In Axel, the quest to hunt One-Punch Bears could already be considered an extremely difficult task.
And that's just for one One-Punch Bear!
Quests like this in Axel, even a few months ago when they were posted, no one dared to accept them. Although there were some cowardly adventurers in Axel, the main reason was that One-Punch Bears were simply too strong!
One-Punch Bears are high-level monsters. Only first-level adventurers above level 30 have the actual strength to kill them. Otherwise, they would need to form a sufficiently large adventurer team, which must include roles like front attackers, rear attackers, support, and healers, only then could they succeed.
And first-level adventurers above level 30 must have high-tier professions, not like Ethan, who has the weakest profession!
Ethan estimated the strength of the One-Punch Bear and his own. If he didn't have the additional parameter boost from Gram, and without Eris's support magic, even though his level had now reached a terrifying 43, he could at best only match the One-Punch Bear in front of him!
Yes, Ethan was now level 43! After all, he had not only defeated many Giant Toads, destroyed high-level demons, but also hunted countless undead troops, plus the experience points from Verdia.
With his adventurer profession, which indeed required less experience than other professions, it was only natural that he could reach such a high level!
However, the one fighting the One-Punch Bear wasn't Ethan, who wielded the Divine Treasure Gram, but the seemingly fragile Iris.
At this moment, Iris had somehow already donned luxurious, top-tier armor, her soft yet determined eyes fixed directly on the enemy in front of her!
"ROARRRR!"
With a roar that shook the air, a large black bear with a massive body and powerful legs, exuding a terrifying aura, stomped the ground and charged toward the little girl in front of it.
Such terrifying strength, if it hit, even hard stone would instantly shatter into small fragments, right?
*CRASH!*
In an instant, the One-Punch Bear crushed the ground where Iris had been standing into dust, leaving a huge crater. Its terrifying strength was truly frightening!
However, no matter how strong its power was, if it didn't hit the enemy, it was just a joke.
Iris leaped backward as the One-Punch Bear charged, avoiding its attack range. Not even the flying dust and debris touched her.
This made Eris and Yunyun, who were watching from the side, breathe a sigh of relief.
Normally, hunting such a powerful monster should be done by Ethan and the others as a team. However, Ethan wanted to see just how strong Iris was and intended to let her fight alone as a warm-up.
Of course, Eris and Yunyun immediately expressed their concerns and objections, but Iris was actually very excited to accept the challenge.
If the person in question agreed, no matter how much others objected, it would be futile. So, Eris and Yunyun could only watch Iris's battle with anxiety, while Ethan observed the girl teasing the fierce bear seriously for the first time.
Yes, teasing the fierce bear!
Based on Ethan's assessment, Iris's strength should be on par with Verdia's, and not just empty strength—she even had decent combat experience, though she lacked life-and-death trials.
Adding to that, the aura Ethan sensed from the Holy Sword tightly gripped by Iris through his Enemy Detection skill confirmed that it was a Divine Treasure on the same level as Gram!
An Iris like this, even if she faced Verdia, who was a Devil King General, in terms of pure strength, she might be above him. Even Verdia, with his terrifying combat experience, would find it hard to win.
Not to mention, Ethan's Enemy Detection and Treasure Detection skills sensed vibrations akin to a second Divine Treasure within Iris's body. He could confirm that if he couldn't unleash Gram's full power and fought Iris, he might be crushed with absolute superiority.
However, Ethan touched Gram on his back. Although he had gained the additional abilities from Gram, he still couldn't unleash its full power like he did when facing Verdia at the end.
Why was this happening? If the condition for using it was that the user had to suffer from chunnibyou, why could Ethan use it back then? If he could use it then, he should also be able to gain its additional power now. Why couldn't he fully unleash its power now?
As Ethan was puzzled, the battle between Iris and the One-Punch Bear finally reached its climax.
*Splat!*
The One-Punch Bear, which hadn't been able to touch Iris from the start, was mercilessly sliced in two by the Holy Sword in her hand.
*👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻*
For Iris's victory, Ethan was the first to clap, and Eris and Yunyun also reacted, clapping along with him.
"Hehe~" Iris stuck out her tongue shyly, her cute appearance no less charming than Eris and Yunyun's!
Seeing Iris easily defeat the One-Punch Bear without even breaking a sweat, Ethan nodded in satisfaction. It seemed he had gained another terrifying yet adorable companion!
"Great job! If those strange uncles at the Adventurer's Guild knew that such an extremely difficult quest, which they didn't even dare to accept, was easily completed by a little girl, maybe tomorrow the walls of Axel would be filled with people wanting to jump and beg Goddess Eris to reincarnate them! HAHAHAHA!"
Ethan ruffled Iris's soft golden hair, laughing wickedly, which made Eris roll her eyes in resignation.
And Iris pouted slightly: "Big brother, don't always treat Iris like a child!"
"If you don't want to be treated like a child, at least have some pride like Yunyun, not like Big Sister Chris, who has to rely on padding to lift her chest! HAHAHA!"
This remark made both Yunyun and Eris blush, though the former was out of shyness, while the latter was out of embarrassment and anger.
"It seems it's still early! Then, let's tackle the next difficult quest!"
Facing a situation like this, where the other adventurers were glaring at him with knife-like stares, Ethan simply laughed lightly in delight, then turned his cold, merciless gaze toward the dense forest, where an increasingly powerful aura was emerging.
"It seems it's getting impatient!"