With that, she turned and walked out, leaving Nioh buried under the sheer weight of his own gamble.
"What are you planning?" Ekoh asked as Nioh dragged the hamr into the work area.
"I was thinking of a teor hamr," Nioh said, his gaze sweeping across the lab.
"Whoa... A fusion panel and a precision alloy cutter..." He was entranced, montarily forgetting to breathe. The high-end equipnt before him was leagues beyond what he had worked with before.
"The lting furnace is too small for such a massive hamr," Ekoh pointed out.
"I see that. We’ll have to disassemble it by hand," Nioh replied, settling beside the hamrhead. "I need your support."
His eyes began to glow, golden light flickering like embers in a forge. The temperature in the workspace surged. Ekoh, amplifying the heat waves, concentrated his energy on the hamr, gradually turning the cold tal red-hot. A sizzling hiss filled the air as the dense tal expanded, its bonds weakening under the relentless assault of heat. Steam billowed, thick and heavy, curling around them in ghostly tendrils.
Once the links were sufficiently loosened, Nioh shifted his stance and drove a powerful kick into the hamr’s neck, severing it into three distinct parts. Without hesitation, he tossed the handle into the lting furnace and turned his attention to the two hamrheads. He picked up a smaller hamr and began reshaping the molten parts, sculpting them into rectangular bricks—more compact, easier to manipulate, yet still carrying the imnse weight of the original weapon.
The hollow cores of the hamrheads contained dark water, the heaviest known material. When in contact with biocore energy, the liquid would solidify, exponentially increasing the weapon’s weight. The trick wasn’t in making the hamr heavier—it was in making it wieldable.
With both bricks still glowing from the heat, Nioh turned to the next step. He retrieved ten ters of Silent Spider Web, his secret material. Flexible yet nearly unbreakable, it could support the weight of dark water with ease. Its only flaw? A vulnerability to fire. That, however, was a problem he intended to fix.
To counteract the web’s weakness, he planned to fuse it with deep-sea tal—fire-resistant and incredibly rigid. However, traditional heat fusion would destroy the web’s unique properties. He needed sothing more... unconventional.
Reaching into his supplies, he withdrew a vial of Tiger-Viper blood, a substance harvested from a beast notorious for rging opposing biological traits. This would serve as the catalyst. He heated the deep-sea tal until it reached a molten state, then carefully introduced the Tiger-Viper blood. Electricity crackled in his hands as he infused the mixture with controlled bursts of current, forcing the materials to bond at a molecular level. As the transformation stabilized, he plunged the Silent Spider Web into the compound.
The result was a marvel—a hybrid material that retained the flexibility of the web, the durability of the tal, and the fire resistance he needed. When charged with biocore energy, it would stiffen into a solid rod, allowing for rapid adaptation in battle.
For the final step, he removed the two hamrhead bricks from the furnace and carefully soldered them to each end of the reinforced web, completing the transformation into a teor hamr.
Sweat dripped down his brow as he examined his work. It was a weapon built for power and speed—a perfect balance of destruction and control. Now, all that was left was to prove its worth.
Nioh exhaled, a satisfied grin forming as he ran his fingers over the newly forged weapon. "Let’s see if she can still say no to this."
"Your insight into biocores and attributes is getting really sharp," Ekoh noted.
"I couldn’t walk for half my life. All I could do was read," Nioh replied, his voice thick with exhaustion. His eyelids drooped as he muttered, "Why is there a difference in strength between Corebinders of the sa level...?" Before Ekoh could respond, sleep claid him.
In his dream, the question tornted him, twisting his mind in endless loops. Then, he saw it—the Sin of Envy, locked in battle against the Wyvern cha. For such a machine to cripple such a destructive biocore... what was the differentiator? Sothing beyond just energy and biocores...
He had glimpsed it before. Three tis.
First, when the Wyvern cha fought the Sin of Envy.
Second, when he fused with the Sin of Envy.
Third, on the day of the explosion—when Ekoh had shielded him.
It was insight. A truth just beyond his reach—
A vicious kick snapped him awake.
Nioh’s eyes shot open, his expression instantly darkening. His energy flared like an erupting volcano.
Before his attacker could react, Nioh’s fist buried itself into his gut. Lightning crackled through the air as his body surged with static energy. He was furious—he had been so close to an enlightennt, and this idiot had stolen it from him.
He blurred forward, launching another strike, but this ti, his opponent caught his punch. In one swift motion, the assailant attempted a shoulder throw to break free. But Nioh was flexible. Twisting midair, he locked his legs around the attacker’s throat, forcing the fight into a deadly stalemate.
The sheer resistance in his opponent’s movents told Nioh one thing—this guy was strong.
A sharp click. The lights of the laboratory flicked on, bathing the room in harsh white.
"I see you’ve t my little brother," a familiar voice drawled.
The woman from yesterday stood before them.
Realizing who she was, Nioh released his hold and smoothly rose to his feet. Across from him, a red-haired boy—roughly the sa age—staggered up, clutching his throat. He was thinner than Nioh, his round glasses askew. His face flushed red from the choke, making his freckles stand out even more. His wrist bracelet marked him as a new Seed, just like Nioh.
"Sis, who the hell is this savage?" the boy grumbled, glaring at Nioh.
Nioh swept his ashen hair back, fully exposing his burn scars. His eyes locked onto the woman.
"If you don’t want him to die, keep him out of my sight."
She ignored them both and walked straight toward the workbench. "Did you finish the customization?"
Nioh wordlessly pointed to the case. Without hesitation, she opened it and lifted the weapon.
The mont her fingers wrapped around the handle, her body felt right. The weight distribution was perfect. Just as heavy as her previous hamr, yet balanced in a way that made it easier to control.
Curious, she let her biocore energy flow through it. The silent spider web instantly contracted and solidified, turning the flexible rope into a rigid staff.
She swung it experintally. Left. Right.
A slow, nasty smile crept across her lips. Faster swings. Adjustable handle. Versatile forms.
This was better than what she had before.
"What are the performance trade-offs?" she asked, testing the weight in her grip.
Nioh smirked. "Why assu there are trade-offs?" He handed her a tablet.
Weapon Na: teor Hamr
Materials: Silent Spider Web, Deep Sea tal, Dark Water
Attribute: Neutral
Conductivity: 80%
Notes: Flexible heavy weapon, form-alteration capability
She frowned. "I don’t believe it."
"Well, you’re no stranger to weapon testing. Verify it yourself." He stretched his arms. "In the anti, I’ll draft the contract." Without waiting for a response, he walked toward the eting room.
The woman studied the hamr for another mont before turning to her brother. "What do you think?"
The red-haired boy hesitated. "I couldn’t get the upper hand. I’m sure I broke his arm, but he reset it without even flinching. His reflexes are too sharp. I can’t think of many freshn who could go toe-to-toe with like that... I’m not sure I could beat him."
"Interesting," she mused, twirling the teor hamr in her grip. "Seems like there are going to be a lot of monsters in this batch. You’re in for a fun year."
Her brother swallowed hard, his eyes flicking toward the eting room.
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