Chapter 153

  Ellie gripped William and helped him to keep up with this old man. Gripping his arm, she had trouble standing still as he leaned on her shoulder, weighing on her body and goodwill.

  But he didn't complain, felt wrong, or... awkward. He was more angry at Kaufman, who moved aside and opened the door without any key by jerking the knob to pieces,

  Turning, he then glanced at Ellie. “Anyhow, I will give him a tour in your stead. You will wait and not bother us. Got it?”

  Ellie gritted her teeth. “Hell no! I won't leave him after what you've done to him. I am going too!”

  That genuinely surprised Kaufman, who blinked, scratched his head, and asked. “This isn't the place for you. Wait and be a good girl, will you?”

  “I am going!” Ellie persisted and got a new idea. “You probably don't know it, but Miss Heidi got me a job and options. I will finish them all and will follow you inside because of it. Also, William can barely walk, and there is no way you are going to drag him around in this condition alone. I will go even if you drag me out of here.”

  There weren't many choices for Ellie, so watching William and seeing the upper floors mixed with her current mood. What was some respect? It was fickle and worth only when it was right.

  It was nice to be obedient, but defiance was a mark of intellect and a fine mark of judgment. By now, Ellie was fed up with a bunch of choices and assumed Kaufman was very different from the one she remembered.

  After all, she started as a very small apprentice when Kaufman was still in charge. That was many years ago, and she hadn't seen or met him much because she was a silly little girl with big dreams. Back then, Kaufman was the ruler of this place and enough of a powerful Walker that he was kind of busy.

  William looked at Ellie from a weird perspective, close angle, and touching point. She almost hugged him and voiced her worries with an unlike tone. It wasn't as if she had to be worried this much. It was about her job, so he couldn't see why she was getting so worked up.

  He was mistaken; William couldn't fathom her dreams or options because he thought it was terrible to argue with Kaufman. At least in her position, that could mean troubles or losses, causing her to lose more than a job.

  “Ellie...”

  “I've decided!” Ellie shouted, jerking his side. William winced and swallowed his words.

  Kaufman was speechless and shrugged his arms. “Well, if my lass wants to push regular people into this path, it isn't the first nor the last time that could happen. Maybe it is a fitting choice for you and one that some could accept. How long, however, or how well that could go is another matter. It's not for me to decide. Very well. Follow me.”

  Ellie dragged William inside and held onto every reason to do it. It was possible for more problems to arise, coming from knowledge and this open door. Texts and books that Burton gave her contained big overlapping and wide topics and Ellie uncovered many sections of this maze and doors. It was all about rooms and restrictions, followed by the magic of knowledge.

  The actual size of the upper floors was thousands of times bigger than anything specific below them, taking up four floors in total. That were a lot of rooms and thicker floors. They stood on the first one, and before a welcoming room, obvious by the biggest door in the wall.

  In most cases, the doors were coupled with a card reader, furnishing the labyrinth of rooms and archives with information and conditions. They would work with benefits and reasons so that not just anyone would come inside.

  There were orders about them and those described topics of history and beyond. Some showed what they needed at the moment, while some did not.

  Darks were most common, followed by expositions to Walkers and the System, or their various studies. Everything was right here, following no clear path, compelling one to look and see those rooms of multiple purposes.

  Ellie wasn't sure which room she should make use of first, as she had no idea what all of them contained. Burton and Heidi didn't seem to have any concern over this issue; they believed Ellie would get started with a couple of rooms up with beginner tariffs and benefits.

  Alas, Kaufman showed up and made his point much clearer, and Ellie believed Heidi or Burton had no idea he was even here and doing this shit.

  The room ahead wasn't very large, or shocking. The ceiling was ten feet tall, and the whole room was big enough for its purposeful books and topics. There were even tables and chairs for learning, resembling a research facility akin to a library.

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  There were bookshelves lined in rows on the wall. Included were also a lot of cabinets and drawers with numerous texts or books out of view. They were locked. There were no windows and the room had another door in an unassuming corner.

  The middle portion was surprisingly open for those chairs and tables. The bookshelves weren't big or contained an obnoxious amount of books.

  Two youths observed what they expected, while Kaufman took a seat in the middle of the room and assumed a fun position.

  “Let's start this on a light note. What do you know about Walkers, William?” Kaufman asked, turning a chair to the front door and talking calmly.

  “Are we really doing this?” William was still doubtful after he beat him up. Kaufman chuckled and looked around, gesturing to some stuff on those shelves and cabinets.

  “You can be angry at me or anything you wish. I still think it will end up being fine since these tests are common. Now, this points to my previous question. What do you even know or not, hm? Walkers, boy. Speak to me and you might change your mind about what I do or not do. I meant it; there are some folks you don't want to meet.”

