SS Awakening: My Monster Merging System!

After Zich stepped out of the spatial passage, Razeil merely glanced at the ice blue soul stone in his hand.

"Put it away."

"You are not going to inspect it?"

"A soul stone from a Level 29 monster is not worth a second glance."

The corner of Zich’s mouth twitched slightly as he returned the soul stone to his spatial bag.

It might not be worth it for this lofty Level 200 angel, but for him, it totally was!

Zich then looked away and said, "Sooo, what about my apprenticeship gift?"

Razeil acted as if he hadn’t said a word. Instead, she raised her right hand and gently pressed it toward the empty ice field ahead.

Buzz!

Silver white light surged from the depths of the ice.

An ancient tree, silver white from top to bottom, slowly broke through the frozen ground. It had neither branches nor roots. Only thirty leaves grew from its smooth trunk.

Reflected within each leaf was a completely different world.

A burning city, a palace submerged beneath the sea, a forest shrouded in black mist, a ruined battlefield floating in the void...

Zich raised his head, confusion flashing in his eyes.

"What is this?"

"Thirty days."

"I was asking about the tree."

"It is your next thirty days."

Razeil extended a finger. The first silver leaf detached itself and gently landed between Zich’s brows.

The surrounding ice field instantly disappeared.

When Zich opened his eyes again, he was standing within a burning ruin. Iron, Slimy, the Silverback Ape Grunt, and all four skeleton soldiers had appeared beside him.

At the far end of the ruins, more than a hundred scarlet eyes opened simultaneously.

On the first day, Zich lasted only seven minutes.

He controlled all seven summons at once, constantly adjusting their positions and even attempting to determine the angle of every strike Iron made. Dozens of commands overlapped inside his consciousness, eventually throwing the entire formation into chaos.

When silver light brought him back to the ice field, the second leaf had already lit up.

Razeil did not tell him what he had done wrong, as she wanted him to discover his shortcomings himself.

On the second day, Zich lasted nineteen minutes.

On the third day, he killed every monster for the first time, but was still judged to have failed because one skeleton soldier had been destroyed.

It was not until the end of the fifth day that Zich finally understood what Razeil wanted him to learn.

"I should not be controlling their every movement," he said.

"Continue."

"I only need to give them their objectives, their operating range, and what they must protect above everything else. As for how they accomplish those tasks, they should decide for themselves."

Razeil’s expression finally changed. "You finally no longer resemble a puppeteer desperately pulling seven strings."

From that day onward, Zich issued fewer and fewer commands.

Iron no longer waited for his orders before raising its weapon. The Silverback Ape Grunt began searching for the best position to intercept enemies on its own. Slimy also gradually learned to adjust the angle of its barriers according to the movements of the other summons.

The four skeleton soldiers were the weakest, yet Zich assigned them the greatest number of battlefield responsibilities.

Scouting, luring enemies, creating footholds, sealing escape routes, and serving as positional coordinates for activating Spirit Exchange.

When the tenth silver leaf fell, monsters capable of disguising their auras appeared on the battlefield.

When the fifteenth silver leaf fell, the shared perception between Zich and all his summons disappeared once every minute.

There were no monsters inside the twentieth silver leaf.

The true enemies were the collapsing sky and earth, which were countless times more terrifying than any beast he had faced and killed until now.

He had to lead every summon to an exit dozens of kilometers away. If even one member fell behind, the trial would immediately restart.

That day, he failed an outrageous eight times.

When the ninth attempt began, Zich no longer placed Iron at the very front. Instead, he stood among all his summons.

Iron endured the strongest impacts, the Silverback Ape Grunt redirected the falling boulders, Slimy bridged the cracks that continuously appeared, while the skeleton soldiers spread out around the formation.

Zich personally filled the final opening. Only then did he truly understand that a formation was never about making every summon fight around him. He also had to become a part of it.

Thirty days passed in the blink of an eye.

The leaves on the silver ancient tree disappeared one after another until only the final leaf at the very top remained, glinting in the faint sunlight in this world.

Zich stood beneath the tree, his clothes already torn and tattered.

Numerous injury marks covered his skin. His formerly slim and lanky build had become leaner and more defined, but the greatest change was in his eyes. Even while standing still, his attention instinctively covered every summon around him, as though they formed extensions of a single battlefield formation.

Razeil raised her head and looked at the final leaf.

"The final trial."

"What are the rules this time?"

"Once you enter, the command channels between you and all your summons will be sealed."

The smile on Zich’s face faded. Being unable to issue commands meant that he could rely only on the coordination they had developed over the past thirty days.

"What about the enemies?" he asked moments later.

"Five leader type monsters," replied Razeil.

"Only five?"

Hearing that tone, Razeil glanced at him, her gaze becoming colder.

"I hope you can maintain that tone after you enter."

"Hey, I didn’t mean it that way."

Even before he could finish his sentence, Razeil snapped her fingers and the final silver leaf fell.

...

Thanks to all those who support this novel with their golden tickets and power stones. I really appreciate it! If you are free, don’t forget to check out Villain Evolution: Investing in My Minion’s Yield Crazy Returns

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!