Chapter 456:Aftermath.

Chapter 456: 456:Aftermath.

By the time Silver was finally allowed to leave the assessment’s medical inspection area, the afternoon sun had already begun descending behind the enormous buildings surrounding Urban Training Sector Seven.

The academy had been surprisingly thorough with its post-assessment procedures. Every student was required to undergo a physical examination, return their equipment, submit their remaining ammunition, and provide a short verbal report explaining the decisions their squad had made during the operation.

The instructors already possessed recordings of practically everything that had happened, but apparently that wasn’t enough. They wanted to know what the students had been thinking, what information they’d possessed at particular moments, and whether their decisions had been deliberate or simply the result of luck.

Silver understood the reasoning, although he would’ve preferred a shower and something to eat.

He had spent nearly twenty minutes answering questions about the Dreadclaw Iron Bear, particularly why he’d chosen to engage a peak Tier Three beast that was approaching Tier Four rather than immediately retreating with his squad.

His explanation had been simple enough. The third missing personnel had been directly in the creature’s path, the military case hadn’t been secured, and someone needed to divert its attention long enough for the others to escape. Once the objectives were secured, he had disengaged instead of wasting time trying to kill it.

The instructor had listened without interrupting before asking whether Silver believed he could’ve defeated the beast if he’d remained.

Silver had thought about that for a moment.

"Probably, but I would’ve wasted energy and time doing it."

The instructor had written something down and that had been the end of the discussion.

Now Silver stood outside the medical building with a replacement academy jacket draped over his shoulder, looking at the damage to the uniform he’d worn during the assessment. The sleeves were partially burned, several seams had come loose, and there was a particularly noticeable hole near his left elbow.

He sighed.

"Ravenna was right."

"About what?"

He turned towards the voice.

Antony was approaching from the opposite side of the courtyard, accompanied by Rebecca and two other Class Two students. His orange hair had partially escaped its usual bun, and there was a dark bruise along his jaw, but the grin on his face suggested he was in an excellent mood.

Silver lifted his damaged jacket. "My clothes don’t have a resistance to fire."

Antony stopped walking as he just stared at him, mouth open. Rebecca looked at the jacket, then at Silver.

"What happened?"

"I walked through some fire."

Antony sighed, almost to himself but it was audible to everyone.

"Why?"

"It was blocking the road."

For several seconds, nobody spoke... Then Antony started laughing so hard that Rebecca had to move aside to avoid being struck by his arm.

Silver watched him with a tired expression.

"It’s not that funny."

"You walked through fire because it was blocking the road?"

"I have Fire Resistance."

"Your clothes don’t!"

Silver closed his eyes briefly.

"You’re the third person to say that," he said with resignation.

Rebecca shook her head, although she was smiling. "Was it Ravenna’s fire?"

Silver flatly looked at her.

She laughed.

"Of course it was."

Antony finally managed to calm himself enough to speak. "Please tell me she saw you."

"She did."

"And?"

"She threatened to make it hotter."

Antony immediately started laughing again.

Silver sighed, turned to the other side and waited.

Eventually Rebecca dragged Antony away by his sleeve, reminding him that their squad still needed to submit a final equipment report. Antony complained that he was being denied the opportunity to properly appreciate his friend’s stupidity, but he followed her anyway.

Silver watched them leave with a small smile. At least Antony seemed to have done well.

That was good.

He hadn’t had an opportunity to ask about the other squads yet, and although he knew Ravenna had been fighting near the commercial district when they crossed paths, he hadn’t heard whether her team had successfully reached extraction.

He was considering messaging her when his communicator vibrated.

Ravenna.

Where are you?

Silver smiled and typed a response.

Outside the medical building. Apparently walking through fire is considered suspicious behavior.

Her reply arrived almost immediately.

Stay there I’m coming.

Silver looked at the message, then at the surrounding courtyard. He sat on a nearby bench.

Less than five minutes later, Ravenna appeared from the direction of the eastern training facilities, carrying her sword case over one shoulder and walking quickly enough that several students stepped aside to let her pass.

Her white hair was tied into a loose ponytail, and although her uniform was considerably cleaner than Silver’s, there were still traces of soot around her sleeves and a small tear near the bottom of her jacket.

He stood when he saw her.

She approached, stopped directly in front of him and looked him up and down.

He smiled.

"Hello honey."

She didn’t answer immediately; instead she reached for his left arm, inspected the exposed skin near his elbow, then checked the other side.

Silver let her.

Eventually she looked up.

"You really didn’t get burned?"

"Nothing serious."

"That’s not what I asked," she firmly said.

Silver sighed.

"A few red marks. They were gone by the time I finished the medical examination."

Ravenna narrowed her eyes.

"You’re sure?"

"Yes."

She studied him for another moment, then exhaled.

"Okay, that’s good."

Silver smiled and opened his arms for her.

"Did you miss me?" He asked, with a smile on his lips.

Ravenna looked at him before rolling her eyes.

"No."

"That’s unfortunate."

"I was busy trying not to fail the assessment."

"Understandable," he answered and started lowering his arms.

She stepped closer, then wrapped her arms around him.

He hadn’t expected that but he smiled almost immediately and returned the embrace, placing one arm around her waist while his other hand rested against her back.

Ravenna buried her face briefly against his shoulder. Neither spoke for several seconds as they enjoyed each others warmed.

Students passed nearby; some glanced toward them but neither particularly cared.