“You realized it just now?” Roman asks, sighting. “It's the most optimal way to make up for shortcomings of the experience and figure out how to better see yourself.”

“I bet it is like that.” William agrees. “There will be more drain over my Vectors and their control, but in a way, it will give me better ideas even though It would end up... badly?”

“This... I am sure, but It's is still a 10-minute round. You can decide the term of the rounds yourself since I am not taking the initiative. You already accomplished more than enough out of stationary training in the starting days. A spar is something else, so it should be manageable, but still quite stressful for your control over the rounds. In a way, it shouldn't be too different from yesterday, while also fundamentally different. Use of the Skill can change a lot of things and you need to come to terms with that.” Roman says with a surprising amount of care.

Turned upside down by facts and logic, William can't see the reason to not feel a little bummed about this prospect. The use of multiple skills is more stressful, and for 10 rounds, it seems like more than a recipe for exhaustion.

“Alright. I will try some rounds with the other Skills. Later, I will even try some Annihilation stuff that I am a bit nervous about, but you have no issue with it, as you want me to try it anyways. Right?”

“More or less. At least you know how to listen and act sporadically. Thinking like that is a good way to act like a Walker. Thinking of ways to learn, and achieve things in readiness and care. Nothing should be forced, apart from things that should be. When you want to start, let's start.”

“Yeah. Heheheh. I feel like that forced part you are talking about is just excuses...” William chuckles, thinking of the past days that weren't filled with care, calmness, or anything Roman described.

“Other than that, I will say some other things about the use of Skills and so on after those rounds. For now, there are other things that you need to become aware of.”

William nods in confirmation, listening with care as before.

“There are fundamental differences in many kinds of attacks. Some are very effective against some Dark beings, and for others, not so much. It's similar to defenses and forming a good idea of how, when, and which attack to choose. When you need to decide that, the fact of knowing what kind of attack you can take on, it is very important to think not jsut about yourself. It's kind of complicated, and words can't describe it enough.”

“It's like a hunting game. It's the same with us, and Dark beings, isn't it?” William jumps to Roman's explanation.

“Pretty much. The game of hunting the hunters... It's a topic that is known even to the Outside, I bet. Knowing your attacking power can neglect the defenses of the foe, and so on. The same could be said in return about you and your defenses against the Dark being.” Roman adds.

“That makes sense. Knowledge is the power that can show in strategies, moves, and decisions in split seconds.” William says, going over the possibilities of fighting a Dark being in his head.

“I won't talk about details such as the individual prowess of some Dark begins. That's would be too much talking. Academy has more recourses about that and you will learn it yourself that it is more complicated then what I jsut said. That part of the future will be up to you and your tries. The basic truth is to follow the order of the Ranks. You, as a rank 1 can fight against 1 and Rank 2 monsters, and strike them dead depending on your incoming experiences. That comes into play in rank 3s and 4s, which are stronger, but possible to fight for the upper talents of the beginner Walkers.

“I get it now. It's all about forming a strategy, or choosing the right form of an enemy that one could kill, right?” William asks.

“That's at least how it should be, but sometimes, Dark beings won't be polite about any choices. At the upper ranks, limits are what matters, and so do comprehensions. There is a fundamental change in quality with Rank 5 and above Walkers and Dark beings alike. That is one of the reasons Rank 1 to 4 Dark beings aren't that far in power from each other. Walkers are somewhat in a similar position to that. Though, there are things that matter to us more than anything else. Do you know what it could be?”

“In Walker's case? I guess the training, experiences, or the amount of skill is added with talent? That or everything mixed up.”

“Right.” Roman nods, smiling in the process. “You are right for once. It's all about talent and having a personal power to obliterate any kind of common sense, and the power of those monsters. There are many times of monsters in the world, then Walkers, and it's one of the harsh truths we face. This reality is where we can have quality, but with the number of numbers of them, we still can't win.” he sights upon this part, leaving even William frowning upon these words that hold up even to his past.

