The problem wasn't a simple lack of water or sunlight. It was something much more predatory. Something was stripping the earth of its vitality, turning it into a lifeless wasteland that was unable to support any form of living thing.
His thoughts went straight to a terrible conclusion the moment he saw the state of the terrain. He turned behind to look at the woman who brought him here, Vanessa. When their eyes met, he noticed a change in her expression from one of eager expectation to one that suggested apprehension. She was smart; she must have noticed his expressions when he analyzed the soil. When he finally spoke, his tone was as parched as the dirt he held in his hand.
"Before doing what I came here for, another matter must be addressed…" Erik said.
"And what would that be?" Vanessa replied.
"I can grow the plants and everything else, yet, this won't solve the problem while I'm gone," the young man said.
The woman regarded him with a touch of mistrust, but at the same time, she was aware that they had to rely on this child for the foreseeable future. However, Amos might also decide to kill him if he believes the man will be a danger to the village, or even worse, if he believes the young man is a soldier.
But why was he sharing this information with her? Wouldn't it make more sense to conceal information of this nature and make oneself indispensable to the situation? Would it not be possible for him to stop them from killing him this way?
"Why are you telling me this?" Vanessa asked. That didn't make sense, especially if he was a Frantian soldier.
"Just to show you my goodwill…" Erik replied, leaving the woman flabbergasted.
"So? What would solve the situation once and for all?" she then asked as soon as she recovered from the slight shock.
Erik kept a close eye on the woman in front of him. After that, he brought the dirt to Vanessa and let her look at it.
"The soil here... it's lacking critical nutrients. Minerals like nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and others." Erik's voice was steady, his agricultural knowledge surging to the forefront.
"Without them, most plants struggle to grow. They need these minerals to build proteins and DNA and to help with photosynthesis."
He stood up, wiped his hand on the front of his pants, and turned to meet Vanessa's worried gaze as she stood there watching him. Erik reoriented himself to face the woman and met her worried gaze with a serious one of his own.
"The root of the problem," he began, choosing his words carefully, "is the Thornroot Vortex," he said. "This is a particularly aggressive plant species born after the Sinister Cold appeared. Scientists think it spread because humans and thaids learned how to harness mana, and those changes in mana led to plant mutations, among which this one."
He took a fragment of the withered vine in his hand and held it up for her to examine.
Although it appeared to be harmless, the plant was actually dangerous in every sense of the word. "Not only does the Thornroot Vortex spread rapidly, but it also removes nutrients from the soil at an alarming rate. Other plants are deprived of nutrients, making it difficult for them to grow."
He crossed his arms over his chest and looked out over the desolate field as he threw the vine back onto the ground. He continued while keeping his voice low, saying, "It's like a silent, insidious plague." If we do not get rid of it, nothing that we plant here will be able to grow correctly. Because of the Thornroot Vortex, the soil is in such a precarious condition right now. However, I must also tell you this: the Thornroot Vortex is not a plant that should be here."
Vanessa quickly caught what Erik was trying to say. "Are you implying someone put this here on purpose?" she asked.
"That is exactly what I'm telling you..."
An expression of rage fueled by comprehension spread across Vanessa's face as her eyes widened. They were now able to put a name to their unknown adversary, and the gravity of their situation seemed to lessen a bit, but what Erik said for last was even more problematic than the lack of food, which brought the difficulty of the situation into sharper focus.
Erik let go of the handful of earth in his grasp, and its grains fell back onto the barren ground from which they had originated.
Then Erik went back to the previous topic. "This Thornroot Vortex," he said, "it's like a greedy beast. It devours everything, leaving nothing for other plants. It's why the crops you planted... they couldn't compete."
A pause that was pregnant with the weight of the importance of his revelation. The mission had become substantially more complex, and the burden of carrying it out was now heavily distributed across their shoulders.
"But," Erik added, a glimmer of resolve lighting his eyes, "it's not impossible. Difficult, yes. But not impossible. I will tell you where to find it after you return my stuff. In the meantime, let me do what I came here for. I promise you that tonight there will be a feast."
After Erik had finished explaining something, he paused momentarily and closed his eyes. Vanessa watched with a curious expression on her face as he gradually assumed a calm expression.
The mana that was all around him started to stir at that point. It wasn't an abnormally large amount, but the way it pulsed produced an odd sensation for those close to him.
It was a soft whisper that the plants around him could only pick up on, but it was a kind and encouraging call.
At first, the change was so subtle that it was almost impossible to notice. Small shoots struggling to emerge all around Erik's feet started to react. They shook, twitched, and then started stretching upward toward the sky as if an unseen hand was pulling them up.
As the seconds passed, the effect grew, eventually reaching a radius of fifty meters around Erik and spreading outward. It resembled an undetectable ripple moving further and becoming more intense as each second passed.
The wilted leaves began to unfurl, revealing a profusion of new shades of vibrant green that were previously absent. As the stems bore the weight of their lost strength, they straightened.
The nutrients in the soil encouraged the roots to grow deeper, strengthening their hold on the ground. The once-decaying farm was suddenly resurrected all around Erik, and it was teeming with vitality and a force of life that hadn't been there just a few seconds earlier.
The result was truly amazing to look at. A verdant area that was once nearly barren has been replaced by one that is verdant and flourishing.
It demonstrated Erik's formidable power—the kind of power that infused the essence of the natural world around him with vitality and life.
As she took in the scene, Vanessa watched with astonishment as her eyes widened.
In the meantime, more fresh buds began to form, and flowers that had previously appeared to be withering began to blossom once more with a rekindled vitality.
The shift was so profound that Vanessa initially had trouble comprehending what she was seeing. Standing right in front of her was a young man who possessed a power that had the potential to breathe new life into their withering farm and prevent her community from perishing from hunger.
"We will need to repeat this…" Erik said to the woman once he finished.
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