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

Div's injuries were nothing to write home about. A few cuts all over his body and an arrow to the arm? He'd lived through worse. With Echoes of the Rot Heart, healing everything was but a formality. Not being able to rest properly would add to his collection of scars, but at this point, it wouldn't make a difference.

He already had so many.

Skill leveled up: Echoes of the Rot Heart Lv8 -> Lv9

The more he learned about his magic, the more convinced he became that, one day, he would be powerful enough to rid his body of those marks. He just wasn't sure if he wanted to.

More than old wounds, they were reminders of all the time he'd brushed against death. It kept him grounded. Aware.

"You're being ridiculous," Dana said, as he explained his reasoning to her.

"See?" Gennorina agreed. "I told you countless times already. If you can heal your scars, you should."

"Well, I have my reasons," Div said, trying to defend himself. "Anyway, I can't do it yet."

He glanced at Lugsellos, looking for support, but his friend was busy steering the boat, and wholly uninterested in getting involved in this discussion.

The past few days had been rough. Since escaping from the abandoned village with the cursed artifact, they had been under the constant harassment of mountaineer scouts.

Thankfully, the Lien River was wide and they were traveling quickly. It was easy to see them coming.

Still, they fended off more assaults than they could count. Each time, they suffered injuries and the boat took damage.

Just because Div was fine didn't mean the others were. They didn't have the same resilience.

As a result, Div ended up taking the brunt of the assaults by himself, with his friends supporting him from the back. Dana, in particular, had argued against it. But they stuck to the plan.

Even if the Kheironite explorer was a better fighter than Div, they couldn't afford to have her incapacitated for a few days as she healed from a bad wound.

With several attacks per day, as predictable as they were, Div ended up leveling up several skills.

Skill leveled up: Rotten Spearfishing Lv7 -> Lv8

Skill leveled up: Rotten Shield Lv7 -> Lv8

Skill leveled up: Blighted Passage Lv7 -> Lv8

But the biggest change was to Scornforged. Since he'd unlocked the skill from Facet of the Army Breaker, he knew it was powerful. But it was the first time he was really seeing how far it could go.

Before, he'd only seen the occasional benefit from fighting monsters and having conflicts with a few people here and there. But monsters were not sapient, they knew grudges, but not in the same way humans did.

Now, chased by hundreds of mountaineers ready to kill him and his friends to recover their cursed crystal, Scornforged was truly shining. It wasn't like the uncontrolled rage of the wyrmrat swarm. It was targeted, steady, enduring.

Skill leveled up: Scornforged Lv3 -> Lv4

Skill leveled up: Scornforged Lv4 -> Lv5

Since their flight began, Div hadn't been able to sleep. He'd taken every guard duty, every task on the boat and ashore. He'd even dove headfirst into high mana magic research—although he didn't have much to show for it.

"Sun's setting," Gennorina noted. "Are we landing tonight?"

It was a risk. They were a lot more vulnerable on the shore than on their boat. But staying afloat on a small river vessel day and night was not practical either.

They needed to make a fire. Boil fresh water to replenish their stocks. Furthermore, navigating at night was dangerous. As wide as the river was, it wasn't without rapids and obstacles.

"The sky is clouded today," Lugsellos said. "We better sleep ashore. Div, are you still up for guard duty?"

Div nodded. He wouldn't be able to sleep anyway. It couldn't be good for him, but until he found a solution to this side effect of Scornforged, he'd have to live with it.

"There's a river island just up ahead," Dana said. Once more showcasing her superior scouting skills. "It's small but it should be all the easier to defend."

"Sounds good," Lugsellos said.

Sure enough, a few minutes later, they landed on a very small island in the middle of the river. There was enough water on both sides to prevent most people from just swimming there.

Of course, there was always the risk of mountaineers taking a boat to reach them, but Div should be able to see them ahead of time. At least, he should be able to feel them with his magic and skills.

The only downside was that there was nothing to shelter them against the wind and limited kindling for their fire, but they'd have to work with what they had.

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Happy to be out of the boat, even for a short time, they quickly got their chores done, had dinner and went to sleep.

Div was left alone, gazing at the starless night and listening to the rumbling sound of the river flowing around them.

Here, on this small island, he could almost forget the curse and the dead land. Even with the ever-present threat of their pursuers, it was quite relaxing.

Going down the river was a lot faster than the other way around. Just a few more days, and they would reach Trabine.

As he was fiddling with a few rocks to pass the time, trying to build a cairn, Dana came and sat beside him.

"Can't sleep?" He asked.

She shrugged. "I'm barely doing anything all day. I can't just sleep knowing you're doing all the work."

"You should."

"Yes, I should."

Despite her words, Dana didn't move. Instead, she stayed silent, watching waves hit the shore.

"What's it like, being an explorer?" Div asked. It was a little awkward to have Dana here.

