Roman looks at William with an understanding look. He already guessed that it may be a bit too much for him, so it is about time to exchange some information for his sake.

“Come on, William. This isn't something to make you lose your spirit for. You have already managed so much in the last couple of days, so there is no need to be like that now. I guess I will explain the basic of basics for you, in return for your hard tries. Have you heard of the Vector overview of the Awakening and the changes a Walker had upon reaching Rank 1?”

William would shake his head, but he doesn't want to do that. Instead, he gives an acknowledgment nod that he doesn't know about it, even though he knows a thing or two.

“I thought so. The moment the Awakening starts, the Vectors and the matter of Arcanite no longer stays in the Emblem itself. It is a rather complicated process that is hard to explain, and it is beyond common sense. It starts with a process of Vector empowerment within one's body. Awakening in itself is the start, where certain something will start flowing into the body, seeping into the veins, and muscles. It is causing significant changes to the structure of the human flow of everything. That will, in return, change many other things. Including Skills, overall power over the System, and so on. Other notable examples are muscles, reflexes, endurance, and what you already noticed, the wounds can heal much faster.” Roman explains.

“Oh, that? That is certainly something... I think I remember something about it when I initiated my Awakening. System message or Body enchanted or something along those lines.” William says, half crouching down, but still could somewhat talk. Although he has to try very hard, it is still understandable.

“You did see something? I guess yours included it, but not like it matters a lot since you can't possibly know, or use it that well for the time being. Now you do, so it's time to act like that. Even though the human body is a work of marvels even without the Emblem, so with it, we are a step outside of human comprehension. I want you to think, and consider it very much in the future since it is one thing that any proper Walker has to consider one way or another.”

William hears his words, which sound like some sort of warning. Thinking about it for a second, he nodded to himself and took a deep note of being something different from a regular human.

He already experienced something of that sort already, since he grew up on the Outside, accompanied by Emblem within his hand. It was no wonder he hold certain memories where some people didn't consider him a human, but those memories were indiscreet.

“I will remember that. The body is no longer like a human. That is easy to remember.”

“Yeah, I guess it is. Doing anything else isn't all that much. Figuring out your advantages is. The same could be said about the spar that you went through. The Vectors in your Emblem went through a strained hour and a half time, where their Cycles were beyond normal strain. No matter the rest, 5 minutes isn't enough for your Rank, experience, or use.”

“So you just wanted to know my limits? Aren't there better ways to do that, rather than be so damned forceful?” William complains, forgetting about exhaustion and lack of energy. It almost seems his body is getting better in a couple of minutes.

“I am instructing you without a need for torture. Whether or not you like it isn't an issue for me.”

“Fine... What I am supposed to do? Feel limbless and feel the connection with the Emblem once again? Doing so will allow me to move. How exactly?”

“It's about the strain and time. You, by my intention, went with the strain much harder than you should have. It's your bad luck for trying too hard, but also... for the other thing.” Roman says in a mocking tone, glancing at Samuel with a glimpse of his eyes.

Hearing him like that, William wishes he could have the mental capacity to curse him to oblivion, but he rather chose to shut up and rest.

“It's still early, so we will restart with the spar once you will rest up and your Emblem is ready for longer Cycles. There isn't a precise way to tell it, since I am not familiar with it, and neither are you. Let's take it slowly, and that is it.” Roman tells as he gets up, and swings some annoying Vectors away. They were getting on his face already, and William's swirling motions and chaotic Vectors have almost no stoppage. They will calm down and get back to their rightful place.

“As you said, you can reconnect the Emblem with your effort, or it will slowly get repaired. The body is faster than the Emblem itself, so you will be able to move in about an hour as before. However, for your Vectors to become calm within your Emblem, it can take them a bit longer. Let's not even start with the motion of an Annihilation Element. It can get out of hand quickly, leading to a disaster. Get it?” Roman says, and upon noticing William's nodding attitude, walks away. The direction is towards a distant wall, where Samuel retreated a while ago.

Seeing him leave, William takes a carefree breath of rest, while he can at least have some minutes of freedom.

He really feels terrible... The motion and any move of his limbs are numb, and being in the care of fate, without the ability to move, isn't something he likes at all.

“So it's about that Accelerator and the liquids... I can't imagine what sort of crap that was... What in the world... What have I got myself into? Did I even expect something like this? I doubt that... even Dann would laugh like a madman if he discovers this current me.” William laughs at his own situation, thinking to himself, while time flows on.

In about half an hour, he could start feeling his fingers again, while getting to stand is also fine. His wrist, knee, and most knuckles and back muscles are crying in some pain, but that will get away, eventually. The major headache is the spine for some reason. He mainly collapsed by instability to have control of his center of gravity, which made him unable to stand amidst mental and physical pain. Everything is important to control and know, and William is getting to know how a human can be fragile and strong at the same time. Those... Those are the Walkers from basic common sense.

