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Kisha gave Marcus and the children a warm smile, her expression thoughtful.

"I’m glad you’re all safe and that the abilities you’ve awakened into are a good fit for you.

" She nodded a few more times, her gaze sweeping over each of the children with apparent care, though in reality, she was discreetly assessing their status windows.

[Mike Wyatt]

Level 0 (Exp: 0/100 X 10.0)

Morality: Good

Strength: 30 (+25)

Stamina: 30 (+21)

Defense: 30 (+23)

Agility: 30 (+22)

Mental Capacity: 30 (+21)

Charm: 30 (+24)

Leadership: 30 (+20)

Title: None

Skills: None

Talent: Animal Care

Gift: Fostering

Ability: Mental (Special: Beast Taming Land Animals)

.....

[Gant Wyatt]

Level 0 (Exp: 0/100 X 10.0)

Morality: Good

Strength: 30 (+23)

Stamina: 30 (+19)

Defense: 30 (+22)

Agility: 30 (+24)

Mental Capacity: 30 (+23)

Charm: 30 (+21)

Leadership: 30 (+19)

Title: None

Skills: None

Talent: Aquatic Care

Gift: Fostering

Ability: Mental (Special: Beast Taming Aquatic Animals)

...

[Daisy Wyatt]

Level 0 (Exp: 0/100 X 10.0)

Morality: Good

Strength: 27 (+23)

Stamina: 27 (+21)

Defense: 27 (+22)

Agility: 27 (+20)

Mental Capacity: 27 (+12)

Charm: 27 (+13)

Leadership: 27 (+22)

Title: None

Skills: None

Talent: Plant Breeding

Gift: Scope

Ability: Wood

...

Kisha looked back and forth between Mike and Gant, noting their irregular awakened ability. The gift of fostering seemed incredibly useful, but it felt almost cruel to place them in the livestock breeding grounds.

If Kisha’s understanding of the Gift ’Fostering’ is correct, and the twins can indeed bond with and accelerate the growth and strength of the animals they care for, then...

Their ability to bond with animals and accelerate their growth meant they would likely form deep connections with the creatures they nurtured. Kisha couldn’t help but imagine the heartache the twins would endure if they had to watch those same animals be slaughtered for food.

Kisha stared at them, lost in thought. Mike and Gant instinctively stood straighter, their bodies trembling with nervous anticipation.

They weren’t scared of her, but they felt as though they were being thoroughly assessed.

From what they had heard from their grandfather, they suspected that Kisha had the ability to see through a person’s awakened power.

This might explain how she had been able to guide their grandfather so accurately, placing him in a position where he could thrive right from the start.

If their suspicions were correct, Kisha was seeing right through them, evaluating their awakened abilities. As she stood there, deep in thought, they believed she was deciding where to place them. At that moment, all they wanted was to prove themselves useful to her.

Even without their grandfather’s reminder to repay the grace they received at their lowest point and to treat Kisha as their benefactor, they would still do so.

They saw in her someone trustworthy, someone who could lead them toward a greater purpose.

They believed she would achieve even more than they could imagine, and they were ready to pledge their undying loyalty to her.

With this in mind, Mike and Gant both resolved to commit fully to their path. They decided to follow Kisha and the people around her, determined to see how far they could go and how well they could survive in the apocalypse.

This was going to be their first real challenge.

Although they had a solid understanding of their abilities thanks to their grandfather’s guidance—just as Kisha had guided him—navigating their own awakened powers proved difficult.

Their abilities were different from anything their grandfather had encountered, but fortunately, the twins had an innate understanding of each other.

With their grandfather’s insight and their instincts, they managed to grasp the nature of their abilities, which turned out to be a success.

Marcus could then focus entirely on helping Daisy, who was still clueless about her abilities. Fortunately, she shared the same wood-based ability as Marcus, which made it much easier for him to guide her and demonstrate how it worked.

After awakening, they felt a surge of strength similar to their grandfather’s experience. He could lift a boulder half his size with ease, as if he were a seasoned bodybuilder. This newfound power confirmed that they had indeed surpassed their human limits, becoming superhuman like the others.

This ignited a surge of excitement and anticipation in them, fueling their eagerness to see just how strong they could become. While the Wyatt brothers were lost in their thoughts of their potential, Kisha finished her assessment and let out a frustrated sigh, which did not go unnoticed by Duke.

"What’s wrong?" Duke asked, tightening his grip on her waist as he looked at her with concern. Kisha had previously shared that she could see a person’s abilities and status through her gift, so Duke could tell she was troubled by the children’s awakened abilities.

If their abilities were merely troublesome, she wouldn’t be reacting this way; it seemed their abilities might pose a significant problem, which was causing her unprecedented stress.

Kisha didn’t respond to Duke’s question, instead, she fixed her gaze on the Wyatt brothers.

"Why don’t you all come with us to the study?

There’s something we need to discuss and something we needed to get done and over with," she said. The sudden shift in Kisha’s demeanor left everyone puzzled, but no one dared to question her.

Even Duke, though intrigued, merely tilted his head in curiosity before following Kisha up the stairs to the second floor, where the office had been repurposed as their temporary conference room.

Everyone else followed them upstairs, with the Wyatt family trailing last, their anxiety increasing with every step. Kisha’s mention of needing to "get done and over with" made them uneasy, as if she were contemplating sending them away or forcing them into some final decision.

The Wyatt siblings began to question whether their earlier suspicion about Kisha’s ability to assess their gifts was accurate or if they had been jumping to conclusions.

Or perhaps they hadn’t awakened anything particularly useful, and now they were being dismissed.

The Wyatts took a deep breath, trying to steady their racing hearts and turbulent thoughts.

When they finally reached the office, they found Kisha already seated behind the desk, with Duke sitting casually on the leather chair while he made Kisha sit on his lap, almost as if he were part of the chair.

The scene looked both intimate and oddly amusing. Despite the unusual sight, no one spoke a word. They simply took their seats on the sofa in front of the desk, sitting quietly and comfortably as they awaited further instructions.

When Marcus and the children arrived, they felt as if they had stumbled into a council meeting, unable to move from their spot after closing the door behind them.

They faced Kisha’s intense gaze as she studied them closely, while Duke, seemingly unfazed by the serious and charged atmosphere, continued to absently work on her long hair as if he were a barber at play.

The room fell silent as everyone waited for Kisha to begin the meeting. While some had an inkling of what the discussion might entail, there was still confusion about why the Wyatts were being included in a meeting focused on a serious operation involving imminent danger.