“Right, this is something that I had to say, even though it's rather pessimistic. I won't mention Rank 5 and above to you for now. It's where it gets a little more complicated, so that's the gist of it.”

“Alright. I've got it. Careful of the Ranks, monsters, strategies, and so on.” William nods to himself, before listening to more words that Roman doesn't take lightly at all. Talking with a sheer will of seriousness, William listens as best he could. It couldn't be otherwise, since Roman insists on how critical this sort of attitude is.

Soon enough, the 30 minutes break ends.

“That's about it for now. There will be 3 or 4 discussions like this today if you will manage it, of course.” Roman tells, getting up to his feet and stretching his arms and shoulders.

“Can I get things done a little slower this time around? Getting the hang of the Skills will be a bit more problematic for me in the heat of the combat.”

“Do what you can. I said it before, so work with what you want. That's one of the good things about this training. You can manage to learn under the stress, and that is a good thing, so I won't be too easy on you. Though, the most depend on you, so get going and get ready.” Roman replies upon activating the Emblem on his back. Shrouds of energy, fog, and shadows encompass his whole body into a giant form in a matter of a couple of seconds.

William sights at his fate, choosing to activate his own as well.

“Arise.”

With the surge of the tough, and distinct Vectors unlike what Roman has, a Claw appeared around William's hand. After this, he also follows this Skill with Inner enchantment, and nothing else for the time being.

The base structure of his Emblem, and supporting Skill should be sufficient to feel how different his stamina could be. In the last 30 minutes, he calmed down, and feel like his stamina returned to stability.

“Attack. I will dodge, move, and deflect if I want to in the same manner as at the end of the last series. This won't be like yesterday, or prior series, got it?” Roman says in a deeper voice from the giant figure.

“Yea yea. It's never easy, I understand.” William answers, sighting upon hearing the same thing again. Feeling his first tight, he pounces from the spot, arriving at Roman with more force than ever before.

Well rested, and ready, this will go great no matter what.

Swoosh!

William's pounce ends up too strong, and he lands and continues going well past Roman's giant body. He saw William's pounce from far away, so he only took a step to his left, and watched how William couldn't do anything then travel forward.

William clearly didn't expect this sort of power behind his jump, and his fist strikes the ground, cracking the concrete, while it takes him some time to stabilize his forward force.

“Man... Get familiar with Skils for god's sake.” Roman comments behind his back.

William grunts in displeasure, getting to his feet after a surprising landing on his face after coming into a wall. “This... was unexpected. Who knew that Inner Enchantment would be that strong and different than without it? Hm? Is it because of the changes from today? The quality of my Vectors improved, and so did the other things, right?”

“Yes.” Roman nods in his giant form. “Inner Enchantment is more than meets the eye, and it all revolves around your Vectors. It enchants the already strong body filled with Vectors so it makes sense it would get some additional boost from the Affinity. It goes along with it, sand it should make sense to beginners as well. Now, get going. I am already waiting for 6 seconds.”

Getting to his feet fast, William steps forward more lightly.

“This feels like a surge of adrenaline and a strange feeling of security. It's almost like having my body pushed to its limits on its own, without my knowledge or proper control. It's almost outside of my own influence, yet it's also part of my body to a certain extent. Alright, let's take things slower and come to better terms when using those two things together. My Claw is still the same, but it won't act the same because of my Inner Enchanmant which makes my body a bit harder to control. Though, it shouldn't be worse. All I have to do is get used to it and use its strength to my advantage.” William assumes.

Pouncing with his Claw, William arrives at Roman in a steadier form. He dodges left and right swipe, strike and thrust with clawed fingers with ease.

William soon enough gets familiar with the usable effects of the Inner Enchantment. He can already feel how this Skill can fundamentally change his combat prowess in different ways than defense. He can go much faster, and stronger with an offense.

The 11th round goes with ease, and William doesn't even sweat at the end of it. Instead, he feels a surge of excitement from discovering something he should have done much sooner. This, right here, is the difference in what makes Walkers a splendid choice to go against the Dark.

