I grow stronger by making my wife happy.

Chapter 192: 192:Casual training.

The few hours of their journey passed peacefully. Contractor vehicles still traveled in both directions from time to time, but the long stretches of road between them often felt as though Silver and Ravenna were the only people left in the world.

To either side of the highway, the Green Zone stretched endlessly. Rolling hills blanketed in lush grass swayed gently beneath the afternoon breeze. Dense forests occasionally interrupted the landscape, while small rivers reflected the clear blue sky like polished glass.

Birds circled lazily overhead, and small herbivorous beasts could sometimes be seen grazing far from the road before disappearing into the undergrowth at the sound of an approaching vehicle.

Silver never relaxed completely. His hands remained steady on the steering wheel while his eyes constantly swept across the road ahead, the tree line, and the mirrors. Every now and then, his gaze lingered on areas where the vegetation looked unnaturally disturbed before moving on.

Ravenna noticed.

”You still think something’s going to jump out at us?”

Silver smiled faintly.

”I’d rather look paranoid than careless.”

She nodded.

”I suppose that’s fair.”

After another thirty minutes of driving, Silver eased the car onto a wide gravel shoulder beside the road.

Ravenna looked at him curiously.

”Training?”

He nodded.

”Fifteen minutes, no more.”

She smiled.

”I was wondering when you’d stop; it’s almost like we’re on a road trip. We’re stopping to look at the scenery and take photos.”

They stepped out into the warm morning sunlight, stretching their stiff muscles after sitting for so long. The surrounding area was open, with only scattered trees dotting the nearby hills. Visibility extended for hundreds of meters in every direction.

Silver drew his sword.

”There are no high-tiered beasts here; let’s just train among ourselves. Adapt to the terrain.”

Ravenna nodded before drawing hers. Neither of them used their abilities immediately; instead, they focused on fundamentals. Simple exchanges of attacks and counters.

Their wooden practice swords had long since been replaced by their real weapons, but neither intended to injure the other. The spar remained controlled, with every strike stopping just short of becoming dangerous.

After several minutes, Silver began incorporating Short-Step into his movements. He disappeared for an instant before reappearing a few meters away.

Ravenna reacted almost instinctively now, turning to meet his attack without hesitation.

Clang!

Their blades met cleanly.

Silver smiled.

”Better.”

”You hesitated less.”

”I’ve gotten used to it.”

She immediately counterattacked, forcing him backward. The brief spar lasted only fifteen minutes before they stopped simultaneously. Both were breathing lightly, but neither had broken much of a sweat.

Silver nodded in satisfaction.

”Good enough.”

Ravenna sheathed her sword.

”I like these short sessions.”

”So do I.”

”They keep us from getting rusty.”

After drinking some water, they returned to the car and continued their journey. That pattern repeated itself throughout the day. Whenever they found a suitable clearing or a quiet stretch of road, they took ten or fifteen minutes to practice.

Sometimes they focused on swordsmanship. Other times Ravenna refined her fire control while Silver experimented with using the least amount of spatial energy possible.

Neither wanted to waste too much strength before reaching their destination.

Around midday, they encountered their first beasts. A small pack of Tier One Iron-Horn Deer wandered dangerously close to the roadside.

Silver pulled the car over.

”I’ll be right back.”

Ravenna smiled knowingly.

”You want the practice.”

”I do.”

The deer were harmless unless provoked, but one charged the moment Silver approached, its steel-like antlers lowering toward him.

Silver calmly sidestepped.

[Space Slash Lv2 Activated]

A nearly invisible distortion flashed through the air, and the deer’s charge stopped instantly. A clean line appeared across its neck before it collapsed silently onto the grass. The remaining beasts fled immediately.

Silver retrieved the beast core before returning to the car.

”...That was quick.”

”They’re Tier One.”

He shrugged.

”Anything less would’ve been worrying.”

Ravenna laughed softly, then she smiled proudly. The beast core disappeared into one of the storage containers in the back of the vehicle.

Throughout the afternoon, they encountered only a handful of similar beasts. A pair of Stone Rabbits, several Wild Fang Boars, and another lone Iron-Horn Deer. None of them posed any challenge.

They collected a few additional Rank One cores but made no effort to actively hunt. Their objective wasn’t gathering resources; it was reaching Checkpoint Fifteen before nightfall.

The hours slipped by surprisingly quickly. By mid-afternoon, the sun had begun its slow descent toward the western horizon.

Silver glanced briefly at the dashboard clock.

Two o’clock.

Ravenna unfolded the map.

”We should be approaching Wood Town.”

Silver remembered seeing the name earlier.

”It was abandoned after the outbreak, so they rebuilt the checkpoint farther north.”

She nodded.

”According to the map, the highway cuts straight through it.”

As if responding to her words, the road ahead gradually changed. The forests grew thicker. Trees leaned over the cracked asphalt and vines crept across abandoned road signs.

The first ruined buildings slowly came into view. Wood Town, or at least... What remained of it. Nature had reclaimed almost everything.

Apartment buildings stood partially hidden beneath climbing ivy. Storefront windows had long since shattered. Small trees had grown through collapsed rooftops. Thick roots split the pavement apart as though the earth itself had decided to erase every trace of humanity.

Silver instinctively eased off the accelerator.

”...Stay alert.”

Ravenna was already scanning their surroundings.

”This place feels...” She searched for the right word. ”Wrong.”

”It does. I hope we don’t encounter another Detroin”

Although birds still sang overhead, there was an uncomfortable stillness hanging over the abandoned town. Silver slowly guided the car deeper into the ruined streets.

The road narrowed as broken vehicles and fallen debris lined both sides. Grass now grew directly through the asphalt. Several traffic lights hung crookedly above the intersections, forever frozen on faded red.

Ravenna frowned.

”...There’s no way this road hasn’t been cleared.”

Silver nodded slowly.

”I was thinking the same thing.”

Checkpoint Fifteen relied on this highway. Maintenance teams should have removed at least some of the vegetation; instead, everything looked untouched, almost deliberately so.

They rounded another corner. Silver’s expression immediately changed, about a hundred meters ahead... The road was blocked.

Several abandoned cars had been pushed sideways across both lanes, forming a makeshift barricade reinforced with steel beams and concrete slabs. Fresh tire tracks surrounded it.

Ravenna’s hand quietly moved toward the hilt of her sword.

”...That wasn’t here naturally.”

”No.”

Silver slowed the vehicle without stopping. Between the wreckage stood several armed men. Some carried assault rifles, others rested machetes or spears across their shoulders, and a few openly watched the approaching car without making any effort to hide.

One man casually leaned against the barricade while chewing on what looked like a piece of dried meat. Another tapped the barrel of his rifle impatiently against his shoulder.

None of them wore Association uniforms or displayed contractor insignias; instead, each wore mismatched armor assembled from scavenged beast hides, military equipment, and ordinary clothing.

Silver quietly counted eight of them. More figures emerged from behind overturned buses and ruined storefronts; the number increased to at least a dozen.

Ravenna spoke without taking her eyes off them.

”...Bandits.”

Silver nodded almost imperceptibly.

”They’ve turned the town into an ambush point.”

As their car continued rolling forward, one of the men raised a hand. The others spread out calmly, positioning themselves behind cover while keeping their weapons trained on the approaching vehicle.

Silver’s foot hovered over the brake. The peaceful journey they had enjoyed all day had just come to an abrupt end.