Roman looks at William, sighting at him with no confidence, yet understanding that he went through a lot today. “You piece of work... Should I carry you or what?”
“Don't... You don't have to. Just give me an eternity and I may retrieve some of my lost long vigor... or soul? I feel like something is missing within my soul... Ugh... how sad.” William sheds a tear, forgetting any manners as he lies on the floor. He can't help it, since he is tired beyond his senses. He achieved the impossible, as the clock in Roman's hands is at the 10-minute mark. It is the 10th round of the 3 series of continuous struggles that he underwent for most of the day.
One of the most exhilarating, fearful, torturous days of William's life is over. Perhaps he won't feel it in his body tomorrow, but his mind will. He will make sure it's going to be remembered. For the sake of his pain and suffering, and options, learning, and experiences what Roman taught him throughout this ordeal.
Though, his rest comes to the end, as Roman has lost his patience, and grabs his shoulder.
Dragging up to stand, William still appears fine after he retrieves his hands.
“If you can stand, you can walk,” Roman argues.
“Walk to where? What's the point of that? Don't tell me you are going to go against your words and do the 4th series!? I won't survive that!” William sheds a real tear this time around.
“No... that would be redundant at this point. I won't do a thing. Keeping your body adjusting to this day is much better than overdoing things beyond the limits. You still haven't checked your Status so I want you to do it once you return home. I won't have anything for you for now. Do your own research about today, and tell me what you accomplished from this day tomorrow. That also means the System, and other things that are for you alone.” Roman gives him some piece of good news.
Leaving William be, for the time being, is the basic premise of his success. He did his best, while the defense class is considered to be over.
Realizing the end of this endless day, William is happily cheering himself up inside. Clenching his fists is about the only physical reaction he could do at the moment, apart from the ability to walk. He can't show how happy he is that it is over. No. His face is tired, and so is his body that can move, but only for 2 things. Maybe 3.
Going home, eating, and showering. Ok, 4th is the flying into the air, leaping onto the comfort of the bed, succumbing to careful sleep, and forgetting any worries.
All of these things sound like excellent pieces of content, and he shall do so to the maximum of his capabilities.
“See you tomorrow then,” Roman says, casually walking away from the middle of the destroyed bunker. Debris is everywhere, but it seems none of it is his concert. Frankly, it isn't, so why even think about it?
“The same meetup as today?” William inquires about the topic of tomorrow day.
“I will meet you at your home this time around.”
“Oh? alright then. Nigh.” William bluntly answers, storming this half-destroyed place first, and leaves Roman and Samuel alone.
Roman watches the storming boy, chuckling at this youth that is nothing but impressive in his opinion. The surrounding bunker is part of his progress, so can't help but sight at the sources of a few cracks, crevices, and holes. A portion... No. A significant portion of the damage is his, but some of them are William's work. He can't deny that. Even Samuel saw it all.
Though, he knows this is all just a place for walkers to train in the current age. Those are unsteady days, while the true, or old purpose of this place is better to not happen. That is at least the hope of everyone in the Federation.
Looking, and crouching down, there are dozens upon dozens of holes around the perimeters of the ground. Those are his punches, which he didn't regret using.
“Renovating will cost some credits... Oh well, I suppose I read something about this in my contract with Schultz. No need to be worried about them since it's the work of that person. Right.” Roman mumbles to himself, after getting up and walking toward Samuel.
“Thank you for your considered help. I won't come again, so good luck with the remaining training, and don't kill that youngster. He is an important piece of our research. He still has a lot before him.” Samuel says in a rare mocking tone. Leaving through the door, he doesn't give Roman a voice to catch him.
“Well, he got what he wanted, so I don't blame him for ditching tomorrow as well. I guess today was a good day huh?” Roman sights, before leaving through the door as well.
----------------------------------------
Federation, out in the wild world of stars and unnatural wind.
----------------------------------------
“Oh... This feels incredible.” William takes a deep breath, hoping to clear his mind as best as he could after walking away from the main entrance of the Institution of the Emblem. Looking haggard as usual, he at least took care of his shirt, so it's not destroyed this time around. He fought with his pants alone, which are haggard too, but not enough for them to be useless. With the shirt and bottle in hand, he sees some change from the previous days.
