I grow stronger by making my wife happy.

Chapter 303: 303:Playing games.

Alpha Three looked completely different when they weren’t rushing somewhere. Yesterday, Ravenna had mostly noticed the sheer size of the sanctuary. Today she began noticing everything else.

There were people everywhere.

Contractors walked openly through the streets carrying weapons, while civilians barely glanced at them. Large screens displayed advertisements for beast equipment, Awakener supplements, research companies, universities, weapons manufacturers, and countless businesses Ravenna had never heard of.

Public transportation moved constantly. There were trains running on elevated tracks. Buses travelled through designated lanes. Aircraft occasionally passed overhead.

Some streets were so crowded with pedestrians that Antony had to slow down simply because people were constantly crossing.

Ravenna looked outside.

"How long would it take to see everything here?"

Mallory laughed.

"Probably months."

"Seriously?"

"This place is enormous."

Antony nodded.

"I believe her."

Ravenna looked toward another district visible in the distance.

"This doesn’t feel like a sanctuary."

"What does it feel like?" Mallory asked.

"A country."

Mallory smiled.

"That’s probably closer to it."

Ravenna continued watching, her mind briefly wandering. Silver would probably love this; not necessarily the crowds, he would complain about those.

But the city itself?

Definitely.

She could already imagine him stopping at every Contractor store just to compare prices. Then listening to her complaining that everything was overpriced.

Ravenna smiled.

Mallory noticed through the mirror but she said nothing.

The entertainment district was even busier. Antony eventually found somewhere to park, and the three continued on foot. Ravenna immediately noticed the building Mallory had been talking about.

It was enormous.

Bright signs covered the entrance, and holographic displays advertised various games and attractions.

Ravenna looked up.

"This is an arcade?"

Mallory nodded.

"One of them."

"One?"

"Alpha Three."

Ravenna sighed.

"Right, I feel like I’m in a completely different world."

Noise immediately surrounded them the moment they entered; music, electronic sounds, people cheering, and machines announcing scores.

Ravenna stopped just inside the entrance. The place was divided into different sections. One section contained restored Old World games.

There were racing machines, shooting games, fighting games, and rhythm games. There were even old cabinets preserved behind protective glass with information explaining when they had originally been manufactured.

Another section contained modern games designed after the emergence of Awakeners. There were holographic arenas, reaction-speed games, ability-control challenges, and then Ravenna saw it.

Combat simulations.

Her eyes stopped. Antony followed her gaze.

"No."

Ravenna looked at him.

"What?"

"I know that face."

"What face?"

"You’re about to take something that’s supposed to be fun far too seriously. You’re almost becoming like Silver, which isn’t good. Have fun, don’t destroy that."

Ravenna ignored him and walked toward the simulations. Mallory followed while laughing.

The combat simulation section consisted of enclosed pods. Each player could select an opponent, battlefield, difficulty level, and weapon.

Ravenna studied the options.

"You can choose beasts?"

The attendant nodded.

"Yes."

"What ranks?"

"Teir One through Teir Four for public simulations. Higher-ranked simulations require additional authorization."

Ravenna’s interest increased immediately.

"I’ll try it."

Antony sighed.

"Of course you will."

Ravenna entered the pod. The system scanned her and a menu appeared. She selected a sword, then she selected a Tier Three beast.

Mallory stared through the observation screen.

"Should she start lower?"

Antony shook his head.

"Don’t bother."

The simulation began.

The world around Ravenna disappeared, and suddenly, she stood in the middle of a forest, a sword resting in her hand. She tested its weight. It wasn’t perfect but acceptable.

Then she heard movement. Ravenna smiled. The simulated beast charged from the trees walking quietly as though to not get her attention.

She moved immediately.

The first clash lasted seconds. Ravenna avoided the beast’s attack, pivoted, and slashed across its side. The creature turned narrowly avoiding the attack with only a small cut.

Ravenna attacked again.

She couldn’t use her actual fire abilities inside the basic simulation, but her swordsmanship remained. The beast attacked, Ravenna dodged.

She slashed towards it and moved the moment it counter attacked before attacked again. They went through this motion a few more times as Ravenna got used to using her sword with integrating it with her flames.

Several minutes later, the beast collapsed and the simulation ended.

A score appeared.

She had passed with flying colours. Ravenna stared at it without any emotion and logged out.

Mallory waited outside.

The pod opened and Ravenna stepped out.

Antony looked at the score.

"That’s pretty good."

Ravenna frowned.

"Pretty good?"

"Yes."

She looked at the ranking, then back at Antony.

"Move."

"What?"

"I’m doing it again."

Antony burst out laughing.

"I knew it."

Ravenna selected another simulation. This time, she increased the difficulty. Mallory watched her disappear into the pod again.

"Okay, you were right."

Antony nodded solemnly.

"Unfortunately."

The second attempt was better. Ravenna finished faster and her score increased. She stepped out, looked at the result and frowned again.

Mallory sighed.

"Ravenna."

"One more."

"You said that last time."

"I can do better."

Antony leaned against the wall.

"Silver needs to see this."

Ravenna stopped. The comment should have hurt; instead, she looked toward the simulation, then smiled faintly.

"He’ll probably try to beat my score."

Antony nodded.

"Absolutely."

Ravenna selected another round.

"Then I’ll make sure he can’t."

Mallory smiled.

That was exactly why she had brought Ravenna out. It wasn’t to make her forget Silver, that was impossible to pretend nothing had happened. But to remind her that waiting for someone didn’t mean she had to stop living until they returned.

By the time Ravenna finally left the simulation section, nearly two hours had passed. She had improved her score repeatedly, challenged Antony twice, and beaten him once. He insisted the second match had been unfair while Ravenna insisted he was simply terrible.

Mallory had eventually tried one herself and discovered that she absolutely hated being chased by simulated beasts, resulting in Ravenna laughing harder than she had since Death Row Valley.

When they finally stepped outside the arcade, sunlight greeted them. Ravenna stretched. Mallory looked at her.

"Better?"

Ravenna hesitated, then nodded.

"A little."

Mallory smiled.

Ravenna looked toward the enormous city around them. There was still most of the day remaining before they could search for Shawn.

She reached into her pocket and touched Silver’s tracker but she didn’t activate it; instead, she looked toward Mallory.

"Where next?"

Mallory’s smile widened.

"I thought you weren’t interested."

"I’m not."

"Of course."

Ravenna rolled her eyes.

"I’m collecting places."

"For what?"

Ravenna looked toward the busy streets ahead.

"For when Silver gets here."

And for the first time, she said when without having to force herself to believe it.

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