Night had fallen and Clyde immediately walked to the cafeteria for dinner. On the way, some people try to get closer to him by greeting him or smiling.
Clyde only answered curtly when they asked. Not wanting to reveal too much about himself.
He continued to create a thick wall around him to keep out anyone who wanted to come closer. In his heart, there is still a sense of worry about being in a relationship with other people.
'I can't let myself get caught off guard again.'
He walked towards one of the empty tables after picking up his food. Then eat quietly alone. That is, until three people came to his table and sat down in front of him.
Clyde let out a long breath of annoyance before he even saw who it was. He actually didn't care who came. The fact that they came and interrupted his dinner was enough to irritate him.
"I heard from people, you can use lightning too," Lahn said, starting the conversation.
Clyde didn't see the urgency to answer so he didn't. And continued to put food into his mouth.
"How did you do it?" Lahn asked again.
Wayne and James who were beside her grimaced and turned to her. Their gazes seemed to be telling Lahn not to continue asking her questions.
They had both told Lahn it was a bad idea to approach Clyde. But Lahn stubbornly ignored their words and went straight to Clyde.
So, the two of them also followed her.
"I just happen to be able to do it," Clyde replied curtly.
"Tell me," Lahn said persistently.
*clang!*
The sound made when Clyde dropped his spoon and hit the metal tray was extremely loud. Lahn even flinched back in shock.
"I'm sorry." Clyde is still trying to be polite. "I told you I didn't know. And I feel uncomfortable because you keep asking."
Only now did Clyde look up from his tray and stare at Lahn. Her gaze pierced Lahn, making her freeze in place.
"We're really sorry. We didn't mean to annoy you," Wayne said with an apologetic face.
Clyde nodded, continued his meal, and said. "It's okay if you guys want to stay here. Just don't disturb my dinner with questions I won't answer."
The three of them looked at each other. Wayne and James had hoped that Lahn would understand and not cause any more trouble.
Even though Clyde said that they could stay, he had created an awkward atmosphere that made it uncomfortable for them to still sit near him.
However, before Wayne saw that Lahn didn't want to leave here. So he and James also stayed so they could watch over her so she wouldn't cause any more trouble.
They continued eating in silence. There was only the sound of clashing spoons, forks, and trays that filled the table.
Until finally, a commotion was created when a group of people entered the cafeteria.
"They are coming," said James.
Clyde looked up and stared at the entrance. There, he saw four people enter with a gloomy expressions. Samuel was among them. The air around them seemed to emit deep sorrow.
"Who are they?" Clyde asked.
"They are one of the parties of senior members in this fortress," replied James. "They just came back from an expedition."
"And it doesn't seem to have worked out very well," said Lahn.
"Why?" Clyde asked.
"There were five of them when they went."
Clyde turned again to the party that was now taking the food. They didn't say anything until they sat down at a table in the corner.
Clyde intends to meet them to ask to join the expedition. However, he doubted he would get the answer he wanted if he asked now.
Clyde took a deep breath and continued to eat his food. The three people in front of him also resumed eating but now they had something to talk about so the table was not as quiet as before.
"It seems Haru is now gone," said James. Her voice was filled with sorrow.
Clyde listened intently.
"Even for people on their level, going to The All Territory is still too dangerous," said James.
"What about the other parties?" Lahn asked. "Are they back yet?"
James shook his head before answering. "I haven't heard about them yet."
Clyde overheard the conversation between the three of them. From what he had heard the three of them had yet to see with their own eyes how The All Territory was.
They only heard it from the stories of the senior members they met. But from all the stories Clyde can conclude the same thing. It was such a dangerous place that the risk of losing one's life there was too great.
'It doesn't matter. I have to go there.'
To get his revenge, Clyde must go to The All Territory. He couldn't possibly seek revenge if he continued to be trapped in this place.
"Oh, right! I forgot to tell you," James said to Clyde.
"What is it?" asked Clyde.
"The people who came with you have started to wake up. But they still can't move from their bed."
Clyde also looked forward to when they woke up because he wanted to say thank you.
They were the ones who saved him from the Regressors' assassination attempts. If it wasn't for them, he would be dead by now.
"Thanks for the information," said Clyde.
James nodded with a smile.
~~~
After dinner, Clyde went to the room where the people who saved him were being treated.
They are put in the same room so they don't feel bored going through the treatment process which might take quite a long time.
Clyde came into the room after knocking on the door. When he entered he saw three other people who seemed to be engaged in conversation from their respective beds.
Their hands and feet were still shackled with the same shackles that bound him before. But they can already sit up straight.
The three people were Leon, Rosie, and Lola. Meanwhile, Albert and Wiley were still asleep in their bed.
The three of them glanced at Clyde at the same time. Their gazes instantly made him feel a little nervous.
He stepped inside. "I want to say thank you to you all. Without you, I would have died."
Leon, Lola, and Rosie looked at each other. Then Leon said. "O-Oh, we were just repaying your kindness."
"I didn't do anything for you." Clyde was confused.
"What do you mean? You've defeated the BOSS at the end of every Chapter. That saved us from having to fight them so our lives are still there today," Rosie said.
'Oh, so that's the reason.'
Clyde certainly didn't mean to protect them when he fought those BOSSes. He did it for himself. But that didn't change the fact that he did kill the BOSSes so they didn't have to bother fighting.
'I don't need to say thank you after all.'
Clyde just realized that he had saved their lives many times.
"Alright then. I will go now."
After that Clyde immediately left before he could hear Leon stop him. Which indeed he will do. Leon just exhaled, disappointed that he wasn't fast enough.
"How did he recover so quickly?" Rosie muttered in surprise as she stared at the closed door.
"You still wonder about that?" Lola said. "Have you forgotten how he fought before? His strength is on another level."
Rosie turned to Lola, then pondered at what she was saying for a few moments.
She didn't take long to nod as she said. "You're right. There's something about him that makes him so strong. I guess that happened here too even after he couldn't have his Character Information anymore."
The five of them had already received an explanation from James that in this place, they could no longer use Character Information. Their system power was gone and their bodies had almost returned to their original body state.
Almost, because Leon is shown to still have a bit of strength in his body which allows him to recover faster than the others.
After Clyde left, they continued their small talk while waiting for bedtime to come. That was their only activity for now when they still couldn't get rid of the shackles on their hands and feet.
James says they can turn into terrible monsters that must be killed. There was no reason to deny his words so they complied for now.
~~~
Clyde canceled his intention to look for the senior members. He saw the bad mood like a dark cloud overshadowing them. So that's not a good idea for now.
Instead, he went to the Hammer smithy to see the progress of making weapons from the materials he had searched so hard for.
When Clyde entered the smithy, he was greeted with smiles and warm greetings from the blacksmiths. They said the same thing, they were grateful because Clyde had brought them good materials for them to work on.
Clyde says he's only doing it because he wants better weapons than what's in here, not for them. So, they don't need to thank you.
Suddenly, a figure he didn't expect would be here approached him.
~~~
