Old Bethesda, Maryland, USA, Alternate Earth.

Liam appeared in the master bedroom of Dark Dragon Villa. The sunlight flooding into the room from the huge window indicated that it was noon here, but its intensity also indicates that the sun would set in a few hours.

Liam looked outside and he saw that the sun was already starting to dip below the skyline.

He smiled to himself, enjoying the warmth of the sun for a few seconds. After he felt like he had enjoyed the warmth of the sun enough, he decided to focus on what he came here for.

"System, sign-in," he said, with the smile never leaving his face.

[Ding!]

[Congratulations, Host, you received 10,000 Purple Grade Mana Crystals]

[You received Key of Yggdrasil]

[You received Bow of Atermis (replica)]

***

Liam was silent for a few moments, taking his time to sort out his emotions that were about to spiral.

"Fuuu... The system's insane as always," he muttered, after a few seconds of silence.

Today's sign-in rewards are just as insane as other days. The 10,000 Purple Grade Mana Crystals are items of extreme values, not just in this world but also to him.

In this world, mana crystals are very valuable because they are the secondary source of income for Hunters and Guilds, besides monster core. They are usually blue rock of varying sizes found inside some gates and they have multiple uses.

As for the Purple Grade Mana Crystals, they are extremely rare because they contain an immense amount of mana that would rival monster cores from high rank monsters.

They are always found inside S Rank gates and above. And each of the crystals sells for $100,000.

But the crystals are valuable to Liam because of the monetary value. No, it's valuable to him because it's perfect material to inscribe the skills from the Tome of Thoth.

Inscribing the skill on the crystal would transform it into a runestone and the price of each sells for at least $500,000.

There's also the fact that he would be needing tons of the crystal, coupled with spirit stones, if he wants to tame the Voidling.

As for the spirit stones he had received from his sign-ins in the cultivation universe, he had thrown them into the Spirit Lake. He had thought about it and decided that it was the best to do.

"I wonder how many spirit stones that the Lake has produced," Liam thought to himself, before turning his attention to the other rewards.

He focused his attention on the second reward, Key of Yggdrasil, and information about it popped up on a system window.

[Key of Yggdrasil]

Description: A part of the World Tree. It can open the doors between realms, allowing the user to travel freely between worlds. It can also be used to stabilise an unstable realm.

***

Liam was curious to see what the key looked and he immediately vanished from the room, appearing in the Dimensional Space. He was standing in his office of the industrial base and on the desk in front of him were three different items.

The first of them were the 10,000 Purple Grade Mana Crystals. Liam picked one of them up and observed it.

The crystal didn't feel much different from a spirit stone. Its surface felt smooth to the touch and it was giving off a bright purple glow, and it also felt cool to the touch. He couldn't sense the immense mana the crystal contain.

"I have so many uses for you but I can't start wasting you on skills inscription. I have to save enough for my deep space travel. I can't start splurging yet," Liam Matthew to himself.

He turned his attention to the Key of Yggdrasil, one of the main reason he was here. The Key looked like a tree root that was grown into the shape of a key.

The Key was exuding an immense life force aura, which Liam could faintly sense. The Key also had tiny sparse leaves on it.

Liam dropped the crystal in his hand and picked the Key up from the desk. Immediately, information on it started flooding into his brain. The information transfer was completed a few seconds later.

"So, it was cut off from Yggdrasil's real body. Something so powerful. The system is really going all out with its rewards and I haven't even started using some of them yet," Liam sighed.

He felt a little sour that he had so many good things in his possession but can't use it because of the self-imposed limitation.

"Soon," he smiled to himself.

Liam wanted to use the Key immediately and open a portal to another world, but he decided to delay it. He still had one more reward to check out and there are things he has to settle in Old Bethesda before leaving.

He turned to look at the last item he received from today's sign-in, the Bow of Atermis. He picked it up and smiled to himself a few seconds later.

The Bow of Artemis is a sleek, moon-silver weapon carved from divine silverwood, its limbs etched with faint glowing runes. The grip is wrapped in cool white leather.

