Chapter 156

  “How could it defend against you? A high-rank Walker such as yourself?” William asked a rather sensible and powerful question, not wavering and thinking straight.

  “William... were you unaware of what happened before?” Ellie whispered, still supporting his side.

  Kaufman coughed, clearing his throat. “You've got it quite fast. Yes. That is the truth, but it also does not answer anything about the lack of sight or my hopes. Or it could whisper some truths to my ears, yes? Well, that is wrong. I see it for what it is, and it is a question and answer full of curiosity or animosity. High-Rank Walkers are worth some respect, you see, and maybe you will find answers with them close.”

  “Says someone who... tortured me.” William reluctantly said and turned to Ellie. “I know that something happened but it felt like a veil and blinking sensation. It was odd and hurtful. The Emblem is like an outside force yet still part of myself until it... happens. Feelings and everything are included and it gets confused like a sudden storm over the blue sky. I felt confused, weak, and bad... very bad.”

  Ellie nodded and felt this information was quite important. The personal experiences of Walkers were almost priceless in terms of archives.

  William wasn't entirely aware of where Kaufman was in terms of reputation, but he knew his Rank and position. That was enough. It held a lot of unknown factors and legends, though any Rank 8 Walker was a humongous deal and wasn't easy to meet.

  They were pillars of societies and the most powerful lands, and their mere existence was like a necessary and sacred pillar or dome. Kaufman should have a lot of secrets that might be well outside of his scope of understanding, with a deep awareness of what Walkers were being included.

  Then, hiding histories fogged or destroyed might be rent-free in his head, and that stuff might be ugly or glorified thanks to this old man.

  For once, William didn't know how old was Kaufman, though rumors about him being a First Generation Walker didn't seem doubtful. That would put him into his nineties or even more.

  Glancing back, William watched a bunch of locked cabinets after Kaufman hummed and didn't follow with another lesson after William accepted that some secrets shouldn't be cheap, let alone right or evil.

  Noticing books about the beginning paths of Walkers was an intriguing start. They began well, marking important details as someone close to Rank 1. Ellie noticed how his willingness and emotions got better in the following moments, yet she still held him up, helping and walking with him around the room.

  There were even more curious topics ahead.

  The Dawn was one such thing, while the complete root of Walkers was kind of an obscure and old topic. For most, it was a useless topic, but William had been curious about them ever since he was young. Some mentions of Darks had more validation, right beside knowledge of Emblems and Systems that must be in other rooms.

  He learned better from Ellie to focus on one thing at a time. Or make lists of them, as six weeks wasn't a lot as he took the first image of the upper floors.

  “Darks are made into comprehensive families, Ranks, and... types? Species, Families, and... what the hell??” William cried out in shock after Ellie pulled some books from the lock and showed them to him. She wanted to do this more than him, so she touched what she desired first.

  It was a starting guide to Darks that she had heard a lot about. She had a few pages herself, thanks to Heidi. The whole package was far sturdier and longer.

  Kaufman, who aimlessly looked around the room after their brief conversation, looked at some books he hadn't seen in decades and heard their interest.

  “What? Ah, those? Are Darks that shocking to you? They are like wild animals, and let's not forget about Corruption, Turning, or you being an Outsider, kiddo. I thought you would be aware of that sort of stuff, or... is that why your Outside is so shitty? I thought it was close to the Federation mark... or am I missing something? It wouldn't be the first time, so... Oh well. Those Darks are so countless in ways and instincts, it is practical to have some systematic approach to them.”

  “It still doesn't explain why I have never heard a lot about this... mess. Hellgars are Rank 1, which isn't anything surprising. I know that, but they can get to Rank 3 as well, which I thought was unlikely. They are so small, quick, and numerous. Crimjaw is Rank 5; not 4 or 6. That is good, but why it can't be higher? Zombi goes from 1 to 6? Isn't that kind of wide range? Who decides that?”

  Smirking, Kaufman described the truth, which surprised William's guesses and his entire heart. Even Ellie hadn't expected what he expressed next.

  “Deaths are answers. At the beginning, even more so. Walkers who died by their attacks are responsible opinion. Then, Walker's inability to penetrate or kill them. Such Ranks make sense, even if the System does possess the ability to assess them as well. It makes sense when you think about, albeit Dark Aspects and Arcana make some bizarre points.”

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  “Shit. Another point? Of course, they are there, but what about the truth?”

  “Truth? Who the hell cares about the truth or what is right about them? Monsters are deadly, and people die and die again. From Walker's perspective, Rank 1 against Rank 1 Dark is more than fair. It might be straight-up easy. For people? Bah! Against Rank 2, it is tougher and things might get various but not too extreme. Rank 1 Walker going against Rank 3 Dark is challenging, while Rank 1 Walker, going against Rank 4 is beyond stupidity.”

  “Who would even do it?” Ellie inquired and heard Kaufman chuckling.

