The Scrap Tamer - Chapter 131

Chapter 131: A Disadvantageous Situation
Reid’s grip tightened on his sword as he faced the opponents before him. There was an annoyed frown on his face as he looked at them.

Unlike the others, Reid found himself teleported into a dimly lit cave, where three creatures—identical to the one he had faced while fighting Darren—stood waiting for him.

But the reason for his frown had to do with the fact that, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t summon his forged beasts from his inventory.

‘A restriction rune?’ Reid asked. This was the second time he had been restricted from summoning his forged beasts, and the first time was due to a restriction rune.

[Yes] Evo affirmed [but I can’t seem to locate where it is.]

Reid sighed and nodded.

Without his Forged Beasts, this fight was going to be significantly harder—especially since the last time he faced one of these creatures, he had only managed to defeat it by merging with Beel.

The creatures were in no rush, allowing him all the time in the world to gather his thoughts. After all, what could a lone human—one who couldn’t even summon his beasts to aid him—possibly do against them?

“Oh?” The one who appeared to be the leader—distinguished by the throne he sat upon—suddenly spoke. “It seems your friends managed to bring down two of our siblings. Interesting.”

Reid ignored his words because he knew that Lisa and the rest were capable of handling themselves, something that the creature’s words just confirmed.

Instead, he focused on his conversation with Evo.

‘Is there any chance that their hosts are alive?’ he asked.

[That’s unlikely] Evo answered [judging by their stabler forms, when compared to Darren, it seems they have fully taken over.]

‘I see’ Reid nodded.

At least, that eliminated one of his worries. Now he wouldn’t have his consciousness bearing down on him due to the fact that he killed someone that could’ve been saved.

“But all that doesn’t matter,” the creature on the throne continued. “You were the primary target anyway.”

Reid frowned. He was the primary target?

Those words raised a lot of questions—chief among them was how these creatures knew they were coming in the first place.

‘I guess the cult’s position in the military is a lot higher than I previously thought,’ he mused, his expression darkening.

“You know, father told us not to underestimate you,” it said again “and that’s exactly why we separated you all.”

It took a brief pause before continuing, “But looking at you now, unable to summon your Forged Beasts… you’re just like any other weak, pathetic human.”

Reid didn’t bother replying, he had to think of a way to beat these three as quickly as possible because he had seen how they evolved mid battle, and their evolution was never a good thing.

“But no matter how pathetic you may be,” the creature said, its tone laced with amusement, “Father still desires your body. After all, you possess one of the Codices.”

It then leaned forward slightly and completed “and it is our duty to fulfill our father’s wishes.”

The creature’s words just confirmed what Reid already knew, the cult had knowledge of the Codices and they knew he possessed one of them.

How? He had no idea. But if he had to guess, it was likely due to the fact that he had advanced from Iron Rank to Gold Rank in under two months.

He hadn’t exactly been subtle about his sudden power gain and it was now back to bite him in the ass.

Also, as far as he knew, the cult might have been watching him ever since his time at the scrapyard.

Speaking of the Scrapyards, Reid suddenly remembered something. ‘There’s a skill I only used once before… do you think it’ll work, Evo?’

[Considering that they’re off guard and not actively using their cores, there’s a high chance it might work as a surprise attack,] she replied. [But I advise you not to try it on the one on the throne—it won’t work against it.]

That was all he needed to know.

“…so let’s make this easier for you,” the creature on the throne continued talking “hand your body over willingly or we’ll make this as painful as—”

It was cutoff mid speech when one of the suddenly started melting, its form struggling to hold itself together.

“What’s this?” The creature on the throne asked as it curiously looking at its sibling melting into puddle.

It then turned to see Reid’s hand outstretched and in it, lay a black core which they immediately recognized.

Reid had used [Harvest], a skill he had only used once before, to extract the creature’s core.

This skill wasn’t ideal for use in the middle of a battle, as it only worked when the opponent wasn’t actively drawing energy from their core. But in situations like this, where they were off guard, it was perfect.

Without waiting for its leader’s commander, the other creature lunged forward, aiming to snatch the core from Reid before their sibling completely died, but Reid was prepared.

Quickly copying [Void] from Nyx, he disappeared from his previous position, causing the charging creature to crash into the cave’s wall.

Reid reappeared a bit farther from where he previously stood, ready for the leader to attack next but to his surprise,the leader remained seated on the throne, with no intention to start attacking…yet.

