"Three companions, huh?"
Clyde was still contemplating with his head down, staring at the green grass dancing in the wind below him.
"Where should I get them..."
For Clyde, the problem of finding companions to carry out missions is not a matter of their strength, or finding members with suitable abilities.
But that was the problem with him not being able to form relationships with strangers.
Clyde wasn't too comfortable being in a group with strangers. Even when he was still in the Selection Stage, Clyde was only with them because he had to.
Especially now that he had experienced that painful betrayal. The guards he put up around him got even stronger.
For Clyde now, trusting others or just letting others get behind his back makes him uneasy. If he could choose, he wouldn't want to do that.
However, Clyde also understood that Maethion also didn't want to make himself look suspicious by giving the expedition mission to go out of the Fortress for him only.
Clyde understood Maethion's reasoning, but that didn't mean he would feel happy about it.
He exhaled roughly. His hands were on his waist and his eyes started scanning the plains area.
There are so many people practicing here. But they immediately averted their gaze when they saw Clyde staring back at them.
Before now, Clyde had wanted that kind of treatment because he didn't want to get too close to anyone. Yet now a different situation occurred and the treatment made it even more difficult for him.
'So, what the fuck should I do now?'
Clyde racked his brain for an answer. But no matter how hard he thought, he could only come up with one answer. Which is, he had to start talking to them and asking for help.
But it's definitely a hard thing for Clyde. After all, his purpose was looking for a companion to take on a mission against the Celestials' emissaries, they would immediately run away in fear when they heard that.
It was then that Clyde saw several people coming out of the portal. When Clyde noticed their arrival, he couldn't help but frown.
An idea pops up in his head. 'Maybe it's possible with them.'
The newly arrived group consisted of five people. And Clyde had met them before. His relationship was quite good with the group because they were the ones who saved him at that time.
They were Leon, Albert, Wiley, Rosie, and Lola. Five people who had come from the same Selection Stage and ended up in the same place as him.
Clyde still hesitated to approach them. But at least with them, he could talk easier because of the history they shared in the past.
So Clyde walked over to them. The five people seemed to be scanning around. Their expressions were one of amazement seeing that there was a place like this inside the Fortress.
"How big do you think this place is?" Wiley asked without looking at his friends. Because he was busy looking into the distance to find something that was like the edge of this place. Yet he did not find any.
"I guess there's no use asking about that. You should already understand that this place doesn't make any sense."
It was Rosie who answered his questions. Hearing her answer, Wiley chuckled. After all, they're now staying in a place where the sky is always night. After going through a disaster that destroyed their world and gave them mysterious powers.
Now, they set foot in a world that seemed to have only been created from plains of grass and trees after entering the portal. So there's nothing that should surprise them anymore now.
Except, the figure of a person walking towards them with those long strides.
"I-Isn't that, Clyde?!" Lola exclaims with widened eyes.
"Yes," Leon answered. Even he couldn't help but feel anxious seeing Clyde approaching.
Clyde saw the five people suddenly stand stiffly as he approached. It also made Clyde feel nervous. But he still walked closer.
"You uhh... have you all recovered?" Clyde asked awkwardly.
"Yeah. As you can see," Leon answered with a smile.
"What are you all doing here? Do you want to practice?"
The five of them had indeed heard that this place was used to train those who had recovered from injuries at the Selection Stage.
However, they still weren't sure that they could train anything so their purpose in coming here wasn't to train but just to have a look around this place.
"Uhh, no. We just wanted to have a look," Leon replied.
Clyde bit his lip. He didn't know where to start. So, he decided to talk directly to them.
"By the way, do you guys know about the expedition?" Clyde started.
The five of them stared at each other. Then Albert said. "You mean, activities carried out by people strong enough to leave this Fortress and carry out missions?"
Clyde nodded. "Yeah, that's the one. So, I intend to go on an expedition. Do you want to join?"
Clyde's words made them dumbfounded. They didn't really like the idea of ??leaving the Fortress. Because everyone they met in this Fortress was talking about how dangerous the situation was outside the Fortress.
They didn't answer right away. They once again looked at each other but their answers were all too clear in Clyde's eyes.
"I know what you guys are thinking," said Clyde. "There's no need to worry about that now. If you're willing to come with me, you can train your bodies first to prepare yourself."
"But..." Leon said with a doubtful expression on his face. "The people here have been training for quite a while, but they still don't dare to go on an expedition. Whereas we just got out of the infirmary about a month ago. That seems too fast, isn't it?"
"You know my what I'm capable of, right?" Clyde stared at them with determined eyes. "You don't need to be afraid. I'll just be honest with you. I just need to take you guys so I don't go alone."
Hearing that, the five of them looked at Clyde questioningly.
"So, you really don't have to do anything dangerous."
~~~
This 𝓬ontent is taken from f(r)eeweb(n)ovel.𝒄𝒐𝙢