Mushrooms! Derick saw quite a few mushrooms under the damp wall.
It seemed this type of organism existed even in Amphoreus.
However, there were too many colors and varieties among these mushrooms; he didn't know which were non-toxic and which were poisonous.
Derick stood up and walked towards the mushrooms.
Castorice followed behind him, puzzled.
Seeing the mushroom in Derick's hand, Castorice instinctively snatched it away.
"Derick, this plant is poisonous. Even if you're starving, you can't eat it," Castorice told Derick.
Hearing Castorice's words, Derick's heart sank.
Could Amphoreus already have considerable research on mushrooms?
"How much do you know about this mushroom?" Derick asked Castorice.
"Mushroom? Is that what you call this?" Castorice asked puzzledly. Then, the mushroom in her hand withered. Castorice continued, "I once saw someone walking in the dark night, eating this plant out of extreme hunger, and dying from poison as a result. Derick, if you're hungry, I can give you my food. After we return to Okhema, I'll take you to eat enough food."
"No, I'm not hungry. I just want to use this food to find a way for the Salthos tribe to survive," Derick said to Castorice.
Hearing Castorice say this, it seemed this world had almost no research on fungi like mushrooms. Derick could guess the reason. Stable city-states like Okhema were under long-term sunlight exposure; day after day of sunlight, it would be strange if mushrooms could grow.
And those places that were perpetually dark were unsuitable for large-scale human habitation, so naturally, no one would study methods for eating mushrooms. Occasionally, people who ate these wild mushrooms would mostly die from poisoning. This further discouraged research into cultivating these fungi. Even those who happened to eat mushrooms without issue were very likely to die from the Black Tide.
In short, in this world, these mushrooms could be put to good use.
"Back in my hometown, I saw people cultivating and eating mushrooms. These mushrooms like to grow in places without sunlight. We can cultivate them on a large scale outside Okhema, which can effectively alleviate Okhema's food shortage."
"Are you saying... these mushrooms are edible? But why do others die after eating them?" Hearing Derick say this, Castorice asked puzzledly.
"Of course, not all mushrooms are edible. Only one or two types among them can be eaten," Derick looked at the colorful mushrooms and replied to Castorice.
"Then you recognize them?" Castorice asked again.
Did Derick's hometown really have the technology to cultivate this plant? Could he truly find the edible types among them?
"I don't recognize them."
"Then how... Hey? Derick, what are you doing?" Castorice was about to ask something when she saw Derick already sitting in front of the mushrooms, picking one up and starting to chew it.
"I don't know which one is edible, so I'll take the simplest approach." Derick said while eating, foam frothing at the corner of his mouth. "Eat every single one, that way we can verify if it's edible. Castorice, help me remember, this type of mushroom is not edible."
He lay on the ground, foaming at the mouth for a while.
Anyway, he wouldn't die, so he might as well try them all.
After foaming at the mouth for a bit, Derick recovered. Then he picked up another type of mushroom and put it in his mouth.
"So bitter~"
Putting it in his mouth, Derick spat it out.
His actions attracted the attention of Mydei, Trianne, and the other Salthos people. Trianne quickly walked over and said to Derick, "Little Derick, are you hungry? These things are not edible."
While Derick was spitting, Castorice explained on the side:
"Derick isn't hungry..."
She explained his idea.
The Salthos people looked puzzled.
Could this really work?
"Little Derick..." Trianne looked at Derick in shock.
Meanwhile, Mydei silently walked over to Derick's side, picked up another type of mushroom, and started eating it.
"I hope you're right."
Okhema city's food shortage affected not only the citizens of Okhema but also his Kremnos clan significantly. As their prince, Mydei also hoped to bring more food to his people.
After a while, Mydei pointed at the mushroom and said silently, "This one is poisonous, it'll kill you."
He closed his eyes and lay on the ground, dead for a moment.
Derick, having finished spitting, returned. He looked at the remaining mushrooms, picked up another type, and ate it.
After a while, he shook his head at the mushroom again.
"No good, this one isn't edible either."
"Hey? But Little Derick, you look fine?"
"The problem is, this mushroom personally told me it can't be eaten," Derick pointed at the mushroom and said.
"Ah, this..."
Trianne didn't know how to respond.
After experiencing hallucinations for a while, Derick recovered. Meanwhile, Mydei had also successfully completed his marathon run and returned. He picked up another type of mushroom and ate it.
Thump!
Mydei collapsed again.
Just like that, Mydei kept doing sit-ups. Derick, on the other hand, exhibited various reactions, sometimes hallucinating, sometimes foaming at the mouth. The two of them tested more than half of the mushroom types.
Mydei chewed on a gray mushroom. After a long while, he suddenly stood up.
"This one... edible... no problem."
Because he had been poisoned several times, his mouth was numb, and he could only speak one word at a time.
"Really? That's great." Derick, having just recovered from dancing around, couldn't help but smile upon hearing Mydei's words.
The two looked at each other, then both lay down on the ground.
Trianne quickly asked, "Little Derick, Little Mydei, what's wrong?"
Castorice had already cradled Derick in her lap at this point.
"Nothing, just a bit tired," Derick and Mydei said.
Mydei squinted at Derick.
"We've found the edible type. As for how to cultivate it, you should know, right?"
"Don't worry, I do," Derick said weakly.
After saying this, he turned his head to look at the Salthos clan leader.
"Chief, later I will tell you the method for cultivating mushrooms. You should be able to grow some during these few days on the road. When the time comes, remember to use this technique to exchange with the Senate for grain that can sustain your temporary survival."
Hearing this, the Salthos people were stunned.
"You, you mean you're giving this technique to us?"
"Not giving it to you, but letting you exchange it for grain. I just don't want to see anyone starve to death."
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