Chapter 28

The day of his seventh birthday finally arrived. A long-awaited day for any child, not so much for him. Kai had already unlocked his First Seal, so the greatest source of excitement was gone.

His family didn’t know that, and he didn’t want to crash their mood. It was better to pretend he just unlocked a big part of the Guide and not ruin his family’s happiness with boring technical details.

After their encounter two days prior, Alana and Kea might suspect he had already reached Orange and unlocked the Favor stat. He doubted they knew it would unlock the First Seal early. If Alana was aware, and was acting excited regardless, he should do the same.

He usually woke up with or before his mother, but today he had been told to wait in his room for them to prepare.

After completing his daily Meditation, they still hadn’t called him. He opened one of his father’s books and started reading.

He was trying to decipher the Vastaire scripts. His father left many translated texts and even the breakdowns of how he deduced their grammar. Unfortunately, among his many qualities, he had never been very organized in his notes. They were for his own use after all.

He had rewritten the few parts he had been planning to publish into a more understandable draft, but those were the minority.

Among the finished texts was the first half of a manual for the Vastaire language. Kai was scouring through the notes to put together the other half.

The Vastaire language had no similarities with their own. They didn’t use an alphabet but logograms, a bit like the Chinese maybe. He really had no idea. He didn’t understand Chinese or Vastaire, for that matter.

He made some progress, but the main thing he learned was that his dad had been brilliant. Rellan deciphered the whole language from scratch by himself. Kai had trouble following the reasoning left in his notes.

My father was a damn genius.

Learning the Vastaire language might be harder than he initially imagined, but he wasn’t going to give up easily. How could he be worthy of his father if he couldn’t even do that?

Trying not to get frustrated and persevere, his mind went back to when he learned to read on his father’s ancient tomes. This time he was actually deciphering a dead language to uncover ancient secrets.

His father’s notes already did most of the work, though that was a technicality.

The knock on the door came too soon. Right as he was getting into the groove of things.

Kai put on his birthday boy smile and went to open the door.

“Happy seventh birthday!” a joyous chorus of the three best women of his life welcomed him.

He let himself be dragged around to a rich breakfast. With plenty of juicy tropical fruits and even a little mango cake his mother went to buy this morning.

“Mom, you shouldn’t have.”

“Don’t be silly. You become seven only once. Both Ele and Kea insisted they pay a third of the price too.” Alana put her arm around a blushing Kea, who glared at her.

Clearly, that was meant to remain a secret.

“Don’t think it’s only for you. We’re gonna eat a slice too,” Kea responded defensively.

Kai gave a hug to a squirming Kea, telling her how great and considerate she was.

“Stop being nice, it’s weird. Eat the cake and shut up.”

He let her go smiling. She was still a bit red.

Eleni laughed and cut into the little cake, giving him a slightly bigger slice.

No little candles or wishes on Elydes, but a good sweet seemed universal.

Kai enjoyed every bite of that slice. The mango filling had a perfect acidic note that complemented its sweetness. Their house had never been so cheerful as they laughed and ate their fill in a breakfast-lunch mix.

Afterward they decided to go to the sea. Both Alana and Eleni had taken the day off to celebrate. They found one of the less rocky beaches of Greenside and laid a blanket to sit by the waves.

There was a moment of silence, sitting and staring at the pebbles and sea. They looked at each other and laughed. Without the need for a prompt, they started a contest for who could come up with more reasons why the beach and the sea in Greenside were inferior to Whiteshore.

The first were easy: pebbles not sand, cold waters, strong currents, hard to sit or walk on the beach, humidity…

Then they had to get more creative.

“The sound of the waves in Whiteshore was calming. Here they sound angry,” Alana said, staring melancholic at the waters.

Kai never thought about it, but it was true the sea gave him a calmer feeling in Whiteshore.

No one had anything more to add. They all missed their home, their true home.

“Come on, let’s go for a swim!” Kai said, taking off his shirt and jumping in.

“But it’s cold,” Kea complained.

Kai theatrically looked around and then shrugged. “Seems fine to me. Come on, the temperature is perfect. Are you afraid of a little water?”

Kai walked a few steps toward the shore and extended his hand to Kea with a reassuring smile. She looked suspicious, but hesitation and backing down weren’t in her genes. With a confident air, she took his cold hand.

