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

"What happened? As I told you, you are using your healing skill wrong," Medunir said.

[En?]

Div was lost, still groggy from the trance Echoes of the Rot Heart had just put him through.

Clearly, En had woken him up, but he had lost consciousness in the process.

What was this place? Last he remembered, he and En were on the battlefield. They had just defeated the rootcoil serpent and were in urgent need of healing.

"What do you mean, I'm using my skill wrong? I need to heal my wounds."

Medunir looked at Div intently before speaking, "I think I know what's going on."

Div tilted his head to the side. What was this man talking about? And who was he?

Div wished En was there to fill him in.

"One of your minds has lost consciousness," the bald healer said. "Fascinating…"

Div froze.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't give me that. I'm a healer. Evolved Rank. My Diagnosis skill is showing me all I need to know about your condition."

So this was one of the healer stations. Div remembered his class being briefed about those a few days earlier. His body must have been in a particularly bad state.

Well, since this healer already knew, Div had no reason to keep hiding.

"Fine, I'm Div. Please explain what happened. I was occupied with my healing skill. It was En, my other mind you were speaking to."

"Very well, Div. My name is Medunir, I'm the senior healer at this location. I think you can fill in the blanks as to why you're here. As for En, you don't have to worry about him, he simply overexerted himself when trying to wake you. He should awaken on his own in a few hours."

Div relaxed a little, sparking pain in many places throughout his body. A quick scan with his mana sense told him the venom had decayed, but the damage was done. His short use of his healing skill wasn't enough to heal them.

Good thing he was with an actual healer.

But first, he had to make sure this Medunir wouldn't go around talking about Div and En to everyone.

"About my two minds, could it stay between us?"

"I'm a healer. My patients' secrets are safe," Medunir said.

"This isn't a medical condition," Div insisted.

"No, you're right. But, Carmeta's greatsword is persuasive enough for me to keep my mouth shut."

"You know Carmeta?"

"Of course," Medunir said, "I'm almost hurt that she didn't tell you about me. She's my sister."

Carmeta had a brother? It was unbelievable.

However, Div thought about it for a moment and realized he had never asked much of anything about Carmeta and Belilamos lives. Why wouldn't they have siblings? Parents? Surely, his friends had families too.

He and En hadn't been good to them. Why hadn't they asked?

"Let's move on, I have other patients to see," Medunir said. "The good news is that you somehow managed to eradicate the venom from your system. However, there are a few problems we need to address."

"Something about my healing skill?"

"Yes, but first, take your clothes off."

Div hesitated for a moment before taking off his cloak, then his shirt. Just doing that was painful. The fabric was sticking to his wounds, pulling at them.

His torso was a mess of peeled skin, half-dried blood, and dead flesh. It was a gruesome sight.

"Pants too," Medunir ordered.

Seeing the state of his upper body, Div didn't hesitate to take off his pants. His legs were in a better situation, further removed from the arm where the serpent fangs had bitten into.

"I know it looks bad, but there's no need to worry," Medunir said. "The venom was the tricky part, and you've dealt with it. "

"So, what do I do?" Div asked.

"Just sit down and wait..."

Div sat back down on the bench and looked at the healer with some apprehension.

"As it stands, there are two issues with you. First is obviously the damage caused by the venom. This will be easy to fix, I will prepare an ointment that you will apply twice a day to all the affected areas. You'll be back in shape in a week."

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

"It would be faster if I used my healing skill," Div said.

"And that brings us to the second issue: your healing skill. You don't understand what you're doing to yourself, but you should have noticed the scars it leaves behind."

"I did," Div said. "But it's fine, I don't mind."

Medunir grimaced, "Div, I'm not talking about aesthetics. If your skill leaves a scar on your skin, don't you think it could be doing the same to your muscles, organs, or even bones?"

"Scars on my muscles?" Div asked. He didn't understand.

"Not in a literal sense. But permanent damage, yes."

Div frowned. Had he been slowly destroying his body by overusing Echoes of the Rot Heart? The scars on his skin didn't bother him, but if it affected even his organs, it couldn't be good.

"I see," Div said, audibly gulping. "How bad is it?"

"You're not fourteen yet, so you can't have been using this skill for more than a few months. You should be fine if you stop using it from now on."

"But this skill saved my life. More than once."

"Of course," Medunir said, a kind light shining in his eyes. "You've been through a lot, Div. You can use your skill if your life depends on it. But be aware of its price."

Div sighed. One of his best skills, and he had to lock it away. Never to train again. Unless he was in real danger, but that wasn't something he could plan for.

"Is there really no way?" He asked.

