Chapter 190

  Mi-Yung failed to imagine that undercutting or faking stuff to William didn't work for pretty much anything but herself. After all, the Examination was about showing off and making a choice, and William had already done some of that more than once or twice. Sure, it was more behind the scenes, but such scenes will soon go out.

  It was coming, and while she might lean heavily on his side, the others would not hassle around it like idiots. That one shrouded room was a total shitshow to many youths compared to the gruesome chair in the middle of a bunker. Oh, and the mirror. No one forgets the mirror.

  William sighed, saw the mess on the floor, and asked a few other questions, which Mi-Yung answered without hesitation. The overall idea about Walkers was much more chaotic than he thought.

  Everything about the upcoming Examination revolved around a sort of efficiency and affinity. It started with the Forced Awakening and ended up with Rank 0 completion. Results created brackets of talented youths. It was a simple number.

  That alone will determine the future of hundreds of kids and give organisations room for negotiation. Well, for those not taken, of course. After all, stealing or proposing an offer to already taken kids was kind of tricky but also possible.

  Mi-Yung explained almost everything, apart from how the Forced Awakening worked. Rank 1 was where the efficiency lay high, and Emblems and Systems overwhelmed young bodies and minds.

  She even explained several Rank 0 ideas, some of which William would never have understood if it weren’t for his already-established knowledge. She was also quick-witted and sharp, and knew a lot about him that William didn't consider yet.

  The way the first Rank-up worked was to push multiple physical yields at the same time and force them beyond their limits. Almost every Rank-up worked like that, albeit the circumstances, stakes, and options revolved around the System afterward and what one could accomplish or bear.

  Unlocks and leveling also stated wonders of hunts and general cultivation, but the most major was still the terms of Skills.

  His current Rank was like pushing youths over hills or cliffs. Whether it will have big changes or effects in their future was a guess as good as those who made it possible.

  William guessed that everyone was gambling on these matters and hoped to prove themselves down the road. He didn't wish to, but he felt he wouldn't be very different. He knew he didn't plan to hide.

  Which pointed to his Emblem, or how they could involve many magics. There were minor power, or complex methods involving fused, mixed, or layered properties.

  Arcana was just a term describing general energy. Like a strand, stream, or complex Vectors, it was a flow of energy, kinetic force, magnetic change, and many other matters. Some could grasp the physics, crash it, and turn it upside down. Be it gravity, time, or space itself, Arcana was nothing that humanity had ever seen.

  Add to it natural elements seen on Earth, and it was indeed like an ethereal magic. Light, wind, fire, darkness, and so on. There were a lot of elements grazing past almost every Walker.

  They could have pure Arcana, with rather stable and clean energy. Some have it wild, fierce, or the kind that is hard to wield and control.

  Then, there were the Skills, which William had heard of long before he came to the Federation. They described explainable items following the System, as Mi-Yung described right now. Gravity manipulation, moves, and partial crazy ideas were possible because of them, and they were weapons, their lives, and became quite important straight away.

  Turning invisible, having abnormal strength, and granting powerful buffs. Those were Skills adhering to a sort of class-based activities or a general link to the Emblem. One couldn't really decide what to bring to the table. The Emblem did. It was a strange world all Walkers managed, and the further it went, the crazier it felt.

  William didn't understand everything she mentioned, as it was quite hard to get it from words alone. He was always unsure about his Emblem, and his Rank 0 was never clear to him. It had no skill-issues. It had no moves. It was like a little beast in a cage that could sometimes glance past its prison and stick its claw out.

  Apart from the fact that his Emblem could disappear from its place and show its fangs, William didn't want to think of anything else. He didn't even want to mention any of that to Mi-Yung. It wasn’t a time, or…. when would it be?

  Mi-Yung's explanations mentioned in detail how youths formed their Rank 0s. Pretty much everyone had it around his age, and they happened on their own. The earlier the better, or so she said, which meant his was pretty darn impressive.

  This guided initial marks of strength and slowly built a relationship between the Emblem to the body and mind. Comparisons were inadequate because Rank 0s were quite a unique stage, depending on the youths. Some were lacking, or truly breathtaking.

  The breakages William had shown were one such mark, so what of its escapism? Alas, as with the Dawn, the Darks that hunted humanity, worrying about the Emblems was a basic problem for every Walker.

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  After thinking about it, William decided her suggestions were proper, so he should take his own assumptions with a grain of salt. At least for the time being, until the System showed him a path to walk on, he should be patient.

  And Mi-Yung promised the rest in due time, if not reasonably nearby.

  She helped out with minor details a lot more than William expected. His previous distraught diminished until he felt like it was no longer about a morning but more about practice and lessons. This conversation kept him entertained for a whole hour and let him know Mi-Yung was truly telling him who she claimed to be.

  Which wasn’t as steady if he judged her in bits and pieces, or like last night.

  William always thought of himself as a level-headed person, and that he could get used to everything and anyone. Now, it seemed Mi-Yung was too effective in her acts, and he couldn't get her that much.

