Chapter 4: THE FIRST WOODEN BOOK
Rain continued falling softly outside Noah Kurtz’s apartment while Sentinel City glowed endlessly beneath the dark night sky like a mechanical giant that never truly slept. Neon advertisements flickered across nearby skyscrapers while streams of airborne traffic crossed through the city’s elevated transportation lanes far above the lower residential districts. Somewhere beyond the massive walls protecting humanity’s strongest eastern megacity, monsters still roamed through the Dead Zones under endless darkness. But inside this tiny apartment filled with overdue bills and exhausted silence, Noah’s entire world had already begun changing in ways he could not yet comprehend.
The pale blue system panel floating before him suddenly pulsed with light.
[Archive Available.]
Noah’s gray eyes narrowed slightly.
Ever since returning from the infirmary, his thoughts had been consumed entirely by the Memory Cabinet. The strange synchronization messages. None of it resembled any F-rank ability humanity had ever documented before.
For the first time in years, Noah felt like destiny had finally acknowledged his existence. Slowly, he reached forward. The moment his fingers touched the glowing panel the world dissolved. Darkness swallowed reality instantly.
The apartment vanished. The rain disappeared and Noah found himself standing once more inside the endless black library of the Memory Cabinet.
The infinite archive stretched endlessly beyond his vision while floating shelves drifted silently through the void like ancient monuments abandoned at the edge of existence itself. Towering cabinets covered in chains extended upward forever while glowing keys rotated slowly through the dark air. Some books radiated terrifying pressure powerful enough to distort nearby space itself while others appeared ancient and fragile, as though one touch could reduce them to dust.
Yet Noah’s attention immediately locked onto the center of the library. The transparent coverless book hovered silently above the darkness. Unlike before, it was changing. Faint glowing letters slowly appeared across its empty pages one by one, as though an invisible hand was actively writing the contents of the book in real time. Strange symbols flickered constantly across the transparent pages before disappearing again.
A buffering symbol rotated beneath it.
[Memory Integration In Progress...]
Noah stared quietly at the floating book.
"So it’s still continuing..."
He suddenly realized something important. That book represented him. His memories and his life. Everything he had experienced until now. And somehow, the Memory Cabinet was still recording it all even at this very moment. The realization sent chills down his spine.
Slowly, Noah stepped closer before reaching toward the transparent book again. The moment his fingers touched its surface multiple glowing system windows exploded open before him.
DING.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Name: Noah Kurtz
Archive Identity: NovaCox
Rank: S-Rank
Skill: Memory Cabinet
Archive Access Level: Wood Level
Synchronization Rate: 0.03%
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Noah froze completely.
"...S-Rank?"
His voice echoed softly through the infinite library. His breathing became uneven instantly.
Absolutely impossible.
The awakening ceremony had clearly labeled his ability as F-rank. The officials confirmed it. The System itself confirmed it. Yet now the Memory Cabinet panel directly displayed something entirely different.
S-Rank.
Noah’s heartbeat accelerated rapidly.
"No... no way..."
His mind raced desperately. Had the awakening ceremony malfunctioned? Was the System hiding his true rank somehow?
Or...
was this ability something beyond normal classification entirely?
Then his eyes shifted downward toward the final line.
[Archive Access Level: Wood Level.]
"...Wood level?"
Noah frowned deeply. That part made no sense whatsoever.
Hunter rankings were universally standardized. F-rank through S-rank. Beyond that existed legendary classifications rarely seen in modern civilization.
But wood level?
That sounded absurd.
Confused, Noah began wandering deeper into the library once more while observing the countless books surrounding him more carefully than before. This time, however, he noticed something strange.
Certain shelves looked different.
Unlike the metallic, golden, or glowing books elsewhere in the archive, these particular books appeared rough and primitive. Their covers resembled old wooden bark while faint green symbols glowed across their surfaces.
Noah stopped before one shelf silently.
"...Wood level..."
His eyes slowly widened.
"Oh."
Understanding dawned naturally.
"So that’s what it means."
The books themselves represented different classifications.
Different tiers.
And apparently, his current authority only allowed access to these wooden-level memories. The realization both excited and disappointed him simultaneously. If wooden books were merely the lowest accessible tier... then what would they even be helpful to him and will he ever be able to open those shining books?
Noah instinctively remembered the overwhelming pressure he felt earlier after touching the golden tome. Even now, just thinking about it caused unease to crawl across his skin. He decided instinctly.
Definitely not touching those again.
Instead, Noah focused entirely on the wooden shelf before him. There were dozens of books here. Each looked worn and ancient despite radiating faint warmth through the darkness. Some even had torn and incomplete pages.
Slowly, Noah reached toward one of them. The title glowed softly across the bark-like surface.
[Basic Ki Cultivation Technique.]
Noah blinked.
"Ki...?"
Although that word was not unfamiliar to him but it was a pure fantasy one. He had read multiple murim manhwas. But in this world, Mana and Aura were the main channelizations. Curiosity overwhelmed caution instantly.
He opened the book. And the moment the pages separated everything exploded inside his mind. Pain surged violently through Noah’s consciousness as foreign memories flooded into him like an endless river bursting through broken gates. His vision blurred instantly before transforming completely.
Suddenly—
he was no longer inside the library. He stood beneath a bright blue sky surrounded by mountains. A completely different world. A completely different life.
Noah saw a small child sitting cross-legged beside a waterfall somewhere deep within an ancient western-style fantasy kingdom. The boy looked no older than five, wearing rough training clothes while breathing slowly in strange rhythmic patterns. Energy flowed around him. No, to be more precise, it flowed through him.
