“It seems... hard to contain? It is Annihilation... so” William tries his best to answer. “That means.. destroying things. Destroying is a sign of chaos, so I guess it is quite strong in combat?” William guesses from deep pondering, which is so simple that Mi-Yung can't help him but give him a questionable look.
“That's quite right, even though you can word it better. Yet, it's also close to the undeniable truth. It's incredibly powerful in fights, but managing that power is a true challenge in itself. It depends on the user§s System, Emblem, or Skills. Yours are... peculiar, but nothing strange. It's on par with what I would expect from the first Skills. You can even have new ones with future Rank-Ups, comprehensions, fusions, or figuring out something out of your Vectors.“
“Wait what? You can create your own Skills?” William looks at her in surprise, almost forgetting to continue with the breakfast.
”Of course. Versatility is quite important for Walkers, and it's a source of many things. Vectors are the best at it out of any Type. Different, but the first example is my Skill, Allseer Eyes, which I got after becoming a Rank 3. I kept with its path until the bitter end until it's now pretty powerful. Not many would do the same in my situation.” Mi-Yung explains, after ending her chewing.
“I see... So that can be the case too... That is interesting indeed.”
“Rightfully so. Anyway. That was my wonder and your answers. Since you don't know your own little mysteries, that means those mysteries can wait. I want you to keep an eye on them from now on, and if something amiss will happen, contact me and I will help you no matter what. Now, I will explain a few things to you that you need to understand in the upcoming 10th day from now.”
“For the Trials?”
“Yes. If you want your chances to be better, comprehending more things about the System can lead to drastic benefits. The Skills and familiarity with the Emblem itself need some care as well. Can you manage it?”
“... Of course. I am not afraid.”
“Are you lying to yourself or to me?” Mi-Yung tells with a touch of obvious sarcasm.
“B-both? I will do it, alright? I swore to myself that I will. Getting the Emblem right? I will do that first since the Library is no longer something I need, am I right?”
“Not quite that. Since you reached Rank 1, you will get your own card as Kaufman mentioned as well. Certain openings for the special room are available there for you since it's not in the regular procedure of the Library. It's hidden with the name, 1st Room. It isn't like the one Kaufman showed you. That one is all about the things that a fresh Walker needs to know, but it is just a piece of knowledge. Experiencing it yourself is much better, in my opinion. That's why the Academy or the Federation will send you a teacher, or some Walker that will make sure you are somewhat ready for the Trial. Every attendee of the Trials, which is confirmed by the member of the Academy in the Examination will have this chance. It isn't that fair to go into the Trials so clueless, so 10 days is a basic to get some familiarity down.”
“Teacher? For 10 days? That is rather a small number of days. Am I going to have one as well? Who?” William's interest has been piqued, as the idea of a Walker teacher sounds indeed interesting.
“No idea. I wanted to do that myself if I am honest, but I doubt so, because of my boss... who... Well. It is complicated, so don't be too afraid to be a bit forceful with your Emblem. You should also remember to be careful about your System first and foremost. That includes the Element of yours right afterward. One thing at a time, understood?” She tells with a glaring look, that can't be denied, or questioned. William simply nods, as it's enough to let her continue.
“Mindful Eyes is the major importance in these steps. So is the calm mind that had to go along with it. Every new comprehension can lead to certain benefits and the System as a whole may be slowly revealed to you. It can take a long time, so don't fret about some slow progress. That's normal. I assume your tries in comprehending your Type of Emblem can lead to discovering your Mutant type. That is somewhat important, as I have no idea what it could be. It seems... No... I don't want to guess.”
“That's fine. I feel like this emblem of mine is already great. What about other things apart from that?”
Sighting, Mi-Yung knows quite well what she should tell, and the Dual Type that she is aware of is nothing but more variable and something else as well... Not much for her, but William can have trouble with that.
