NOVEL NEXT 130 - Carried Away
The dry, salty air of the cellar made Div's eyes itch as he stared at the fish paste he had just made. He wanted to rub them, but thought better of it when he saw his gloves covered in salt and decomposed fish.
He was waiting for his excitement to die down. Even with Coax Rotlife assisting him in the process, building a new spell would require his full focus. He needed composure, not eagerness.
He waited until his heartbeat returned to normal before allowing himself to visualize the flow of mana. A steady pulse, thumping like a heart, strong, powerful, but not hostile.
It wasn't far from what he needed, but he wanted the fungal activity to slow down. Guided by a mix of instincts and experience, Div waited for the next beat and grasped the mana as it thumped.
He held it for a few seconds before letting it go.
Another beat. Div repeated the motion. Each time, the interval between each beat increased.
Once his skill told him to stop, he listened.
It was different from the style of spellcasting he was familiar with. More organic, he treated mana almost like a living being, like a patient.
The scent of decomposition still clung thick in the air, sharp with ammonia and brine. Div squinted as a stray droplet from his glove spattered against his shirt. He was making a mess.
Under his senses, the fungus didn't stop growing or breaking down the fish paste, but it slowed down.
Perfect, that was what he was aiming for. The fungus would cultivate the paste, deepening its flavor as it aged, like a good cheese.
Speaking of cheese, Div's mind drifted to their crust. Aged cheese needed to be shielded from the outside to prevent harmful bacteria from infiltrating it. Here, salt acted as the barrier, with the unfortunate side effect of making the paste harder to consume.
The idea reminded him of Preserve. If he modified it slightly, he was sure it could act as an extra layer of protection, allowing him to decrease the amount of salt he used.
Wasting no time, Div got back to work. He moved his mana with intent, creating a loop on the wood of the barrel. There, he willed his mana to push away any potential invader.
When he was done, Div stepped back and exhaled. It was done.
Skill leveled up: Coax Rotlife Lv2 -> Lv3
Skill leveled up: Rot Magic Lv5 -> Lv6
After enjoying the moment of two skills leveling up at once, Div glanced at the near-endless rows of stacked barrels and sighed.
The first success was always the most rewarding when it came to his skills, but processing all of that was sure to yield a few more levels.
He wiped his gloves and got to work.
His fingers twitched, muscles locking from repetition. Still, he pressed on, unable to stop.
Magic was bending under his will, and with each barrel, each loop of mana etched into the wood, he felt closer to rot.
He didn't want to leave.
Div exhaled a long breath. It wasn't just his eyes itching, now even his skin was irritated from the salt his unending grind was pushing into the air. His throat was dry, his waterskin long empty.
He looked at the remaining barrels; he'd done hundreds, but he had barely reached the halfway point.
"Maybe I should take a break."
"Indeed, you should," said Panos, whom Div hadn't noticed coming down. "You haven't left the cellar for three entire days, Div. We were starting to wonder if you had met with misfortune."
Div's eyes went wide, flaring the pain in his pupils. "Three days?"
He had a hard time believing it; he hadn't slept or rested, and he had barely eaten aside from testing his preparations. He knew he could endure more than most thanks to Scornforged's passive boost, but it was still more than he expected.
Crucially, he was surprised he hadn't felt the time pass. He hadn't known himself to be the kind of person who got so absorbed in his work he forgot the world outside.
"You should go home," Panos continued. "Eat, drink, sleep, and for the love of everything that is sacred, please wash. You're filthy right now."
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Div looked down at his clothes, covered in brown fermenting fish paste, salt, and grime. He couldn't disagree.
Skill leveled up: Mana Manipulation Lv5 -> Lv6
Skill leveled up: Rotlife Sense Lv5 -> Lv6
Skill leveled up: Coax Rotlife Lv3 -> Lv4
At least, his longer-than-expected training session had paid off. At this rate, it wouldn't be long before he would complete his Facet of the Cheesemaker. Although he was worried that not making any cheese would slow him down, the branch representing it was growing nicely inside his inner world.
And that was without making any cheese. He imagined it would have been even faster if the infected cellar had been full of it instead of fish.
Div thanked Panos for warning him and followed the elder up the ladder. He blinked as the light of the sun reached him.
A bolt of pain lanced through his skull as his eyes tried to adjust. He staggered, covering his face with a salted glove before realizing the mistake.