Noah watched silently as the child inhaled deeply before guiding warm currents throughout his body in precise pathways. Every breath circulated invisible force naturally beneath the skin, strengthening muscles, organs, and bones simultaneously.
The memory felt unbelievably real. Noah could feel every movement. Every breath. Every sensation. The child continued practicing endlessly beneath the waterfall while years of repetitive training flashed rapidly through Noah’s mind.
And then—
the memory shattered.
Noah stumbled backward violently inside the library while clutching his head in shock.
"What... WAS that?!" His heartbeat thundered wildly. Yet before panic could fully consume him something strange happened. Warmth appeared inside his body.
Even within the archive itself, Noah could suddenly feel faint energy moving naturally beneath his skin exactly like the child from the memory. His eyes widened instantly.
"No way..."
The Memory Cabinet was not merely showing him memories. It was transferring understanding itself. Instinctively, Noah sat cross-legged upon the dark reflective floor before attempting to recreate the breathing method he had just witnessed.
Inhale slowly> Guide the energy downward> Circulate> Release.
At first, nothing happened. Noah frowned before trying again. Again, nothing happened. Frustration appeared quickly.
"No... the flow is wrong..."
He closed his eyes tightly while replaying the memory repeatedly inside his mind. The child’s posture. Breathing rhythm. Muscle tension. Every detail mattered.
Noah attempted again. And failed again. The energy scattered uselessly through his body before vanishing completely. Sweat formed along his forehead despite existing inside the archive itself. But Noah refused to stop.
For years, the world had mocked him for being talentless, weak and worthless. But now... for the first time in his entire life... he could see a path forward. Noah inhaled deeply once more.
This time, he adjusted the circulation slightly according to instinct rather than memory alone. The moment he completed the third cycle warmth settled through his body. His eyes snapped open instantly.
A faint current of energy surged beneath his skin before flowing naturally through his limbs like invisible heat. It was a minor success. Noah stared at his trembling hands while excitement overwhelmed him completely.
"It worked..."
His voice shook slightly.
"It ACTUALLY worked..."
For the first time in years, genuine hope ignited inside Noah Kurtz’s chest like wildfire. His body continued circulating the weak traces of Ki naturally while warmth spread through his muscles. Even though the effect remained tiny, Noah could immediately feel the difference.
His senses sharpened slightly. His breathing stabilized. Even his exhausted body felt lighter.The excitement nearly overwhelmed him. His dream that he thought had died years ago, suddenly no longer felt impossible.
He could become stronger. He could become a Hunter worthy of recognition. He could repay his father’s crushing debt. He could finally stand proudly before his family instead of drowning endlessly in shame.Noah laughed quietly to himself while staring into the endless darkness of the archive.
"Looks like heaven hasn’t abandoned me yet..."
After calming himself slightly, Noah returned toward the wooden shelves again. If one book contained something this incredible... then what about the others?
His eyes scanned the titles rapidly before selecting another tome.
[Minor Understanding of Aura.]
The moment Noah opened the book, another flood of foreign memories surged through him. This time he saw warriors wielding invisible pressure capable of strengthening weapons and overwhelming enemies psychologically through sheer presence alone.
But unlike the Ki technique...
this one felt incomprehensible.
No matter how many times Noah replayed the memories, he could not grasp the core principle behind aura manipulation. The energy felt unstable and vague compared to the structured circulation method of Ki cultivation.
After nearly an hour of repeated attempts, Noah finally sighed heavily before closing the book.
"...Too difficult."
Frustration lingered briefly, but excitement still dominated his emotions overall. Even if he failed one technique, the existence of these books alone already changed everything.
So Noah picked another.
[Minor Basic Understanding of Mana.]
Again, memories flooded into him.
This time, Noah witnessed a young girl meditating beneath glowing crystals while sensing natural mana particles drifting through the atmosphere around her. Unlike Ki, which originated internally, mana felt external. Vast. Omnipresent.
Hours passed silently inside the archive while Noah experimented repeatedly with the techniques shown through the memories.
And eventually—
success.
Tiny blue particles finally appeared faintly around Noah’s fingertips before disappearing moments later. Mana sensitivity achieved. Noah stared silently at his hand. Then laughed again. Everything mixed together chaotically inside him.
He skipped the aura book for now before grabbing a third wooden tome instead.
[Basic Postures for Strength and Agility.]
This memory differed entirely from the previous ones. It did not show or teach him anything he did not knew before.
Instead, Noah saw a ten-year-old child repeatedly training through brutal physical exercises across countless days beneath harsh conditions. Footwork drills. Muscle conditioning. Reflex training. Balance techniques. It was simple but still very efficient.
The moment Noah absorbed the memories, he instinctively understood something important. The child inside the memories had practiced these movements thousands upon thousands of times. For a child who was barely ten, his body was ripped, his muscles were neatly formed and his hand had multiple calluses. And now those instincts partially belonged to Noah too.
Slowly, Noah mirrored several postures within the archive itself. His body adjusted naturally. More smoothly than expected. Every movement flowed with strange familiarity despite being completely new to him.
ALL OF IT WAS REAL.
The Memory Cabinet was not merely storing memories. It stored skills, experience, understanding, in short entire lives. And somehow those lives were becoming part of him. Noah slowly looked upward toward the endless library stretching infinitely into darkness beyond.
The wooden books alone already felt miraculous. So what exactly existed deeper within the archive? What secrets hid behind the sealed cabinets? What terrifying knowledge rested inside those untouchable golden tomes?
Now someday... the world that mocked his F-rank awakening would regret ever underestimating him.