'Why Do They Always Find Me?'
From Hamim's eyes, Vio could tell—this guy was a fight maniac. The number of times he had dodged people like him was beyond count.
But knowing this fact eased Vio's caution slightly. Throughout their exchange of movements, Vio had been splitting his focus, wary of potential traps laid here or there. However, Hamim's demeanor suggested he was the type who craved a fair fight—something Vio was careful to give him.
They locked eyes for a moment. Then, Hamim shifted his sword to the side as sparks of lightning crackled along the blade.
Vio narrowed his eyes. The glow was stronger than anything seen before.
'It seems his level is higher than the others... Is he on par with the demon?'
"Get ready, rat!" Hamim said, swinging the sword, sending an arc of lightning rushing toward Vio.
"Crack!"
Vio was startled, rolling to the side to avoid the attack.
The lightning arc struck the ground, leaving a burning line that melted through the layers of snow.
Vio was surprised—not by the power of the attack, but by himself. It had been an opportunity to charge his battery, but his instincts had warned him against colliding with it.
'System, could I have been harmed even if I opened the CyborgHeart?'
As Vio asked, Hamim swung his sword again and again, sending multiple lightning arcs his way.
Vio dodged every single one.
Their danger lay not in speed but in sheer numbers.
[As long as the electricity's intensity exceeds the body's tolerance, it will cause damage.]
In other words, he couldn't withstand it.
It was clear that Vio could avoid all of them, no matter how many Hamim produced.
This made Vio think that Hamim simply wanted him to stop retreating. But Vio, from his past experiences with close combat, knew that wasn't an option now.
Before he could steady himself, he felt a sudden stiffness in his legs. Glanced down quickly to find them encased in layers of frost.
'Impossible!'
As soon as he looked up, he found Hamim beside him, slashing toward him with a sword still glowing with lightning.
The shield activated.
"Boom!"
The sword struck Vio's chest, but was forced to stop as the shield prevented it from piercing through.
[Shield Durability: 1740/2000]
"You're Keeper?" Hamim exclaimed, increasing the pressure. Before he could react further, Vio activated 'Surge Strike,' causing sparks of electricity to dance across his entire body.
"You're not the only one who can summon electricity," Vio said with a wide grin as electric snakes of lightning surged toward Hamim.
The lightning bolts struck Hamim's body violently, but Vio didn't waste the opportunity. He grabbed Hamim's sword arm, locked his shoulder in place, and ordered CyborgHeart to pump even stronger electrical surges, hot enough to burn the very air between them— yet no screams escaped Hamim's lips.
Vio's grin froze as he saw Hamim still smiling. Worse, the smile was genuine—not forced or deceptive.
Vio realized he needed to retreat, but before he could move, Hamim spun rapidly, summoning a wind that wrapped around his body, making him even faster. Several slashes landed on Vio's shield in less than a second.
[Shield Durability: 1352/2000]
And he wasn't stopping. Hamim was planning to keep spinning, slashing like a living storm.
'Damn it!'
Vio ordered one of the Fury gauntlets to be replaced with the Gravity Glove.
Cylinder emerged from the glove's palm. Vio threw it to the right, and just as Hamim was spinning, Vio commanded to open and activate. A powerful magnetic pull erupted, yanking Hamim and abruptly halting mid-spin.
"What?!"
Surprise flashed across Hamim's face, and before he could understand what was happening, he received a powerful punch to the face.
"Boom!"
His back arched from the force of the blow, but he was surprised again by another pulling force coming from the left after Vio threw a second cylinder.
As Hamim's body jerked sideways, completely off-balance, he took another brutal punch that rattled his skull.
"Boom!"
For the third time, as his body reeled under the consecutive blows, his head tilted toward Vio, only to be met with a direct punch to the face—stronger than the previous ones. It was the tenth strike.
A powerful blow twisted his body in place before he flew into the distance. Seconds later, his body crashed into the rock behind him.
"Boom!"
Vio glanced at the glove.
[Gravity Core Shell]
A glove-like device that launches cylindrical objects, fixing them in place before generating a strong magnetic pull toward them.
He had crafted it at the last moment before Hamim appeared in front of him.
