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

Div's eyes were locked onto the glowing black-streaked red crystal. One of the sources of the curse affecting the entire basin. He saw how it was absorbing mana.

Now, he didn't understand exactly how this artifact's absorption of mana translated to the region being drained of lifeforce. But the way the crystal was pulling in mana had opened a door in his mind.

He was ready to complete his preservation spell.

But, before he could return to his experiments, they had to decide what they would do with the artifact.

"We should destroy it," Gennorina said, a sentiment everyone in the room understood. Even if they didn't know about the lifeforce drain, the crystal was visibly vile. Just being in its proximity was uncomfortable. Not to mention it couldn't be good for their health.

Dana shook her head. "I will take it back to the Kheironite army."

"No, you won't," Gennorina said.

"I will. There's nothing you can do to stop me."

"We will not allow that to happen," Lugsellos said.

"Dana," Div said. "I understand why you'd want to do that, but we have to consider the best option for everyone."

Seeing herself outnumbered, Dana took a step back. "Fine, I'm listening."

After a brief silence, Lugsellos spoke up. "Genno, I'm sorry, but I have to go against you here. I think the artifact is too valuable to destroy. We could use it to understand the curse better and figure out countermeasures."

"It's okay, Lug," Gennorina said. "We can destroy it when we're done studying it. I agree with you."

"So," Lugsellos continued. "I believe we should turn back toward Camboaci. Leave the artifact there and restart our journey."

Nobody seemed convinced by his suggestion.

Dana snickered. "You refuse to take it to my base camp, which is closer and more convenient. But, you want to take it all the way up the Lien River to a place you can't even stay at?"

"There's an elder of your clan in our village. If that helps," Lugsellos tried.

"Elder Theaphilia? I've heard of her. With all due respect, she hasn't returned to Kheiron to take on her official role in the clan."

Div looked between Dana and Lugsellos. Neither solution spoke to him. Returning to Camboaci was a waste of time, especially since Gennorina couldn't even enter the village. There would be a fair amount of Ascended Ranks who might want to study the artifact, but he wasn't sure if that would be enough.

On the other hand, he didn't trust an explorer camp of the Kheironite army to have the right personnel for this task. Furthermore, giving the crystal to Kheiron wasn't a good move for him. It would only further the city's agenda in the Lienien settlements, ever so slightly pushing him away.

Yet, the city was already involved in the war. Be it out of self-preservation or to extend their influence in the region, Div knew they would have to rely on them if they hoped to stand a chance against the mountaineer lord.

Someone striving for transcendence was too significant a threat to prioritize his own well-being

Still, there was another solution.

"How about Trabine?" he asked. "We're going there anyway. Aren't they experts at formations and all sorts of esoteric magic? It sounds like they're the people we need."

"It makes sense," Lugsellos said. "And it's more sensible than going back north."

"Yes," Gennorina agreed. "I would rather not go back right away."

The trio turned to Dana.

"I understand you don't trust us completely," she said. "I can't blame you for it. Especially you, Div. You make a good point that my unit won't be able to do much with the artifact. Most likely, we would end up taking it to Trabine ourselves."

Seeing the question in their eyes, she continued, "We have a few elders stationed in Trabine."

Div frowned. He hadn't expected Kheiron to move this fast. A few explorers deep in the Wildlands wasn't unusual, but elders were rarely stationed out of the city.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

He had to hope it wouldn't be an issue for him. He doubted the nominative support of Camboaci would save him from troubles if one of the more virulent elders of his old clan was present. His grandparents, for example.

That said, there wasn't much he could do now but prepare mentally.

"I take it you're fine with us taking the crystal to Trabine, then?" Lugsellos asked.

"Not quite," Dana answered. "I'm coming with you. I can't let such a crucial strategic asset disappear into the wilds."

Lugsellos sighed. Likely, he could tell Dana wasn't going to budge on that point. "Fine, do as you wish."

"We have to leave first thing in the morning," Div said. "I don't want to spend more time than necessary in contact with the curse."

"You're right," Dana agreed. "We should all be ready by sunrise."

"I'm going to see if I can complete my spell now."

Div left the three others to eat their dinner and left the house. Food could wait, but he couldn't allow his stroke of inspiration to die out.

