This momentarily shocked William, as he couldn't restrain the Annihilation with his control. He sees and feels how uncontrollable the fully unrestrained Annihilation Element is, and it makes him nervous. It's wild, like an unleashed dog that goes out of control.

Clenching his real hand, he pierced the vectors with intent and utters the single work filled with confidence and no fear.

“Begone.”

William doesn't panic, and for some reason, the motion of the Vectors is following the mindful connection this time around, and not their own. His word compel the Emblem to listen to him, causing him to look surprised, as the Vectors flow back to his hands under his influence. It's as if the dog went out of control, and the owner has to restrain it for some forceful reason.

Thankfully, he was able to stop this, unlike before. Having the Emblem under control is good, but if not, there could be some repercussions from that. William felt it yesterday, and doing so again wasn't on his list to do today. The "dog" listened this time and so does the Emblem, even though it's a rather silly comparison, since one of the things is alive, while the other isn't.

When it comes to the Emblem, it's all about the System, and the personal experience of the Walker, but William's case could be stranger than that. His Annihilation Element is wild, making even Roman question his choices. He sees the Element calming down, which he didn't expect. William's firm and wordy choice cause the connection to work, and the Annihilation, even when in an uncontrollable state, goes back. That means the connection is better than before. Through the Mindless Eyes, comprehension of these 2 Skills, or who knows what else.

William only manages a brief look and feel of them so far, but it seems the control and the feeling these two new Skills gives him is plenty to work with. It also changes some things with his control over the influence and use of his Annihilation, but he needs more experience with that. Although those 2 things can already be an incredible achievement. Very few would have experienced something like this in the Trials or days since becoming a proper Walker.

Calming his mind, and his right hand down, William sits like a good boy and watches Roman's skeptical look.

“Don't ever try to go overboard again. I am telling this to you, not as an instructor but as a Walker who can go through the same thing. It's all about controlling and restraining the flow of your Vectors and if you go beyond your means, you are fucked. Others and even the surroundings can go affected by this, so it's not time for bravery. Think of the potential civilians or anything that the powerful Annihilation Vectors could butcher. Look around yourself.” Roman says, gesturing his hand around himself at the destroyed floor all around William.

“I see it now... I will remember it very well. I am sorry for doing this, teacher Roman.” William unexpectedly feels a bit sorry for the man, and for his own mistakes. It was his fault what happened, but he was glad that he could restrain himself this time.

He could imagine what sort of problems this could cause in the city, and the things from yesterday are still clearly in his mind. After all, he feels like the berserk nature of his Emblem was much deeper, but how much, he doesn't dare to think or try something about it willingly.

Even the knowledge of his Emblem's true nature of... well... there isn't much for him to guess apart from the fact that it used to disappear from time to time. What that means, or not, isn't something that William can comprehend or see a reason for that.

“Good. As long as you understand it, that's good. Your two Skill made some changes, or the Annihilation is still in a somewhat restrained state, but I can't guess it myself. We don't want to see the Annihilation Element going berserk, so no matter what, don't try to overcome the limits, unless your life depends on it. Stopping halfway through the limits, or a bit from sweating is fine. You will thank yourself later for this, and others too.”

William nods as if he feels scolded by madame Anderson. Roman isn't far from her focused glances and aura, but this man... has a teacher-like influence around him, unlike the authority that Madame Anderson has. It is an aura of firm words, hints, help, and reliability. The kind that isn't all that easy to find in the current age.

Feeling his trying to be a failure, Roman reminds him to look at his own timer. Pulling it from his pocket, William sees the timer goes past the 15 minutes, which is strange.

“Add minute 2 since the uncontrolled state of your Emblem, going berserk, and you are past 12 minutes or even 13 if I am a little generous.”

“Does... Does it mean it's good?” William turns his eyes back to Roman, expecting some praise or some kind of good words.

“Good is relative. Do you think what you did is achievable in your current state?”

“What do you mean?”

“Ehm.. sorry for that. I meant the combat. While in combat and going by the pressure, and fuse of Skill of your Claw with those Skills is could lead to more pressure.” Roman forgot his line of thought, so he quickly recovers.

“In combat? I have no idea how manageable this could be in combat. Wielding this massive claw could be interesting, but I can try it.” William truthfully states, even though he feels still a bit numb on his right side. It seems to him that going beyond the means puts a lot of pressure on his body, and recovering from it takes longer than usual.

“You could try it, but it's not good to do right now. I think half of these minutes is my approximation of that, but seeing and doing so, in reality, is better than my guesses. Of course, the mention of the Dark beings goes a little off while under their influence. Fear, anxiety, wounds, their presence, and so on can add a lot of pressure to one's mind. They all have a very dramatic influence over Walker's mind. Remember it, and even the shadowboxing of yours isn't really a thing that can make you prepare for that.”

“I will. Sure, I will remember it.” William firmly replies.

“Great. Now, for the less important stuff. You did quite well considering the 2nd day. I see your achievements to be quite commendable, but that's the premise of me, not knowing the Trials. For all that I don't know, they could even let you fight against Hellgars, or Swingers in the Trials.”

“W-what? Are you serious?”

“I am... Unfortunately so.” Roman sights, while feeling inclined to talk a bit more about the topic of the Trials. He feels confident in William's abilities, so he will pass, but what kind of things will happen there... he doesn't know.

Seeing him hesitant, William grasps this opportunity in order to get to know more.

“Is there something else that would be great to know beforehand? Anything regarding the Emblems Trials, or the style of the Trials? Like... is there some test, exercises, or something that is important to know? Some kind of combat, or tests like they do in the militaries?”

