Chapter 6- Tiffany

During the Appraisal Tribute Day, Vicky had reminded him that the Day of Offering could result in a slight random increase in his skills. After noon, he decided to test it out. Sure enough, it worked well. His newly purchased pouch was filled to the brim, and when he weighed it, it was almost an additional pound.

Carrying nearly ten pounds of herbs, he left the room. Frank, feeling a bit nostalgic, rubbed his biceps. He was undeniably stronger now compared to his days as a couch potato.

Without bothering to eat, fearing any delay, Frank hurriedly completed the transaction at the guild and left with the large bag of money.

Currency across the continent varied significantly in terms of silver and copper levels, as did exchange rates. The coinage technology of the Locrara Federation was probably not that great. It took a whopping 230 silver coins to exchange for a gold coin universally accepted by the Guild Alliance, and 270 copper coins for a local silver coin. And in the border areas, it was even harder to exchange these local silver coins for gold.

In his heavy pocket, he had 50 silver coins and 220 copper coins. Offering 30 small copper pieces as payment, he boarded a horse-drawn carriage bound for Lorsa, catching the faint, peculiar scent of the magic fog as he went, heading to his most urgent destination.

The slave market on the outskirts of the city wasn't hard to find, nor was it particularly upscale. According to his appraisal, it was simply a place for mass trading of lower-tier servants and laborers, though it also sold some female slaves who could withstand scrutiny.

Following the guidance of his appraisal, Frank didn't haggle. He used five shiny silver coins to purchase the cheapest female slave available.

But when the girl was brought over to him, his heart sank.

Her hair was as messy as seaweed, and a birthmark covered half of her face. There was hardly a trace of Ivanka to be found. As soon as he stepped out, he asked softly, without much hope, "Ivanka, is that you?" He used Mandarin because the appraisal had mentioned that Ivanka still retained memories from her past.

What he didn't expect was for the skinny girl to raise her head, looking at him with confusion. With a strong Locrara accent, she replied in the common tongue, "Master, what are you talking about? I don't understand."

"I asked, are you Ivanka?" Frank nervously turned his head and switched to the language of this world, asking earnestly.

The young slave shook her head. "I am nameless. I must wait for you, Master, to bestow upon me a name."

"Then... are there any other slaves around here named Ivanka?"

The young slave looked somewhat frightened, as if worried that her purchase was a misunderstanding. She whispered softly, "No, many of the slaves here are border captives and orphans. No one calls themselves by their names. We all wait for our masters to give us new names."

Frank tightened his grip on the iron chain, leading the newly bought slave without knowing where to go. He couldn't help but ask angrily in his mind: Vicky, is this your guidance?

["The guidance cannot be wrong. I am quite sure the goddess deployed her power near this vicinity. I suggest you inquire carefully with your new slave. She should know something. This is an important task that affects whether you can exist in this world for a long time. There shouldn't be any major mistakes."]

He turned back, asking again, "So, I'm asking you, from yesterday until now, have there been any abnormalities among the slaves here, especially the cheapest ones? Or were there any cheaper slaves before you?"

"Yes," the answer finally gave him a glimmer of hope. "I have a birthmark on my face, so I'm not easy to sell. But there was another one who got sick. She looked pretty but was sick. She was priced at three silver coins, but no one dared to buy her." Sick? That shouldn't be a problem; Holy Semen could cure it.

"And what about her? Where did that slave go?"

"She suddenly died of illness yesterday at noon."

A bucket of ice-cold water poured from head to toe, chilling him to the bone.

Frank despairingly lowered his head. "Vicky, what do I do?"

["Don't panic. Ask her how they handle it here. If the body's owner doesn't die, the goddess's power can't pull the soul in. This soul may adapt to the new body slowly and was discarded as a corpse."]

"Tell me, where is the slave who died of illness now?"

The young slave looked at him timidly. "Master, can you please not look at me with such frightening eyes? I'll be obedient."

Frank quickly forced out a smile, softening his tone. "I was just too anxious, not trying to scare you."

She stretched out her slender arm from the tattered sleeve, revealing fair skin beneath. "Over there, quite far away, there's a large pit. Slaves' bodies, left unattended, are thrown there. I've heard that some small monsters sneakily come to eat. Once they've eaten, it's considered burial."

