SS Awakening: My Monster Merging System!

After the last few matches of the second stage ended, the Central Arena only got louder than before.

At first, a lot of people had only come for the spectacle. Some wanted to see Helen’s flames, some wanted to see Jaden’s sword, some wanted to confirm whether Zich had been overhyped, and some just wanted to know whether that Farmer class was actually a joke. But after two rounds, most of the audience had come to understand one thing. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

This time, Humanity’s First Shelter really had a few decent candidates.

The Association’s suspended screen in the sky began refreshing rapidly, listing the evaluations of all the remaining candidates. A few high scoring reserve candidates also appeared on the list, but the gap between them and the four names at the very top was obvious.

Soon, the four people with the highest overall evaluations appeared at the top of the screen.

[Helen Magnus]

[Jaden Smith]

[Zich Grave]

[Mira Vale]

The moment those four names appeared, the stands exploded.

"So it really is these four!"

"That Zich guy is ridiculous. I still can’t believe He got such a high adaptability rating just by relying on a slime."

"And you can’t underestimate Mira either. S in control, S in battlefield contribution potential. They don’t hand out ratings like that lightly."

Zich sat in his seat, looking at his name hanging on the screen, and his expression was not exactly good.

The host’s voice soon rang out, silencing the chatter in the stands.

"The basic evaluation of the first stage and the candidate evaluation matches of the second stage have concluded. The Association judges have obtained sufficient data and have confirmed the candidates most qualified to represent us."

The four names on the screen lit up again.

This time, the entire arena quieted down somewhat.

The host continued, "However, before the official representative list can be finalized, there is still one last test."

The stands immediately stirred again.

"Another one?"

"Didn’t they already fight?"

"Are they still eliminating people?"

The host did not pause.

"The final test will not be individual combat."

"It will be a team simulation battle."

As soon as those words were spoken, the atmosphere in the entire arena changed.

Team. That single word was enough to make people excited.

Especially when everyone knew this temporary team would consist of Helen, Jaden, Zich, and Mira, the noise in the stands almost instantly doubled.

"These four are teaming up?"

"Firepower, swordsman, summoner, farmer... that lineup actually looks really strong."

"The problem is, can Jaden and Zich work together?"

"Helen should definitely be able to cooperate."

"With Mira’s terrain control and Zich’s slime, wouldn’t they be able to make the whole field miserable?"

"I’m suddenly kind of looking forward to the main event."

After hearing the words "team simulation battle," Zich’s expression clearly worsened.

A solo match was easier to handle.

He could control his performance, control the pace, control how much he revealed.

A team battle was a headache.

Especially with Jaden in it.

Fighting enemies was not hard.

What was hard was pretending to cooperate with someone who disliked him.

The host began announcing the rules.

[Final Test: Team Simulation Battle]

[The four highest evaluated candidates will form a temporary team]

[The simulated enemy force will be generated by the Association’s formation array]

[Enemy composition: vanguard units, ranged units, disruption units, and one elite command unit]

[Objective: eliminate the enemy formation within the time limit]

[Evaluation focus: team coordination, battlefield roles, on the spot reaction, damage control, and suitability as a main event representative]

[This test will serve as the final assessment before official representative confirmation]

The rules appeared one by one on the screen.

The audience grew more and more excited while Zich grew more and more irritated.

At that moment, Helen walked over from the participant area, a faint smile on her face.

"I think it’s not bad. At least now we finally don’t have to fight each other."

Zich looked at her. "That depends on how you define ’not bad.’"

"If the four of us cooperate, we should be very strong."

"The biggest problem with a team is that there are people in it."

Helen froze for a moment, then laughed.

Mira happened to come over as well, and after hearing that, she lightly nodded.

"Crops planted too close together will compete for nutrients."

Zich looked at her. He didn’t know what she meant by that strange comparison, but it sounded like a very reasonable statement.

Not far away, Jaden also walked over.

His expression was still cold, and after letting his gaze linger on Zich for a moment, he looked toward the arena.

"There’s no need to overthink it," Jaden said. "Just do your own job and don’t drag the others down."

"That’s the first useful thing you’ve said today," Zich said, not looking at him.

Jaden’s expression immediately darkened.

Helen cleared her throat, as if trying to stop the two of them from going any further.

Mira stood quietly at the side, as though she had already begun observing the relationship dynamics among the four of them.

Soon, Association staff called the four of them to the preparation area.

There, an Association official was already waiting with a record board in hand, his expression serious.

"Before the final test, please confirm your intended battlefield roles."

He first looked at Helen.

Helen spoke naturally. "Ranged firepower and area suppression."

The official nodded and wrote it down.

Then he looked at Jaden.

Jaden’s tone was calm. "Frontline assault."

Another note was made.

The official looked at Mira.

Mira pulled her farmer’s hat down a little. "Terrain control. Restrict movement."

The official nodded again.

Finally, everyone’s gaze fell on Zich.

Zich was silent for a moment.

He really did not like being assigned a role.

Because the more clearly a role was defined, the easier it was for others to expect something from him.

And he hated other people’s expectations.

The official asked, "Zich Grave, your intended role?"

Zich thought for two seconds and then gave his answer...