Chapter 108: Evolutionary pattern

After saying what needed to be said, Kanan returned home, as the Chief would be making all of the announcements, and he wanted Kanan to speak to Lord Nemean.

When he arrived at his hut, greeting Viola and Glena with a kiss, he asked them not to disturb him for the time being, as he was about to speak to Lord Nemean, aka his system.

The moment he sat down, the system appeared, its bright green light nearly blinding him.

"System, is there any way to destroy this Verminus Plant?"

[Burn it with fire.]

"Really? I was hoping that the nice cool breeze would cause it to wither away. No! How do I kill its main body? Actually, answer me this: does the Verminus Plant have a main body, one where it releases its spores?"

[The host must learn that on his own.]

If the system were a physical object, Kanan would have punched it plenty of times by now.

"Okay, then what about where it lives–its habitat. Clearly, this plant is beyond the mountain, right? This is why it sends monsters that are already infected into that massive hole in the mountain. Can you tell me where it’s located?"

[Negative. The host must find this out on his own.]

"Then let’s go back to how to kill it. Can you give me any pointers? Maybe it has roots in the land. Should we poison our land, as stupid as that may be? Or maybe we need to uproot it."

[The host must find this out on his own.]

"Wow, okay, fine. I’ll make do on my own, you shitty system. Status Windows are better anyway."

[...]

Since the System wasn’t helping, Kanan had to go back to square one. He didn’t understand how or why the Verminus Plant was doing what it was doing, but he didn’t need to.

He could already tell that the plant was evolving, so he needed to track its evolution pattern, and to do that, he would need to consult Anuwat since the Typhon Tribe encountered the Verminus Plant before the Nemean Tribe did.

Upon leaving his room, Glena stopped by. She was a bit nervous, judging by her body language, but she still had the courage to ask if Kanan was okay.

"You were shouting."

"Was I? Sorry. I just got frustrated."

"At Lord Nemean?"

Kanan paused. Technically, he was frustrated with the system, not Lord Nemean, but they wouldn’t know the difference, so he nodded.

"Yeah."

"Whatever he said, Kanan, it must be with good intentions. Lord Nemean has protected us for generations, even giving us you, our new shaman, alongside revealing that you’re of his blood. Please don’t get too upset at our gods. I don’t want them to deem you unworthy of your status."

In truth, Glena didn’t want Kanan to die. She was rubbing her belly, so that alone told Kanan that she wished for him to be there for the birth and growth of their child. Though Lord Nemean was generous, he wasn’t an all-loving god.

"Did you know that someone tried to harm Warrior Yula, Lord Nemean the Second’s mate, when she was close to giving birth?" She asked

"Yes. Lord Nemean killed them and their families."

"Since you know this, please be careful."

With a sigh, Kanan hugged Glena and apologized, promising that he would be better.

"I have to leave right now, so I’ll see you later tonight."

"Okay. I love you."

"I love you too."

[Your mate is reasonable.]

’Fuck off.’

---

Anuwat was busy brewing some tea when she heard a knock on her door. It was a bit odd since she wasn’t expecting anyone, but then again, she was one of the elders of their tribe, so it only made sense for people to seek her wisdom.

Opening her door, she locked eyes with someone she had least expected to see: the Village Shaman, Kanan.

"Greetings, Witch Anuwat. I apologize for bothering you without making an appointment, but I have something important to talk about. May I take up some of your time?"

"Well, of course. The Village Shaman is always welcome in my home. Though our tribes were enemies for generations, you still gave us a place to stay, food to eat, work, and didn’t take sides when there was conflict between our peoples. I thank you for that."

"Since it was the will of Lord Nemean to take you in, it is only right that I treat you fairly."

"I’m glad that someone of your status feels that way. Now, what is it that you wished to talk about? Oh, and would you like some tea?"

"Tea would be lovely, thanks."

Anuwat got another cup for Kanan, poured him some, then placed it on the table in front of him.

"So, what is it that you wish to talk about?" She asked

"It’s the Verminus Plant. I wish to understand how it acts, if it’s evolving. Can you tell me your expierence with it, from the moment it first appeared in your village, up until the moment you all had to leave?"

Anuwat gripped her cup a bit tighter, looking down as the memories of that horrible time resurfaced. It took a bit of time for her to speak, but once she did, the words didn’t stop flowing.

"It all started when our hunters went out to get something to eat. You see, our livestock started to get sick, so we wanted to get more for breeding and food for the next few months."

So far, nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

"When our hunters returned, everything was fine. Little did we know that the animals we got were already infected by the Verminus Plant. We ate the animals that weren’t cooperative with breeding, but soon after, we began to get sick."

"How soon?" Kanan wondered

"I’ll say around a month."

"A month, huh? Tell me, when you were cleaning the animals and prepping them for consumption, did you notice the Verminus Plant?"

"Yes, we did, but at the time, we assumed it was a plant that the animals were eating. After all, it was in their stomach."

Something clicked in Kanan’s head. It was as if one piece of the puzzle had fallen into place. 𝘧𝓇ℯℴ𝓂

"Tell me, Witch Anuwat, was the first symptom of being sick extreme hunger?"

"Yes, yes it was."