Stark asks important questions and he stands firm in his beliefs. He looks at Agatha and expects her answer. This time, she doesn't ignore him. Instead, she is glad someone voices these important topics, but she still hoped someone else would catch on to it sooner.
With Stark and his status, she isn't surprised by him. She would expect nothing else from the son of Prime Hunter and someone fit for the role of a Walker.
Someone else who would question her would put a small smile on her face. She walks forward, and stands a few steps before Stark, appearing appreciative of his attitude regardless of her lost hope.
“Those are right questions, and something you all should ask your superiors when doing any sort of mission. Keep it in mind in the future regardless of this trial or not. Vials are also important, and something everyone should keep in mind. Missions or not, care and safety are mandatory unless the mission is very important. Dead Walker is just dead weight. Useless.” She pauses and moves beside Stark again to take a walk before the rest of the teams.
“Retrieval of darks' blood is one of the most common missions that the Academy provides to the majority of the organization. Think of it as adhering to truth, and the Vials are critical for us or yours. More of that will come to you later. The Vials are currently Academy's forte and that is important to all Walkers regardless of where they come from. It is hope. Advancement. Resources. In terms of the Trials that you'll have, it is a long tradition for first-timers to do this sort of mission, so think of it as having the first dive into the real world of Walkers. Understood?”
Her words don't calm the teams all that much, but it sure gives them information that some know, and others do not. Stark is among those that know what to expect, so he still stares at her, since she is yet to answer his questions.
“Righ. I will make it quick and easy for you.” Agatha says and turns back to the map after giving Stark a weird look. “This is the city in the question of your upcoming day or two of the 3rd Trial. There is no particular time limit, but 2 days is the usual route to get this going, let the Trial be what it should be, and for you to figure it out. Depending on the results and everything, you have 10 Vials, so it shouldn't take that long. This circle in this building is your primary safe zone and no matter what, darks won't enter it. As for the others, small zones are mere points of interest that shouldn't have any nests. It is safe to rest there, but it isn't the rule, nor something you should trust. Darks are everywhere, monitored, but it isn't the rule to trust the Darks. One should be careful at all times.” she points to the red mark. “Setting is various. The circle is in the remains of an old library, and streets, and most buildings aren't usable because they are in a desolate state. There are many streets, sectors of the city, and even some parks. Overall, the city's layout hardly changed after more than a century.”
“As for the Darks in question...” Tiberon adds and this time, Agatha doesn't complain. “There are none above Rank 3 per our agreement to make you a passable challenge. Rank 4s would add too horrid of a challenge, even though I would like it. Anyway, the 3s are already enough, considering the possibilities of this whole city. It is a natural place, with a natural flow. It is the real deal. It is under our watch and has been specifically tuned this way for the Trial to proceed well. It is an almost perfect depiction of the real situation Outside since it is Outside. I won't explain more about the darks any further, but every step of yours will be monitored by groups of Walkers, and darks alike.”
“Understand so far? The mere knowledge of Dark is important. That is good to ask. Primary, we want you to take the steps on your own, and figure the enemies the same. That is why we won't add the information about the enemies.” Agatha says, but no answer comes her way. It seems the teams aren't that talkative, even with Stark included, which is much more questionable than weird.
Stak sights, figuring out pretty much all that he needs to know. Darks are whatever they can be, as long as they aren't the rare and unique type of Rank 3s.
However, the context of the mission matters when it matters, and the bare motion of no more than Rank 3 is enough for him to shut up. Her note of 2 days and 10 Vials is also something he takes in mind. It makes sense to him because of his upbringing. In the time before his teens, up until now, he went through all kinds of military preparation, drills, and care around his father or his organization.
Because of that, it isn't surprising that his confidence isn't lacking. It is also indicative of a much harsher reality that he endures since he wants to be independent and away from his influence. He doesn't want to be a fool son of a perfect father. Not anymore.
Stark is free from his father's regime, and he will find success in these measly Trials with flying colors.
In fact, he doesn't think much of this Box Hunt all that much. He heard about it long ago, and he saw plenty of darks in his life, along the workflow of proper Walkers. Be it by his sheer confidence, or lack of fearfulness, he is ready to go at it.
But so what if he is that good at going with such a flow of information? Others around him haven't been this lucky, and Agatha and Tiberon know that.
That is why in the following 10 minutes, Agatha chose to go over further information about the city. It is much larger than the lands of the Academy itself, and she also adds other important factors they need to know. It is a lesson that everyone listens with an attentive mind. This will go further into their lives and future, giving them an edge because they are talents worthy of the Emblem Academy.
