The day went by and Caelus couldn't help but admire Asahi the more he wandered around the camp.
To be honest, the camp wasn't qualified to be called just "camp". It was more like a huge base.
The place was large enough to be the size of a town. There were even wooden buildings in place. One could see how much work was put in creating the place.
Seeing the structures of the camp, Caelus could not help but think about the difference between Natural and Man-made that had stopped functioning. It was clear that tents, houses and buildings were not one of those that would stop, like guns, phones and computers. However, whenever he thought of a mechanical wristwatch that also stopped, he felt there was clearly some distinction about things that would work normally even if it is manmade compared to those which stopped working altogether that would need a barrier around it to continue working inside the Super Phenomena.
As Caelus continued to explore around, he saw the place wasn't even done with their expansion. Given time, the place might even reach the size of ten towns. But that would still be waiting for the future to be seen.
With the forces of Dragon Riders coming out of Zones and getting mixed towards the merged world, more and more Dragon Riders lurk on the surface.
According to Asahi's collection of information with the people around, there were batches of people who entered the Zone and then were registered to the System. All humans were designated to a Zone, they did not meet any Dragon Riders in their first ever Zones. However, after exiting the Zones, Dragon Riders could be seen on unstable lands or stable lands. Unlike humans who could not stay in unstable lands, Dragon Riders could. And when they did, they would massacre people who were unlucky to not get teleported fast enough.
A month after the Super Phenomena, meeting Dragon Riders inside a Zone became almost common, though there were also instances where there was no Dragon Rider inside a Zone.
If it was indeed like that, then they could guess that the System set up for each world to register to the System and get used to it first before they would meet with the other world Natives inside a Zone. And since the registration of the System for everyone was by batch, it just meant that the System could not register everyone all at the same time.
Thinking about that, Caelus could not help feeling embarrassed when he thought how he had shouted for everyone to say "Glitch" just to register themselves to the System. Yet, he really could not fully blame himself. Everyone did not know anything about the System. And it did register them faster when they said the keywords.
He shook himself out of the embarrassing thought and focused on the current situation of the camp.
The skill that was protecting the town was able to create a protective barrier and illusion around the town, and although it was good defense, the Dragon Riders were forces not to be underestimated.
And if his suspicion were proven right–that Dragon Riders, like humans, could also gain Glitch skills–then the situation was far from over. Contrary to it, humans might even face annihilation. They could even stay inside an unstable merging world, it meant they were a stronger race than humans.
Everyone on the Elder and Security side knew about it, that's why when they heard that Asahi could provide a much safer place for them, they wanted to confirm how true that was.
They immediately created an expedition team to wait for Asahi and "his friends" to meet them near the Sanctuary Shelter–where Elder Tomoko's group are at.
Caelus immediately marveled at Asahi's quick witted idea.
Asahi wanted to go with Caelus to meet Gouki, Hikari and Miya. At the same time, he directed some people to be with Elder Tomoko so that the group Caelus saved would be truly safe. It was like hitting two birds with one stone. He immediately gained new insight with it.
After flattening out the details, the two finally departed towards Gouki's direction.
"Here take this."
"Hm?"
"It's a Thousand Faces I bought from the Glitch Special Shop. I've used it for a while. But now, I hardly use it. I think it would be more useful for you."
"If it's from the Special Shop, it must be expensive. I can't accept that knowing you spent a lot getting this. I know how hard it is to collect God Points."
Asahi chuckled and patted Caelus' head like he usually did to Sho's.
"Hey!" He loudly grumbled but inwardly happy with the gesture.
Everytime he was with Asahi, Caelus felt his soul getting healed. He was unsure if it was because of Asahi's Passive Holy Presence that was enhanced with his Paladin Class–which Asahi volunteered to let him know instead since his Overview on Asahi was like using Overview on Gouki–or if it was because he saw Asahi as his family.
Either way, he was getting healed the more he was with the guy.
"You need it more than I do. Did you forget that someone is after you? Well, this item can change your appearance, aura and so on. I actually haven't gotten the full gist of how to use it. It's so hard since there's no status or description for items. But I know you can discover it yourself."
He was touched by Sho's best friend's trust. It was rare to have something like that. And of course, there was a guilty poking feeling surfacing in his heart.
"Then I'll stop refusing. Thank you. I'll be sure to pay you back."
"Yes, yes. Pay me ten folds."
He chuckled hearing Asahi joke around. "It's good to be with you." Caelus said as he felt the loneliness he felt was being washed away.
"Of course, it's good to be with me. I know, I'm great."