“It should all be clean now,” Anton explained to the daughter of the family, known as Marianna. “That does not mean it cannot be infected again, but you should see that it does not grow back over the next few days. It just needs to avoid anything that will spread to it.”

Like, unfortunately, the spores in the dirt outside that were currently being disturbed. But as none of the family were cultivators, they wouldn’t necessarily notice if Anton secretly burned some of them away. But that was an extremely small scale solution for a worldwide problem.

The next problem on the agenda was the younger brother, who seemed to have ingested the spores in some manner. Perhaps through food, perhaps simply by breathing it in. That no longer mattered. The point was that his insides were not doing well.

Unfortunately, Anton’s investigations into his body had so far only revealed that the spores didn’t react to the minute amount of natural energy necessary for sensing. That was something, at least, but it didn’t really provide solutions. He attempted to coax some of them away from the delicate tissue they were infecting, but they seemed to be solidly anchored.

It wasn’t impossible for Anton to scour away the presence of the spores from the young man’s body. His control was fine enough he could do so even inside another, without overheating the young lad. But a miraculous cure would only help this single individual. Anton didn’t have the capabilities to help every single individual currently afflicted in the same manner.

Since he was there he obviously wasn’t going to let the young man die. But while it would be uncomfortable for the young man, Anton wasn’t going to fully cure him either. He wanted to see how the young man’s immune system did fighting against the intrusion when there was less of it. Of course, for that he would have to provide the young man some way to fight. Specifically food. And it was already weird enough for him to be there. He wasn’t certain they would accept food.

Then he shook his head. Of course they would. Stubborn as the mother Stasia appeared- trying even now to grow something, hoping it would sprout in time for their family to survive- she knew there was a good probability such food would be tainted. How could something he provided be any worse?

There was just one issue. Anton didn’t have anything low in natural energy. And with the reaction of the mold spores to natural energy, he had to see how that worked first. “Excuse me for a moment,” he nodded to Marianna. “I must continue work on some investigations in the area.”

At every moment he was already investigating their farm, and their neighbor’s land, and those places further afield such as towns and cities throughout their country. Then some of his senses would shift to focus on other countries to compare geographic and seasonal features. Unfortunately, he hadn’t learned enough to attempt anything besides manual burning of spores. It had only been a matter of hours, so he couldn’t really expect differently. He just hoped.

Anton moved outside the farm, gathering a shovelful of tainted soil and moving out of eyesight behind a nearby treeline. Then he began to experiment. His storage bags carried both seeds and full fruits kept in stasis, more than enough that he wouldn’t hate using up a portion of it for a good cause.

He started with a few seeds, adding some natural energy to the mix to speed up the process. Both seeds and mold spores were invigorated, with the mold spores latching into the seeds- but interestingly enough, not draining them immediately.

Full fruits, however, turned into a disgusting pile of fuzz within minutes, given a sufficient natural energy density within them and a small flow from Anton on the outside promoting rapid growth.

Though no doubt his efforts tainted the process somewhat, Anton still gained some insights into a likely way things worked. It would explain how any crops managed to actually grow at all. They were able to develop naturally for a while, sometimes even to the point of producing their own seeds- which would also have nearly dormant spores. Then the mold would devour the main plants… and of course anything that ingested the spores.

Anton needed to investigate how quickly cultivators succumbed to the spores. On the one hand, actively fighting back might allow them to fend them off easily. The spores were rather tiny, which meant not all cultivators would be able to pick them out consciously. So he could see the spores feeding on them and their natural energy, growing to a dangerous size before the cultivators could react. And then… if they attempted the wrong methods to save themselves, they would be quickly finished off.

That was just speculation, but not unfounded based on what he had seen in the nearby cities. He would spend some time traveling to ask pertinent questions he hadn’t yet gotten random answers to, but first he had a family to feed. Or at least most of a family. It was unclear if the father was alive or connected to the family anymore. He certainly wasn’t anywhere on the farm.

Anton’s thoughts returned to the son and family. What was he going to do about the food? Oh, right. He could simply drain some of what he had of natural energy. That would likely damage some of the nutrient structures, and was not something sensible to do in normal circumstances since it wouldn’t empower him in any significant way. But here, where they needed only the most basic sustenance, it should do.

Anton returned to the farm, approaching the mother as she planted seeds. “I have not suddenly developed a way to cleanse the soil, if you’re going to ask,” Stasia commented.

“I was not. As I said before, I am studying this infectious mold. With your permission, that will include your son. And in exchange,” Anton said before she could cut him off. “I will provide you with food during my stay here.”

She frowned. “And what does this studying involve? You’re not going to cut him up, are you?”

Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work!

Anton held up a hand. “That won’t be happening,” he assured her. “It is a simple non intrusive investigation, like the kind that helped me find the spores in your soil and the bedsheets your daughter was washing. They are clean for the moment, by the way,” Anton added.