  Thus, he seized most details he could get, as it was realistic and Ellie would blame him if he didn't listen. Their meetings were incoming.

  “Are you gonna follow me to the library or what?” Mi-Yung suddenly asked, as if she was the one inviting him out. It was safe to say she would give William no chances to counter.

  “I... will. I am thankful for your explanations and... help.”

  “Are you? I have this lingering feeling that you aren't really glad.”

  “I am trying.”

  “Well, I am too, but I am not following you for the sake of talks or ideas. I have a job to do, and you will keep up with me and accept my support and… some conditions. I am not alone in it. I have a lot of concessions to make and I want to know who you really are. Not as a kid. Not as a Walker that much either, but let’s not pretend that isn’t important.”

  “I will listen. Also, I have my guide.”

  “And that mysterious guide of yours might follow along. In fact, I insist on that!” Mi-Yung asserted with a smile and got up from the surprisingly intact chair. By now, the bits and pieces of the table were all over the ground. A new one was necessary.

  “I still have books to read and discover, so I will have plenty of work. What are your plans, Mi-Yung? There are a lot of rooms and...” William finally found a good enough reason and accepted that there was no option to let her be.

  “Are you still not trusting me? Was Luke’s impression that troublesome?” Mi-Yung asked, complaining inside her head that Luke must have done very terrible things behind her back.

  It was her mistake to give Luke this sort of private mission with fewer directives or effective touches. Anna wasn’t enough because…well, she was learning and something wrong was going on with her.

  Terrible timing, and her ideas turned improper.

  It wasn’t as terrible or hopeless. Mi-Yung already fixed half of the issues she had to handle, and Fain or others should better accept how it goes. If new ones arrive, she will solve them as well, because that's what she does best.

  They should better adapt to these troubling and trying times. A lot of organizations and Walkers were good at it. Thankfully for her and William, it wouldn't end anytime soon.

  Being direct was one of Mi-Yung's good sides, which Luke liked a lot. She hoped for a lot of things, even when few of them started. William's beginning should have come to her mind much earlier, and now, it seemed Luke, Kaufman, and some mysterious guide had already established their faces.

  She didn't want to fall into the pit of obscurity. William shouldn't fall there as well, so she clutched this one chance and believed many others could come. She steals. She mends things. There was no loss against a proper workload she loved to do.

  The true reason for William's seizure and discovery was hers alone. It went outside of others, provided by herself, and thank god some people still bowed down to Mi-Yung because of her position.

  It was kind of hard to get a Mi-9000 helicopter to travel to Roshwell camp and back without proper planning. She didn’t have to do it. She had Luke’s team for that, her dear husband’s, who were also persuaded by her and used like dogs.

  At least acting like it was important was possible, and nothing wrong happened.

  Which worked wonderfully until something did indeed crash halfway into this mission. William did as well, while the gruesome aftermath was a completely different hot topic.

  Frankly, William didn’t give a shit about it, or how it worked out because he wasn't aware.

  He was here, and he wasn’t going back out there.

  All because of darned Australia, which was much further than Canada, it ended up with Mi-Yung's helpless fixes and much vaster repercussions than she had ever expected.

  At least it hadn't fallen apart, but a couple of her actions almost came with it, moved with Fain and the Assembly, and lastly, temporarily withdrew from her authority.

  That wasn’t an issue. It was almost like a vacation given away by her dear Upper Pillar, who was in charge of this little mischievous Walker lady for a couple of years.

  That explained her time today and utter conviction, and understanding. But it was also true she wasn't alone, let alone worthy to do this sort of thing all the freaking time. Many others were watching and doing the same. There were helping hands behind the scenes that will and shall do their best. To keep her around and quell any sort of issue, both the Academy and the Assembly should wait.

  That helicopter was the same. Academy had more than one, but the others were elsewhere, and although these damn machines were seen as expendable tools, many missions wouldn’t work without them.

  After all, porting was excessive to rule out for several reasons, and then it was crystal clear it wasn't a possibility to rely on a vast yet mighty minority.

  Walkers were much better at solo and team-up travels. The only useful way to see these helicopters was like a suitcase; there was only so much Walkers could keep in their pockets and care about after their objectives.

  That was why the normal people's military expertise never left the Walkers alone, even if they should.

  The Emblem Academy, which was a place Mi-Yung used to see with her own eyes as a brief instructor, had its hands in everything. Some helpful hands have already moved, and her vacation will be more than thrilling.

  Her more than lucrative work in the Federation shall linger a bit longer, or it might not do so because certain individuals might change their minds about it relatively quickly. It was a matter of time and her little position in this land was the same.

  She neglected everything for the sake of this boy.

  Others won't be the same because it was a darn good thing to do. It was also very clever to push it into someone who couldn’t afford to say no, so... that was Luke.

  Many problems arose from being an Assembly Pillar, while the highest ruling points of this society, overlooking Walkers, also had their own perspective and broader humanity.

  Those handful of people were the core of the Federation, making just decisions that followed these islands. The whole Assembly had a weird combination of people, yet a lot of people relied on them.