Chapter 461:Day to day.

Chapter 461: 461:Day to day.

Later that night, Silver returned to Room 314 with a smile that Antony immediately noticed. He was sitting on his bed reading something on his tablet.

Jude was reviewing academy material. Dillian was cleaning his weapon.

All three looked toward Silver.

Antony narrowed his eyes.

"You’re smiling."

He stopped and turned to him.

"So?"

"Suspicious."

Jude didn’t look up.

"He was with Ravenna."

Antony nodded.

"That explains it."

Silver sighed.

"You people need hobbies."

Antony smiled.

"We have hobbies. Unfortunately, making fun of you is one of them."

Silver shook his head and headed toward his bed.

He was about to sit when a faint notification appeared.

[Relationship Synchronization Updated.]

[Target: Ravenna Arkland.]

[Affection: 72.]

Silver smiled, then closed the interface. He wasn’t going to tell Ravenna immediately, not tonight. He’d already teased her enough.

Instead he lay back against his pillow and looked toward the ceiling.

Tomorrow they’d train again.

She would probably try to burn him, he’d test his new swordsmanship, Peter would find another way to make Class Four miserable, and eventually another assessment would arrive.

Silver closed his eyes.

For now, he was satisfied.

For the first time in a very long while, the future felt like something he was looking forward to rather than something he merely needed to survive.

---

The first thing Silver discovered about possessing Advanced Swordsmanship Lv3 was that Ravenna had absolutely no intention of allowing him to enjoy his improvement without testing it.

He discovered the second thing approximately four minutes later, when the wooden practice sword in his hand struck Ravenna’s blade for the seventeenth time, and instead of losing his balance as he normally would, he smoothly redirected the impact, shifted his weight onto his rear foot, and stepped into an opening that would’ve been almost impossible for him to recognize a few days earlier.

Ravenna’s eyes widened slightly.

Silver smiled.

But unfriended for him, she kicked his supporting leg. His balance disappeared and he landed on his back.

"Ow."

Ravenna stood above him, looking considerably too pleased with herself.

"Seventeen."

He stared at the ceiling of the private training room. "You’re counting?"

"Of course."

"That’s concerning."

"You’ve blocked seventeen attacks properly. Before, you would’ve made a mistake by the eighth."

Silver turned his head toward her. "You could’ve just said I improved."

"I did."

"You kicked me."

"Because you smiled before the exchange was finished."

He loudly sighed.

He laughed and offered her hand. He took it but the moment she pulled, Silver deliberately remained on the ground.

She frowned.

"Silver," she called.

"What?"

"Get up."

"I’m testing your strength."

Her eyes narrowed.

"Don’t start."

He smiled.

She pulled even harder.

Her muscles tightened, and the enhanced physical strength she’d acquired from the Titan-Horn Mountain Bison surged through her body. The dark tattoo beneath her left breast remained concealed beneath her training clothes, but Silver could recognize the subtle change in her posture whenever Mountain Titan Physique became active.

His upper body lifted slightly, then stopped.

Ravenna stared.

Silver smiled wider.

"Almost there."

Her expression became dangerous.

"Silver."

"Yes?"

"Get up or I’m going to let you go."

"You’re very close."

She suddenly released his hand and Silver’s head struck the mat. He stared at the ceiling again,completely speechless.

Ravenna burst into laughter.

Silver closed his eyes.

"That was cruel."

"You deserved it."

He sat up, rubbing the back of his head while she continued laughing.

Even after integrating a Tier Four strength-type beast, Ravenna still couldn’t overpower him in a direct contest of physical strength.

Her improvement had been extraordinary, especially considering how recently she’d acquired the new tattoo, but Silver’s physical foundation was simply more developed. His own strength-type ape integration, Primal Strength Lv3, Iron Bones Lv3 and system-enhanced attributes gave him an advantage she hadn’t managed to overcome.

That didn’t mean she was weak, far from it.