As if sensing his thoughts, the leader chuckled before speaking.

“That child has grown quite attached to the one whose core you just stole,” it said, amusement evident in its tone.

“So it’s only right that I let him defeat you and reclaim his beloved sister’s core himself.”

“Is that so?” Reid muttered.

The creature was underestimating him, and Reid wouldn’t have it any other way. After all, he wasn’t sure he could take on both of them at the same time.

He quickly teleported out of another attack’s path, this time, the creature missed him by only a few inches.

“Give that back” the creature demanded, pointing to the core in Reid’s hand.

Reid looked at the core and back at the creature before he tossed it over.

The creature rushed towards the core and outstretched its hand to catch it but Reid was faster.

Using [Void], he teleported to the creature and before the core could land in its hand, he sliced it cleanly off.

“Arghh!” The creature screamed in pain as black goo spurted out of its wrist. It clutched its arm, and quickly jumped back, avoiding another slash aimed for its neck.

Reid caught the core mid-air before sending it to his inventory which only worked to anger the creature more.

With an enraged screech, it launched itself towards Reid, it’s hand already reforming itself.

When it got close enough, the creature sent multiple tendrils at Reid, hoping to turn him into Swiss cheese but Reid reacted fast enough.

He teleported out of the path of the tendrils, reappearing to the side and slashing them off.

Without allowing it a chance to back off or even regenerate, Reid sent a diagonal slash at its torso and although the creature was able to dodge most of the attack, his blade still managed to leave a deep cut, spilling more of its black goo like blood.

“You b*stard!” It screeched again “I’m going to make you pay for this.”

Its body suddenly started twitching as the creature started ballooning up. Six new limbs ripped themselves out of its back, each with spikes on them.

All its air filled body suddenly changed to muscle and its size doubled.

The wound on both its torso and severed tendrils fixed themselves with the transformation.

Reid, not wanting the creature to completely adapt, teleported towards it and slashed down his sword, aiming for its neck.

The creature quickly reacted this time, using one of its limbs, it blocked the incoming attack. It then spun around with inhuman speed, one of its other limbs lashing out like a whip.

Reid barely had time to react. He twisted his body mid-air, managing to avoid a direct hit, but the tip of the appendage still grazed his side.

A searing pain shot through his side as a shallow cut appeared formed across his ribs which caused him to let out a hiss.

“Tch” Reid clicked his tongue and said I”it’s getting more annoying to deal with.”

The creature, despite its new size, launched itself forward at a speed which didn’t allow him to teleport away in time.

With no other option, Reid raised his sword and blocked the incoming attack. The force of the impact sent him flying backward, but he twisted his body mid-air and landed against one of the cave walls.

He then launched himself towards the creature and disappeared as soon as he was close enough, causing the creature’s limb to hit nothing but air.

He then reappeared behind it and delivered a strike at one of its extra limbs.The blade sliced cleanly through the creature’s newly grown limb, severing it in a spray of black goo.

The creature roared in pain, its other limbs started lashing out wildly in response. But Reid was already gone, teleporting a few steps back to avoid the frenzied attack.

‘It’s getting desperate,’ he noted. That was good. The more erratic its movements became, the easier it was to exploit.

Without hesitation, he dashed forward again, dodging its flailing limbs. He appeared at its side and his sword was already swinging for the final blow.

But the creature, despite its rage, moved at the last second, one of the spikes on its limbs shooting toward him.

Reid reacted instinctively, shifting his blade to parry the incoming spikes, but the force of the impact sent a jolt up his arm.

Gritting his teeth, he pushed forward, moving his body to evade another attack before driving his sword straight into the creature’s core.

The creature froze, its body spasming as cracks spread from the wound. A loud, pained screech left its mouth, but before it could do anything else, Reid twisted the blade and yanked it out, a shattered core following behind.

The creature let out one final shriek before its entire form also melted into a bubbling puddle.

Reid exhaled, taking a moment to steady his breathing. That was two down.

He turned his gaze toward the throne. The leader, who had been watching the entire fight with a bemused expression, now regarded him with mild curiosity.

“Well, well… perhaps Father wasn’t wrong to be cautious of you,” it mused. “Still, you’re far from being a real threat.”

The creature then proceeded to slowly standing up and walked towards him, “let’s hope you entertain me just as much.”