SS Awakening: My Monster Merging System!

With a single thought, Slimmy appeared on his bed.

’Of course I could.’ He almost facepalmed.

Moments later, he sent Slimmy back to the graveyard. Then he looked around.

The room was small. The wooden table was so old it had darkened with age. The curtain by the window had been washed so many times that its color had faded, and several old tools he used in the past were still stacked in the corner.

Compared to the mansion in Ascension Mountain, this place felt like a completely different world.

No, this really was a different world.

Suddenly, Leon’s loud voice drifted up from downstairs.

"Lorraine, did you put extra meat in breakfast today? I can smell it!"

"If you steal any more food, I’ll feed your portion to the dog."

"We don’t even have a dog!"

"Then you’d better behave yourself."

Zich listened to the voices downstairs and remained silent for a moment.

Strangely enough, the noise actually made him feel more relaxed. At least there were no undead here.

He got up, changed clothes, and picked up a small pouch of Soulstones he had prepared beforehand.

The moment he reached the staircase, Lorraine spotted him.

"Zich!"

She practically rushed over immediately and grabbed his shoulders, checking him from head to toe. Her movements were as practiced as someone inspecting a player’s corpse that had just been delivered, but the worry on her face was impossible to hide.

"Are you hurt anywhere? Why do you look so pale? Did you go and do something reckless in Ascension Mountain again?"

"I just woke up," Zich replied calmly.

Leon sat at the dining table with a chunk of meat still hanging from his mouth. The moment he looked at Zich, his eyes lit up.

"My boy, you’ve finally stopped looking like a walking corpse."

Zich glanced at him with a deadpan expression. "Was that supposed to be a compliment?"

"Of course." Leon patted his chest. "That’s praise between men."

Lorraine shot him a fierce glare.

Leon immediately shut up and continued eating.

Breakfast was simple. Hot soup, bread, fried meat, and some cheap but fresh vegetables. After sitting down, Zich said nothing and simply ate quietly.

Lorraine and Leon kept glancing at him.

Eventually, Zich became annoyed by the constant staring and looked up.

"I’m still alive."

"We can tell," Lorraine said.

"Then stop staring."

"You’re my son. I’ll stare if I want to."

Zich had no response to that and could only continue eating.

Halfway through the meal, his gaze swept across the house.

The old table. The old chairs. The walls that had been patched several times. The slightly drafty windows. The cemetery tools piled in the corner.

He had never paid much attention to them before.

Because this was the original owner’s life.

And after his rebirth, it had become his life as well.

But things were different now.

In Ascension Mountain, he owned a mansion, a courtyard, and resources worth hundreds of Soulstones. Yet his parents still lived on the edge of a cemetery, making money by handling player corpses and burial work.

No matter how he looked at it, something felt wrong.

After breakfast ended, Zich set down his bowl.

He placed a bank transfer receipt and a small stack of cash he had exchanged from Soulstones back in the mountain.

Lorraine and Leon froze.

"This is..." Lorraine looked at him.

"Money," Zich said.

"I know it’s money." Lorraine’s voice tightened. "I’m asking where it came from."

"I sold some materials from Ascension Mountain."

Leon picked up the transfer receipt and glanced at it. His eyes immediately widened, and he nearly crumpled the paper.

"T This... how much is this?"

Lorraine took it from him and looked.

Her expression changed too. The amount was more money than their cemetery business could earn over a very long period of time. For truly wealthy player families, it might not have been much.

For them, it was terrifyingly large.

"Zich." Lorraine lowered her voice. "Did you do something very dangerous?"

"There is nothing in Ascension Mountain that isn’t dangerous."

Lorraine’s lips moved, but no words came out.

Zich continued. "Fix the house. Buy better food. If you need help, hire workers. You don’t have to accept every corpse related job that comes your way."

The smile slowly faded from Leon’s face.

He looked at the money on the table, then at Zich. His expression became complicated.

"You little brat. Are you supporting us now?"

"For the time being, yes," Zich said with a serious expression on his face. "Don’t waste it."

Leon opened his mouth, but after a long pause, only managed to squeeze out one sentence.

"You really know how to make a statement sound punchable."

Suddenly, Lorraine wrapped her arms around Zich.

Zich’s expression changed. "Mom, easy."

Lorraine did not let go.

Leon watched for a moment before stepping forward and joining the hug.

Zich was trapped between them, and the life completely left his face.

"If you keep this up, I’ll regret giving you the money."

"Shut up."

A while later, he finally managed to escape from the two of them. He straightened his collar and picked up the pouch containing Soulstones.

"I’m heading into the city."

"Going to the Association again?" Leon asked.

"Not necessarily. I’ll exchange some money first, then buy a phone."

Lorraine frowned.

"A phone?"

"I need constant access to the player forums. I can’t keep running to Association terminals every time."

It sounded like a perfectly reasonable explanation.

At least, it sounded reasonable.

After leaving home, Zich took a ride to the inner district of Stoneheart City.

The city in the real world was as busy as ever. Vehicles moved through the streets. Players entered and exited shops. Ordinary people still looked at players with a mixture of envy and respect.

Zich headed straight for an exchange center certified by the Player Association.

At first, the employee behind the counter treated him normally after seeing how young he was. But the moment Zich placed several Soulstones on the counter, the employee’s posture straightened noticeably.

"Sir, would you like to exchange these for cash?"