Chapter 442:More training.

Chapter 442: 442:More training.

Silver spent additional time in the shooting range because Phantom Draw made firearms one of his strongest tools, and the academy instructors had started introducing moving-target drills that forced him to combine movement, cover and target prioritization.

Ravenna spent more time in the melee halls. Helena occasionally trained with her.

The first time Silver returned from the range and found Ravenna repeatedly attacking Helena’s barriers, he stopped to watch.

Helena’s large shield was planted against the floor and a translucent wall stood before her.

Ravenna violebtly struck and fire exploded around them.

The barrier trembled and Helena’s boots slid several centimeters but she still held on

Ravenna attacked again.

"You’re leaning too much!" Ravenna shouted.

Helena gritted her teeth. "You’re hitting too hard!"

"That’s the point!"

"Your instructor told you to control your output!"

"I am controlling it!"

Silver leaned against the wall, as he enjoyed the show.

Helena saw him and briefly turned to him.

"Tell your girlfriend this is supposed to be controlled practice."

Silver considered but Ravenna looked at him the warning in her gaze clear.

He made the intelligent decision of...

"I’m not getting involved."

Helena stared at him for a few seconds before clicking her tongue.

"Coward."

"Alive coward," he corrected.

Both of the girls laughed at that. That friendship developed faster than Silver expected.

Helena was calm enough to tolerate Ravenna’s competitiveness and stubborn enough not to be overwhelmed by it.

Ravenna liked that.

Helena also had something Ravenna rarely encountered. A fighting style designed almost entirely around refusing to move.

Ravenna could spend half an hour trying to break Helena’s defense and enjoy every second.

Helena, meanwhile, benefited from being attacked by someone who genuinely wanted to find every weakness in her barriers.

Shirley was different.

She and Ravenna didn’t suddenly become friendly because they shared a classroom. They barely spoke outside necessary exercises.

When they were paired, however, neither allowed personal hatred to damage performance.

That surprised Silver.

During one tactical drill, Shirley vanished under Light Refraction and moved through a simulated building while Ravenna waited outside.

Forty seconds later Shirley reappeared.

"Two hostiles left corridor, one behind the second doorway, civilian in the rear room."

Ravenna nodded.

"Can you get the civilian?"

"If you keep them looking at you."

Ravenna smiled.

"Easy."

The exercise lasted less than two minutes.

They scored near the top.

Afterward Shirley looked toward Ravenna.

"You used too much fire."

Ravenna stared.

"You almost lost concealment when you attacked."

"I didn’t."

"You shimmered," Ravenna responded.

"For less than a second."

"Still shimmered," she maintained her stance.

Shirley crossed her arms and Ravenna did the same. Silver watched from several meters away.

Helena stepped beside him.

"Are they always like this?"

Silver nodded.

"Apparently."

"Should we stop them?"

"No."

Helena looked toward him.

Silver continued, "They’ll get tired eventually."

They didn’t.

---

Ravenna integrated the Titan-Horn Mountain Bison core near the end of the first week. They chose an academy-approved private integration room after classes.

Silver remained beside her as she psyched herself through it. The core rested between her hands.

She looked at him.

"If something goes wrong..."

"I know," he cut her off.

"No, you don’t. Don’t do anything stupid."

Silver smiled.

"You’re about to absorb a Tier Four beast core and you’re warning me."

"Yes."

"That’s unfair."

"Promise."

Silver’s expression softened.

"I promise I’ll follow the system’s guidance."

Ravenna flatly stared for a few seconds before shaking her head.

"That wasn’t exactly what I asked."

"It’s the best you’re getting."

She sighed.

"Fine."

Silver activated Shared Beast Absorption and the System reacted immediately.

[Shared Beast Absorption Lv1 Activated.]

[Target: Ravenna Arkland.]

[Titan-Horn Mountain Bison Core - Tier 4 detected.]

[Compatibility: High.]

[Assisted Integration Initiated.]

The core dissolved into her palms. Ravenna gasped as power surged into her.

Silver felt part of the strain through the connection; it was heavy and dense. It felt like standing beneath an enormous mountain and somehow being expected to carry it.

Ravenna’s hands tightened as the power surged further through her.

Silver stayed beside her, making sure it wasn’t affecting her too much. The system continued stabilizing the process.

Minutes passed, then more. Silver slowly lost count of them.

Sweat appeared across Ravenna’s forehead and her breathing became heavy.

Silver didn’t interrupt, he couldn’t. Finally the pressure began decreasing and the system finally chimed.

[Integration Successful.]

[Ravenna Arkland has successfully integrated the Titan-Horn Mountain Bison.]

[New Beast Tattoo Acquired.]

