'A-Amazing!' Asaeya's eyes shone in fascination as she observed Inala's work, 'How is he controlling four Spirit Weapons with such precision? He doesn't even seem the least bothered about such a mental strain.'
Competition was cutthroat among her siblings. To gain valuable resources, they needed to contribute accordingly to the Clan. Only then were they considered worthy of being children of Yahard Tusk and Zahaella.
Best among their peers in terms of cultivation, a robust foundation capable of exceeding their limits and killing stronger Pranic Beasts, able to gather Clansmen under their banner, etc. All factors were evaluated before their potential was considered.
And the best among all would be nominated as Yahard Tusk's successor. In the successor race, whether it be Luttrena or Asaeya, they had no chance. After all, their oldest siblings had been alive for decades already, having been building up a force of their own all along.
Asaeya's eldest brother and sister had already entered the Life Stage. In comparison, she was merely a 12-year-old brat at the Spirit Stage. To at least make her parents acknowledge her existence, she would have to take on explosive measures.
That was why, the moment she noticed Luttrena's hesitation, Asaeya took charge of the business opportunity Inala presented.
And now, upon seeing his expertise, she grinned, 'I was right about him.'
Her eyes glinted as she stared at Inala, 'This guy is a gold mine in the making. And he'll all be mine!'
"How did you train to become so proficient?" Asaeya inched forward from behind his shoulder, casually observing the engraving forming on the mud slab. She didn't seem to have noticed her cheek touching his, behaving ignorant, "Can you teach me?"
"Don't disturb me, Asaeya," Inala spoke curtly. He extended his hand and tugged her arm, forcefully making her sit on the floor next to him, "You can watch my work. But I won't sell my livelihood."
'Did he just force me to sit on the floor?' Asaeya was stunned, having never been treated that way. She felt mildly pissed at his attitude towards her, 'This blockhead! Is my charm non-existent?'
In his mind, she was merely a child. So, her seduction attempt didn't even register in his senses.
While Asaeya faced an identity crisis, wondering if she were a woman or not, Inala continued to carve, 'It has become easier to sculpt once I got the Sculptor Skill. I can even set aside enough focus to ponder useless thoughts. Not only has my control become more precise, but I'm expending less than half the Prana as compared to before.'
Mentally, he was less strained while working on the project. And as his proficiency in the Sculptor Skill continues to increase, he'll become faster and faster while precisely controlling four Spirit Weapons.
Asaeya tried to talk to Inala, but upon only receiving curt replies, she decided to silently observe his work, 'I can learn a lot from his skill display. Besides, he must be focused to achieve such precise control. Let's not disturb him. I need this business to improve my standing in the family.'
Asaeya flared up her Mystic Bone Art as she watched Inala at work, trying to slowly apply his Prana fluctuations to her own. 'I feel an improvement in my Prana control already.'
'This girl…' Inala focused on her after an hour, noticing that Asaeya was in a trance. But judging based on the way her aura condensed, she seemed to have attained enlightenment, 'She's insanely talented, only inferior to Resha. Then, why wasn't she mentioned even once in Sumatra Chronicles? Even Luttrena was mentioned a bunch of times, despite having no effect on the plot.'
'Guess there's only one answer.' Inala calmly observed her Prana Fluctuation, 'At the age of twelve, she has accumulated 94 Prana. That's insane, considering how stable her Spirit Containers are. She was definitely killed by her siblings before she matured.'
Asaeya was there when Inala unveiled the Imagination Art of Defeat. She had witnessed it and didn't even lose a single unit of Prana. That meant her mind was robustly trained. Two of her older siblings, one at the Spirit Stage and the other at the Body Stage had been affected by the Imagination Art and lost most of their Prana.
Despite being the youngest at the scene, she was the least affected. Even Yahard Tusk became angry. In contrast, Asaeya's emotional fluctuation was subtle. That was a sheer display of talent. If she was allowed to mature, she would become a powerhouse and most definitely be nominated as the next Lady Mother.
'The successor race is vicious. One of her older sisters must have caused her death before she graduated from the Academy.' Inala thought and couldn't help but smile, 'Conversely, that means she's a valuable talent. If I get her to join my team, I'll have a better advantage against the reincarnates.'
Until now, only Virala among the reincarnates was actively forming a team of talent. It was because he had completed his preparations towards the cure and was waiting for the First Major Disaster to start to take action. All the others were still making preparations.
In such a situation, forming a team was only detrimental, because the team members will be targeted by the reincarnates before they matured. But the biggest reason was a lack of information.
Yes, even the reincarnates didn't know which student was talented or not. After all, the students were wiped out in the First Major Disaster. So, the reincarnates could only guess if someone would become strong or not. There was no guarantee.
This was the main reason the reincarnates refrained from forming a team. Why spend time and resources on someone that would die within a year?
But Asaeya was different. She was from the 43rd Settlement. Therefore, even if the other reincarnates find out about her, they couldn't do anything to her, not while she was in another settlement.
Therefore, it was the safest bet to make her part of his team. 'The only issue is her impending death. I need to do something about that. Which of her brother or sister is targeting her and how?'
By noon, Inala completed the Imagination Art. Originally, it would have taken him until evening. But the Sculptor Skill hastened the process. After he neatly packed the art piece, Inala stared at Asaeya, not interrupting her enlightenment session.
He waited patiently, cleaning up the room in the process.
Another hour later, Asaeya's eyes opened, brimming with vitality. She felt refreshed, having further progressed in her cultivation. She noticed Inala calmly staring at her, blushing in response, "How long were you watching?"
"I completed my work an hour ago. So," Inala flashed a thumbs up, "Since then."
"You could have alerted me." Asaeya pouted, hiding her embarrassment as she observed the Imagination Art, complimenting, "This is pretty effective. I would have screamed in fright if I had chanced upon it at night."
She patted it, "I'm satisfied with the result."
'She's satisfied?' Inala focused upon Asaeya's choice of words, quickly piecing things together, 'It means from the details of the commission to its price, everything was set by Asaeya. It seems Zahaella trusts her daughter enough to not interfere with her choice.'
Implying, Zahaella had expectations of Asaeya. It further meant that the sole authority in this business, from purchase to commission, was determined by Asaeya.
'If I can convince her, I can create extremely thought-provoking Imagination Art. By selling those, I'll be making a lot more money. And Zahaella's opinion of Asaeya would improve. I can kill two birds with one stone.' Inala was excited, 'And if I raise the Clan's evaluation of her enough, once Asaeya reaches the Body Stage, the Clan would grant her an Advanced or even an Expert Silver Grade Pranic Beast egg.'
'There's one that comes to mind.' He thought, 'If Asaeya obtains that, she'll become my strongest ally.'