Liam floated through the air, passing over multiple landscapes as he continued exploring the planet. Forests, rivers, plains, and various settlements passed beneath him until he finally spotted a massive mountain range stretching high into the sky.
The mountains were mostly composed of rocks and limestone, with barely any vegetation growing across their steep surfaces aside from a few weeds that had managed to survive between the cracks.
"Them living this high up means they’ve adapted to the extremely low oxygen, which is honestly impressive." Liam looked toward the towering mountains with interest. "I can imagine them being the first ones to build floating settlements in the future."
Liam moved closer to the mountains until something caught his attention in the far distance. A humanoid figure could be seen flying through the air, its large wings repeatedly flapping as it traveled between the mountains.
"Those must be them..."
He approached the creature until its appearance became much clearer.
It possessed two powerful, bent legs ending in large claws, along with a strong upper body and muscular arms. Its enormous wings resembled those of an eagle, spreading widely from its back whenever it flew.
Yet its face was surprisingly human-like, with human facial features and a strange mane of hair beginning from the upper portion of its spine and extending upward toward the sides of its head and sideburns.
Liam stared at it for several seconds.
"They are way off from what I visualized."
He continued observing the creature with growing curiosity.
"They’re probably the most unique and unexpected-looking race I’ve made so far."
The creature suddenly flapped its wings forward and began heading toward its settlement. Liam naturally followed behind, curious about where the strange flying creature lived.
Eventually, the creature reached a spacious cave built into the side of the mountain. Inside was a primitive settlement made primarily from twigs, branches, leaves, and other materials gathered from the surrounding mountains. The settlement was surprisingly small, with only a few members living inside the enormous cave.
Compared with the lizardmen, they were considerably less developed. There were no organized structures, sophisticated tools, or signs of a rapidly expanding population. Instead, the inhabitants mostly remained within their cave, using the natural environment as their primary shelter.
"This is more of a nest than a settlement."
Liam looked around the cave with disappointment.
"I expected something more interesting."
He floated around for a few more moments before eventually losing interest in the griffons’ settlement.
"This is far less interesting than I thought. I’d rather see if there are any updates on the chatroom instead."
Liam opened the Player Interaction interface.
[Player Interaction]
RedRings: Hello, you guys doing well?
At first, there was no response.
Liam waited. Then a few seconds later, a message appeared.
Dr. Diagnosis: Doing well. I’m currently showing my people proper ethics.
Before Liam could respond, another message appeared.
Lynx: What kind of skills are you using?
Lynx: Hello, RedRings. Dr. Diagnosis told me about you. It seems I’m the third member here.
"Third member..."
Liam looked at the message with slight surprise before typing his response.
RedRings: Glad to meet you, Lynx.
The chatroom became quiet for a moment.
Liam stared at the screen before eventually deciding to ask another question.
RedRings: May I ask how many races you’ve made using the Race Maker?
A response from Dr. Diagnosis appeared before Lynx could answer.
Dr. Diagnosis: Good day, Lynx. I’m currently using Short-Term Physical Manifestation, or STPM.
Lynx responded shortly afterward.
Lynx: Oh, I had it unlocked as well, but I chose not to reveal myself for now.
Lynx: RedRings, I think I have around four races. Mainly humans, goblins, elves, and demons. I like to keep things within my palm.
"So little..." Liam thought as he stared at the message. "I mean, it must be overwhelming to manage multiple races, so I kind of get it."
He then typed his response.
RedRings: Haha, I have more than 10 xd.
There was a brief pause before Lynx finally responded.
Lynx: xd
Liam stared at the single message before chuckling inwardly.
"At least that person understands the struggle."
Liam closed the Player Interaction UI and looked back toward the vast world below him, wondering which race he should observe next. He had already visited the lizardmen and griffons, while the other races were scattered across different environments. After thinking for a moment, one particular race came to mind.
"Now, which race next... Fishmen would do, I guess."
Liam flew up into the sky again, leaving the mountains behind as he searched for the fishmen’s territory. It did not take too long before he finally located them, although what he saw was completely different from what he had expected.
"They’re living on the backs of giant island turtles?"
Liam stared at the enormous creatures moving slowly across the ocean, each one carrying an entire settlement upon its back. The sight left him genuinely shocked as he followed them from above, wondering how he had somehow never thought of something like this before.
Liam descended closer toward the enormous turtle, where he noticed multiple fishmen swimming alongside it and occasionally diving beneath the water before returning to the surface.
Their overall body structure was somewhat similar to the lizardmen, with humanoid builds, strong limbs, and tails, but their features were much more aquatic. Their bodies were covered in smooth scales, while their heads and faces possessed characteristics resembling sharks, giving them a far more intimidating appearance than Liam had expected.
"Their development is actually pretty good," Liam said while observing them more closely. "I think they’re using sharp corals as spears? That’s pretty convenient."
He observed them for a while, watching how the fishmen had adapted their entire way of life around the giant turtles. They hunted beneath the water using sharpened coral spears, working together to surround their prey before striking from different directions. Liam also noticed that whenever two giant turtles happened to pass each other, the fishmen would swim toward one another and begin exchanging various resources, trading food, coral, shells, and other materials they had gathered from their respective territories.
The sight gradually lifted Liam’s mood. After seeing how primitive the griffons were compared to what he had expected, he had been somewhat disappointed with his creations, wondering if some of the races were simply developing far too slowly.
However, watching the fishmen hunt, trade, and cooperate with other settlements completely changed that feeling. They were still primitive, but their society already showed signs of organization and development that Liam found genuinely satisfying.