Luckily, it wasn't complicated to use.
Vio's tension rose. How could it not? Hamim was the first opponent he had faced who could use wind in a completely different way—turning his already insane movement into something even faster.
'He's immune to electricity!'
Vio was certain had ensured the electricity penetrated Hamim's body, but nothing changed. Not even Hamim's movements slowed for a second.
Close combat with him was a real problem. Electricity was useless, and trying to absorb his lightning to charge the CyborgHeart seemed like a dangerous idea. His mastery of wind and lightning made it clear he could produce and control them with exceptional skill.
Vio found himself facing an opponent who rendered his most prominent abilities useless.
Hamim pulled himself out of the rubble, his expression a mix of shock and excitement.
"You're making…" He took a second to spit out blood. "Every second of waiting is worth it!"
'Don't even get me started on that damn green shield!'
Every time Vio landed a punch on Hamim's head, a transparent green shield appeared. Vio could sense it absorbing a significant portion of the damage.
Not completely blocking it, though. Some blood still trickled from Hamim's lip.
Just in case his focus slipped, Vio didn't stand still. He started moving sideways, eyes locked onto Hamim, who was casually swinging a sword, as if warming up his arm.
As he moved, instincts flared. Vio leaped to the side, narrowly avoiding the creeping frost trying to trap his feet.
His gaze snapped to Hamim, who simply shrugged.
"Don't look at me like that!" Hamim smirked. "You're fast, so I'll do whatever it takes to beat you."
With complete calm, Vio stepped toward him with steady strides.
"No need!" Hamim said, lunging forward. "I'll come to you…"
Vio slapped his chest forcefully and activated the Gravity Glove, attaching a metal cylinder to it.
'Activate!'
A hidden pull force was unleashed, which Hamim only realized when he suddenly found himself pulled toward Vio, completely losing his balance.
"This annoying trick again…"
A powerful punch landed on his face, sending him backward toward the same spot he had just been moments ago.
"Boom! Boom!"
As Hamim tried to get up, Vio leaped high into the air and came down on him with full force.
"Boom!"
Both feet landed, pinning Hamim's arms beneath him.
Then came the barrage.
"Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!"
A tenth punch was about to land—But massive ice shards suddenly shot up.
Instead of protecting Hamim, they attacked Vio.
He knew exactly how painful it was to crash into those things.
Vio jumped back—and kept jumping.
More shards erupted, forcing him to stay on the move as they continued chasing him.
Only when they finally stopped did he halt—For just a second.
Then, with all his strength, he launched a punch at one of the massive shards—because behind it, Hamim's sword was already swinging.
Fist and blade clashed.
"Clang!"
Hamim's sword bounced back, but Vio knew he would spin next. So threw himself forward, bringing Gauntlet of Fury back to his hand and grabbing Hamim's sword hand—Then struck with his other.
"Boom!"
But as the second punch advanced, Hamim caught it with his free hand.
"Boom!"
It became clear that a green shield automatically appeared around Hamim whenever he took damage.
Vio grabbed Hamim's sword hand while Hamim's free hand tightly gripped Vio's fist. Vio was surprised by the strength of his grip when he tried to free himself.
Only the legs were left?
In the narrow space between them, Vio raised his knee to deliver a quick kick. But he was surprised when Hamim lifted his leg with incredible speed to block the kick coldly.
"Boom!"
Vio hadn't expected that people in this world knew martial arts. They exchanged several kicks, each trying to outmaneuver the other with speed and agility, until they reached a stalemate—well, at least for Vio, not Hamim.
"My rat friend," Hamim's eyes gleamed. "How well can you handle lightning?"
His words were cryptic to Vio, but they didn't need explanation. Suddenly, sparks of lightning began spreading across Hamim's body, then shot toward Vio at terrifying speed.
Previously, Vio had felt the burning frost piercing his joints and the discomfort of the wind trying to uproot him.
For the first time, Vio experienced the very same electrocution he had mercilessly inflicted on others.
"Ah!" Vio groaned, his body trembling under the relentless strikes of lightning.
[HP: 7,148/9,000 Decreased]
But the pain was doubled; his body, being a thermoelectric conductor, amplified the agony with every spark.