CHAPTER 101: FOUR DAYS

"....The starfish regenerative trait infusion had been completed."

"It has? Perfect," he muttered.

He flexed his fingers, turned his wrists, rubbed his forearms, half-expecting something dramatic. Even if not dramatic, at least something. Maybe even a faint itch under his skin. But there was nothing. His body looked and felt the same.

Not that it surprised him. Even before this infusion, the nanites had already worked wonders. They’d repaired every scar, every faint remnant of childhood scrapes, hidden microfractures in bones, even the tiny muscle tears accumulated from ordinary living and the days he spent working those physically taxing job. His body was pristine, almost unnaturally so.

Still, the whole point of the starfish’s regenerative trait wasn’t cosmetic. It was about what happened when things went wrong. And there was only one way to test that.

Liam sat on the edge of his bed for a moment, weighing the idea. A small chuckle escaped him. "I guess the only way to check it out... is to cut myself."

He stood, exhaled softly, and vanished into the Dimensional Space. The barren ochre wasteland greeted him for an instant before he teleported again, reappearing in the sleek kitchen of his penthouse.

The room was quiet, almost sterile. Stainless steel counters gleamed under soft lighting. He walked to the knife rack, fingers hovering briefly over the handles before choosing one. A chef’s knife, sharp and clean.

He turned it in his hand, studying the gleam of the blade. For anyone else, this act would’ve been madness or the act of a suicidal maniac. But for him, it was curiosity.

Liam sighed, then closed his eyes for a moment, centering himself. His free hand hovered over the edge of the counter.

"Here goes nothing."

With deliberate calm, he pressed the knife against his left palm and drew it across, just deep enough to break skin.

A sharp sting lanced through him as crimson welled up instantly, a thin line of blood swelling into a bead, then spilling. He hissed softly under his breath, more out of reflex than pain.

For a few seconds, nothing happened. The blood dripped slowly, trickling down toward his wrist. The cut stung, hot and raw. It looked and felt perfectly ordinary.

But then...

The bleeding slowed. Not gradually, but unnaturally fast. The crimson bead at the center of the wound clotted in seconds, darkening into a thin film. The edges of the cut twitched, then knit themselves together as if invisible hands were weaving the flesh back into place.

It was subtle at first, then undeniable. The raw gap sealed. The faint redness faded. By the time thirty seconds had passed, the wound was gone. Not even a scar or a faint white line. It was without flawless.

Liam stared at his palm, silent, then grinned.

"Holy hell..." He whispered, flexing his fingers again. The skin stretched, looking smooth and unmarred.

He muttered under his breath, satisfaction dripping from every word. "That’s... incredible."

He had expected something impressive. But to watch his own body heal in real-time — faster than stitches, faster than any treatment in the world — it was surreal. He felt like he’d just stepped outside the bounds of what it meant to be human.

He also felt that it wasn’t the trait but also the nanites at work. They had speed up the healing process and also made it even better.

Satisfied with the single test, he set the knife aside. He could cut deeper, try more dramatic wounds, but what would be the point? He wasn’t a masochist. Hurting himself repeatedly just to marvel at the healing wasn’t smart. He had proven the point.

Besides, Lucy had already assured him the regenerative process was layered. Minor wounds would seal instantly. More serious injuries would take longer but still resolve without scarring. Even full limb regeneration was on the table if he allowed the nanites and the trait enough time.

That was enough for now.

He smiled to himself as he walked to the penthouse bedroom. He got to the bedroom and dropped onto his bed, allowing himself to collapse against the sheets with a soft sigh.

Within seconds, his vision rippled into the familiar white lobby before plunging into the colorful world of Eternal Realms.

***

The hours melted away as he buried himself in quests, battles, and exploration.

By the time he resurfaced from the game, night had fallen in the real world.

His phone started ringing and he checked the caller ID, and immediately picked the call.

"Daniel."

"Good evening, Mr. Scott," Daniel’svoice came from the other end, and Liam could sense a hint of excitement. "I just wanted to update you. The Family Office setup is proceeding more quickly than expected."

"Oh?" Liam leaned back, his eyebrows raised in curiosity.

"Yes. Initially, I estimated it would take three months minimum before we even had the basic skeleton ready. But with the connections I’ve leveraged and the team I’ve started assembling, I believe we’ll have it operational within a month. At least at a functional level."

Liam gave a small smile, nodding to himself. "Faster than expected. That’s good. Very good."

"We’ll still need more time to fully flesh it out, of course," Daniel added. "But the foundation — legal frameworks, initial staffing, compliance structures — they’ll be ready far sooner than I imagined."

"Thank you, Daniel," Liam said warmly. "I appreciate everything you’re doing. Keep me posted."

"It’s my pleasure, Mr. Scott. I’ll update you again soon."

The call ended.

Liam set the phone aside, still smiling. His "shield" was being built faster than expected. That eased his mind more than he’d admit. With the Family Office taking shape, the looming storm of media, lawsuits, and government curiosity didn’t feel quite so threatening.

***

The days that followed blurred together. Liam alternated between exploring Eternal Realms, refining the little details of the infancy level Gear Glass ecosystem with Lucy, and checking in with Daniel when updates came through.

Each day, his anticipation grew. Not just for the Family Office, but for something even bigger: his first monthly sign-in.

He had stopped doing daily sign-ins, choosing instead to let them accumulate. The weekly sign-ins had already been mind-blowing, but now he wanted to see what happened when everything stacked up — and when it coincided with his first monthly sign-in.

He could only imagine what the rewards would be. Money? Shares? More legendary vehicles? Or something even crazier — something that would change his life again the way the Dimensional Space had.

Whatever it was, he knew one thing for certain: it would be monstrous.

***

Finally, the morning came.

Liam woke early, the first rays of sunlight spilling across his room. He sat up slowly, rubbing his eyes, his heart already beating a little faster.

He let out a soft sigh and called up his status screen to check how many system points he had gotten from accumulating his sign-ins over the past four days.

[Host: Liam Scott]

[Age: 18]

[Lifespan: 220 Years]

[System Level: 3]

[Strength: 54]

[Agility: 53]

[Stamina: 54]

[Attribute Points: 0]

[System Points: 40]

[Skills: Pro-level Vehicular Operation, World-Class Etiquette, World-Class Culinary Arts, Formless Combat Doctrine, Perfect Memory, Universal Linguistics]

[System Function(s): Sign-in, System Store, Dimensional Space]

***

"Forty? That’s very little," he said to himself, before looking away.

The reason why he has accumulated was because of his curiosity to see how much of an effect it will have on his first monthly sign-in. The system points was an added bonus.

Without wasting time any further, Liam said the words, "System, sign-in."