Stasia grumbled, low and to herself. “Don’t like ya lurking around here…” then she raised her volume for her intended words. “I suppose we can’t refuse food. Do you intend to eat with us?”

“I think that is only appropriate when sharing food. I have sufficient grains for you to bake bread, and vegetables that can likely be made into a stew.” Anton pondered for a few moments. “I might even be able to find some fresh meat to add.”

“Good luck with that,” she said. “The nearby forest doesn’t have anything for the little beasties to feast on.”

Ah. That was what was wrong with the forest. He’d noticed some amount of mold on shrubs, but what he’d missed was how many had already been fully consumed. And the usual blanket of dead leaves and twigs had been digested in many parts. As for actual trees, their bark seemed to protect them for the most part.

“Well, I might find something. I will leave some supplies in your kitchen. I should return within a few hours, but if you wish to begin something before then it is best you have the food.”

“Fine. Tell Marianna about the food,” the mother said.

Anton did so, and he could see the sense of relief. The mother had it as well, just better hidden- and covered by suspicion. Which wasn’t unreasonable, of course.

Then Anton moved out of sight once more… and spent some time rapidly moving from place to place, not only to get different views of how this was affecting the world, but also to catch some small game in one of the few healthy areas, quite remote and away from others who could make use of it. If the infectious mold reached that point, it would probably be too late for everyone regardless. And if it didn’t, then next season there would be many more rabbits.

-----

Technically, Anton lied a little bit. His investigations into the son Izaak were certainly noninvasive, but he did more than just that. The young lad wouldn’t live long as he was, so Anton had to help him along. And he certainly wasn’t hurting him, though perhaps the lad might catch a bit of a fever briefly. That would merely be because of the extremely small scale combustion taking place inside him.

With less mold to fight against, his body might be able to focus its reactions. Or perhaps not. Either way, his suffering would be less in the short term… and Anton would make sure that he survived. If delaying a full cure caused more long term damage, Anton could also provide medicines to help ease that burden.

“Grandpa,” Izaak said respectfully to Anton- his mother had already warned him to not call Anton old man when she thought they were out of earshot. “You brought the food?”

“I did,” Anton nodded.

“Dad was supposed to get food. And medicine. But he hasn’t come back yet.”

A look was exchanged between the two women. Clearly, they were worried.

“Do you look like him?” Anton asked.

“No. I don’t have a beard,” Izaak said plainly.

“Well, other than that, I’m sure you’re probably quite similar.” A few towns away, there was indeed a man who should be his father. Searching his memories of a wider scan, he had been trying to find actual medicine. There were so many people were touting, but the vast majority didn’t work at all. A few seemed to help, but Anton only had the words of a number of individuals who believed they helped without being able to properly observe himself. Those he would look into soon, however.

“Why are you here?” Izaak asked. He seemed quite energetic, considering his poor health.

“Well, I’m a cultivator here to-”

“You’re a cultivator?” Izaak slammed forward into the table with such enthusiasm that he nearly spilled all of their bowls of stew. No, they would have spilled if not for some gentle nudging from Anton. “I wanna be a cultivator! Can you teach me?”

Anton smiled gently. “I love your enthusiasm. I might be able to teach you in the future, but not right now.” Because while it might be very informative, it could also be extremely unhealthy for him to try, especially while already infected. His family probably thought Anton was letting down the young man gently, but he truly meant it all.

“Okay. How about now?”

Anton chuckled. “It likely won’t be possible this week, or even this month,” Anton said.

“But a week is like… forever.”

“It is quite similar,” Anton agreed. “You should probably eat.”

“I don’t like vegetables. They’re bitter.”

“Are they?” Anton raised an eyebrow. “Have you tried these? They’re special cultivator vegetables.” Well, they technically were. Until Anton ripped out most of what made them special.

At least that got Izaak to eat.

“You have experience with children,” Stasia commented.

“I have raised many children and grandchildren of my own,” Anton explained.

“That’s odd, for a cultivator. Unless you’re part of a clan?”

“Oh no,” Anton shook his head. “I certainly wouldn’t call it that.” Many of his most prominent descendents had their own paths, and their own cultivation methods. Only Catarina and Alva practiced the One Hundred Stars, and that was in relation to the sect rather than it being a family method. Anton could have tried to found a clan at some point, but that was too restrictive when he really wanted everyone to grow stronger. Sure, he might be a little biased towards his own blood, but not enough to focus on that.

Anton watched as Izaak ate and digested the food. It was a slow process for his body to recognize it was beginning to get fuel- and that it didn’t have to fight against so many things- but eventually he was able to recognize the effects. Perhaps it was the stage of infection, but Izaak’s body truly couldn’t do much except try to destroy the fibers growing into his organs. And half of the effects were hurting his own body as much as the intruders. But perhaps with some time, his body might get better at the task. Anton could only hope- or find better solutions quickly.

Hopefully, their father would return with a medicine that was partially effective so that Anton could help it along- without causing them to spread false information to others in need. That was the real issue, not just curing one boy.