A Trash Novel's Only Reader-Chapter 40: Claim

Shu stared at the message with his mouth half open while the chamber kept shaking around him. "What the hell is going on now, dammit?" he muttered, trying to stand while the floor pulsed under him.

The system answered immediately and pushed a larger red panel into his vision.

[Alert: Authority-linked skill clash detected.]

[Conflict: Domain Authority vs Dungeon Heart Core.]

[Status: Active]

He blinked hard and wiped blood from his eye with the back of his wrist. ’Authority... right,’ he thought, forcing himself upright while keeping one hand on the wall for balance.

’Authority skills are about control, so mine is linked to Domain, but then why is it clashing with this thing?’

Another panel opened before he could curse more.

[Guide Response: Authority Interaction]

[Authority is a rule-right, not a normal stat.]

[Your Authority is Domain-linked.]

[When high-density heart energy is in direct proximity, Domain-linked Authority may trigger forced claim.]

He frowned and read it again while the lifted chains started spinning slowly around the broken heart.

[Current event: Your Domain Authority is attempting to seize Dungeon Heart Energy.]

[Purpose: Convert hostile energy into controlled fuel for growth.]

[Possible outcomes:]

[1. Successful claim -> Authority growth, Domain upgrade potential, energy gain.]

[2. Failed claim -> backlash, internal damage, temporary Authority suppression.]

"Oh," he said, then barked out a dry laugh because the timing was ridiculous. "So my Domain is trying to eat this thing and use it as fuel, that’s what this is."

The ground cracked wider right after, and a red shockwave slammed through the chamber, making his knees dip again.

He caught himself on the wall and looked around.

’This system really has no chill,’ he thought, breathing through his teeth. ’I break one problem and it instantly gives me a bigger one.’

A new warning slid over the guide panel. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

[Notice: Claim channel unstable.]

[Current position: Inside active heart rupture zone.]

[Recommendation: Create distance or reinforce claim.]

He stared at that line, then looked from the rupturing heart to his shaking hands and laughed once more in disbelief. "Create distance? Reinforce claim? Bro, pick one."

The message flashed brighter.

[Manual input required.]

[Choose claim mode:]

[Passive Pull - lower risk, slower claim, lower yield.]

[Forced Seizure - high risk, high yield, high backlash chance.]

His eye twitched.

"Of course those are the options," he muttered, chest heaving while he pushed himself off the wall. "Safe and weak, or crazy and maybe broken."

He could already hear the upper floors roaring above him, which meant frenzy spread had started and monsters were moving fast. If he walked away now, passive pull might still work later, but there was no guarantee this energy would remain stable long enough to take.

’And if I fail forced seizure in this condition, I might just explode,’ he thought, pressing his palm against his ribs while pain shot through his side, ’such amazing choices.’

The heart pulsed again and this time red lines shot through the floor toward him like veins looking for a host. He jumped back, barely avoiding the first line, then swung his bat to break a second one before it wrapped his ankle.

"Yeah no, this thing is not waiting politely," he said, jaw tight.

The system panel narrowed into a countdown.

[Decision window: 00:12]

[11...]

He inhaled slowly and looked up at the flashing heart while his dark purple hair stuck to his forehead with sweat and blood. ’If the main cast handles the boss anyway, then I don’t need to play hero here,’ he thought, tightening his grip.

[10...]

’But if this energy can power my Domain and Authority like the system says,’ he thought, eyes narrowing, ’walking away might be the stupid play long term.’

[9...]

He spat blood to the side and straightened his back despite the pain.

"Fine," he said, voice low but steady. "Let’s gamble."

His finger moved toward the floating options.

He pressed [Forced Seizure].

[Selection confirmed.]

[Forced Seizure initiated.]

The panel vanished, and a red shock ran through his chest so violently his back hit the wall behind him. He gritted his teeth and stayed upright while threads of light ripped out of the broken heart and shot toward him.

[Authority channel opening...]

[Do not break focus.]

"Yeah, very helpful," he hissed, dragging in a rough breath while the first thread pierced into him.

The pain was worse than core integration, less like burning and more like something trying to pry him open from the inside. He grabbed his bat with both hands, planted it to the floor, and forced himself to lock his stance before the next wave hit.

’Hold, just hold,’ he thought, eyes squeezed shut. ’If I lose consciousness here, I die.’

The chamber shook in pulses while red lines crawled over the walls and fed into his body through the claim thread. Every pulse made his vision blur, but he kept his breathing steady and refused to let his knees fold.

[Claim Progress: 07%]

[Claim Progress: 12%]

He opened one eye and looked at the heart, which was shrinking in uneven beats as chunks of energy peeled off it and got dragged into the channel. Cracks widened over its surface, and each break came with a scream-like sound that drilled straight into his head.

"Shut up already," he muttered, jaw tight.

The system flickered and pushed another notice over his vision.

[Warning: Host body damage is high.]

[Backlash risk increased.]

[Recommendation: Switch to Passive Pull.]

"No," he said immediately, spitting blood to the side. "You sold me this mode, now see it through."

The pressure doubled right after that, and his left leg buckled until his knee hit the ground. He slammed his palm down, forced himself back up, and kept the channel locked while his ribs felt like they were being split again.

[Claim Progress: 19%]

[Claim Progress: 24%]

’Come on,’ he thought, ’If this stops at twenty-something, I went through all this pain for nothing.’

A loud roar exploded from the upper floors, then several more answered it from different directions. Frenzy had spread fully now, and the whole dungeon sounded like it was waking up at once.

[Claim Progress: 31%]

[Claim Progress: 37%]

The next pulse hit differently.

Instead of tearing through him, it stalled for a second, then surged the other way and dragged something out of his chest with it. The air in front of him warped, and a faint blue ring formed around his body before snapping outward like a boundary locking into place.

[New resonance detected.]

[Domain-linked Authority has synchronized with Heart Energy.]

[Conversion efficiency increased.]

His eyes widened. "Wait... synchronized?"

The claim speed jumped.

[Claim Progress: 49%]

[Claim Progress: 56%]

[Claim Progress: 63%]

The broken heart convulsed once and split deeper down the middle, exposing a bright core-node inside that looked almost alive. Red arcs started jumping between that node and his chest, and each arc carried enough force to make his teeth rattle.

He forced himself one step forward through the pressure and raised the bat, not to strike, but to brace against the floor while he held the channel open.

His whole body was shaking now, and black spots kept eating the edges of his vision.

’Almost there,’ he thought, lips pale. ’Don’t black out now.’

[Claim Progress: 71%]

[Claim Progress: 78%]

Then a new line appeared, and his blood went cold.

[Foreign Authority signature detected in core-node.]

[Counter-claim protocol has awakened.]