

Violence on the battlefield was acceptable, something they had been drilled to endure. But this…

Lugsellos kneeled next to the woman and put the blade of his knife against her neck.

"If you think we won't dare to kill you, you are mistaken. Tell us what we want to know, and you might live."

Faced with death, the captive's bravery melted away like snow in spring.

After a series of questions, they managed to corroborate Tougen's story.

But there was more.

The woman hesitated, her eyes darting between the faces surrounding her. She didn't want to speak, but the blade at her throat was pushing against her resolve.

"We're just scouting," she said, her voice trembling. "Yes, our alliance has taken over the valleys, but that's out of necessity. We don't know what's happening to the land."

"Lies," Lugsellos said. "You don't even believe in your words, and your friend doesn't either. What is happening to the land?"

"I…" she stared.

"Don't!" The man said. "Don't tell them, Liara! We'll get through this, I promise. If you speak, the lord will never let us go."

"Fine," Lugsellos sighed, his gaze landing on the man. "You tell me."

The prisoner shut his mouth close.

"Very well," Lugsellos said, his voice losing all emotions. "I hoped we wouldn't have to come to that. I will count to three. If you don't tell me, the woman dies."

"I…"

"Galph!" Liara cried.

"We can't…"

"One."

Lugsellos paused, taking in the fearful look his captives were giving him.

"Lug…" Segorix said. "This is too much."

"Two."

"Are you really going to do that?" Ambisena asked, taking a step back.

Div didn't say anything. All he could do was watch. Lugsellos' countdown didn't need translation. It was clear the captives understood.

"Thr…"

"I'll talk!" Liara shouted. "I'll talk! Please, I'll tell you everything."

Lugsellos looked straight into her eyes. He pushed his blade harder on her throat, drawing blood.

"You have one chance."

"Traitor," Galph spat.

Lugsellos gave a look worth a thousand words to Div. He immediately understood what he had to do. He picked his spear up from the ground and thrust it straight into Galph's torso.

Silence fell on the camp.

Tougen shook his head.

Segorix and Ambisena looked at Div, horrified.

"What…" Ambisena started, almost yelling. "Div! What…"

"It has to be done," Div said, his hands trembling. "It has to."

"I don't know…" Segorix whispered. "This…"

Liara sobbed.

"Speak," Lugsellos said.

"The lord is draining the land in the hopes of transcending. I don't know how it works. Magic, rituals. Now that the valleys are almost lifeless, they're sending out parties like ours with artifacts to collect what life force we can and bring it back to the lord. That's all I know. I swear I don't have anything else. Please let me go."

Lugsellos listened to Tougen translating Liara's words for Div, and Div translating them again for him and the others.

"She's telling the truth," he said, staring into the teary eyes of his captive. "That's all she knows."

Without looking away, he slid his knife across Liara's skin, slitting her throat and ending her life.