”There are more skills, certain attributes, and releases of some restrains in your System. Try to do so in 2 days, regardless of your teacher's remarks. After that, make sure to get familiar with the Emblem powers. Especially the Skills and their use. Getting some to Rank 1 can be achieved in Rank 1, so try your best. Also, one of the more important things about this is your Type, Vectors. Making a weapon by shaping a new Mold from your Touch of Vectors should be a good beginning practice. That, or your claw will suffice too for now. Then, if you will have time and experience, move to comprehend the Skills themselves. Reaching Rank 1 can prove to be a great way to get stronger quickly. Using them is something that you need to learn as well. That is where the Mindless Eyes come to play a major part. Understand?” Mi-Yung ends her long monologue of explaining, and ends up gulping down a cup of fruit juice.
William glares at her with a speechless glance, as the content of her words... is simply put, a bit overwhelming for his current brain.
Wrong thoughts.
That is exactly what he needs to hear, but his mind isn't ready for that. It needs to change and get stronger. His entire perception of the world will have to change if he wants to continue being who he is about to become.
Even if he dislikes it, or not.
“Understand?” she asks again because her words apparently stunned this new Walker.
“I guess I need to figure out being a Rank 1 first?”
“Of course. What else?” Mi-Yung answers with an obvious chuckle. “Or, are you expecting to go straight to Rank 2 in a few weeks? I know that it does happen sometimes, but you have no experience with that.”
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“I know that. You don't have to remain me I had no one to raise me to become a great walker, you know? In fact, I... don't even know how to reach Rank 2, even when the status sheet tells percentages for the Rank up.” William tells her his piece of mind, as he couldn't help but feel this way.
“It already does? You haven't told me that in the institution.”
“I forgot...” he dismissed his words, and even Mi-Yung things nothing of that, apart from falling silent for different reasons. She is thinking about the possible ways her complex choice of words could affect his choices. She wants to talk as much as she can because she has a hunch, she won't be here for him, like usual. The fact that the upcoming teacher is a guaranteed thing that always happens, she is sure to not see William as much in the upcoming days.
As for what she knows about the Rank ups, they can vary a lot, and so does the showing of Walker's ways to do so. It's all about the System, and the various thing that can appear inside of it. Some had straight-up missions according to the sheets of the System. While accomplishing this, the Walker will achieve the Rank Up. Yet, she knows there are different ways one could achieve that, and it all revolves around many complex matters.
Examples she thinks about are, percentages, experiences in the form of numbers, sliders, lists of things to do, and a few others that she couldn't recall.
The thing that makes it a bit more confusing for her, is that William says he can see it right now, in his Status sheet. That shouldn't happen, while the progress and possible things regarding the Rank up are revealed from comprehending the System through Mindful Eyes. It makes sense because it's common sense. It could mean that the System regarded William as already accomplished enough to meet the standard to see the Status of the Rank-Up possibilities. However, not enough to see everything. This puzzles her.
“Y-you are weird one... I have no idea.” She mutters at last, while she couldn't figure it out even with her vast amount of knowledge.
“T-thanks, I guess.” he slips his hand forward and takes the last toast.
“Do what I told you. I will go to work now, while you aren't part of any organization, so your freedom is still yours. Isn't it great?” Mi-Yung changes her eyes back, while the flow of the tiniest Vectors disappears to the unknown. Most likely into her body, as it's part of her Emblem too.
She looks normal, even after this whole interrogation, which felt a bit strange to William. For some reason, he views Mi-Yung as a guardian, while being an orphan... No. No. He doesn't think of her as that.
“Great... Sure, it's something that I always wanted.” William chuckles in agreement. He has some trouble remembering everything she told him just now, but he will figure it out one way or another. At least he took everything in and remembering the most important parts shouldn't be a problem.
Mi-Yung gets up from her seat, and before leaving, she says her last thing.
“Be glad at this chance... If you would be below the affinity of 70, you wouldn't get this treatment at all. Your teacher, or things around the way of Academy, is a privilege thanks for your talent and your father.”
“Again, the word of my father? Tsch... I swear it ends with him every freaking time.” William thinks to himself, as he watches her disappear beyond the door. He didn't even have a chance to complain about her choice of mentioning him again.
Luke left an hour prior to Mi-Yung, so William didn't meet him this time around. For the time being, he has his own freedom. That doesn't change much, since he does so for the last 6 weeks. This couldn't help but surprise him, but it isn't so bad.