  “Cuz what other choice is there? It is deadly reality Outside and backing is to die in some cases. As for Rank 2 Walkers, those can fight Rank 4s better, but it's still not ideal. Rank 5 is like a natural disaster before them. This idea and balance is slowly creeping thinner and thinner, and there are even some Darks capable of fighting well above their Rank. Walkers are the same, similar to this thinning that goes until they hit Rank 4 where Rank 5 Darks gets a little bit better. Rank 6 is still impossible. Then, at the higher end, I better not even speak what it means...”

  Both youths were speechless.

  They never heard such a simple yet comprehensive idea described by such an experienced Walker who sounded as if this was a child's play.

  In fact, William saw the truth in his words not because of his understanding or calmness, but because of his own experiences of living Outside. Ellie was enlightened, glad, and shocked that Kaufman listened to their questions.

  With this definition, William comprehended these numbers and implementation better. It seemed Rank 1 thought Rank 4 were considered starting stages and Walkers at this stage were generally below the age of twenty, partly because of Forced Awakening and training methods or mentors or their overall safety. That age was higher than thirty, let alone fifty years ago.

  Above those Ranks, time and growth stagnated and Rank-Ups were considerably difficult and took much longer.

  Every Rank-Up was a substantial transformation if not a heavenly-defying change to go over their limits, and that point was common albeit shrouded in unique limits of every Walker. That much, even Ellie understood.

  “Cool..” William mumbled and watched the black book with passion. Ellie wished to snatch it from him, but their time was precious even if William forgot about his condition. He started to stand unsupported and felt a little bit better.

  Soon, they went back to the content of the room, researching many of the curious concepts. The Darks quickly became their major topic, as their mark in history and his eyes weren't small. William couldn't help but desire to know much more about them after Ellie forced some books on him. He learned about yet another beginning concept of Darks and the research that Walkers made throughout many decades.

  Those books had much more underlying truth and secrets. They should be all over this place and rooms alike, being in pieces or large mysterious vails, or even specific chunks. His curiosity about everything shifted from fear to focus, and Ellie was responsible for that.

  The name Dark was kind of an inappropriate term. It formed a depressing state of humanity with the Dawn, where many cultures thought of them as they seemed fit. Some considered them demons, devils, ghouls, or even animals or ravagers. Lands and cultures were whey, but one thing remained. They were hunters and killers and humanity couldn't do much against them.

  There were fewer kinds of them at the Dawn, where their dark instincts and Fogs created their name. More options and acts followed soon enough, giving them a much darker scheme. Since then, it prevailed, changed, and worsened.

  There were even some notes describing the time shortly after the Dawn as a Dark Age. It wasn't too bad; William would call it Dark Cleansing, Darkest Dawn, or some better term altogether. Perhaps it didn't even matter.

  The premise of the Dark Fog was evident to consider, as it was one concept that never changed. Swarms or Hordes weren't anything new to him either.

  William paid attention to specific topics that either Ellie suggested or Kaufman added. After he was done with a simple dive into the dark world saga text, Ellie switched it by grabbing it and tossing him another one.

  This one listed the basic structure and names of most western Darks that were available or popular around North or South America.

  The whole segment was split into two parts, representing Darks as separate groups; northern and southern. As for the broader merits, thinking about the whole planet was ambiguous and not easy to consider. Darks had their whole segments, with the West depicting North and South America, which were large lands with a lot of problems, so it was dense with names.

  East was three times larger due to pretty much everything else. Asia, the Middle East, and Australia were under this portion. Africa and Europe were in the middle portion of the segment.

  Each described Darks in a balanced state of research and names, coupled with rough populations, or native to multiple or small regions, but that wasn't entirely truthful.

  A lot of Darks migrated constantly and those could arrive anywhere and even touch upon some terrible consequences. William noticed dozens of lists with almost no descriptions or clarity because Darks were pretty much everywhere, regardless of the waters or how continents looked like.

  He read further, feeling as if his eyes and brain sneezed, froze, and his tongue twisted. Some names were really weird.

  Kaufman furrowed his brows as he watched Ellie. That book was quite precious, as it came from a complicated and deeply locked cabinet, yet she grabbed it and looked at it as if it were nothing. It was within her sight from the very start, though he still let her have this fun because he didn't like to go back on his word.

  This book could be called shocking with no underlying meaning. The smallest lists had hundreds of names, and as a whole, there were thousands of Darks, if not more. Most had no rankings written inside, as this book wasn't for that purpose. It was closer to an encyclopedia for Walkers to get a glimpse at what they were like, where they lived, or what sort of disaster they predated or influenced.

  Families of Darks described a rather fascinating methodology of monster societies and Corruption.

  There weren't a lot of them, yet William felt thrilled and excited to discover them one by one.

  By now, his anxiety and fear completely disappeared as he found a brand new goal.