I grow stronger by making my wife happy.

Chapter 462: 462:Understanding.

Silver leaned back in his chair. He hadn’t meant to say that aloud but it was familiar.

He remembered his old life on Earth, where orders had occasionally arrived without enough information and soldiers had been expected to make decisions anyway.

He remembered waiting beside military vehicles under a hot afternoon sun, checking equipment while someone argued over a map that hadn’t been updated properly. He remembered the frustration of discovering that a supposedly simple operation involved considerably more people than the briefing had suggested.

The memories were brief and no longer overwhelmed him but they remained. Sometimes he wondered what had happened to the people he’d known.

Whether his death had changed anything for them. Whether the child he’d saved had grown up safely.

He didn’t dwell on it for long. There was no way to return and find out but he hadn’t forgotten them, and he didn’t think he ever would.

”Ruddington.”

Silver looked forward.

Peter was watching him.

”Your answer?”

Silver glanced at the convoy scenario, then smiled faintly.

”Secure the civilians first, establish a defensible position, and find out exactly what we’re carrying before deciding whether the convoy can be abandoned.”

Peter nodded.

”And if you don’t have enough time?”

”Then we make the best decision possible with what we know.”

Peter smiled slightly.

”Good.”

Silver’s personal training became considerably more focused after the assessment.

He had no intention of wasting the improvements he’d received from the Happiness System, especially when the academy offered facilities capable of pushing him much harder than the training rooms he’d previously used in Delta Four.

His mornings still began with physical conditioning, often alongside Dillian and Jude, although Antony continued to appear whenever he remembered that Rebecca would probably ask whether he’d trained.

After breakfast came classes, after classes came weapons training, and in the evenings, Silver dedicated at least an hour to developing his spatial abilities.

His greatest improvement wasn’t in how far he could teleport. It was in how little energy he needed to accomplish the same movement.

At the beginning of the fourth week, Silver had already learned that using Short-Step repeatedly over unnecessary distances was inefficient. Now he began experimenting with smaller adjustments, sometimes moving only a meter or two to change his position rather than disappearing across an entire training room.

During one exercise, he placed six numbered markers across the floor and attempted to move between them while maintaining his balance and keeping his handgun aimed at a moving target.

The first few attempts were ugly; he overshot one marker,misjudged another, and on his fifth attempt, he reappeared facing the wrong direction.

Silver stared at the target as it continued moving and sighed.

”That would’ve been embarrassing in a fight.”

The system responded.

[Short-Step Lv3 proficiency increased.]

Silver smiled.

”At least someone appreciates the effort.”

He tried again, and again.

By the end of the first week, he could move between the markers without losing his orientation, allowing Phantom Draw to flow naturally into his spatial movement.

He practiced drawing his handgun immediately after teleporting, firing at targets that appeared from different directions while using Spatial Sense to track their positions before they became visible.

[Phantom Draw Lv4 proficiency increased.]

[Spatial Sense Lv3 proficiency increased.]

The combination was becoming increasingly natural. He didn’t need to look directly at every target when Spatial Sense informed him where movement occurred. Short-Step allowed him to reposition. Phantom Draw handled the actual attack.

But Silver was careful not to rely on those abilities exclusively.

During some sessions, he deliberately disabled Short-Step and forced himself to move normally, using his enhanced Agility and physical conditioning to reach positions without spending energy.

It was slower but useful. He couldn’t assume his spatial abilities would always be available. Death Row Valley had taught him that lesson painfully.

His training with Space Slash was considerably more demanding.

After reaching Lv3 during the assessment, Silver had discovered that the technique possessed far greater potential than he’d originally understood.

The problem was control.

At Lv2, he had often treated Space Slash like an ordinary ranged attack, releasing a cutting distortion toward whatever he wanted to damage.

Lv3 was different.

The spatial blade could be compressed, its edge could be narrowed and its energy could be concentrated into a smaller cutting surface, allowing it to penetrate materials that would’ve resisted his previous attacks.

But doing so required precision... and precision required practice.

Silver stood inside a reinforced ability training chamber, facing a row of thick metal plates suspended from the ceiling.

He raised his practice sword as energy gathered along the blade.

[Space Slash Lv3 Activated.]

A thin distortion flashed forward, almost invisible to the naked eye. The first plate split, the second received a deep cut and the third remained intact.

Silver lowered his sword.

”Too much dispersion.”

He checked the training monitor to find that the energy consumption was higher than he wanted.

He adjusted his stance and tried again. This time he focused on compressing the spatial edge before releasing it.

The first and the second plate split but fhe third developed a shallow cut. He found it better than the first result but still knew he had so much more.

Silver smiled, then attempted a third strike. The blade formed unevenly and the attack veered slightly to the left.

A warning flashed across the training chamber’s monitor.

[Spatial Output Instability Detected.]

He immediately stopped.

He exhaled.

His right arm tingled and the energy circulating through his spatial abilities had become unstable.

He needed a break.

He sat on the floor and opened the Happiness System. The Spatial Energy Refinement reward he’d received after the assessment was still available.

He had deliberately waited before using it, and now seemed appropriate.

[Spatial Energy Refinement ×1 Detected.]

[Would you like to begin refinement?]

Silver selected yes.

A faint sensation spread through his body. It wasn’t pain or warmth either. It felt as though the energy moving through his spatial abilities was being gradually reorganized, its circulation becoming smoother as unnecessary fluctuations were reduced.

Silver closed his eyes.

For several minutes, he remained motionless, then the system chimed.

[Spatial Energy Refinement Complete.]

[Spatial Energy Circulation Efficiency Improved.]

[Spatial Skill Energy Loss Reduced.]

[Spatial Distortion Stability Increased.]

Silver slowly opened his eyes.

He stood, raised his sword and activated Space Slash again. A thin but stable distortion formed.

He released it.

The first plate split, the second followed, then the third.

Silver smiled to himself.

”Now that’s better.”

[Space Slash Lv3 proficiency increased.]

He didn’t level the skill again, he didn’t need to. For now, simply understanding Lv3 was more than enough.