A chimpanzee fell on the ground, dying instantly.
Thud!
Zold walked up and split open its body to take its Spirit Orb.
A moment later, he finished absorbing it and obtained a new ability.
'[Muscle Tightening]... It's a decent skill.'
He nodded slightly as he walked away.
He had already killed multiple awakened Beasts along the way, though none were as strong as the Pyre Lion from before. Most were Tier I Beasts, each with only one practical skill. But considering his current situation, he would accept any skill he could get.
Even if the skill was useless to him, there was still the boost in spiritual energy they provided.
'I should be close…'
At that moment, he suddenly heard a sobbing voice around the corner.
'This voice…'
Zold furrowed his brows, a heavy feeling suddenly rising in him. Once he arrived at the corner, he saw an eight-year old boy crying while hugging his knees tightly.
The eight-year-old boy raised his head when he noticed Zold. His eyes widened, a desperate expression appearing on his face.
"M-mister! Pl-please save my mama…!"
"... Where is your mom?"
Zold walked up to the kid, crouching slightly. He patted the boy's head, calming him down temporarily.
"She… she told me to run away," The boy held Zold's wrist, staring at him with a pleading expression, "Mama said that she'll find me later… hick… hick… but there's a big monster here! She's all alone by herself! Mister, please save her!"
Hearing this, Zold fell silent for a moment, nodding calmly.
"What's your name?"
The child answered amidst his sobs, "J-jake… Mister."
"Alright, Jake." Zold put his hands on Jake's shoulder, meeting his eye directly. "I'm Zold. I'll help you find your mama, but I only help strong people. Are you strong, Jake?"
"Y-you will?!" The child's eyes brightened. He hesitated for a moment before nodding, "Y-yes I'm strong!"
Zold nodded, standing up.
"Stand up. Wipe your tears and don't cry. Strong people don't cry."
"Y-yes…"
Jake sniffed, nodding his head repeatedly.
"Answer me properly. You're strong, right?"
Unsatisfied, Zold asked again, patting the boy's hair.
"Yes! I'm strong!"
Jake stood up and grabbed hold of Zold's pants, sticking by the latter's side.
Using the hem of his shirt, he wiped his tears away, trying to appear strong.
"I'm... I'm... strong..."
Unfortunately, the quiver in his hand betrayed him.
Seeing Jake's actions, Zold was momentarily distracted.
… He had forgotten a crucial fact.
He went to the Zoo originally to increase his strength quickly.
But it didn't cross his mind that there would be children here.
Of course, children would be present!
Zold felt like punching himself.
It was a goddamn Zoo!
He normally didn't care about other people, but it was a different topic if they were children.
He was numb, but not emotionless.
'... Change of plans. I need to find if there are other children here too!'
He formulated a plan in his mind as he spoke, "To find her, we need to go back to where you and your mom separated. Can you tell me where you came from?"
After a moment of silence, Jake pointed to the right corner.
"I remember. I ran away from there, Mister Zold."
Zold nodded, not wasting any more time. "Let's go."
He grabbed Jake's hand and pulled him along, moving swiftly through the broken floors and shattered debris.
Time was of the essence.
Following Jake's directions, the two of them quickly arrived in an open area, with multiple dead bodies scattered around the vicinity.
Zold saw the bodies and glanced at Jake, the latter's face turning pale.
"Be strong, Jake."
Jake nodded, gulping audibly. But then his eyes couldn't help but tear up.
"Mama… she isn't dead, is she?"
"..."
Zold didn't answer. He simply pulled Jake's hand away and continued moving, looking for a clue in the area.
Jake's eyes turned despondent. But remembering Zold's words from earlier, he clenched his hand and forced himself to look forward, observing each corpse intently.
'I have to be strong!'
At that moment, Zold suddenly stopped.
"Jake."
"Mister…"
Jake raised his head, confused.
"Look closely. Is that person your mom?"
Hearing that, Jake immediately twisted his head. On the far end of one of the torn-down enclosures, a woman was leaning against a collapsed steel structure, covering her mouth tightly.
Jake's eyes widened, filled with excitement.
'Mama…!'
But before he could move, Zold immediately stopped him.
"Don't be rash!"
Hearing his cold tone, Jake's heart skipped a beat.
But as he looked further, he quickly realized why Zold did that.
In the torn down enclosure, a gigantic gorilla was searching throughout the enclosure.
It stood around 5 meters tall, with earthly brown streaks drawn across its body. Its muscles were extremely tight, threatening to pop out at any second.
Tier III Beast-Class, Earthen Kong.
Upon seeing the Gorilla, Zold immediately recognized it.
Although all awakened lifeforms were essentially unique, animals of the same species tend to have very similar characteristics.
As a result, some awakened animals were similar in appearance, only differing in strength.
The Earthen Kong resembled a mountain, supported by its tight, massive body, it easily threw away the debris and boulders in its way.
Zold shifted his gaze to the woman, pondering about something.
'How did she survive?'
With the Earthen Kong's strength, it was impossible for her to remain hidden for so long.
But then, the woman's next actions quickly answered his doubts.
'That…'
Zold's eyes widened slightly, seeing the woman suddenly vanish.
Then, on the other end of the room, far from the Gorilla's back, she reappeared behind another collapsed steel structure.
'A teleportation talent?'
Now it made sense.
At that moment, the woman sighed in relief. But when she turned her around, her expression froze, seeing a familiar kid accompanied by a young man in the open area.
Her face immediately went pale.
Zold naturally could see her expression change, but he didn't say anything.
He simply let go of Jake's hand.
"While I fight that monster, you run to your mom and both of you escape, alright?"
Jake hesitated for a moment, "... What about you, Mister?"
But then, Jake felt a hand land on his hair.
"Don't worry about me. I'm strong, just like you."
Zold let go of Jake's hand and started walking to the open enclosure, immediately attracting the Earthen Kong's attention.
He raised his hand and formed a vermillion red Saber from his spiritual energy.
[Formlessness].