Recruiting or attracting personal students was highly regarded in any institution. It had terms, developments, and affords. Offers meant benefits, or reasons, or even gifts. With many Walkers willing to compromise or haggle, gaining upper talents was a great way to gain easy strength.

  That was why moving early was important, just as caring about family ties or Rank 0s, which were essential in many mysterious ways. Their points weren’t prominent, but some of them might be, even if their reality wasn’t crystal clear.

  After all, Rank 1 showed everything, and every following one did it even further.

  Mi-Yung bet that barely ten people in this entire batch of recruits should be considered as advanced Rank 0 Walkers. They were just way too rare since multiple threads had to link and rise, but it was still true that every single one of them would be Rank 0. Usually, of course. Since the ages were between fourteen and seventeen, that was quite a gap.

  Simple Rank 0s were often flimsy in ideas and lacked strength, whereas proper ones turned the tide and changed a lot of things, like a living, breathing Emblem.

  That's right. It was subjective to the Emblems. Kaufman believed that William's questionable past contributed to a much greater link, and that Walker should be powerful more than anything else. Like his father, William could have his potential.

  Becoming Rank 6 before turning thirty led to much easier walls and thresholds, which had been a target of many high-rank Walkers for decades. It was a gamble of time, effort, research, talents, and stability. Even a single bad thing could hinder growth, yet no one knew precisely what helped the most.

  Experiments provided no concrete evidence, as it was far too subjective. Hence, sharing ideas wasn’t ideal. The world the high-ranking Walkers knew was too far from common. One had to kill, torture oneself, hunt, wait, and hold as many lucky opportunities as possible. A huge part of it came from countless nests, Rifts, and so on. Then, there was the main thing: the System and secrets of every Emblem and power.

  Kaufman hoped to reform this idea and force things a little more in the right direction. He was confident about what to do and would do anything to get what he wanted, but the present world was against it.

  William was one oddity out of many others, and how well his Examination would go wasn't too critical. There was no doubt it should be extensive, and the face of his Emblem intriguing, but it was already there, and it wasn’t changing.

  Thus, he did it this way, and he let him go like Mi-Yung. The reason was less privy. He had Richards, who spilled the beans and said something very interesting. William was the son of two great Walkers, and he had a very high likelihood of a Mutant Emblem.

  Birth between two Walkers was sensitive, with no known case to date. There had been trials on this topic in the past, but most of them were unsuccessful. It was quite hard to gain even a normal pregnancy, so these trials were a waste of time.

  It was much better to go the usual route and let Walkers use their seeds and eggs against regular people. It had its merits, albeit it was a bit more irregular than between two normal people.

  Figuring out those methods led to many strange encounters and ideas. It happened in nearly every corner of the world, with societies changing according to their circumstances, or they simply did what they had to do. For the sake of humanity, following the order of survival meant seeking power like never before.

  It was almost incomprehensible, savage, and primal. To mate. Proliferate. A game of numbers came like a natural selection between struggle and extinction. The Dawn wasn’t disappearing because of those methods. It probably came because of it, or so some people thought.

  ***

  Away in the streets, Kaufman dragged a grown-ass man who seemed to be less physically hurt than before. His mind took a large hit, after all, and so did his confidence. His playing was terrible, and Mi-Yung hurt him for real.

  “I think I've messed up, Kaufman,” Richards uttered from an awkward position akin to a child dragged by a father.

  “It is fine. I said the truth. I will leave, and nothing will stop it. Why, you wonder? Why did I do this? Why did I start it?”

  “But... the Academy? What have you planned? I thought... I thought...” Richards couldn't think.

  “I used you like a pawn, Richards. Forcing things with Mi-Yung sounds good, and pressing on these matters is a personal matter. It is never fine to get personally attached to these things, and I doubt Fain would move her, too. Also, there will be others who may be better, or no better at all, once they realize the truth that you can't fathom either. William gets me. I put the seed down but don’t want to weed out the weeds, let alone water it. She has a personality like her father, and that isn't all that surprising, while that kid is no Gale at all. You would not change it either, because she has her head.”

  “I see.”

  “Don't fret. I wrecked it up so much more than you think! This is going to be fun, so deal with the rest. Say I haven’t done a thing. Mention internal strife, since troubles are bound to come because of Gales.”

  “Are you sure about it?”

  “No. But I will be gone before something happens.” Kaufman chuckled.

  “Oh... I forgot I shouldn’t overestimate your capabilities. What a sorry figure am I, yes? At least we know her views on William, and in return, we gain understanding. He… Dreadus and the rest. It seems Mi-Yung isn't alone. She might not necessarily know much about the mother, either. It is quite a fickle and critical point, or... it is not fine. Does she know? Is she wiped out? If so...” Richards speculated out loud.

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  “Mother? What do you mean? If she already did what she did, she must know something for sure.”

  “She never said anything worth marching about her.”

  “Then what about that man? Luke was his name.”

  “Wiping it off wouldn't work like that. We are the Academy. Yondu Division is Federation, and we hadn’t gotten the hang of this that early. William was truly out there, lost and doing whatever.”

  “Then you deserve this beating even more.” Kaufman was so unapologetic, Richards couldn't even retort.

  “Kaufman... you don't know, right? You don't know what they entail. What is Wiped, is clean.”

  “Oh, I know. Trust me. I am not caring for his mother. William does, and he has that beautifully linked to the Academy, and Mi-Yung must know it, yet she doesn't care. Why? I don't know, and that grinds my nerves a little.”

  Richards shook his head, and as a butler of the Academy, knowing about these matters was very interesting to him. “As I've said. Perhaps it won't have a pleasant start or end. How about Fain?”

