Chapter 13: Unique Knight Technique
"Hmm? That's strange… he never falls asleep while I'm telling stories."
Athena frowned and gently touched Raven's forehead, checking for signs of a fever. But there was nothing out of the ordinary—no warmth, no paleness.
"Could he be sick?" she murmured in worry.
"Don't worry too much." Shirley's calm voice reassured her as she stepped forward and lifted the boy into her arms. "On the contrary, I sense that his body is improving."
Cradling Raven gently, she carried him into the bedroom and laid him on the soft mattress. With a final glance, she quietly closed the door behind her.
A minute passed in silence.
Then, without warning, Raven's eyes snapped open.
"I want to enter the Library," he whispered. "Also, show me the Knight Technique—for my sister. Her birthday is coming soon."
[Yes.]
Zera's voice responded in its usual calm tone, and in an instant, Raven's consciousness was pulled back into the depths of the Memory Library.
As before, his vision blurred and reformed into a stream of memories—this time centered on the skill called Instant Memorize. He watched and absorbed every detail, feeling an unfamiliar depth awaken within his mind. Somewhere deep inside, more information surfaced—fragmented, elusive, yet powerful.
When he finally returned to his body, pain surged through his skull like a burning brand. He gritted his teeth and clutched his head, tears prickling at the corners of his eyes. But he didn't make a sound.
He endured.
…
The next morning, Raven attended school as usual. His steps were slower, his eyes shadowed with fatigue.
"Hey, are you alright?" Robert leaned closer and peered at him with concern. "Your eyes are red. Did someone scold you?"
"No... just a headache. I didn't sleep well," Raven replied, slouching over his desk. He glanced up just as the grammar class ended.
"Finally, break time!" Robert beamed as the teacher exited.
Raven, however, had something else on his mind. He reached into his inventory and retrieved the Monocle, slipping it onto his left eye.
"Huh? A monocle? It looks expensive! Where'd you get that?" Robert's eyes widened with curiosity and reached toward it.
"Wait. I need to test something," Raven said, a smug smile curling on his lips.
A second later, a translucent blue screen appeared before his left eye.
…
[Name: Robert]
Age: 5
Race: Human
Nationality: Zenith Empire
Title: None
Class: None
Level: 0
Current Rank: Mortal
Life Pathway: Nil
Attributes:
Strength: 0.4Agility: 0.3Vitality: 0.5Luck: 2.0Spirit: 0.3
Additional Skills: None
Affinity: Wind – Low
…
[As expected. Just an average mortal's affinity, lad,] Zera commented.
Curious, Raven turned his gaze toward his classmates. One by one, he scanned their statuses. Among the fifty or so students, only four had High or above rank affinities.
Three of them stood out immediately.
The Noble Gang.
Everyone called them the A-Class—a group of seven who always scored top marks, belittled commoners, and ruled the class with quiet tyranny.
[Even though affinities aren't passed through bloodlines, nobles often awaken with higher affinities.] Zera spoke again.
'Why's that?' Raven asked silently.
[There's a myth among nobles: if a pregnant mother consumes rare magical materials, the child may inherit strong affinities. Just a rumor…]
'And where did you hear that?' Raven asked, but the spirit fell silent.
Sighing, Raven shifted his attention to a particular student.
A tall girl for her age—around 120 centimeters—Mary Whitbard. Olive skin, brown eyes, a neatly pressed white shirt, and a blue skirt. Her stats read: High Fire Affinity, Intermediate Light Affinity.
'She must be related to Baron Alexander,' Raven guessed.
Next was Dennis Sunfire, a silver-haired boy with an icy gaze. Genius Sword Affinity. His pride showed in every movement.
'He's always looking down on commoners…'
Then there was Chris—shadow affinity: High Rank. Though part of the Noble Gang, he never acted arrogantly. Friendly. Approachable. A rare bridge between nobles and commoners.
And lastly, Daisy Spade. Pale-skinned, quiet, always alone. High Water Affinity. She didn't mingle with nobles or anyone. A mystery.
[You should try to get along with those four. They might become valuable subordinates someday.]
'Subordinates? No thanks. I don't want that.' Raven frowned and tucked the Monocle away.
"Hey! Where did it go?" Robert searched Raven's desk and pockets. "Give it to me! I want to show it to my dad!"
"It's a gift from my teacher," Raven replied coolly. "I won't give it."
Robert pouted and crossed his arms.
"Hmph. Let's see how long you can hide it from me…"
Then, after a pause, he leaned in with a sheepish grin.
"Please?"
"No means no."
Just then, Teacher Elizabeth entered the classroom. Raven stood up as the students greeted her in unison.
The rest of the day passed in a blur of classes and notes.
…
Days slipped by quietly.
Every morning, Raven attended school, completed his lessons, and returned home. Evenings were spent with his sister and Aunt, and after 9:30 PM, he would immerse himself in the Memory Library, refining the Instant Memorize technique through intense visual training.
By the end of the week, he had already grasped 19% of the technique. His memory had evolved dramatically, able to perfectly recall anything he read two or three times.
…
9:45 PM, August 26th, Ivory Calendar, Year 1410.
Raven sat up in bed, waiting until his sister had left the room. Then he whispered,
"Zera, her birthday is just a week away… but you still haven't given me the Knight Technique."
[I didn't forget. I've been observing her training through your eyes and reviewing what would suit her best. After some research, I've chosen the most fitting Knight Technique.]
As she spoke, Raven felt the now-familiar pull.
A moment later, he found himself inside the Memory Library, surrounded by towering shelves of books.
[Here it is.]
A black tome floated before him—its cover etched with strange, shifting symbols.
"What language is this?" Raven asked. "It doesn't look familiar…"
[It's written in the Rune Language. I'll translate it into the Ivory Language—page by page. Memorize each one carefully. When you wake, write it all down in the notebook your sister bought.]
He nodded and began.
The symbols twisted, reformed into words he could understand. It was slow, grueling work. Unlike usual, this time it took him five hours to memorize all 100 pages.
"These sentences are… complex. Almost alien," he muttered.
Then something dawned on him.
"Zera… is this just a small portion of the full technique? If so, isn't it weaker than the one she's already using?"
[Foolish comparison.]
Zera scoffed. [What your sister practices now is a broken imitation—a useless exercise that builds muscle but teaches no real Knight skill. Even a low-tier Magical Beast could kill someone trained with that.]
She paused before continuing.
[This technique, however, is based on the Class-Gem Pathway, exclusive to the Faith Plane—an authentic Knight Technique and Awakening Method. From what I've seen, this world lacks the Class-Gem system entirely. Wizards here rely on bloodlines and runes. That's a dead-end for people like you.]
[But this… this will make her a real Knight. A Walker. With consistent training, she can become a Rank-1 Knight-Class Mystic within a year. In your world, that strength is enough to challenge even an Elite Knight.]
Raven's mouth hung open.
"Class-Gem Pathway? Faith Plane? Knight-Class Mystic? What does any of that mean?"
[Even if I explained, you wouldn't understand yet. Focus on writing the technique down. And—change your handwriting. If your sister recognizes it as yours, she'll grow suspicious.]
A familiar pull surged through his chest, and Raven opened his eyes once more in the quiet of his bedroom.
He got to work immediately.