Chapter 85 Mutant Plant Enhancement, Exploration, and Countermeasures
Hagrid only knew one doctor who possessed magic, had decent medical skills, and charged reasonable fees. So, they naturally went to Black's clinic.
Blake gave Rye a fairly detailed examination, briefly learned what had happened, and then took Rye to a small building where they met an old mage with a white beard.
After a thorough examination, he finally came to a conclusion.
Using a magic circle beyond his level only increased the strain on his body at the time, without causing any real harm. But the magic...
The magic circle activated and rapidly absorbed the energy into his body, allowing him to break free from his long-standing constraints. His magic had already reached the first level of the initial stage of the wood element, and with a little more effort, advancing to the intermediate stage was not impossible.
It sounds simple, but how easy is it to advance from beginner to intermediate? Lai is already very satisfied with advancing from level three to level one this time.
"You mean those vines can catch living creatures that move?"
"yes."
The events that occurred in the small mountain village piqued Blake's interest.
Wood-type mages are naturally defenseless against mutated plants, let alone new species they've never seen before.
This remarkable mutant plant is common in the Great Forest of Eton, but it is rarely seen in cities.
You can find small plants on the market that lure insects to fly in and then eat them. They're generally classified as a type of mutant plant, and naturally, they come at a very attractive price.
Blake had managed to snag a few potted plants at a relatively low price on the black market and placed them on his bedside table. That summer was the most comfortable he had ever experienced; he slept soundly every night without worrying about mosquitoes.
Blake had only seen a few of these powerful mutated plants in the Great Forest of Eton, and had never heard of them appearing within human-occupied areas.
"interesting."
Blake found this very interesting.
Are you going straight back to the village later?
Blake asked.
Ray looked at Hagrid and Brian, who had come with him.
"I need to go to the market to buy some things first, and I won't be able to go back until later."
"Alright then, I'd like to go to the village this afternoon to see what's going on with that mutated plant."
"It would be best to go there as early as possible. The clan elders suggest setting off to investigate after lunch."
Hagrid suggested, and Blake nodded.
"Understood, thank you for the information, Uncle Hagrid."
"You are welcome."
The most important matter was resolved. After a check-up, it was found that Ray was fine. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, but couldn't help but receive a few words of nagging from Hagrid and Brian. Ray humbly accepted the criticism and reflected on his actions repeatedly.
They bought various things at the market, including the colored thread and cotton cloth that Linda had specifically asked for. Brian drove the oxcart, with Rye and Hagrid in the back, and swayed back to the village.
It was past noon when they arrived at Hagrid's house. A total of fifteen people from the village had gone to explore the forest.
There was a horse tied up in Hagrid's yard. I asked around and found out that Black had arrived in the village, left the horse at Hagrid's, and gone into the woods with Kari and the others. About an hour had passed.
"How is Ray's health?"
The first thing Linda did upon entering was to inquire about Ray's health. Only after receiving an affirmative answer from Hagrid did she feel relieved.
"You can't do that again. Don't go to unfamiliar or dangerous places, and don't recklessly charge ahead just because you have magic. It's always better to be careful."
"Okay, I'll remember that, Aunt Linda."
Ray obediently listened to Linda's various teachings.
Lamb propped his legs up on the bench, swinging his medicated ankle while cracking sunflower seeds. He looked at Ray with amusement.
He'd already been scolded all day, and now it was finally the turn of the "honest kid" himself—his brother, Lai.
About ten minutes later, Hagrid helped Ray out of the predicament and called Linda away to attend to other matters.
"Brother, have something to eat."
Lamb pushed the small basket of sunflower seeds to Lai, who didn't stand on ceremony, grabbed a handful, and sat down next to Lamb.
Lamb doesn't seem to have been scared. Although his expression was strange during yesterday's treatment, he's already back to his carefree, silly grinning self.
"Brother, do you think they can catch that thing?"
"I think it's a bit risky."
"I think so too. That thing is so powerful, we should stay away from there in the future."
Lamb looked like he still had lingering fear.
Where is Rhys?
"He went along after lunch."
Ray's heart skipped a beat, and his expression turned grim.
He knew how powerful that thing was; Rhys and his group couldn't deal with it using ordinary methods, and might even get themselves killed.
"Don't worry, the clan elders were afraid they wouldn't be able to handle it, so they asked Temuqi to go with them."
Recalling Temuji's two axes, Lai felt much more at ease.
"I'm going back now, I'll come back tomorrow for news."
"Brother, you're leaving already? Stay a little longer, let's chat."
"Okay, I'm going home now. Neil is waiting for me at home."
Lamb, still in his shoes, escorted Rae to the door, stuffing a handful of sunflower seeds into his pocket before leaving.
"Brother, take it home to eat!"
Lamb grinned foolishly.
"Go back and sit down."
Neil was very well-behaved. He baked himself two sweet potatoes at noon, took a nap, and then sat in the living room doing his homework in the afternoon.
As soon as Ray entered, he saw Neil engrossed in reading a book, and Tata, who was restless and trying to sleep.
"Brother, you're back!"
"Um."
Ray took the sunflower seeds out of his pocket and put them on the table. Neil took his coat and tidied it up and hung it up.
Is anyone coming over?
“No.” Neil shook his head. “It’s just me and Tata.”
"good."
"Has something happened in the village?"
Neil's intuition was sharp; connecting the dots between Ray's morning visit to the clan elder's house for the meeting and his questions upon his return, he couldn't help but ask.
