Gabriel's gaze fell on the ground where he noticed distinct runic engravings shimmering faintly.
Furthermore, the carvings seemed to be linked to monster cores embedded in small holes in the ground.
The others noticed it too. They stopped in their tracks, afraid it might be a booby trap or something dangerous.
"Don't be scared," Gabriel said, stepping forward.
"Hey!" Sophie called out in a worried voice.
"It's fine. These are harnesses," Gabriel explained. "They're the work of rune smiths. It was probably what had been powering the invisible protective barrier all this while."
He came to a stop in front of one of the holes, and inside, the monster core was missing.
"The barrier became visible because something disrupted the energy transmission from this core."
After seeing that Gabriel seemed fine, Scarlett stepped forward as well, followed by Alice, then Sophie, Liam, Cassie, the old man Khrome, and the rest of the group.