It is the kind of information that will be always useful since it is coming from the Academy and Walkers who know how to teach others. At last, that is how it should be.
This city on the map used to be a place for millions of lives at some point in time, yet now, it is nothing but ruins. The streets are still notable, along with many points of interest and buildings that keep their shape and nothing else.
More than 100 years passed since the time life thrived in such places. William recognizes that kind of perspective, yet he has never been in such a city before. He has seen ruins of such calibers before and even scavaged in the outskirts of such place. But taking a step in? Hunt? He knows he wouldn't have a chance. Not as a Rank 0 Walker that he used to be.
Not anymore. He is the hunter now!
It's even surprising that there are no Rank 4 and above Darks, which is a strange claim to tell, considering a place like this should have some notices of powerful Darks.
Dark Tides and other waves of Dark Fog need a leader figure. Alpha. A Rank 3 isn't that. Only those above the Rank 5 have the power and might to do something like take the leadership of lower rank Darks. It is a known fact.
Stark is questioning that idea since it is difficult to even proclaim that there are no more Rank 4 or above in this city. It is doubtful, and the sole reason Agatha and Tiberon guarantee there aren't any is because of the work of the Academy. They either killed them off or drove them away before this 3rd Trial.
That is the sole reason that he finds reasonable.
Cities of this caliber are the perfect place for the Darks to hide, and the mass, structure, and sides, provide answers to many other things. The city must have many ways to other cities, and they carry the dark lines and roads that connect many driving factors of the apocalypse.
They carry on their destruction, hunts, and time which is often described in a calculative, yet chaotic manner. Darks flow and live in an uncertain manner, but some things are truths as laws.
Those are numbers. They stick together and form Dark Tides which are known factors that destroyed the majority of the world. The Ranks of the Darks don't matter. Almost all of them form certain tides that can go endlessly for destruction, locations, and distances. They are monstrosities, and their numbers establish the end and dangers for all living beings.
It is a web. The cities of the past provide shelter and a place that the Dark takes for themselves.
There must be a lot of hidden nests underground, and in the buildings that the teams see from the map. That reeks of blood, terror, and insanity. They home the darks and their territory isn't something that humans should breach. It is a basic sense, and privilege that Walkers have. It is a game of hunters, so it is to kill or be killed. Simple as that.
It is a rule that every one of the first-timers has to get into their heads. Some more than others. Some less.
For all that they know, there could be crevices and tombs of the nests underneath the city.
Though, it is as Agatha told them. Any major troubles have been taken care of a long time ago. The Academy got rid of all potential issues of high-rank darks in the proximity of this city, and there are teams to ensure the constant surveillance of this trial place at all times. None want any trouble. This city is a major training ground that is important for the Academy.
A lot of resources go into this, and it is for Walkers alone to even think of stepping in.
What Agatha doesn't mention is the full number of them around this perimeter, which consists of dozens or so of Walkers of the Academy. No one really wants to see any kind of issue in the Awakened Trials, which are a big deal in the Academy.
William carefully listens to all that knowledge that Agatha tells, while the rest of them do the same. After the end of the explanation, he figures he will ask something too.
“Excuse me.” he steps forward. “Since it's like this, I am curious about something regarding the past Trial, Miss A.” He asks politely, causing Agatha to nod in an approving manner. “What were the previous stakes and rules in the last Trial? What about the first-timers of the last batch and how was their success rate in this Trial?” William asks 3 kinds of questions, sounding serious like Stark did before. He is curious and honest and doesn't need Rozzante to push and hype him again.
He is taking them out of his head, and honest worth of them is met with Agatha's appreciation.
Those are once more, important questions.
Most of the teams aren't curious about the past trial, and it is understandable for their own sake. But if asked, they would lie if they aren't curious about the students they fought in the 1st Trial. As far as the memories go, they saw them, fought them, and struggled under their Emblems and experiences alike. There are more than 10 of them, which means there has been a stronger batch of first-timers before.
William is the first to notice it after hearing a full rundown of the 3rd Trial that Agatha spoke of in extensive explanation.
Smiling upon hearing his questions, Agatha thinks for a second before coming to a quick and reasonable answer.
“Past, huh? There are some times when the talents truly shine. In fact, the forceful Awakening isn't something unfamiliar and it is under the constant watch of the Academy, and Federation. Many other organizations take care of it too and send important youths to the Federation for that. For example, we don't know the right time for the Awakening to occur. No one does. It is very subjective to the individuals, and some say it stems from the Rank 0 potential.”
“Rank 0?” William mumbles.
“General consensus of age limits is around 15 to 16 years old. Rank 0 is questionable in worth, but age is a finite number. It is a great start. Because of the various changes in the years, the potential recruits and youths can wait for the next start of the Examination, or the one after that, or before that. It also involves the Awakening too.”
