Chapter Ten: "Clay of Light"

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Based on his memory, this was a simple map drawn by the original owner a few days after returning. Through extremely limited outdoor activities and exploration, as well as his first trip to the village, he had roughly sorted out the local topography during his exchanges with the villagers.

Guang Tai returned to the house, took down the map, and looked out at the surroundings again, comparing the terrain with the drawing.

First, there was the main body of the Sinjoh Ruins. It was actually the remains of a shrine, far away from the village and hidden in the deepest and highest parts of the ancient spirit peaks. One could only enter the spirit peaks during the summer; once autumn and winter arrived, the area would be hit by blizzards that covered the entire sky. Thus, it was marked with a "?" on the simple map, in the upper right corner.

It was said that ruins researchers or adventurers from other regions would occasionally come to conduct investigations, but most returned empty-handed.

This was quite normal; after all, there were simply too many ruins in the Pokémon world. If one didn't know the truth about the Sinjoh Ruins, one would only view them as the remnants of a temple located north of the Johto region and the Indigo Plateau.

When the cold winter season arrived, the area would be blocked by blizzards, and the Sinjoh Ruins deep in the mountains would be sealed off by heavy snow. To enter the ruins, one had to pass through a wall of ice and snow.

Because it was located on the edge of the Indigo Plateau, the climate was cold, and the snow in the mountain valleys rarely melted throughout the year. The village was hidden in a mountain col, relying on the ancient spirit peaks to preserve a small patch of land for survival, and the annual sowing season didn't even begin until June.

To the northwest lay a vast forest known as the Sinjoh Forest, filled with towering, ancient trees; in some places, the sunlight couldn't even penetrate the canopy.

To the east was an endless, nameless mountain range composed mostly of rocky peaks. These high, continuous mountains formed many deep canyons, within which were scattered, fragmented moist areas. The ancient spirit peak where the Sinjoh Ruins sat was the highest point of this eastern range, with many rivers and streams flowing from it, cutting through the village and the forest.

The south led toward the Johto region, consisting mostly of the massive and towering Indigo Plateau. Even Mt. Moon and the Unown mountain ranges were part of it, and on the other side of the plateau lay Blackthorn City in the Johto region.

To the immediate west was another nameless, massive plateau and mountain range. As could be seen on the map, this plateau stretched from north of Ecruteak City and the Battle Frontier, extending all the way to the far north, beyond the map's edge. The small glimpse shown on the Johto map was already enough to show that its scale was in no way inferior to the Indigo Plateau.

Guang Tai shifted his gaze back from the distance, looking again at the wasteland near the workshop.

Because of his line of work, a道具 artisan like him who took on any job often moved about the wilderness in different regions. This meant his workplace changed frequently, and he was destined not to stay in one place for too long.

Now that he had acquired a special ability to gain knowledge and craftsmanship, the need to travel was even greater.

However, his work in Sinjoh had only just begun, and this abandoned workshop needed to be restarted.

At the very least, he would stay here for a considerable amount of time, and there was one type of item that could not be produced without being tethered to the land.

That was "medicine."

From the herbs of ancient times to the Full Heals and Full Restores of today, their essence had not changed. Herbs in the Pokémon world possessed incredible effects; for minor injuries, simply applying the herbal extract could provide immediate results.

Once processed into medicine, the effects were even more astounding—the result of blending the properties of different herbs. However, the production process varied across regions and for different types of medicine.

Mint, herbs, Revival Herbs... these were common medicinal items that required human cultivation; relying solely on finding them in the wild would be extremely difficult. Moreover, some specific herbs did not grow in all regions.

Therefore, being away from home, keeping a constant supply of various herb seeds and planting them whenever and wherever possible was a very important task.

Guang Tai had some herb seeds on him. Every time he worked in a new place, he would leave some behind after planting, or he would buy them from local pharmacies, while also purchasing vegetable and plant seeds for emergencies.

Unlike fresh vegetables, seeds—if stored properly—had a considerably long shelf life.

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Guang Tai was not an herbalist himself, but even without being an expert, he knew how to make basic healing salves. This was a craft of the local Sinnoh people, using an herb known as "Heal Grass."

"I should go to the village to replenish my stock."

In the original owner's memories, there should be an apothecary and a craftsman in the village. The apothecary would have a herb garden where he could buy seeds or transplant some herbs, and perhaps check if there were any rare varieties.

As for common crop seeds, he could just buy some from the villagers. Honestly, Guang Tai figured he would be staying here for at least a few months, so a food source was very important.

