William stands among the first-timers, feeling curious about what Tiberon and Agatha have to tell. Behind him, Louise whispers more words to his ears, but he ignores him, opting to wait and see what the last trial is going to be about.
Time is running close, and since he is the last to arrive, the start of the 3rd Trial is literary around the corner.
With the clock coming to 9 AM, Tiberon announces the end of the time limit, which has been nothing more than an excuse to force youngsters toward a specific time. Everyone had to make sure to come here on time. They would be stupid if they would oversleep.
“Alright, kids. All 8 of you are here, waiting and hoping to get the 3rd Trial started. That pleases me, and many others.” Tiberon says with a smile, speaking casually as he appears. He has different attire, consisting of a proper uniform of black colors. It looks like a suit, but not truly. It gives him a different vibe, and he speaks like a proper Rank 8 Walker.
“You all waited and managed the first two trials yesterday, with various problems and stakes. It has been the challenge you wanted and the 3rd is closing. Results have been satisfactory, and each of you must have gained some sense of your potential. Be it from my Trial, or caused by your time in the 1st Trial. At least no injuries caused someone to withdraw, which is welcomed. The 2nd Trial has been...” he wants to say something, but Agatha coughs, reminding him wordlessly about something.
Tiberon clears his throat and continues. “Ehm. Fine. Withdraws happen from time to time. It is inadequate, but every Walker has to be strong, sturdy, and unyielding. Trials are for us to see everything. Every one of you is up to our eyes. There are 8 of you, which is an even number. The exciting prospect of the 3rd Trial is called Box Hunt, which is a popular method to trial many regular students, and it is a vision of what a lot of proper Walkers have to do.” He says and turns his palm to Agatha beside him.
She steps forwards and walks sideways before the group. “Now, I will further explain things to you, as the second in command to the last trial. More is to come, but not here. We are in the Travel Pavilion for one reason alone, and that is a simple one. Go out to the Outside, and carry on something specific. Follow me if you dare enough.” she explains the terms in rather vague words and walks further into the hallways.
Some first-timers are suspicious of her words. This includes William who hasn't heard of anything about the 3rd Trial, but from the looks of it, others beside him know more than him. He glances at their faces, and notices most are serious and resolute.
Of course they are. Why wouldn't they dare to come here? If they would chicken out of the last of the 3 Trials, only regrets would follow.
They chose to follow Agatha behind, so William goes along, walking through the corridors of this institution that seems large, but it is surprisingly barren of people and open rooms.
It is some research facility, but rather secluded in the research part. The walls are closed, and the corridors are thin. Locked doors leave no visitors, windowless sides of the walls are empty of all decoration, and dim light of bulbs is on the ceiling that isn't even 3 meters tall.
Still, he walks forth and takes everything with a grain of salt. It also seems that students like Jullieta don't come with them.
Agatha walks side by side with Tiberon, arriving before a spiraling staircase, that goes deep into the earth. It consists of no stairs. It is just angled floor, that goes in a circle downwards, making it seems like a screw.
What a design, William thinks. This goes deep, and it is empty and eerie. Like the bunker structure under the Institution of the Emblems in the Federation. Does everyone think the underground is a fine place for secrets? I hate these places. Always.
The group descends down a couple of dozen floors in eerie silence. No one talks. Not even Rozzante greets William, and even Stark is silent. A weird and stressful atmosphere is among them. William can feel the tension rising, so he remains calm and constantly talks in his head that everything is fine.
He thinks of other things besides this place. Not just the trial, Walker's things, or what even happened yesterday and how he got to his bed. They aren't important thoughts anyway. But thinking of something silly or interesting will ease his mind.
The building on the surface is hiding much deeper facilities than what is clear on the surface. The underground has a clear edge over it, and William sees many improvements in the structure. Metalic pillars and plates go along the walls of this descending hole to the ground, and as he watches it all, the base goes deeper, but Agatha branches to some floor.