During their previous strength assessment, Ravenna had managed to force Silver to use considerably more effort than before, and her endurance had improved enough that she could maintain her enhanced physique through extended training sessions without exhausting herself as quickly.

She was closing the gap but Silver simply had no intention of standing still while she did.

Ravenna offered her hand again, this time, Silver stood normally.

She looked at him suspiciously.

"No tricks?"

"None."

"Okay." She retrieved her practice sword. "Again."

Silver sighed.

"Can I drink some water first?"

"After."

"You’re a terrible girlfriend."

Ravenna smiled.

"And yet you keep coming back."

Silver considered that.

"Unfortunately, you’re very pretty. I can’t resist the temptation"

Her smile widened.

"Flattery won’t save you."

"I was hoping it would."

She attacked him before he could even finish talking..Silver immediately moved.

Their wooden swords collided with a sharp crack, and this time he didn’t attempt to meet every strike with strength. His footwork became smoother as he adjusted his position, allowing Ravenna’s attacks to pass along carefully controlled angles before redirecting them with smaller movements.

He had always possessed the physical attributes necessary to fight at a high level. What he’d lacked was refinement.

The Advanced Swordsmanship increase had changed that.

Not by giving him years of genuine combat experience he hadn’t earned, but by allowing him to understand the techniques he’d been practicing and recognize how they connected.

His previous swordsmanship had been functional, now it was becoming deliberate.

Ravenna thrust toward his shoulder. Silver turned his blade and the attack slid past. He stepped forward but she immediately retreated.

He followed after her. Their swords struck three times in rapid succession, then Ravenna suddenly changed her grip and attacked from below.

Silver recognized the movement. He twisted his wrist and their blades locked. For one brief moment, Ravenna found herself unable to immediately break through his defense.

She smiled.

"Better."

Silver smiled back.

"Much."

Then she activated Fire Step. Her movement immediately accelerated. Silver barely managed to raise his sword before she appeared beside him.

The wooden blade stopped against his neck.

Silence filled the room.

Silver looked down at the sword then toward Ravenna.

"That seems unfair."

She laughed.

"You have Short-Step," she countered.

"I wasn’t using it."

"Neither was I," she said.

"You just used Fire Step," Silver accused.

"Exactly."

Silver stared at her, completely speechless.

Ravenna smiled innocently.

He loudly sighed.

"You’re impossible."

"And you lost."

"Apparently."

She lowered her sword, then leaned forward and kissed his cheek.

Ravenna stepped back.

"Consolation prize," she said.

He smiled.

"Can I lose again?"

She immediately raised her sword. Silver laughed and retreated.

Over the following two weeks, academy life settled into a rhythm that was somehow more exhausting than the first month.

The excitement surrounding the first major assessment gradually faded, replaced by a more demanding training schedule. The instructors had reviewed the results, identified weaknesses across the seven first-year classes, and adjusted several lessons to address the problems they’d observed.

Class Four spent more time on mobile defense, communication under pressure, urban movement and resource conservation. Peter introduced exercises where students had to complete tactical objectives while dealing with deliberately incomplete information, and several lessons ended with students arguing over whether their decisions had been correct.

Silver enjoyed those discussions but Peter seemed to enjoy making them uncomfortable.

During one particularly frustrating lesson, Peter presented a simulated convoy ambush in which the students had enough ammunition to defend themselves but not enough medical supplies to treat every casualty. Several students immediately proposed aggressive counterattacks, while others suggested abandoning the damaged vehicles and retreating.

Peter listened to all of them, then revealed that the convoy had been transporting medical supplies intended for a nearby settlement.

The room fell silent.

Caleb stared at the screen.

"Sir, you didn’t tell us that."

Ge nodded. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ

"Correct."

"That’s important information."

"Yes."

"Then why didn’t you tell us?"

Peter looked at him.

"Because sometimes the person giving you orders forgets something important."

Silver laughed quietly.

Peter immediately looked toward him.

"Ruddington. Something amusing?"

He shook his head.

"No, sir. Just familiar."

Peter studied him for a moment before continuing.