[BL] Accidentally Becoming the Healer of the Deranged Archduke novel Chapter 215

Chapter 215: The Sleeping Poison

Xion almost dozed off in his crooked position on the chair when the system alerted him.

"Found something. You’re going to like this... or hate it. Probably both."

Xion had to force his eyes open. "Speak."

"There is a fungus known as Mycosera glacialis. It grows only in the Caverns of Haldris, way up north. Very rare. Harmless in its original state. Actually, used in ancient remedies for blood purification, though it’s extremely bitter and hard to cultivate outside its habitat."

"But?" Xion muttered, already sensing the catch.

"But a new entry was recently appended to our updated system archive. A mutated strain: Mycosera tenberis."

"Tenberis? Do we have any information about it?"

"Yes. The data suggests that the spores mutated after prolonged exposure to high-intensity mana."

The system projected an image in front of him. A purple flower with its stems stretched like a spider. It had a red hue at the center, making it look both mesmerizing and oddly creepy.

"The corrupted mana didn’t just mutate the fungus. It weaponized it. What used to be a detoxifying agent is now a designer toxin. It enters the bloodstream, literally starving the body of oxygen by bonding to the iron in the blood."

"That’s why the blood turns black. Those are oxidized remnants of hemolysis and internal decay," Xion finished the sentence on the system’s behalf.

"And here’s the kicker: the poison stays dormant unless triggered by body heat or certain alkaloids. Guess what’s in the chill-relief tea?"

Xion’s face darkened. "...Mild alkaloids."

"Bingo."

If Mycosera tenberis truly was awakened by alkaloids and heat, then it had likely already been ingested far more widely than just by the merchant’s daughter.

The difference was, hers had been activated.

He tapped a finger against the counter. "So, it’s not poisoning in the classic sense. It’s a reaction. Like setting off a trap."

It was like a sleeping poison which only woke up when knocked by external agents.

"Which means," the system said as it displayed another screen showing the blue flower turning dark almost black. "You can’t treat it like regular poisoning. An antidote won’t help unless you also neutralize the trigger condition. Or it would affect the patient again and again until he or she dies."

"And isolate the source," Xion finished grimly. "As fast as possible. But for now, all we can do is ask them not to eat alkaloids."

Anyone could consume mild alkaloids in their diet. Just based on this fact, he possibly could not condemn anyone, especially not someone like Lady Norva.

Xion had never met the lady personally. And if he had to judge her by her husband, lord Varnehold’s personality, that would be wrong in so many ways.

Just because he had a good impression of someone, he would be the biggest fool to project that onto the other family members as well.

He silently combed through every possibility he could think of.

Airborne exposure was possible, but unlikely unless the spores were cultivated and then spread. Which led him to a worse conclusion.

"Someone found it and thought it was the original detoxifying herb... Or someone wanted it to spread."

He exhaled, pinched the bridge of his nose, and made his next decision.

"I need a map of this Haldris caverns. We also need to find the fungal growth zones around it. If what we thought was not wrong, then we might have to look for special cultivation areas as well."

"We don’t have it. We never set foot in the northern territories in the first place." The system had already opened the map.

With the updated system, Xion only needed to step into a location to unlock its full map.