They go into the 3rd main floor of this hole, which seems to be part of a huge underground complex. William sees it all.
The place is finally open and isn't one bit worse than the humongous hangars. Walls and places are littered with machinery, pipes, and many cables of who knows what. There are also many thick tubes with water stretching around the ceiling and the walls, rushing water to somewhere. William assumes by their sheer pressure and mass, this is part of the power factory, or at least he thinks that.
He doesn't understand the technology all that much, so he follows in silence. Others do the same, which includes Louise and Stark. The two fortunate youngsters from established Walker families haven't been here before, so this is new to them since this place is off-limits outside of facility workers, and proper Walkers.
The interior leaves few answers about what this place is for. William thinks this may not be some research facility in the end, but he is wrong. Research can be done on anything, and he counts hundreds of workers in many sectors.
Like underground rats... I don't like this place. He reckons in his head.
The name of a Travel Pavilion is weird, but it is here for a reason. It gives some gist of its purpose but what is the travel part? William finds it confusing his common sense. The location of this building isn't fit for travel, and he doesn't even fathom the underground. Not only it is inland, but many other buildings ensure a lack of space.
Will he go to some tunnel and then to some hidden pier? He should be far from them, but he must be hundreds of feet underground, if not more.
And he is wrong in his assumptions again.
As he walks for minutes after minutes, there is no pier, nor a hangar for a plane. to fly out of some hole in the earth. The facility has many hangar-like networks and seems to be cut out of stone, and strengthened by many metallic pillars and thick plates. It is impressive, but most places aren't up to his eyes. They are closed beyond the gates, locks, and thick doors.
Agatha only goes to the place she has to take them to, while what goes around in this place isn't up to the newbies to see. Research of Walkers, machinery, and military. Those 3 are what William guesses take place here, but it is quite hidden.
The only thing that he thinks of, when considering the term travel, is a helicopter. However, nothing indicates this is some form of military division straight away. It is so detached from the surface, it is weird and depressing. All sounds revolve around the walls, and the lack of wind and sun is disturbing. The light of the bulbs around the walls is about the only place that is bright, and it isn't overly energizing.
William has been paying deep attention to the structure of the Academy on the surface, and because of Jullieta, he knows more than if he would be left alone. On the surface, there is no resemblance to the military barracks or anything indicating some buildings, police, or guards of some sort. It seems like a very advanced city that is rare to see in today's age.
Not here, nor yesterday on his travels. It is too peaceful. There is always this seeming serenity and peace. He also noticed that not many Walkers were on the street, and this place is the same. Regular workers are around this place. People. Not Walkers.
There are more normal individuals in general. They are workers and live in this land because a lot of management goes into running this sort of place. From what Jullieta said, the land of the Academy is constantly expanding. New islands are added every once in a while, and new people go in from the Outside every month.
William never heard of this thing before. Recruitment? This is a straight-up chance to go to safety!
He always considered Emblem Academy to be a mysterious place that no one can visit on a whim. It is true, but the way and method to come here isn't that complicated. One has to have a work visa, and some worth to give to the Academy and the land.
It isn't a place for fugitives, or for sorry figures to come. Federation is for that purpose. At least in this part of the world, along with camps and whatnot. William never figured out the politics and what goes around the bases of the organizations. He simply lives and tries to do his best.
Further conversation with Jullieta exposes some additional worries. There are many people living in this place, and a land of this caliber can support hundreds of thousands of lives. Many buildings can also accommodate them, and there are more empty ones, than full ones.
There are no more than 10 000 residents. That isn't a low or high number. William even thinks it is low because the land is luscious, void of apocalypse, and rich. It is a strange position to be in. In today's world to have safety and protection, and don't use it all, is questionable.
William doubts it makes sense. Why Academy doesn't play a proactive role in rescuing more people? There aren't even that many of them anyway, and just camps around Canada aren't worth that many people. If he can make a count, there are millions of lives booming through the Outside, living as best as they can afford.
