SS Awakening: My Monster Merging System!

The entire restaurant had been divided into dozens of independent regions using spatial barriers, with every area possessing a completely different environment.

Some had been built beneath artificial starry skies.

Others were surrounded by genuine magical gardens.

Zich even saw a miniature snow mountain enclosed within a compressed space. Several guests sat inside a warm transparent room, dining while watching the snow continuously fall outside.

Eventually, the restaurant manager stopped outside a region surrounded by a crystal-clear lake.

Countless silver points of light floated across the water, while in the distance, a reflection of the moon had been constructed entirely from flowing water.

At the center of the lake, a long white table stood quietly.

Helen sat near the edge of the water.

Today, she was not wearing combat clothing or the mage robe commonly used by members of the Players Association. Instead, she had changed into a light-blue dress.

Her golden hair had been simply tied behind her, while several loose strands naturally fell over her shoulders.

Compared to the wind mage who had controlled violent gales and directly suppressed countless competitors during the tournament, she now possessed less sharpness and more of the brightness and gentleness belonging to a young girl.

When she saw Zich appear, Helen was briefly stunned.

Her gaze moved from the black long coat he wore to his still-calm face.

Only after remaining silent for a full two seconds did she return to normal.

"I thought you would come wearing the combat outfit you used during the tournament."

"That outfit was damaged," Zich answered.

Helen stared at him with a slightly speechless expression. She had meant that as a joke.

"So if it hadn’t been damaged, you really would have worn combat clothing here?"

"Would there have been a problem?"

"No."

Helen raised a hand and pressed it against her forehead.

"At least what you’re wearing today looks relatively normal."

Zich sat across from her. Slimy immediately jumped from his shoulder onto the table. As it looked at the unopened silver dishes in front of it, its body had already begun to swell slightly.

"Bo..."

Helen immediately reached out, wanting to touch it.

Slimy cautiously moved backward.

"Even after all this time, it still won’t let me touch it."

Helen sounded dissatisfied.

"It doesn’t like strangers. It’s been a long time since we first met. To it, you’re still a stranger."

Slimy nodded seriously, agreeing with its master’s words.

"Bo."

Helen took a deep breath with a pout on her face. She wouldn’t give up. No matter what, she had to make Slimy love her!

Some time later, Helen looked at him for a while before suddenly asking, "What exactly have you been doing these past few days?"

"Going home."

"And then?"

"Eating."

"What else?"

"Entering Power Evolution."

Upon hearing those last words, Helen’s expression finally became more serious.

"The login device Jack gave you?"

"Mm."

"How did it feel?"

"Very realistic." Zich paused briefly.

"There were more powerful people inside than I expected."

"You looked at the comprehensive rankings?"

Helen clearly knew about the ranking board.

Zich nodded.

"I did."

"Then you finally understand that the geniuses of the First Layer aren’t anything special when placed within the entire Mountain of Ascension."

Helen lifted the cup in front of her, her tone sounding extremely calm.

"The first time I entered, I saw that even the person ranked close to one million was above Level 30. I didn’t log in again for two full days."

"You were frightened?"

"No."

Helen answered expressionlessly.

"I simply didn’t want to see that ranking board for a while."

Zich glanced at her.

"Then you were frightened."

A vein appeared on Helen’s temple.

"You’re becoming more annoying every time you speak."

While the two were talking, the spatial barrier outside the area opened again.

A slender young girl quietly walked inside.

She wore a simple white dress. Her long black hair fell naturally behind her, and there was still very little visible expression on her delicate face.

Mira.

When she saw that Zich had already arrived, her footsteps paused slightly.

Then she gave a small nod.

"Hey, Zich."

Zich nodded in return, choosing not to speak, not because he didn’t want to, but because he couldn’t.

Mira sat beside Helen. She first glanced at Slimy on the table, then took out a small box of transparent jelly from her storage equipment and placed it in front of the creature.

Slimy approached cautiously.

After a moment, it extended a tentacle, opened the box, and tasted the jelly.

The next second—

"Bo!"

Slimy immediately carried the jelly over to Mira’s side.

The smile on Helen’s face instantly disappeared.

"Why?"

Mira thought seriously for a moment.

"It likes eating this. I bought things for it during the tournament too."

"You bought poisonous magical beast feed."

"Isn’t it poison-attributed?"

Mira did not answer. She simply reached out and gently stroked Slimy’s body.

This time, Slimy did not move away.

Helen stared at the scene and remained silent for a long time, her face like that of someone who had been betrayed.

Zich lifted his cup and wisely chose not to participate.

Not long afterward, footsteps came from the entrance to the area once again, and this time Jayden walked inside.

Compared to during the tournament, his aura had not changed much. He still wore dark-colored clothing, his short gray hair was neat and sharp, and the expression on his face was so cold that it appeared as though Helen had not invited him to the gathering, but someone had forced him to sit there.

The moment he entered the Moon Lake area, his gaze immediately landed on Zich.

Zich looked back at him.

Their gazes collided in midair.

The surrounding atmosphere seemed to become silent for an instant.

Helen looked at Zich, then at Jayden.

"You two had better not start fighting here."

"I have no such intention," Zich said.

Jayden pulled out a chair and sat down.

"The things here are too expensive. You wouldn’t be able to compensate for them if you broke anything."

Zich replied calmly, "I’m the champion now."

"Being champion doesn’t mean you’re rich."

"At least my prize is higher than that of someone who was eliminated."

Jayden’s movements stopped.

Helen immediately turned toward Zich, her eyes filled with surprise.

Mira also silently raised her head.

Clearly, even they had not expected Zich to voluntarily say something so provocative.