Fighting shirtless is kind of uncool in his opinion, but it has a long history in humanity. Although considering the climate in Canada, he isn't one bit used to that
Still, this doesn't mean he doesn't check his body to see if he is even alive, and not a walking, semi-conscious ghost. Pinching his cheeks, grabbing his head and nostrils. He feels the same as every day in the past week. Tired, numb, and rather apprehensively filled with excitement. “I am alive. Heheheh... I am... Alive... great.” William gives a loud laugh, not caring about a few people on the perimeters of the street.
With the amount of time here, few are around, which makes it quite barren, but very peaceful. Striving forth to his home, it's about time to give today's end a fitting end.
Salivating, he can't wait for the meal box he left out for this occasion. It has a few pieces of roasted pork belly, chicken teriyaki, or whatever it is even called, and some additional steaks. Rice with some creamy sauce is also a good addition that he is looking forward to. Maybe the mushroom one is still left from yesterday as well? He isn't sure, but he knows exactly what he will do with that.
In a bit, William walks through the apartment door that has been his home for the last 2 months. It is a small amount of time in his life, but he feels it's much longer than it seems.
Inside, to his lack of surprise or care, voices are speaking.
“No... NO!” William cries out, fearing that his meal box is left to the ones who he heard.
Hurrying towards the kitchen, there is Mi-Yung and Luke enjoying some late dinner.
From their attire, both arrived not that long ago. They barely notice William, who storms the fridge, but still, he finds his box untouched. He sights in relief, unconditionally unafraid of his actions. In fact, he feels no shame or even tiredness which is no longer his concern. He even ignores the fact that he stormed the fridge so fast as if he is a prime Olympic runner from more than a century ago.
“What is this? Not a word for greetings to your seniors?” Mi-Yung asks in a teasing manner, sounding casual, yet somewhat surprised.
“I... I am done today... I swear Roman is an assassin sent by the higher-ups! Isn't he? Tell me! Am I wrong?” William turns from his crouching position beside the fridge, facing the sitting pair with a dumbfounded expression of feeling wronged.
“What? It's still 7th day of your chance. Well... are there still 2 days left, or a single one? I think you are going to survive his methods. Probably.” Mi-Yun replies with the same teasing words, with an addition of a nice smile. This gives William no choice but to scowl inside. So he brings his meal from the fridge.
“Apologies for making a scene... I hope you had a great journey and mission, Luke, Mi-Yung.” William says with a smile after turning away from the microwave. Facing the pair with a more normal expression this time, he wants to appear fine, and glad over living in their place.
“I think it's fine. Is Roman that crazy?” Luke asks since he doesn't know that person very well.
“I... don't know how to respond to that, other than... HELL, HE IS! He did that... And this...” William goes into a highly detailed rant, which goes on even after the microwave is over the time limit.
Pair on the table is looking at the boy with much entertainment, giggling from time to time from all of the stuff that William endured in the past days. Though, only Mi-Yung knows how undeniably unnecessary this sort of training is. After all, this involves the Emblem Academy, and even Luke isn't that familiar enough with that place. He has some basic understanding of its structure, but it is nothing groundbreaking.
No amount of complaints is worth not completing this training. Schultz did a phenomenal job forcing Roman here, but that talk about the reward Mi-Yung heard... It is like a spit to her face since she would love to train William by herself.
Though there are certain things she can do, and force. Like getting an option to retrieve him and caring about him. It went against the codex of Assembly, but here she is. Not worried, with a smile on her face.
“From what I can see and hear from you, you like him quite a bit. I am glad you like Roman so much. I wonder what you will say about the rest of the instructors in the Academy though. Perhaps you will view it in a different light.” Mi-Yung comments.
“There is no way they are worst... Am I right?” William asks, hoping it's not the case.
Without waiting for a reply from Mi-Yung, William adds suddenly. “Wait a minute... I have no idea if I will even do well in this Trial. How am I supposed to know if I will even succeed?”
