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

Div and En stood on the prow of the boat that was carrying them and their group on the Lien River toward Bavacium. They were balancing on one leg in a precarious stance threatened by the intermittent turbulence the river inflicted on their vessel.

"I don't see how this will make us faster," Div and En told Vercinetos.

Gennorina's father was looking at them dangling over the water, an amused glint in his eyes.

"You are talking to the fastest man in the Lien River basin," he said. "I'll show you what fast means. Catch."

Without warning, Vercinetos threw a spear shaft without a tip toward them.

"Wha…"

Forced to move their arms to receive the training weapon, Div and En nearly fell backward.

"Don't fall. We don't want to have to slow the boat down to fish you out."

"We could stand somewhere safer," Div and En suggested.

"Feeling a little pressured is the key to success!" Vercinetos retorted.

As Div and En restabilized themselves, Vercinetos called the others over.

"Genno! Lug! Ambi! Seg! Come help me."

Gennorina opened one eye, saw Div and En balancing on one leg and immediately went back to her attempts at communion with the river spirit.

Segorix was sitting at the stern of the boat, breathing hard as he tried to get his sea sickness under control.

This left only Ambisena and Lugsellos.

"How can we help?" Lug asked, barely containing a chuckle as he stared at the unsteady figure dangling over the water.

"I'm in," Ambisena joined. "I'm so in."

Vercinetos paced in front of Div and En, his hands resting on his hips.

"Now, you're wondering how this will teach you to be fast. You'll get your answer. But first, let me ask you a question. What is speed?"

[I hope he's not always like that.]

(I'm afraid he is…)

"We don't know!" Div and En yelled, as the boat rocked, almost throwing them overboard.

"Power, precision, and intent," the man said, his eyes narrowing as he stopped right in front of them. "Speed is not just movement. It's the right movement, at the right time, with everything behind it."

Leaning forward, he grinned and added, "You already have enough power, let's see how you can handle the rest."

Vercinetos turned his back to Div and En. In a flash, he disappeared, only to reappear just a few instants later in front of Ambi and Lug with a massive bundle of sticks in his arms.

Lug put a hand on his heart and exhaled, "Please don't do that."

"Even if I'm bringing you those sticks so you can throw them at Div and En?"

"Yes, please," Ambisena exclaimed, grabbing a stick from his hands. "Feel free to startle us with more sticks. Div, En, catch!"

Ambisena wasted no time before throwing it toward their friend. As it flew through the air Vercinetos added some instructions.

"Don't catch it, you have to deflect it with your spear. Come on, Lug, let's start throwing."

The first stick wasn't a problem. For all the joy Ambi derived from it, her throw had been a little sloppy. The stick wasn't too fast and Div and En were able to strike it with their spear shaft.

(Easy.)

Troubles came quickly. Balancing with one leg on the prow was hard enough with the repeated shocks the boat received from the river currents. Doing it while striking down a constant barrage of sticks was almost impossible.

Almost.

Because for a moment, Div and En held on. A few sticks made it through their defenses and hit their skins, but they were light and far from enough to push them over the edge.

"Faster!" Vercinetos cheered, joining the other two in their game.

Obviously, the Evolved Rank speedster was slowing himself down. Had he been using his true speed to hit Div and En, they would have stood no chance.

Yet, even when making an effort to slow down, he was still insanely fast. Sticks started raining on them, they had to let more and more through.

"Don't let yourself be hit!" Vercinetos said. "Pretend those sticks are blades cutting through your skin."

It wasn't far from the truth. On top of their increasing number, the sticks were becoming heavier and heavier. Every hit was starting to seriously hurt.

They pushed themselves.

Hard.

The wooden shaft danced in front of them as it pushed aside stick after stick. The leg they were balancing on ached from the strain. Their shoulders and hips hurt from the constant adjustments needed to stay upright.

At one point, there were so many sticks that they couldn't make them out individually.

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Trap Detection activated.

But what for?

They knew the sticks were coming, they weren't allowed to dodge.

Just as the wooden wave was about to hit them, Vercinetos did something and the sticks disappeared.

Div and En found them neatly placed on the deck, close to Lug and Ambi.

"That's enough for now," Vercinetos said. "Take a break."

Putting down their second leg on the floor felt heavenly. They even leaned on it a little to let the one that had been supporting them all this time rest as they left the prow.

"What do you think?" Vercinetos said.

"Not fast enough," En said.

The more he thought about it, the more he was brought over to his trainer's point of view. So far, Div and he had relied on Trap Detection and Blighted Passage to avoid hits.

Being faster would strengthen what was already one of their specialties. But that wasn't all, if they ever found themselves cornered, unable to escape, being fast gave them more options to counter attack.

[You're still so influenceable.]

(I'm just realistic. He's not wrong, Div.)

[Right, he's not. But it wasn't what we were trying to work on.]

(The rot…)

As they got sucked into Vercinetos' idea, they completely forgot about their goal: controlling the rotting effect of Rotten Spearfishing.