There is no doubt that Academy can't take them all. William knows it, but there are a lot of clever people. Useful, and those will be glad to work to the death in a safe place, far away from the dangers. But they won't ever get a chance to go here, since they have no chances, and are outside of luck. Academy has some weird policies and internal systems of recruitment. Outside is important to them, similar to the Walkers, and the internal structure of the Academy. Expansion is important too.
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Jullieta adds important clarity to his head, and it is similar to this underground facility. William knows the surface, but here? It is much larger than he thought and it is hiding some purposes and business.
Agatha leads them to a side building and a tunnel in the next few minutes. It is a dull hallway that goes hundreds of feet into the darkness. It is wide, enough for a plane to land there. After a sharp turn, there is another wide hangar, but with lowered ceiling. Doors are on each side of the wall, and above them is a thin light bulb, letting some light shine toward the handles.
The doors are thick and wide and go by numbers and letters. The left ones start with an alphabet, while some have numbers before the letter, while others don't. The right side is the same, but the letters don't repeat at all.
The group enters a door to the left, indicated by the number 3 beside the door, and the letter A.
Inside, the majority of the youngsters are curious about what they just entered, and almost all of them stopped walking. Shock and surprise are clear on their faces. This looks straight out of most of the hideous stories they heard or saw. A straight-up demonic summoning! William also stops in his steps and more than anything else, he is spooked out of his wits.
Blood reeks in the air, and the room is dark with a dim atmosphere straight out of some crypt. The cracks on the ground and walls don't help to assure his mind. This place seems to be ready to collapse at any time.
Then, there is the middle portion of this long destroyed bunker. There are 3 chairs around a crimson circle on the ground, which seems out of some witchcraft book. There is a distinct smell of blood in the air, and blood is there. He sees it. Smells it. It is the circle.
It reeks to his senses, which are sharp, and flexes his body. It is an involuntary reaction he couldn't stop.
Agathe doesn't even have to stop the group before the bloody circle. She turns before the circle and faces the youngsters. The explanation is due, and apart from few, she knows most of them don't know this very special traveling methods that the Academy possesses.
“Sorry for the lack of talking, but showing it is enough of an impression for your heads. This, right here...” she shoves her arms around. “..is a purpose and reason this place is called Travel Pavilion and it is a part of the underground facilities that stretch below the Academy. The travel part depicts this room and other sectors that I am not going to mention right now. It is one of the 4 places in the Academy that provides the use of long-distance teleportation by using Vials, and butlers. Vials are required for this, while there is a factory for them not far away.” She explains, giving quite a surprise to most of Walker's faces.
She acts as if it is natural, but everyone's faces and senses are overwhelmed by the sense of blood that is shaking their heads from the inside out. It isn't some feeble feeling, but resonance to their Emblem, and Arcanite in their bodies. This is no ordinary blood.
Apart from a few, who understand at least something about the Bials and butlers, the majority of them lack the enthusiasm. Most try to be serious and ignore these feelings so they force themselves to take this calmly. At worst, some frown after hearing her explanation. Nothing more.
William calms down too, and he ignores the trembles over his Emblem and shivers through his body. He knows he has seen worse things in life.
After all, this place looks, and is strange and Agatha doesn't even bother explaining the Vials to them. She assumes most know about them since it is a must-have knowledge in the Walker world.
Vials aren't monopolized by the Academy. Most space, or void Walkers are. They are rare, to begin with, and their power makes sure this long-distance teleportation works. The federation has a couple of dozens of them too, while Academy itself has its Butlers, who are all Walkers who can affect these teleportation arrays that have been in research for decades.
Around the world, their premise makes a lot of things easier, and this wide-range teleportation array is working for the betterment of missions and military operations.
“Heheheh.” Stark begins to laugh. He understands why they are here after all. “We are going on a proper Walker's missions Outside, aren't we? This is going to be exciting.”