"Most self-healing skills share the same downside," the bald man explained. "As with everything, there are ways around it. But it's highly dependent on the exact skill you're using. If you tell me more about your skill, I may be able to point you in the right direction."

Div let his head down. He couldn't tell anyone about his rot.

Wait.

He paused.

He needed to think. Was there any reason not to tell him? His rot attunement wasn't a secret in Camboaci. Plenty of people knew, and nobody cared. At best, he and En had been met with mild curiosity when confronted about it.

Medunir wasn't an enemy. Even if he was, he already knew the important parts of the skill. It was a self-healing skill, and he could use it with one of his two minds. Conveniently, the healer had figured that out too.

"My skill is called Echoes of the Rot Heart," Div said. "To put it simply, it channels rot-attuned mana from my bloodline to heal my body. It requires complete focus from one of my minds to use. The mind channeling it experiences a world of rot—sights, smells, all of it.

Medunir stroked his chin, shifting his weight from foot to foot.

"Self-healing skills are rare. Very rare," he said. "But they can roughly be classified into two types: sacrifice type and attuned type. Sacrifice type requires the user to, well, sacrifice something in exchange for healing."

"Is this why your hair…" Diven trailed off as Medunir's expression soured.

"No, I'm just bald. Thank you."

"Sorry."

"Moving on," Medunir continued. "Yours seems to be of the attuned type, meaning you spend attuned mana to heal. Now, what I don't understand is how your skill takes rot-attuned mana and uses it to heal you."

It was something Div was wondering too. It didn't make sense to him. Rot was decay, death, destruction. Even with his recent insights, he didn't comprehend it. This mysterious essence was created when matter rotted, perhaps?

Medunir snapped his fingers.

"Could it be?" He asked.

Div was startled.

"Look," Medunir said. "I'm not sure if that's the case, but my theory is that your skill is making your injured flesh rot, destroying faster so that your wounds can heal unobstructed. The only problem is that it doesn't explain the faster healing you observed."

"I got it," Div said. If Medunir was right, he was convinced the essence created by his rotting flesh was absorbed by his body to accelerate his recovery.

He explained his theory to Medunir, voice low with excitement.

"That's good," Medunir said, visibly excited. "Really good. It might be one of the best healing skills I've heard of. Honestly, I'm not sure if a life or even a vitality attunement would perform better."

Div was confused. Minutes ago, Medunir was telling him not to use his skill again, and now it was something amazing.

Make up your mind, please.

"It actually makes your problem fairly minor." Medunir continued. "You're not directing the healing process; your body does. It means that you can prevent most side effects by taking proper care of your injuries."

"What do you mean?"

"You can use your skill, but when you do, you need to lie down. Rest a lot, eat, drink, see a healer for bandages, ointments, and supplements. Let your body heal."

"That's it?" Div asked, dumbfounded. So it wasn't as dangerous as he feared. He could keep using his skill as he had. He still made a mental note to avoid overexerting himself.

"I'm a little worried about potential infections," Medunir added. "But since it hasn't happened yet, at the very least, your rot magic shouldn't be a concern on that front. But make sure to sterilize any wound you have."

Div thanked Medunir for the explanation. Even if the healer's concerns had been overblown compared to the severity of the situation, it was still important information for him to know.

"I'll prepare the remedy and have Nantosia help you apply it," Medunir said, excusing himself. "I have to see the other patients. In the meantime, lie down and rest."

As soon as he was out the door, Div considered channeling Echoes of the Rot Heart again. With all the dead flesh and skin, it was sure to be effective. If their new theory on the skill was correct.

However, he decided to wait. En was still unconscious from trying to stop him from using that very skill. It wouldn't do for his other half to wake while he was in his rot-induced trance.

He had to explain his findings first.

Div didn't know who Nantosia was—he hadn't been there when En met her—but it wasn't hard to connect the dots and conclude she was working at the healing station.

While he waited for her to show up, Div's mind was brought back to his recent progress regarding rot magic.

He was giddy with excitement. It was the kind of breakthrough he needed if he was going to earn the Rot Magic skill before taking the associated facet.

There was a lot more to rot than he and En initially believed. In his head, a new certitude blossomed. The essence he'd glimpsed felt like the key to understanding rot.

Rot transformed dead matter into essence. That essence could then be used as a sort of energy. A healing energy through Echoes of the Rot Heart, but there had to be other applications.

A strike of Rotten Spear was destructive, and so was Blighted Passage to the fifth direction.

How many other things had he missed? Rot was happening all the time, everywhere. Matter decayed and gave birth to this mysterious energy.

It had to play a role in the complex order of the world. Just like the sun.

Then there was that distinct, familiar feeling he got from Gennorina and her nature magic.

Could it be related to this essence?

Div couldn't wait to find out.