Chapter 154:Testing.
The celebration lingered in Silver’s mind even after the last plates had been cleared away.
The cake box now sat neatly folded inside the room’s waste bin, while the remaining food had been stored away for later. Warm afternoon sunlight streamed through the windows, giving the suite a comfortable, peaceful atmosphere.
Silver leaned back in his chair and smiled.
"...Thank you again."
Ravenna looked up from the empty teacup she was holding.
"You’ve thanked me several times already."
"I know. I just..." He laughed quietly. "I still can’t believe you planned all that."
She smiled.
"Then it was worth waking up early."
Silver shook his head with a grin before standing. His excitement from reaching Rank Two had hardly faded. In fact, there was one thing occupying his thoughts more than anything else.
"I want to test it."
Ravenna didn’t need to ask what he meant.
"The new spatial skill?"
He nodded immediately.
"In theory, I know how it should work, but I need to know exactly how it works physically."
Ravenna stood as well.
"The premium training room?"
Silver smiled.
"We’re becoming regulars in that place."
Within half an hour, the two of them had changed back into their contractor clothes and made their way toward the Contractors Association.
Silver found himself appreciating the city more with each passing day.
When they entered the Association building, several familiar faces immediately recognized them. The receptionist looked up from her terminal and smiled brightly.
"Back already?"
Silver returned the smile.
"I have something I want to test."
Her eyes drifted over him for a moment before widening slightly.
"...Wait."
She tilted her head.
"Something feels different about you."
Silver scratched the back of his neck.
"I ranked up."
For a brief moment she simply stared, then her face lit up.
"You reached Rank Two?"
"I did."
"Congratulations!"
A few nearby contractors looked over after hearing her enthusiastic voice. One of them even offered Silver a quick nod of congratulations before continuing his own conversation.
"Thank you," Silver replied.
The receptionist smiled warmly.
"I had a feeling you two were progressing quickly, but this was sooner than I expected."
Silver laughed.
"So was it for me."
She quickly brought up the reservation system.
"Premium room again?"
"If one is available."
She tapped the screen several times.
"You’re in luck. The same room as before is free."
Silver accepted the access card.
"Looks like we’re becoming regulars."
She laughed.
"Just..." Her smile became slightly mischievous. "...Try not to destroy the room."
"I’ll do my best."
Ravenna smiled.
"We’ll keep him under control."
"I’m glad someone can."
The three of them laughed before Silver and Ravenna headed toward the training wing. A few minutes later, the familiar reinforced doors slid open. The premium training room looked exactly as they remembered.
Silver walked to the center of the room.
"So..." He slowly exhaled. "Let’s see what Rank Two can do."
Ravenna remained several meters away.
"I’ll observe first."
Silver nodded and closed his eyes. Unlike Space Slash, this wasn’t an offensive technique; instead of gathering space around his sword, he focused on the space directly in front of him.
The System’s newly acquired knowledge resurfaced naturally.
’You have to stretch, compress, anchor; don’t force it but guide it’
Silver slowly raised one hand. Invisible spatial energy flowed outward. For several seconds, nothing happened, then the air roughly two meters in front of him shimmered faintly.
The light itself seemed to bend unnaturally before immediately straightening again.
Silver’s breathing became heavier.
"...There."
Ravenna narrowed her eyes.
"I can barely see it."
"I think..." Silver concentrated harder. "...That’s normal."
The distortion stabilized. It resembled a sheet of transparent glass, except it possessed no actual surface. Instead, the surrounding scenery appeared subtly warped.
Silver maintained it for another three seconds, then the distortion collapsed.
He lowered his arm.
"...Wow."
Ravenna immediately walked over.
"You only held it for a few seconds."
Silver nodded.
"My mental energy dropped much faster than when I use Space Slash."
He rubbed his forehead.
"It feels..." He searched for the right word. "...Heavy."
Ravenna considered that.
"It probably consumes far more spatial energy, so that would make sense."
Silver recovered for another minute before nodding.
"Let’s actually test it."
Ravenna walked toward the equipment rack and picked up several wooden throwing knives used for reaction training.
"I’ll start gently."
Silver returned to the center of the room.
"Whenever you’re ready."
The distortion appeared again with less hesitation this time. The shimmering space stabilized.