"Not as good as they tell you back home," she said. "Not as much adventure. A lot of sitting around in forest camps. A lot of waiting. I awakened six years ago and left Kheiron after one year of training. Returned once since."

Div frowned. "Not that different from exile."

Dana laughed. "Well, at least I get my pay. I can't really spend it though."

Sometimes, Div wondered how Sebastian was doing. His childhood friend had allegedly been stopped from joining the explorers and progressing. Because of him, no less.

Hearing Dana, he thought that, perhaps, it wasn't so bad after all.

"Sorry to burst your bubble. But I don't regret the path I took," Dana said. "I doubt Sebastian is happy about his situation."

"You know him?"

"Not really," Dana said. "But he's from my clan. I know people who know him."

Div sighed. "Why does it have to be like that?"

"What?"

"Everything."

Exile, war, fighting, being chased by crazed mountaineers who wanted their cursed crystal back. All Div wanted was to be left alone and practice magic. Why couldn't it happen?

"You know, Div," Dana said, an amused glint in her eyes. "You're not being completely honest with yourself here."

Div cocked his head.

"Can't you see? You could wash your hands of this war. Leave the crystal behind. Live like a hermit, deep in the forest, away from the influence of the curse."

She was right. He wasn't ready to abandon everything and everyone. He cared for his friends, and the world around him.

Perhaps too much for his own good. Too much compared to his ability to enact change.

"Do you, Dana?" He asked.

"Do I what?"

"Do you care?"

She turned her head, her gaze locking with his. The lightless night turned her pupils into black holes, drawing him in.

"How can I not?"

They stayed like that for a long time, not speaking. The fire crackled behind them, its warmth muted by the wind blowing over the bare island.

Div's senses flared.

He closed his eyes and reached with all his senses brushing across the familiar currents of mana. And there, off to the north, in the river, something unnatural. A flicker of scorn, of intent, of rot. A presence cutting through the quiet night.

He stood without a word.

"What is it?" Dana asked, voice low.

"Boat," he said. "Scouts."

He walked a few steps closer to the riverbank, careful not to make noise. Dana followed.

It wasn't a large craft. Just a canoe or something like it. Four shapes inside. All mountaineers. Probably thinking a silent crossing would let them catch the fugitives asleep.

Div reached into the current. Into the rot pulsing beneath all things. Wood was nothing but dead life. Soaked in water, he thought of a way.

He willed his mana forward.

Rot seeped into the old timbers beneath the scouts. The forest was dead, but the river wasn't. Here where the flow was so powerful it carried rotlife from the confines of the world, rot still held sway. Black veins bloomed along the planks of their boat. Imperceptible, at first—just a soft groan of stress in the wood, lost beneath the gurgle of the river.

Then, silence cracked.

It was slow, painful. He watched as the bottom of the canoe became porous, as water seeped into the boat under the scouts' helpless stare.

They sank. Never to emerge again.

He stood a moment longer, watching the surface settle back into stillness.

It was too easy.

Skill leveled up: Rot Magic Lv3 -> Lv4

Not even truly a spell. Just accelerating the decay that was already happening. People didn't understand rot. They didn't know how to react when he used his power. A fireball was simple: avoid it, block it. Rot… they didn't know where to start.

"The Leios clan is idiotic for throwing you away," Dana stated. "To think this is only Basic Rank magic…"

Div was starting to understand how En felt. Hearing her praising his magic even after he killed four people with so little effort was unsettling.

But not enough to make him give up on it.

Morning came quietly.

The sky remained grey, heavy with the threat of rain that never quite came. The others stirred in turn, stretching sore muscles and packing what little they'd taken out the night before.

No one asked how the night had gone. They didn't need to. The island was still quiet. That was answer enough.

They pushed off the island just after sunrise. The river pulled them forward, gentle and steady. Trees grew denser along the banks, mist clinging low to the surface.

Div leaned back, letting the cold morning air sting his face. The constant ache of Scornforged still made his bones itch for action. But it was familiar. Almost comfortable.

He didn't speak as they floated.

Then Dana stiffened.

"There," she said, pointing to the eastern bank.

A group stood waiting. Not hiding, not ambushing. Simply standing in full view.

Their armor bore the marks of Thesios Clan. Blue-gray patterns on worn leather. Light, functional gear for exploration and survival.

One of them raised a hand in greeting.

"Explorer."

"Captain." Dana saluted.

It was a sight Div hadn't been expecting. The Thesios clan formed the backbone of the Kheironite army. They weren't explorers, they didn't roam the Wildlands.

For them to be here meant the southern city had fully entered the war.

It didn't bode well for him.

"Report," the captain ordered Dana. Completely ignoring Div, Lugsellos, and Gennorina.

Dana glanced his way, wincing slightly.

He knew she had to comply. Things were about to get even more complicated.