Taking the Spirit Orb, Zold didn't absorb it just yet.
He turned around and swept his gaze through his vicinity, slowly speaking,
"Come out."
At that moment, rustles appeared in the nearby bushes, revealing two small figures.
One was a young boy with short brown hair, while the other was a young girl with long brown hair. The two bore a striking resemblance to each other, leading him to immediately assume that they were related.
Seeing their pale and haggard appearance, Zold couldn't help but think back to the small footsteps he had seen earlier.
His heart skipped a beat, unable to believe what he was seeing.
'The children… they were still alive!'
Leo and Lia walked out, looking at him with a pitiful expression.
"Mister, please save us!"
Hearing their soft cry, Zold forcefully calmed himself down, staring at the two of them calmly.
"Were you two stranded in this place?"
"That's right, mister!"
The young boy, Leo, was the one who came forward and answered, putting his sister behind him.
Although the boy showed a pitiful expression, Zold could see a hint of wariness in the kid's eyes, a gaze that carefully observed his actions. The way Leo shielded his sister from him confirmed it at once.
This kid wasn't simple.
Behind, Leo subtly put his hands on his sister, quietly pushing her back. His head lowered quietly, hesitating for a brief moment before he opened his mouth to explain:
"We were travelling with our parents…"
After a lengthy explanation, Zold fell completely silent, looking at them with rare admiration.
He shifted his gaze to Leo in particular.
The two were equally admirable, but he could deduce that Leo was the one who did most of the planning.
In situations like these, maintaining a calm mind was more important than being strong.
Despite being so young, Leo already possessed characteristics Zold only saw in veteran awakeners.
'A talent. A natural born awakener… It's a pity he's a kid.'
Feeling a hint of regret, Zold shook his head.
Leo saw Zold suddenly shake his head, and his heart couldn't help but leap out!
But he was just overthinking it. Soon after, Zold broke his silence:
"Leo and Lia, right? I'm glad you survived. I just finished here, so you can follow me back to the entrance. It's been hard on you two."
Then, as if remembering something, he quickly added: "But if the soldiers ask what I was doing here, just tell them I was investigating. Don't mention the spider, alright?"
Leo and Lia were confused, not knowing what he meant. Regardless, the fact that they were saved was the most important part. They quickly perked their heads like a pair of chicks.
'Well, it doesn't matter either way.'
While talking to the twins, Zold hid the Spirit Orb quietly.
Despite their lengthy explanation, he was still confused about one thing.
"Why were you guys traveling at night? You should know that it's much more dangerous."
If they managed to survive this long, they should know that the jungle in the night was far more dangerous than in the day.
Hearing that, Leo hesitated for a moment. He obviously knew that, but it contained a secret related to them.
Almost immediately, Zold noticed Leo's brief hesitation.
"If you can't say, nevermind."
"I can say!"
Leo suddenly blurted out, his eyes flickering nervously.
Then, as if resolving himself, he bit his lips and pulled his sister closer before he started to explain:
"It's related to our talent…"
As Zold listened to the boy's explanation, he nodded slightly, feeling everything fall into place in his mind.
Leo's talent was called [Forceful Appraisal].
It granted him two skills: [Touch Appraisal] and [Mystery Appraisal].
[Touch Appraisal] allowed him to glean random information from anything he came into contact with.
But it was his second skill, [Mystery Appraisal], that truly saved them this far.
[Mystery Appraisal] allowed Leo to forcibly extract an answer from anything, even from the future.
By using it, he could pose a question and receive an immediate response.
Their reason for wandering through the jungle at night was because Leo had used [Mystery Appraisal] to search for their "opportunity for survival."
The first few times he used it, he received the same exact answer to the same exact question: "lay low and survive."
But earlier this day, the answer had changed, pointing him to travel at night instead.
Because of that, he chose to move out despite the immense danger.
By repeatedly using the skill throughout the night, the twins were eventually guided to Zold.
Of course, [Mystery Appraisal] was not without limits.
The quality of the answer depended on how specific the question was. However, the more precise the question, the greater the price Leo had to pay.
As for the other twin, Lia awakened a talent called [Equal Loss and Equal Gain].
It possessed only a single skill, but one that was terrifyingly powerful.
[Remove and Obtain].
With it, Lia could erase something she owned or was connected to and, in exchange, receive a random buff of equal value.
This was how they had survived encounters with monsters.
Leo would first appraise how long they needed to endure before a monster lost interest in them. Once he obtained the answer, Lia would remove their ability to live for that duration, effectively suspending their existence.
When the imposed time ended, the twins would return to life and gain a random buff.
Likewise, if Lia wished to obtain a specific buff, she would receive a random debuff after the buff ends.
Summarizing their abilities in his mind, Zold was impressed by Leo's strategic mind. He nodded slightly, praising them:
"Alright, your talents are very good. A lot has changed in society while you two were stuck here, so don't be too surprised later. An army is stationed outside the jungle. After we get out, you two can follow them, and they'll take care of you."
Leo's eyes widened, but a flicker of reluctance flashed in his eyes.
He had seen how Zold killed the Mother Arachnid so easily!
If he could become as strong as him, then would he still need to worry about not being able to protect his sister?
Their days in the jungle had transformed them. In particular, Leo felt extremely helpless about his own weakness.
He wanted to be stronger!
Leo suddenly lost his pitiful expression, suddenly bowing before Zold:
"Instead of sending us to the military, can you please teach us to be stronger?"
Zold was surprised by his request. But he immediately frowned and shook his head.
"No."
As though expecting that, Leo didn't give up and prostrated on the ground.
"Mister, please teach me and my sister! I'll do anything for you! I promise!"
Seeing his pleading expression, Zold quietly sighed.
"I can't. Stand up."
Leo's eyes flashed with disappointment, but before he could stand up, he felt her sister pull the hem of his clothes…
Lia raised her head, staring at Zold with a resolute expression, tears streaking down her face.
"Mister, please train my brother…"
As she spoke, Leo felt his sister's hand shake nervously. He felt a sharp pain in his heart, as if a piece of glass was repeatedly poking it. He knew her sister the best… she was timid, shy, and easily emotional.
But the past few days have been even worse for her. Seeing their parents die, nightmarish monsters loom over them, and the two's slow, exhaustive efforts to barely survive…
He couldn't remember a day when she didn't cry on his shoulders.
But despite that, right now, Lia was looking at Zold straight in the eye, full of determination.
"Pl-please… train my brother!"
She repeated, raising her voice, as though afraid that Zold won't hear her.
"He… he's smart and strong, unlike me! Mama and papa even praise him a lot. He can cook, clean, and he has a lot of friends, he saved me… and he… saved me…! So… so please tr-hick-ain… train him… mister…"
As tears streaked across her face, Lia spoke incoherently, shaking in nervousness.
"Please take him…"
"..."
Leo raised his head, holding her sister's shaking hand gently. He looked at Zold, tears threatening to release from his eyes.
But if his sister could cry, then he could not.
"Please take us in…"
Under the bright light of the flame, the twins pleaded desperately to Zold.
Even for Zold, who had long gone numb, could feel his heart soften. But he truly wasn't fit to take care of the two of them. Even if they had a lot of talent, they were still kids in the end, and his life was already complicated as it was.
Moreover, just like what he said before, this wasn't his world any longer.
He can only keep moving forward.
He can't be too attached to what he sees, so one day when everything gets taken away from him…
He could still move forward.
But even then.
Perhaps the twins reminded Zold of himself, but the words he needed to say were stuck in his throat.
He couldn't reject them.
After a while, he turned around, sighing quietly.
"Alright."