He embarked on his trip with the belief that, with his sharp mind, he would not become disoriented and would, instead, be able to take his time traveling. Following a brief pause during which he mulls over his alternatives, Spencer proceeds down the course he was previously pursuing. It has been a week since he started his journey by himself in the Carpathian Mountains in Romania. Spencer pauses in the middle of making his way through the forest so that he can inspect the items within his backpack. He might have been able to go another three days without eating, or five if he deliberately starved himself. Because there was snow everywhere, finding water wasn't a problem at all. He is trying to figure out what the best course of action is; he has three days to get help or he will pass away. In spite of his weariness and hunger, Spencer decides to get up and walk for the next four days straight. Spenser continues his journey through the night until he becomes too exhausted and passes out on a frozen road.
After having a conversation with several researchers in Romania, a woman dressed in black robes is making her way back to her home along the same stretch of snow-covered road. As she draws closer to her homeland of Ciuperca Village (also known as Fungus Village in Romania), she stumbles across a man who is lying on the road and has partially frozen over. After giving it some consideration, she comes to the conclusion that she should pick him up and bring him along.
A few days later, Spencer wakes up and, upon opening his eyes, realizes that he is in a room. He had been unconscious for some time. After coming to the startling realization that he is still alive, Spencer gets up and immediately begins moving around. It dawned on him how pathetic he had been, and he swore to himself that he would never again permit himself to feel that way. When Spencer gets to his feet and exits the chamber, he finds himself in a little cottage that consists of two rooms: a living room and a cooking area. In the kitchen, he sees a woman dressed in ordinary clothes preparing meals.
When Spencer saw the woman, he looked at her and said, "Excuse me."
After recognizing Spencer, the woman smiles warmly at him and wishes him a nice day. "You just woke up. Tell me exactly how you are experiencing things.
Spencer nods in agreement and utters the following: "I'm feeling better. Thank you for taking care of me."
The woman's face is glowing with happiness and contentment. There is no cause for concern. Hi, I'm Maria. Why have you found yourself in this particular part of the world?
"I'm on a hiking trip," says Spencer.
Maria responds by nodding her head as I explain it to her. "When you passed out, the priestess Maranda found you and brought you back here. She commanded me to take care of you."
Which religious tradition do you and this "priestess" adhere to? As a question from Spencer
We adhere to the teachings of the Black God and worship him with all of our hearts as a collective. The following is what she divulges to him, she says. Now, Meranda has asked to speak with you about something she wants to discuss. As soon as you have finished eating and are fully awake, I will take you to her laboratory.
"Lab!" Spencer also wonder if it's possible that these individuals possessed a laboratory.
She then proceeds to offer him eggs while telling him, "Yes, Meranda is a biologist."
Spencer is taken aback and lowers his head, indicating his gratitude for the hospitality extended to him and his curiosity at the presence of a scientist in such a distant region. While Maria is guiding him to the laboratory, he quickly consumes the eggs.
While Maria and Spencer were going to the lab, Maria resumed her story about the Black God, a god that was adored by the people who lived in the Carpathian Mountains. Spencer has a keen interest in the traditions of the area and listens very carefully.
Maria leads Spencer to the laboratory's door and instructs him to go inside.
After a brief stroll, Spencer enters a dimly lit laboratory where a woman is seated at a desk performing her work.
She gives him a friendly grin before turning to face him. "Hello, my name is Mother Meranda, but you can call me Meranda." She begins with a businesslike introduction.
"Hello, my name is Oswell E. Spencer, and I would like to offer my sincere gratitude for preventing the loss of my life." When asked about it, Spencer responds, "Just call me Spencer."
"I was just walking home when I happened to run into you. She confronts him with the following statement: "why you're here,I wonder."
"I skipped a semester of school so that I could go on an adventure by myself, and I went hiking in the mountains. I am currently studying medicine, and after seeing the chaos that war and the intolerance of modern society can cause, I felt the urge to spend some time by myself."
Spencer and Miranda have a conversation about biology, and then Miranda offers Spencer a sample of the mold, which is a genus of fungus that is unique to the area. After this, they chat about how the world is falling apart, and then Spencer returns home to rest and recover. After seeing the potential that the mold possesses, Spencer starts to engage in daydreaming about how he could use a mutation like that to make the world a better place.
After that, Spencer spent his time with Meranda, learning about biology and the mold and observing the raw changes that the mold causes, such as the lycans that infest a cave close to the village and which Meranda keeps under control. Meranda explains to him the cadou, which is the end product of her research and creativity. His interest was piqued by the mold's capacity to not only absorb and adjust to novel forms of life but also transform and reproduce. Because the objective Meranda has to resurrect her daughter using the mold does not connect with his new goal to evolve the human species, and because using the mold would be restricted as the mold dies when it absorbs too much damage, he decides to leave the village after three months of learning from Meranda.
After writing a note to Meranda in which he explains why he is leaving, Spencer packs his stuff in preparation for the journey back home. In the beginning, then he get's to a city, then he flies back to his college, and finally, he gets back together with his old friends as a different person.
Spencer will start's thinking about his future when he has established some friendships. As Spencer watches the escalation of the Cold War and realizes that the mold won't save him, he begins to believe that people in general are doomed to fail. Spencer, much like Meranda, is of the opinion that the extinction of the human race can be avoided by following a higher moral code and an evolutionary route for humanity. Spencer is intrigued by the relatively new field of virology because there aren't many other possibilities for accomplishing this goal. Spencer is certain of this, so he bands together with several other eugenicists to form a group of scholars who share a similar worldview.