SS Awakening: My Monster Merging System!

There was a moment of silence, everyone looking forward to what role Zich would pick. The gazes were far more numerous and intense than Zich liked.

Either way, he said,

"Solve problems."

The official’s pen stopped.

Helen lowered her head, holding back laughter. She had known from the outset that he would say something off topic. That was something common she had come to know about the white haired summoned.

Meanwhile, Mira nodded seriously, as if she thought the answer was very accurate.

The official was clearly dissatisfied with that answer, so in a much firmer and more aggressive tone, he said, "Please be more specific."

Zich added, "And sometimes violence."

The preparation area fell silent for a moment.

The official looked at him as though unsure whether he should even write that down.

In the end, he still wrote a few words on the record board.

[Mobile Support / Summoning Assistance]

The original stage sank again, and a new terrain rose from below. Broken walls, collapsed stone pillars, half destroyed platforms, and several sealed entrances gradually appeared.

The entire battlefield quickly turned into a small ruin zone.

The audience quieted down, then erupted into even greater anticipation.

The high holographic screen lit up.

[Final Preliminary Test: Team Simulation Battle]

[Preparation Phase Begins]

The four stepped onto the field. Helen stood slightly behind and to the left, flames already flickering at her fingertips. Jaden stood in front with a hand on his sword hilt, his whole body like a drawn bow.

Mira moved to a position near a crack in the ground, lightly tapping the earth with her toe as if checking whether she could use seeds.

Zich stood slightly behind the center.

It was a casual position.

But it also made it convenient to observe everyone.

Several shadows began to gather beyond the ruined entrances.

They were the vanguard units, ranged units, and disruption units.

And in the distance, there was one larger shadow.

’That should be the elite command unit,’ Zich noted quietly.

At that moment, the host’s voice rang out.

"The final preliminary test is about to begin... Candidates, prepare yourselves."

...

The final preselection at the First Human Shelter soon came to an end.

The team simulation battle did not last very long, but the result was clear enough. Helen handled firepower suppression, Jaden handled frontal breakthroughs, Mira cut off the enemy’s advance routes using terrain, and Zich stood in the rear middle, using summons and simple commands to plug the gaps whenever the formation was about to collapse.

Their coordination was far from perfect.

The conflict between Jaden and Zich was obvious enough for even the audience to see. Mira was not the type who liked to talk, and Helen spent most of her time actively maintaining the team’s rhythm. Even so, the temporary four person team still passed the simulation battle smoothly.

Thus, the First Shelter’s candidate list was officially finalized.

[Helen Magnus]

[Jaden Smith]

[Mira Vale]

[Zich Grave]

When these four names were submitted to the First Layer’s human registration board, Some thought the list was reasonable, while others still questioned Zich and Mira. But no matter how much they argued, the list was no longer likely to change.

However, this was only the First Shelter.

On the First Layer, humanity had more than one shelter.

...

The morning at the Second Human Shelter was much quieter than at the First Shelter.

Many people called it the Iron Wall Fortress. The walls were thick, the watchtowers densely packed, and the streets were divided into neat military routes. Even when regular patrols passed by, their footsteps kept almost the same rhythm.

The training ground looked more like a military camp than an ordinary player square.

Rows of players were advancing with shields, while others practiced formation based defense. People here rarely shouted loudly because, in the Second Shelter, discipline itself was part of strength.

At the center of the training ground stood a tall young man.

He held a black iron tower shield in his left hand. Gray runes were carved across its face, and he wore heavy but not cumbersome armor. Several players attacked him from different directions at once. A spear, a battle axe, a crossbow bolt, and a fireball all struck at the same time.

The young man merely rotated his shield slightly, and gray light spread from its surface, forming a steady defensive field. Every attack crashed into that field, shaking the ground, but none of them could force him back even a single step.

CLANG! CLANG! BOOM!

The officer in charge of training watched for a moment before raising his hand.

"Stop."

The attackers all stepped back at once.

Only then did the young man move forward. His heavy shield smashed into the ground.

BOOM!

A dull shockwave spread outward, and the five players were almost simultaneously knocked back. One of them even fell flat onto the ground.

There was no especially loud cheering around them because results like this had happened too many times here already.

The young man’s name was Alden Klaus.

His nickname was Iron Wall.

His class was Guardian Knight.

Among the younger generation of the Second Shelter, he was not the most dazzling one, nor the most eye catching one, but almost everyone acknowledged one thing.

As long as Alden was still standing on the front line, the people behind him were very hard to kill.

A soldier looked at him and said quietly, "If the Chosen Ones Tournament has a team defense round, anyone trying to break through Alden’s front line is going to have a really hard time."

The person beside him shook his head.

"Not a hard time. Almost impossible."

Alden put away his shield and looked toward the distant registration screen.

The First Shelter’s list had already been sent over.

Helen Magnus.

Jaden Smith.

Mira Vale.

Zich Grave.

Alden looked at the names with the same steady expression.

"The First Shelter isn’t weak this time."

The officer came up beside him and spoke calmly.

"Don’t underestimate them. Especially that summoner. Rumor has it that he made the major contributions in the recent gold realm."

Alden nodded. "Anyone who can kill a Golden Realm boss is worth taking seriously."

For him, that was already very high praise.

...

Meanwhile in the third human shelter...