Chapter 4: The Cave Behind the Waterfall
The sound of his own laughter echoed strangely in the silence of the Whisperwood Forest.
It was a raw, unburdened laugh, entirely out of place in the solemn woods. Rhys finally let it die down, a satisfied grin lingering on his face.
The sheer absurdity of his situation was intoxicating.
Hours ago, he had been a powerless outcast, a shame to his family name, walking towards a life of mediocrity at best.
Although he tried to appear strong internally, Rhys knew that in this brutal world, there was no place for the talentless.
Without enough strength, he couldn’t survive in Silverwood town, let alone adventure outside of it.
He might not even be able to travel to nearby towns.
However, everything was different now. Rhys clenched his fists.
Now, he was a walking calamity with a body forged from void energy and a direct line to the instant mastery of any skill he could get his hands on!
He took a deep, experimental breath.
The world flooded his senses in a way it never had before. It was as if he had been viewing life through a murky pane of glass that had just been shattered.
He could smell the damp earth ten feet beneath his boots, the sweet scent of night-blooming moonpetal flowers half a mile away, and the faint, musky odor of a small animal hiding in a nearby burrow.