Chapter 264:You’re one lucky person.
That was what he had assumed but now he knew better. Rank Five wasn’t simply another step. It was a massive wall he hadn’t even realized existed because he was still weak and hadn’t even thought that far ahead.
Ravenna seemed to be thinking along similar lines.
"Silver."
"Hm?"
"Could we have helped?"
He looked at her.
"No."
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
"You answered very quickly."
"Because I know." He looked back toward the crater. "If we had entered that fight, we’d have been a liability. Would have possibly died before we even knew what on earth was going on."
Ravenna didn’t argue.
She knew he was right.
Their abilities were powerful for Rank Two contractors. Silver’s Phantom Draw could kill Rank Three beasts under the right circumstances. Ravenna’s sniper rifle and fire abilities gave her tremendous long-range power.
Together, they could even contribute against Rank Four beasts but the creature they had just witnessed was different.
Silver had seen bullets strike it, Rank Four attacks hit it, watched abilities that could destroy ordinary beasts tear into its body, and the bird had continued fighting.
It had adapted, learned, and nearly broken through the defenses. If Silver had entered that battle, he wouldn’t have become another one of those Rank Four contractors. He would have become something they needed to protect.
That realization was humbling.
Ravenna looked at him.
"You’re not upset."
"No."
"Why?"
Silver smiled.
"Because I learned something."
"What is it?"
"The difference between knowing something and actually seeing it. And we’re weak as hell."
Ravenna bumped him on his side before shaking her head.
They had heard about Rank Five beasts before. Silver had even fought one, but his previous encounter had been chaotic.
The Rank Five ape had been enraged, reckless, and surrounded by circumstances that worked in Silver’s favor. There had been no organized battlefield, no military formation or an opportunity for Silver to stand back and observe.
He had simply fought because he had to survive. This time was different. He had been able to watch, and that had made all the difference.
A Rank Five beast was terrifying.
Not simply because of its physical strength or its energy but because it possessed true intelligence. The creature had recognized abilities, formations, attack patterns, deliberately targeted weaknesses, and understood when certain attacks were dangerous.
Silver’s expression became more serious.
"If that creature had been more aggressive from the beginning..."
Ravenna looked at him.
"What?"
"It might have caused much more damage."
Larry overheard him.
"You’re right."
Silver turned.
Larry continued.
"That’s one of the reasons Rank Five beasts are treated differently."
"Because they’re intelligent?"
"Partly."
Larry looked toward the corpse.
"At Rank Five, beasts begin to develop intelligence comparable to humans. Not always the same kind, but enough to understand strategies, recognize threats, learn from experiences, and make decisions beyond simple instinct."
Silver nodded.
"That explains a lot."
Larry looked at him.
"You’ve experience a Rank Five beast? You seem to be talking with more familiarity. Most people always look at them in awe the first time they see them, you seem strangely calm."
Silver paused.
"Yap, it was a careless mistake."
Larry’s expression changed.
"You survived that?"
"Yes."
Larry stared at him for several seconds, then he slowly shook his head.
"You were lucky."
Silver almost laughed.
"That’s what I keep telling myself."
"Don’t forget that..." Larry looked toward the battlefield. "You don’t understand how lucky you were."
Silver’s smile faded.
He did understand now. Perhaps more than he wanted to. He remembered the ape; its massive body, terrifying strength and the way it had pursued them.
Shawn had fought taking the brunt of everything. He could still feel the chaos and desperation. At the time, Silver had focused only on surviving.
Now he understood that they had been standing in front of a creature that could have killed them almost effortlessly if circumstances had been slightly different.
He and Shawn had survived because everything had gone just right, or perhaps because everything had gone just wrong for the beast.
Silver exhaled slowly.
"I really was lucky."
Ravenna looked at him.
"Very."
Antony crossed his arms.
"So you’re telling me you fought something like that before?"
Silver nodded.
Antony stared at him.
"And you survived?"
"Yes."
Antony shook his head.
"You are either extremely lucky or incredibly stupid."
Silver smiled.
"Probably both."
Ravenna laughed.
Larry shook his head and walked away.
"Get used to being lucky. You’re going to need it in this valley. You don’t know what will happen. People die easily in this valley; I don’t want any of you joining the ranks of the dead. I’ve come to like you guys a lot."
"Thank you, we’ll keep that in mind."
Silver watched him leave.
Antony looked at Larry and shook his head.
"Tsk! Is he jinxing us or something."
Silver chuckled.
"It’s just a good hearted warning. No one is going to die pretty much us, I’m going to make sure of that."
The cleanup continued for another half hour. The soldiers collected bodies, ontractors retrieved cores and damaged equipment was moved aside.
The observation centre’s repair teams began working almost immediately. Silver was surprised by how quickly everything returned to normal.
There were no dramatic speeches, celebration or panic like in normal checkpoints. Here, people simply went back to work.
The Rank Five beast had been killed and the immediate danger had passed. That was all that mattered.
By the time the sun had risen higher, the battlefield already looked different.
The bodies had been removed, the blood had been washed away in several places and the damaged sections of the outer wall were being repaired.
The smaller beasts had disappeared completely. Only the massive corpse of the Rank Five creature remained outside the perimeter, surrounded by contractors working carefully around it.
Silver stood beside Ravenna and watched.
"What happens now? Are we going back or continue forward?" she asked.
"We stay."
"For how long?"
"Until Larry says otherwise."
She nodded.
Silver looked toward the valley.
The lesson that had left behind was enormous. He had spent weeks becoming stronger, gained skills, and improved his swordsmanship.
His Spatial powers had developed and his body had grown stronger through beast cores. He had even acquired abilities that made him capable of fighting above his rank.
Yet none of that changed the fact that he was still Rank Two. The Rank Five beast had shown him exactly how far he still had to climb.
Silver clenched his fist.
He wasn’t discouraged, if anything, he was motivated. One day, he wanted to stand on that battlefield. Not as someone watching from behind the defensive line or someone being protected, but as one of the people deciding the outcome.
He glanced at Ravenna. She was already looking at him.
"What?"
"You have that expression again."
"What expression?"
"You know what I’m talking about."
Silver smiled.
"Maybe."
Ravenna sighed.
"Please don’t tell me you’re planning to fight a Rank Five beast."
"Not today."
"Good, I don’t want to fight one either."
"Maybe tomorrow."
She punched his arm lightly.
Silver laughed.
The tension finally began to disappear, for now, they were safe. But Silver couldn’t shake the feeling that the unusual frequency of these beast migrations meant something.
The valley was changing, the beasts were moving, and if that continued, there had to be a reason. He simply didn’t know what it was yet.