Chapter 14: Birthday

"What time is it?" Raven asked.

[It's 2.45 A.M. You should rest now and start writing tomorrow.] Zera suggested.

"No. I want to write the first page before going to sleep."

He hurriedly switched on the aether lamp and placed it on the floor. It was a unique lamp that used a mysterious gas substance called 'Aether' for burning and could burn for two days straight. But unlike the Aether Rifle, it was easy to mass produce and cost less.

After lighting up the lamp, Raven stealthily left the bedroom, took his school bag from the living room, and returned. Then, he took out the new empty notebook, the silver pen he got from his teacher, and finally, a black ink bottle.

He then opened the first page with his other hand while opening the ink bottle and filled the silver pen with black ink.

After that, he moved the tip toward the notebook's first page and started to write in a curved writing style, which Zera had explicitly taught during the past few days.

"The paper absorbs the ink quickly and doesn't require drying time. If it's like this, I can write more quickly.'

Although the Aether lamp only gave a dim light to the room, it was more than enough for him to write without any mistakes.

For the next hour, he kept his attention on the notebook and focused entirely on writing.

After writing for over three pages, he finally couldn't control his sleep and decided to rest after keeping the silver pen, notebook, and ink bottle in his inventory.

Then, he climbed onto the bed and slept around 4 o'clock. For the next few days, he didn't focus much on his elementary class and tried to copy all the content in the new notebook completely.

After much hard work, Raven managed to copy everything on September 2nd.

"Tomorrow is my sister's birthday. How should I pass this notebook to her?" Raven asked as he finally covered the book with layers of brown sheets, making it look like a gift box.

[Although you managed to change the handwriting and even made the book's outer cover look different and ancient, we still need to think of how to give this to her. It would be better if she finds this book coincidentally instead of us presenting this to her.] Zera pondered for a moment and soon chuckled as she thought of something.

[Now that I think about it, I'm still thinking incorrectly. Raven, you can give this to her more straightforwardly. After all, no sane person would believe it if this book was written by a five-year-old kid, right? Instead of telling her the truth, why not tell your Aunt first that you mysteriously found the notebook in your bag today?]

"Will my aunt believe my words?" Raven asked with wide eyes.

[Of course. Now, you should get some sleep.] Zera said.

Raven nodded solemnly and slowly closed his eyes before entering deep sleep.

The following day, as Athena's birthday dawned, Raven couldn't contain his excitement. The anticipation of giving her the special notebook filled with the mysterious Knight Technique made him both nervous and thrilled. The day unfolded with preparations for Athena's celebration.

Shirley had managed to keep the surprise dress and presents hidden, and the atmosphere in the tiny house was charged with the joyous spirit of the occasion. Raven, however, couldn't shake off the anxiety.

As they sat down for breakfast, Shirley noticed Raven's restlessness.

"What's bothering you, Raven?" she asked with a smile.

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Raven hesitated for a moment and then decided to confide in her.

"Aunt Shirley, I have something special for Athena. I found a notebook with a secret in the school bag two days ago. After reading the first page, I noticed it has something to do with the Knight Technique."

Shirley listened intently, her eyes widening with surprise.

"Knight Technique? Are you sure it isn't some random book you find in the Library? Also, how come it appears in your school bag without knowing you?"

'He must have picked up one of the Knight journals from the School Library and decided to give it to her. Well, I will let him give the present to Athena and then return the book to the Library later. It's not like the school library is a Royal Library with many secrets anyway.'

She chuckled inwardly and patted Raven on the head.

"You're quite the thoughtful little one, aren't you? Don't worry; we'll figure out the perfect way to surprise her."

Throughout the day, as preparations for Athena's birthday continued, Raven couldn't help but steal glances at the hidden notebook.

The celebration began in the evening. Athena was genuinely surprised by the dress and presents Aunt Shirley had prepared. The modest dinner table was adorned with a small birthday cake, and the three gathered around to celebrate.

After the meal, as Athena opened her presents, Raven couldn't contain his excitement.

"Wait! There's one more thing. It's not much, but I hope you like it," he said, trying to sound casual.

Curious and intrigued, Athena looked at him as he handed her the carefully covered gift box.

"What's this?" she asked, tore the outer brown covers, and finally saw the book with black cover. What made her eyes widen a little was a few strange characters appeared on the cover, giving her a mysterious feeling.

It was a word called 'Harmony' in the Rune Language.

"It's a special notebook. Just read it, and you'll understand," Raven replied, trying to sound mysterious.

"Oh? Let me see what my cute little brother wrote." She opened the notebook with a smile and focused on the title.

"Chapter 1: Knight's Awakening."

As Athena started reading, her eyes widened with each passing word. Just as she read the first sentence, she noticed it contained information about how a Knight's everyday lifestyle and technique practice could change one’s body constitution. The more she tried to read, the more she found it hard to understand. The revelation of the mysterious Knight Technique and the detailed training instructions astonished her.

"Where did you find this, Raven?" Athena asked, her voice contained a trace of nervousness and shock.

"I... I found it in my bag two days ago, sister," Raven replied, trying to sound nonchalant.

Athena, however, could sense there was more to the story. She slowly turned her attention towards Shirley and asked.

"Do you know something about this, Aunt? It looks like a very profound Knight Technique." She passed the book to Shirley and asked her to read it.

"Really? He told me earlier about this book, but I thought he must have picked it up in the School Library." While talking, Shirley also flipped the pages and started reading the content. But unlike Athena, she quickly understood the first page and soon turned solemn.

"T-This... Athena, this book might be written by an Expert." Her voice turned dimmer as she looked around cautiously and soon added.

"Even the first page has much information about the Knight Training method. This book's creator must be a Radiant Knight... Or even a Higher rank Knight." Her words made Athena's face stiffen.

"Could it be from 'him'?" She asked while glancing at Raven in anxiety.

"It is possible. That man had the power to kill us that day, but he didn't. Does that mean he is monitoring us all this time?" Shirley muttered solemnly.

"Who is 'that man'?" Raven asked as he couldn't follow their words and looked confused.

"You don't need to worry about him."

Athena hurriedly made a forced smile and shook her head.

"Thank you, Raven. This book is the best birthday gift ever. Although I don't know how it appeared in your bag, I'll think of this as a gift from you and start practicing," she hugged him tightly.

As Athena hugged Raven, a mixture of emotions overwhelmed him. At the same time, the mystery behind their family origin made him ponder deeply. He couldn't help but wonder about the mysterious figure Shirley and Athena talked about.

Days passed, and Athena delved into the notebook's contents earnestly. The information within was both fascinating and challenging for her. It spoke of a completely foreign Knight training method, Meditation technique, and unique, mysterious abilities, and even hinted at the existence of higher levels.

For the next twenty-five days, she focused on practicing the body training method first and noticed a drastic increase in her physical strength. Also, she sensed a large amount of 'darkness elemental power' accumulated within her body before forming a new fourth circle!

Athena was captivated by the prospect of unlocking her latent potential at that moment.

"I've entered the realm of an Official Knight!" She stood in the front yard and muttered while reading the guidelines in the book.

"Finally, I've learned some of this Knight training method." She flipped the next page and stared at the following title.

"My next aim is to learn the first Knight Skill called 'Eclipse Fury.' From the description, it is an attack ability. But from what I've heard from Aunt Shirley, only Elite Knight and above rank can learn mysterious abilities through perfecting their battle skills, though." She started reading about the skill and continued focusing on her training.