NOVEL NEXT 87 - Rot Against Sun
Days passed.
Every morning, Div and En went to the flowing sheep farm to help Adeurix make cheese. It was an eye-opening experience for them. They had long suspected Rot could be used for creation, not just destruction. But there was a gap between theorizing it and actually doing it.
It was a different process than what was happening with Echoes of the Rot Heart. While their skill was leveraging the essence from their rotted flesh to fuel their healing, cheese had nothing to do with essence.
It was rot.
But it was good rot.
Even En couldn't deny it. He always liked cheese, the truth behind its fabrication brought him closer to rot instead of pushing him away. He still had issues with the less palatable aspects of their magic, but it was a start.
After almost a week of waiting, each delegation had finally selected who was going to participate in the sparring matches. For Camboaci, Div and En were among the chosen with Lug and Ambi.
Segorix and the rest of the students were disappointed not to fight, but they deferred to the decision of their elders. As for Gennorina, without a friendly spirit in the area, it was better for her not to participate.
The sparring matches were set to take place outside the walls, in a field that wouldn't be planted this year. Basic Rank children didn't have the destructive power to cause significant damage to buildings. However, fighting inside the walls was a pointless risk to take considering some of them had access to magic.
Crude stands had been constructed around the arena to allow everyone who wished to watch the matches. Naturally, everyone from the various delegations had joined, and the local population had turned up in droves.
It wasn't every day that outsiders showed up in Bavacium. Even if there were only children participating in the matches, it was the largest gathering in recent memory.
Div and En were standing with the rest of the Camboacian delegation as they waited for the event to start.
It didn't take long. Soon, Divilina, Rigomaros' mother, walked onto the stage and the hubbub abated.
Div and En had met her a few days ago when Rigomaros had invited them for dinner. Over the past few days, they and the Bavacian prodigy had grown a lot closer, to the point where Div and En had shared the secret of their split existence with him.
Rigomaros had responded well to the news, to their relief.
[Next, we need to come clean with the rest of Camboaci.]
(Our separation is going to shock everyone. Being honest should lighten the blow.)
They were getting closer to their goal. While they didn't know what form it would take, they were growing confident it was possible.
"Welcome everyone," Divilina started, "to this year's edition of our youth gathering. This year is exceptional as faraway villages have made the journey up the Lien River to see us."
The crowd cheered.
"Furthermore, as many of you now know, we have the honor of hosting a delegation from the mighty Ameian city of Kheiron."
This time, the crowd's reaction was less enthusiastic, instead breaking into a myriad of murmurs. Some concerned, some curious, others somewhat optimistic.
"But," Divilina continued, "you did not come here to hear me ramble. You came here to see children fight! With real weapons, no less!"
[When you put it like that…]
"And fights you will get. Now, I will draw the first lot."
Divilina put her hand into a clay jar that was placed next to her. She took out two wooden tokens.
"First match: Seriun of Trabine against Rosna of Lepante."
Lepante was a Lienien village located about halfway between Bavacium and Trabine. Div and En were not familiar with Rosna, but as she entered the arena, they discovered she was a very small girl with hair darker than theirs.
Seriun was at least two full heads taller than she was. With the greatsword he held in his hands, the difference in size was almost comical.
(It's not looking good for her.)
[No, but they wouldn't have sent her if she was weak. Let's wait and see.]
"You kids don't have to hold back," Divilina said, sizing up each combatant. "We have enough Ascended Ranks here to stop you before it gets too far."
Rosna and Seriun nodded.
"Are you ready?" Divilina asked. "Three, two, one, fight!"
Seriun took the lead and walked toward Rosna. His sword was too heavy for him to run.
"Too slow," Vercinetos commented, his head shaking from disappointment.
Rosna took out two daggers from her belt and started circling around her opponent. Her movements were fluid and graceful.
"The boy's lost," Vercinetos stated.
"Why?" Gennorina asked her father.
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
"Speed. There's no match."
As if prompted by his words, Rosna flashed and leaped forward at a speed so fast that Div and En could barely keep their eyes on her. In an instant, she appeared behind Seriun's back and stabbed her daggers toward his neck.
Seriun was no slouch, he had seen through the girl's move. However, he was simply too slow. He couldn't turn back in time to parry, he couldn't dodge. All he could do was awkwardly shift to the side, letting his shoulder take the hit instead of his neck.
But it was already too much. Rosna kept one dagger planted into Seriun's shoulder and pulled out the other to press it against his throat.
"Rosna wins," Divilina announced, prompting the Lepante delegation to cheer.
An Evolved Rank woman from Trabine jumped onto the stage to pick up Seriun. His injuries were not too severe, the biggest bruise being to his ego.
A few matches went by before Div and En's turn came. Divilina pulled two more tokens from the vat and said, "Diven of Camboaci against Alexios Leios of Kheiron."
[No way…]
(I can't believe we got him!)
But when their gaze met Divilina's, they understood. She winked at them.
[Works for me.]
(As long as we can beat up Alexios.)
