SS Awakening: My Monster Merging System!

Zich was completely silent after hearing Helen’s words.

For several seconds, his eyes were fixed toward the massive banner hanging above the hall while the silver dragon symbol seemed far heavier than before. The earlier undead patrols suddenly felt different in his mind now.

"Not monsters... Soldiers?"

The atmosphere inside the ceremonial chamber quietly changed after that realization settled into everyone’s thoughts. Even the giant Velhari stopped making unnecessary comments while his gaze moved slowly toward the broken armor pieces scattered around the entrance behind them.

Those undead knights they slaughtered earlier had once belonged to an actual order.

Helen exhaled softly before continuing.

"My mother only mentioned fragments during one of her relic discussions," she explained with a serious expression. It was the most serious Zich had seen her.

"Most information about Layer One’s early history disappeared long ago, but apparently the Ashen Dragon Knights were not dungeon constructs or random undead."

Varok folded his arms while listening carefully. "They lived here?"

"They were an old militant order," Helen replied. "Long before the modern shelters fully developed, they supposedly guarded several early human kingdoms connected to Layer One."

Jayden frowned slightly afterward. "So this place used to be populated."

Because the smiths had only recently joined the elite families in the world, their knowledge about the Ascension Mountain was still severely lacking. So naturally, not even he knew about this.

"That’s what the old records implied," Helen replied. "The Order of the Ashen Dragon Knights protected trade routes and gate entrances between old settlements."

Her eyes slowly moved upward toward the dragon crest again.

"Their symbol was always described the same way. A silver dragon wrapped around a black sword."

The torn banners hanging across the chamber suddenly looked less decorative now. Every faded symbol surrounding them carried traces of something that once truly existed.

Zich quietly glanced toward his Elite Undead Knight.

The summon stood motionless near the chamber entrance while faint crimson light flickered beneath the visor. Until now, Zich treated the knight mostly as powerful fusion material.

Now he realized he may have fused the remains of real ancient soldiers together.

And possibly something else too.

His thoughts drifted briefly toward Tiamant.

The dragon.

A strange feeling settled inside his chest afterward.

Helen continued speaking quietly.

"The forums barely mention any of this. Most players think Layer One was always ruined from the beginning."

"So either the records were lost," Zich muttered, "or somebody buried them intentionally."

Varok’s expression became far more serious after hearing that, and he spoke about what he had been holding back.

"The Velhari have stories too."

Several eyes moved toward him instantly.

The Velhari leader rested one hand against the butt of his spear before continuing.

"Our oral records mention dragon knights from ancient times," he explained. "Warriors who fought while riding dragons across burning battlefields."

The giant Velhari frowned slightly.

"My grandfather used to talk about them during winter gatherings. Most people thought those stories were exaggerated."

Varok shook his head once.

"Apparently not."

Hearing that from the Velhari side further changed the atmosphere.

Human myths could become distorted over time, but separate races carrying similar records usually meant something truly existed once. The Ashen Dragon Knights were not simply forgotten human folklore anymore.

They were real.

"If they were an actual order, why did they turn into undead?" Jayden suddenly asked.

"I don’t know," Helen replied. "But maybe my mom might know."

Zich’s gaze flickered once more toward the Elite Undead Knight standing nearby. The summon carried traces of battlefield discipline even after death, and now the reason felt disturbingly obvious.

This thing had once been a real knight.

Not a generated monster.

A real soldier who died here.

It also confirmed his earlier thoughts that Tiamant might be one of the mounts of this ancient order or even more...

At that precise moment, the Elite Undead Knight suddenly moved.

Everyone’s attention snapped toward it immediately.

Without warning, the summon slowly walked toward the center of the ceremonial chamber while lowering its massive black sword gradually. Crimson light flickered beneath its visor more intensely now.

Zich frowned as he thought in his heart. ’I didn’t command it.’

The summon stopped before one of the oldest banners hanging near the wall.

Slowly, it dropped onto one knee.

BOOM!!!

The impact echoed heavily across the chamber floor.

At the exact same moment, ancient runes beneath the stone tiles ignited faintly with silver light. Cracks spread across the nearby mural wall while dust rained downward from above.

KRRRRRK!!!

A hidden mechanism activated somewhere inside the chamber.

The entire wall slowly split apart afterward.

Everyone instinctively stepped back while the ancient stone surface opened gradually to reveal a massive relief hidden behind it. Dust and fragments scattered across the floor continuously as the old mural became visible little by little.

Helen’s eyes widened slightly.

The mural showed armored knights kneeling beneath an enormous crimson dragon.

Unlike ordinary depictions, the dragon in the relief looked calm rather than violent. Its wings stretched across nearly the entire wall while rows of knights lowered their swords before it in complete submission.

Beneath the mural, old engraved words became visible.

"We swore to guard the gate until the dragon returned."

Silence filled the hall completely after those words appeared, confusion flickering across their eyes as they tried to understand what it meant.

While everyone was racking their brains, Zich slowly stared toward the mural as several thoughts collided inside his head simultaneously.

Dragon? What dragon would return?

None of this matched the beginner zone people described online. Why did it seem as if coming to this secret realm had entangled him in something even deeper?

A faint flicker suddenly appeared near his wrist. The Lucky Handband glowed briefly.

"Again?" he frowned, not knowing whether to be happy or worried because the timing felt suspicious.

Ever since obtaining the thing, absurd situations kept appearing nonstop around him. At this point, even he no longer believed pure coincidence explained everything.

Meanwhile, the Elite Undead Knight slowly rose back to its feet.

Its visor turned toward the opened mural wall afterward.

More specifically...

Toward the darkness behind it.

Everyone followed the direction of its gaze.

Behind the opened mural, an old stairway descended deeper underground. Ancient stone steps stretched downward into complete darkness while cold air drifted slowly upward from below.

The Elite Undead Knight raised one armored hand toward the stairway.

"You want us to go there?" Zich asked even though he did not expect an answer.

At almost the same moment, a massive golden system panel suddenly appeared before the entire group.

[Hidden Trial Discovered: Oath of the Ashen Dragon Knights]