Liam's flight slowed as he caught sight of the first real signs of civilization. A settlement.
Nestled deep within the towering forest, it was barely visible through the thick canopy, almost as if it had been designed to stay hidden. From above, he could make out simple structures—primitive yet sturdy—built from the very same type of soil he had been plundering from.
Of course, there were also other structures to the building like door frames, tiles, gates, and such. All of them had unique designs and Liam couldn't recognize any designs. They could be runes from another era or symbols of a long-forgotten civilization.
The way the settlement blended into the forest suggested a deep connection between the inhabitants and the land itself. Someone else may have the time and knowledge to make more out of these things but Liam had a different goal. This system event was important for him.
Without any hesitation, he shot forward and started working on the nearest building after making sure there was no one else in the vicinity.
As expected, the material was the same as the soil he had been collecting—only compacted, refined, and reinforced with something else. A faint hum resonated beneath his touch. The runes, or whatever symbols adorned the surface, weren't just decorations.
They were active. A security measure? A defensive enchantment?
Liam narrowed his eyes and pressed his mana into the symbols, testing their reaction.
The moment his energy touched the surface, the runes shimmered faintly. For an instant, he felt something pushback.
It wasn't an alarm. Not yet. But it was alive. Probably a formation to keep intruders out of the building. It should be a fairly dangerous formation too considering the backlash threatening to assault him.
However, that was not a big problem for him. He never intended to step inside these buildings anyway.
For him right now what was on the outside mattered more. Seraphina and Tristan had talked about how that eccentric augur loved architectural items, random nick nacks and pretty much anything that smelled of the old era.
Sure, he would love to go inside and get the actual treasure but this came first. He owed Derek that much. He had no idea how much time he had left in this place and he had to make every second count.
Liam started his business and he did not leave anything behind. He tore apart the windows, chiseled out the decorated door frames, and carefully pried away the carved tiles embedded with the intricate rune designs. Every piece of ancient architecture, no matter how small, was pried away from the building.
The runes still pulsed with residual energy even as he stored them away. He worked quickly but methodically, making sure to disturb as little as possible while maximizing his gains.
He was a thief—but an efficient one.
And after everything that had value was removed, he sat down to meditate and slowly absorbed all the special soil essence from the skeletal framework of the building.
The next second a loud explosion rang out. Liam was thrown away several miles, his body flipping through the air before he managed to stabilize himself mid-flight. His skin tingled, the lingering force of the explosion still crackling in the air.
His eyes snapped back toward the settlement. The structure he had been draining had collapsed entirely, the foundation crumbling as a shockwave of energy spread outward.
Liam had to go all out just to block the shockwave. And this was only because the entire thing just exploded inward, folding onto itself. When everything settled, there was a palm sized spatial tear in the space instead of the building that previously occupied it.
Liam's mind raced as he observed the tear. Spatial tears were notoriously dangerous—unpredictable and potentially lethal if not handled with caution. He left that area of the unsettlement and proceeded to head towards another corner.
Once again the same thing happened again. He started peeling off tiles, window frames and doors, finishing it off with extracting the rare soil essence and within moments, the entire structure collapsed, imploding inward. Another spatial tear formed in its place, flickering ominously as if it were a wound in reality itself.
Liam hovered in midair, panting as he watched the chaos. He couldn't help but wonder what powerful artifacts and secrets these buildings contained. How valuable it must be for the formation guarding it to be so powerful.
He let out a sigh and then shot towards another corner of the settlement and repeated the same process again. He repeated this over and over until his storage pouch was full. It was basic system shop bag and there was only so much space inside it.
Liam regretfully tucked it away and stared at the settlement which was a little bit different at the moment. He shrugged it off as his gaze fell upon a particular building that stood at the center of the settlement.
It was eye-catching to say the least. While the rest had been constructed from the same special soil, adorned with intricate carvings and runic symbols, this one stood apart.
It was taller, its architecture more refined, almost regal. Dark metallic veins ran along its exterior. Unlike the buildings he had already dismantled, this one seemed untouched by time, its foundation still stable despite the rest of the settlement collapsing around it.
Liam narrowed his eyes. What makes you different? Now that he had collected enough or at least whatever he could fit inside the storage pouch, he had the time to examine this one in detail.
Hovering closer, he extended his mana sense, feeling for the same hidden mechanisms he had triggered before. But the moment his energy brushed against the building—
The metallic veins along the surface lit up, golden light surging across its form like molten lava. A deep hum rumbled from within the structure, resonating with a strange, almost sentient presence.
Liam immediately backed off, his instincts screaming. What the hell. He hadn't even done anything yet. Just how strong was the formation guarding this building?