“Is that a problem for the Association or this business? Does any law forbid it? Assembly just doesn't like it, is that all?” Mi-Yung battered the poor guy with her reasons. William almost felt conflicted, but felt Mi-Yung deserved this moment.

  “No. It is not our place to speak. William Gale will have his choices and distinguished values ahead of time. Regardless of the fit in Awakening, I presume. His freedom and business come with him, and your help as a proxy partner is yours to take. There, how it conflicts with you is up to others. Is that fine with you, miss?”

  “Good. Yes.”

  The man wrote down the matters at hand, and a lady behind him offered them their token. The man took it and gave it Mi-Yung. “I hope for good luck, Miss Song.”

  Mi-Yung grabbed it and slapped it to William's chest, which pushed him away a few steps. “Take care of it. Don't lose it.”

  Celeste's turn came next. The man wasn't aware of this girl and wasn't very familiar with Reaz, so the proceedings were much more bearable and normal.

  Although this event had stood for decades, the Emblem Association wasn't well-versed in most businesses and lacked detailed knowledge of every incoming youth, let alone their close companions.

  Citizenship was already solved, so Reaz got him a little booklet, and the man frowned. There was no family or surname, yet there was one shocking part. Dreadus was recognized as Celeste's guardian, and his name alone was prominent in this booklet, as was the home ground's orientation, which was not a typical residence.

  “Hm. Nothing out of the ordinary. Choices are similar to Miss Song. Mister Dreadus is not here, I presume?” the man said and took glaring Reaz for a ferocious tigress.

  “Yes, he is not here, but is that a problem?”

  “Well, this is fine. Have a token and wait for your turn. It is expected that your choices will be more erratic and met with curiosity. There is no special attention to anyone, be it son or daughter of great families, or vagabonds waiting to prosper.”

  Reaz grabbed the wooden fateful object, which quickly disappeared from her hands as Celeste grabbed it. Curious, she watched a simple number 70 scribed into the wood.

  “Has the Awakening started?” Reaz asked the man.

  “A couple of cases are already over it, so you might say so. Now, if you excuse us....” The man bowed a little and left.

  “Well, that went smoother than I would ever guess and cuss,” Reaz said, half impressed and half bored how it went that way. She sat on the ground to pass the time while Celeste was busy with Hound, who gnawed at her token and played with it.

  Mi-Yung was beside William, who glanced at his token. Inscribed number 134 was a simple form that caused him little confusion. He thought he would be 69, but nope. All it meant was the waiting line wasn't normal and followed some form of choices the Association used and knew alone.

  “This is going to be a long day, William.”

  “I know.”

  “Ah!!” Suddenly, a shout echoed behind them, coming from an approaching youth and an old man behind him.

  “I knew it! I knew that you would come!”

  William shuddered at this voice, recognizing it and not liking what it signified. Before he turned, a hand grasped him. It was that asshole Stark, who wouldn't live down a lot of things, and recognizing William was easier than ever. He etched this bastard deep into his heart and didn't plan to miss this out!

  Alas, he wasn't alone. Before Stark had a change of heart, another hand clutched his and twisted it. Mi-Yung wasn't someone easy to deal with, let alone gentle with idiots, and if anything was her right, it was dealing with idiots with impudence.

  Unfortunately for this brat, Mi-Yung grabbed his cheek next and pulled him closer. His arm hurt, his face distorted, his mouth twitched in agony and silent screams, and words escaped his mouth in weeps of suffering. He was careless and took Mi-Yung for air.

  “Oyayayyaaa. That hurts!” Stark cried and tried to shove the hand away from the grip on his cheek, but failed at all accounts.

  “Naughty brat. What was that about you and you? You want problems with my proxy?” Mi-Yung asked, uttering each word in a cadence and voice fit for her position, while shoving William behind her.

  Stark didn't care; he was used to worse, if not a similar kind of treatment. Words could hurt, but actions and their consequences could be just as bad.

  “L-let go of me, you mad....” he kept complaining, daring to kick her in the face and arm. Mi-Yung already raised him above the ground, and each kick was like a little poke, or a whining miss.