As it happened, it was currently summer in Sinjoh, and the plants were greedily soaking up the warm air and growing wildly.

Besides buying seeds, he also needed to pick up some rags...

"Yo?"

Guang Tai turned and saw the Honedge drifting over.

Ghost-type Pokémon were still Pokémon; they weren't true spirits, after all, and they also needed to rest.

"Good morning, Honedge! Let's get to work!"

"Yo!"

Honedge seemed a bit excited, although it had no idea what it was supposed to do, only asking:

Are we going to chop vegetables again?

"No, today we'll tidy up the house first. In the afternoon, we're going to the village."

The abandoned workshop had indeed been vacant for a long time. Since the original owner returned, he had only used the living room, the workspace, and the basement. There were four other rooms that hadn't been touched. The ancient wooden chairs inside were toppled over, covered in dust, and just opening the door made one cough from the debris.

Honedge drifted inside. A chilly sensation enveloped it, which it found quite comfortable!

"Why are you so happy... speaking of which, this place really feels uncomfortable. It seems the information was right—this old house has bred resentment; it truly is a haunted site."

A house that hasn't been used for too long ends up like this. Guang Tai looked at the layout of the first room: a rectangular table with some old glass bottles on it, and a cabinet beside the table with three storage shelves above and two large drawers below.

Some metal utensils and medicine-making tools were placed on the shelves. Beside the cabinet was a small, long bookshelf holding some long-rotted ancient books, their spines broken and falling off.

"Looks like a pharmacy."

This was Guang Tai's first impression. Those bottles, jars, and metal utensils, combined with the rotting books, fit the stereotype of a medicinal room perfectly. However, when Guang Tai lightly touched the books, they seemed ready to turn to ash; the powdery sensation made him dismiss the idea of pulling one out to read.

These books hadn't been touched in years, and even a slight movement made them "shed." Normal reading was probably impossible, but Guang Tai thought that book restoration was also a craft—he just wondered if he would ever have the chance to learn such a skill.

"After planting herbs and harvesting them, I can come to this room to make medicine. There are plenty of ready-made utensils here."

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Following that, the second room was quite spacious and appeared to be a forge. The surrounding walls were made of stone, and at the end of the room stood a medium-sized furnace connected to a massive chimney, surrounded by old, rusted pipes that were likely beyond repair.

On the other side of the wall were some empty storage boxes containing remnants of charcoal. The wall of this room seemed to be movable; Guang Tai saw a wooden peg stuck in a wall panel that looked like a door.

Guang Tai watched as Honedge drifted to the side and picked up a large, rust-covered wrench from a corner.

"In the future, I can do some small-scale forging here... it's just like a blacksmith's shop in a game."

The third room contained some hardened clumps of soil and some discarded, poor-quality clay pots. Guang Tai picked up a pot, and his knowledge as an Ancient Treasure Hunter activated, revealing the appraisal information:

【Craft: Discarded Modern Clay Pot.】

【Description: A completely botched craft. Even if sold cheaply, no one would buy it. Generally speaking, this is trash.】

Well, nothing special happened; these were just ordinary, failed clay pots.

"Is this a pottery studio?"

Guang Tai, filled with curiosity, headed to the fourth room. The result was a bit disappointing—the fourth room was empty, containing nothing at all. However, an empty room was the easiest to clean.

The big cleaning project soon began. Guang Tai and Honedge organized and wiped down the items left behind. It took them the entire morning to clear all the dust from the rooms. During this process, Guang Tai discovered something strange.

Indeed, sometimes when you deliberately look for something, it's hard to find anything good, but through accidental cleaning, you might just clear out strange things from some corner.

It was a lump of pale green, faintly glowing clay.

【Rare Material: Light Clay】

【Effect: When a Pokémon holding this item uses Light Screen or Reflect, the effect lasts longer than usual.】

【Crafting Skill: 1】

【Unique Pottery Firing Craft (C-): The pottery produced will retain the effects of the raw materials. Ground and Rock-type Pokémon will be very fond of pottery fired this way, as it slightly enhances their elemental energy.】

In the game, Light Clay could be obtained by repeatedly digging in the underground tunnels of the Sinnoh region, and its rarity was "Very Rare."

"If I make pottery with this stuff, will the pottery glow too?" A strange thought suddenly popped into Guang Tai's mind.

Clay was, after all, a material for making pottery. If he used Light Clay for pottery...

"If my pottery is 'mature' enough, will it cast Light Screen on its own?"

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