  And you are the one of them, huh? Ellie thought as she hugged William's side.

  “They are people with Emblems. That's it.” William answered with the simplest form he knew. Ellie looked around, grasping his left arm without concern about their conversation. It was for her own sake.

  “Yes. People... right? Whole powerful ones that don't adhere to common sense or nationalities, or some senseless dutiful human laws. Sure. Do you think anyone could do what I've done? How was I able to even lift you without lifting a hand and messing with that floor or air?”

  “Why? I am not dumb... sir. The Emblem is why. What else? I don't understand your questions or what's your point. What is it that I should have seen?” William brought up a nice question.

  He followed Kaufman's words and felt that his annoyance was lessening. He should be able to stand and walk in less than an hour and challenge him afterwards. That should be enough.

  The truths he could understand might get better later, or Kaufman might even answer them, but the mind of a fickle old man wasn't up to his judgment. William was still doubtful as he should be and took his words for potential poisons.

  He swallowed even more words. Even if it hurt, he forgave Kaufman for this room. William knew this wouldn't be simple, and the pain was temporary, albeit the memories were not.

  It won't leave his mind. Even if he didn't plan to be an idiot about it, sometimes, a grudge wasn't worth it, fading away into deeper memories, or dropping like blood into the wind.

  It was stubborn thinking, as this old man wanted something specific from that first meeting. The second wasn't the same, or it could have been. William guessed he should learn better first. Not many could afford to anger this person, and there were many such people out there, looking for advantages without being polite.

  The first meeting was weak but part of what Mi-Yung should've touched, and William had no idea what else it moved. His ideas shifted to wonders of this place. No pain will stop him.

  Surviving in this place was not about Outside. Adapt. Overcome. See changed people but don't dream too far. Lessons come from failures.

  Words echoed from within and William pondered what this chance hid.

  “Not dumb? Self-proclaimed pats are key to stupidity, boy. Not good. See or not, it no longer matters. Walkers are a bunch of people who can't help themselves, or do a lot of wishful thinking. We walk straight into the maws of monsters, crypts, and dungeons, and fight all sorts of Darks that even nightmares couldn't fathom. We are all a bunch of mad people if I am being honest with you, so have no mind for apologies because Darks or Walkers don't want them either. Results, power, and results speak instead. What is some pain? There is so much worse out there and I think you know it too.” Kaufman told with a carefree expression, leaning in the chair and pushing his legs to the table.

  “Maybe.“ William said dismissively and glanced around like Ellie. “Can I take a look around?”

  Surroundings piqued his curiosity more than Kaufman's words.

  “Be my guess. This is just a regular starting room for Walkers. Not a big deal, considering my lass hadn't changed this whole ordeal. Good for her, but I suppose some regular people have gained access to these rooms, which is odd. When was the last time I have been here?”

  “S-sir?” Ellie regarded him next, looking in a weird pleading expression. “You are a curator and creator of this place. We respect you and...”

  Laughing, Kaufman had no concern about her words or opinion. “That's not what I am speaking about.”

  “Then it's about people like me, right?” She said with understanding, helping William aside so he wouldn't be out in the open. “Don't pretend it's not necessary. You Walkers think you are a big deal but the future isn't clear. Something vast is at stake and getting people ahead isn't about surviving. It is about help struggle and advances. People want to help as well, you know.”

  Stopping his laugh came like a switch, and in a moment, Kaufman turned serious and clicked his tongue. “Yeah... I heard that twice or a hundred times, and not once it sounded good to my ears. But again, good for them. Don't get mistaken or burned by the burden of truth.”

  “I don't plan to... sir,” Ellie said confidently and heard him chuckle again.

  “No, I meant literary. Don't stir what you hold.”

  “I am fine... but not that fine,” William argued for her sake and tried to stand up for himself. He failed and hugged her back since his legs weren't listening to him. Ellie jerked him to the wall, which he then grabbed.

  “You are surprisingly heavy.”

  William grunted, saying little thanks and hiding his surprise at her care. “Sorry...”

  “Look around, boy. Learn. See. Most people from the Emblem Association do like this stuff, but who knows how many scientists are even acceptable people? So what do librarians or historians do? Curiosity. Then we have...” Kaufman casually started to speak but no one paid him much attention.

  Without thinking, Ellie took the reign over the wall, walking with William towards posters and pages of information that were accessed by Walkers as essential. Not even some administration officers and agents, who could be regular people, could get here very easily.

  Dozens of hands would count them in total. Now, Ellie was one of them, overseer by a disaster speaking right behind her.