“See? This is much easier than the last one.” Roman says in a mocking tone after changing to his normal form.

William swipes his hand, uttering a calm "begone" at the end. “I can see it as clearly as I feel it. Isn't it strange though? It's just the difference in the Inner Enchantment, yet it does so much...”

“That's because it's quite a great Skill. In fact, I don't think there are more powerful variants of Enchantment kind of Skill so early in the System. Though, I must say. It's still in Rank 0 so it doesn't show its full benefits. You could improve yourself quite a bit with it if you would comprehend its structure through the Mindless Eyes, but that will wait until after the Trials. Any kind of thing like that takes a long time. Days, or weeks even.”

“Hmmm... That doesn't answer anything about why though? Shouldn't my Vectors be a little more harder to control over all of this striking and whatnot?”

“You don't even breathe worse. What do you mean by Vectors? Tell me this in the 5th round or something. A 30-minute break already allowed you to return to your top condition, so leave it at that. Single round and you think you are a big deal. How usual for a youthful Walker. I forgot how many of you are out there. Heheh.” Roman sneers, thinking that William is as he expected.

“Don't tell me you were any better when you awakened at 18 of age,” William argues against Roman, unafraid of the consequences.

“15, 16 or 18, there is quite a large difference in that. I won't argue about this sort of dumb topic though. Get ready, and let's go again if you are so ready to talk.” Roman says without much politeness, going back to his giant form.

Standing in front of William who keeps sitting willy-nilly he still gives him 3 minutes break, but not much time to talk.

It seems William hit the limits of what Roman is capable to handle, so he summons his Claw and Inner Enchantment in the same manner as before.

Getting up, he uses this as a chance to propel himself in an unexpected manner. Flying forward, his straight punch travels right toward Roman's face. He hit him, but it didn't do much. Even an uppercut later, William grits his teeth at his failed attempt to do anything to this man. It seems that all attempts to shake these shadows are futile.

After a successful few strikes using the high jumping power, finger attacks, and a couple of fists, William is trying to see what he can do or not next. Deciding to sneak attack around the back again, this time, Roman's head tilted a little back from a powerful cleaving jab.

Smirking, Willaim feels he either did it on accident or Romans is pretending to sway. Though he may think like that, he still keeps on continuing to attack with the same vigor. Inner Enchantment works wonders, making it seems like a mistake that he didn't use it in the first 10 rounds.

William is also pondering over the thing he said in the 1st series. He told him a lot of good examples, but it also seemed that nothing feels mandatory, or forced. He may start in a more flexible manner, slowly accumulating experience to see what will be more comfortable for him.

So, many strikes, with few useless kinds, and many more enters his mind. Figuring out the method to make a significant strike from Roman's example sounds like an interesting way to form a trump card. Wiliam heard about it from some of the books on the 3rd floor in the Library. It is supposed to be a tool to be used to finish the job or use it when times aren't that easy. That sort of thing sounds best in his opinion, but to come up with his own interpretation or example is up to him, and no one else.

From what he can see, something powerful, with a lot of strength would do the job. From many examples he has already seen, it doesn't seem that great to form too many weak jabs which doesn't do much.

William doesn't understand that he is facing Roman, who isn't budging because his defenses are well beyond William's capabilities. A few movements here and there provide needed assistance for Roman to see what would William do next. In a way, he was like a combat figurine, following up on William's attack to see how he will act next.

The basis of William, destroying small concrete blocks speaks volumes of his inhuman power, but William has yet to realize the fact, that Roman is far beyond something like that. Forcing himself against Rank 7 Walker, who uses almost nothing, is already like Mount Everest upon a child.

Though, William doesn't give up in the presence of a tough foe. In fact, he somewhat even enjoys it, since it doesn't hurt that much, unlike yesterday.

With the sudden slap to Roman's feet, William follows next with sharp swipes where his clawed fingers point to a singular sharp attack.