“But what about the last one?” William asks after figuring out that Agatha can be very wordy in her explanations. He doesn't mind that fact that much. He can carry on his listening without a problem and learn what he wants.
Agatha answers that without a problem.
“The last one was one of the biggest and most successful in recent Awekenings, and Academy Trials had good results because of that. It means there was a higher amount of patient youths, or there was a matter of timing. That ended up in the 57th batch of students, while the 8 of you have all the potential to do a similar thing. All of you have a talent for that, but as you've heard, the 3rd Trial decides nothing much. It is up to you to try to impress us. Show us your path and solve this mission. Oh, and the stakes have been similar to yours. Box Hunt, and the 10 Vials too. But their number was higher at the start. At 12.” She explains what she wants and moves William's mind quite a bit.
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
He likes her answers, and even the way that goes beyond what he wants, so he thanks her in return.
This follows the end of the explanations, which Agatha finishes on a good page.
It is about what should have been told, so she makes the whole 4 teams stand in the circle next. They will go all far away in one swoop. The extensive lesson guarantees the teams are prepared and ready. They had enough time to learn their purpose, 4 suitcases are in their possession, and the map should be in their head.
From the door, another 2 butlers appear. One man and one woman wearing a military uniform similar to Tiberon. Their Rank must be high but it isn't clear from their attire. There are no medals in today's age. They are useless.
Each of them takes their side in a triangular formation around the bloody circle.
“What in the world... This truly seems straight out of some nasty stuff from the books.” William laments inside his head, noticing how this all appears more bizarre than real and fine.
Agatha takes her stance too, and she and the 2 butlers summon their Emblem without a word. The way it seems is rather vague, weird, and indistinct, appearing completely different from anything William has seen before. The elements and activation are very dull, and subtle. A lot like wind scattering around their bodies.
William doesn't see their Emblems, nor he could tell what type of Walker they are. Butlers could be whatever is deemed worthy of their status. They can have Vectors and Elements or be unique-based Mutants. The requirement is the general perception of space powers or supplementary kind of abilities that butlers have.
Everything else doesn't matter, and because of that, many powers could vary and be weird.
The 3 Walkers that William is looking at have nothing much to them at first glance. The power that washes over their bodies is very neat and gentle. Wind. He can't see it as anything else, but it is far from that.
Then, each butler takes a Vial of red liquid out of their pockets and lifts them above their free hand. They don't crush it but let the thick blood flow onto their hand and something weird happens next. The blood intercepts the flow of Space Arcanite under their Emblems, and the space turns into a struggling storm.
William sees how their bodies tremble, bloodied marks spread over their hands and the blood goes into their bodies.
Some form of formless pressure is following the whole bunker, and not just the circle. It is the pressure of a wild storm, and the 8 Rank 1 Walkers shudder in their steps. They feel something pressing down their necks and their bodies feel tense and heavy. It isn't enough to fall to the ground, but it isn't that far from that.
In another couple dozen seconds, from each butler's hands, bloody waves shoot in a swirling motion. Everything then surrounds the flow of their Arcanite, which follows some strange space principle and folds everything in a circle.
In envelops all 4 teams, each butler and Tiberon also step inside the circle. The bloody circle shakes, takes the full power of these storms, and all of them form and connect together. It goes through the butlers' bodies, not accordingly with the ground or the Vials. Everything is work of the research and power Walkers possesses. It is a lot like made-up magic.
William feels tension in his hand, growing pain, and throbbing nudges from inside of his arm. By some point, his fingers start to tremble on their own, and muscles around his forearm twist. He ignores it since he watches this sight before him in astonishment.
The mixture of blood and seen-through waves of space makes a sphere around the circle, which spins and gradually becomes smaller.
It completely ceases to appear in a couple of seconds, wrapping his face before his vision blinks to darkness. The globe phases out of existence, and something very heavy hits his head.
In a blink, or much faster than that, the 4 teams of 8 disappear from the bunker, academy, and this part of the world itself. Their bodies and mind couldn't do a thing. They lose their minds, and nothing is for their eyes to see, or mind to care.
For them, it is as if they blinked, and fell asleep until they look at different surroundings altogether.
Everyone is laying on the ground with a headache and strain in their body that disallows them to know up from above.
Thankfully, it calms down in no time, when their head and bodies adjust to the new ground.
8 Challengers of the 3rd Trial are in a worn-down place with no one around them. None of them knows for how long they were unconscious. It's a rather eerie feeling to wake up like this, and in fact, the place of this library appears almost too weird for some of them, while not so much for others.
