Liam remained in deep thought as he observed the different civilizations scattered across the planet, wondering how he could somehow encourage their progression without directly interfering with their natural development.
He had already seen some races progressing faster than others, while several were still struggling with basic survival. Then, an idea suddenly came to him. The dwarfs living deep within the mountains already had access to proper metal weaponry, and if their knowledge somehow spread to other civilizations, it could greatly accelerate the overall development of the planet.
Liam immediately flew toward the territory of the dwarfs, eventually finding their settlements deep within the enormous mountain ranges. The dwarfs themselves looked surprisingly similar to humans, although they were considerably shorter, broader, and more compact, with sturdy bodies that seemed perfectly suited for their mountainous environment.
Their lifestyle was considerably simpler than that of the other races. Unlike the lizardmen, who needed to hunt regularly to sustain themselves and recover their energy, or the fishmen, who constantly needed to return to the water to avoid the harsh heat of the surface, the dwarfs had adapted to a much more efficient way of living.
Their small and compact bodies required far less energy, allowing them to survive while eating only once every three days despite spending most of their time deep within the mountains.
They would wake up, travel deep into the mountains, and spend the majority of their time mining various ores and useful materials. Once they returned to their settlement, the gathered resources were sorted and prepared for trade, with wandering human merchants regularly visiting their mountain homes.
The dwarfs would exchange their metals and other materials for food and other necessities, allowing them to maintain their simple lifestyle without needing to spend much time outside their mountains. Once a human trader arrived, the dwarfs would simply conduct their trade before returning to their usual routine, making their entire society surprisingly efficient despite its primitive technological level.
"I expected the humans to develop strong technologies themselves, but I didn’t expect them to be directly connected with the dwarves."
Liam continued observing their trade for a while, realizing that the relationship between the two races could naturally become one of the biggest factors in technological development. The dwarves had access to metals while the humans possessed a much larger population and wider range of settlements, meaning that knowledge and materials could eventually spread between them without Liam needing to interfere.
"Then I guess I wouldn’t need to do anything now, except wait."
And so, Liam waited.
Days passed. Then months. Then years.
Eventually, however, watching the same cycle of mining, trading, hunting, and settling began to bore him. Liam finally decided that there was no reason to continue watching every single year pass at such a slow pace, so he opened the temporal controls once again.
"Ten years per second should be good enough."
The world immediately accelerated.
For several minutes, Liam watched generations pass beneath him as civilizations continued expanding and developing. Eventually, he decided that enough progress had occurred and stopped the acceleration.
Several system notifications immediately appeared before him.
[Farming has been developed.]
[Animal domestication has been developed.]
[Human language has developed.]
[Organized political systems have emerged.]
[Religious systems have emerged.]
[The player has entered the Iron Age.]
[Developmental Reward Available.]
[Please choose one of the following:]
[Artifact Creator]
[Technology Weapon Creator]
[Additional Reward: Granted.]
Liam stared at the notifications before letting out a small sigh.
"I knew it. Religion is bound to come into every aspect of civilization."
His attention then shifted toward the first reward.
"Anyways, Artifact Creator sounds like magical artifacts, right?"
[Affirmative.]
Liam then looked toward the second option.
"Then what about Technology Weapon Creator?"
[Technology Weapon Creator allows the player to create advanced science-fiction weaponry. However, such weapons would only become usable in the far future due to technological limitations and progression.]
Liam thought about both choices for a moment before making his decision.
"Then let’s go with Artifact Creator."
[Artifact Creator acquired.]
Liam looked at the new ability with some satisfaction before turning his attention toward the civilizations below. After acquiring Artifact Creator, he decided to check on the humans and immediately noticed a massive difference compared to the primitive settlements he had seen earlier.
Far below him were enormous settlements stretching across the landscape, with structures packed closely together and thousands of people seemingly living within the same region.
"Those settlements must have populations in the thousands based on how large they are."
Liam descended closer toward one of the settlements, becoming increasingly interested as the details became clearer. Humans were moving throughout the streets and pathways, trading goods with one another, talking in groups, carrying materials, and performing all kinds of everyday activities.
Merchants were displaying their products while others negotiated over prices, and several children were running around the settlement, playing with one another without any concern for the world around them.
Liam remained above them for a while, silently watching their ordinary lives unfold.
For some reason, seeing it all made something inside him feel strangely warm.
The conversations, the children playing, the people gathering together, and even the simple sight of humans living their everyday lives reminded him of something he had almost forgotten.
Liam’s expression softened as he continued watching the settlement below.
"I really missed this..."
Even though Liam had hated Earth and everything that had happened to him there, he still couldn’t help but feel a strange sense of yearning whenever he saw the humans below.
He missed the loud streets filled with people, the constant noise of cars passing by while releasing clouds of black smoke, and even the chaotic sight of strangers crossing the streets together. It was strange how the things he once found annoying had somehow become things he desperately wished he could experience again.
He even found himself thinking about something far more trivial. Video games. Liam had never expected to miss something as simple as sitting in front of a screen and playing games for hours, but after spending so many years as a planet, the thought of holding a controller again almost felt nostalgic.
If this civilization continued developing at its current pace, perhaps similar technology would eventually emerge on this planet as well. And who knew? Maybe one day, Liam would actually be able to play video games again.