I grow stronger by making my wife happy.

Chapter 148: 148:Sunset.

The fallen Iron Lizard lay motionless on the concrete, its massive body slowly settling into stillness. For several seconds, neither Silver nor Ravenna moved.

The Green Zone became quiet once more, save for the gentle rustling of leaves carried by the afternoon breeze. Silver slowly let out the breath he had been unconsciously holding.

"I don’t sense anything else nearby."

Ravenna remained alert for another few moments before finally lowering her sword.

"Neither do I."

Only then did the tension leave their shoulders. Silver wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand. The mental pressure behind his eyes hadn’t disappeared. If anything, it had become more noticeable now that the fighting had stopped.

His muscles still felt capable of moving; his mind, however, felt unusually sluggish, as though someone had wrapped a heavy cloth around his thoughts.

He quietly sheathed his sword.

"...That warning wasn’t an exaggeration."

Ravenna looked at him.

"You finally believe your body?"

He gave a tired laugh.

"A little late."

She stepped closer, studying his face. His complexion looked slightly paler than usual.

"You pushed yourself too hard."

"I needed the practice."

"You need to learn restraint."

Silver scratched his cheek sheepishly.

"I suppose I do, but I’m more desperate than you think at the moment. I can’t afford to stay at rank one any longer."

She didn’t continue the lecture. She simply handed him a bottle of water from her backpack.

"Drink."

He accepted it gratefully.

"Thanks."

The cool water eased some of the dryness in his throat, though it did little for the dull ache lingering inside his head. Still, it helped.

After taking a few more moments to recover, they began gathering the beast cores. The three Ironfang Wolves near the garage yielded ordinary Tier One cores, each about the size of a large marble.

Inside the maintenance building, they recovered another five. Finally, Silver knelt beside the Iron Lizard. Unlike the wolves, extracting its core required considerably more effort.

After carefully opening the beast’s chest, he finally removed a dark amber crystal roughly the size of his palm. The energy contained within it was noticeably denser than the Tier One cores.

Silver turned it over thoughtfully.

"Our first Tier Two core from this mission."

Ravenna nodded.

"It won’t be the last."

He carefully cleaned the core before placing it inside a reinforced storage container within his backpack. Once everything had been collected, they searched the remainder of the abandoned facility.

Several storage rooms had long since collapsed. Old machinery had rusted beyond recognition. Aside from a few usable metal components and some intact electrical wiring that could be sold for recycling, there wasn’t much of value.

"We’ve covered everything," Ravenna said after checking the final room.

Silver compared their findings against the mission report.

"The nests listed by the Association are gone."

He looked around the now silent facility.

"I think we’ve completed the objective."

Ravenna glanced through one of the shattered windows. The sunlight had begun changing. The brilliant afternoon brightness was slowly giving way to the warmer golden hues of late evening.

"We’ve been here longer than I thought."

Silver checked the time on his watch. An hour and thirty-seven minutes.

"...Almost an hour and a half."

Ravenna’s eyes widened slightly.

"It didn’t feel that long."

"We were focused."

She nodded.

The repeated use of Space Slash had occupied nearly all of his attention. Every battle had become another opportunity to refine the skill. Another chance to improve and a small step toward Level Two. Whether it had been worth the resulting headache remained open for debate.

Ravenna quietly shouldered her backpack.

"We should head back."

Silver looked toward the surrounding forest and fallen buildings. The Green Zone remained relatively calm, but calm could change surprisingly quickly once darkness arrived.

"I agree."

He looked toward the thick trees surrounding the maintenance facility.

"I’d rather not spend the night out here if we don’t have to."

Ravenna smiled slightly.

"I was hoping you’d say that."

"You don’t like camping?"

"I don’t mind camping." She adjusted the strap across her shoulder. "I mind camping somewhere beasts are likely to wander through; the scent of blood has most likely spread through this sector of the green zones."

Silver laughed.

"That’s a fair distinction."

They returned to the vehicle together. Silver unlocked it before placing the containers holding the beast cores securely behind the rear seats.

Once everything had been organized, he climbed into the driver’s seat. For a brief moment, he simply rested both hands on the steering wheel.

His head still throbbed faintly. He closed his eyes, just for a second.

Ravenna noticed.

"...Silver."

"I’m fine."

"You’ve said that several times today."

"I know."

She studied him quietly.

"If you’re too tired..."

"I’ll tell you." Silver opened his eyes again. "I promise."

Satisfied, she fastened her seatbelt. Silver started the engine. The vehicle rumbled softly to life before rolling away from the abandoned maintenance facility.

The drive through the forest proved far quieter than their journey out. The late afternoon sun filtered through the dense canopy overhead, casting long shadows across the narrow road.

Silver kept his speed moderate since there was no reason to rush. Occasionally they spotted ordinary wildlife darting between the trees.

A family of deer bounded gracefully through a clearing before disappearing into thicker vegetation. Several brightly colored birds took flight as the vehicle passed beneath their branches.

Every now and then, Silver instinctively activated his Spatial Sense, just enough to scan the road ahead. He immediately noticed the difference; even that small use caused another wave of mental fatigue.

"...Definitely overdid it."

Ravenna heard him mutter.

"You used it again."

"Only for a moment."

She sighed softly.

"You’re hopeless."

"I prefer to say I’m a hardworking and dedicated man."

"I prefer staying alive."

Silver smiled.

"I’ll recover."

"I know." Her voice softened. "I just don’t want you collapsing because you’re too stubborn to stop and let me drive or do the fighting."

Silver appreciated the concern more than he admitted.

"...I’ll be more careful."

She looked at him.

"You mean that?"

"...Mostly, but you know, I can’t keep that promise."

She couldn’t help laughing.

"I’ll take mostly then."

The comfortable silence returned. The trees gradually began thinning as they approached the larger highway connecting Green Zone Twelve to Delta Four.

The road widened once again, making the drive considerably easier. Silver glanced toward the horizon. The sun was noticeably lower now.

"Good decision leaving now."

Ravenna nodded.

"Another hour, and we’d be driving after dark."

Neither of them wanted that. Night dramatically changed the wilderness. Many beasts became far more active after sunset, while reduced visibility made avoiding unnecessary fights significantly harder.

There was little glory in taking avoidable risks. Living to accept tomorrow’s mission was always the better choice.

As they continued along the highway, another vehicle gradually came into view ahead. It was considerably larger than Silver’s car, reinforced with thick armored plating and additional roof-mounted storage compartments.

Several weapons were secured externally, while claw marks covered portions of the vehicle’s sides. Clearly... It had seen far more combat than theirs.

Silver eased off the accelerator slightly.

"Looks like we’ve got company."

Ravenna looked ahead.

"They’re coming from the Yellow Zone; their car is a dead giveaway."

The vehicle approached steadily from the opposite direction. As it drew nearer, Silver noticed the distinct contractor insignia painted across its doors.

This was a veteran team.

The larger vehicle flashed its headlights once in greeting before slowing slightly as the two vehicles prepared to pass each other.

Silver returned the gesture with a brief flash of his own.