Even if the lots had been manipulated in their favor, Alexios didn't seem to be upset about the result. Instead, he looked pleased as he jumped onto the field with a sly grin plastered on his face.
Div and En followed suit.
"Once again," Divilina said. "Do not hold back."
"Be assured I won't," Alexios said. "Even if I don't need my full power to crush this rotten thing."
Div and En didn't answer. They didn't need to. Their spear would speak for them.
[I can't wait to see his face when we infect him with rot.]
(Should we? That's dangerous.)
[Divilina said not to hold back.]
So hold back they wouldn't.
As soon as Rigomaros' mother announced the start of the fight, both parties charged toward each other.
Both followed the path of the hoplite. Spear and shield in hands, they stopped before colliding with each other and started dancing around the tip of the other's spear.
They were feeling each other out. Despite his earlier words, Alexios wasn't underestimating Div and En.
Soon, one thing became abundantly clear: they were more skilled spearmen than Alexios. It was within their expectations. From the glance they had gotten into his status, he hadn't completed his Facet of the Hoplite yet. His skills couldn't be that practiced yet.
With the combination of Rotten Spear and Rotten Shield, they were slowly seeping rot mana into Alexios.
But the Kheironite wasn't going to let that pass. Also realizing he would lose if things continued this way, Alexios disengaged and started channeling sun magic.
[He has the Sun Magic skill, we need to be careful. His mana is going to be a lot more controlled than ours.]
(Let's see what he's up to.)
Standing in the sun, Alexios weaved mana into complex patterns, letting him fill his body. In seconds, he was covered in pure sun-attuned mana.
[He cleansed our rot-attuned mana.]
(Can he do that?)
[Looks like it.]
It was the first time Div and En's rot had been countered. Sun-attuned mana wasn't just light, heat, and fire. It was also purity, nothing could stop the sun, nothing could alter it.
"Do you really think your filthy mana can affect me?" Alexios sneered. "I'm the heir of Leios, son of the sun, nothing can corrupt me."
"How grandiloquent," Div and En scoffed. "I don't need rot to beat you."
Div and En took a step forward, and another to the side using Blighted Passage. They had a lot more skills in their arsenal, and even if their opponent could cleanse their rot, it wasn't without cost.
Faced with their renewed aggression, Alexios raised his weapons again and blocked the incoming strike. In the meantime, he kept channeling mana, shaping into another spell.
Div and En spent their childhood worshiping sun magic, they were not going to underestimate it now.
(We can't allow him to cast his spell.)
[I think it's some form of sunbeam, we can't block that.]
Div could sense the sun-attuned mana concentration rising around Alexios. It wasn't nearly as much as what was contained in their Rot Heart, but Alexios had the advantage of being able to use his mana.
[If only we had Rot Magic…]
(I'm sorry, but we don't have time for that right now.)
[I know, I'm just saying.]
They stepped forward again, this time channeling as much rot mana into their strikes as possible. It was rough, lacking the refinement their opponent was showing.
But they had so much of it that Alexios was forced to divert a large portion of his mana to counter it. Adding to that the non-negligible stream of energy that Scornforged fed into them, Div and En bought themselves some time.
Still, Alexios was more enduring than expected. As soon as they felt his spell complete, Div and En pulled back and raised their shield.
A concentrated beam of pure sun magic blasted right into it, pushing them back several steps.
[We have to hold on.]
Div was spending all the mana he could to mitigate the blow, but their shield was made of wood and caught fire.
Clinging to it, they stepped through Blighted Passage repeatedly, letting the fifth direction guide them wherever it led. The mysterious direction had never been theirs to control, all they could do was use it.
Use as fast as they could, so that the sunbeam would lose them.
[Faster.]
In the span of an instant, their gaze landed on Vercinetos who was watching the fight with a glimmer in his eyes. Time almost stopped. The man gave them a thumbs up. Guided by the chaotic flow of the fifth direction, Div and En darted forward and slammed into Alexios.
Not wasting a moment, Div and En fell with him and wrestled him on the floor.
(Don't let him escape.)
Alexios had better mana control, but their physique was leagues above. With all their facets reinforcing their body—and Scornforged intensifying under Alexios' and his delegation's scorn—they had the upper hand.
They let their burning shield fall to the dirt with a heavy thud and gripped their spear in both hands.
Alexios lay pinned beneath them, struggling under their weight.
Their eyes locked—fierce, unyielding.
They raised the spear high, muscles taut.
[Do it!]
With a shout, they drove the weapon down.
The tip halted a breath away from Alexios' chest, quivering above his skin.
"Diven takes the win!" Divilina announced as she used her own magic to pull Div and En away from their foe.
Fury was burning inside the defeated boy's eyes as he looked at them.
Div and En looked at him, their expression blank, unreadable. Then they walked back to the stands.
(I don't know what I expected.)
[It was supposed to feel good. But I'm only frustrated. En, we need to evolve.]
(We do, Div. We do.)
Skill leveled up: Rotten Shield Lv4 -> Lv5