After a few seconds had passed, Clyde finally realized that in his body now there was a new power. Clyde also noticed that his movements were getting faster and stronger.
Then when he looked down, Clyde noticed a thin white mist coming out of his body. Instantly he realized that this must be his Mana that had awakened.
In his heart, Clyde also felt happy. What happened now meant that he didn't have to start all over again.
Even if his system power didn't return, Clyde would still be able to develop his strength quickly.
Though, Clyde still wanted his system power to come back because there were various kinds of treasures that he had worked hard to obtain in the Selection Stage.
Samuel lunged again. This time he said. "Let's level up our battle. I see you can already use Mana."
*CLANG!*
Samuel's spear hit Clyde's sword which he used to block his attack.
"Is that so?" Clyde asked.
"Yes. Unless you can't hold it anymore," Samuel replied.
Clyde grinned. "I think I'm perfectly fine."
Clyde then kicked Samuel, sending him several meters backward.
Samuel snorted with a grin. "Okay then."
Samuel wanted to learn the true extent of Clyde's potential. Maybe now he should start getting serious and not think of Clyde as a wounded person anymore.
They clashed once again. This time there was even a wave of wind that spread out in all directions indicating that the battle had escalated to a higher stage.
The swings of swords and spears clashed against each other in swift movements that only seemed like a blur in the middle of the vast plains. All the spectators since earlier were almost speechless because of it.
Until finally, something happened, forcing the fight to end.
Suddenly Clyde's sword broke and flew into the air. The broken blade circled in the air before finally sinking into the ground not far in front of Wayne.
Clyde stared at the sword in his hand, which was now half gone, with a dumbfounded expression.
"You've got to be kidding," Clyde muttered in disbelief.
"Well," Samuel said. "It looks like our fight has to stop."
"I can still pick up another sword," Clyde said.
"No. I don't think you can force your body," Samuel said, shaking his head.
Actually, he also still wants to fight longer with Clyde. But after more thought, he felt it was unwise to force someone's newly recovered body to fight like that.
Samuel felt regretful because he had said earlier that he wanted to raise the level of their battle.
Clyde feels reluctant after hearing Samuel's words. All the tension in his body asked for the fight to continue.
But he realized what Samuel said was true. He shouldn't force his body which is still undergoing the recovery process.
"Huuh..." Clyde exhaled as if he wanted to release all the tension and his will to fight. "Alright."
Clyde finally noticed the spectator who had circled them. Not used to being the center of attention, Clyde just looked away from them and walked over to Lahn and Wayne.
"Sorry about your sword," Clyde said to Wayne. "But to be honest, it looks like the quality of these swords is bad. Who made them?"
"U-Uhh… It was the Hammer that made it. The Chief Blacksmith in this place," Wayne replied.
"You should tell him that the quality of the sword is bad. The sword you use has also been broken many times, right?"
Wayne grimaced, looking uncomfortable with the idea. "Y-Yeah..."
After that Clyde walked towards the portal and went inside. Without realizing it, he had already left many people standing still in a dumbfounded state.
"Who is that, Sam?" one of the spectators who had seen their fight earlier asked Samuel.
"He is one of the new people," replied Samuel.
"You mean the people you saved from the Selection Stage recently?!" another asked.
"Yes." Samuel nodded.
After that, they whispered to each other. What they talked about was nothing short of shock about Clyde's identity.
They knew that there were new people that Samuel single-handedly rescued from the Selection Stage. However, it's only been a month since that incident so no one should be able to fight like that.
But what they clear is something real. Someone who came from the Selection Stage who shouldn't have Mana and was seriously injured was already able to fight and ended up in a draw against Samuel who was one of the strongest fighters in this fortress.
And just like that, Clyde's existence became something of a shock in this fortress. Some people immediately concluded that he would become a force that boosted their strength many times over.
~~~
Two days had passed since his battle practice with Samuel which was getting a lot of attention. Clyde would head straight out into the wide plains to do his training.
He didn't visit any other place in this fortress after leaving his living quarter other than the cafeteria to eat.
Due to his cold demeanor and the always gloomy look on his face, others felt very reluctant to get close to him.
Clyde didn't mind. In fact, he enjoys that solitude. That way he wouldn't have to worry too much about fake humans stabbing him in the back again because no one came close. At least they wouldn't catch him off guard when they were far away.
Even so, Clyde was aware of those talking about him behind his back. However, he pretended not to know and assumed that it was just insignificant background noise.
What Clyde had to do now was focus on his training and then gather as much strength and knowledge as possible.
Then find a way to get revenge. But Clyde realized that to achieve that he had to be more patient.
Based on what Samuel said, Rodney and company should now be together with the Celestials who chose them. That position gave them quite a bit of power and Clyde couldn't match that for now.
And so, he continues to train like now.
As usual, the vast plains were always filled with people practicing. Clyde was standing alone in a corner, away from the people holding group training as usual.
He summoned his Character Information again. This time Clyde could already see his Name clearly written there.
~~~
