Their romance storyline only begins on the second playthrough

"Last night, a witch who had been promoted three times and a demon seed died."

Therefore, given this situation, I hope that if things go beyond what is expected, you can be my last resort to hunt them all down.

"If I'm not mistaken, the witches who will gather in the Duke's mansion this time will probably be nearly a third of the Dream of Angelanno in Philips."

"If we ruin their plans this time, they will be greatly frustrated."

“Hmph…” Merrick’s eyes widened slightly.

“Well done, leave the rest to me.” Merrick said coldly, then took out two [Linked Scrolls] from his pocket and handed them to Rhodes.

"I'll give you two practice exams in advance so you can improve."

Rhodes held the upgrade item he had been waiting for for so long, feeling somewhat satisfied, but still hesitated for a moment before continuing:

“Professor Merrick, I have already broken through and advanced three times. I should have mentioned this in my message.”

"?" Merrick glanced at Rhodes as if he were an idiot.

"Do you think it's funny to joke with me, Rhodes?"

Chapter 52 Nobody knows more about leveling up than me

"Are you serious?" Merrick glanced at Rhodes with displeasure.

"I used those two demon seeds from yesterday as experience points to level up, so their improvement was unexpectedly rapid."

"Absurd! He ascended twice, killed two others who had ascended three times in a row? And after absorbing them, he directly reached the third level of ascension?"

Merrick smiled.

Centuries of experience told her that Rod was talking nonsense.

If it were that he killed someone who had been promoted once before, it would be understandable, but what he's saying now is that he's challenging her limits.

None of the Eternal Sages she knew could even achieve three ascensions by hunting just two demon seeds.

Even the forbidden-level beings she had heard of, those who had surpassed seven ascensions, had never heard of such terrifying energy conversion efficiency.

It's a very simple principle: the energy absorbed by a normal person after hunting a demon is less than ten percent of the energy absorbed by the demon itself.

Under these circumstances, how could Rhodes possibly have broken through to the third promotion level?

Merrick couldn't understand it, because she really didn't know the special nature of the Rhodes God race.

His divine seed was originally constructed from multiple divine seeds, thus possessing not only a vast containment system but also a powerful energy absorption capability.

“But it’s true, Professor Merrick.” Rod said with a hint of helplessness, but still stood respectfully and dignifiedly.

A flash of displeasure crossed Merrick's eyes, and in an instant, a surge of heat swept from behind her towards Rhodes—

That was the most accurate method she used to sense the strength of others; she could determine the enemy's strength with just a slight touch.

But then, something strange happened.

Merrick's pupils contracted, and he immediately withdrew his oppressive aura.

Because at this moment, she felt that she had truly been promoted three times, and she was not weak at all.

How can it be?

"you?"

“I told you, it’s true,” Rod said helplessly.

Merrick swallowed hard, feeling absurd and even a little frightened by her apprentice.

"Your upgrade speed is problematic. Even with a second blessing, it shouldn't be this fast."

“But I have definitely not fallen into the demonic seed, and you can feel it too.”

"..." Merrick remained silent.

"That's a bit bad."

“It’s simply unbelievable.” Merrick finally caught his breath and took a deep breath.

"So what if you've been promoted three times?"

"Therefore, I also need a linked secret volume that has been upgraded three times."

Professor Merrick, I believe that given the difficulty of this task, I have done a remarkable job.

Rod straightened his head, coughed, and spoke in a pretentious manner.

"...Wishful thinking. At most, I'll give you two upgraded link scrolls after you actually bring Ivina back to the academy."

"Ok?"

He talked so much nonsense, and all he got was one more sheet?

After all, he was supposed to get three cards in the first place. He already has two cards. If he gets two more, that would be four cards.

“At least three more, Professor Merrick.”

Do you have five skills?

"of course."

"..." Merrick's forehead twitched slightly, and anger was already showing.

That's it.

"I'll give you three more after you finish your mission," she said coldly, her words chilling.

"Thank you, Professor Merrick! I am deeply grateful."

"Stop with the nonsense, so when are those witches going to make their move?"

Now, let's get back to the main topic.

And Rhodes wouldn't continue joking at a time like this.

He smiled and said, "I will definitely make a move on Ivina's coming-of-age ceremony."

"Of course, they might do something unexpected before we expect it, which is why I asked you to come earlier."

"But in any case, I think as long as you are here, they have no chance of winning."

“Utterly boring.” Merrick said this and slowly started walking.

It's like admiring flowers in a flower garden, observing all the beauty, yet feeling somewhat unnatural.

"Damn it, I'll still die," she uttered a vague statement.

"Well, so, would you like to go to the Duke's mansion to see Felicity? She hasn't seen you in a long time, which is indeed a shame."

"Hmph." Merrick's anger subsided slightly, and thinking of his naive apprentice, he felt a little better.

"No need. My identity cannot be revealed for the time being. Once Merrick's appearance is exposed, they won't dare to make a move."

“That’s true. Well then, let’s end our conversation here, Professor Merrick. I need to take care of some personal matters.”

After saying this, Rhodes looked up at the window of the Duke's mansion—

Through the window, one could naturally see the silver-haired girl.

At that moment, Ivina was looking at him from the window, looking rather sullen.

Merrick looked up. "That's Ivina?"

"Yes."

"It seems your healing methods are quite effective."

"Uh... so-so."

"Did you hear the commotion among those nobles? They probably never imagined that you would still be able to deal with the so-called unapproachable monster."

Merrick said indifferently, and then casually left through the flowerbed entrance. At that moment, Rod followed her out of the flowerbed and then went back upstairs.

"It's not a solution, at least she's still unwilling to go with me."

……

...

"Good morning, Ivina." Rhodes returned to his room.

"Good morning, you seemed to be having a good chat with that lady." Ivina's tone was a little strange. She turned her face away and simply turned to comb her hair.

“That’s a friend of mine from the academy. I asked her to handle some issues.” Rhodes walked toward Ivina and handed her the small sandwich he was holding.

"Many people came to the Duke's mansion today. Breakfast is set out outside in the downstairs hall. I got you a portion. You need to eat a lot so you can get fat."

"Hmph, why bother getting fat? So you can have some fun? Thanks anyway." Ivina felt a little relieved, but she didn't eat the breakfast for the time being.

She wrapped her arms behind her back, revealing her clean underarm skin, and loosely tied her hair into a small braid on the left side, letting it fall behind her.

Rhodes remained silent in response to her lewd remarks.

"If you say something like that again, I really will hit you."

"How am I supposed to fight? Hmph, you've finally given in to your animalistic instincts, haven't you? You just want to pin me down on the bed, you damn lolicon..."

“…” Rhodes remained silent.

Don't stoop to the level of a child, don't stoop to the level of a child...

"Alright! All done, isn't it beautiful?" Ivina said happily.

Rhodes took a deep breath:

"Extremely beautiful."

So, starting today, I'm going to guide you through desensitization training, Ivina.

We'll have to go downstairs and try it out in the flowerbed.

Upon hearing this, Ivina's delicate body trembled.

Her smile was somewhat forced:

"Um... if I want to go to the flower bed, I'll have to go around the front yard, and a lot of people will see me..."

“Just a dozen or so people. And a dozen or so who can’t get close to you.” Rhodes smirked.