Still, he wasn't reckless enough to set up his spell directly on their food reserves. Instead, he returned to the flowers he had plucked from the ground. With the curse, they were already more dead than alive, but he still felt guilty at having pulled them from someone's garden.

On the way, he wondered if Trabine was truly the right destination. It felt like walking into a trap. Not that he believed elders of his old clan would be waiting for him there. He didn't overestimate his own importance. But one might be there, and they could want him gone.

He could only hope his contribution to bringing back the artifact wouldn't go unnoticed and focus on the things he could influence. First among them, his preservation spell.

He had been close earlier with his siphon idea. The issue was that the decaying flowers were not producing enough rot-attuned mana to sustain the siphon forever.

The artifact was doing the opposite of the effect he was looking for: drawing in mana from the surroundings. Yet, the result wasn't a mana deficiency in the region. No, it was the lifeforce drain curse.

This was what put Div on the right track. The crystal was only circulating mana as a vector for lifeforce. The mana wasn't just being absorbed, it was later released.

A constant flow of mana that didn't require outside intervention.

Exactly what he needed.

Deliberately, Div shaped the same spell pattern he had tried earlier. He willed rot-attuned mana to gather and started a siphon. The rot-attuned mana of the flowers was pulled with the flood, leaving the flowers free of its decaying influence.

But he didn't stop there. If he did, his experiment would only result in failure, with the siphon stopping once again once the flow of mana waned.

Instead, he took control of the flow, slowly reducing its speed until the system stabilized. He wanted his spell to siphon exactly as much mana as the flowers were producing.

It was a work of meticulous precision. Too much and the mana would stop flowing. Too little and the mana would build up inside the spell, creating the opposite effect: a concentration of rot-attuned mana and the hastening of decay.

Yet, with perseverance, Div managed to get it right. He let go of his Mana Manipulation and watched his spell in effect. Minutes passed, things seemed stable.

Skill leveled up: Mana Manipulation Lv3 -> Lv4

Skill leveled up: Rot Magic Lv2 -> Lv3

It worked.

"Preservation," he whispered. "My second spell… and it's not destructive."

He was proud.

However, he wasn't blinded by success. The flaw of his spell was obvious to him. Carefully, he removed a single flower from the spell. The flow of mana diminished. If it continued like that, the spell would break.

Without delay, he adjusted the siphon to account for the lesser mana generation.

He would have to tweak the spell every time something was taken out of it. Not just that, he would have to check on it regularly to make sure the generation of rot-attuned mana hadn't changed for reasons he couldn't predict.

It would be nice if he could design a spell that would adapt the siphon automatically. But, his knowledge of magical theory wasn't advanced enough for that. Although, it sounded like the kind of things he could learn in Trabine. All the more reason to hurry there.

He returned to the house and announced his success to his friends and Dana. After congratulating him, the team started gathering resources and storing them on their boat.

Once they were done, Div would cast Preservation and they would be ready to leave.

Div was back at the house with Dana and Gennorina. They were preparing their packs, making sure nothing was forgotten.

Gennorina packed quickly, her fingers nimble and precise. Years of druidic practice had honed her instincts, and it showed. Dana, on the other hand, was silent but methodical, folding her gear with the detached precision of someone who'd marched through dozens of camps. Div tried to focus on his own task, but his eyes kept drifting to the artifact, now sealed inside layers of cloth. The best they could do with their skills and what they had available. Even muffled, he could feel it. They were all pretending to be ready. But he could sense the weight pressing on each of them.

Getting the crystal to Trabine was vital. An act that could sway the course of the entire war. Snuff out the lord's plans before too much harm was done.

They had to succeed.

The light of the fire flickered. Gennorina paused, glancing at the doorway. A strange hush had fallen over the village, even the cursed wind fell silent. Div felt it too, a pressure building under his skin. Like the world was holding its breath. Then the door slammed open.

"They're upon us," Lugsellos said, out of breath as he entered the room.

"Who?" Div asked.

"Who else? The mountaineers. There are at least a dozen of them approaching the village from three directions. They must know we have found their cursed artifact," Lugsellos explained quickly.

They all stood up, clutching their weapons. They had to hurry and put the boat in the river.

Even if it was just one among many, they couldn't allow the artifact to fall back into the enemy's hands.

They had to leave.

Now.