According to the information in his head, when pulled, the bow doesn't need arrows but it can only be used at night under moonlight. All he just needs to do is to draw the bow and it would draw power from the moon to form arrows.

Pretty convenient and inconvenient at the same time, but Liam can simply get himself arrows.

Liam sighed softly and decided to focus on the second thing he came to do. He left the Dimensional Space, returning to his bedroom in the Villa.

He took out his phone from his pocket and he saw the multiple missed calls and unread messages he has to respond to. He looked at them for a moment, thought about it and decided to refuse all of their offers.

They were enticing and very juicy, yes. But no matter how enticing the offers are, it's not enough for him to chain himself with unnecessary responsibilities.

Sure, they might give him some leeway if he asks for it but Liam doesn't want anything to do with any guild. It wasn't his way of doing things and his circumstances doesn't allow it.

He can simply disappear the days, weeks or even months without worrying but he can't do that if he joins a guild.

Liam checked the message Novak sent and he saw that the cores had been sold, and the money was transferred to his account, after 5% fee was deducted. This was instead of the initial 10%.

"Good. Now, I have nothing more to worry about. But I should go check on the staffs. Five days has passed since they saw me last. They must be worried," Liam said to himself.

He left the bedroom and descended down the stairs. Claudia noticed his presence and immediately came to greet him, bowing slightly.

"Welcome back, sir. It's good to see you again."

"It's good to see you too, Claudia," Liam nodded.

"Would you like something to eat, sir?" she asked.

"Yes," Liam said, smiling lightly. "I think I could use a meal."

Claudia nodded once. "I'll have it ready shortly." She turned and called softly to the others, "Mia, Freya — let's prepare something for the master."

The two younger maids immediately moved into motion.

Liam walked to the dining table and sat down, his gaze idly drifting toward the tall windows. He leaned back slightly, his fingers drumming the polished surface as his thoughts wandered to the Key of Yggdrasil.

What kind of world would it open?

The possibilities ran endlessly in his mind. The Key's connected to the World Tree, meaning any realm tied to it could be reached. He couldn't help but feel a quiet excitement building within him.

If it truly allowed travel between realms, then he could expand beyond even his Dimensional Space. Entire universes were within reach now. The scope of it all made his pulse quicken slightly.

A soft knock drew him from his thoughts.

"Sir," one of the guards called respectfully.

Liam turned his head. "Hey, guys."

Both guards entered the hall and gave a firm salute.

"It's good to see you again, sir," one said.

"It's good to see you guys, too," Liam chuckled. "Everything's been fine here, I assume?"

"Yes, sir. No disturbances. Perimeter's clear, and we haven't picked up anything unusual."

"Good," Liam said, giving a small nod of approval. "Keep it that way."

The guards smiled, bowed again, and left the room.

Moments later, Claudia and the maids returned and table was set.

"Your meal, sir," Claudia said, stepping aside.

"Thank you."

Liam began eating slowly. As he ate, the maids stood silently at the side, awaiting further instructions.

When he finished, Liam set the utensils down gently and looked up at them.

"It's good," he said simply.

The three women smiled, the smallest hints of pride showing on their faces.

"Thank you, sir," Claudia said softly.

He stood, pushing the chair back slightly. "That'll be all for now. You've all done well. Get some rest."

"Yes, sir." They bowed again and began clearing the table as he walked toward the staircase.

He entered his room and closed the door behind him.

The moment the lock clicked, the atmosphere changed. The gentle calm of the villa faded, replaced by an undercurrent of anticipation.

He walked to the center of the room and took a slow breath. The sunlight filtering through the window caught the faint shimmer of the Key of Yggdrasil as it appeared in his hand.

"This should be interesting," Liam murmured.

He lifted the Key and made a small twisting motion in the air, as if inserting an invisible key into a lock.

He turned it gently and the next moment, the air split open in front of him, threads of light unraveling into a swirling oval of energy.

Liam took a step forward. His expression was calm but his heart was beating steady with anticipation. The light of the portal reflected in his eyes.

"Let's see where you lead," he said quietly and eithout hesitation, he stepped through.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.