Ground eats poo - 64
Juro smiled.
"Well, that's natural. You'd get stronger through experience. Are you gonna continue that growth?"
"Mmm! Of course I will! Hehe!"
Marc continued walking with a bright smile, already looking forward to whatever adventure came next.
…
While walking, both Marc and Juro's stomachs suddenly grumbled. They looked at each other before chuckling, while Bell simply watched them with a blank expression.
He then said, "Let's go off the path and try to find something we can eat for breakfast."
"Mmm, yes. Let's see what kind of creature we'll find," Juro replied.
Marc nodded eagerly, and the three of them left the path, making their way across the fields.
As they looked around, Marc suddenly called out excitedly, "Bell! Teacher Juro! Look, I found a few chickens!"
Bell and Juro quickly went over to him. They crouched behind a boulder and looked out toward a small pond where several chickens had gathered. Some were drinking from the water, while others casually wandered around nearby.
"Should we use magic to catch them?" Marc asked excitedly.
Juro smiled before shaking his head. "Nah, what's the fun in that? We should experience catching the chickens ourselves, right?"
Marc chuckled and nodded in agreement.
Bell, however, could only think to himself,
"Auhhhhh..."
Juro then looked at Marc and said, "Oh, and while you're catching them, make sure you coat your hands with a little bit of mana for protection."
Marc tilted his head. "Why?"
"You see those beaks? They're sharp, right?" Juro pointed toward the chickens. "But it's not just the tips of their beaks. They're structured to tear flesh from prey they've caught. So your concern shouldn't be whether they peck you, but whether they actually bite you."
"Oooo, I see. Teacher Juro, another question."
Juro nodded, signaling for him to continue.
"Do chickens also have magic like horleneses?"
Juro chuckled at the question. "No, they don't."
"Hehe, just curious."
"Alright, then. The chicken you catch is what you'll be eating for breakfast, so if you don't catch any, or only catch one, then that's on you."
Marc's eyes lit up as he excitedly braced himself. He coated his hands with mana, ready to catch his first chicken.
Meanwhile, Bell simply stood to the side, watching them.
And then they started.
Marc and Juro quickly lunged toward the chickens, while Bell remained behind, continuing to observe.
Marc reached for one by its small tail, but the chicken reacted almost instantly. It jumped, flapping its wings wildly and sending feathers straight into Marc's face.
"Ahhh! I can't see!"
At the same time, Juro managed to grab another chicken by its leg.
"Aahahah!"
The scene quickly became lively as the chickens scrambled in every direction, desperately trying to escape while Marc and Juro chased after them.
Bell, on the other hand, remained composed.
He simply waited.
Just as he expected, when Marc and Juro approached the flock, several chickens scattered in different directions. Most of them happened to run toward Bell.
They didn't know he was waiting behind the boulder.
As soon as the chickens passed it, Bell moved.
Four quick strikes landed against the backs of four chickens' necks.
The chickens immediately went limp, knocked unconscious before they even realized what had happened.
Bell calmly picked up two chickens by their legs with one hand, then grabbed two more with the other.
He stood there holding all four chickens, completely unfazed.
Bell then turned to look at their situation. Juro had caught five chickens, while Marc had managed to catch two, though his hair and face were now covered in feathers. Juro stood nearby, laughing at him.
Bell could only sigh, a faint smile appearing on his face.
After a few minutes, they found a spot surrounded by trees that provided some shade. Marc and Bell went out to gather sticks and stones to use for the fire, while Juro simply picked up a few rocks and incanted, "Taza."
The rocks shifted and molded themselves into a cup.
Once they finished setting everything up, Marc happily lit the fire by flowing mana from his index finger and transforming it into a small flame. He brought his finger close to the sticks, allowing the flame to catch onto them.
Juro then reached into his pouch and pulled out two small knives, handing one to Marc. Bell used his own dagger.
Juro slowly began teaching Marc how to properly skin the chicken, remove the feathers, and cut the meat. Marc carefully followed along with Juro's hands and instructions, listening closely to every detail as Juro explained each step.
Meanwhile, Bell casually cleaned the four chickens he had caught.
