Since it was big, it took Zold more than a minute to fully absorb the Spirit Orb.
Once he was done, the Spirit Orb lost its colorful hue, and changes occurred in his spiritual energy.
A brown color joined in, creating a trifecta of red, brown, and colorless.
Not only that, but he also obtained three new skills: [Mountainbreaker], [Earth Movement], and [Extremely Tight Force].
[Mountainbreaker — Charge forward with your entire body, destroying everything on your way.]
[Earthly Movement — Make the earth rise from the ground.]
[Extremely Tight Force — Concentrate your power in your body, allowing you to generate powerful shockwaves in every attack.]
'Not bad.'
Zold nodded and smiled slightly.
The best one among them undoubtedly was [Extremely Tight Force].
But the other two were useful as well.
Aside from the skills, his spiritual energy also obtained a substantial boost, doubling in amount.
Spiritual energy could improve in quality and quantity.
Both were important in increasing one's strength as an Awakener.
Overall, Zold was satisfied with his harvest this time.
"Alright, let's hurry."
He raised his hand, about to burn the Earthen Kong's body, but this time, he suddenly hesitated.
'Hmm, wait…'
His eyes lit up as he looked at the Earthen Kong's body, thinking about something.
He had burned the corpses out of habit, but why not leave it as it was?
'Might as well help them realize a few things ahead of time...'
With the corpse of a Tier III Beast Class, the government should be able to find some insights faster than in his previous life.
Thinking of this, Zold decisively left the enclosure.
'It's a pity I'm still not at the Vital Spark stage. Having a spiritual sense would really be useful for situations like this…'
If he had a spiritual sense, he wouldn't need to cluelessly look for the children all over the Zoo. He could just sense them directly and go to their location.
Feeling troubled, Zold sighed quietly as he left in a hurry.
'I hope I'm not too late.'
***
After running throughout the entire Zoo, he indeed found some children.
Some were with their parents, while the others were alone, in a similar situation with Jake from before.
Zold managed to rescue them on time and reunite them with their parents, but unfortunately…
There were some who had already died before he could reach them.
His eyes momentarily spaced out, remembering the scene.
Bodies were scattered throughout the floor, puddles of blood forming.
On the corner, a small shoe was flung away.
When he looked closer, he saw it more clearly.
Some of the bodies were even smaller than Jake from before.
Their faces were unrecognizable, and their bodies had been crushed completely, either by the fallen debris or by the monsters.
He could only imagine the horror and pain they endured before dying.
It was all too familiar.
His fingers curled up into a fist.
"..."
Unable to control himself, Zold clenched his hand and suddenly slammed it against the walls.
Bam!
"Damn it… damn Apostles…"
He clenched his teeth.
He rarely expressed his emotions so vividly.
Even with his rage and bloodthirst for the Apostles, he kept it hidden deep inside his heart.
He didn't allow others, even his teammates, to see this part of him.
But this time, he could not.
Seeing children get helplessly killed once more, the numbness he thought he had developed from his previous life was momentarily overtaken by the flare of rage that had been hiding deep inside him.
Of course, even he knew that he shouldn't be this emotional.
He did what he could.
But what he could do was always insufficient for him.
'Have I always thought this way?'
Looking at his fists, Zold suddely came back to his senses and couldn't help but fall quiet.
'Ever since I came back, I noticed something strange…'
His emotions were returning.
To be precise, it was as if his emotions had grown stronger.
He was never emotionless, just quietly numb.
This numbness had covered his emotions for most of his life, allowing him to hide his true feelings and thoughts behind an indifferent facade.
But for some reason, that numbness was being overtaken by his emotions.
'Is it because of my Regression?'
Zold closed his eyes, taking a slow breath.
'... No matter, I'm still me.'
It didn't matter.
As long as he could still control himself, he would ignore it.
After a while, Zold looked at his reflection in a broken mirror.
A cold, expressionless face stared back at him.
"..."
The children and other people he had saved had long escaped, so he didn't have to stay here any longer.
Just as he was about to walk away, his phone suddenly rang.
Ring~
Zold took out his phone and saw that the caller was an unknown contact.
Answering the phone, he asked directly, "Who is this?"
[It's me, Maria.]
Maria's voice came from the other side. Before Zold could ask, she quickly added:
[I asked Secret Holder for your phone number.]
Zold fell silent.
After a moment of silence, he shook his head and sighed, "So? Why did you call?"
[Uh… are you busy?]
Maria asked worriedly.
"Not anymore. Why?"
[The weapons you ordered have already arrived. Are you free for a meeting tomorrow?]
"No problem. Let's meet tomorrow, then. But for the payment…"
Zold answered, but before he could continue, the other party suddenly dropped the call.
He frowned, thinking of calling again.
But at that moment, his phone buzzed and a message appeared.
[Maria Auburn: Sent a location.]
[Maria Auburn: Don't worry about the payment. Let's meet at the location I sent. It's one of our restaurants. Oh yeah, dress nicely, okay? <3]