SS Awakening: My Monster Merging System!

The death aura spread through the shelter like freezing water poured directly into people’s bones, and within moments every player inside Zich’s building felt the immense pressure descending over the area.

Doors swung open one after another, and several players stumbled into the corridor with pale faces while others immediately grabbed their weapons, and the atmosphere that had been calm moments ago turned chaotic almost instantly.

"What the hell is that?!"

"Did a monster infiltrate the shelter?!"

"I can feel killing intent from here!"

One woman backed away from the corridor wall while breathing heavily, and even the players who usually acted fearless now looked shaken. The pressure flooding the building was simply too overwhelming for Layer One players to ignore.

Inside another room several floors lower, a man dropped his cup entirely after sensing the aura.

CRACK!!!

The ceramic shattered across the ground, but he barely noticed.

"No normal monster should be inside the shelter," he muttered while looking toward the ceiling with wide eyes.

People began rushing into the halls now, and some wanted to escape the building while others wanted to investigate, but nobody looked relaxed anymore. Even the guards stationed nearby had drawn their weapons fully, though the uncertainty on their faces made it obvious they had no idea what they were preparing to fight.

Meanwhile, inside the privileged district, Jayden’s expression darkened immediately.

He had been halfway through removing his coat when the pressure erupted outward, and the moment he felt it, his entire body stiffened slightly before his eyes narrowed toward the direction of the normal shelter buildings.

"That aura..." he muttered, as his instincts immediately screamed danger.

Unlike the others panicking outside, Jayden recognized part of this feeling already. It carried a similar presence to the undead dragon that had appeared during the event, though this aura somehow felt colder and more complete. A bad feeling settled inside his chest almost instantly.

Back inside the main castle area, Arnold abruptly stopped walking mid-conversation with cole who noticed it immediately.

"Lord Arnold?"

Arnold did not answer at first. His eyes narrowed sharply while the pressure continued spreading through the shelter grounds outside; unlike most people here, he sensed something deeper hidden inside the death aura—a dragon. Not fully alive, and not fully dead either. The realization caused even his expression to shift slightly.

"That presence..." Arnold said quietly while looking toward the outer shelter district. "It feels very similar to the dragon we encountered during the event."

Cole’s eyes widened immediately afterward.

"You think another one appeared?"

Arnold remained silent for two seconds. The pressure continued growing stronger, and several nearby staff members had already stopped moving entirely after sensing it, and even experienced guards stationed around the castle now looked visibly tense while glancing toward the same direction Arnold was staring at.

A dragon appearing inside the shelter itself was not a minor problem. If something like that truly manifested inside the shelter walls, casualties would follow immediately.

"If another undead dragon appeared inside the shelter..." he muttered slowly, "...then this situation becomes far more dangerous than the event itself."

Cole tightened his grip around his weapon instinctively. Without wasting another second, Arnold immediately turned and began moving toward the shelter district with fast steps, and Cole followed behind him without hesitation, their speed quickly increasing afterward.

FWOOSH!!!

Several players moving through the outer roads froze briefly after seeing the two powerful figures rushing past them at high speed. The atmosphere inside the shelter had already become tense enough, but seeing both Arnold and Cole personally moving out only worsened the growing panic among the residents.

"What is happening?"

"Even the Shelter Lord moved personally?"

"Something huge must have appeared!"

Back inside Zich’s building, the pressure remained intense. Some weaker players had already retreated completely toward the lower floors while others stood frozen near the corridor walls, not daring to move closer toward the room where the aura originated. Nobody wanted to be the first person standing before whatever monster existed inside.

Fear spread quickly in places like this. The Ascension Mountain taught people early that confidence disappeared very fast once something stronger appeared nearby, and right now nobody inside the building felt particularly confident anymore.

Heavy footsteps echoed through the corridor moments later, and Arnold arrived first, with Cole stopping beside him almost immediately afterward. The moment both men appeared, several nearby players instinctively backed away from the hallway entirely.

Relief appeared on some faces while others simply looked nervous now for completely different reasons. Arnold’s presence alone carried authority strong enough to stabilize the crowd slightly.

Still, even Arnold frowned after sensing the lingering death aura leaking from behind the door before him.

"It came from this room?" Cole asked quietly.

Arnold nodded once. The cracks spreading faintly beneath the doorway were still visible, and traces of cold mist leaked outward near the floorboards, making the entire situation look far worse than most ordinary monster incidents.

Cole’s expression became serious immediately.

"I’ll break the door."

"Wait," Arnold replied while raising one hand slightly. The aura had weakened slightly already—not vanished, but weakened—which meant whatever appeared inside was either stabilizing or hiding itself.

Arnold stepped forward afterward and knocked once against the door.

Knock. Knock.

Silence followed briefly, and several nearby players held their breath unconsciously while staring toward the entrance, and even Cole kept one hand near his weapon now.

A few seconds later, the door slowly opened. Zich stood there calmly. His white hair looked slightly messy, and although he appeared annoyed from being interrupted again, there was no visible panic on his face whatsoever. Behind him, the room looked mostly normal aside from faint damage marks near the floor and wall. Most importantly, there was no dragon, only Zich.

Arnold’s eyes narrowed slightly, and Cole looked past him immediately, clearly searching for something larger hidden deeper inside the room, but no massive creature appeared anywhere within sight.

Zich looked between the two men before offering a small polite smile.

"How can I help you?"