  “What a rubbish idea.”

  “Figures… What else?”

  “I am going on a vacation, so don't bother me,” Kaufman said coldly. There was nothing else personal, and Richards' manner wasn’t important. Not only was William like a lost kitten, but most of his past wasn’t looking clean. They stayed with William, and in the end, the future mattered so much more.

  Kaufman didn't find it was bad or good; it was just odd to think of it as a terrific possibility because he was Outside for a decade and his parents did some weird deeds, vanished, and never appeared again.

  Kaufman was aware of what had occurred in the past weeks, rather than way back. Luke acted on Mi-Yung's orders and nothing else. There was not a single mention of the Academy’s involvement until someone got the hang of the news. He didn’t know who that was, but it brought Richards to him.

  Then, the situation with Australia changed everything, and it was entirely possible that it helped and sabotaged Mi-Yung’s entire cause and work. Fewer people will give William thoughts because of it, and most will instead focus on Dreadus or that girl.

  Both were interesting, even to Kaufman, who had seen them all. The Federation took in quite some treasures until even Rifts spread, and rare interest reached this land. That wasn’t Mi-Yung’s fault. The others must have had way too eager mouths.

  Kaufman had trouble imagining problems arising from this too soon, so that's why leaving was such a great idea.

  “Well, it is not so bad if you are leaving, Kaufman. Was it worth it?” Richards asked, just in case there was something more to tell.

  “You are terrible at this, but I don't blame your place or act. I blame other stuff. Darks. Politics! God forsaken politics! They won't lessen even as I climb to higher peaks. Instead, they go higher than the sky itself.” He lamented for his sake, knowing much more about this world than Richards.

  However, Richards was a Butler of the Emblem Academy, and he wasn't petty or stupid. After all, he sneaked past Mi-Yung many times in the past, and it shouldn't be easy.

  Kaufman was like a lurking shadow himself, too, and this little business partnership ended as shortly as Richards expected. He was as powerful as a couple of their directors combined, so he had what it took to act with prudent arrogance and wantonness.

  Unfortunately, he couldn't see all the links, involvement of the Academy itself, and others, so what had he even expected?

  Forced Awakening would show it off. Then, the problems would come on their own, with solutions, promises, compromises, or winning against the odds. Richards no longer considered William’s past as poor. He learned his lesson and understood many Walkers were simply not fine until a certain threshold.

  Sometimes, even poor bastards at lower Ranks could grow to incredible heights and change at higher Ranks. It happened constantly, but getting there was the troublesome part.

  The Academy was a very restricted place, and its point in the Federation was kind of prudent and mostly related to Walkers. Located a couple of hundred miles away, it was an artificial archipelago filled with complications. At least for what it was, Kaufman didn’t think of it that highly and visited it from time to time.

  Even with those, he still wondered what was going on in its depths. Fain was a mystery even for him, and it accumulated wealth and social structure at such a steep angle that even a bastard like him couldn’t act stupid.

  It hid those who had betrayed their former lands and followed Fain instead. That included monsters in similar shoes to his, so Kaufman was a bit apprehensive about his choices. Seeing Mi-Yung act like a silly girl about this situation was another thing.

  Richards didn't work out in the end, though he was a great, meticulous worker and spy, and his information gathering was worth the hassle and effort. In a couple of days, he had done enough, and both used each other. This highlighted the power of the Academy because someone intercepted Kaufman’s points, or Mi-Yung.

  There were at least five variables set in place, if not more. One of them was Kaufman, who wanted William for himself, but then changed his mind. The second was a mysterious engagement from the Academy and their potential interest in recruitment, William’s mother, or something deeper.

  That could be part of Richards' work, or tests, or he was a proxy to someone else. Kaufman didn't know all the details because of the general ambiguity. It still ended with him being a clear winner who toyed with Richards instead, so calling it a win was easy.

  Sighting, Kaufman found links to his desires and understood he was part of this mess. So, could he kidnap or force William, or do anything with that? It was possible before the Examination, yet less likely afterward, because of all the known and unknown factors.

  Kaufman was aware of a couple of incidents that still lingered in the back of his mind. Young, homesick, and dreading appeasing the masses and her own blood, Mi-Yung was a rare talent that shook the Federation. She was the best, or so some people dared to say. Kaufman wouldn't go that far, simply because talents were subjective and the real world wasn't fine with every talent.

  Until he would see her wiping out nests and shattering the toughest dungeons and live with that on her own, he wouldn't take her seriously.

  Which might no longer be just a joke. He felt it tonight, and it wasn’t fake.

  A decade ago, Viktor’s missing status caused a great deal of concern. It was a time shrouded in veils of fog, and uncovering the truth was grim. She was weak, unable to lift a finger, let alone help with anything. So she worked her ass off and got to a decent position in just a decade.

  Kaufman could have done something, as he was at Rank 8 back then, yet he wasn’t aware. Even now, sentiments of sadness and loss were common, and everyone understood it, until the haunting Incursion broke the status quo.

  Such memories forced many minds to wake up and wait for even more sorrowful nights.

  Kaufman didn't like to forget things and took his melancholy for a simple emotion. He will have to keep it close for now, or for the future. Walking further, unnoticed by anyone, Richards had already disappeared. With no words or steps, his style was like space.

  The breeze and great moonlight lingered, and so did the cowboy hat above a lone figure.

  Kaufman laughed because he forgot about it. He tried to jump for it, but it got further away. Cursing at it didn't help. It's a pity how it started out as such a great night. He rather disappeared into the space like dust and met with a blessing in disguise.