They are powerful humans, but they can easily die, because of Dark beings' interventions.

Thinking of the past, William knows how much some people struggle, and his role in that will also be imminent. So, he acknowledges that, for his own sake. Maybe calling it a sense of reason, or self-motivation is a better term.

Feeling his body, William even tries to massage his shoulders, and stretch his hips to get some sense of his body. It takes the longest to heal.

The flow of the Arcanite matter within his bloodstream is the cause of everything. The secondary, and additional problem are Vectors, and their use in too-straining ways. Although, that isn't something that one could learn right away since it's a basic thing that the majority of the Vector-type Walkers have to go through. The Awakening and Vectors are one way or another, the cause of this effect no matter what.

After all, the Emblem is a road to go beyond human capabilities, so William isn't all that surprised by Roman's information. He even expects something even crazier, but it isn't as bad as he thought.

So what if his own limits and his stubborn ass caused this to happen? Maybe he would have stopped long ago if he was weak-minded, but he was never like that. William did his best and acted by Roman's order. He ended up like this, so it is a good lesson for the future.

Never trust the process of Walker training.

He will also learn a lot from this. William should know that it's better to never walk beyond limits. That sounds about right, as even Roman would tell the same, albeit, his ending results may seem sketchy and questionable.

This whole ordeal was a combination of his training method, which he knew from his own experience. It is the same which is in use in the Emblem Academy. This whole style of stretching the limits is for improving the flow of Arcanite within the body. It can go from Vectors and even Elemental type. One could also add all kinds of Skill effects to this training, in the same manner, that William did. It is a well-acknowledged way of teaching, but it is extremely unsafe for dangerous Walkers and can lead to a lot of physical stress.

Roman knows it, but since this is the Trial for the Emblem Academy, he has no choice but to force this attitude against William.

Then, there is also Roman's curiosity to see William's experience, stamina, and ability to deflect and act in dangerous moments. He did so with the last spar, which put William on defense. It was there to see how firm he could actually stand before an unmovable force.

In all this time, Roman used the Rank 3 Skill called Vector Exosuit. It is an extension of his Vector Affinity, which is strong in itself, but Roman used it while limiting its strength to a minimum. Feel of the Vectors was more than enough for that, and it's one of the reasons William isn't completely unconscious right now.

Stretching and feeling his hands, shoulders, and neck, William can finally stretch himself after 45 or so minutes. That is a long time, but a time that he needed.

“Body is fine now, but Emblem is as well? I suppose I will have to reconnect my intentions toward it. Easy!” William cheers himself up and follows the routine he did quite a few times. He watches the chaotic vortex of Vectors and uses the connection of Mindless Eyes as a starting point. He does that well enough by now, but the strands of the Vectors are scattered almost 10 meters around his perimeter. The emblem in his right hand has also turned rather a dull color.

William looks at the surrounding storm, which couldn't hurt Roman at all. It whips the concrete away and would do the same with the ceiling, but there seems to be a limit to how far away his Vectors can go from his body. After all, the Vectors seem at first, all interconnected with each other, but that isn't the case at all. There are millions of them, with even more Arcanite matter that makes the Vectors. It is a deep crimson storm that could obliterate any regular human. It is no wonder since the concrete looks like a block of sand under the pressure of this storm.

“This seems quite weird to me... Even Annihilation is following behind the trail of this instability. Though, not everything is under that Element. Is this the amount of control I have over my Emblem? Should I imagine this power to be something that I can wield one day?” William wonders as he takes a crisscrossed seat in the middle of this storm. He turns his attention to himself, but mostly about his own right hand.

There are quite a few Vectors following into his right hand, but none of them appear to be as wild as the surrounding ones. Those are storming his surroundings a few dozen inches from him.

Before he regained his composure, he barely saw Roman's face in that storm. With how weird and powerful this all looks, William wonders what this would do against Dark beings or even to a regular human who isn't as unyielding as Roman. Would they be butchered like this concrete? Turned to dust? Obliterated to many parts like a jaw of Carnijaw can do? William couldn't guess, but he can imagine a lot from his experience of seeing many horrors.

Sighting, William presses his hand forward and utters.

“Begone.”

Nothing happens though.

“Yea... Connection is lost, as Roman stated. Rebuilding this is something I should do next. Time to do this the old way, I suppose.” William complains, which doesn't seem like a complaint. He will gladly train in whatever possibility he can get, as he no longer feels that awful. That in itself is 100% of his motivation to work harder, so this sort of situation would never happen again.

Meanwhile, as William is connecting his mind to the Vectors, Roman spends some time with Samuel, who is looking at the previous gadget.