"Throw one."
Ravenna flicked the wooden knife forward. The projectile flew straight toward Silver. The moment it entered the distorted area... Its trajectory slightly changed.
Instead of continuing directly toward Silver’s chest, it drifted several centimeters to the left before passing harmlessly beside him.
Both of them looked at the knife, shocked.
"It curved..."
Silver slowly lowered the distortion.
"It wasn’t blocked."
Ravenna picked up another knife.
"It was redirected."
Silver nodded.
"Again."
This time she threw two. The first shifted only slightly, and the second deviated even farther before striking the padded wall.
Silver carefully observed everything.
"It isn’t choosing. The space itself is changing the direction of the knife."
Ravenna smiled.
"This is more interesting than your other skills."
She retrieved the knives before returning.
"Can I throw harder?"
Silver hesitated.
"...Within reason."
She nodded. The next throw carried considerably more force. The moment it entered the distorted space, the knife visibly slowed, then it twisted unexpectedly before flying wide.
Silver’s eyes lit up.
"It stretched."
Ravenna nodded thoughtfully.
"The distance became longer. It looked like the knife had to travel farther even though it didn’t."
Silver smiled.
"That’s exactly what it felt like."
They repeated the experiment several more times. Each result remained consistent. They came to a conclusion that fast attacks experienced stronger distortion and slower attacks changed direction more subtly.
Finally, Ravenna placed the wooden knives aside.
"Swords?"
Silver took a deep breath.
"Let’s try."
Both of them drew practice swords instead of their real weapons. The safety barrier quietly activated around them.
Silver once again formed the spatial distortion. Sweat already formed along his forehead. It demanded enormous concentration.
Ravenna approached cautiously.
"I’m only using enough strength to test it."
"I know."
She swung a simple horizontal strike. The moment the wooden blade entered the distorted area, its movement slowed.
Ravenna instinctively adjusted. Her sword reached Silver several fractions of a second later than expected. Silver stepped aside effortlessly.
Ravenna lowered her weapon.
"...Again."
The next strike came faster, a downward slash. This time the distortion twisted the attack just enough for the blade to drift slightly off its intended line. It wasn’t enough to miss completely, but enough that Silver needed only a tiny movement to avoid it.
Ravenna’s eyes widened.
"It isn’t stopping me. It’s making me..." She paused. "...Miss."
Silver smiled.
"That’s probably why it’s called distortion."
She nodded.
"It changes the geometry."
Silver maintained the barrier for another few seconds, then it shattered, simply disappearing.
Silver stumbled backward.
"...That’s enough."
He caught himself against one knee, his head pounding much worse than after repeated Space Slash.
Ravenna immediately crouched beside him.
"Silver."
"I’m alright."
"No."
She handed him a water bottle.
"You’re exhausted."
Silver accepted it gratefully.
"...I didn’t even keep it active for fifteen seconds."
She looked toward the empty space where the distortion had been.
"If it were easy... It wouldn’t be this powerful."
Silver drank deeply before nodding.
"I think you’re right."
After resting for several minutes, he insisted on trying again. This time he focused on efficiency rather than duration. The distortion formed more smoothly, having gotten used to it now.
Ravenna attacked again. She used simple thrusts, diagonal cuts, and controlled combinations. Every exchange revealed another characteristic.
The barrier couldn’t completely stop an attack, nor could it protect him from every direction; instead, it subtly manipulated space around a limited area.
It was strong enough to throw off an opponent’s timing, redirect arrows or bullets, or create an opening, but far from invincible.
Eventually, another familiar notification appeared.
[Spatial Distortion Lv1]
{Proficiency Increased.}
Silver smiled despite the fatigue.
"It gains experience."
Moments later, another notification followed.
[Mental Resistance increased + 1.]
Ravenna laughed softly.
"Only you would improve your resistance by exhausting yourself."
Silver chuckled.
"It seems that’s becoming a habit."
She gave him a playful look.
"One I’d rather you didn’t make permanent."
Silver looked once more at the place where the distortion had shimmered moments earlier.
He had finally gotten a defensive spatial technique; an expensive and difficult one at that, but undeniably powerful. He couldn’t help smiling. Rank Two had already begun changing the way he fought.