I grow stronger by making my wife happy.

Chapter 140: 140:Promise.

Silver and Ravenna stepped into the hotel’s private gym just as the first rays of sunlight began to spill across the city outside. Rather than heading straight for the equipment, they began with a proper warm-up.

Silver rolled his shoulders before slowly stretching his arms overhead, feeling the muscles along his back loosen. He rotated his neck, bent forward to stretch his hamstrings, and worked through a series of hip and ankle mobility exercises. Every movement felt smoother than it had only a few days ago.

Nearby, Ravenna was following her own routine. She balanced effortlessly on one foot while extending the other behind her, maintaining perfect control as she stretched her hips and legs. She transitioned into deeper flexibility exercises with practiced precision before moving into several balance drills that tested her stability.

Silver glanced in her direction.

"You’ve gotten more flexible."

She looked over without stopping her stretch.

"I noticed yesterday."

"From the Tier Two cores?"

She nodded.

"I think so."

Silver finished another stretch before standing upright.

"I was expecting them to increase strength more than anything."

"They probably did."

Ravenna slowly straightened.

"But the improvements aren’t limited to raw power."

She rotated one shoulder experimentally.

"My movements feel... smoother."

Silver understood exactly what she meant. He clenched and unclenched his hand several times.

"Everything feels lighter."

He hadn’t realized it yesterday while wandering through the city. Still, now that he was deliberately moving his body, the difference was obvious, especially with the increase and his body getting used to the increases.

His joints responded faster, his muscles felt more coordinated, and even simple movements required less effort.

"It feels like my body finally caught up with itself."

Ravenna gave a small nod.

"I’ve been thinking the same thing."

After several more minutes of stretching, they moved on to mobility work.

They jogged slow laps around the room before incorporating dynamic stretches into their movements. Medicine balls were passed back and forth between them to engage their core muscles, followed by resistance band exercises that focused on stability rather than strength.

Silver noticed he recovered his breath much faster than before. Even after several explosive movements, his heartbeat settled almost immediately.

When they practiced short acceleration drills across the gym floor, he also realized his first step had become noticeably more explosive.

Ravenna experienced similar changes.

Her footwork had become lighter, allowing her to change direction with remarkable ease. During balance drills, she remained perfectly stable even when forced into awkward positions that would have caused her to stumble only days earlier.

She stepped off one exercise mat with a thoughtful expression.

"It isn’t just strength."

Silver nodded.

"Our bodies are adapting; the cores accelerated it."

"Looks like it."

Neither of them felt the need to rush. The improvements were subtle, but unmistakable. After finishing their mobility work, they finally transitioned into light strength training.

Today’s goal wasn’t exhaustion; they were preparing their bodies.

Silver walked over to the pull-up bar and began a controlled set, focusing on proper form rather than speed. His movements felt clean and powerful as he pulled himself upward before lowering under complete control. Ten repetitions, then fifteen, then twenty.

His grip remained firm throughout.

[Primal Strength Lv2]

{Proficiency Increased}

Silver smiled faintly without breaking rhythm.

"So that’s improving too."

Once he finished, he stepped away from the bar before moving into a series of slow push-ups. Every repetition emphasized control, allowing each muscle group to work through its full range of motion.

Nearby, Ravenna held herself perfectly still in a difficult balance position while engaging her core. She alternated between planks, controlled leg raises, and slow bodyweight squats, each movement executed with exceptional precision.

Silver couldn’t help noticing how much easier everything seemed for her now. She moved with greater confidence as though her body trusted itself more.

Silver eventually joined her for a series of light squats before adding a modest amount of weight to a barbell.

He simply wanted to reinforce proper movement patterns. Halfway through his final set, another notification quietly appeared.

[Iron Bones Lv 2]

{Proficiency Increased}

He exhaled steadily as he racked the barbell.

Ravenna noticed his thoughtful expression as she finished another exercise.

"Something wrong?"

Silver shook his head.

"It’s just my strength is slowly increasing; I can feel it."

She smiled.

"I thought so."

"You noticed?"

"You’ve been going on non-stop without breaking as much as a sweat."

Silver laughed softly.

"I suppose I was."

They spent another twenty minutes working through light exercises, neither one attempting to push themselves to their limits.

By the time they finally finished, both of them were lightly sweating, their breathing steady rather than strained.

Silver grabbed two bottles of water from a nearby cooler before handing one to Ravenna.

"Thanks."

She accepted it gratefully before taking a long drink. For several moments they simply stood in comfortable silence while cooling down.

Then Ravenna spoke.

"Silver."

"Hm?"

She looked directly at him.

"Can we spar today?"

Silver blinked.

"...Spar?"

She nodded.

"A real one."

He tilted his head slightly.

"We’ve trained together before."

"We’ve practiced," Silver countered immediately.

She corrected him gently.

"We haven’t actually fought."

Silver opened his mouth to respond, but she continued before he could.

"And..." She hesitated only briefly. "...Don’t hold back when we do."

He frowned.

"I wasn’t planning to."

"Oh, please don’t lie; you were."

"I wasn’t."

A faint smile appeared on Ravenna’s face.

"You have been treating me like glass."

Silver stared at her.

"...I have? I never really noticed. "

"You have."

He immediately shook his head.

"I don’t think I have."

"You don’t notice it when you do it yourself."

She wasn’t accusing him; if anything, her tone was calm and understanding.

"Whenever something dangerous appears..."

She met his eyes.

"...you move first."

Silver remained silent.

"You always place yourself between me and whatever we’re facing."

He thought back at their journey together. He had stepped forward almost every single time, even after they had corrected each other. He and Ravenna had created a sort of Synchronization with this dynamic.

"I..."

"You never pressured me."

Ravenna smiled reassuringly.

"And I know why."

She lowered her gaze briefly before looking back at him.

"You care about me."

The words landed more heavily than Silver expected.

"It isn’t because you think I’m weak." She shook her head. "I know that, but if we’re going to become stronger..."

She tightened her grip around the water bottle.

"...we need to fight honestly."

Silver listened quietly.

"We need to know our own weaknesses."

She took another small breath.

"And each other’s. If we don’t understand how we fight... then we won’t know how to support one another when it really matters."

Silver couldn’t find an argument because she was right. He hadn’t been consciously holding back; he simply... didn’t want her getting hurt. Without realizing it, he’d been shielding her every chance he got because somewhere along the way, protecting Ravenna had become instinct.

He let out a quiet breath.

"...You’re right."

Ravenna waited patiently. Silver smiled before extending his hand toward her.

"Alright. Today... We’ll spar, and I won’t hold back."

For a brief moment, Ravenna simply looked at him, then a genuine smile spread across her face.

"Good."

There was no hesitation in her eyes, only anticipation. This would be the first time they would truly test themselves against one another as companions determined to grow stronger together.