Merchant Caravan
1513 Words
A few weeks had passed since Korra had started teaching Asta to cultivate. Even with her low aptitude for cultivation, Asta had proved to be determined and had advanced quickly. Right now, Asta was infront of Korra. They were obviously in Korra's room.
Asta was bubbling with excitement. Korra was smirking as well.
'All my work is begining to pay off'
"How do you like your stats now?" Korra asked Asta.
"They are.... They're great!" She exclaimed. "I even got a new skill! A skill! Skills are so rare! How did I get one?!"
"Oh? A skill? What is it called?"
"Mana absorption"
"What? Mana absorption? Are you sure it is mana absorption?" Korra asked in shock.
"Yes" Asta innocently answered.
'Inspect!' Korra thought inwardly as she narrowed her eyes.
Name: Asta Frost
Class: None
Race: Human
Lvl: 1
Health: 17/17
Mana: 19/19
Exp: 14/20
STR: 12
AGI: 15
INT: 11
STM: 10
WIS: 7
Skills: Mana absorption (S): Due to an unknown training you underwent, this skill was created. You are able to recover Mana much faster than normal people. 3% increase in efficiency when doing anything that absorbs mana.
Korra begun to scan Asta's information. The more she read, the more her eyes widened in surprised.
'What the f**k? What the hell is up with these stats? Her level one is basically equal to my level two? I thought she had low aptitude!'
Korra was definitely surprised. She had not expected this great change in her stats. Even so, Korra quickly calmed down. She was not an old cultivation monster for nothing. She could quickly recover from shock.
'Let's take a look at the mana absorption. Hmm... Its only S class. And it only gives a 3% boost. Well that's understandable. After all, the technique Asta is practicing can not be compared with the primal god technique'
After nodding with satisfaction Korra closed the panel.
"Errm.. Lady Korra were you looking at your stats or something?"
"Yes. I was just checking my level."
"Oh! Okay"
Of course Korra would not tell her she had the ability to analyze other people's stats.
"Come on. Let's go" Korra said as Asta tied Korra's hair into a bun.
She walked out of the room with Asta trailing behind her. When she reached the living room, she saw Heather knitting in one of the arm chairs.
"Mom. We are leaving"
"Sure. Be safe. Make sure to get Asta nice clothes."
"Alright"
For some reason, it was easy for Korra to call Heather as her mother. She suspected it was due to the influence of the original owner's soul. Since there was nothing she could do, she didn't dwell on it.
Today, she wanted to go take a proper look at the whole village. Of course she had to tell her mother that she wanted to buy some new clothes for Asta. A merchant caravan had arrived in the village.
Korra walked out of the house with Asta.
After an hour and a half, they got to the main part of the village. Large cluster of wooden houses stood tall. There were ropes that people hanged their garments on. The place was bustling as people bought and sold meager things that only villagers would need.
Little children with dirt on their faces played in the sand and chased each other. There were also various dark alleys.
Korra begun to explore with interest. She took notes of every inch of the village. During her exploration, she met the village chief's son and his followers. Immediately they spotted her, they run away in fear. Korra smirked.
After hours of exploration, Korra finally decided to go to the merchant caravan. It was already late night. The only problem right now was, she didn't know where the caravan was. She should have listened to her mother's direction.
As they roamed about, Korra found a man clad in black. He stood infront of a brothel. He had a scar on his face. Before Korra could approach, Asta held her arm.
"That-that man looks dangerous" Asta said with concern.
Korra groaned in exasperation.
'Damn this girl!'
"Don't worry about it. Just follow me!"
Asta simply nodded.
Korra and Asta approached the man. When the man saw them, he licked his lips.
"Oh? What do kids like you want in a place like this?" He asked with a cold voice.
"We are lost. We need directions to the merchant caravan" Korra said coolly. The man in black found Korra very strange.
"Sure" the main said. He proceeded to give them detailed directions to the merchant caravan.