Agatha ignores his remark by simply continuing with her explanation of this room. “It is indeed a long-distance teleportation, which consists of 3 mandatory Butlers to be present. It's fueled by Vials of various Ranks, but the use of our element is the true reason we are able to send someone up to half a globe away towards the other circle,” she explains.
“That's right,” Tiberon adds behind her. “There will be a mission, and this wide-range teleport works by using two. Never one. One is here, and the other is far away. They act within their influence, and by the power of Vials. On the opposite side of this circle is the start of the 3rd Trial.” he tells and pairs his words with Agatha rather well. For once.
“Not so fast!” Agatha argues. “The circle is important, but before that, there are 3 aspects of the 3rd Trial that I have to explain extensively, so listen well. There will be a significant danger here, unlike the last two. Darks. Outside isn't a great place as most of your know, but the Academy is using this sort of Trial for extended use for many years. Almost all circles Outside are outposts of interest and points where humanity is trying to save. We know what we are talking about when we say we want the best of the best. None of you will die but struggle and proper Walker's life is what this Trial is about. That is a rule we adhere to and this is reality, and not some game. It won't be easy. You can give up, flee or seek refuge in the safe zone of the circle. We will be watching, of course.”
“As for those 3 parts, that sounds rather simple, but not really,” Tiberon says and stops her talk. “Fight, survival, and proper strategy are going to be important. Your tries to secure..”
“What will happen next are 3 things.” Agatha barges into his words again. She is supposed to talk about this. Not him. “1st is pairing the 8 of you into 4 teams. 2nd is going over the mission, and 3rd is your own interpretations of those 2 points. Now,” Agatha shoves a small box from her pocket to her front. “I won't do the pairing this time, so you won't complain about it. Who wants to be the one to take the risk?” she looks at the 8 youngsters in front of her. She is finding this rather funny, but she remains wearing a stern face.
“Sure. I will do it!” Louise steps forward. “This gotta be easy. It's just picking the team, Not a big deal.” He says, and before waiting for more, Agatha places hols the box before him. Louise could tell there are 8 papers, depicting their names most likely.
He stirs them around, appearing focuses for no other reason than waste some time. With the continuous glare from close Agatha, he has no choice but to pick the first one. Coincidently, it's his name. 1 in 8 chance of that happening.
He shuffles his arms and goes for another one. Who will be his teammate? This is pretty important for him, so he goes right at it without wasting time. “Let the god of randomness heed my call!” He cheers inside, picking a paper with closed eyes.
Glancing at it as if he fears hurting the paper, he chuckles upon discovering the surprising name of his teammate. Stark.
“Hey!” He looks at his friend, shoving the papers in his direction. “Seems we are destined to each other in this 3rd Trial after all.”
“Boy...” Agatha mutters behind his back. “Don't waste our time.”
“Alright... Alright. I am sorry. Here we go next.” Louise picks the next ones quite fast. The 3 next teams are done without any effort since it doesn't even mean anything to him.
Teams are following, Onga and Kiryu, Sharie and Celleste, and William and Rozzante. At last, Stark and Louise.
With very little drama, the 4 teams are standing beside one another. Sharie is clearly glad for this to be the case. She is going to be a teammate with Celleste who keeps ignoring her tries to befriend her. This is a perfect chance.
Onga and Kiryu are indifferent to one another, but who knows what their teamwork will be like. Those two never talked much, so nothing major is going to change between them.
As for William, he accepts his teammate without one bit of an issue. He knows Rozzante the best out of the 7. Not in the sense of him, being a Walker, but a personality can speak thousands of words. He will gladly work with Rozzante and he can't wait to see what they will push against them.
Agatha puts the empty box back in her pocket and explains the next course of action. She walks to a wall that is depicting some form of a map. It has seen better days.
Gesturing them to follow, Tiberon and Agatha go to numerous points of interest.
This 3rd Trial consists of a couple of strange events, premises, worths, and missions. Box Hunt, is the name.
