Chapter 320: Dressing Style

The explosion stopped.

Rod and Ona also changed their postures due to the powerful shockwave.

He was bracing both hands on the ground, using his back to support the collapsed earth and rock.

The petite rabbit-girl had fallen on her back, her small bottom resting against Rod's knees through the thick white mage robe, curled up in the protected area.

Her hands were clasped over her chest, and her expression was a little flustered.

The explosion was close, and the powerful sound wave and the toxic mist carried in the spores had disrupted her concentration, preventing her from casting a spell right away.

This is the drawback of being a mage.

In the event of a sudden disturbance, their frail bodies mean that even at the eighth tier, there's still a chance of things going wrong.

But then again, Ona must have had a backup plan—earlier, the magic ring in her hand had almost activated.

It was just that Rod held things up afterward, so she saved it.

As for the flustered look on her face, the vast majority of it came from Rod's body right before her eyes.

The explosion had blasted all his clothes to shreds.

That muscle-carved physique, like a sculpted work of art, was less than twenty centimeters from her nose.

The firm chest muscles were like an abyss harboring endless vitality; every breath let her understand the vigor of it.

The waist and abdominal lines were smooth and solid, without a trace of excess fat. His two strong, sinewy arms were braced on either side of her ears, and she could even smell a faint, pleasant scent belonging to Rod.

Under normal circumstances.

As someone who upheld chastity, Ona would have had no reaction to such a scene before her eyes. On the contrary, she would have sincerely praised the owner of this body, and might even have reached out to touch it.

But.

Not only had his top been shattered, but his pants as well.

So, there was something down below swaying gently.

Normally, just not looking would have been enough.

The trouble was that a drop of Rod's sweat landed on her face.

The overly powerful 【Charm Bodily Fluid】 immediately took effect.

The rabbit-kin Ona only felt restless and flustered, her red pupils darting about.

"Don't look!"

Tally poked two small hands out from the shadows, intending to cover Rod's lower half.

But her palms were too small and couldn't fully cover it.

She simply tore off a patch of darkness.

"Thanks, Tally."

Rod was also a little embarrassed; the succubi's move had actually helped.

"Are you okay? Ona."

"I-I'm fine, what about you?"

"I'm fine too. Can you cast? I'm about to charge out."

He planned to summon the Bronze Dragon battle soul to directly prop open the collapsed earth and rock.

"L-let me do it."

Ona, whose face had somehow turned red beneath him, took the task upon herself.

Saying so.

She took out her staff to cast, but the staff was too long, and she accidentally poked it into the patch of darkness the succubus was controlling down below.

It seemed something was also nudged, swaying gently and bouncing back against the staff.

"..."

"Sorry!"

Ona was already completely mortified; blushing furiously, she rapidly chanted and cast.

She established an anti-gravity zone around herself, and as purple magic slid through, the rock, mountain, and earth immediately rose under reversed gravity.

Rod immediately felt the pressure on his back ease.

Taking this chance, he had Tally drape the 【Dark Veil Cloak】 over him, then put his clothes back on.

Sigh—

So awkward.

Neither of them spoke again.

Silently, they returned to the surface from the collapsed pit.

But just as Rod leaped up from the ground, a chunk of rock flew over the top of his head.

It slammed into the ground nearby, sending sparks flying.

He turned his head to look.

He saw the Star Spirit Hailey rise into midair, having summoned her gargoyles, and what she was facing was an 【Eidolon】 that looked exactly like Rod.

This was Ona's creation of illusion magic.

Although whether you looked at it or touched it, it seemed like a real person, in fact it was just a humanoid mass of magic power.

When casting it, to tell them apart, she had specifically shaved the Eidolon's head bald.

That was a bald Rod.

And at this moment, atop the Eidolon's bare scalp sat a golden crown.

The living mycelia on it flickered with an ominous fluorescence, and various deformed, twisted fleshy structures began to proliferate on the mycelia, tangling around the Eidolon's head.

After entering the cave, Ona had ordered the Eidolon to the cave entrance to observe the situation, so as not to be trapped in the cave by anyone with ill intent.

After all, they don't have a spore-based skill like the mushroom folk.

Crack!!!

The simulacrum swung the golden sword in its hand, seizing the chance to lop off one of the gargoyle's arms during their tangle.

Haylie's eyes went wide.

"Damn it!"

【Simulacrum】— she knew this spell.

But shouldn't it only replicate half of a living being's strength?

This forest warden, Rod, is only at the peak of sixth-tier; on what grounds does half his strength suppress me, a seventh-tier beginner-stage gargoyle who even comes with 【Stone Armor】?

Auna must have added something extra.

Haylie nodded, immediately accepting this guess.

At the same time, she also saw the anti-gravity spell field in the collapsed cave and knew both of them were fine.

"Young Lady Auna! That crown can even fool a simulacrum—please dispel the spell!"

She called out toward them.

It's not that there's no way to deal with this simulacrum.

Haylie had been too proud of her status to even lift a hand earlier, assuming her gargoyle underling could handle it—only for it to backfire.

The Tu Ren Fa mage raised her staff, and a ripple of magical power bloomed outward.

But there was no response.

She frowned and said, "The simulacrum has slipped out of my control—even an illusory creation can be fooled by it."

Hearing Auna's words.

Haylie felt a twinge of lingering fear: "Then I'll just take it out directly."

It's a bit embarrassing to say, but she had been bewitched by that crown earlier and nearly touched it. Luckily, the simulacrum beat her to it, dazedly coming over to pick it up and put it on.

So now, it's time for me to vent my fury!

【Hold Person】 and 【Wave of Exhaustion】 were flung out first.

【Fang Vortex】 and 【Greater Thunderclap】 followed right after.

【Gravity Well】 for a hard crowd-control burst, and the secretly-cast 【Boulder Trap】 also landed successfully.

【Bing Feng Fa】【Compressed Spell Orb】【Hong Guang Fa】.

"Stellar folk really do cast fast."

Rod watched from the ground as spell after spell rained down.

And the one getting beaten turned out to be a handsome guy who looked just like him—somehow, he felt a little wistful.

Huh?

Why is there no clothing under Haylie's mage robe?

Two long, pale-blue, translucent legs were revealed amid the surging magical storm.

Rod stroked his chin and took a good, long look.

"Stellar folk have a special spell-anchoring technique. They can anchor a spell to one of their own stars, so when they cast it again, they don't need incantations, material components, or somatic gestures—achieving Kuai Su Shi Fa."

As she spoke.

Auna came over to him and raised a hand to block his line of sight.

"It's impolite to stare at a lady's legs like that, Rod."

"Maybe she did it on purpose. Think about it—would a normal person go out wearing just one outer robe? This is clearly Stellar folk's style of dress; if I didn't look, it'd just make me seem clueless about romance."

"I don't think that's it."

"It definitely is. Look—her little shorts even have a strawberry pattern on them."

(End of this chapter)