[At this point, we might as well ask him if he can help with that.]

As they sat on the deck, resting their legs, Div and En told Vercinetos about their problem.

"And you found a solution for Rotten Spear, you say?" Vercinetos asked, puzzled.

"Yes, but it didn't translate to Rotten Spearfish."

"Div, En, you know the answer to that isn't that complicated," Vercinetos said. "There are plenty of people who have attuned those two skills to their mana, even just in Camboaci."

"But we don't have the Rot Magic skill," Div said, as though it justified their troubles.

Vercinetos sighed.

"You need to ask more questions, it would save you the trouble of figuring everything out by yourself. It doesn't matter that you haven't mastered your rot attunement."

"But.."

"You found a way to make it work on Rotten Spear."

Div was about to protest when En stopped him. They had to follow the man's lead and ask him how to do it.

"Then, what's the trick?"

"What's the difference between Spear and Spearfishing?"

They had wondered the same thing when they first received the skill. Their experience told them the answer.

"Spearfishing is about precision while Spear is more general."

"Wrong," Vercinetos said. "Well, not completely. You're right that Spearfishing emphasises precision. But that's not the main point."

Div and En racked their brains for another answer, "Fishes?"

"And?" Vercinetos pushed.

"And… catching them…?"

"Exactly! When you're fighting a monster with your spear, you don't want them to stay attached. Do you?"

(Oh.)

Yes, that was it.

En had it wrong all along. He had focused so much on the idea of piercing that he forgot that Spearfishing was about grasping.

Not giving. Taking.

And if they weren't giving, there was no reason for the rot to spread to the fish.

[I understand.]

(Me too.)

Div and En switched to their inner world. In a flash, they closed the distance that separated them from the pond representing their skill.

There used to be bamboos dipping their sharp tips into the water, but now only the pale rays of the rotten sun illuminated the rippleless pool.

It wasn't right.

They were giving their energy to this skill, but it wasn't giving back.

So they stopped giving, and started taking.

Two branches from the rotting split tree grew, one for each side grew and planted themselves into the pond.

They absorbed all the water until it was completely dry. But it wasn't enough, Div and En wanted more. They willed the branches to dig into the earth, to remove all moisture, all life from the hole that used to be a pond.

The earth crackled, the flow petered out.

Skill leveled up: Rotten Spearfishing Lv5 -> Lv6

Div and En opened their eyes and returned to the real world. Pushing through the exhaustion, they stood up and walked toward their spear. Bending down to grasp it flared the already overworked muscles of their leg, but they didn't care.

They had to see if their new visualization worked.

Stepping close to the edge of the boat, they scanned the water and quickly found a target. Without an ounce of hesitation, they struck.

Not to pierce the fish, but to catch it.

To take it.

Free of rot.

The tip of their spear broke through the fish's scales, then its flesh.

Div and En pulled back on the shaft. Skewered onto their weapon, their prey came out of the Lien River.

Carefully, they deposited it on the deck and extracted their spear.

"It looks good," Lug said, leaning down to better see the fish. "Any trace of rot-attuned mana?"

"None," Div said, his lips slowly creeping into a smile.

[We did it.]

(Finally.)

[En, this is mana manipulation. I can feel I'm getting closer.]

(Good for you, Div. Good for you.)

"See," Vercinetos said. "It's not that complicated when you ask for help. Now lay it on me, what other common skills do you have that need this treatment?"

"Um, Shield," Div and En said after a moment of hesitation. Among their rot-attuned skills, it was the only one left that could be considered commonplace.

Vercinetos shook his head.

"I can't help with that. I don't need a shield when I can just dodge."

"Not everyone is as fast as you are," Ambisena chimed in.

"That's right, Ambi! I'm the fastest. But, regardless, think about what Shield is to you. What do you want it to do?"

Div and En didn't mind Rotten Shield too much. While rot-attuned mana seeped into the body of attackers they blocked, the effect wasn't all that impressive.

Compared to Rotten Spear, its effect was negligible.

To Div, it was an issue of control. A step to take toward mana manipulation and rot magic. While the skill wasn't doing much now, it had a lot of potential. If he could affect the rot-attuned mana once it entered his opponents' bodies…

However, he also didn't want his mana reserves to move without his consent. Even with the supply of the Rot Heart, they weren't endless.

He wanted his mana to act according to his intent.

In that sense, it wasn't too different from the changes he wanted for Blighted Passage.

[I'm not far from the answer.]

Like on the tip of his tongue. At the edge of his mind. A fleeting thought he could almost grasp.

Just out of reach.

Div wasn't quite there yet, but he was more determined than ever to master his powers.

Maybe it was because of his bloodline, but with time, his desire only grew stronger.

A burning curiosity, craving to uncover what was hidden behind this mysterious force.

It called to him. With every beat of his heart, his yearning intensified.

A breath from En shook Div out of his trance.

Right—he was still there, stopping him from realizing his destiny.

[En, we need to work harder. We need to evolve Sundered Mind.]