The six men, all above level 20, tightened the circle around Remedy. A gap of at least ten levels. The situation was worse than bad.
The fight began without warning.
Four of them rushed him at the same time, covering every angle — left, right, front, back. The other two stayed behind, ready to strike.
The first slid low, aiming to sweep his legs. Remedy jumped over him. Instantly, a violent blow targeted his left ribs — blocked in a flash by the hammer raised like a shield. But before he could counter, two silhouettes crossed past him in a perfect pincer maneuver: one from left to right in front, the other from right to left behind. Two blades sliced into his flanks at the same time.
[Remedy — Health: 100% ➔ 90%]
Damn… speed-types? His brain analyzed at full speed.
Suddenly, a shadow dropped from the ceiling — a crushing mace aimed at his skull. Remedy raised his hammer vertically. The impact rang like a gong, driving his feet into the concrete and carving a small crater beneath him.
[Hammer — Durability: 700 ➔ 550/900]
[Remedy — Health: 90% ➔ 88%]
Huh… What a hit. They're all at the peak of their level.
The moment the man with the mace landed, Remedy counterattacked. A horizontal sweep of the hammer, impossibly fast for such a heavy weapon.
How—!?
The opponent, startled, planted his mace in front of him and braced his arms behind it, prepared to absorb the blow.
Crack—BOOM!
The hammer smashed into the mace. The hardened wood exploded into splinters, the force transferring directly into the man's arms, which snapped instantly. His body was launched like a rag doll, crashing into a distant wall.
[Target Health: 100% ➔ 58%]
One strike. Nearly half his life erased.
A stunned silence fell over the room. The gang members stared at their unconscious comrade… then at Remedy… then at the hammer.
It made no sense. A level 10 capable of lifting a ton — fine, a physical prodigy. But wielding such mass in combat — with that speed and precision — was unnatural.
But they couldn't know. They couldn't conceive of the Concept injected into the metal.
— Incredible, the boss's voice echoed, filled with sinister admiration. — Truly incredible, kid. I'll give you another chance. Join me. I'll make your talent bloom.
Remedy glanced at him for a brief moment. A faint, very faint smile tugged at his lips.
— I refuse.
The boss exhaled, almost disappointed.
— That's a shame. Don't hold back anymore, boys. You can kill him. Now.
The order hit like an electric shock. The smiles on the five remaining men twisted, stretching into manic grins. Their pupils dilated, bloodshot, turning a vivid crimson. All traces of reason and caution vanished. They became nothing but killing machines, driven by pure bloodlust.
They've gone insane?! Drugs?! The thought screamed through Remedy's mind. The danger had just escalated.
They rushed him in a chaotic, frenzied assault. No technique. No defense. Just violent, suicidal barrages of blows, with no concern for their own bodies. Remedy had to block, parry, counter with his hammer — his arms spinning like windmills to withstand the onslaught.
From afar, the boss observed, calculating.
He handles it as if the weight doesn't exist… A special weapon that negates its own weight for the wielder? The conclusion came with a satisfied smile. That must be it. His advantage.
Meanwhile, under the relentless impacts, the hammer's durability plummeted visibly. As if they had instinctively sensed its weakness, they began targeting the weapon itself.
[Hammer — Durability: 350/900]
The two speed-types seized an opening and moved to trap him from behind.
Remedy tightened his grip with both hands, pivoted on his footing, and swept the space around him in a full rotation, trying to push them back.
But instead of retreating, three of them took the blow head-on. Their health dropped sharply.
[Target Health: ~100% ➔ 60%]
The impact abruptly stopped the rotation. The hammer vibrated violently in his hands, letting out an ominous metallic whine.
[Hammer — Durability: 200/900]
Jagged cracks spread across the hammerhead, threatening.
The remaining three, seeing the damage, lunged forward to finish it off, their blunt weapons raised. With his back to the wall, Remedy gathered his strength and launched a desperate upward strike to push them back.
CLANG!
Four weapons collided in a final, violent clash, releasing a shockwave that sent all combatants flying backward.
Then—
CRACK.
A sharp, crystalline sound. The silence that followed was more deafening than the explosion.
The giant hammer — Remedy's iconic weapon — shattered. The massive head broke free and smashed onto the floor in metallic fragments, leaving only the handle in his hand… and a long, pointed, razor-sharp shard still attached to it — a broken, improvised spear.
[Hammer — Durability: 0/900]
— It's over for you, kid, the boss declared, confident in his victory.
The six men — wounded but still standing, eyes still glowing with madness — rose like zombies and charged at Remedy one last time. Disarmed.
Remedy lowered his head, as if accepting his fate.
Then, a mental ding — barely audible.
[DING! INJECTION SUCCESSFUL.]
The metallic shard at the end of the handle gleamed with a cold, bluish light, catching the faint moonlight filtering through a high window.
[ALL SIX TARGETS SUCCESSFULLY ADDED AS USERS OF THE CONCEPT.]
He raised his arm, in a motion that seemed almost slow.
And swept the air in front of him.
It wasn't a strike.
It was an erasure.
The handle — or rather, what remained of it — passed through the space where the six men were charging. There was no tearing sound, no scream. Only a faint whistle, like air splitting before a perfect blade.
The six charging silhouettes… dissociated.
It wasn't a bloody cut. It was worse. Their bodies, weapons, and clothes separated into clean, precise sections, as if the bonds holding their molecules together had simply… let go. They collapsed onto the floor in multiple pieces with dull thuds. Blood only erupted afterward, as if startled by the suddenness of the separation.
The boss leapt to his feet, his chair toppling backward. Incredulity — then primal horror — twisted across his face.
---
A few hours earlier, in the VIP training room.
[DING! CONCEPT CREATION COMPLETE.]
[CONCEPT CREATED: EDGE OF A NANOWIRE.]
— A "cutting" concept? — Remedy asked, hand on his chin. — Interesting… but "nanowire"?
[NANOWIRE: A WIRE WITH A THICKNESS OF ONE ATOM. DUE TO ITS EXTREME FINENESS, IT SLIPS INTO INTERMOLECULAR GAPS WITHIN MATERIALS AND SEPARATES ATOMIC BONDS BY DISLOCATION, NOT BRUTE FORCE.]
Remedy's eyes widened.
— Wait… one atom thick? That means it can cut on a… molecular scale?
His mind raced. At the atomic level, every material — even steel or diamond — has gaps between its atoms, flaws in its structure. The nanowire is so thin it can slip through them. It doesn't "cut" in the conventional sense… it encourages atoms to separate, like a perfect wedge prying two blocks apart.
So the idea of "sharpness" doesn't come from hardness — but from absolute fineness. As long as the interstices aren't too small or reinforced by superior cohesive energy…
A slow, exaggerated, almost demonic smile stretched across Remedy's lips.
— … I can cut anything.
He stared at the concept description, a gleam of discovery and overwhelming power in his eyes.
— What a concept… completely broken.
A molecular edge.
So that was what a simple "nanowire" could produce.
---
[LAST FREE INJECTION USED]
[GIANT HAMMER SUCCESSFULLY INJECTED]
[ALL SIX PLAYERS ADDED AS USERS OF THE INJECTED CONCEPT]
[FOR THE USERS — AND ONLY FOR THE USERS — THE GIANT HAMMER (REMAINS) HAS THE EDGE OF A NANOWIRE]
---
Chapter 27 — End