NOVEL NEXT 64 - En's Spear
[This is awkward.]
(Maybe we should have waited for the end of the day.)
Div and En sat at their usual spot to listen to the afternoon classes. Next to Gennorina.
They didn't know exactly where things stood between them as he still hadn't said a word.
After lunch, they found her sitting there. She didn't look at them. She didn't talk to them. In fact, she didn't speak to anyone.
Now, a classroom full of students, with the lesson ongoing, wasn't the best place for a personal conversation. Div and En understood that. Still, it didn't make the situation less awkward.
[Act natural, En. Act natural.]
(No, don't look at her. It's not…)
Even when they were whole, Div and En had never been the most socially adept. But since their minds split, the situation had devolved into utter incompetence.
There was just too much to think about. By the time they agreed on the right thing to say or do, the right window had already passed.
As the class ended and students returned home, Gennorina finally broke the silence.
"Wait, we need to talk."
Div and En stayed behind while the rest of their friends left. Gennorina made it clear she didn't want them around while they spoke.
Silence settled once again as Div, En, and Gennorina stared at each other.
(Should we say something?)
[I don't know!]
It was uncomfortable. Their heart was beating with anxiety.
They didn't want to lose her.
"First of all," Gennorina finally said. "I'm sorry for reacting the way I did. And, En, I'm sorry about yesterday."
(I just feel bad now. Why is she apologizing?)
"You don't need to," En said. "You didn't know. I, En, am sorry about lying to you."
"I guess there is nothing in Ameian culture against shortening names."
"There isn't," Div and En said.
"Okay," Gennorina said. "Now, just because I apologized doesn't mean I'm not mad at you two."
She planted one hand on her hip and jabbed a finger into the air.
"You've been lying to me for weeks! I thought we were close, but it was all fake."
"No, it's…"
"Do not interrupt me, Div, or En, or both of you!"
She paused, took a deep breath, and continued, "I'm giving you one more chance. But you need to be sincere from now on."
"Thank you. We will not waste it."
"Honestly, I'm glad you said it now. If you waited longer…" Gennorina trailed off.
They knew. They'd always known.
(For once, we made the right decision.)
A few days passed, and soon, they stood on the eve of the second dark day of the season.
Those short moments weren't enough for everyone to get comfortable with the idea of Diven being actually Div and En. Even for Div and En, who lived with it constantly, it was still a work in progress.
Confusion, mistakes, and unending debates about who was talking through Diven's mouth were unavoidable.
The only one who didn't seem to have an issue with the whole ordeal was Lug.
[With his creepy skill.]
(That's mean. I'm glad he has Sense Emotion.)
[Me too, but you have to admit…]
(Yeah, it's pretty creepy.)
But they understood that, sometimes, the world played tricks on you with how skills were allotted. When he selected Facet of the Empath, Lug had been expecting something weird, but he couldn't have known the exact result.
Only the most common facets were well-studied enough for that.
Even then, there was no guarantee.
Sitting on their bed, Div and En were discussing their preparations for the dark day.
They would fight, of course.
Scornforged was already proving to be a boon in their day-to-day life. They had more energy than they knew what to do with. They were looking forward to testing their new skill against monsters.
But their minds were focused on something else entirely.
(We need to fix our internal visualization. Whether it is for evolution, or your practice of rot magic, its current state is hindering us.)
They both agreed on that, but it was easier said than done.
Having grown up in the Leios clan, famed for their sun magic, Div and En had naturally developed their inner world following the precepts of their family.
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A vast grassland where the sun shone everywhere, nourishing the vegetation.
However, as much as it pained them, they were not destined to be sun mages. They were going to learn rot magic. At least, Div would.
But even if they were not, the way they visualized their skills could use a lot of work. It needed to be clean, clear-cut.
Like in the beginning, when the sharp bamboo of Spear merged with the pond of Spearfishing.
It wasn't about aesthetics—it was practical, essential.
Now that Theaphilia had explained skill evolution, they understood that while their skills were given by the world, they were the ones who had to decide how to use them.
Even a skill as simple as Spear had a multitude of applications. A Kehironite hoplite didn't fight like a Lienien warrior. Yet, they could very well have the same skill in their arsenal.
[The issue is knowing where to start.]
Their inner world was a mess. Some skills they hadn't even considered how to visualize.
They focused on their status.
Name: Div and En
Bloodline: Rot Heart
Titles: Rotten Sun, Rift Pioneer
Current Facet: Facet of the Army Breaker
Previous Facets: Facet of the Hoplite, Facet of the Survivor, Facet of the Exile, Facets of the Self, Facet of the Veil
Skills:
Rotten Spear – Basic – Lv9
Rotten Shield – Basic – Lv4
Rotten Spearfishing – Basic – Lv5
Trap Detection – Basic – Lv6
Blighted Passage – Basic – Lv7
Echoes of the Rot Heart - Basic - lv6
Sundered Mind - Basic - Lv10
Inspect - Basic - Lv3
Conceal - Basic - Lv5
Scornforged - Basic - Lv1
(This is a lot…)
Even with their progress slowing down since arriving in Camboaci, their status was too much. They weren't even fourteen years old yet.