  Mi-Yung didn't give a crap about him. Teaching a lesson was so cheap nowadays, and as great as she remembered.

  Someone would agree with her if he could. “Miss Mi-Yung,” an old man said behind Stark, “I would appreciate it if you let young master Stark free.” He was a man of stern expression, wearing a fancy suit and a hidden, sturdy build.

  “Good day to you, Connolly,” Mi-Yung said shamelessly and didn't let Star free.

  “Good day indeed. Good to see you haven't backed away from the problems you've forced or caused. Proxy is heavy. The Assembly is heavier. However, this isn't it. So? When are you going to let go of my Young Master?”

  Mi-Yung scoffed at him and glanced at William behind her. “Have you met this loud person before?”

  A question pointed to something William took for an unfortunate incident. He looked at the guests, his throat tightened, his Emblem was still visible, and he felt something stirring.

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  “Never met him in my life,” he answered.

  “Is what you wish to say. Whatever, I don't want to see any troubles right now or later, so... this is unexpected. Alright.” Mi-Yung let go of Stark's cheek.

  Stark fell to his ass and felt how Mi-Yung patted him a few times on his red cheek afterward. Embarrassment was inconceivable, and part of her tight grip reminded him of the past.

  Red-faced Stark pushed her hand in embarrassment, which then turned into anger. A vein popped on his forehead, his mouth twitched, and his anger came out as usual.

  “Y-you... Who do you think you are touching?” Stark's gaze pierced the air, and Mi-Yung shrugged it off with a smile.

  “A brat. Clearly, some brat—right, Connolly?” She smirked at a man aside, who was hesitant to force anything right now, or at all. Stark needed lessons, and no matter how it went, his problems were not his problems at the moment. The terrible timing. The insane proposition? He was stupid to play this game right now.

  Connolly was a simple man—or so he preferred to present himself, but a job was a job, and his position wasn't truly free or spotless. He had known Prime Hunter all his life, and this little brat had been under his watch since he was a baby.

  Yet the baby grew into a tiger that could not be tamed. It was for the better, Prime Hunter used to say, but Connolly often disagreed because it was obviously a mistake on the man who dared to call himself a Prime Hunter.

  Arrogance wasn't good, even if this brat had a reasonable cause for this madness. It was how many Walkers tend to be, about honesty, craziness, and following the motions of their Emblems. Connolly hadn't made a move. His hands remained in his pockets. There was a simple solution to get out of trouble, while this place wasn't very private or good.

  “My apologies. I didn't think of this... mess,” he muttered and took his young master for a dog without teeth. Stark couldn't do much before Mi-Yung, and he even noticed Celeste running around the place, trying to catch Hound, who stole her token.

  Gulping, Stark might swallow his pride and call it a minor accident, but when he noticed Reaz aside, smiling and waving at him with her obnoxious, taunting smile, he almost shut up for good.

  “I don't like being ignored, you mad... miss.” Stark barked at Mi-Yung, who scrambled his hair and got up.

  “Still the same as ever?” Mi-Yung, without a glance at Stark, asked Connolly.

  “Same as always. Things are tough for youths. Shame not everyone is as good as they ought to be, but it tends to happen, right?” His answer left many desires behind, but Connolly stepped forward and grabbed Stark's shoulders. “Now, young master Stark, let this go. For the sake of yourself and your father, this isn't a time for mistakes.”

  Before letting Stark utter more nonsense, he jerked him up and dragged him away. Hearing Stark's complaints for the next hour was a small price to pay, if not the best solution for this problem.

  This left a nice end to Mi-Yung's pickle. She glanced at William, who thought she had solved it as if it were no big deal. It wasn't.

  Smiling, Mi-Yung looked at William's mischievous face. “How about some explanation? How in the bloody hell have you befriended a brat of a Prime Hunter?” Mi-Yung pointed a finger at a distant pair of arguing Stark and Connolly, who scolded his young master out of frustration.

