A Trash Novel's Only Reader-Chapter 23: Just Kill Me

Shu stared at the prompt for a second, then let out a tired breath.

’Mix them with my DNA,’ he thought, rubbing his eyes. ’That sounds so weird when you say it out loud.’

He looked at the eggs again, ’if I imprint them, they become mine,’ he thought, turning the idea over in his head. ’Loyal pets that grow with me. In a world like this, that is basically free muscle.’

But something about it still felt off.

’Their mother died fighting me,’ he thought, his jaw tightening a little. ’And now I am going to raise her kids as my own personal attack dogs?’

He sat there for a moment, staring at the eggs while the system prompt waited patiently.

’But if I don’t imprint them, what then?’ he thought, leaning back against the bed. ’Release them into the wild? They are serpent queen offspring, they would grow up and kill people. Or worse, someone else finds them and uses them against me.’

That last part was what decided it.

’Yeah, I am not leaving something this valuable for someone else to grab,’ he thought, tapping [Yes] on the screen.

[Imprinting Initiated]

[Step 1: Blood sample required]

[Step 2: Core energy transfer]

[Step 3: Bond establishment]

[Estimated Time: 10-15 minutes]

[Warning: User is currently fatigued. Imprinting quality may be affected.]

[Proceed?]

’Fatigued is an understatement,’ he thought, looking at the blood still drying on his shirt. ’But I am not waiting until tomorrow for this.’

He pressed [Proceed] and bit down on his thumb until blood welled up, then pressed it against the first egg.

The surface was warm and smooth, almost like touching skin. The blood smeared across the shell, and the egg began to pulse.

A soft green light spread from where his blood touched, crawling across the shell in thin veins that matched the pattern of the core he had just absorbed. The glow intensified, and he felt something reach back at him through his chest, like a thread connecting directly to his Core stat.

’What the hell,’ he thought, his eyes widening. ’I can feel it.’

The connection was faint, but it was solidifying with each passing moment as something inside that egg was aware of him now, reaching out like a newborn trying to find its parent.

He pulled his hand back and watched the glow settle, then moved to the second egg and repeated the process.

[Imprinting Complete]

[Bond Established: Venom Serpent Queen Offspring x2]

[Current Bond Strength: Weak]

[Bond will strengthen as the offspring grow and the user levels up.]

[Offspring Status: Unhatched]

[Estimated Hatch Time: 3-5 days]

’So they are mine now,’ he thought, looking at the two eggs with a complicated expression. ’My own little monster children.’

He reached out and touched the first egg again, and this time the thread in his chest pulsed in response, like a heartbeat syncing with his own.

’That is... actually kind of cool,’ he thought, a tired smile pulling at his mouth. ’Creepy, but cool.’

The system had one more notification.

[New Skill Acquired]

[Monster Tamer Lv.1 (Passive)]

[Effect: Improved communication and control over imprinted monsters. Bonded monsters grow faster and respond better to commands.]

[Note: Skill level increases with bond strength and number of imprinted creatures.]

’Monster Tamer,’ he muttered, reading the skill description. ’So I am basically a pokemon trainer now.’

He dismissed the screen and looked at the eggs one more time, ’alright,’ he thought, his eyes getting heavy. ’That takes care of that, now to wash up and go to bed, everything else can wait until tomorrow.

......

Morning came with pain.

Every muscle in his body screamed the moment he tried to move, like he was beaten with hammers while he slept.

’Even sleeping didn’t help,’ he thought, groaning as he rolled onto his side. ’My body is basically a crime scene at this point.’

"Mister Shu?"

He cracked one eye open and saw Nari standing over him, her hair messy from sleep. She was holding a plate with something on it, but his eyes were too blurry to make out what.

"Good morning," she said softly, crouching down to his level. "I made breakfast."

He blinked at her, then at the plate. It looked like eggs and toast, slightly burnt on the edges but edible. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

’Wait,’ he thought, his brain still foggy. ’She made breakfast? How old is this kid?’

"You made this?" he asked, his voice coming out rough.

She nodded, a small proud smile on her face. "I found everything in the kitchen. You had eggs and bread, so I tried to help out this time."

He sat up slowly, and his whole body protested every inch of the movement. His back cracked in at least three places, and something in his shoulder popped loud enough to make Nari flinch.

"Are you okay?" she asked, her smile fading.

"Yeah," he lied, taking the plate from her. "Just old bones, simply need some motor oil and I will be fine."

"Hehe, you such weird joke mister Shu."

He took a bite of the toast and chewed through the pain, ’not bad,’ he thought, ’a little burnt but at least she tried.’

"Thank you, Nari," he said, giving her a small nod. "This is really good."

Her face lit up again, as she sat down cross-legged in front of him, watching him eat with that expectant look kids got when they wanted praise.

He was halfway through the eggs when the system screen exploded in front of his face.

[New Mission Available]

[Title: Dungeon Outbreak]

[Objective: Clear the Crimson forest dungeon within 48 hours]

[Threat Level: Mid]

[Estimated Monster Count: 100-150]

[Bonus Objective: Eliminate the source of corruption]

[Reward: Skill Upgrade Token x1, 15,000 Credits, Domain Expansion Material Pack]

He stared at the screen, then at the eggs on his plate.

’One hundred to one hundred and fifty monsters,’ he thought, his eye twitching. ’In forty-eight hours, with my body feeling like this?’

He set the plate down, leaned back against the bed, and let out the longest sigh of his life.

"Just kill me, bro," he muttered, throwing one arm over his eyes. "I am so done."

Nari stared at him for a second, then quickly scooted closer with a worried look on her face.

"No, please don’t die," she said, grabbing his sleeve with both hands.

He slowly pulled his arm off his face and looked at her, ’haa, me and my big mouth... I am so tired.’