Chapter 166: papabear vs One punch man

That was 40 essence Jelo now had in total. He grinned excitedly, already looking forward to the next match. As usual, he didn’t just pick a fight randomly. High rank or flashy titles didn’t impress him on their own. He chose based on feeling — the name, the presence, the aura behind the character. Boring names didn’t interest him. They didn’t pull him in.

He kept scrolling.

Then he stopped.

One avatar caught his attention.

One Punch Man.

Why would someone name themselves One Punch Man? Does he really finish every fight with a single punch? Jelo wondered.

He checked the record.

Twenty wins. Zero losses. Zero draws.

Rank: B3.

That was insane.

Jelo’s excitement mixed with caution. He had fought strong opponents before — very strong ones — but this was different. The name itself carried confidence. Finishes fights with one punch? That meant overwhelming power or absolute precision.

Now the real question formed in his mind:

Do I stand a chance?

One of his goals here was to gain as much essence as possible. But it wasn’t just about essence. It was about growth. Experience. Pushing past limits.

After a moment of thinking, he made his decision.

He sent the request.

The waiting felt like an eternity.

Then—

Request Accepted.

The arena loaded.

The character stood there, dressed plainly. Nothing flashy. No dramatic armor. No glowing weapons. Just simple clothing. Calm posture. Almost bored.

“Shall we begin?” he said to Jelo.

No greeting. No introduction.

Straight to business.

Jelo raised a brow.

“We’re really focused on getting each of our battles over with, am I right?” he asked with a faint smile.

One Punch Man looked at him.

“Papa Bear,” he said flatly. “That’s a really funny name. As you’ve guessed, I don’t waste time talking. I’m here to fight and take my opponent down. I give them no chance of winning.”

Jelo smiled.

“You really think you can take me down? Have you checked my record?”

Papa Bear replied calmly, “Right back at you. Have you checked mine?”

Jelo chuckled.

“We both know we have great records. But this fight will decide who’s better.”

“That’s not the problem for me,” Papa Bear answered. “Let’s just get this over with.”

The arena grew silent.

Two undefeated fighters.

Two confident smiles.

And one punch waiting to be thrown.

Jelo moved first.

Wing Burst — a crack of displaced air and he was already gone, reappearing to One Punch Man’s left with his hand already thrusting forward.

Dragon Claw.

The energy talon screamed across the gap and slammed into One Punch Man’s side. He grunted, skidding sideways, boots grinding into the ground. He straightened up slowly, eyes already hunting for Jelo’s next position.

Jelo was gone.

Wing Burst — behind. Dragon Claw. Wing Burst — above. Dragon Claw.

He cycled through positions relentlessly, his enhanced vision reading every micro-shift in One Punch Man’s stance before it became movement. Each Dragon Claw came from a different angle, different timing, never falling into a pattern One Punch Man could lock onto.

One Punch Man swung left. Air.

Swung right. Air.

A Dragon Claw caught him across the shoulder and spun him half around. He planted his foot, killed the momentum, reset.

Jelo was already repositioning.

Then — something new.

Jelo landed briefly, both palms facing forward, and fire bloomed between his fingers. Not wild, not scattered — compressed, intentional, shaped into a roaring column that he hurled forward like a spear.

It hit One Punch Man dead in the chest.

The heat was immediate and total. He was thrown backward, shirt igniting, smoke pouring off him as he rolled across the ground and slapped the flames out with his bare hand. He stood, chest heaving, a red burn mark spreading across his collarbone.

He looked at it.

Then at Jelo.

“Fire too,” he said, less a complaint and more an acknowledgment.

Jelo pressed it. Wing Burst — new position — Dragon Claw leading, and the moment it left his hand he ignited the edges of it. The energy talon arrived wreathed in fire, burning and tearing at the same time, a combination that hit harder than either alone.

One Punch Man caught the edge of it trying to sidestep. The fire splashed across his arm and he hissed through his teeth, patting it down, losing half a second of recovery time — and Jelo was already gone, already repositioning, already setting up the next angle.

A pure fire burst followed. No Dragon Claw shape, just raw compressed flame launched at high velocity from thirty meters out, forcing One Punch Man to move or burn. He moved — and walked into a Dragon Claw he hadn’t seen coming from the opposite side.

It sent him skidding to one knee. Blood from a fresh cut above his ear ran down the side of his face.

He stayed on the knee for a moment.

Just a moment.

Jelo watched through his enhanced vision. Vital signs still strong. Breathing controlled. The man was hurt but nowhere near finished and they both knew it.

Range. Keep the range. Don’t let him close.

Wing Burst — high angle, Dragon Claw wrapped in a spiraling sleeve of fire that made it wider, harder to dodge, the heat warping the air around it as it descended.

One Punch Man threw himself flat. The attack scorched the air where his head had been and detonated behind him, leaving a burning crater. He rolled to his feet already moving, not resetting this time — charging, cutting diagonally, trying to collapse the distance before Jelo could—

Wing Burst. Gone.

One Punch Man’s fist closed on empty air.

He stopped. Stood completely still.

And he stopped chasing.

He just watched.

Jelo felt the shift and didn’t like it. One Punch Man’s eyes weren’t tracking movement anymore — they were tracking intervals. The time between bursts. The half-second of effort before each reappearance. The slight differences between a repositioning burst and one that set up an attack.

Jelo changed his pattern. Irregular timing. New angles.

He launched a spread of fire — wide, low, forcing a response — and used the distraction to Wing Burst into a position he hadn’t used yet, Dragon Claw already charged and wrapped in flame, releasing it the instant he arrived.

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