  “I wouldn't call it like that. He is a madman, to be exact.” William argued without a speck of shame. “But I indeed met that guy twice. It was an unfortunate incident both times.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “I am sure. Sure. It is not a friendship, by the way. That asshole is stuck too much in his ass and didn't know what to say because of that. Seriously, that guy has issues.”

  “Whatever. Problems often arise when people are not prepared, so next time, be prepared. He is the same as his father, so befriending him in any way is a big deal, or not a good idea.”

  “Sure.”

  “Glad you it. Now, let's wait it out before it is our turn, shall we?”

  William nodded and looked around to notice fuzzy Celeste, who was running around the walls, jumping like a crazy monkey, and trying to catch that fiddling Hound.

  Reaz cheered for both of them and had no concern for others, let alone Mi-Yung dealing with Stark or Conolly. She had a small inner bet on the winner. Even when some people visibly frowned and found that duo annoying, nothing stopped them.

  Soon, Celeste caught Hound anyway and began fighting with his mouth for her token. The solution? She bit his mouth herself, and the beast growled in shame.

  William found no one familiar aside from her. He had a feeling Ellie could be somewhere, but she hadn't shared any details about her job here with him. There were also issues with Kaufman, who hadn't returned or checked on anything, as he claimed, while none of the Butlers or Richards showed up. Both wanted to recruit him, so whatever Mi-Yung planned for him, he was fine doing that right beside her.

  He refused pretty much everything anyway because of her alone. So far, his time was decent. Nothing indicated terrible times.

  There was no choice. It was the Examination afterwards that was the main problem, where, usually, up to five choices were available for most youths.

  One way was accepting a proposition and invitation from one of the organizations.

  Another was offering their body and accepting the best or most suitable offer, or putting forth a request.

  As for the more popular one, it would be an offer arrangement dating well before the Examination. Some youths have long been part of specific organizations and set their choices within them. Of course, that could change, but it was rare.

  Another option was rare and rather forceful. If a youth had nothing and appeared reluctant, a forceful choice might be coming their way. If the youths asked and demanded too much, they would be handled accordingly, because having rookies go rogue was not an option. They came here to be Walkers, and the organizations had to respect their ways and also handle these youths if they got too rowdy.

  Those were usually youths with shortcomings, ranging from a bad upbringing to bad Emblems, or their experience with Awakening left them in shock.

  William wondered what will be his choice. The Academy was intriguing, known for taking offers very seriously, but almost every youth would find its demands absurd. After all, there was an additional examination within the Academy. It was common knowledge for most youths bearing such hopes or tales. It was at least that in this land, while Outside, such tales were nowhere to be heard.

  It wasn't even easy to get a chance to take this examination, and one might even fail that, too, which was rough. A youth had to gain approval, and if they failed to gain enough attention, they could lose everything. A lot of it was a weird game of interest, favor, and weight. In short, the Academy was seeking a proper mentality, great Emblems, and a personality that suited their needs. Many other accepted compromises or simpler needs.

  If one failed their second trial, another chance would come in half a year, since the Academy's examinations were linked to this event, which meant time-gated opportunities and training.

  The last option was to join a foreign organization, but they might not accept just about anyone. There was a business in the bodies, and most organizations had limits to how many they could take under their wings from foreign lands. It wasn't about too much of that or this, and more about how they could afford such recruits.

  Most Walkers present will stay in the Federation, as most have already touched on it. Letting them grow in many safe zones was amicable, thus allowing secrets to bloom.

  William learned that less than ten percent of the Walkers in this Examination were true fleshed-out Outsiders like him. Almost everyone was already pledged to their origin, marked by organisations, and subtle offers. It was crucial, yet they might betray said hopes because that was one fairness the Examination allowed. One haggled for their skin, and if a fine offer presented itself right there, everything was fair. Forcing it, however... well, it was not cool.

  If one organization was unwilling, that was it. Too fucking bad.

  There were youths from China, Japan, and even Africa. Those would get this over with, come back home with their representatives, and getting away from their home was beyond rare or part of a predisposed sentiment, such as a trading partnership or schooling. African Tribes were fine with sending someone here in exchange, and rumors about Japan doing the same were also spreading lately.

  It was that sort of business.