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

The party of four left the dead tree cluster behind and continued their journey to the foothills of the eastern range. The closer they got, the less alive the forest felt.

"We should reach our destination tomorrow," Lugsellos said. "I know we're all anxious, but let's keep our focus and make sure we return to Camboaci with valuable insights about what's affecting the forest."

"So far," Div said. "None of us are affected by the lack of rotlife."

"Good," Lugsellos said. "Warn us immediately if it changes."

"I will," Div nodded. The more he thought about it, the more terrified he became. He was just starting in his study of rotlife and rot magic, but it was evident that the minuscule organisms in their bodies were essential on many levels.

The most obvious was how they helped digestion. But it was more than just that. A constant process of destruction and renewal orchestrated by the rotlife living in symbiosis with them. They ate damaged tissues, produced essence, and this essence was used by the body to repair itself.

Without rotlife, Div was convinced his body would slowly break down.

It was a potential application of rot magic. It wouldn't be instantaneous, but akin to a slow-acting poison.

"Div?" Lugsellos asked, pulling him out of his thoughts. "Did you hear me?"

"Sorry, what did you say?"

"We're setting camp for the night. Help Seg gather some firewood while Ambi and I set up our tents. It's going to rain tonight."

They had been lucky with the weather so far, but the Wildlands spring was unpredictable. At least they expected rain, not hail.

Stopping a little earlier than usual would give them ample time to prepare and spend the night dry and warm.

"Chop a few dead trees," Segorix said, handing the group's axe to Div. "I'll gather kindling and start the fire."

Finding dead trees wasn't difficult here — most of them were. A few survivors stood defiantly, alone, isolated. But even they were slowly perishing.

The forest was dead quiet. If not for the absence of snow, Div would have thought it was winter, not spring.

Once he had enough wood for the fire to last the entire night, he cut down a few small trees to build a shelter. The person on watch duty would appreciate having a roof over their head.

As the sun went down behind the trees, the group gathered around the fire and cooked dinner.

"That's too little…" Ambisena complained, poking at her portion of oat porridge.

Lugsellos sighed. "We have to ration ourselves. We expected to find food in the wild when we packed. But with the forest's condition…"

They all knew. But knowledge wasn't enough to fill their stomachs.

Early in the morning, before the sun rose, the four scouts packed their gear under heavy rain. It was going to be a long day.

Clouds filled the sky in every direction, blocking the morning rays from reaching the ground. They walked in silence, following the stream.

They planned to turn back tomorrow. Their discomfort was temporary.

So close to the mountains, the terrain was changing rapidly. They had to climb over many rocks and boulders to advance.

Around midday, they found themselves unable to follow the Lien. The vegetation and landscape surrounding simply wasn't passable.

"What do we do?" Ambi asked. "Should we explore around here? I think we made it as far as we could."

"Let's just turn back," Segorix said. "There's nothing here. Only death and desolation. We need to inform Camboaci. Hopefully, the druids will find a solution."

"Div?" Lugsellos prompted.

Div thought for a moment. While they wouldn't be coming back empty-handed, their scouting mission wasn't exactly a success. All they had to report was more symptoms that something was wrong. They hadn't found a single clue regarding the cause.

There was this crimson light that had illuminated the sky above the eastern range on the first night. But they lacked something solid.

"We've come all the way here," he said. "It would be a waste not to search the area. See if we can find something."

"I also think we should explore," Lugsellos said. "Sorry, Seg, you're outnumbered."

Segorix shrugged.

"But," Lugsellos continued. "We don't have enough food to delay our return. Meaning we only have the afternoon here."

It was enough. They didn't know what they were looking for. If they couldn't find anything in a few hours, then there was nothing they could do.

With how rough the terrain was, they opted to trace their steps back to an animal trail they had spotted earlier. The rain made the ground muddy, sticking to their shoes.

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About half an hour into the trail, Lugsellos raised his hand, stopping his friends behind him. Turning back, he put a finger on his lips, urging them to be silent.

He pointed down at the ground and whispered, "Look. Footprints."

There were humans in the area.

Div, Segorix, and Ambisena shared a look with Lugellos. They needed to be very careful.

Camboaci was the northernmost Lienien settlement. After that, the forest was uninhabited for days. There were people living further north, along the shores of the White Sea, but it would take months of travel to reach them.

The closest human communities to their positions were in the eastern range valleys.

The footprints were fresh, there was no doubt about it. Imprinted in the mud, it couldn't be more than a few hours old. Perhaps even less.

"Two people," Lugsellos said quietly, his voice nearly drowned by the rain hitting their coats. "We follow?"

"We have to," Ambisena said, her usual jovial tone nowhere to be seen.

"Check your weapons," Lugsellos said. "I hope it doesn't come down to that, but we need to be prudent."

They only had to follow the footprints for a few minutes before they heard voices in the distance. Keeping their mouths shut, they hid behind a large rock and tried to locate the speakers.

