The forest remained unnaturally silent.

No birds.

No insects.

Even the leaves seemed reluctant to move.

Kai tightened his grip around his grandfather's oak staff.

Between two ancient trees, a pair of amber eyes continued watching him.

Waiting.

He remembered the words from Reading the Forest.

Never mistake silence for peace.

Silence belongs to the hunter.

Kai slowly exhaled.

Running immediately would be a mistake.

Turning his back would be worse.

His heartbeat thundered inside his chest as he searched the surrounding trees instead of staring directly at the creature.

Another lesson surfaced.

Most predators attack where you are looking least.

He slowly shifted his gaze.

Nothing.

Left.

Nothing.

Right...

There.

Another pair of eyes.

Then another.

Kai's blood ran cold.

"A pack..."

Three Grayfang Wolves emerged from the undergrowth.

They weren't particularly large.

Each stood just above Kai's waist.

Their silver-gray fur blended perfectly with the shadows beneath the trees.

According to the bestiary he had read...

Grayfang Wolves preferred surrounding injured prey before attacking together.

One distracted.

Two flanked.

They were smarter than ordinary wolves.

Far smarter.

Kai swallowed.

"I don't suppose you're interested in books?"

The wolves stared blankly.

"...Worth a try."

His first instinct screamed at him to fight.

His second reminded him he had never defeated anything larger than a chicken.

Instead...

He remembered another forgotten manual.

Understanding Animal Behavior.

Most predators attacked only when success seemed certain.

Fear attracted them.

Desperation encouraged them.

Calmness confused them.

Kai planted the walking staff firmly into the ground.

He stood tall.

Made himself appear larger.

The wolves hesitated.

One growled.

Another circled slowly toward his left.

Kai adjusted his position without taking his eyes off the leader.

Good.

They hadn't committed yet.

Then he noticed something unexpected.

The lead wolf limped slightly.

Its right foreleg barely touched the ground.

Injury.

His mind immediately searched everything he had read about Grayfang Wolves.

Injured leaders became desperate.

Hungry.

Aggressive.

But...

They also protected their packs more fiercely.

The wolf wasn't hunting because it wanted to.

It was hunting because it had to.

Kai slowly lowered his staff.

The wolves tilted their heads.

Even they seemed confused.

"Easy..."

His voice remained calm.

"I'm not your enemy."

One wolf bared its teeth.

Kai didn't move.

He carefully reached into his satchel.

The movement instantly caused all three wolves to tense.

Slowly...

Very slowly...

He removed a strip of dried venison his mother had packed that morning.

He tossed it several meters away.

The wolves didn't move.

Another strip.

Then another.

The smallest wolf cautiously approached the food.

The injured leader growled.

But hunger won.

Within moments, all three were eating.

Kai took a careful step backward.

Then another.

Never turning around.

Never running.

Only when dozens of meters separated them did he quietly disappear among the trees.

His knees nearly gave out.

"I..."

He laughed nervously.

"...I'm alive."

An hour later, he reached a clearing beside a stream.

Only then did he allow himself to sit.

His hands trembled.

His clothes clung to his skin with sweat.

He hadn't won.

He hadn't fought.

He had survived.

Using knowledge.

Exactly as his father always said.

As he drank from the stream, a soft blue glow suddenly appeared before him.

Kai froze.

Floating particles gathered in the air.

Letters slowly formed one after another.

Unlike the strange messages inside the Nameless Book...

These remained.

Resonance Achieved

Forgotten Skill Recognized

Beast Observation

Rank: Common

Description:

Years of forgotten writings have become practical understanding.

You instinctively recognize behavioral patterns in ordinary beasts.

Current Mastery:

1%

Kai stared in disbelief.

"...A skill?"

The words didn't disappear.

Instead...

A second message appeared.

Knowledge has become Experience.

Experience has become Instinct.

The light slowly faded.

Kai remained frozen for several moments.

"It finally happened..."

Not because he had finished reading a book.

Not because someone taught him.

But because he had actually used the knowledge.

The realization struck him like lightning.

Books alone were not enough.

Experience completed them.

Excitement replaced exhaustion.

He hurriedly opened his notebook.

Skill Record

Beast Observation

Rank: Common

Obtained:

Forest Survival

Method:

Applied knowledge from forgotten manuals during a real encounter.

Observation:

Reading creates understanding.

Experience creates Skills.

Kai underlined the final sentence three times.

That...

Changed everything.

The journey back toward Ashgrove continued peacefully.

For the first time, Kai looked at the forest differently.

He noticed claw marks on trees.

Bird nests hidden among branches.

Mushrooms growing only on fallen birch logs.

Animal trails crossing one another.

Before...

It had simply been a forest.

Now...

It resembled a giant open book.

Just before sunset, he arrived back at the library.

Leni's laughter still echoed in his memory.

Rowan's advice lingered in his thoughts.

Knowledge isn't trapped inside books.

It's waiting outside them.

His father smiled the moment Kai stepped through the door.

"Welcome home."

Kai placed the recovered herb manuals gently onto the counter.

"Mission accomplished."

Lyra grinned.

"And?"

Kai hesitated.

"I met wolves."

Finn nearly dropped the stack of books he was carrying.

"You WHAT?"

His mother rushed over immediately.

"Are you hurt?"

Kai laughed.

"I'm fine."

"I didn't fight."

His father looked curious.

"What happened?"

Kai told them everything.

The wolves.

The injured leader.

The dried meat.

The silence of the forest.

Even the glowing words that had appeared afterward.

When he finished...

The room became completely quiet.

Edric looked both proud...

And thoughtful.

"So..."

"The first Skill has awakened."

Kai nodded excitedly.

"It says Beast Observation."

His father slowly smiled.

"I've never heard of it."

Neither had his mother.

Lyra frowned.

"It's not listed in any modern skill encyclopedia."

Kai's excitement paused.

"What does that mean?"

Edric looked toward the forgotten shelves.

"It means..."

"...you may not be awakening modern skills."

That night, long after everyone had gone to sleep, Kai returned to the Nameless Book.

He gently placed his hand upon its blank cover.

This time...

The book opened by itself.

Only a single page revealed silver writing.

Archive Record

Registered Archivist Candidate:

Kai Aldren

Forgotten Skills Collected:

• Beast Observation

Archive Compatibility:

0.1%

Continue Collecting Forgotten Skills.

The page slowly turned on its own.

Another line appeared beneath it.

One Kai had never seen before.

The world remembers heroes.

The Archive remembers everyone else.

The book quietly closed itself.

Far below the library, the ancient stone door shuddered once more.

This time, a tiny fragment of the seal crumbled away.

Behind it, somewhere in the darkness, the sound of countless books opening echoed through the forgotten halls.

The Archive had finally acknowledged its first new student in over a thousand years.