"It's nothing, there's just a problem in the woods across the river. They found a mutated plant there. Don't go there to play in the future."
"Okay, brother."
It got dark quickly; it felt like only a short time had passed before it was dark outside. He'd had rye bread and smoked sausage in town for lunch and was feeling a bit hungry, so he made pan-fried fish for dinner, just like he'd mentioned yesterday.
The outer skin was fried until golden and crispy, and the inside was completely marinated, making it taste great.
It was a rare treat to change the ingredients and the flavors, and the two of them ate with great relish. Only the leftover fish bones remained on the table.
Tata also received a mildly flavored boiled fish.
In the past, my father would catch fresh, big fish for him to eat in the river. My mother would peel off the fish skin for him, revealing the bouncy fish meat inside.
This was the first time he had eaten cooked fish since he was captured by those despicable humans.
The meat fell apart with a bite, and as for the taste, Tata thinks fresh fish is better.
However, his dinner tonight consisted only of this fish and a bird's egg, so he reluctantly ate it all.
After finishing her dinner, Tata began licking her lips and paws, elegantly washing her face.
Neil watched Tata's every move with a maternal smile.
Another day has passed; time always seems to fly when you're busy.
The next morning, no news of the mutated plants came from the village. Leigh went to Hagrid's house to find out how the operation from the previous afternoon had gone and what had happened.
Reese and Brian went to the river early to cast their nets. Hagrid, Linda, and Lamb were all home, and a somewhat unfamiliar stranger also came over. They happened to be sitting around the table talking about what happened yesterday.
"Lay's here, come sit down!"
Linda gestured and patted Lamb on the shoulder. Lamb, ever the perceptive one, gave up his seat so that Ray could sit next to Hagrid.
"Let's continue talking about yesterday. Lei probably came here for this reason too."
"So you're Ray! This is the first time I've met you in person in all this time."
The stranger greeted him with a smile. After the stranger introduced himself, Ray learned that he was from another village right next to the woods where the incident had occurred.
After Ray greeted everyone, the conversation returned to what had happened yesterday.
So this is what happened. Yesterday after lunch, Kari led a team into the forest in a flurry of activity. They carefully searched along the footprints left the day before, all the way to the place where Lai escaped danger, but still couldn't find the mutated plant.
The footprints had disappeared, making it very difficult to continue searching. Fortunately, someone discovered traces left by the vines when they were leaving.
Following the trail, the group continued their search, but after a while, they sensed that the atmosphere around them was becoming increasingly strange. Although it was cold and some people had stuffy noses and colds, they could still faintly smell a very fragrant aroma.
Of course, Blake, who went with him, smelled it too. He could sense that the wood element in the forest was particularly strong, probably because of the mutated plant, but he couldn't find the exact location by following the element's guidance.
The vines disappeared completely after leaving only a few hundred meters of trail. Everyone searched around the forest again and again, staying there until almost dark, but they still couldn't find the vines that Lai and Lamb had mentioned.
As dusk approached, the forest became increasingly unsafe. Left with no other option, the group had to return empty-handed.
"So, you mean everyone didn't find anything all afternoon?"
Lamb asked, and Hagrid nodded. That's what Reese said when he came back last night.
"Fortunately, they were not attacked again."
Linda chimed in, saying that it was a good thing no one else was getting hurt, and that they could just stay away from that area in the future.
But things are never that simple. Hagrid and the man from the next village sat at the table, their faces full of worry.
"What are we going to do now?"
The man sighed and asked with a hint of worry.
"The clan elders haven't given up on this forest. They will continue to organize people to go into the forest in the next few days. Your village shouldn't let its guard down either; tell everyone to stay away from the forest as much as possible."
"good."
Having said all that, the topic of fragrance is what Rae cares about most.
Previously, when I smelled the fragrance, I completely lost control of my body, but why did no one react at all this time?
Could it be that the plant has weakened? Or is there something else strange about this fragrance?
Lei was completely baffled.
Hagrid and the man continued discussing the details of how to deal with the forest, while Linda pulled Rye off the table and towards the kitchen door.
She took a basket from the cabinet by the door, which contained a men's jacket. Linda took the jacket out and shook it, and Ray realized it was his jacket with a large tear, the cotton batting worn through the entire back.
The clothes have been repaired and cleaned; the fabric on the back has been completely replaced, and new cotton padding has been added inside. It looks very nice, much like a modern patchwork cotton-padded coat.
"The clothes have been repaired. You can wear them while working at home, which will save you the extra money."
Ray accepted the coat, feeling a surge of warmth in his heart.
"Thank you, Aunt Linda."
“Silly child, your parents died early, so it is only right that we relatives take care of you.”
Linda patted Ray's head and brushed aside the hair that covered the scar on his forehead.
"Sigh, how did it end up with such a scar?"
Linda's tone was full of regret.
“You and Victor look exactly alike, except your eyes resemble your mother’s. Neil looks more like your mother than you do. The black hair of the Victor family is truly a family tradition.”
Lei didn't respond; the more he said, the more mistakes he would make.
He remained silent, listening to Linda recount the past, telling him all sorts of things about Victor that he didn't know.
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Author's Note: Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 2023-09-27 23:49:46 and 2023-10-03 00:20:22!
Thank you to the little angel who threw the landmine: whitesakura (1 landmine);
Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: How many pieces of chocolate can one eat in a day? 40 bottles; Custard Pig Bun 30 bottles; PING 20 bottles; Zai A Zai 14 bottles; Above the Clouds is the Ocean 6 bottles; Luo Ning 2 bottles;
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
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