I grow stronger by making my wife happy.

Chapter 328: 328:What happened?

Silver’s eyebrows rose. That was extremely useful.

Spatial Sense wasn’t particularly demanding when used normally, but prolonged activation strained him, and Spatial Distortion was significantly worse.

If he ended up needing repeated spatial abilities while travelling through the queen’s territory, mental exhaustion could become just as dangerous as physical exhaustion.

He immediately stored the capsule.

”I’m keeping that.”

The system continued.

[Additional Milestone Progress Reward Issued.]

[Emergency Survival Beacon ×1.]

Silver frowned.

”A what?”

The description appeared.

[Emergency Survival Beacon]

[Portable emergency broadcasting device designed for hostile and isolated environments.]

[Functions: Broadcasts encrypted distress signal through standard Contractor emergency frequencies.]

[Effective range dependent upon terrain, interference, depth and environmental conditions.]

[Warning: Current subterranean depth exceeds reliable broadcasting parameters.]

Silver’s excitement disappeared almost immediately.

”So it doesn’t work down here.”

[Current probability of successful external transmission: Extremely Low.]

Silver sighed.

”Naturally.”

Still, he couldn’t call it useless. If he climbed high enough, the beacon could become valuable.

Even if his phone remained without signal, Contractor observation posts, Association equipment, military receivers or rescue teams might detect an emergency frequency.

Silver took the device from storage. It was small enough to fit in his palm, with a protected activation switch and several indicators along the side.

He turned it over.

”Could’ve given me this before I fell.”

The system didn’t respond.

Silver stored it again.

He looked back at the milestone notification.

Two thousand five hundred AP.

Mental Restoration Capsule.

Emergency Survival Beacon.

Those weren’t small rewards. Something significant had happened.

Silver’s expression gradually became more serious.

”System.”

[Listening.]

Silver looked at Ravenna’s name displayed on the affection interface.

”Whatever caused this milestone increase, did it happen because her affection toward me increased?”

[Relationship Milestone Progress is calculated through multiple factors.]

Silver waited for an expansion.

The system continued.

[Affection.]

[Trust.]

[Emotional dependence.]

[Relationship recognition.]

[Mutual commitment.]

[Additional factors may apply depending upon target and relationship conditions.]

Silver frowned.

That was more detailed than he expected.

”So which one changed?”

[Exact milestone data unavailable until target emotional state stabilizes.]

Silver sighed.

Back to useless. He dismissed that portion of the interface but his eyes remained on Ravenna’s name.

What the hell had she done?

Or perhaps the better question was what had happened to her.

Silver knew their relationship had already changed enormously since the system first appeared. Ravenna had gone from someone he was helping partly because the system rewarded her happiness to someone he genuinely cared about.

They’d become companions, then something much more complicated, and finally he told her the truth. He had hoped this last leg of the journey would be when she said yes to finally being his girlfriend.

And after all of that, shit had hit the fan before anything could go further.

Now something had happened while he was buried underground that was apparently important enough to push their relationship toward another milestone.

Silver stared into the darkness.

”Ravenna, what the hell are you doing up there?”

No answer came. He smiled despite himself, then looked at the enormous AP balance again.

”Whatever it is, thank you.”

His smile lasted only a few seconds.

The concern remained. The system said her emotional stability had improved, that was good, but improved didn’t mean normal.

It still couldn’t provide a number.

Silver had gotten used to occasionally seeing Ravenna’s affection value, even if he didn’t constantly check it anymore. Being unable to see it now felt strange, like was in this strange bubble where everything was blurry around him.

He wanted to know she was alright. He wanted to hear her voice. More than anything, he wanted to get out of this mountain before she convinced herself that he wasn’t coming back.

Silver finished the rest of his meal and drank more water. Then he looked toward the system again.

”How long has it been since the collapse?”

The answer appeared immediately.

[Calculating elapsed time.]

A second notification followed.

[Time elapsed since initial subterranean collapse: 1 Day, 17 Hours, 26 Minutes.]

Silver stopped.

Almost forty-two hours. He hadn’t realized how much time he’d spent recovering, exploring, doubling back through tunnels and fighting the burrowers.

Nearly two days.

Silver looked toward the queen’s passage. His expression tightened.

”Too long.”

If Ravenna had followed his instructions, she could already be well on her way toward Alpha Three. If she hadn’t...

Silver pushed that thought away.

Antony was with her.

The observation center knew what happened. And Silver had told Ravenna exactly what to do if they were separated.

He had to trust her. Just as she would have to trust that he was stubborn enough to survive.

He opened his storage again. He still had several medicines.

The flesh recovery medicine was already taking effect, and the reopened wound had stopped bleeding. He didn’t need the Mental Restoration Capsule yet, so he kept it untouched. Using something that valuable simply because he was tired would be wasteful.

Instead, Silver shifted into a more comfortable position. He looked at his AP balance once again.

Two thousand five hundred new points changed his situation considerably.

Earlier he’d been rationing everything because buying three Tier Three space cores had practically emptied his account. Now he could prepare properly.

Silver glanced at the queen’s tunnel.

Going inside with nothing except a gun, sword, some ammunition and a few meals was possible. Going inside prepared for climbing, poor air, injuries, darkness, worms and potentially several days underground was smarter.

The system had just handed him the resources to do exactly that.

Silver smiled faintly.

”You’re still saving me even when you’re nowhere near me.”

He wasn’t talking to the system.

His gaze remained on Ravenna’s name. Silver rested his head against the wall and allowed his eyes to close.

The medicine needed time and his body needed time. He had nearly two days of accumulated exhaustion working against him, even with the hours he’d spent unconscious.

There was no reason to immediately throw himself into another dangerous tunnel simply because he was anxious. The queen’s route wasn’t going anywhere.

He would res, then would resupply. After that, he would climb.