It was a quick change, so Roman chose to not dodge, even if he could. Instead, he takes it on, but his appearance won't reveal his little shock from this attack. It scraps a few of his shadows in the process, but William doesn't even recognize it in the speed of the momentum. The sharp point went fairly deep, letting quite a deep impression.

“Such focused attack. His clawed fingers fused together to appear like a spear! This is a good beginner kind of idea I was looking for. Good.” Roman thinks in his mind, yet still, doesn't change his stance on this matter.

So far, he silently assesses possible attacks that William has done, and this has been the strongest.

“In the scope of the Rank 1 attacks, that could be around the upper tear of the middle? With how versatile this right hand of his seems, it sounds about right. It's melee type after all. He is yet to reveal his prime weapons in the form of Annihilation, so I am looking forward to having a mind blown away.” Roman deducts what he wants, standing amidst a storming blow that comes to his face, stomach, and hands. All end up futile, much to William's disappointment. At least, Roman is a good punching bag, but William would never call him that.

Fighting and combat training keeps going on, uninterrupted by anything, or anyone. William rests between each round and goes back at it again. So far, his Inner Enchantment works greater than expected, and even Roman couldn't help but be surprised a little. It seems to him that the form of this morning's upgrade was more than normal, allowing him to form a much better connection to it than it should be possible.

6th round into the 2nd series is around the corner. William keeps standing up after the 5th round, looking at his Claw and body in a timely manner.

Still feeling relatively great, it is about time to change his mindset. If the Inner Enchantment is that good to go along with his normal Claw, how about something else? He will try his Annihilation Element to form a few attacks. Feeling it first, and then forming some attacks seems like what he should be worried about more than his basic Claw, or even the addition of his supportive Skills. After all, the whole premise of Roman, coming here is for his Annihilation element, and nothing else. Without it, Roman wouldn't be there. That is an undeniable fact.

Roman nods in approval before preparing for this main event of his curiosity, and purpose. This is what he is here for today, and for the whole 10-day period as well. A full-blown war against this kid's Annihilation. That's what he wants to see, and it should be an exciting prospect and apex of these days.

Turning his right hand before his face, William faces it for a few moments. “Begone.”

“Oh, you want to go with a little break?” Roman says a little dejectedly.

“3-minute rest is best I can do. It's not like I am not tired after having half of the 2nd Series behind me. I am already noticing some stress in my right hand, so some rest is better. Especially if I am about to do what I plan to. Though, the Inner enchantment is so great. I am not even that aware or familiar with its effects, yet it's already so marvelous.”

“Yea.” Roman sights in his deep voice. “Tell me about it more... Rest for now, then. Make use of your Feel of the Annihilation and Claw. The fusion of your Skills from before should make things easier. You can also use it in tandem with the Touch of Vectors, making new things for yourself if you are bored with your current choices. It is a very precious thing to try some new things, but I am talking too unsteady. Of course, it would take years to come up with something great, or usable.”

“No. Not at all. I won't forget this sort of mindset. The Touch of Vectors will wait, as you said, but only for a while.”

“That's how it should be.” Roman nods.

“Though, I feel like figuring out new appearances of the Emblem will be quite hard. I tried it a few times in the past week, and it's always hard to focus the Vectors to form a steady flow to a new appearance. Then, holding her firm, until they are stable is impossible.” William helplessly argues, resting for the remaining minutes as much as he could. Going without stopping after 10-minute moves of his Vectors seems like a no-brainer to him. After all, he is using 2 Skills at the same time, while he even considered the addition of the Velvet Eyes that he uses quite often, but not now.

“It is hard. Why it wouldn't be?” Roman gives a rare chuckle, sounding like a deep thunderous lighting in the process. “Having more flexible ways of attacking is a great way to travel Outside. Thus, having it is some flexibility is what Walkers around the middle Ranks focus on. Of course, it isn't something you need to worry about.”

“Yeah. Yeah. I get it. Then let me ask this, Roman. What do you think should be a great choice of weapon for me? Or a way to remake my Claw?” William asks a rather brazen question filled with curiosity about his own inability to make any progress.