When noon struck, the first lesson for the twins began.
Outside the villa, on the wide open field, the teacher and his disciples stood on the side.
Leo and Lia raised their heads, staring at Zold intently.
After a brief moment, Zold finally spoke.
"Do you two know what an Awakener is?"
Leo and Lia exchanged a glance, then they shook their heads.
"No, teacher."
The two answered hesitantly while glancing at his expression.
Not surprised, Zold only nodded slightly.
"Simply put, an Awakener is someone who can wield spiritual energy, allowing them to awaken their talents and unlock their body's potential."
"But for an Awakener to get stronger, three factors are important: talent, awakening stage, and expression path. These three correspond to potential, strength, and profession, respectively."
Leo and Lia listened quietly.
Zold continued calmly.
"Every Awakener has an innate talent. This innate talent is the core of all their abilities, the representation of their potential and ceiling. Talents can be ranked from E-rank to S-rank, but I'm sure you know this already."
"The two of you awakened a B-rank talent. That means you're fairly talented, among the top 1% in the world."
Leo and Lia's eyes shone, a shy smile forming on their face.
"But," Zold glanced at the two of them. He said lightly, "An awakener that doesn't know how to use their talent can never reach their full potential."
"The first lesson is understanding the best way you can express your powers."
"Today, you're going to decide on your expression path!"
An expression path!
While the two of them didn't know what it meant, it didn't stop them from showing excitement and curiosity.
"An expression path in simple words is how you use your abilities. Think of it as a profession or class in games."
Zold raised three of his fingers.
"There are three expression paths: Martial Artist, Mage, and Manifestor."
"Martial Artists are those whose strength revolves around their physical body. Typically, this is the path for those with talents that boost their physical attributes. This is also the most popular expression path, with the fewest requirements for talent."
"Mages are those who focus on understanding spiritual energy, creating spells. Becoming a Mage requires sensitivity to spiritual energy and great comprehension. Those who walk this path often have abstract or conceptual talents."
"As for Manifestor, only those whose talents manifest an external weapon can walk on this path."
Zold glanced at Leo and Lia, letting them digest the information.
Talent was the core of an Awakener's powers, but how one expresses their talent becomes their path.
In the early years of their previous life, Awakeners relied solely on instinct when using their powers.
It wasn't a problem at first. However, when it was later discovered that spiritual energy could be increased through a deeper understanding of one's talent, relying solely on instinct prevented them from growing stronger.
To change this, Awakeners started exploring their talents and assigned themselves roles.
As these roles became more mainstream, the idea of expression paths began to take shape.
However, the world was vast, and many people had different opinions.
No one could come to a consensus on a system that everyone accepted.
For a period of time, different nations had different ways of classifying Awakeners.
But someone saw this as a problem, something that would be a hurdle for humanity in the long run.
That someone stepped in and fully completed the Expression Path system, forcing every nation to accept his own research.
That someone was the Übermensch, Fabian Schwarze!
'Based on teacher's words… I'm clearly more suited to become a Mage.'
Leo thought silently. His talent [Forceful Appraisal] was an abstract-type; it didn't boost his physical abilities, nor did it manifest an external weapon.
'And Lia, with her talent, could be a Martial Artist or Mage…'
He glanced at Lia, feeling uneasy.
Considering he was already going to be a Mage, it was much better if she became a Martial Artist.
But he couldn't see his sister being a Martial Artist at all.
Leo hesitated, keeping quiet.
Seeing through Leo's concern, Zold advised them calmly.
"Certain decisions can only be made by the person themselves. Even though both of you are still kids, you must learn that besides helping each other, you must learn to stand by yourself as well."
"An Awakener's expression path is extremely important for their future development. Make sure that you follow your heart."
Leo looked at his teacher, falling silent.
That was right.
After it became clear to him, he immediately decided.
"Teacher, I choose to become a Mage."
Zold nodded in approval. "That's the only path that suits your talent. Not bad."
At that moment, Lia suddenly shouted, "Teacher, I'll be a Martial Artist!"
Her words made Leo freeze.
"Lia…"
But Lia ignored him, her gaze locked at Zold, her resolve as bright as the sun.
"I-I… want to protect my brother! I want to be a Martial Artist, is… is it okay, Teacher?"
Zold smiled slightly. "I won't stop you. It's your choice."
Lia sighed in relief, smiling back at him. "Thank you, teacher!"
From the side, Leo fell silent, unable to let out the words stuck in his throat.
'Forget it…'
Since his sister already made a decision, he wasn't going to interfere.
Leo couldn't help but smile, shaking his head.
"A Mage and a Martial Artist is a good combination." Zold said. "Now that you've decided on your expression paths, I'll teach you the basic exercises you have to master before you can be considered a practitioner of that expression path."
---
The night was calm and peaceful.
After teaching the twins for half an hour, he dismissed them and spent the rest of his day in his room, comprehending his current skills.
Zold sat in a meditative position, his eyes closed.
Right now, he was comprehending [Earthly Movement].
He was deriving a skill that could control the Earth element completely.
If any Mage knew that he was deriving a skill that wasn't connected from his talent, they would probably collapse from shock.
Derivation was an ability that only the most talented Mages possess, and Zold was the best in this.
Mages comprehend natural phenomena and skills, deriving "spells" which were actually just imitation of skills itself.
Attempting to derive skills that wasn't related to one's talent was almost impossible, and only three people in the world could do it.
Zold was one of them, and the other two were regressors as well.
But just because he was doing this didn't meant he was a Mage.
Ring~
At that moment, his phone rang.
Disturbed from his comprehension, Zold opened his eyes coldly. He grabbed the phone and saw that the caller was Maria, making his expression soften a little.
"Maria," He accepted the call. "Do you need something?"
[Zold! You didn't tell me you adopted kids!] Maria suddenly exclaimed, surprised.
Hearing that, Zold couldn't help but frown instinctively. He shook his head. "Why should I tell you?"
[That… why…]
Maria paused, unable to find a clear reason.
[Because… because...]
Hearing her struggle to speak, Zold felt slightly bad.
But just as he was about to speak again, Maria let out a long sigh.
[Sorry…]
Inexplicably, Zold's hand twitched.
[Forget it. You're right.]
Maria's disappointed voice was clear to him that he asked the wrong question, but before he could ponder on it further, she continued.
[I need your help in getting a Spirit Orb in the Salted White Ridge. Are you free this Friday?]
Zold thought for a moment. Salted White Ridge was a high-risk area like Lunarian Dark Jungle, and any Spirit Orb that Maria wanted was surely from a Tier III Beast.
But why was Maria inviting him?
With her current strength, she shouldn't have any problem.
But considering she had helped him a lot, Zold couldn't find a reason to refuse, especially after she seemed so distraught by his refusal to elaborate on the twins.
After some thinking, he replied.
"Alright."
But then, he quickly added.
"Oh, right. I need some employees, particularly maids and security guards. Do you know where I can find them?"
[I'll text you a number.]
Maria answered calmly before hanging up.
'Is she angry?'
Zold furrowed his brows, confused.
He looked at his phone, his gaze lingering on Maria's number for a moment…
But after some thought, he turned his phone off.
He realized that he was getting closer and closer to this fellow regressor of his.
More than he preferred.