With the System gone, William is ready to initiate the Touch of Vectors training that he tried on yesterday.
He feels the tingling sensation of excitement, while the results should be quite interesting. At least he feels this way since he doesn't want to stop with his improvements and feelings of progression.
Putting his right hand with Claw facing his head, he goes through the brief method of figuring out the Touch of Vectors in his fingers.
Those clawed fingers of his are his extension, and William feels them much better than yesterday. He is rested, and in prime condition for any training, and he is even surprised by this fact himself.
He thought he wouldn't be able to train at all, but here he is, going through the same motion as yesterday while feeling no exhaustion or numbness. In fact, the whole summoning of the Vectors is kind of good, and not as straining as before.
However, Roman already explained to him the cause. The slow-improving Vectors will continue improving in the upcoming weeks and months. This is something that every new walker goes through since the part of going from Rank 0 to Rank 1 is the very beginning of going beyond the means of humans. Anything after that is multiplicative to the Ranks, making the vast amount of variables, and things that a Walker has unique to each other.
One could have the power of the army at the tip of their fingertips. That's how massive the gaps between regular humans are, and Walkers who are the runners of this new world.
William, in a seated position, takes a deep breath and concentrates on his pinky the same way as yesterday. He will make it smooth with less effort, and time than previously. That is at least his task at the moment and he goes for it.
It all starts with the Mindless Eye, and then, it goes towards something else. The Vectors are beginning to feel more responsive, while they are part of his being, so that should make sense.
The Touch of Vectors is meant to touch upon the fundamental essence of the Arcanite, but in fact, this is just a second-rate Skill about control. The true matter of Skill that is meant for control is something else. It's named Touch of Arcanite, but William doesn't know about it, nor should be worried about it. For now, he has a plethora of worries, and his mind doesn't care about possibilities, but facts.
The Vectors within his hand are etching their meaning towards his mind, following the call of his control. Like the nail that is in each finger, William is figuring it out in steady steps. It's like thinking of something, and the matter will flow according to his will. That's the basics of the Touch of Vectors.
He isn't wrong, but not right about it as well. Yet, he succeeds in forming the Vectors to the smooth surface of the human finger. He doesn't even sweat this time, but that doesn't mean he feels good or happy.
William knows he should remain indifferent to this progress, and he does exactly that, otherwise, his focus would slip away. He focuses on his second finger, and after that, another one. He plans to do every finger, so he could make his entire claw into a huge human hand.
Right. He has to since it's his task at the start of the day.
With this goal in mind, he goes at it with a focussed mind, and gaze that is glued toward his hand. He doesn't even pay any attention to Roman, who is eyeing his progress from not so far away.
After 5 more minutes, he succeeds in his middle finger, where he failed yesterday. This leaves his pointer finger and thumb, so he continues because he wants to.
By this point, sweat starts to appear on his forehead as the Vectors are becoming harder to control. It causes the previous smooth fingers to tremble, but William stops this with his will alone.
“You are my fingers. Understood!” he shouts in his mind, as his restrictive call makes his mind much more resilient.
In another few minutes, he finishes his pointer finger, and in another 5, his thumb. This makes his whole hand finished, but he doesn't celebrate anything yet. He has trouble enduring this new form since he feels it could crumble apart if he stops his focus. The claws want to appear again, cleave the control over this hand, and make the appearance once more. William could feel it, and it is nothing easy.
“Good. Good. Endure this for now. Make this new hand something that you will conjure in itself, and not one finger at a time. Get familiar with this feeling first. Feel its mass, Vector flow, and don't stop focusing on it. It's yours, so don't waste any time and make it your new Mold.” Roman says upon seeing his success.
William hears it, while he remains sure that he needs to do so regardless of his words or not. This hand could become something in itself. The first form of his Emblem, after the Claw.
10 minutes go by, and William still doesn't lose the connection with this new hand, but the cycles of his Vectors are the main course of his struggle. It acts in conjunction with his new form, making everything that much harder than it already is.
“Good. You've reached the threshold of 10 minutes. That's considered a successful form of connection. All you have to do is continue forming this connection over time, through the use of Mindless Eyes and your own efforts.”
“Y-yea? I still feel like I can lose the connection with the Vectors very easily.”
“Then try to move with this hand of yours. It does not appear that tough now, so you don't have to be afraid of piercing anything with it the claw any longer. This hand of yours could be used more causally, unlike the claw that is combat focused and hard to contain.” Roman explains.
“Right... What's the use of this if I can't use it.” William says and still continues feeling his hand. He makes a fist, while not following the call of the Mindless Eyes to make the System appear.
This is a fist that could be used for anything, and it's passable in terms of the mass of Vectors. It appears different from the claw, which had a weaker form to make a fist, because of its pointy fingers.
“Great. it remains firm. It also seems somewhat easier to wield than the claw. Why?” William asks, pointing his question to the Roman.
