The chilly night air continued to drift through the settlement, carrying a gentle breeze that brushed against Liam’s newly manifested body. After spending several more moments simply enjoying the sensations he had missed for so long, Liam finally opened his eyes, feeling completely satisfied with the experience. He then remembered something important and decided to ask the system.
"What’s the duration of this skill?"
[The duration is currently limited to two hours. However, this duration can be improved later once further advancement has been achieved.]
"Sweet, that’s more than enough."
Liam continued walking around the quiet settlement, taking advantage of every remaining moment of his physical manifestation. As he wandered through the primitive shelters, something hanging nearby caught his attention. Several large pieces of meat had been suspended from wooden structures, apparently preserved from the previous day’s successful hunt.
"Now that I think about it, I never really ate anything other than that one time when I became an ant." Liam stared at the meat for a moment, suddenly becoming curious. "I wonder what meat tastes like with human senses."
Liam walked toward the hanging meat and, after making sure nobody was awake, grabbed one of the pieces and took a bite. His eyes immediately widened.
"This is so delicious..."
He took another bite.
"More. More."
Without realizing how quickly he was eating, Liam continued tearing through chunk after chunk of meat. His curiosity had quickly turned into genuine hunger, and before he even noticed what he had done, the entire supply of preserved meat had disappeared.
Liam looked at the empty storage area.
"Ah? It’s gone already?"
He stared at the remaining scraps before finally realizing that he had eaten everything.
"I accidentally ate all of it... The lizardmen are going to be confused, I think."
The following morning, the entire settlement gathered together in the center once again. However, this time, there was no celebration for a successful hunt. Instead, the atmosphere was tense, with groups of lizardmen standing opposite one another while heated gestures and angry expressions spread throughout the settlement.
"There is no need to fight that much, guys..." Liam muttered as he floated nearby. "I just ate some of your meat. Consider that an offering for your god."
Despite Liam’s words, he knew there was nothing he could really do about the situation. His physical manifestation allowed him to interact with the world, but he had not yet decided to openly reveal himself or interfere with the development of the lizardmen. For now, all he could do was watch and try to understand what was happening.
The settlement appeared to have split into two groups. One side consisted mostly of the stronger and healthier lizardmen, including the individual who had led the hunting party the previous day.
His muscular build stood out significantly compared with the others, making it obvious that he possessed considerable physical strength. The opposing group, however, looked noticeably different. Several of them were frail, thin, and visibly sick, with some struggling even to remain standing. Judging from their numbers, they appeared to be the minority within the settlement.
"Is that guy blaming the other ones?" Liam asked, looking toward the stronger lizardman. "That’s cruel..."
Even though the lizardmen had not yet developed a proper written language, their body movements made their intentions surprisingly easy to understand. The majority appeared furious, repeatedly pointing toward the smaller group while making aggressive gestures.
The minority could only stand there defensively, seemingly unable to convince the others of whatever had happened.
Liam watched for a while before his expression changed.
"Wait... no."
He floated closer toward the stronger lizardman.
"Why did you exile these guys? Can’t you see that they’re frail, weak, and sick?"
The lizardman obviously could not hear him, and Liam’s physical manifestation remained unnoticed as he hovered directly in front of him.
"Now I feel bad..."
Several hours later, the minority group began packing what little they possessed. Their belongings were placed together, and the group slowly prepared to leave the settlement that had once been their home.
There were twenty members in total, including three young individuals who remained close to the older and weaker members.
Liam watched them prepare to leave, feeling increasingly uncomfortable with what he had witnessed.
Then, just as the group was about to disappear into the surrounding wilderness, one of the stronger lizardmen suddenly separated from the majority and began running after them.
Liam’s eyes widened. "That’s heroic!"
He immediately became excited by the sight.
"You can’t stand watching the old, frail, and malnourished ones receive unfair treatment! That’s commendable!"
Liam followed the individual with his eyes as he caught up to the departing group. However, whatever his intentions were, Liam could not understand their primitive language well enough to know what was being said.
And with that, the minority group of twenty members, including the three young individuals, was ultimately expelled from the settlement. Behind them remained a furious crowd that had apparently blamed them for something they had not done, while the exiled group disappeared into the wilderness with only the belongings they could carry.
Liam watched them leave in silence.
Perhaps not every god-like being would be benevolent, nor would every divine intervention necessarily bring peace to the people below. Sometimes, even a seemingly harmless action could alter the course of an entire civilization, creating consequences that no one could have predicted.
And perhaps that was exactly what had happened here.
A conflict had erupted, an innocent group had been exiled, and Liam had ultimately intervened because he felt responsible for what he had witnessed. Yet the strange chain of events could be traced back to something far more ridiculous than a divine prophecy or some ancient conflict.
It had all started because Liam had gotten hungry.
Because of one god-like being’s gluttony, an entire group of lizardmen had been exiled.
Liam stared at the artifact from above.
Liam stared at the artifact from above.
"Yeah... this definitely wasn’t how I expected things to go."