Lugsellos pointed in the direction the sound was coming from. There was smoke from a campfire rising into the cloudy sky.

Div couldn't quite understand what was being said. It sounded like Lienien, but it wasn't.

"Mountain dialect," Segorix said, his voice low.

"I should be able to figure things out with Sense Emotion," Lugsellos said.

As the archer extended his sense toward the mountaineers' camp, Div did the same with Rotlife Sense. In the dead forest, the ambient rotlife was so decimated that it was easy for him to isolate their signatures.

"Five people," he said, informing his friends.

Their rotlife was healthy, unaffected by the disease plaguing the forest. In fact, they seemed very healthy. Div wasn't certain, he hadn't experimented enough with his new sense. But the rotlife in the five mountaineers' bodies felt more active. Energetic?

"I'm getting a mix of anxiousness, relief, and greed," Lugsellos said. "Unclear why they are here. There are two Evolved Ranks, the rest are Basic Ranks. Oh, no, they know they're being observed."

Div watched with Rotlife Sense as the five men and women scrambled to find their weapons and adopted a defensive posture.

"Should we approach?" Segorix asked. "They may not be our enemies."

"It'd be useful if they could tell us about the situation in the valleys," Lugsellos said. "But I don't think they're in the mood for a conversation."

One of the Evolved Ranks started shouting.

"He wants us to show ourselves," Lugsellos whispered. "It's a trick. Their archer and their mage are ready to fire."

"Not good," Segorix said. "Should we fight?"

It would be a first. They had fought many monsters, but never had they been pitted against other humans. Not in a real battle.

Ambisena frowned. Lugsellos looked toward the five mountaineers.

Div felt his heart beating in his chest.

They had the initiative. They could leave. If they decided to stay, they could die, they could kill.

"They're outnumbering us," Ambisena said. "Div, do you think you can beat two Evolved Ranks?"

"Depends. Just knowing they're Evolved Ranks does not tell us how strong they are."

He couldn't be sure. The indecision was gnawing at him.

"One of them is confident," Lugsellos said. "The one shouting. The mage is nervous, already thinking of running away."

"How about the Basic Ranks?" Segorix asked.

"They're more afraid of their leader than they are of us. If it comes down to it, they'll fight."

Div took a deep breath. Two Evolved Ranks: a swordsman and a mage. Three Basic Ranks: an archer and two melee fighters. If he could cast his spell…

There was so little rotlife in the area that he doubted his rot-attuned skills would do much good. They were about infecting his targets with external rotlife.

The twirling pattern… He had only successfully cast the spell once on a flower. But it would turn the vigorous internal rotlife of the mountaineers against them.

They had the advantage. Their enemies didn't know where they hid.

They had to take advantage of this.

He had to try.

"Do we all agree on this?" Lug asked. "Once Div starts, we won't be able to back out of it."

Segorix and Ambisena nodded. The mountaineers being here was suspicious. They had to get answers.

Willing his mana toward the group, he was careful to avoid the mage and the shouting Evolved Rank. Casting his spell on humans was already difficult. He didn't need to make it worse.

Despite his near-unending reserves, he was careful not to use too much mana. As he grew his control, it was becoming easier to sense other mana types. He was hoping the enemy mage wouldn't think of rot magic.

It was so rare. But in the lifeless forest, his rot-attuned mana would stand out.

First, he focused his attention on the archer. A dangerous-looking middle-aged man. To Div, he was the biggest threat aside from the Evolved Ranks.

Slowly, he weaved his spell, shaping the rot-attuned mana inside his target into a twirl. It wasn't easy. The man wasn't standing still like the flower he had practiced on had been.

But with the lives of his friends on the line, he pushed himself beyond his limits.

Once the spell was ready, he paused.

If he activated it now, the battle would start. His Rot Magic skill told him the archer wouldn't be able to resist. He would fall and the others would attack. He wasn't naive enough to believe the Evolved Ranks didn't have a way to find them.

They were prudent, not weak.

Holding the spell in place took a lot less effort than weaving it. He felt like he could repeat the process in at least a second target. Worst-case scenario, if he failed, he would activate the spell at the last moment.

He had never used Mana Manipulation like this before. He split his attention, one thread holding the first spell together, another was shaping a second pattern in his next target.

He picked the one closest to their group. A young woman. He didn't need to know more about her. If he was successful, she wouldn't get to participate in the fight.

In a trance, he quickly completed his second spell. Could he do it again and plant a final spell inside the third Basic Rank?

He extended a final thread of mana toward the man. His hands were shaking under the strain, sweat poured from his forehead.

Just as he started weaving his third spell, he knew he wouldn't make it. His control was tenuous, he would either be discovered by the mage or break his two other spells.

His eyes snapped open, and looking at Lug, he knew he and his archer were on the same page.

At the same time, he activated the two spells and Lug fired an arrow toward the man Div hadn't tagged.

The battle had started.