CRK!
One of the swords of the Sword Metal Elemental cracked.
It had been weeks since Kyle had started fighting the Metal Elementals and, by now, he was just standing there.
Kyle hadn't comprehended the Fragment of Hardness yet, but just some insights into the Fragment of Hardness was enough to push his Rank S Material armor beyond the level of what the Sword Metal Elemental could damage.
One had to remember that Kyle's armor was made of a far better material than the Metal Elementals were made of.
At this point, the attacks of the Mace Metal Elemental were worse than the ones coming from the Sword Metal Elemental.
'Time to switch,' Kyle thought.
The next moment, his old armor vanished, and a new one appeared.
The Sword Metal Elemental hit Kyle again.
CRK!
Kyle received a cut on his arm, but his arm wasn't completely cut off.
This new armor was made of Rank A Materials.
'My armor made of Rank A Materials now has the same hardness as my initial set of armor made with Rank S Materials.'
'I'm no longer surprised that Silvester is suddenly so dangerous after understanding the other Fragments of metal as well.'
'On its own, the Fragment of Metal's Hardness isn't comparable to the Fragment of Metal's Composition, but it has a powerful amplifying effect on the base that the Fragment of Metal's Composition builds.'
BANG!
Kyle hit the Mace Metal Elemental with his hammer.
He didn't use all of his power, and the Mace Metal Elemental was simply pushed back while vibrating crazily.
Kyle had noticed that the Mace Metal Elemental was vibrating way more than the Sword Metal Elemental when struck.
'Dispersion of force is an important aspect of metal's durability. My armor doesn't have that yet.'
The battle continued for another two weeks.
By now, Kyle's fighting style had returned to one that included a lot of retreats.
However, the reason for his retreats was different this time.
The Sword Metal Elemental was regrowing its body as it regenerated its broken swords.
If Kyle didn't retreat from time to time, the Sword Metal Elemental would literally kill itself by attacking him.
This didn't happen when it attacked the Mace Metal Elemental.
The reason it happened when attacking Kyle was that Kyle was using the Fragment of Metal's Hardness on top of having the perfect Rank A Material.
The Mace Metal Elemental was made of Rank A Materials, but not of the perfect Rank A Materials.
'Yep, it works,' Kyle thought with a smirk. 'Everything makes sense now!'
'So, this is the Fragment of Metal's Hardness!'
'Three of four done! Time for the last one!'
Kyle glanced at the Mace Metal Elemental.
"Time's up!" Kyle shouted.
Then, he swung his hammer.
BANG!
The Mace Metal Elemental broke into pieces.
It died immediately.
When the Sword Metal Elemental saw the broken pieces of the Mace Metal Elemental, it immediately absorbed them.
Kyle just watched.
The Sword Metal Elemental underwent some changes, and when it was done, it attacked Kyle again.
CRK!
Kyle's eyes widened when he noticed that a crevice had appeared in his armor.
On top of that, the sword of the Metal Elemental wasn't even damaged!
'Wait, what?!' he thought as he quickly became careful again.
He saw how strongly the Metal Elemental's sword vibrated and realized something.
'Wait, it can just do that?'
'It absorbs the other guy and immediately comprehends the Fragment of Metal's Hardness as well?'
'That's crazy!'
'But also good,' Kyle thought with a smile. 'Don't have to be so careful anymore!'
Kyle continued fighting the Sword Metal Elemental and used the pick of his hammer to attack the enemy's sword.
He wanted to see if he could comprehend the last Fragment of Metal, the Fragment of Metal's Focus.
Over the next weeks, Kyle made some progress, and he noticed that the Metal Elemental started to receive injuries again.
One month later, Kyle had to be extremely careful not to accidentally kill the poor thing.
He was getting closer.
Then, finally, another two weeks later, Kyle finalized the concept he came up with.
CRK!
Kyle summoned a random piece of Rank A Metal in the path of the enemy's attack, and the enemy's sword cracked.
'Yep, works,' Kyle thought with a smile.
'Composition, Focus, Hardness, and Expansion, formerly Density. It's all there!'
Kyle watched in wonder as the most powerful Metal Elemental that had ever existed in this world was slowly dying to random pieces of metal Kyle summoned.
A moment later, Kyle summoned a big chunk of metal and reshaped it into a big sword.
He grabbed the sword and casually swung.
CRACK!
The Metal Elemental broke into two pieces, while Kyle's sword wasn't even stained.
The next moment, the Metal Elemental fell down, dead.
Kyle had also bisected its core.
For the first time in months, Kyle could relax again.
Silence. Any living being in the surroundings had long since either fled or been killed by the combatants.
Kyle was alone in the gigantic cave that the three of them had created with their battle.
A sea of magma was below Kyle, illuminating his smiling face.
He closed his eyes and focused on all the insights he had gained about metal.
Everything was there.
All aspects of metal.
The next moment, Kyle summoned his main set of armor made of the perfect Rank S Materials.
He changed its shape and reforged it.
He included his insights into Metal's Expansion. Even if Kyle grew to a size of a hundred meters, his armor would grow with him, and most importantly, it would barely lose power.
Then, he included his insights into Metal's Hardness. The armor became even harder. In the past, Sebastian had completely decimated Kyle's armor with a powerful Spell. Now, Sebastian would still be able to break through it, but it would only get a big hole instead of exploding into pieces. On top of that, his attack would have lost over 80% of its power.
Finally, Kyle included his insights into Metal's Focus. Now, Kyle's armor would become significantly harder if he became smaller. Sadly, Kyle was not a guy who liked to fight in a small body.
After finalizing his armor, Kyle also reforged his hammer.
While the Fragment of Metal's Focus only had limited effects on Kyle's armor, it had a significant effect on the pick of Kyle's hammer.
If Kyle attacked his armor with the pick of his hammer, he would be able to create a hole of the same size as Sebastian could create with his Spell.
Kyle put on his armor and carried his hammer in his hands.
'Everything's here.'
Kyle grinned.
'I know Metal!'
All the insights in Kyle's head combined, and this time, he didn't defend.
All the Metal Fragments flowed together.
BOOOOM!
And Kyle comprehended his first Law.
The Law of Metal!
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