William gave Mi-Yung a long look, as he wasn't sure what being under her wing even involved, or if it was even as great as it sounded. Ellie would punch his guts if he said what he felt.
“Do you even know what those words mean, or what it brings to the table?”
“No,” he muttered even when she described a lot of its quirks.
Sighting, Mi-Yung described it even further.
“Think of it like a business partner with very little offer from your side. I would gift instead, and there is no buying or cost involved. Without restraints on your dependence, I want you to be free, and my suggestion is like a little push and help. It is as supportive as trying.” Mi-Yung made herself clear.
“And me?” Celeste pointed to herself.
“You have Dreadus, so don't even start it. I can't help you as far as our trade business goes. Not only would he not like it, but I don't like it either. My words could help you, however. Right lessons could be even better, or... well, it will be fine. You will be fine.”
Although her education and experience were great, Mi-Yung understood there were people out there who had it much worse, and even better.
“Business...” Celeste frowned and heard how William clasped his hands, and that pull wasn't normal.
“That makes sense. It is like an agent between shops, and I am the goods, and others are the buyers. That sounds... so wrong.”
Mi-Yung looked at him with incredulity. He described it as if he were a ten-year-old, though it wasn't entirely wrong.
“Independent force sounds impressive when I think about it. Won't you have trouble doing this for me?” William speculated.
“I guess minor setbacks will come, but neither will be worse than the rest of what I am already planning or doing. I have my vacations and work ahead of me. There are no rules that prohibit me from doing something like this, although a couple of unwritten rules apply to the Assembly. It is acceptable. If it isn’t, I will make it so.” She smiled, feeling proud of her idea.
She felt much better afterward and estimated that being his proxy was the most suitable response to Kaufman and whatever the Assembly might do.
She had no intention of doing this alone. She will become his pillar, pushing him forward like shadows moving below. However, only time would tell what William would accomplish, and what others decide and offer.
If he were like his father, he might be special. That was her deepest assumption, which wasn't as good as most Walkers, though. It was Mi-Yung's obsession, though it wasn’t unhealthy. Those who knew her knew what this meant to her and how hardworking she was towards her goals.
It was a vigorous passion stemming from a young girl meeting her savior when everything was pushed against the walls. Her former home left much to be desired for a young teenager. Calling it idyllic would be brave enough, while she also broke down that day.
Maybe nothing was normal ever since. After spending a long time with many kinds of people and lands, what had started had to end.
Celeste held the last piece of her life and spent much more time in this library than she would ever expect. With new people, even. With faces and stuff. It broadened her mind. There was no doubt about it.
Hopefully, neither of those will get lost like usual, and nothing bad will come out of it.
Mi-Yung covered most of the topics she had wanted to cover today, so Celeste ended up satisfied. Hell, she even offered William to be his proxy, which was a kind of crazy for Ellie, since she knew what it meant.
Was there something as important as a stable future for a kid like William, who had no backing? Wanting to become the one who gives was her justice. Not others. Those in the Assembly wouldn’t get it.
So... what about the Academy? William noticed Mi-Yung wasn’t as witty about it, let alone playing it safe and sound, and he kept his expectations low because she touched on that topic far too little.
Mi-Yung found the Academy conflicting for a variety of reasons she didn’t want to address. She was greedy. Frankly, proxy was something other than the term suggested. For once, it wasn't as strong and assertive as what Kaufman offered, and it was lower than being a guardian, let alone a master.
Mi-Yung wanted to give William the attention she thought he deserved, because if she knew anything, pushing people to the edge was better for everyone.
Right. This could lead to a much better understanding of that boy, and what to do about him will have its thorns. She knew it, and getting to know him further wasn't exactly easy, yet she didn't feel like losing. Like ever, that is.
Still, they barely knew each other for a day, so she didn't want to sound pitiful, overbearing, or too insistent. Shame how that point might no longer be serving anything.
William could tell she was sincere, and after comparing it to what Luke said about her, he trusted his gut.
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Kaufman wasn't fine.
There were people who mattered, and those who didn't. A talk about the vague or imminent future was something he was used to hearing all the freaking time. Be it from Dann or miss Anderson, he had people around him, grounding him down, and not letting him drown.
Walkers were complex like their lands, and he heard a lot about their aspects today. It was enough for a headache.
And after many hours of discussions, he calmed down after a couple of shocks, followed by more facts. There was a lot more to these upper floors than he had assumed, and they offered all sorts of focuses to young Walkers, who could either wait, want, or grasp what they could, or look for something specific for hours and days.
Like yesterday, with those youths. They were here for a reason, or the same thing as him.
Not every room was encouraging, prone to quick judgment, or loneliness. Guides and teachers had a point in this society, and William planned to follow this logic as much as he could. All of this pointed to her proxy position and Examination.
He didn't need promises or a bigger headache. He even thought what Mi-Yung showed and talked about was a way bigger deal than anything from yesterday. Those crevices, history, talks of Emblems, Arcana, Fogs, or Darks. It left a powerful impression on him.
Frankly, she had much more to add and give than his mind could take. There were basics and styles she knew because of the lost South Korea, which had a much different outlook than the Federation.
