SS Awakening: My Monster Merging System!

The moment Varok asked the question, several eyes immediately shifted toward the scattered loot spread across the ruined courtyard.

Broken weapons, glowing materials, mana potions, and armor pieces still lay between collapsed pillars and cracked stone. Even the giant Velhari’s breathing slowed slightly while staring toward the pile near the Knight Captain’s corpse.

"Since I did most of the heavy lifting, I should choose first," Zich said calmly while brushing dust off his sleeve.

The giant Velhari immediately snorted afterward.

"You nearly died the entire battle."

"And yet we still won," Zich replied without shame. "Interesting how those things connected together."

Jayden’s expression darkened instantly.

"You are seriously saying that after everyone covered for you?"

Helen frowned and spoke.

"He found the commander, interrupted the absorption, damaged the core, and kept the Captain busy most of the fight. What exactly are you complaining about?"

Jayden clicked his tongue softly but did not answer immediately.

Not far away, even Varok nodded once.

"The human summoner contributed the most," he admitted calmly. "Without him, the Captain would have completed the evolution."

The shorter Velhari quietly agreed as well.

"The frontline only survived because the commander got exposed early."

Hearing both Velhari support Zich made Jayden’s face grow colder.

For several seconds, silence spread across the resting zone while the golden timer above the barrier slowly ticked downward. Eventually, nobody argued further.

Varok finally gestured toward the loot pile.

"Choose."

Zich did not waste time pretending modesty afterward.

He immediately walked toward the scattered rewards while ignoring several stares behind him. His eyes moved across the items carefully before stopping exactly where he already planned from the beginning.

The Blood Knight Commander Cloak.

Zich bent down and picked it up slowly.

The cloak felt heavier than expected despite looking light outwardly. Dark red fabric lined the inside while black metallic patterns stretched across the collar and shoulders like dried veins.

A small system panel appeared before him.

[Blood Knight Commander Cloak (Elite)] [Attributes: Strength +35, Health +15] [Special: Stores blood energy from damage dealt and received. Once fully charged, activates Crimson Overload for 12 seconds. During activation, Strength and Defense increase by 50%, attacks release blood shockwaves, HP regenerates from inflicted damage, and fear effects are suppressed. After the effect ends, the wearer suffers temporary weakness and reduced movement speed.]

Zich was even more impressed now that he saw the item.

’Good item.’

Without hesitation, he immediately equipped it.

The dark cloak settled naturally around his shoulders afterward while faint red lines flickered briefly across the fabric before disappearing again. Combined with his pale hair and calm expression, the new appearance unintentionally made him look more dangerous than before.

"It suits you annoyingly well," Helen could not help but comment.

Zich lightly adjusted the collar afterward.

"Of course it would."

"Say thank you sometimes."

The giant Velhari looked visibly annoyed by that answer but did not say anything.

After Zich finished choosing, Helen stepped forward next.

Her eyes moved briefly across the remaining equipment before stopping at the heavy black armor resting near the shattered Captain remains. Unlike the lighter armor she currently wore, this one looked far sturdier.

"I’ll take this," she said while lifting the Black Iron Armor carefully.

Varok nodded once without objection.

The shorter Velhari selected the rare skill scroll afterward while the giant Velhari immediately grabbed the massive rusted knight shield lying nearby. Although the item looked damaged, the thick metal still carried traces of black energy.

Jayden chose the Ring of Withered Strength afterward.

After the main rewards got divided, the remaining materials and consumables were split more evenly afterward.

Mana potions, corrupted ores, spirit infused leather, ancient gold coins, and ordinary equipment parts got separated carefully between both groups. Nobody fully trusted each other, but nobody wanted unnecessary conflict inside a gold realm either.

Varok handled the division surprisingly fairly.

Even Zich had expected at least some Velhari greed from the giant one, but aside from grumbling once or twice, the large warrior accepted his share without causing problems.

Several more minutes passed quietly afterward.

The barrier timer slowly dropped lower while everyone recovered stamina and mana as much as possible. Outside the golden walls, distant sounds occasionally echoed from somewhere deeper inside the realm.

Zich quietly checked the timer.

Three minutes left.

His eyes narrowed slightly.

The spirit orb accumulation from the earlier battle had already reached ridiculous levels, and sitting around wasting time instead of entering the graveyard felt almost painful to him now.

He needed privacy.

Unfortunately, privacy inside a shared realm filled with suspicious people was not exactly easy to obtain.

After several seconds of hesitation, Zich finally looked toward Helen.

"Helen."

Her eyes immediately brightened slightly.

"Yes?"

Zich paused briefly afterward before speaking again, his mouth moving carefully.

"I need to focus on something for a few minutes. Watch around me while I do it."

Helen blinked once in surprise. The request itself sounded simple, but for someone like Zich, asking another person for assistance at all already meant something unusual. A faint smile slowly appeared on her face.

"You trust me now?" she asked lightly.

"Not completely," Zich replied honestly. "But you probably won’t do anything strange during a joint mission inside a gold realm."

Helen covered her mouth briefly, muffling a chuckle.

"That sounded less romantic than I hoped."

"Are you going to do it? Yes or no?"

"Of course I would."

After confirming Helen agreed, he slowly exhaled once before sitting down near one of the cracked pillars lining the courtyard edge.

Varok noticed the movement briefly but chose not to interfere.

The Velhari leader simply continued watching the barrier timer quietly while resting both hands against the butt of his spear.

Meanwhile, Zich finally closed his eyes after one last look around.

A second later, his consciousness slipped directly into the graveyard.

"Is he entering his soul space right here?" one of the Velhari muttered quietly. It was the shorter one.

Varok glanced over again.

"It seems so."

The Velhari leader had already come to understand the kind of person Zich was. Though they had not spent much time together, he knew that the latter had reasons for everything he did and was not impulsive.

Meanwhile, inside his graveyard, Zich encountered something strange.

...

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