Chapter 278: Troublesome egg

Nova read the egg’s description and realized there was no information whatsoever about its type, origin, or what would eventually hatch from it.

According to the description, he needed to establish a bond with the egg using his blood and nourish it with his mana every day until it finally hatched.

{You can follow the instructions in the description and keep doing those things until it hatches. That’s the only thing you can do for now. Who knows? Maybe something incredibly powerful will come out of it!}

"Or it could be as weak as a chicken," Nova remarked.

{I don’t know, but the egg is quite large, and its surface has a beautiful, golden sheen. I don’t think whatever comes out of it will be ordinary. Otherwise, you probably would have been able to see through it... but you can’t.}

Nova thought the same, but he kept in mind that this was the Gacha system, and it could give him anything. In any case, he didn’t pay much attention to the egg for now and turned his attention to his final reward.

It was a Saint-Rank treasure called the Ring of Equilibrium. The name immediately caught his attention, and he opened its description to find out exactly what it did.

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[Ring of Equilibrium]

[Rank: Saint]

[A magical ring that protects its wearer from opposing and incompatible energies, such as demonic and divine energy. It helps neutralize their conflicting effects to a certain extent, reducing the harm they cause to the wearer’s body without completely eliminating their effects. The ring can also reduce damage caused by hostile energies that clash with the wearer’s own energy, though its effectiveness depends on the difference in strength between the wearer and the opposing force.]

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Nova examined the ring. It had a beautiful red ruby set atop a silver band, giving it an elegant appearance.

After reading its description, he understood that it was a valuable treasure. It would serve as an excellent defensive tool when fighting opponents who wielded opposing energies, such as demonic and holy light energy, just as the description mentioned.

"This would be great for Nyxara," Nova said with a smile.

{Yes, you should give it to her. Although she’s the oldest among all your wives, she’s also the most possessive when it comes to you. She saw the rings on Asia’s and Rieka’s hands and wanted to know why you hadn’t given her one as well.}

"Did that happen?" Nova asked, raising his eyebrows in surprise. He hadn’t known anything about it.

{Well, we women have our own little chats sometimes. It happened while you were in the middle of your evolution. She’d seen the rings before but hadn’t mentioned anything until she became more open with us.}

Nova chuckled. Nyxara could be a little childish when it came to matters involving him and their relationship.

"But these rings are only temporary. I want to give all of you similar ones eventually, ones that look even more elegant and beautiful."

"Still, I’ll give this one to her. If it makes her happy, then it’s worth it," Nova said.

Liya nodded in agreement.

With that, they had finally finished their Gacha session. Nova then took out the mysterious egg and placed it in front of himself, intending to establish a bond with it by offering some of his blood and mana.

The egg in front of Nova and Liya was quite large, measuring roughly one and a half times the size of an ostrich egg. Whatever was inside would likely be quite large, even in its baby form.

"It won’t be a dragon, right?"

{I don’t think so...} Liya replied as she gently rubbed the egg.

"Anyway... let’s get this over with."

Nova bit his hand, making it bleed. His blood was deep crimson, aromatic, and thicker than that of an ordinary human.

Of course, he wasn’t merely human, and even his human blood was different from that of an ordinary person.

Drip! Drip! Drip!

As his blood dripped onto the egg, something unexpected happened. Nova glanced at Liya before a notification appeared.

Ding!

[You have started establishing a bond with ???-Rank Unknown Egg.]

[Continue pouring your blood onto it to confirm your bond.]

Nova was surprised. Apparently, the blood he’d offered wasn’t enough, so he made the wound larger. A steady stream of blood flowed from his hand, and the egg began absorbing it as though it were starving.

{Looks like someone is hungry and needs more blood to establish the bond... It’s testing whether you’re worthy of becoming its parent.}

"Heh, that doesn’t matter. I have plenty of blood, so drink as much as you want," Nova said.

His blood continued to flow into the egg. If an ordinary person had lost this much blood, they would have been dead long ago.

However, thanks to his physique, bloodline, and Vitality Nexus, his blood was regenerating almost instantly. His recovery was far beyond normal, rivaling that of a Demon Lord, if not surpassing it.

After the egg had consumed what seemed like several large buckets of blood, another notification finally appeared.

Ding!

[Congratulations!]

[You have successfully established a bond with ???-Rank Unknown Egg.]

Nova stopped the flow of blood, and the wound on his hand healed in an instant. He didn’t feel any different, as though nothing had happened at all. Once again, he was surprised by the capabilities of his own physique and skills.

{I know it’s a stupid question, but... are you feeling alright?}

Nova looked at Liya. Her emotions seemed to be overriding her logic, just like those of a real living being.

He pulled her closer, kissed her, and said, "I’m fine, my wife. You know that better than anyone... And don’t tell the others about this. You can tell them about the egg, but not about the blood, especially not my mother."

{Of course, I won’t. I understand that much.}

"It consumed so much blood... Whatever is inside must be far from ordinary," Nova said in a surprised tone.

{Hmm... You’re right. And vampires aren’t born from eggs, so it’s definitely not a vampire, even if it drank so much of your blood.}

"Hahaha! That was a silly thought," Nova chuckled before beginning to pour his mana into the egg.

The egg immediately started absorbing a significant amount of mana, just as it had absorbed his blood. Fortunately, his Vitality Nexus continued to work, replenishing his mana as it was consumed.

Even so, despite his Emperor Realm mana reserves, the amount of mana he had available would soon run out at this rate.

{What a troublesome egg...}

Liya said with a smile. It was as though the egg was testing Nova again and again, checking whether its prospective parent was capable of providing enough blood and mana to nourish it.

Of course, the amount it demanded might have seemed small to the egg, but it was considerable for someone trying to establish a bond with it. It was deliberately testing Nova.

After twenty minutes, Nova finally finished feeding his mana to the egg. He then stored it in his inventory, where it would be safest. He would also receive a notification if it needed nourishment.

"Why do I feel like I’ve already become a parent? Or, to be more precise, a single father?" Nova asked with a chuckle.

{What are you talking about? It has plenty of mommies, too! Hehehe!}

{Well, don’t think too much about it. That amount of mana is nothing to you, and once you get used to feeding it every day, it won’t feel so troublesome.}

"Hmm, you’re right. Let’s go out and show it to the others. I know they’re all waiting to see what new things I got from the Gacha."

With that, Nova and Liya left the System Space.

....

With that, Nova and Liya emerged from the System Space. All the women were seated in the hall, and since not much time had passed outside, they hadn’t needed to wait long.

After greeting them, Nova began telling them about his new skills. The women asked questions one after another, and Nova patiently answered each of them.

Once he had finished explaining his new skills, he took out the mysterious egg and placed it in front of everyone.

All the women were surprised.

They were surprised to see such a large and beautiful egg. Curiosity quickly got the better of them, and they began asking all sorts of questions. Whose egg was it? Had he really obtained it as a reward from the Gacha?

Nova explained that he had indeed received it from the Gacha system, but he had no idea what kind of egg it was or what would eventually hatch from it.

It was a mystery to both him and Liya.

After hearing Nova’s explanation and learning a few things about the egg, the women understood the situation. Once he had finished explaining everything, Nova stored the egg in his inventory again.

With everything settled, Nova could finally focus on his upcoming journey to the Imperial Kingdom.

This was the main event he needed to prepare for, and since he would be staying there for a long time, he first needed to settle his parents here.