Meanwhile, Iris was comfortably resting at home thanks to Johannes.
The trivial promise she made with Johannes quickly slipped from her mind.
Instead, she recalled that she had agreed to work as Laika’s road manager.
Since it was a sudden offer, she agreed to help once a week, only when they were short-handed.
That was because following Laika around all the time left her no room to carry out missions from the app.
She wondered if Laika would accept the condition, but surprisingly, he agreed without hesitation.
In truth, Laika accepted so readily because he wanted to keep Iris close and watch over her.
But Iris had no way of knowing that.
“I’m getting paid well too… Whew, I must be crazy. Volunteering to stay beside a villain.”
Creating a connection with Laika was worth it.
That way, she could learn his skills and eventually punish him, one of the main culprits dragging Gyodam City into chaos.
What if she mastered the villain’s skills and fought back using the same abilities?
He’d be utterly shocked.
“Well, the pay’s better than working at a bakery… Let’s give it a shot.”
A few days later, Iris went on a mission with Teresa.
As Iris began humming without realizing it, Teresa asked with a smile,
“Something good happen?”
“Ah, that… I got a job!”
Iris was about to answer honestly but ended up being vague.
She didn’t want Teresa to worry unnecessarily.
Teresa nodded and continued,
“That’s great. It’s good to do other work besides hero missions. Especially in these turbulent times, it’s better to have a stable job than to risk injury doing dangerous missions. Of course… never mind.”
Teresa had been about to say that taking on risky missions was better for gaining power, but held back, fearing it would pressure Iris.
It would be great if Iris became the legendary hero who saved Gyodam City, but she couldn’t force such a burden on her.
There were many heroes who, driven by justice or greed, took on dangerous missions and disappeared without a trace.
Some were likely killed by villains, while others might have been too ashamed of their failures to stay in contact and went into hiding.
Today’s mission was more difficult than the last—eliminating monsters that appeared in District 3 Park.
Considering how well Iris did on her first mission, they picked one that was harder but not overwhelming.
When they arrived at the park, warning signs and yellow tape were everywhere due to the monster sightings.
But those warnings were for civilians.
Since they had accepted the mission through the app, they casually stepped over the tape.
After transforming, they headed deep into the park, where they heard the rustling of fallen leaves.
As they quickly turned their heads, a wooden monster with eyes, nose, and mouth appeared.
“I should use my Scan Skill… Oh right, I have to touch them now.”
Iris absentmindedly lifted her skirt, then frowned.
She didn’t like the idea of having to touch the monster to scan it.
“There’s no need to scan low-level monsters with Laika around. But to level up the skill, I have to scan that thing.”
To do that, she had to get closer.
Iris, now used to it and less embarrassed, pulled out her whip.
The monsters screeched and charged at them, and the battle began.
“Kyaaaah!”
“Die!”
With Iris’s dazzling whip strikes, the monsters were taken down instantly.
They were weaker than the ones she had fought at the bakery café, so dispatching them was easy.
Switching between whip and claw attacks, she fought with flair.
After defeating a few monsters, she scanned her surroundings to pick a good target for her scan skill.
“These things are slow and weak. Good for scanning.”
She grabbed a thick branch protruding from a slow-approaching tree monster.
The wooden creature’s eyes widened.
She couldn’t hold it for long—though the monster was weak, taking a hit at close range would still hurt.
Luckily, the scan result appeared right away.
[Scan Result]
Rotten Tree Monster LV.7
[Skills]
Swing Branch LV.4
Bark Deflection LV.10
Body Slam LV.8
Rapid Growth LV.6
Seed Spread LV.4
[Status]
Aroused / Confused / Affectionate
“It’s higher level than I thought. But what’s with this status? Why are these weird terms showing up…”
Iris frowned as she looked at the status window.
Perhaps because she let her guard down, her eyes widened in horror—the branch she was holding began to swell.
Was the monster using one of its skills?
Still, only the branch at its center was thickening, which made her feel gross.
Then the monster used another skill.
From the end of the branch she was holding, seeds started to spray out.
“Ew, goddammit!”
Iris couldn’t take it anymore and threw the branch aside.
The tree monster flinched, and the branch broke slightly, swinging loosely—disgusting to look at.
She quickly distanced herself from it and pulled out her claw.
Then she swayed her hips fiercely.
With the claw emerging from between her legs, she shredded the tree monster like a gardener pruning branches.
And that wasn’t enough—she switched to her whip and furiously lashed out.
A brutal flurry of attacks, driven by her disgust, reduced the monster to splinters.
“You filthy thing!”
Iris, still angry, stomped on the dead monster’s remains.
The branch she had touched felt revolting, and her anger didn’t subside until she stomped multiple times and huffed in frustration.
Then she picked up a ‘wooden doll’ that had dropped among the remains.
It was proof of the mission’s success and would be sent to the marketplace.
Teresa, having just finished off some monsters herself, approached Iris.
She looked at the shredded remains of the tree monster and clicked her tongue.
“You’ve gotten a lot stronger. Did you train by yourself?”
“Ah… I did, kind of. But I couldn’t train much… A few days ago, I happened to be at a monster appearance site. Fighting them helped me get stronger.”
Iris scratched the back of her neck awkwardly.
Her “training” mostly consisted of occasionally shaking her hips in a quiet lot.
But such places were often crawling with shady people, so she couldn’t train regularly.
Real combat had helped her improve more than training.
She had gained levels and skill proficiency at the bakery café.
Teresa looked at her in mild amazement.
“Really? Fighting instead of running away—you’re becoming a real hero.”
“Hehe.”
It wasn’t that she became a hero—her hero status screen had appeared from the start.
Iris simply smiled.
Though her fate was sealed, choosing not to run from the monsters at the bakery café was her own decision.
What if she hadn’t saved the man in danger?
She might have lost her powers—or maybe nothing would’ve happened.
But her conscience would’ve been heavy.
It had felt reckless at the time, but looking back, it was the right choice.
“Maybe that antique shop guy was right… Someone like me might be fit to be a hero.”
Teresa, seeing Iris’s cheeks redden from embarrassment, offered a suggestion.
“Isn’t it hard to train? You can come train at my place from now on. You said you live in a studio apartment, right? It must be hard to find space there.”
“Really? Thank you so much!”
Iris jumped in joy.
She was glad to have a senior hero like Teresa.
She hadn’t even asked, but Teresa had understood her struggles.
Excited, Iris continued wiping out the tree monsters in the park.
About ten fell by their hands.
But the mission required them to eliminate twenty monsters, so she and Teresa started walking around to find more.
“I noticed earlier—you’re getting better at using your skills.”
“Yes. I realized that if I change how I use them, I can attack more effectively.”
“You’re definitely smart. Don’t forget to collect all the loot. We need to send it to the exchange like last time.”
“Yes, understood.”
Teresa looked at Iris with satisfaction.
Seeing how fast she was growing, she felt confident Iris could handle the next mission on her own.