"You proved very useful" Korra said to the man. That was her version of 'thank you'. The man raised a brow at this.
When Korra and Asta were about to leave the man stopped them.
"Why don't you let me take you there? I know a shortcut"
Korra narrowed her eyes and stared at the man intently. She then nodded.
"Sure"
"Good! Let's go then"
Asta pulled on Korra's sleeves.
"Lady Korra. I don't think we shou-"
"Don't worry about it. Just follow me"
After walking with the man for a bit, they took a curve into a dark alley. Korra and Asta continued to follow him deeper into the alley. Suddenly the man stopped. He begun to laugh.
"Kikikiki.... Kids are soo stupid" his laughter became hysterical.
"I can't believe you kids were dum enough to follow me here!"
Korra raised a brow as Asta shook in fright.
"Oh? What do you plan to do to us now that we are here?" Korra asked nonchalantly.
"Tch. You are a cheeky one huh? I'll sell you for some gold. Those damn p*****t nobles have some weird kink, ya'know! Kikikiki"
"I see" Korra turned to Asta. "Handle him. Make it quick."
Asta's mouth dropped open.
"But- but I'm only a level one!"
"Asta. Do you trust me?"
"With my life"
"Then do what I said"
Asta nodded. Korra walked away and stood far away.
The man was pissed.
"Huh? What's with that kid? Nevermind, I'll deal with her later after I'm done with the little one here"
He shifted his gaze to Asta. He licked his lips again. He pulled out a knife to m**m Asta. He quickly run towards Asta and pierced at her.
Taking a deep breath, Asta steeled her will.
'If Lady Korra believes in me, then I can do this! I'm sure she wants me to use that'
Asta got into a stance and released a long breath. She pulled her right arm back as the man charged her.
"Hahaha.... Kid! Do you think that this is a game?!" The man said as he pierced the knife at Asta.
Korra, who had folded her arm and was leaning against the wall shook her head.
'This i***t. He's done for. Even though he's a level six, he was too careless. He didn't bother to use any skill. He's not even serious. Not to mention, Asta's level one stats are monstrous. But something is weird. I don't believe this guy is a normal slave trader. No normal person would be a level six. I need to question him'
Before the knife could touch Asta she quickly moved to the left and dodged the blade.
"What?" The man mumbled.
"Iron fist!"
Swish! Boom!
"Blurh!" Blood spewed from the man's mouth as Asta's fist landed on his stomach. He shot back and smashed into a wall. He slumped onto the ground. He struggled to get up but he couldn't muster any strength.
"Girl... What- what are you?" He asked Asta in fear.
Seeing that the fight is over, Korra walked towards the man.
"Now, before you die I have a few questions for you"
........
Thirty minutes had passed already. Korra had finished querying the man. Apparently, he was part of an infamous bandit group called the Blue Wolf. They had heard that one of the most powerful merchant group had a caravan that would be passing through the village. They had come to the village to ambush the caravan.
"Intriguing. It seems there's a change of plans. Well, thanks for the information." Korra turned to Asta. "Finish him off"
Asta looked confused.
"Lady Korra, what do you mean?"
Korra narrowed her eyes.
"Kill him"
"What? No! He's a person"
"A person who tried to sell us to perverted nobles. He deserves to die"
"No. Even so, killing is wrong"
"ASTA! He tried to sell us!"
Asta looked down. Her lips were quivering as she struggled to decide what to do. Finally she responded.
"No. I can't."
Korra frowned.
'Tch. I don't need useless servants who can't obey simple orders. Should I just kill her? No, there'll be plenty of opportunities to turn her'
Looking down at the bleeding man, Korra swiped her hand at his neck.
Splosh!
Blood spilled out of his throat as he died. Asta screamed and covered her mouth in shock.
Korra turned back to Asta.
"Let's go to the merchant caravan. Something interesting is going to happen" Korra said as she walked out.
- Writer