William lay on the ground, right in the middle of the bloody circle that presses on his cheek. He jolts his head sideways, growls, and sits up. He notices only 7 other youngsters around him, and neither of them feels any better than him. The setting around him is the least bothersome for him, and the lingering smell of blood is also out of his mind. Instead, there is the smell of age and destruction in the air.
He can't put it into words. It is a mixture of being in the middle of a decaying forest, but he is in a building that is almost half open to the outside, revealing more buildings of the city in ruins. Walls are not only cracked, but most of them are missing for who knows how many decades. From the looks of it, he guesses this city has already been in this state for a century.
He doesn't trust his guesses, however.
Even though he has never been in such a big city before, the Federation and the Academy leave his head clear. He has scavenging experiences behind him too. A time when he learned the survival skills of the Outsiders while hiding the fact he is a Walker. It almost cost him his life and others, but a group of adults knows how to survive. If someone dares to scavenge, there should be confidence, otherwise, they should stay in the camps forever.
This place is nothing too bad, but nothing too great either.
William is soon shaken away from his reverie by Rozzante, who motions him to get moving and grabs the suitcase. He seems less concerned about this teleportation, this place, or the feeling of this... weird circle.
William wonders if he saw it before, but he can't remember.
Getting on their feet, all teams have their target, motives, suitcases, and directions. Agatha made sure to talk to them about their mission. Although they are nowhere around them, William looks for any resemblance to human touch, but he sees nothing. No Tiberon. No Agatha. No one.
3 butlers and Tiberon leave them on their own and are currently somewhere else.
Teams have a simple prose. Each has its respective east, west, north, and south sections of the city to travel through, so neither team will stumble upon the other. It is a race, albeit William has yet to pay it much attention. The mere point of 2 days has been mentioned, so he isn't in a hurry.
But someone is.
William follows Rozzante outside while waving at the others in good spirits. But they ignore his attempts to gift them some luck and a better mood than this city has to offer.
So much for his trying to let them a piece of his luck. It is their bad. He still has his bag around his shoulder, but it is smaller than usual. A metallic suitcase is in his left hand.
“What do you think about this place, Rozzante?” he asks, following Rozzante along, who looks at his surroundings with much fiercer passion than he should. They are alone and go outside the library.
“It's funny actually,” he replies, smirking in return. “In fact, you appear unfazed as I hoped for, apart from the earlier shock on your face, that is.”
“Well excuse me for recalling the past, think of the weird teleportation kind of magic that seems straight out of some fantasy. Never heard of it, you see? You are a weirdo instead since you look calm as if you knew it. What is up with that?”
“I heard and seen it enough and met some Space Walkers Outside too. I think you should know why. Tribal life is weird out there in Europe, but it is nowhere near weird to give me no time to not know about it. I had Walkers teach me too. Give knowledge to the next generation. It is tough, and some teleportations are behind me. This is just... stronger kind of teleport. It pushed against our heads and crashed against our Emblem. That is why we were so out of our heads. A tidal wave of... Rank 6 or 7 Vials hit us too, and Space is a weird thing, isn't it? I don't know much about it myself, but I am trying.”
William looks at him, suspicious and questioning his words. But then, he remembers how Rozante talked about his life yesterday, and he was kind of open about it out of respect for Walkers in general. William has to accept that Rozzante is one of those, that knows what's up with a lot of things, yet one thing is clear. He is younger than him, but not by much. They both endured their hardship in different ways Outside, and their past is important like the future.
“Fine. Let's forget that topic then.” William says. “What's your deal with these words then? Do you think this is going to be a walk in the park? Have you fought with the Dark so well before to be this comfortable?”
“What if I told you I did?” He answers in question. “Would you believe that?”
His questions stun William, who appears hesitant to agree, even though he trusts this boy quite a bit, but the fight as a young Walker of Rank 0 isn't that easy. He never got so lucky to manage it himself.
In the end, he tends to agree with most things, and this is no different. “Sure. You're a Mutant as you said. Is Rank 0 different from Vectors?”
“Heh. Of course, it is. I will talk about it to you later when fights and so on will start. We are a team and the fighting in steady steps is for both of us together. Each of us has to know the other's moves, and powers. No mishaps will happen then, agreed?” Rozzante asks with a smile and William nods.
“First, let's see what's the deal with this city and remember our mission. That is what I've learned through my living too. We have 2 days to be done with those Vials, so this is going to be interesting because the time frame, enemies, and mission aren't that small. I've never worked with those suitcases as well. They seem new and bigger than the kinds I remember.” he points at William's left hand and wonders if this thing is some new stuff the Academy is testing right now.
