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*****
Feny quickly stopped Hulk from playing any further; he wanted to see exactly how much stronger Hulk became under the influence of "Incursio."
Setting defense aside for a moment, Feny wanted to test Hulk's raw strength. At this point, Hulk wasn't in a state of rage, so his power shouldn't have had any significant emotional amplification.
"Go lift that rock."
Feny pointed to a massive boulder nearby, one he usually used to test his "Explosion Magic."
Hulk was incredibly obedient. He charged straight to the giant stone, grabbed the edges from the bottom with both hands, let out a massive roar, and easily hoisted it over his head. Feny watched, dumbfounded.
Although he suspected Hulk could lift it, he hadn't expected it to be this effortless. The rock—which was essentially a small mountain—looked like it was made of plastic in Hulk's hands.
To compare the effects of wearing the armor versus not, Feny had Hulk set the stone down and then deactivated "Incursio" before asking him to try again.
The sudden disappearance of the armor left Hulk confused. He felt around his body for a long while before realizing Feny had taken it back.
"Come on, lift it again."
Feny watched Hulk closely. This time, the task was much more difficult. Hulk gripped the edges of the boulder and strained with all his might, barely managing to heave it off the ground. He couldn't even come close to lifting it over his head like he had moments before.
From this alone, Feny knew the strength boost "Incursio" provided was terrifying. And this was just the "normal" Hulk, weakened by a steady diet of "Violet's Fried Chicken." If Hulk were actually enraged and his power scaled up, the results would be even more monstrous.
Watching Hulk struggle with the stone, Feny snapped back to reality and stopped him. He revealed his true purpose for bringing him out: "Hulk, come fight me!"
Feny expected Hulk to be excited, but to his surprise, Hulk shook his head hesitantly. "Mage... friend!"
Though Hulk spoke simply, Feny understood his meaning perfectly: Hulk considered him a friend and didn't want to fight for fear of hurting him.
"It's alright."
Feny flew up and patted Hulk's head, saying with a smile, "It's just a simple spar. Just don't use too much force."
Hulk wavered.
"Come on!"
Feny didn't give Hulk another chance to refuse. He immediately equipped "Incursio," ready to start "farming" his favorite Experience Point Boss.
Seeing Feny fire off a "Explosion Magic" spell, Hulk quickly raised his arm to block the flames. His tough skin prevented any real damage, but the attack successfully ignited his battle spirit. With an excited grin, Hulk lunged toward Feny.
Feny was here for experience, so he didn't stay safely out of reach in the sky. Instead, he stayed on the ground, engaging Hulk in a guerrilla-style skirmish.
Tony's recent beating was still fresh in Feny's mind, so he didn't dare take Hulk's fists head-on. He had told Hulk to hold back, but with Hulk's personality, once he got excited, "holding back" went out the window—he might not even hear a "time out" call.
Hulk was strong and fast, but he lacked finesse. His sheer power meant he was used to just bulldozing through any enemy. His combat technique was, frankly, a mess—at least compared to Feny.
Relying on this advantage, Feny circled Hulk. Hulk's fists couldn't land, but Feny's own punches and instant-cast "Explosion Magic" struggled to do any effective damage to Hulk's hide.
It was like an Assassin fighting a Warrior. Unfortunately, Feny the Assassin lacked the "Armor Penetration" to break through, and Hulk the Warrior had high defense, high health, and high damage, but lacked "Crowd Control" to pin Feny down.
Overall, the situation favored Hulk. Feny had a very low margin for error; a few accidental hits and he'd be finished. However, this didn't mean Feny was truly weaker than Hulk. After all, his real class was a Mage.
He only chose this style of fighting to maximize experience gain. If he actually faced an enemy like Hulk in a life-or-death situation, he would have flown high into the clouds long ago and started chanting massive spells.
Hulk, who preferred straightforward brawls, clearly disliked this "poke and run" style. Before long, his anger began to simmer. Even if Feny's damage was low, it was still annoying; if you get hit in the same spot enough times, it starts to hurt.
Just as Feny predicted, once the fight got going, Hulk forgot all about "holding back." The whistling, fierce fists smashed into the mountain, leaving massive craters with every strike. Feny was terrified; he had no desire to end up like Tony.
The battle didn't last long. Feny's nerves were strained to the limit, while Hulk's anger made him stronger by the second. His beast-like combat instincts were even helping him adapt to Feny's patterns.
Ultimately, the fight ended when Feny flew into the sky to force a conclusion. In his own words, it was a "draw"—a 50/50 split. Unfortunately, the system only gave out bonus experience for victories; it didn't recognize "draws."
"Mage... fight... not happy."
Hulk looked disgruntled after the battle. After all, he had spent the whole time being a punching bag. Just as he was finally figuring out the rhythm to counter-attack, Feny ended the fight. Anyone would be annoyed.
"Cough!"
Feny gave a dry cough, feeling a bit embarrassed. To be honest, he had underestimated Hulk's growth. He hadn't expected Hulk to improve so quickly during a fight. While dodging was easy at first, it became increasingly difficult, forcing him to call it quits.
This worried him. This was only the first fight, and he had planned to use Hulk to farm experience all summer. He couldn't exactly spend the whole vacation losing!
As Feny pondered a solution, he checked the experience gained from the fight. Even without a win, it was still worth "Seven Mordos." This made him even more conflicted—if a draw was worth this much, how many "Mordos" would a victory be worth?
Feny glanced over at the sulking Hulk. Perhaps because Banner had willingly let him out, Hulk showed no signs of changing back yet.
Feny thought for a moment and said, "Alright, don't be mad. I'll treat you to food! You've only ever had fried chicken rolls; I'll take you to try something else."
Hulk looked curious. Every time he appeared, it was because Banner was in danger, and then they were on the run. He had almost never experienced anything else.
"Come!"
Feny opened a portal to Banner's villa. He considered if this was dangerous, but ultimately decided to trust that Hulk would behave.
Walking through the portal, Hulk was curious about everything in the villa. However, when Feny saw him eyeing the liquor cabinet, he quickly stepped in.
"That's off-limits!"
Feny spoke with total seriousness. He had no idea what Hulk's alcohol tolerance was. If it was low and Hulk became a "mean drunk," the consequences would be catastrophic.
"Oh."
Hulk gave the cabinet a curious look but obediently left it alone, much to Feny's relief.
Afterward, Feny took off "Incursio" and headed to the supermarket and local restaurants to buy a massive haul of snacks and meals. He brought them back to the villa, letting Hulk discover for the first time just how diverse the culinary world of Earth truly was.
(End of Chapter)