It was late, the luminosity already waning, but it was too much for his pupils, which had adapted to magical torches.
Panos left Div to reacclimate to the surface and went back to his duties. Soon enough, the overeager rot mage was able to walk home.
As soon as he stepped through the door, he was greeted by an annoyed voice.
"I have a vision-based perception skill, but I still smelled you before I saw you."
Div paused, noticing Dana sitting by the hearth. He made to speak, but she cut him off. "Wash first, then we'll talk."
"Right, good idea." Div stepped into the other room and used what little water remained to wash up. He changed his clothes and put his dirty ones aside to wash later.
Returning to the first room to speak with Dana, he sat on a chair in front of her. "So, how have you been?"
"Where were you?"
"In the eastern cellar," Div said, confused. "You know that the elders wanted me to help with rotting food stocks. Well, I did, but there's so much food that it's taking longer than I expected."
Dana tapped her finger on the table in front of her. "And you didn't see fit to inform us? To inform me?"
Div immediately saw where the conversation was going.
"Lug knew," he said in a weak attempt at deflection.
"We haven't seen Lug in weeks. You didn't really think he was going to stop by and tell us, did you?"
Div sighed. He had just scolded Lugsellos about this; it would be hypocritical of him not to take the blame for his own actions. "I'm sorry, I was too engrossed in my magic. I should have dropped by to let you know."
Dana snapped. "Do you know where Genno is?"
"No…"
"Well, she's working with Suce and the elder in charge of the defensive wards. She made sure to tell me she would be away for a few days."
"I—"
"But no, it's too much to ask from you. Even after I risked my career in the Kheironite army for you. Even after—"
"Don't say it," Div cut in. "With so many Ascended Ranks in Trabine…"
Dana nodded. "Yeah, you're right. I shouldn't say it. But don't you think you could be a little more considerate of the people who live with you? Not just I, not just Genno, even if I'm sure she was wondering where you'd been, but also Lepin, who came looking for you every day."
"Lepin?" Div asked.
"I hope you're not asking me who Lepin is."
Div shook his head. "Of course not. But, why would he want to see me?"
Dana shrugged. "I don't know."
Div slowly nodded. "I'm sorry, it will not happen again."
"I hope so. You'd better visit Lepin tomorrow."
"I will."
Dana stood up as if the conversation was over, but her posture betrayed unease. She hesitated.
Div frowned. "Something wrong?"
She didn't meet his gaze. "Emerios summoned me."
Div paused; he had been expecting this elder of his old clan to make a move against them. He hadn't done anything wrong, but between the incident with Lepin and the rotting eastern cellar…
No, Div corrected himself. Emerios didn't need a reason to look for trouble. His mere presence here was enough. The Leios clan and pettiness were a pair matched in heaven.
It was only a matter of time before Emerios decided to act.
Div watched as Dana sat back down and asked, "Why?"
She exhaled. "I don't know. Nothing good, probably."
"You could just not go. The elders did say you were under their command."
Dana shook her head. "If I don't go, I can forget about ever returning to Kheiron."
"Would your clan let that happen? The Opheo clan isn't weaker than the Leios clan."
"The political landscape of the city has shifted since you left," Dana explained.
Div knew. With his uncle ascending, the leading position had moved to his old clan. While it was too recent for Basil to be the most powerful elder of the city, it was only a matter of time. The Sun Heart bloodline was too overbearing.
"Also, my clan isn't that nice," Dana added. "It's all risks and benefits. They won't protect me if I'm a burden. In fact, I'm sure Emerios already ran his plan through them. No doubt, there's at least one Opheo elder hiding here."
Div believed her. After all, there was a reason Theaphilia had chosen to stay in Camboaci, and it wasn't only for Cassandra.
He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "So what do we do? What does he want?"
Dana gave a short, bitter laugh. "We do nothing. Tomorrow, I'll answer his call and we'll see what he wants. I'm still under the protection of the Trabinite elders. He shouldn't go too far."
"I'm his target."
Dana nodded. "Exactly, that's why I should be fine."
They spent the rest of the evening discussing their plans. There wasn't much they could do. They were stuck inside Trabine while Gaumil's army camped outside. If Emerios wanted to scheme against them, all they could do was meet him head-on.
After a long talk, Div finally fell asleep, exhausted.