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

With one hand tracing the wall, Div took the lead as he and Dana walked the secret tunnels under Trabine. In the pitch darkness, they could not rely on their sight to go around.

"Good thing we took the map," Dana whispered in frustration. "Too bad we can't even see it."

"I'm sure we'll find a place with magical lights somewhere," Div said.

Still, progress was slow and hesitant. The uneven ground wasn't helping either. At least, the tunnel leading out of the library went on for a while without branching. They could not see, but they didn't need to.

Div pushed his Rotlife Sense to the maximum, trying to see if there were living beings in the tunnels. While his skill was able to sense through walls, the sheer isolation of the underground made it difficult.

He filtered out everything above them. He didn't concern himself with the rotlife hints on the surface, and focused on what was in front of them.

Nothing.

Eventually, they reached the first intersection. Disoriented by the complete darkness, they tried to remember the glimpse they took of the map in the library and elected to take the left path.

"Just remember it," Dana said. "We don't want to find a light source and realize we don't know where we are on the map."

Div nodded reflexively—even though Dana couldn't see him.

All they could hear was the sound of their steps and the occasional water droplet hitting the floor. Div had known the hill was full of holes, but he had certainly not expected the tunnels to be so long.

Their sense of time was disturbed by the lack of stimulation, but he was sure they'd been walking for a while now.

Div stopped, letting Dana bump into him.

"Why?" She asked, taking a step back.

"I sense people ahead," Div whispered. "Three. No, four."

"The builders?"

"I don't know."

Div and Dana started walking toward the group. Friend or foe, the only other option was to turn back and try the other branch. They couldn't afford to waste time getting lost in the tunnels

A glow bloomed faintly ahead. It shimmered against the damp stone walls, cold, pale, and flickering.

Dana tensed beside Div. "That's not natural light."

"No," he murmured. "Lanterns. Magical."

They slowed, pressing to one side of the tunnel. The light wasn't getting closer. It was waiting. Maybe they'd already been seen.

"Can you tell what they're doing?" Dana asked.

Div closed his eyes, tuning in deeper. His Rotlife Sense pulsed outward. He felt four threads tangled close together.

He shook his head. "They're not moving, but I can't be more precise."

Dana exhaled through her teeth, fingers wrapping tighter around her knife hilt. Her bow wouldn't be of much use in this environment.

Then the voices came, faint, echoing down the stone corridor.

"…you see that?"

"Flicker in the dark. Something's there."

"Get ready."

Boots shuffled. Steel hissed out of a sheath. A silhouette passed in front of the lanternlight, blocky shoulders, heavy cloak, military.

Mountaineers.

Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

Div frowned. They should have expected the tunnels to be compromised. The explosion in the council chamber, Gaumil's voice echoing from the earth, their foes' notorious proficiency in stone magic…

Gennorina and Suce had even been tasked to reinforce the underground defenses precisely because of that.

But it was too late for regrets now. They'd seen them and wouldn't let them go.

In the flickering pale light brought forth by the enemy, Div and Dana exchanged a glance. They didn't need to talk to understand each other. They would fight.

Div's spear was unwieldy in the narrow tunnel. He left it on the ground and drew the knife he always kept with him. He didn't have the skills to use it as effectively, but it was better than fighting bare-handed. At least, his shield was usable.

Then, Div took advantage of the mountaineers' lack of proactivity to cast a Turn spell. He had improved a lot since he'd first come up with the spell. His casting time was a lot shorter, and he was able to apply his magic to one of his opponents.

Unfortunately, seeing one of theirs fall to the ground, clutching his stomach, was enough of a wake-up call for the others.

They rushed down the tunnel, forcing Div to give up on casting and to block their charge with his shield.

The narrow space made it so that only he and one mountaineer could fight. Dana and the other two able warriors were stuck behind them, with no point of contact.

It only took a single exchange for Div to realize that his skillset was wildly unadapted to fighting in an underground tunnel. His reliance on the fifth direction for dodging made him a poor vanguard when he needed to hold his position.

On the contrary, his opponent, an Evolved Rank swordsman, was a lot more comfortable. First, his weapon fit the situation, the nimble sword effortlessly slashing around Div's shield and cutting into his skin. Second, the invaders had clearly trained for the assault. As evidenced by the composition of their squad.

A stone mage stood behind him, shaping the walls to support his attacks.

The third in line seemed to be another swordsman, covering their back. As for the fourth Div had downed with Turn, he didn't know. With luck, he'd been a key part of their formation.

Still, Div was able to block a few hits with his shield, slowly seeping rot-attuned mana inside the swordsman's body. His own injuries were not too concerning. Between the small boost he got from Scronforged, his new Endure skill, and the knowledge he could easily patch himself up, Div was confident in his ability to come out on top in this fight.

A comforting thought, considering he was utterly incapable of counter-attacking. He tried thrusting his knife at the swordsman, but he simply didn't have the range to hit him. Not to mention his opponent wasn't just going to let it happen.

Div's attacks were telescoped, his lack of practice with the knife giving the experienced fighter more than enough time to step back, exacerbating his lack of range.

Seeing that Div was locked in a stalemate, Dana put her knife away and nocked an arrow to her bow. There wasn't a lot of room for her to aim, but on the flip side, her chances of missing were almost nil.

Carefully avoiding Div, she fired. The arrow flew past Div's shoulder, flying straight to the mage's chest. It was going to pierce through his armor when mana flared from the man, pulling a rock from the wall and crushing the arrow on the other side of the tunnel.

Dana prepared another arrow.

Meanwhile, Div was weathering the swordsman's assault with a singular concern growing in his mind. They were pitted against a stone mage while being surrounded by stone. What stopped him from simply collapsing the tunnel on them?

If Div had to guess, the only thing between them and death was that the mage wasn't confident enough to destroy the tunnel from the inside.

His attempts at another Turn were blocked by the opposing mage, who disturbed his mana.

The stone mage smirked behind his shield of jagged rock, hand raised, threads of stone-attuned mana vibrating around him. Every time Div tried to channel, the bastard sent a pulse through the stone, disrupting his weave before it took shape.

Dana fired another arrow. This time she aimed for the mage's hand, not his chest. A harder shot, requiring the arrow to twist mid-air, but one the enemy didn't expect. The arrow clipped his wrist, and the resulting hiss of pain was music to Div's ears.

Div took the opening.

Turn.

Mana burst from his Rot Heart and took control of the flow of mana that had been seeping from Rotten Shield into the swordsman. His already pale face turned sickly, his hands trembling as his insides were rotting.

Dana's next arrow drove into his shoulder at point-blank.

The frontliner collapsed.

Div surged forward, pushing past the fallen man. The tunnel widened slightly, just enough for him to use his shield as a battering ram against the stone mage. The man barely had time to react before Div's shield slammed into his face, cracking something—nose, cheekbone, maybe both.

"Go!" Div barked at Dana.

She followed, driving her knife into the neck of both the frontliner and the mage, thus making sure they wouldn't get back up.

The final swordsman was retreating now, slowly stepping backward as Div advanced.

He disappeared behind a corner, taking his light with him.

"Hurry," Dana pushed Div's back. "We need that lantern."

Div ran forward, nearly stumbling on the first soldier he had taken down with Turn. A woman, this time. He killed her, too, with a simple slash of his knife before focusing back on the man who was running away.

That soldier might be a fierce swordsman. But, at the moment, he wasn't focused on the right thing.

Div followed his Rotlife Sense, weaved his spell, and calmly followed.

They'd have a magical lantern soon, and with it, they could finally navigate the tunnels to the builders' headquarters