[Soon, Diven's birthday is right at the start of the year. As soon as winter starts.]
(Do we share Diven's birthday? I feel like I was born in the rift.)
Div shrugged, it didn't matter to him. They had Diven's body and each a part of his mind, so they could take his birthday too.
They started by putting aside their first three skills. The rot-attuned versions of Spear, Shield, and Spearfishing were too tangled up. They would return to them later, but they wanted to start easy.
[We could always tear it all apart. Restart from scratch.]
(Not with the dark day tomorrow. We need to be in peak condition.)
While destroying their inner world wouldn't strip them of all their skills, it would weaken them considerably.
It wasn't a risk they were willing to take.
They had to be methodical.
As much as they wanted to hurry and evolve, they knew they had to be patient.
Their time would come, eventually.
The same could be said about Sundered Mind and Echoes of the Rot Heart. Those two, they had to get right. Down to perfection.
[Blighted Passage.]
(What do you have in mind?)
[It used to be a dirt path before The Fifth Direction turned rot-attuned.]
Now, the only difference was that random sections of the path were filled with goo, others had the earth scarred by pulsating black, rotten veins.
(And?)
As with every other rot-attuned skill they had, Div had been responsible for using it. Blighted Passage was basically the same as The Fifth Direction had been, with the only change being that the mystical direction now collapsed behind them as they moved.
When escaping from Feline, it had been vital. But now…
[The rot-attunement is completely useless.]
As far as they could tell, seeing and traveling through the fifth direction was extremely rare. So rare that nobody they knew had heard about it before.
[We should be able to turn it back into The Fifth Direction.]
(Wouldn't that slow you down in your study of rot magic?)
[On the contrary, I think it will help me. I hope that later, I'll be able to apply another effect on the skill. Something useful.]
He wasn't sure what it would be. But leaving Blighted Passage as it was felt like a waste of attuned mana. Rot Heart provided them with a lot, but it wasn't unlimited.
Fundamentally, de-attuning a skill was an exercise in mana manipulation. If he wanted to succeed, Div would have to isolate the rot from the rest of the skill. It was a purely internal challenge—an ideal starting point for learning to actively manipulate mana.
(Look, if you want less rot, I'm always going to agree. But I don't want to sit around doing nothing while you work.)
[You can pick another skill to work on.]
(I've had something on the back of my mind for a while now.)
Inside their inner world, Div looked at En, questioning him.
(If we evolved Sundered Mind. If we manage to become our own persons. If you can keep all the rot for yourself…)
[A lot of ifs.]
(This is what we're working toward. I mean, what happens to my bloodline? It can't be Rot Heart anymore.)
[Right, it might be the most complicated issue to resolve.]
En pointed at the sky.
(Could I make a new bloodline from Rotten Sun?)
Div looked up. The pale, sickly sun hanging in the made-up sky of their inner world wasn't enough to blind him.
[Maybe… But I have no idea if this is possible.]
(We should ask Theaphilia. And Brigaseta. And Vedovessa while we're at it.)
[It doesn't seem like something you can work on now, though.]
Div was right, and En knew it. He needed to find another skill to work on.
Trap Detection? But the skill was fine as a sprawling ivy. Especially if En could pull off his bloodline idea. He was already dreaming of his return to Kheiron with a sun-attuned bloodline.
Yes, he wanted that.
Instead of Trap Detection, his mind kept wandering back to Spear. He was the one wielding it all the time. Even if it was rotten. It was something he genuinely enjoyed.
Of course, he wouldn't be able to remove the rot from it, but…
(Our spearmanship doesn't match with a bamboo grove at all. We are solitary, fighting alone against beasts and armies. The bamboo grove is better suited for phalanx, armies.)
[What about the rot?]
(I will tolerate it while I come up with a better representation for our Spear.)
Div and En got to work. They didn't have a lot of time. It was already late in the evening, and they had to be ready for the dark day tomorrow.
Div wasn't sure he would be able to fix Blighted Passage in time, his mana manipulation wasn't good. With no magic skill to help him, he was struggling. But it was the path he had decided to walk. Hopefully, it would yield results when he finally selects Facet of the Rot Mage.
As for En, he was confident.
Wielding the spear was the one thing he was confident in. The one thing he was good at. He moved closer to the bamboo grove, past the wall of brambles.
He was submerged in rot-attuned mana. The energy was sticking to his soul like humidity would cling to his skin on a hot day.
The bamboo was sharp, but it was decaying, sullied by the rot En hated so deeply. He wanted to cleanse it, but he couldn't. It was beyond him.
Instead, what he could do was stab straight through it.
Let it rot, fester, return to the earth.
If this world was one of rot, he would be the one to pierce through it—untouched.
He couldn't rid his spear of rot, but he wouldn't let it be subjected to the whims of decay.
En's spear would stand straight. Unbroken.
A single ray of light pierced through the pale haze veiling the sun. It struck right where the grove used to be.
En extended his hand and grabbed it.
Skill leveled up: Rotten Spear Lv9 -> Lv10
Rot still was. But now, En was the spear. It did not command him—he commanded it.