William has no idea what to make out of it too.
“Anyway, we don't have any resources with us, so I wonder what are we supposed to do with hunger or thirst? Securing a food sou...” Rozzante says, leaning beside a wall to see what's behind it, and when he turns, he stops speaking.
He glances back at William, who, to his surprise, gulps a mouthful of water from his bamboo bottle. “What the hell? Where did you get it?” Rozzante shouts, appearing quite surprised.
“I have my bag, while you have nothing. Do you have no clue about having some emergency supplies? Seems you haven't learned much Outside.” he scrutinizes Rozzante's face, taking just a few sips before putting the bottle back into his bag.
“I didn't know the Trial is supposed to be like like this. 2 days... 1st and 2nd took just a few hours.” Much to his embarrassment, Rozzanat confesses his blunder.
“Few hours and half days is a steep difference,” William argues. He doesn't mind some sharing, so he will toss him water or some snacks he has in his back for the worst-case scenario. Outside, the food source is important. That is a lesson he learned long ago then some fighting for survival.
In the following minutes, the pair move a few streets outside of the destroyed library. They both look around, and everything is desolate and destroyed. This is the prime city of the apocalypse, and nature has long taken over the city. Grass, moss, trees, and fauna gather, and that is a surprising fact.
Most often than not, the places with a lot of Darks are void of nature. Darks are corrosive to nature and all living, so seeing this greenery surprises both of the youths. There is nothing intact in the buildings' livable conditions, and the grass and trees are everywhere.
It's about the average sight of what an apocalypse can offer. There isn't even that much to walk up to, and no souls are around. No animals. It is a ghost city and the silence is eerie and windless.
William sees a city of this kind for the first time this closely. He likes what he sees. It is about the history that humans had prior to the apocalypse, and he wonders what life used to be like when this city was alive.
Nature is unyielding, but the Darks are savage and uncaring about that. Neither of them is stronger than the remains of humanity anyway and it shows in this city all too well.
Even though the Academy is subjecting this city as one of the core objects of their influence, there are countless troubles in claiming a city of this size.
William walks without care for his surroundings, appearing completely different from Rozzante who looks to be much more serious and experienced in this than him. The face is serious and also nervous. Williams doesn't know why, but he is too busy caring about his sightseeing than his internal troubles.
A couple of times, Rozzante even scowls at him for being this carefree. This ends after William turns more serious when the first motions of the Darks appear from weird screeching sounds.
It echoes in the silence of this city, and neither knows how far it is. It could be from other parts of the city, and not their quarter.
Rozzante explains to him his reasoning for being careful since that's what's up when undergoing this sort of mission. William's argument put his mouth shut since this isn't about surveillance, or being careful. This is their hunt, fighting chance, and opportunity to learn from the Darks and this Box Hunt.
“Listen...” Rozzante says, pressing his brows together. “I bet this is much more important than what you assume. Think for a second how threatening this city can be. Can't you see the residues of the Dark Fog around some buildings over there?” he points to the distant skyscraper, or at least what is left of it. Dark Fog surrounds the upper floors and dark moss and fauna scatter around it like a tree. That is a clear indication of a nest. It may be abandoned because of the Academy, but the Dark Fog lingers around it anyway, so that is a point of danger.
That fog is not alone, and a few more buildings have it as well, but in a less notable manner. More screeches echo around, and some are getting closer.
It doesn't seem to bother William all that much, since he is itching for a fight of his life. He can finally smack some Darks! Rozzante isn't too happy to see William like that, and for once, he is the reasonable one. It comes from the position he grew in, so that may be why.
William follows his finger and other buildings as well. The signs of the Darks are clear by the Dark Fog and overall decay that is black, or purplish around the buildings, which corrupts them and fauna alike.
“Sure. I can see that all, and I am also well aware we are being watched by some Darks, or... are those people too? There are at least 6 weird things... watching us as we speak. Maybe more, considering the strangeness of the Butlers.” William says, surprising Rozzante with his unfounded guesses.
He can't tell the number, threat, or them directly, but William isn't lying about it. He at least has his hunches from the use of Velvet Eyes on his face. It adds some important touches, and their use seems very comforting to his mind. It can be active without much care about his Emblem. It is part of his physique after all. His body.
“Huh? 6? Alright. I won't argue, but we will work as a team, right? You went through some military training, haven't you?” Rozzante asks, not noticing the sheen of his eyes.
“Little bit of training. Sure. But Canadian borders aren't really fit for such a commitment. Not for a kid anyway. Drills and knowledge are that, but I survived in a different way than you, so what about you? Any training? Darks are around the corner.” William says with a smirk on his face.