His movements were quick and precise as he removed the feathers, cut the meat, and even separated the bones neatly.
Juro and Marc both watched in awe.
…
Time passed, and eventually, they began sticking the chicken meat onto wooden sticks to cook it over the fire.
As they waited for the meat to finish cooking, Marc suddenly noticed a Lupan to his left. He watched the creature for a moment before seeing it squat down and poop on the ground.
Marc chuckled lightly at the sight before turning toward Juro.
"Teacher Juro, since I've read that there are a lot of creatures, especially big and small ones, why don't we often see poop on the fields?"
Juro looked at Marc for a moment.
"Hmm... well, not all creatures actually have to poop."
"Ooo, then what do they do with the food they just ate?" Marc asked curiously.
"Well, I'm not a Creaturelogist, so I'm not really sure," Juro admitted. "But there are creatures that eat food and have it completely absorbed by their bodies, so they don't need to poo."
Juro stretched his arms before continuing.
"Also, there are a lot of creatures that eat feces as one of their main sources of food."
"Ooo."
Marc listened carefully.
"Oh, and that poop on the ground made by the Lupan? That'll disappear by the next day, or maybe within three days."
"Do the Lupans eat their own poo?"
Juro chuckled and waved his hand dismissively.
"Nah. The ground eats the poo."
Marc's curiosity immediately grew even bigger.
"Whattt?? The ground????"
Juro laughed.
"Yeah. That's probably the main reason why, even if there are huge creatures around, we don't see a wall of poo everywhere. The ground slowly and gradually eats it."
"I think the word for that should be 'absorbing it,'" Bell commented.
"Nahhhhhhh, 'eats it' is a better word to understand," Juro said with a casual smile.
Bell stared blankly at him for a second before simply continuing to monitor the meat, turning the stick over the fire.
Marc grew even more curious about what Juro had just said.
"Woaa... the ground eats it? Wouldn't the grass be stained, though?" Marc asked.
Juro casually replied, "Actually, the feces from creatures help the grass grow stronger and cleaner. That's why when you go into an open field, you see nothing but clean grass. Even if there are thousands or millions of creatures around Demanas, the natural environment still stays clean."
"Why does the ground eat it, though? How does that work?" Marc asked again.
Juro thought for a moment as Marc leaned closer and closer, waiting for his answer.
"That... I don't know. I just know it involves another creature."
"Ehhhhhhhh, you don't know??? Awwweeeee..." Marc exclaimed.
Juro simply chuckled.
"Meeehh, don't worry about it. You'll figure it out one day yourself."
"The Ark Beast," Bell thought to himself as he listened.
Marc just smiled before Bell suddenly told them that the chickens were ready.
Marc excitedly turned his head and grabbed a stick. The three of them then began eating.
Even though Bell had caught four chickens, he gave one of them to Marc, seeing how hungry he was. Juro did the same, despite having caught five himself.
Both Bell and Juro smiled as they watched Marc happily eat as much as he could.
After some time, they finally finished eating and drank some water.
"This steel flask is still really so cool to see it in action..." Marc exclaimed.
He flowed mana into the hand holding the steel flask, watching as the water inside began to fill up until it reached the top and stopped. He then poured some into his cup before drinking it.
After a short rest, they began continuing along the path.
While walking, Juro yawned with his eyes closed before suddenly thinking of something.
"Mmm... How about we go off-road this time as we walk?"
"Off-road?" Marc questioned.
"Yeah. We'll encounter more interesting things if we go off the path and just start walking wherever. Hehe."
Juro grinned.
Bell looked at him blankly, already feeling like something was about to happen. He opened his mouth, about to suggest that it probably wouldn't be a good idea, but Marc answered before he could.
"Sure!"
Marc and Juro immediately started heading off the path.
Marc then turned toward Bell and called out with a huge smile on his face.
"Bell! C'mon, let's go!"
Bell sighed in defeat before following after them.
…
Now that they were walking across the open fields with no path in sight, more and more sounds began to emerge from the surrounding area.
"Woaa... What's with all these sounds?" Marc exclaimed as he looked around, trying to pinpoint where each one was coming from.