SS Awakening: My Monster Merging System!

Helen kept looking at the square, and the more she looked, the more empty it felt. Blood covered the ground, and broken bone pieces lay near the fountain and the ruined stalls, but there was still no sign of a corpse anywhere.

She stepped around a fallen stone cart and checked behind a cracked wall one more time. Her mouth turned tight when she found only more blood and a few torn cloth pieces that looked like they had come from Zich’s sleeve.

"No body," she said softly, a tinge of hope in her voice.

Jayden stood a few steps away with a cold face. He studied the same area Helen had searched and did not look surprised at all.

"No body does not mean survival."

Helen turned to him at once. Her eyes had anger in them now, and her staff shook a little in her hand.

"It also does not mean he is dead. Who knows? He might have survived and run away."

Jayden’s face did not move much as he replied in a skeptical tone, "I really doubt he did."

Helen bit her lip, clearly trying to hold herself back.

Varok stood near the broken fountain and watched both sides without stepping in. His spear rested in his hand, and his eyes kept moving from the square to the roads outside.

"We cannot remain here,e" he said after moments of silence. "We have to leave before more undead arrive."

Helen shook her head defiantly.

"I am not leaving yet."

The giant Velhari, who had been standing on a broken step with a long face, let out a tired sigh. He glanced at Helen for a moment, then at the blood on the ground, and his expression changed slightly.

"If he lived, he probably left because he wanted to. Have you ever thought about that?"

Helen froze.

The giant Velhari continued in a simple voice.

"You saw how he fought. That human does not sit and wait for others."

His words were plain, but they hit Helen hard. For a short moment, she could not speak at all.

Zich might really have left by himself.

He might have found a way out.

He might have escaped and simply not waited for them.

The thought was very logical, and she hated that it made sense.

A small part of her felt better at once. Another part felt annoyed, because if that was true, he had just run off alone and left her here worrying over blood on the floor.

Helen clenched her fist.

"That sounds like him," she muttered, remembering all the times she had tried to talk to Zich but had gotten the cold shoulder.

Jayden looked away, his jaw a little too clenched.

"It does."

Varok watched Helen for a few more seconds before pointing something out. His voice stayed calm, but it carried weight.

"There is another chance."

Helen looked up.

Varok’s gaze shifted to the blood near the fountain.

"His body may have been eaten."

The square went quiet for a moment.

Helen did not like hearing that, but she could not dismiss it either. There was enough blood here for a fight, and enough broken bone for an ugly end.

Her fingers tightened around the staff.

Regret moved through her chest at once. She should have stayed. She should have ignored Jayden and gone back down with Zich. She should have done more.

Instead, she had stood on a roof and waited.

The thought made her angry at herself.

The giant Velhari rubbed the back of his neck and looked away from her.

"We checked enough," he said. "Staying longer will not bring him back."

Helen’s lips pressed together. She hated the calm in his voice, but she also knew he was not wrong.

Another patrol could come at any time.

More undead might still be moving through the city.

If they stayed here too long, they could lose more people for nothing.

Jayden spoke again, his tone serious and final.

"We leave."

Helen did not answer at first. She scanned the area one last time, hoping to find some sign she had missed, but all she saw was broken stone and blood.

Her chest felt heavy. The thought that Zich might have escaped alone annoyed her, but it also kept a thin bit of hope alive. That was the worst part. She could not decide if she wanted to punch him or find him first. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

"Fine," she said at last in a reluctant voice. "We leave."

Varok gave one short nod and turned first. The giant Velhari followed after him, and Jayden moved next without looking back.

Helen stayed where she was for one more second. Her gaze swept across the square again, and her fist slowly tightened.

At last, she turned away and walked after the others.

"What next?" the shorter Velhari asked as they moved.

Varok looked ahead, his eyes flashing sharply.

"We continue with our original plan, which is finding the boss of this Secret Realm, getting rid of it, and getting out of here."

While the group left the square behind and continued through the undead city, back in his dungeon...

Zich opened his eyes inside the graveyard and immediately felt the cold rain falling over his shoulders.

Rows of new tombstones stood across the black earth. Most of them were small and plain, belonging to the undead skeletons he had killed since entering the Gold Grade Secret Realm.

Before touching any of them, he raised one hand and opened his status.

[Name: Zich Grave]

[Race: Human]

[Class: SSS Spirit Summoner]

[Level: 14]

[Health: 240]

[Mana: 140]

[Strength: 27]

[Agility: 12]

[Stamina: 10]

[Intelligence: 14]

[Free Attribute Points: 25]

[Current Tombstone Slots: 35/35]

[Current Summons: Slimy Lv.4 | Blood Leech Lv.3 | Silverback Ape Grunt Lv.3 | Tiamant Lv.1 | Elite Undead Knight Lv.1]

[Skills: Blood Arc Lv.2 | Super Soldier Lv.1 | Blink Lv.1]

[Technique: Saint Zich Overcharge Technique]

[Resistance: Minor Necrotic Resistance]

[Equipped Item: Blood Knight Commander Cloak — Elite Rank]

Zich stared at the level line for a few seconds before his lips curled slightly.

After entering the Gold Grade Secret Realm, he had fought far more than ordinary Layer One players could survive. Patrol knights, skeletal guards, ambush groups, Bone Claws, and the undead inside his newly acquired Undead Crypt had all added up.

Most of the enemies had not been individually powerful enough to make him leap several ranks. Their number and quality, however, were far beyond normal beginner hunting grounds, and after everything, his level had risen from ten to fourteen.

"Not bad," he muttered.

His gaze slowly moved toward the thirty five tombstones filling the graveyard. They were weak compared to the Knight Captain or Tiamant, but they were pure undead materials, and that made them useful.

For a moment, he considered creating another summon right away. However, after thinking about his current physical strength, he changed his mind.

The tombstones shook lightly before sinking into the wet ground. Pale gray orbs rose from them one after another, gathered into a single mass, and flew straight into his chest.

A cold current spread through his body.

[Ding! You have gained +5 Stamina]

[Ding! You have gained +3 Intelligence]

[Ding! Minor Necrotic Resistance has improved slightly]

[Ding! Mana increased]

Zich exhaled slowly as the feeling settled inside him.

The increase was not huge, but it was useful. More Intelligence meant more mana, and more Stamina meant he could keep standing longer when everything around him wanted him dead.

A sudden pressure came through his connection with Slimy.

Zich’s eyes narrowed slightly.

The fight outside was still going.

Without wasting more time, he left the graveyard.

His eyes opened inside the crypt chamber again. The pale blue flames along the walls flickered quietly while the Elite Undead Knight and the Skeletal Warden continued clashing near the center.

BOOM!!!

The Warden’s greatsword smashed into the floor and carved a long crack across the stone. The Elite Undead Knight stepped aside and answered with a heavy sword swing of its own, forcing the Warden back half a step.

Zich watched the exchange carefully.

The Elite Undead Knight’s level was still low compared to the Warden, but experience made up for part of that weakness. It did not swing randomly, and every block led into another movement.

Slimy bounced near Zich’s foot with obvious worry.

Zich looked down at it and remembered the skill scroll he had kept. If Slimy had possessed Vital Surge during the market square fight, it might have lasted much longer without bleeding so badly.

More importantly, Slimy stayed close to him most of the time.

Giving the skill to it meant he could receive support faster during emergencies.

He pulled out the scroll and placed it against Slimy’s soft body.