Without wasting the opportunity, Kai grabbed her tightly and smiled. He could see the wheels turning in her mind as she saw where this was going.

“Prick!” she yelled as she was falling toward the water.

Kai laughed. A few moments later a very enraged Kea emerged from the water like the spirit of vengeance.

“I’m gonna drown you!” She jumped for him and the fight to the biggest mouthful of seawater began.

As always, Kea didn’t use half-measures. She was definitely trying to drown him with all her efforts. With his orange grade Kai was confident, even if she had a year and a half on him and was taller.

He wouldn’t say he was struggling, but he had to put in some effort to slip away and make fun of her at the same time. She must have reached Red ★★★ because her strength was higher than her thin arms suggested.

It was fascinating how her rage seemed able to always grow a step higher. After more than half an hour of failed efforts—she didn’t give up easily—Kea was heaving and livid.

Turning to their older sister, she spoke with a tone that didn’t contemplate refusal. “Eleni, help me drown him.”

Ele had been watching and laughing with Alana until then. She contemplated her options, eyes moving between an enraged Kea and an amused Kai.

“Why not.”

Just like that, she jumped into the water and joined the fight to take down the tyrant. His enemies had doubled.

For the first few exchanges, Kai still wore his trademark grin, confident in his stats and abilities. It didn’t last much longer.

Eleni was thirteen and he hadn’t considered she could have already reached Orange. Because she clearly had while he was away.

His sweet sister turned into a merciless devil as she forced his head under the waves over and over. With all those years on him, her attributes were far higher than his and she had also put on some muscle from her work. There was no way for him to win against her. She was bigger, stronger and faster. Her arms appeared made of steel as she drowned him over and over again.

Where did my sweet sister go and where did this monster come from?

In the meantime, Kea was dancing and laughing maniacally around them as she tasted her sweet revenge.

“What’s happening, little bro? What? I can’t hear you through all this seawater. Hahaha!”

For five long minutes, they abused their innocent younger brother without mercy. What absolute monsters.

Kai dragged his tired body to shore. He had won the biggest mouthful of seawater. That had not been fun.

Ele helped him up and tried to console him as if she hadn’t been the one merrily drowning him moments ago. “I’m sorry, little brother. I couldn’t stop myself from removing that annoying smirk from your face,” she said with a sweet smile.

I guess I tend to do that, yes…

After they dried off, it was time for the main event. Telling him about all the amazing things he could now do with the Guide.

Kai did his best to feign ignorance and ask the same questions he did Dora many months ago. Alana started with the basics, her explanation clearer than he expected. He didn’t learn anything new, but it was interesting hearing his mother’s perspective on the topic.

He made sure to produce the appropriate ‘ohs’ when Alana said something surprising and make excited attempts to put her lessons to practice.

He had long since transformed his Guide to look like a game UI, with the perfect shade of blue chosen among hundreds, completed with sound effects. Now he felt it was time for a change. As he faked discovering the customization option, he might as well do the changes for real.

I need a new theme…

Thinking back to this morning, Kai decided to go with an old parchment aesthetic, with dry and broken curls at the edges. It added a difficult element of tridimensionality, but he never let a challenge stop him.

Soon, Eleni joined in on the explanation. Kea was also eager to add her take and what she did with her Guide.

Kai listened to them distractedly as he was focused on attempting to customize his Guide.

The best lies contain a grain of truth.

After the parchment, he had to find the appropriate writing style. He wanted it to look old, but not to be hard to read. The biggest challenge of this theme was balancing function with aesthetics.

The hours passed as they ate a few snacks Alana prepared for them and kept animatedly talking about the Guide and other random topics.

Eleni was happy with her job. Kai was ashamed to have never asked for more details. She had gotten an apprenticeship and worked near the sea, that was about the gist of what he was aware. Some kind of fisherman job, but Ele didn’t seem keen on sharing the details.

Kea also needed to start looking for what she wanted to do and find an apprenticeship, or at least get the appropriate skills. It was unfair to ask an eight-year-old girl what she wanted to do for the rest of her life. Most took ten or twenty more years to find their answer. And some never stopped searching.

Such was the life in the archipelago. You were expected to start working at fourteen or soon after. Instead of a degree, you were chained by skills and professions. Those with enough motivation could always manage to change careers later, but it wasn’t easy.