It was both how to grow or teach Walkers, and how to approach them. Theirs was harsher, or so many believed, and Mi-Yung knew a harsher interpretation was necessary for the Federation to grow.
Walking outside of the room, William had a lot of thoughts lingering in his head. Ellie was glad she stuck with Celeste and talked to her.
The upper floors felt like gates to private secrets and conferences few would reveal. The door they had visited was a Dawn History Room No.1. A large number of crevices and nests of Darks had barely changed in a hundred years, so a lot of historical aspects came with it.
As for the other rooms, there were dozens of them, marked strictly with 'Darks,' and their names and purposes were simple. A welcoming room framed introductions with wisdom dedicated to less overwhelming ideas. The rest was enough to shake youths and adults, revealing different purposes.
As William saw it, the upper floors and chunk of the history below were not for regular people at all. Parts of it were outside of their world, humbled and dirtied by the world of Walkers and Darks.
He easily fused Mi-Yung’s information with Kaufman's, Ellie's, and Luke's words. There were obvious messages about Rank 7s and Rank 8s. They terrified him much more than the subject of Examination or Forced Awakening. In a sense, the history of Dawn and those Dungeons did the same thing.
He couldn't help but shiver upon realizing reports and news about those monsters were within his arm's reach. Countless people and Walkers had seen their madness, fought them, and this world took them for something worse than natural disasters.
They were out there, doing... what exactly?
He didn't know. Could this place know? Could Mi-Yung know?!
From rumors, stories, and legends, it was said that extremely strong Darks were no longer hunting humanity and acting like crazy, possessive beings. What they were doing was largely unknown, so they were either sleeping, shrouded in their deepest territories, or they didn’t think humanity was enough to even meddle with their interest.
What remained of the rest of the Darks was something lower, yet still dreadful. It was intense and worth the pain, and fun to hunt the rest of humanity. This had been ongoing for around forty freaking years, and only high enough Walkers knew of the highest degree of true dangers.
William was sure of it.
The world of Walkers wasn’t welcoming. Rank 8 Darks were always imminent uncertainties and unknown hazards. Their single sign was both an opportunity and an incredibly hazardous moment for everyone involved.
Frankly, it made sense. Humanity was initially weak, and it still remains so. He couldn't interpret Darks like Walkers could. Humans' advantage was their numbers and technology, which dwindled for decades due to continuous deaths.
Unity was also an issue, but the world was large, practical, and savage. Walkers helped with it further down the line. Nowadays, the best of them were on par with any Rank 8 Dark, if not better. By rumors alone, anything and anybody at Rank 8 was formidable and insane, be they people or monsters.
William swore he would reach further confirmations of those rumors that he found out Outside. He even met one such Walker. Maybe more, but he couldn't know.
Mi-Yung was just at Rank 6. Luke was Rank 5. Who else came to his mind? That group surrounding Celeste? Just how many Walkers were walking around the Federation, or camps, or Outside? How many of them died or dived for as much time as they could and left humanity behind?
Most of his thoughts about Rank 8s were far too high and far from the public. The world wasn't shining for them either, and according to how Ranks and Mi-Yung mentioned the rest, no person should know what to expect.
It was a fear of the unknown. People respected and loved Walkers, but they also feared them. It wasn't a simple performance with numbers or hope. Ranks held ridiculous value and worthy performances. Both for Walkers and Darks, there were enormous powers well beyond the nukes or conventional weaponry.
It was hard to imagine what sort of madness this created or caused, though William saw it Outside. Those crashes and beings and lands were broken and not going anywhere.
He had seen his share, and it seemed Mi-Yung had no trouble expecting it from him. She straight up demanded it, which shocked and tricked him a little until she made it more than obvious that she knew. She did... She talked about them regardless of how helpful or awful it was.
It was both good and bad.
Looking at the lowest floor, William saw the bottom in a much calmer look because of the past hours alone. They were far from the bottom, with people below looking like little toys.
Celeste glanced down as well, wondering what he was looking at. Perhaps he wanted to jump? That sounded kind of fun, so she put Hound ahead and let his feet twitch far from the ground. Hound didn’t give a single eye to her. He just stared, wondering what she was doing.
Mi-Yung didn’t bother making fun of them, unlike Ellie. Neither of them was in any hurry, so Mi-Yung decided to call it a day.
While the minds were in no hurry, something was. Growling sounds echoed from a couple of stomachs at the same time. Mi-Yung wasn't one of them, and Ellie wasn't one either. It was a fairly awkward time for a pair of future Walkers standing side by side.
William patted his stomach and turned from this abyss to Mi-Yung. “I will accept your offer without shame. Food, right?”
“Hm. Good. Food is no shame. It is required for growth, and I can assure you that this land has no shortage of budget for us. In fact, I don’t have it either. I will go all out for both of you.”
Ellie cleared her throat, expectedly glancing at her.
“And... you too, since you are sooooo insistent.”
Ellie cheered. It had been years since the last time Mi-Yung offered her dinner. She knew what to expect, and there was no way she would go anywhere other than her place.
