He closed the message properly this time and put it into his storage device. Then he started to analyze the treasures, starting with the crystal.

Scale of Antharivax

E Rank Natural Treasure

A scale plucked from the corpse of a D Ranked Lesser Earth Dragon, it is filled with the potency of the element of Earth. It may be used as an elemental cultivation focus, increasing the potency of that element by two times within its radius, while decreasing the potency of all other elements. Its power extends outwards for one thousand feet in every direction.

It seemed weak on paper, but it would be invaluable to the members of his sect. A huge number of people could fit into the area of the circle it enclosed, and it would serve them better than Sam.

He stored the crystal and moved on to the next object, the pill.

Superior Compression Pill

E Rank Magical Item

This pill will aid with the breakthrough to D Rank, lending its power to the process. It cannot be used before then.

There was no other information, but Sam could tell that it was valuable. He stored it, and moved on to the final object.

Soul Bonsai

E Rank Natural Treasure

This tree has been steeped in Dao energy since its birth, forged into a natural treasure that aids with breakthroughs in that realm. Each of its leaves increases the eater’s Dao comprehension, up to the peak of the Dao Seed stage, by 200 percent for one day. They will regrow once per year. Note, as a semi-living treasure, storing it in a spatial storage device will stop it from regrowing.

Sam raised an eyebrow at the last provision. It reminded him of similar tropes from stories he had read, where storage devices were incapable of storing living matter, either killing it or refusing it outright. At least he could keep it in stasis, as carrying it through the Tower would have been difficult. As the leaves were already present, he simply stored it, and moved on to the next chests.

The golden chest was from a faction called the Astral Templars, a B Rank faction that seemed to have seized upon Sam’s initial Dao and general predilection towards justice. There was only one item in the chest, a gnarled root that glowed faintly.

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Taproot of Longevity

E Rank Natural Treasure

The only remains of a tree that lived for over a hundred thousand years in the most inhospitable climate of the desert planet Karoon, it is steeped in the energies of life and age. Consuming it will provide a permanent 25 percent boost to all boons that increase lifespan, including Ranking up, and your current lifespan.

It was a very useful treasure, presumably meant for those who became bottlenecked at the top of a rank, unable to progress in the time they had left. To Sam though, who had ascended to E Rank at an immense rate, it was mostly superfluous. Still, he ate it anyway, the root dissolving into a thick ichor that trickled down his throat. Threads of viridian energy dug into his body, and he felt his connection to the world around him strengthening, rooting him more firmly to reality.

Then the effect stopped, leaving no visible effect. However, Sam knew that his already millenia long lifespan had just grown even longer. He didn’t really know how exactly Ranking up increased lifespan, and if other things like the Resilience or Constitution stat also increased it. However, the biggest bumps were after reaching the next Rank. Presumably, immortality from old age, or at least something close, waited somewhere down the road, but it wouldn’t be for a while. Of course, there was no thing as true immortality, as far as Sam’s logic could take him. Such a thing would mean that a person was beyond Existence itself, a being completely unaffected by the vagaries of time and the universe.

He quickly scanned through the letter that came with it, but it was simply a standard recruitment notice, with a few lines of flattery and promise. Even if Sam hadn’t had his eye on the Adventurers’ Guild, he certainly wouldn’t have settled for anything less. He stored the message and moved on.

The remainder of the chests had an assortment of increasingly less valuable items, with the last one only containing an offer from a D Rank faction. Sam wondered how the System filtered out sponsorships. Surely some of the people here would have had many factions looking at them. Then again, most of the weaker ones wouldn’t bother, having little to offer.

He got to his feet, and waited for Glakassa and the Overlord to finish. Unfortunately, the System had other ideas. As soon as his last treasure was stored, the world around him warped, and he found himself standing in the shade of a gargantuan tree, surrounded by more of the same. A smile rose unbidden to his face. He was finally back to the Tower proper. No more involuntary delays, only challenge and progression. Just the way he liked it. His title upgrade notification rolled in, but he ignored it.

Rather than read over the floor objectives, he simply started to move. Teleporting far up into the air above the verdant canopy above, he found himself looking down upon an endless swathe of green. In the distance, a tree far larger than the others pointed accusingly at the sky. It was easily a mile in height, and what looked like buildings adorned its far reaching branches. With his advanced perception, he was able to see a few shapes moving on the tree, marching between the edifices there. They almost appeared humanoid, save for their skin, which was made out of gnarled roots.