Their romance storyline only begins on the second playthrough?

Chapter 43 I'm just being arrogant, okay?

"ah!!!"

War cry starts.

"I, I just..." Ivina's voice stammered as her face flushed, "Yes, I just saw a bug on you, so I wanted to pick it off!"

Ivina looked flustered. Realizing that her lewd behavior had definitely created a very bad impression, she completely turned into a cat with its fur standing on end.

Can--

At that moment, she felt as if a thick, rough hand had been placed on her head.

In that instant, with the gentle caress, her emotions calmed down, her face blank:

"Eh..."

Yes, Rhodes is currently stroking Ivina's head with his palm.

"Really? That's good. You must cherish everything about yourself and every emotion you have, so that my rescue of you won't have been in vain."

Rod slowly got up, leaning his back against the cushion, while Ivina slid down from his waist to his lap like a toy.

"I...I know." Ivina coughed and nodded. "Hmph, although I didn't really need you to save me, thank you anyway."

"I heard everything Miss Ivina said when she faced Daphne," Rhodes said softly.

"Huh?! Quick, quick, forget about it! I was just, just a little bit... ahhh—!"

Ivina shyly stretched out her finger and scratched Rhodes twice like a kitten.

Rod didn't seem to care much, and simply smiled:

"In short, Miss Ivina, since you're willing to help me catch bugs, you're acknowledging me as your friend, right?"

thump.

Ivina's heart skipped a beat.

Rhodes's voice fell like a heavy hammer blow straight into Ivina's heart.

She listened to those words, stunned and frozen for a long while, before realizing—

Rod said that she and he were friends?

Are you friends now?

Upon learning this fact, she was not particularly excited, nor did she feel moved enough to cry.

However, a warm feeling washed over her, and her face fell slightly, revealing a childlike smile on her lips.

Can--

Soon, however, she remembered the sharp blade hanging over her head.

No matter when, that sharp blade was like cold water, instantly suffocating her comfortable heart.

She bit her lip slightly:

[Physical Constitution]: 44→103

[Spirit]: 53 → 110

[Faith Deity: Outer God (Unique) (Abnormal)]

[Talent: You can fuse the characteristics of all other divine species to create entirely new talent skills.]

[Currently possesses the following divine seeds: God of Soul Evolution, God of Sky-Soaring Dragons, God of Life's Radiance]

【当前技能——【聆听巨龙之歌LV.1】【龙之心LV.1】【魂体增幅LV.1】【龙之剑LV.1】【生之力LV.1】【天眼.LV1】】

The gaze attribute made Rhodes clench his fist in disbelief.

"Upgraded three times?" He tilted his head and rubbed his eyes again as if he had misread it.

"No way? Her original attributes doubled... Just how strong is Daphne after her third upgrade?"

But upon closer reflection, one can imagine how horrific she was.

Putting everything else aside, even considering Felicity, who also leveled up three times, only suffered severe injuries from the close-range explosion of her seven super-powerful [Magic Crystals].

Even with her skin ulcerated and muscle fibers fused together, exposing her skeleton, she could still unleash a power level three times higher to fight him, and her strength was still greater than Rod's...

Thinking about it this way, he had indeed killed a terrible enemy, and it was only natural that he could break through to the third level by killing her.

It can be said that surviving a great calamity is sure to bring good fortune...

wrong.

The key point isn't that after three ascensions, does it mean he can fuse with a completely new divine seed?