“Was this necessary to seek the basics of his Vectors? How many of these things are even left, Vice-Director Samuel.” Roman asks.

“That doesn't matter. Since you left, we found another vein from... a certain location. Maybe you know about it, but it was a good secret that only a few know about. 100 of these things were created once again, but that could only last so long. Worlds of mysteries and wonders are endless, and Emblems and Walkers are just... crazy. Everything can be worth it in the end.”

“Whatever. Seeking secrets that are better left untouched is one thing I dislike. You do you, while I am a seeker of my own fate. Anyway, was it fine to use it for Rank 1 Walker though? I thought it was more suitable for the Mutations and more special research points. What's the deal with the boy's Vectors? Is it the annihilation that is creating this strange chaos? It definitely doesn't appear normal, and I have watched a lot of such cases. I doubt it's anything but ordinary, but I have certain doubts about this whole appeal of his Annihilation.”

“Since you helped me, I will tell you something. Are you aware of his Awakening?”

“Not at all.” Roman lies a little, hoping to get additional information from him.

“He made quite a similar storm back then, but thrice of the radius of this one, and many times in volume.”

“Thrice? That seems a bit exaggerated, don't you think? Even the mass of such a storm is unlike to happen. For it to be huge, it should have many times the mass that is possible for an Emblem to endure and Walker to reach, and control.”

“Facts are logical, Roman. It's the official Awakening we are talking about and many scientists and Walker were present. Many eyes witnessed what happened that day, albeit none who saw behind the crimson veils of that storm.”

“Huh... ” Roman sights. “I do not doubt you, Vice-Director Samuel. How about some words of wisdom... for my sake.” Roman says with clear irritation. Although he likes to go into many details himself, when others do the same, it is quite uncomfortable for him.

“Tom Hough was involved with it, as per his usual schtick of the Awakenings. That was that, and now, he wanted me to retrieve a strand of his Vector. Mission succeeded, so this leaves more answers, or questions after more research.” “”

“I see... I see.”

“Also... He reached 75 affinities and there was some problem with the accelerator's readings...” Samuel adds, noticing Roman's pesky face.

“75? That's barely enough for Academy trials, but... it's ...”

“... not important, right? Boy's real progress and power are far from that number, and in fact, it is quite more than it should be possible. He showed some prominent features in the Examination. Mi-Yung was his proxy, which made quite interesting results. Or so I heard... I wasn't there, so I talk about what I heard. He or Mi-Yung refused to offer what would make many Rank 4 Walkers mad with jealousy. In the end, it was the case of the Academy.”

“More like Mi-Yung refused out of spite, but Academy it is... Seems like some other force wanted to snatch him from Mi-Yung?” Roman asks meaningfully.

“No idea... It seems there was a singular goal with the Academy, so not many forces actually tried to go against that decision.”

“Whatever. Anything else that can be interesting? I still have 2 and almost 3 days left to teach him so anything that can prove to be important.”

“You taught him plenty of things already. It's important to control the Annihilation, but that seems under the control. Which... in itself seems a bit odd, don't you think?”

“Nope. I did my best after all, and William's talent isn't small. Alright... I am done listening, so I hope you are not forgetting or keeping something from me.”

“Well... there is something else. A rumor that was shared by just one organization in the Examination.”

“Speak up.”

“William has dual type Emblem. One Vector and the second one is Mutant. I know nothing much about it, and even then, it is a secret, as per Assembly orders.”

“Double? It happened again?” Roman fakes his surprise, even though he is aware of that fact already.

“Yeah, I thought so too. Mi-Yung is quite silent about this, and Assembly decided a rule to not speak about it, as per the usual standards. I bet she, and some folks from Assembly will eye William for a couple of years, before deciding on what to do with him. They are waiting until he will actually awaken that? Perhaps.”

“Double type... Mutant and Vector... That could be either very problematic or something on a par with a powerful fusion Skill, or even something unseen.” Roman wonders, while believing everything he said. It makes sense, after all, and there is no need for lies. Rumors could be a rumor, but no amount of them can be false in the Examination. That would be stupid for lies to spread from that, as there are actual stakes in the world of men right now.

“That's about what I can offer you for your help, Roman. If there is something more, William didn't share it with Mi-Yung, or Mi-Yung didn't choose to tell it to the officials.”

“He was with Mi-Yung from the very beginning?”

“I don't know the full detail, nor do I need to care about them.” Samuel shot down Roman's attempt to continue with William's topic.

Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

“Fine.” He unhappily clicked his tongue, giving up on further talking. “Thank you for telling me at least this much. This has been a good harvest, but it doesn't change anything about William. I will teach him all the same, in the hopes he will be a great Walker.” Roman pats Samuel's shoulder and walks back towards the middle of the bunker, where is a slowly receding storm.