The premise is the following: they will be teleported to the Outside, somewhere in North America. A town, not overrun by darks like cockroaches, but it is a place at a stage of long-old abandonment and secured land. The map is the map of the city they will stay in. The circle is in one large building, unlike the smaller ones around some other sectors. Those are refuges and safe zones.
“This right here is the capital building.”Agatha points to the biggest circle. “There will be your start of the trial, while we already have a team of proper Walkers in this location. But!” she ups her voice and glares at the teams. “The moment you go out, it starts. There will be darks, there will be issues, and there will be fights. You won't see others. No help will be for you unless you will need or ask for that. I want you to work in pairs, since it's about right, considering your circumstances and the fact that Walers are no loners. Everyone needs to train, get better and we as Walkers have to stick together.”
“Is it safe? We don't know anything more about this city than its layout.” Sharie asks, appearing quite surprised by this course of action. It seems limited. Do they want them to go right into the territory of the Darks? That could be a recipe for disaster, considering they fought none so far.
“Exactly kids,” Tiberon says, smiling widely like a devil. “Some say that the proper training is worth a year, but a harsh reality can be worth more than that. It is practical and fearless. It is how Walkers are trying to save our planet from those dark fuckers. We must work with what we have. You are included in this too.” He speaks and motives himself more than the youngsters. As he does so, no one complains next.
Tiberon points to the other wall next. “Each team, take one of these each and be careful about them. They are the goal that we will be giving you next,” he says, pointing to the 4 suitcases that are waiting for their purpose.
Made of metallic alloy, they are quite durable military-grade items and crafted with care.
With them, the 8 pairs of eyes go onto each suitcase, and no further information comes their way. Tiberon appears to be thinking of what to talk next, while Agatha looks at the map.
So, William steps forward first and opens the suitcase to see what's up with them. It has not been his choice. Rozzante whispered for him to look, and just a nudge of his voice forces him to do so since he is curious, They both are.
Popping it open, the insides of the suitcase is some sort of mechanism, and glass containers are on one side. The syringe of some sort, tubes, and tanks of liquid is on the other half.
“Vials?” William asks with bewilderment in his voice. The remaining 3 teams reach out for their suitcases as well. Every suitcase has the same content.
Upon their look, Agatha turns around, figuring nothing much from her thinking.
“Alright. The task is the following. Take care of your suitcases. You have 10 empty Vials of no quality inside of them. It is the simplest form of Trial that you can find, and 3rd Trial works in a simple premise. Get them filled by the use of this device.” Agatha explains, which amounts to nothing much since most of them don't even know how setting up the Vials work.
They already know what they are, but creating and working around them isn't up to their knowledge.
Agatha seems to know it, and she is already prepared for that, which she quickly does. She explains how the syringe, mechanism, and suitcase as a whole work. She also explains the process of blood extraction.
From her words, William figures a quick use for the syringe, which is part of the suitcase itself. There are some tubes at the end of the syringe, and pressure will fill the secured Vials after some weird machinery mess. Empty tanks do something too.
All they need to do is to find the blood of the darks, and this suitcase will carry on its purpose and create the Vials.
This leaves some of the teams completely speechless.
This Trial is countless times harder than the last one. And not by a small margin. Forget the 1st or 2nd one. This is like expecting a chess player inexperienced with the figurines on the board, to go against the grandmaster of the game.
Though, this is what Academy wants, and it isn't a deadly case of goings against the monsters that are outside of their vision. That is, for some of them, since one of the group, appears to be unfazed by this task.
Stark and Louise check the tube, and the content of the suitcase, before shutting it up. Stark glares at Agatha. “There is usually some information to provide to any Walker. We may be young, but the Trial is named a Trial for a reason. Purpose and prose. What Darks are there? How strong? Rank? Which perimeter of the city is most dangerous and needs some attention? What about the safe zone or time limits?” He asks many of his most important questions, but this time, he speaks for everyone's sake, even if he doesn't mean it.