Kai alternated between participating in the conversation and refining his UI. It would take him weeks to finalize all the details—his perfectionist side demanded its due.

In his quest for balance, he didn’t go all out with the parchment and writing style for practical reasons. Instead, he opted to let his creative side have free range in the arcane decorations of his windows. He mixed pieces of runes he saw at the estate and Vastaire ideograms. All following a unifying rule of what he thought looked the coolest.

As the sun was about to set, Alana was the first to return home to prepare dinner. For the occasion, she had bought some meat from the hunters. Kai was afraid to ask what kind of animal it belonged to. Better to appreciate the gesture and enjoy it without knowing.

They cleaned up while Alana cooked. When they asked to help, Kea and Kai were gently told they weren’t required. His sister for her less-than-stellar record with food, and him because it was his birthday.

Kea believed he had been sent away for her same reason. She was wrong.

Dinner was served. The meat had been added to a rich stew. Kai had specifically asked for it.

A stew was considered a dish of the poor. Those without many means often put what they could scrape together in a bowl with some salt and spices, if they could afford them. To Kai this meal reminded him of the many dinners when his family was whole. Completely whole.

Don’t you dare cry. Just eat the damn stew with snake meat! See, I said it! That’s certainly snake meat.

After all the excitement of the day, the dinner proceeded quietly. Silently enjoying each other’s presence.

When they were done, he helped clean up the dishes and got ready for bed after the perfect day.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Alana asked him.

Kai looked at her confused.

“Did you think we didn’t prepare any presents for your seventh birthday?”

Kai was stunned. He remembered receiving a few gifts when they lived in Whiteshore. Alana once gave him a bracelet, but he lost it when they had been relocated. Presents had not been a thing since they came to Greenside. They had more important things to worry about.

“Mom, there was really no need. The food and cake are enough already.”

Alana had a little packet in her hands. “So, you don’t want my gift?” She theatrically dried fake tears.

Kai rolled his eyes. “Of course not, just give it to me. Gimmie, I wanna see.”

The packet had the shape of a short tube.

Wait a second…

Opening it up, his dad’s enchanted pen was revealed in all its shiny glory.

“We thought we should make it official and give it to you. I know your father would have liked it,” Alana said.

Kai uttered the only words he trusted himself to say with a small voice, “Thank you.” Long suppressed emotions tried to bubble up to the surface.

He didn’t get the time to recompose himself when Ele jumped in front of him and offered another little packet. “Me and Kea also have one for you.”

The unexpected news helped distract him. Even his sister got a gift for him. Kai was starting to feel bad. He never got them anything.

“Ele did most of the work, I barely had anything to do with it,” Kea said from behind her sister.

Opening the small packet, a bracelet fell into his hands. It was made of an intricately braided silver string with six shiny little white stones and a bigger green one in the center.

Kai was dumbstruck. “Are those pearls?” he said with a strangled voice.

This wasn’t something they could afford. His senses tingled and a glance with Mana Sense revealed the green pearl held a higher mana signature. It was a real mana treasure. They definitely couldn’t afford that.

He felt himself going pale as he raised his gaze to his smiling sisters.

“What? Do you not like it?” Kea asked, offended, not understanding the racing thoughts in his head. Luckily, Ele seemed to have an idea.

“Don’t worry, this bracelet didn’t cost us a a single chip. Well, we did buy the string, but apart from that, nothing.”

Kai watched her incredulously. That green pearl must be worth a silver mesar!

Ele smiled brightly. “Do you not remember what I’m apprenticing for?”

Like thunder, all the pieces connected in his brain. Why Ele had been evasive about her work that afternoon and why she was so calm.

She was training to become a pearl hunter.

Kai admired the bracelet for what it was – an incredible amount of hard work from both his sisters. The white pearls already showed a great deal of effort on her part. The green one was something else, probably a lucky catch she was not likely to repeat anytime soon. And instead of selling it, she gave it to him.

As for Kea, he could bet she had been the one to braid the silver string. Maybe those failed attempts in her room were prototypes for his bracelet.

This time he couldn’t block the tears. “Thank you to you both.”

Eleni gave him a hug.

“Hey, how do you know I did anything?” Kea said.

“Just a hunch.”