“Comprehending the System... easily done.” he chuckles as if he told the easiest thing in the world.
Getting from the chair, he returns to his room, but before doing so, Mi-Yung suddenly reappears before the main door, which surprises him a little.
“Careful about your Emblem though. Don't destroy anything and understanding the Annihilation isn't that great to do in Rank 1. The best thing you could do was to go to the library, which has special rooms for young walkers such as yourself. There, you can destroy whatever you want, but... Nevermind... Sorry to bother you.” She quickly blurts out her massage, as William glances at her in surprise, hardly discerning her words.
Before having a chance to answer, she slams the door before his surprised face.
“T-thanks I guess,” he mutters as he is once again, alone. Then he reaches out to his room, which is in the hallway, in the opposite section and the further corner from theirs.
Inside, on the table, he sees something that he didn't notice when he woke up.
A change of clothes, with a small note.
Congratulation on becoming a Walker. Those are my old military clothes. Hopefully, they fit your weak-ass, William. Good luck figuring out your life from here on. Luke.
“Wow. That is... something. Quite a surprise.” William grabs the clothes, while the note slips away. There are a couple of long sleeve shirts, made of nicer material than the previous one. It looked a bit loose to his standard, but after having a moment of change, it fit him quite well. It has a deep purple color, while almost looking dark black than anything else. There are also some shorts, regular trousers, and hard military-grade trousers.
“They are different than my previous one, but great nonetheless. I am broke after all, so no need to be polite about taking this.” he assumes, and feels great about it.
Looking at the mirror in the bathroom, he sees a different kind of boy, who seems different from before.
Dark hair goes along with the new set of clothes. It even has deep pockets around the hips and the back of the butt.
“Oh? What is this?” He asks himself, as he pulls something from his pocket.
Papers fold into a square, while a small piece of paper sticks from it. Taking it out, William glances at the small paper and laughs at it.
On it is.
“Don't you dare to destroy it! It's stuff I had to persuade him to discard some time ago. Here are some credits I don't mind losing. Take care. Mi-Yung.
“Feels great to have people who care about you. I am glad to meet her and... Luke too, I suppose.” William smiles while looking at the bunch of credits that is the true purpose of this note. In truth, Mi-Yung put that in before leaving, so William wouldn't suffer the consequences of having any income.
“I don't want to destroy things... they just do, because of my Emblem,” William mumbles underneath his chin, and before long, his words become intangible. His right hand is still open to see since he has to pull his sleeve to his elbow. He fears it will be destroyed because of the swirling Vectors that are partially made of the Annihilating Element.
“I swear... How am I supposed to hide this now? It was so easy before and now, I am like a walking target to the Dark, and people who don't like Walkers.”
Sighting, he opts to use the floor for his training, which Mi-Yung told him about. Comprehending the Status sheet regarding his Emblem? Easy work, since he already tried so this morning, and the last day was quite full of that too.
If he doesn't succeed with the Type today, tomorrow for sure.
Glancing at his watch, it tells him the time of 1 PM. Already in the middle of the normal day, he hopes to achieve as best as he could with that training time.
He doesn't find it that hard remain indoors for 10 days if his chances of joining the Academy increase. “Wait. Wait... should I be so excited about it? Mi-Yung talked about it as if it's dangerous and deadly!” William laments after activating his System and Emblem. Making sure the floor isn't damaged from his cross-legged position, he remembers her recollected her words multiple times.
Hesitant, he forced those thoughts out, as he outs for the focusing on the task at hand. This time, he faces the System from a seated position, and not a laying one. Taking a better look at this, the Status sheet looks the same, and it never changed. Although, there is one thing in the middle.
Right, apart from two special words, that is Status and Health, which tell him a few different words this time around.
Apprehensive but in good condition.
Initiating the Awakening, but...
Looking at those two sentences, he even notices the last 3 dots in the Health row. “Is the system always changing this word depending on my mental state, or my physical state? As for that health, is it some joke?” he wonders, but once again, he is rather focusing on more important things.
That will be his Mindful Eyes training and comprehending as many things as he could.