Chapter 109: How about we make some weed killer

Hunger, and most likely loss of energy, made sense if everything Kanan knew about the Verminus Plant was true. It was a parasite, meaning that it would feed off its host, siphoning the host’s energy into itself.

Thinking about the word host made Kanan turn his eye to his system, but the green light blared into his eyes and shouted, [I’M NOT A PARASITE]. Well, it typed it, not shouted.

The Typhon Tribesmen were experiencing the same symptoms as their livestock without knowing it. So if Kanan matched the timelines up, the Verminus Plant hadn’t evolved yet.

"So hunger was a symptom your people expierenced. Tell me, after eating, were you satisfied? Or did your bodies still feel weak?"

"According to what my people had told me, they were feeling weak, but after eating, that feeling would go away for a few hours before they felt weak again. It wasn’t the typical weakness from hunger either. Over time, they told me that it was a struggle to move their bodies all together."

Kanan sat on that for a bit, thinking about how the Verminus Plant could have evolved during that time.

His first conclusion was that the Verminus Plant evolved to trick the immune system of the people, allowing itself to exist in the body without getting attacked. Next, it evolved to be immune to stomach acid.

That second evolution would only work if the Verminus Plant was inside the stomach, though. It could be on the outside of it, for all Kanan knew, but for now, he would give the Verminus Plant the benefit of the doubt.

This left two things the Verminus Plant could evolve from.

"After the symptoms got worse, did you attempt to cure them?"

"Yes." Anuwat nodded, taking a sip of her tea. "We used the finest herbs we had in order to quell how they felt. They worked at first, but the more we used them, the less effective they became."

’Such quick adaptations. If things go on like this, then even the Angler Poison might not be effective one day.’ The only positive thing that came from the Angler Poison was that it literally melted the insides of a person.

So if the Verminus Plant wanted to keep being a parasite, it would have to travel to another part of the body, allowing for it to be extracted with relative ease. However, this would harm the patient in the process.

"So after the herbs failed, you resorted to spirit energy, I assume."

Anuwat nodded. "Yes. Spirit energy worked the best for a while. We even managed to cure some of our sick, at least that’s what we thought at the time. Turns out that the Verminus Plant simply went dormant and awoke later."

"I understand everything now. Thank you." Kanan finished his tea, the ginger stinging his throat, and got up to leave.

"Kanan, wait!"

"Hmm? Is there something else you wish to talk about?"

"Can you tell me what you’ve discovered? I want to understand why this Verminus Plant decided to destroy my home and push my people to the extreme."

Sitting back down, Kanan explained everything he gathered from expierence and from what Anuwat had told him.

"It’s clear as day that the Verminus Plant is a plant-type monster. As a monster, it should have one thing that drives it to do what it does: instinct. Like all of the other monsters we face, they are only driven by instinct to kill us. But have you noticed that the Verminus Plant is different?"

"No, I haven’t, actually. I was so focused on the survival of my people that I have failed to see a pattern."

Kanan understood the predicament she was placed in at the time. Such crucial moments in her tribes history meant that she had no time to learn what the Verminus Plant was really up to, especially when they assumed it was a plague at the time.

"Let me explain it to you then. First, the Verminus Plant attacked animals. By instinct, it sought to kill life, and using its monster trait, it absorbed the nutrients of the animals, your livestock. Next, it found itself inside people, doing the same thing. At first, people had the same symptoms as the animals, but eventually, you managed to overcome it."

Anuwat’s eyes widened. "But the plant attacked us again!"

"That’s right. This time, you needed to use herbs. It worked for a while, but then stopped. So after that, you used spirit energy. Again, that worked as well, until it didn’t. What does that sound like to you?"

"Evolution."

Kanan smiled. Though this was the Stone Age, the concept of adaptation and evolution wasn’t foreign to them.

"Exactly. Once your spirit energy failed, you were left with no choice but to burn everyone who got infected. But by this point, the Verminus Plant had evolved so much, understanding how spirit energy operated, that it began spreading its roots into the land while also taking over the bodies of your fallen."

He told her that the Verminus Plant had taken over the bodies of their fallen after Elvien had reported to them. Like the other members of the Typhon Tribe, she was furious, but kept her anger in check.

"You were driven out of your home, and since the Verminus Plant had nowhere else to go, it moved on to the next target: my people," Kanan said with a sigh.

He continued. "The Verminus Plant had to have gained intelligence by this point, because its first attack on us was actually an attack from the animalistic monsters. It knew that we fight against them almost every day, so it infected monsters in the hope that our people would get injured by them so it could latch onto our bodies."

"And that happened, correct?"

"That’s right. We couldn’t save the first few victims, and even our spirit energy was useless. But once we found a way to kill it, the Verminus Plant sent a freaking giant at us. And when that giant failed to deliver the results the plant wanted, it made a temporary retreat. This is why there were hundreds of animals gathered at the canyon. The Verminus Plant was preparing to launch an all-out assault against us."

"A-And how do you suspect that’s the case?" Anuwat asked

"Because that’s what any intelligent being would do."