“You... What is your perception of the Emblem Academy anyways? The military is a vast topic, and a lot of people do things differently around the world.”

“It... It is a place for Walkers to train and get stronger.”

“That's it?”

Willam nods, feeling right about his simple, yet effective answer.

“It's no military... that's for sure. It's like a walk on the beach comparable to that. 1st years there is hellish combat training that won't stop until one is familiar with all kinds of possibilities under the influence of the Instructors. Hand-to-hand combat, weapon-to-weapon, and advancing leaps and bounds in the art of fighting are all I did in the past. Training against monsters, and humans alike is a daily thing to do in the Academy.” Roman adds the information about the Academy itself, and not the Trials themselves since he doesn't know a lot about them. Still, he doesn't withdraw much from William, who kind of expected some excuse from him.

“Great... I guess I would lie if I expected anything less from a place such as that. How does it look with the withdrawal from the Academy? I bet there must be some hard condition to remain the Walkers afloat.”

“You mean who is able to keep their pace, and those who don't?”

“Yes?”

“I guess it's about 50-50 of those who can keep up, and those who have harder times, but I am uncertain about the numbers at the moment. Most Walkers feel quite proud of having the chance at the Academy since they did make it through the Trials. It makes sense. They should make the best out of their experience and getting out means the loss of Academy resources. Most keep their pace for as long as possible since they are talented, to begin with. Those who remain good for the first years will generally keep going for a longer time than that while the struggling kinds are... Also there, but that is kind of a difficult topic.” Roman explains the bit of the knowledge that he thinks is right, even at the current times.

It's been a couple of years since he left the Academy grounds, but it should still remain the same.

Seeing him done with the explanation, William ponders about some other topic, but Roman shuts down any of his ideas.

“Let's not worry about that at the moment. While I agree that knowing what is coming is great, the premise of me, coming here, is for you to get ready for the Trial. One way or another, the failure depends on you. Not me.”

“I know that already... What should I get started with now?” William replies, feeling ready to go to do the next thing.

“Are you ready for that?”

William reluctantly nods, wishing he didn't, but it is what it is. What is a path in front of him is a path of his bravery, patience, and sheer will. He will continue no matter what.

With time running away, the day runs as fast as one's hunger for power. The morning disappears, with the afternoon around the corner, and the night to follow for another day.

At the moment, William is trying to catch his beating heart, as if he just experienced the last day of his life. He is out of his bunker, but walking the stairs for so long isn't funny, nor easy. For the first time, he gets to experience this, since he didn't do this yesterday.

“Freaking stairs... I swear.” William complains, collapsing his aching body onto the bench near the entrance to the Institution of the Emblem.

Roman already left him be since the follow-up from yesterday wouldn't happen again because he made it easier for him today. At least the willingness for it isn't within himself to let yesterday return. Not like he wouldn't mind, but the ability to walk away from the harsh training day is a basic that is quite better than being unconscious. He knows it, while William is still a rookie when it comes to that.

Sitting with his back on the bench, Wiliam is glad to have this time, after the whole day of less than leisure time. Pulling his watch from his pocket, he checks the time that tells 10 PM. It's a beautiful night, which isn't surprising, but his growling stomach would eat something.

Too bad he doesn't have any money with him for some kebab. He feared he would destroy it because of his Element and training. So he left almost all the important things away. The same is for the hat that Ellie gave him, but the watch that he leaves in his left pocket is different. It is out of his right hand reach, but the case of his destroyed close said otherwise. It destroyed his pockets but not the metallic watch which fell to the ground. He piqued it up later after he was done with everything. Roman gave him some clothes that he forced from some Institution personnel, similar to what Mi-Yung did in the past.

With them on, William feels right, even though they aren't his clothes.

Sighting as if his life depends on it, he tries to get up, but before he knows it, petite hands appear before his eyes, closing his vision.

“Guess who it is?” Ellie's voice sounds in his ear. Much to his surprise, he didn't expect.

“What are you doing here? I thought your work is quite harsh at the moment.” William turns in surprise to see Ellie who looks quite tired as well. In a different way than William, but it still shows.

“What do you mean? I am quite energetic. It's just the time that is late. Anyone knows the night isn't a time to be working.” Ellie argues as the matter of fact, matters more than common sense.

Wearing a light blouse and trousers along with a long wool cardigan makes her appear quite nice even when she looks tired. All things considered to William, of course. He used to see her in all kinds of dresses and clothes during their time together and he discovered it quite unique. Girls like such changes for some reason and he became to understand it, as soon as he got to know Ellie a little better more than 6 weeks ago.

Yet, Ellie is watching him with a different kind of tired face, and his appearance is different as well. It has been a while since she last saw him, but that isn't something that bothered her. In fact, the last day was on the Awakening day, which wasn't even that long time ago. Seeing him so suddenly at this place, she couldn't help but tease him a little.

“What happened to your beige set? Do you wear something new? Isn't it the clothes for patients in the Institution? I almost didn't recognize you.” Ellie wonders, while sitting beside William on the bench.

“I destroyed it.”

“What?! Wasn't that so nice and expensive? Why have you done that?”

“Because I didn't mean to do that.” William sights with his explanation. “I already cried over it multiple times so no need to remind me of the harsh reality...” William laments over his problem, and he, in fact, shed some tears for that.

“Alright... I won't make things difficult for you on this beautiful night. Why are you sitting here, then? Did something happen, and caused you to wait here for me?” Ellie asks in curiosity since she is really wondering why, of all places, he decided to sit here. In front of the institution at this time of the day, it is quite questionable. She didn't have the chance to hear anything from him since the fateful, and rather embarrassing time in the Institution all those days ago.