“Well, you won't be sure. Spend the next 2 days alive and I am sure it will be a better experience for sure.” Mi-Yung argues.
Seeing his questionable stare, she instead explains further “I mean you just told me about Roman and his Imitations. Though he didn't use it in his real manners, he for sure used it on himself. What did he look like? Giant? Big bear-like appearance? Average build of a monster, filled with fierce strikes?”
“Imitation... what does this even mean? You are right in almost everything.” William couldn't help but agree, remembering the sights of giant Roman, who obliterated his defenses many times without any issues. Unknown to his wonders, Mi-Yung knows Roman and his shenanigans quite well. That includes the use of his Skill and the overall power that he holds. Though it seems his standing as Rank 7 is quite strong, and maybe in 10 years, he will be good enough to achieve Rank 8.
It may come sooner if certain hunts will succeed.
“He didn't explain it to you, which is understandable of Walker's secrets. His power has a fraction of the Dark Element with the addition of the Annihilation Element. It's shadows to be exact. One of his prominent Skills is called Imitation as you explained. He can basically overview any being and somehow imitate its action, abilities, mannerism, and who knows what else. He could also make them whole like a clone for his own use, but I bet he won't use it against you since that one is his highest achievement. You would die if he put forth his army forward.”
“What!? Isn't it... does it work with dark beings?” William hesitates, thinking about what sort of power this real Immitiation would be like.
“Of course. He is a powerful Walker who long hunts the dark. His main concern is using that to his advantage. I bet he has some available imitation of rank 7 monsters.” Mi-Yung explains and enjoys how shocked William appears.
This is a power of the System and experienced Walker who has much to offer for blowing a kid's mind.
So much so, that Mi-Yund adds a last piece of the idea.
“Also... I heard he can Imitate a full pack of Jawrans. About 5 or 6, or maybe more.”
“ Jawrans?! Like... In full length and mass?” William asks, unaware of what it implies.
“Precisely,” Mi-Yuing says, revealing some basic thing, although she leaves the number a bit lower for his sake.
William can't imagine that small Roman having the power of 6 monsters who are as tall as a 2 stories tall building. 1 is believable enough, but 6, or more? That's like a one-man army, and Jawrans can even fly. What could that mean, other than a tremendous advantage, and many ways one could get any results done? The sheer flexibility that Roman has, must be one of the strongest of its kind at his Rank.
“Ehm... Your meal, William.” Luke mutters throughout his chewing, noticing William wandering and lost look. He even forgets his meal in the microwave.
“Oh? Yea. Yea! Food. I would eat two pigs if I could.” Picking the plate and shoving the content of the box onto it, he takes a seat on the table.
Eating his fill, he enjoys it very much, even if it's not as fresh as he would like. Although, no longer fresh meat is still excellent in his opinion. This kind of meal would still be a luxury in any camp Outside.
Feeling right about his knowledge, he no longer speaks his mind, as the meal is more important. Instead, he makes a quick question to inquire about the kind of work Luke and Mi-Yund did, to disappear from here for 3 days.
Luke's is obvious. It was a mission toward the USA. Unspecified, it was just some hunt for monsters, and adjustment of the perimeter of some borders. Luke didn't include much, apart from one interesting subject. The mission included the wipe of some nests, but Luke doesn't go into too many details about them to appear William's curiosity.
On the other hand, Mi-Yung doesn't say anything, since it's a confidential piece of information. High Rank one, or so she explains.
This leaves William silent as he eats, and listens to Luke's words. It has been only 3 days without them. William is glad to see them again. So much for being alone, but he at least feels great today to see their faces.
Who knows what he will accomplish tomorrow, and the day afterward? An offensive training and sparring the day after? He wonders if Roman will use more of his Imitation capabilities. Fighting against Hellgars or something like that would be rather interesting to him. From what Mi-Yung explained, William is sure that they wouldn't be like any regular monsters, but toys that Roman can control.
William imagines the shadowy Hellgar in Roman's stead. He also imagines a fierce pounce of its maw, tearing him apart with sharp claws. He shudders upon the tough images in his mind, swallowing the piece of rice with the addition of the tender meat with some difficulty.