“It's your own creation, so it should make sense. While I am unsure, why your Emblem has Claw vision at its base, it doesn't mean it couldn't become something else. Your current form is the answer. It's the same with any Vectors and the use of Touch of Vectors can make any kind of Mold. Vision and talent are the key as well as restrain that makes it possible. You can make a knife out of your fingers or even more intricate kinds of hands if you want. Punches are quite an effective form of weapon, but it doesn't mean you shouldn't focus on conjuring something else in the future. Weapons vary a lot, but I won't bother you with them. Try to move more with your new hand for now. Familiarity is important.”
“Alright. I would do so even if you wouldn't tell me that.”
“Are you sure?”
William shakes his hand and rather continues doing what he is told. That's much better than doing mistakes or things he is unfamiliar with. So, he gets on his feet, while maintaining his balance and the feel of his hand.
The hand doesn't change but feels easier to wield for one single reason. The connection that he formed with the Vectors is the first step of gaining some understanding of your own Emblem. That is the first step that William accomplished after 1 day of Roman's training. There are still 8 days remaining until the Academy Trial and William continues to exceed Roman's tasks.
Of course, he wouldn't voice that yet, as there is always something beyond success. Like another task, that is more difficult than the last, and Roman knows all about it. He wouldn't be called an instructor of the toughest Walker organization in the world for no reason. He knows his stuff and will do his best for William's sake.
As Roman is left wondering mood, he keeps observing William's progress.
William stands there and tries something that he never tried before with his new powers.
Shadow boxing.
Extending his right arm forward in slow motion at first, he is feeling up his chances of going faster.
And he does.
Faster and faster, he goes into a frenzy of punching the air, as if it's his sworn enemy. By this point, he is looking at a lot of things as if they are his sworn enemy, but that's his way of doing his focus.
Swoosh!
Swuuush!
William's hands cleave the air, as he feels the power behind his hand reaching further than anything else. Like the claw from before, this hand of his is quite long, making his reach quite long if he is extending his shoulders as well. He is quite familiar with punches, or the ways of combat. Although he wasn't forced to learn it, making sure to know about it at this age is quite important. And as a Young Walker, some people made sure to make him stronger. Willingly or not.
For now, William could even feel the use of his Vector increasing, but he doesn't dare to try anything else. Like extending the hand further, increasing the mass, or density of his hand. It's all forms of Touch of Vectors, but it can cause some chaos with the current form, so he doesn't do that. For now, he feels right to work with what he has, and that's enough for it. If not, he will fail, or feel the pressure rising that much faster.
So he remains in motion with his hand, which is around 4 feet long from the tip of his shoulder.
By that point, Roman makes his first comment since the shadow boxing started. “Your hand. It's a fist and flexible one at that. You can try other motions with it. A chop, slap, and many other attacks can be done with the hand. The hand can become a small spear with pointed fingers, a forceful blow with the knuckles. The attacks vary within the fist and many possibilities.” Roman suddenly hints at the way of combat, while giving William small hints of what he could do.
Doing the same thing over and over again isn't a problem for him, but so aren't the new methods.
So, William folds his fingers open for the first time and is surprised by the stability of his Hand. It isn't losing control any longer, so he strikes the air in different kinds of motions.
Changing his hand from fist, chopping, and thrusting with his palm, he feels the constant shift of Vectors, while his own hand inside does the same motions.
It's like the extension of his body, but it feels much more than that when he thinks about it.
Uppercut, chop, slap, and so on, William doesn't stop himself for 10 minutes before feeling the limits of his Vectors.
He stops at last, while catching his breath, and stopping his focus on his arm.
Yet, the arm doesn't change back to claw. It remains in the motion of a smooth hand.
“Huh? What's going on? I stopped focusing on the connection to my Vectors, but it remains?”
“I told you. The focus is great, but the new forms can become their own things. Yours is a hand now. Any change in the System? Try and see.” Roman gives him another hint, and William complies.
His tiredness isn't the worse, so he summons his system in a brief motion of his fist. All he needs is to put his mind to it, and it appears in his mind.
Initializing,... Another property was added. Vector Hand detected. The Skill successfully merged with the System and the Emblem.
New Skill added.
Vector Hand - Rank 1
Type: Offense
Ability: A Molded hand that can change the shape of the will. The intricate movement of Vectors can change the use of many things.
Could be used in conjunction with other Molds but it requires more control and familiarity with the Touch of Vectors.
“Mold? What does that mean? In conjunction... that's some smart-sounding words. Does it mean I can use this hand with other things? How?” William ponders about it, while the screen is right before his face.
Roman voices another thing, which returns William from his wandering mind.
“So? How's that?”
“It's a brand new Skill. Should I take it as I can create my own things depending on the things I can conjure and create by my Touch of Vectors?”
“Of course. That's the basics of what Vectors can do the best. It's unlike the Element type. You've got your first one for now, but at some point, you can have up to a dozen if you work hard for that.”
William nods, looking at the System in wonder. “How many do you have, Roman?”
“You mean the types of Vector Skills involving the Molds?”
“Yes.”
“About 8 but most aren't useful any longer. I prefer 2 of them, which I made to Rank 7. The rest is weaker.”
“I see... It seems there is a lot going on with the Vectors and everything... This System is also very important. Probably more so than the Emblem itself, but the Skills are what matters.” William assumes the obvious and shuts it down.