"Let's go!" He tugged at the chain, but then realized it wasn't appropriate. Instead, he grabbed the young slave's hand. "Lead the way, take me there, quickly!"

Twenty minutes later, the two of them, panting heavily from the run, arrived at a huge pit. Old bones were scattered everywhere. Frank circled around for a bit before finally spotting a complete body amidst the tangled grass.

With a slight slope, he left the young slave above and cautiously slid down. Lying in the grass was a slender young girl, her face delicate, but with blister-like bumps on her forehead and neck. Her body was cold, but there was a faint breath in her nose. Feeling her small left breast, he could sense the gentle heartbeat.

He lifted the girl, pushing aside her disheveled brown hair, and shouted, "Take a look, is this her?" The young slave nodded, "Yes."

Seeing her fearful expression, he guessed she mistook him for a necromancer stealing corpses.

The young slave above couldn't possibly pull two live people up, being around 30-40 kilograms and only about 1.4 meters tall. Frank looked around and saw a slightly gentler slope in the distance. He sighed in relief, waving at her. "Alright, you're free now. Be careful in the future, don't end up as a slave again. I'm looking for Ivanka, not you. Consider the money as my good deed." Yes, he needed to deceive some faith as well. He turned around quickly, adding, "I am the messenger of Goddess Vicky, a follower of the Goddess of Fertility. If you choose to follow the true deities, she will surely bless you in the future. That's it, farewell."

He hugged the girl tightly and walked away quickly.

Through several layers of fabric and with a completely unfamiliar body, he still felt the familiar throbbing. Yes, Ivanka's soul was trapped in this body, crossing over to the other world with him.

Thank you, Vicky, this is truly the best gift I've received in my unfortunate circumstances.

[Don't thank me too soon. What you've seen so far is just the surface. You'll soon discover that my gift is far better than you imagine, much better.]

"Is that so? Well, thank you very much then," Frank chuckled, shifting Ivanka onto his shoulders to maintain his balance as he climbed up the slope on the other end.

After nearly half an hour of walking and a stretch of climbing up a dirt slope, he sat down on the ground, slightly out of breath.

Just as he sat down next to Ivanka for a moment's rest, he noticed the little slave girl, her tiny feet bare and sweating profusely, following behind.

"What are you still following for? Don't you want the freedom I offered you?" To his surprise, the girl shook her head, approached him, and handed him the collar chain around her neck with a fearful expression, almost on the verge of tears. She whispered softly, "Master... if you don't want me, I don't know how to survive. Please... let me follow you. Give me a name, and I will forever be your faithful slave."

If he couldn't find Ivanka, Frank might have no other choice, but now that he'd found an anchor, he couldn't bring himself to harm this half-faced, still-developing little girl. Sure, he was an excited otaku who enjoyed playing loli games, but when it came to cruel actions against real-life lolis, he couldn't cross that line. The girl's physique before him was that of an eleven or twelve-year-old at most.

However, this was after all an otherworldly realm, so it was impossible to guarantee that people would develop slowly, so to be on the safe side, he casually asked, "How old are you this year?"

The little slave girl immediately replied, "I'm already sixteen years old. That slave market is openly operated, female slaves must be sixteen years old before they can be sold."

Huh? Still really a legal loli?

"Then you're developing too slowly here, I thought you were only about ten." The little slave girl thought she was disliked and hurriedly explained, "I ... have little strength and move slowly, I always fail to grab food. In the future ... I will eat hard and will grow strong as soon as possible. I work very hard, please master don t ... throw me away."

Forget it, let's keep her for now, it's good to find a suitable place and then place her, frank nodded, "Then you can follow me for now."

"Thank you master, thank you master." The little slave girl directly knelt down and kowtowed gratefully, followed by carefully saying, "That ... master can grant me a name?"

"Tiffany, you will be called Tiffany from now on." He casually said a female character from a novel he recently read, reached out and touched her hair, "Tiffany, your hair is too messy, and your face is also dirty, there is a stream over there, go, wash and clean it up, and drink some water on the way, look at your lips are buckling with skin."

"Yes! Tiffany at your master's command!" She happily spread her legs and was about to run.