I grow stronger by making my wife happy.

Chapter 70: 70:Intergration II.

Silver quietly sat down against the tunnel wall. His body was beginning to protest everywhere; his head, side, shoulders, and soul still hurt. Honestly, he was discovering new injuries every few minutes.

Ravenna quietly knelt beside the core, her hands trembled slightly but this time, from anticipation.

She reached out, then paused her fingers lightly curling them into a fist.

”...Silver.”

Her voice was quiet. Silver looked up, confused.

”What?”

”What if I fail?”

The question surprised him, since it sounded so vulnerable. The fact that she was this honest with him was heartwarming. It was clear she was scared and vulnerable.

Silver thought for a moment then shrugged.

”Then we’ll find another one.”

Ravenna stared at him, her eyes widening slightly, then she laughed, a short, breathless laugh.

”You say that like elemental beasts grow on trees.”

”We’ll check a bigger tree.”

She rolled her eyes. Yet she somehow looked calmer afterward. The tension left her shoulders.

She finally placed her hand on the core. Immediately after, the tunnel exploded with light. Orange flames erupted around her body.

Silver’s eyes widened.

The amount of energy was absurd. The core practically melted as fire flowed like molten gold, rushing directly into Ravenna’s body.

She jerked violently, a gasp escaping her lips. Another followed, then another as she clearly tried to suppress them.

She was clearly in too much pain.

Silver recognized what was happening. The integration had properly begun and it was far worse than his own. She was probably feeling like her soul was being burned alive.

To make matters worse, her soul capacity wasn’t normal. A soul capacity of nineteen was the absolute peak. A soul that large naturally tried to absorb everything available inside the core.

The process became violent. The flames surrounding Ravenna intensified and the floor beneath her began cracking. Heat filled the tunnel.

Silver stood immediately, concern replacing exhaustion.

”Ravenna?”

No answer.

Her eyes were tightly shut while her fingers dug into the concrete, blood appearing beneath her nails. The pain was clearly increasing, but then, she bit down on her lip hard enough to rub her skin raw. A thin trail of blood appeared immediately.

Silver swore.

”Idiot.”

The word came out automatically. He knelt beside her and without thinking, he shoved his hand forward.

”Bite this.”

Ravenna’s eyes opened slightly, confused.

”What?”

”You’re chewing through your own lip.”

She stared at his outstretched hand, clearly confused. The next wave hit, and a strangled sound escaped her throat.

Silver didn’t hesitate, he pushed his hand directly toward her mouth.

”Bite.”

Ravenna stared at it for a moment then obeyed. Her teeth sank into the flesh between his thumb and index finger, hard. Silver immediately regretted everything.

”Ow.”

The word escaped despite his best efforts. As if on cue, Ravenna bit harder. Silver nearly cursed again.

The pain wasn’t intentional, he knew she wasn’t trying to hurt him, the integration simply left her no choice. The elemental energy pouring through her body had become overwhelming.

Minutes passed, maybe more, he wasn’t sure. Silver lost track of time. The entire process felt endless. Every few moments another wave of fire surged through Ravenna.

Her body trembled, her breathing became ragged and tears from pure pain occasionally escaped her eyes.

Silver remained beside her through all of it. Partly because he was worried and partly because if he stood up he suspected his injuries might finally remember they existed.

Eventually, Ravenna briefly loosened her bite. Her sweat-soaked forehead pressed against his shoulder. Silver felt how badly she was shaking.

”Does it always hurt this much?”

The question came out broken. Silver smiled weakly.

”No idea.”

”You don’t know?”

”Mine felt as though I was being suffocated in an endless void.”

That somehow earned a tiny laugh. But then another wave hit and the laughter vanished immediately. The shaking returned.

Silver simply stayed there. Letting her hold on and bite his hand whenever the pain became unbearable. Time slowly passed almost painfully.

The change happened all of a sudden, the fire stopped growing and instead it began stabilizing. It started to condense around her and the red energy gradually settled.

Silver noticed the change almost immediately, the searing heat around him finally gave way.

And so did the system.

[Integration Progress: 91%]

Silver exhaled, his lips lifting slightly into a smile.

’Almost done, thank God’

Silver wasn’t sure either of them could handle another hour of this. A few minutes later, everything ended. The flames and pressure vanished. The tunnel returned to normal as a comfortable silence filled the space.

Ravenna froze, then slowly opened her eyes. For a brief moment, they were a bright orange, then they returned to their usual grey.

They both stared at each other for a moment without uttering a word. Silver helped her up from her knees. She followed his lead without complaints.

Then the system appeared.

[Target Integration Successful]

Fire Wolf Integration Complete

Synchronization Rate: Exceptional

Compatibility: Perfect

Silver smiled at her.

”You did it.”

For several seconds Ravenna didn’t react, move, or even speak. Silver knew she was still trying to absorb what had happened to her but then, suddenly, she launched herself forward, straight at him.

Silver barely had time to register what was happening. One moment she was standing in front of him and the next she was hugging him, very hard, almost squeezing the life out of him.

And because Silver was exhausted, injured and his body had already reached its limit, the impact immediately knocked him over.

”Woah...”

They both hit the floor. Silver landed flat on his back with Ravenna on top of him. The impact hurt, a lot. Yet somehow he didn’t complain because Ravenna was crying.

Silver could feel her relief in those tears as her body shook through the sobs. This was the type of crying that came after holding too much inside for too long, probably years.

Silver slowly realized what this meant for her. She’d been abandoned, exiled, and thrown away. Forced to survive alone and to lower her expectations again and again.

And now for the first time, something had gone incredibly right. Her shoulders shook through her sobs.

Silver hesitated then slowly and awkwardly wrapped one arm around her, patting her back like he was handling an unexploded ordnance.

”There there?”

The words sounded ridiculous, even to himself. Ravenna laughed through her tears which only made her cry harder.

Silver decided that that counted as success.

The system exploded with notifications right after, at the most awkward moment.

[Major Affection Increase Detected]

Target: Ravenna Arkland

Affection: 13 → 26

[Milestone Achieved]

Full Trust Established

[Reward Granted]

500 Affection Points

[Reward Granted]

~ Attribute Increase

• Strength +2

• Perception +3

• Soul Synchronization +2

[Reward Granted]

Skill Acquired

• Advanced Sword skill fragment. (2/ 5)

[Reward Granted]

~ Target Support Item

• Soul Tempering Flame

Item Grade: Rare

Description: Improves Beast Synchronization.

N/B: Can be gifted.

[Reward Granted]

{Fire Resistance Passive Lv1}

Silver stared at the endless notifications then looked down at the crying girl currently hugging him, as he might disappear.

His thoughts became very simple.

’You’re my lucky charm’

For the first time all day, he allowed himself to relax, just a little. While Ravenna cried out years of loneliness against his shoulder.