[Physical Foundation Significantly Enhanced.]

[Strength Increased.]

[Endurance Increased.]

[Skeletal Durability Increased.]

[New Passive Ability Acquired: Mountain Titan Physique Lv1.]

Ravenna opened her eyes.

Silver smiled.

"How do you feel?"

She remained still, then looked toward the reinforced bench beneath her.

"Strong."

Silver laughed.

"Very descriptive," he sarcastically said.

Ravenna stood, too quickly, her hand caught the metal support beside her. There was a crunch as the metal curved around her fingers.

Both froze.

She slowly looked down. The metal had bent beneath her fingers and her imprints were completely visible.

Silver looked at it rhen at her. She stared wide eyed at him. He started laughing, more from her expression.

"This isn’t funny."

"You broke academy property five seconds after integrating."

"I didn’t mean to."

"Peter is going to love this."

"You’re not telling Peter."

"The room records integrations."

Ravenna looked toward the ceiling camera and her expression fell.

Silver laughed harder.

She kicked him.

Unfortunately, Ravenna hadn’t yet adjusted to her new strength. He flew off the edge of the platform clearly caught off guard.

Ravenna’s eyes widened.

"Silver!" She shouted, her voice filled with distress.

He landed several meters away.

Silence filled the room, as Silver stared at the ceiling his hands on his stomach, intertwined.

Ravenna rushed over.

"I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to..."

Silver started laughing again.

Ravenna stopped, then narrowed her eyes.

"You’re enjoying this too much."

"You’re terrifying."

She reached down.

Silver looked at her hand. Ravenna looked at it too. Neither moved as they both stared at her hand.

Silver eventually stood by himself.

"Maybe we wait before you help me up."

"Good idea."

---

The second week became considerably more interesting.

Ravenna had to relearn portions of her physical control.

The Titan-Horn Mountain Bison hadn’t transformed her into an uncontrollable monster but the difference was significant.

Her sword strikes carried more weight. Acceleration became more explosive. Her body tolerated impacts better. Her endurance improved.

Mountain Titan Physique passively strengthened her physical foundation, particularly when she planted herself properly before delivering or receiving force.

Ravenna loved it but Peter did not love the first practice sword she broke. He stared at the snapped weapon, then at Ravenna.

She looked unusually innocent.

He held out his hand.

"Another."

The assistant gave him another training sword. He handed it to her.

"Control."

"Yes, sir."

"If you break this one, you’re paying for it."

Ravenna immediately became the most precise swordswoman in Alpha Three. Silver nearly laughed from across the training hall.

Peter looked toward him.

"Ruddington."

His smile vanished.

"Sir?"

"Since you’re entertained, spar with her."

Silver looked at Ravenna who smiled. He regretted everything.

Their sparring became much more useful after that.

Silver couldn’t overpower her. He couldn’t rely on Short-Step because Ravenna banned it during fundamentals.

So he improved his footwork, guard, distance and timing.

Ravenna improved too.

She couldn’t simply swing harder anymore. She had to control exactly how much force entered every movement.

Helena’s weakness became increasingly obvious during mobile exercises. Her barriers were excellent when she had time to anchor herself.

When forced to reposition repeatedly, her effectiveness dropped.

So Peter made her move constantly. She would establish a barrier, taken three steps, then another barrier, turn and pit up another barrier before retreating. She was also made to protect another student, then split wall and move again.

Helena hated Peter by the end of the second week, which she told him so.

Peter seemed pleased by it.

Shirley’s problem was offensive transition. Light Refraction was excellent for scouting but less excellent when she attacked. Every sudden movement created distortions. Her sword could briefly reveal her position.

Peter paired her with reaction-focused students and forced her to strike without becoming predictable.

Mina learned to separate useful vibration information from overwhelming environmental noise.

Caleb learned that Stone Skin didn’t mean he should absorb every attack simply because he could.

Elias practiced shooting while moving because enhanced vision meant nothing if he required perfect stillness before every shot.

Silver’s weakness remained efficiency.

Short-Step helped enormously.

He began deliberately shortening teleportation distance. He went with half a meter, one meter then two. Instead of disappearing across an entire combat space, he learned to make tiny positional corrections while behind cover, outside a blade’s path and into firing angles.

The energy difference was dramatic.

Spatial Distortion developed similarly. He stopped trying to create walls and created angles. A small barrier beside his shoulder could redirect a projectile.

A distortion near the ground could alter a charging opponent’s footing. A brief spatial plane could turn a direct strike slightly sideways.

Peter noticed but didn’t praise Silver. He simply increased the difficulty. Silver began understanding that this was probably Peter’s version of praise.