The Guardian System: The strongest Summoner's quest to save his family Chapter 371: Straight Lines in a Crooked World (3)

—[Feral Ignis—Level 485]—

—[Feral Ignis—Level 482]—

—[Feral Ignis—Level 473]—

He saw them walk past the crate and ordered the Vorathid Sky-Hunters to lure the monsters as far away as possible.

Reidar waited 10 minutes after the last of the monsters' footsteps faded before allowing himself to move.

He stayed behind the crates for another ten minutes, listening. The plaza was silent except for the distant howl of wind outside, but at that point Reidar understood it was covering the noise made by the monsters.

Finally, he stood and looked around the space properly for the first ti.

The plaza was massive—easily the size of an aircraft hangar. But that was not what really stood out to Reidar. No, it was sothing else.

Reidar climbed out from the crates and approached the footprints, which led inside a warehouse. Kneeling beside the marks to examine them, before looking up into the dark abyss where monsters might be lurking.

However, he knew that distraction wasn't going to last for long because his summons were too weak compared to the monsters, which ant that even if he summoned an army, it wouldn't make a difference and might actually worsen the situation.

Besides, Reidar couldn't summon anything too massive since the risk of destroying the city was high, and if that happened, his only chance to find Mara would vanish. So, he went inside, reaching an area filled with crates, shelves, and…

Lines had been drawn on the ground in chalk.

The lines were precise and drawn with confidence, forming a pattern that, while similar to the teleportation circle he'd seen Mara use before, was more complex.

The design incorporated conductor lines ant to guide mana flow and anchor points for stabilizing materials, alongside specific slots for catalysts, positions for power sources, and a central activation node.

However, the circle was incomplete because several of the conductor lines ended abruptly as if Mara had stopped mid-preparation; the anchor points remained empty with neither materials nor catalysts put in, and worst of all, there were scorch marks around the edges.

But if there was a city here, there had to be sothing else. Logic dictated there had to be a capital or a center of governnt where higher-quality materials would be stored.

It was simple in hindsight because the best place to find those items would be a capital or a sanctuary where the Ignis survivors gathered after the apocalypse began.

This made perfect sense, as every civilization had a hierarchy; while workers lived in places like this, surrounded by functional but basic stuff, the elite lived elsewhere in structures built with the finest resources available.

If Mara wanted materials powerful enough for a world-opening portal, she'd need to find that place.

And so would Reidar.

But honestly speaking, if there had been a map here, what were the chances that she left it here to rot?

Yet Reidar examined the warehouse more, looking for anything Mara might have left behind or overlooked. His eyes swept across the empty shelves, the scattered debris, the—

There in the corner near where the failed circle sat was a stack of crates that looked different from the others. Cleaner. Less dusty.

Reidar approached to examine the crates, noting that they had been recently moved, opened, searched, and then stacked again.

When he pried one open, he found it partially empty because Mara had obviously taken what she could carry and left the rest.

Although most of the other crates were empty or had materials too heavy to transport without an inventory—which she lacked since she didn't have the System—one crate tucked in the back held sothing intriguing.