As Larry and the others moved closer, the strong scent of medicinal herbs filled their noses. If you looked carefully, you'd notice the whole street was practically soaked in that herbal smell.
After casually glancing at a few stalls, they headed straight toward a large red rock. Now that they understood the local customs, it was easy to see one thing: compared to other vendors, the goods sold by the ones at the large red rock were likely to be better.
"As we got closer, I realized it's quite big," Larry commented, eyeing the massive red rock in front of them.
Pyon nodded in agreement. Underneath the red rock's shade was a large area, part 037, that provided some much-needed coolness during the summer. They called it a "large red rock," but that was only in comparison to the smaller stones around it.
The real massive red rocks on Yoshi Island are continuous formations standing firmly on the ground. Still, this one wasn't small by any means; it stood about three meters tall and covered a wide area. The other red rocks were just small vendor spots, but this one could hold two stalls at once. Clearly, it was one of the best red rocks in the market area.
As they climbed the steps carved into the red rock, their footsteps echoed with crisp, sharp sounds. Larry wondered if the steps had been polished over time or if the interior of the rock itself was naturally like this.
The steps actually looked surprisingly bright, almost as if they were faintly glowing. Since it was daytime, he guessed that maybe at night these red rocks might emit some light, kind of like fluorite.
When the two finally reached the top, they found themselves about three meters above the ground. Looking around, the view was much wider and clearer, making it a perfect spot to enjoy the beautiful scenery. Besides the two vendors stationed there, a handful of customers, around three to five, were browsing through the items.
Compared to other vendors in the vast market area, these stalls were relatively popular. In such a large marketplace, many vendors might only see a few customers all day. Each vendor specialized in a particular field: one sold medicinal herbs, while the other dealt with fossils.
Curious about the medicinal materials, Larry first stopped at the herb stall. Some of the items looked like fruits, giving off a fragrant scent that was more appealing than ordinary fruit. Others resembled common medicinal herbs and had a refreshing aroma.
As Larry scanned the stall, his attention was drawn to a single root that shimmered faintly with aura. 'Was this herb somehow imbued with nen? '
The root was about the size of a fist, with densely intertwined branches resembling a tangled spider web. Normally, rhizomes are yellowish, but this one glowed with an eerie reddish light that could make most people's hearts race just by looking at it. For some reason, it gave Larry an unsettling feeling, reminding him of the parasitic plants he'd encountered in the ancient labyrinth ruins.
The strange glow and the presence of aura naturally piqued his curiosity. He glanced at Pyonn, and their eyes met in silent understanding, they both sensed something off about the root.
"Uncle, how much for this?" Larry asked the stall owner, a thin old man with weathered, dark skin, clearly hardened by years under the sun and wind.
The man was smoking a pipe, likely taking a rare moment of rest. "Ten thousand jenny," the old man replied slowly after a brief pause, a flicker of surprise crossing his hoarse voice, probably from years of smoking.
Without hesitation, Larry agreed, "Okay, I'll take it."
After finishing speaking, Larry took out the money and handed it to the old man. This time, the old man hesitated a bit before accepting it. He had just picked up the strange-looking rhizome at random, thinking it looked unusual and placed it on his stall without much thought.
Surprisingly, it caught the attention of others on the very first day. To most, an unknown rhizome that could be traded for a full 10,000 Jenny meant little, money and goods like this were common to them. Holding the odd root in his hand, Larry noticed the small amount of aura attached to it stood out even more.
Remembering the stone he had bought earlier at Carter Port, he immediately focused his mind and wrapped the rhizome in his aura. Sure enough, under this influence, the blood-red root began to change, slowly revealing its hidden secrets.
Pyon, standing beside him, kept glancing sideways, his pink eyes fixed intently on the root, clearly curious about what would happen if aura was applied. After a few moments, Larry's expression shifted slightly, a hint of surprise flashing across his face as he studied the stem more closely.
On the surface, it offered no obvious clues, but upon closer inspection, the blood-red color seemed to grow even more vivid. At this point, the stem was continuously drawing in his thoughts like a bottomless pit, endlessly absorbing aura without showing any other effect.
Was it really just an energy sink, or was there something more to it?
After a while, Larry frowned slightly as he examined the rhizome. It was absorbing his aura, but he couldn't see any immediate effect. Then, a message popped into his mind, this was the response from the Ferrothorn. It turned out that the rhizome's main effect was on plants.
As it absorbed aura, its color would deepen, becoming richer and more vibrant. With enough stored, the rhizome could speed up the growth of plants and help fruits ripen faster.
That sounded pretty useful, especially for anyone who grew rare medicinal herbs. For them, this would be like a magical weapon.
The older the herbs grew, the stronger their effects; the older the herbs, the rarer and more valuable they became. So anything that could shorten growth time and speed up harvests would be incredibly valuable. But for Larry himself, it seemed like the rhizome wouldn't be much use.
Just then, another message from the Ferrothorn came through, and this time it was something Larry could actually use. Interestingly, he felt a strange sense of déjà vu because the rhizome's effect reminded him of the "Miracle Seed" from Pokemon.
Both items enhanced grass-type powers. Essentially, the rhizome absorbed aura and converted it into life energy for grass-type plants.
For ordinary plants, it promoted growth, helped them adapt to their environment, and increased their chances of survival. But for grass-type Pokemon like the Ferrothorn, the rhizome actually boosted their grass-type abilities, acting like a disguised Miracle Seed.
This was the second tool Larry had acquired. The first was the Stone, which reduced gravity. The second, which he decided to call the "Blood Rhizome," accelerated plant growth and strengthened grass-type skills.