The Scrap Tamer - Chapter 90

Chapter 90: The Codices
Reid lay on his bed, arms crossed behind his head. The adrenaline from earlier had worn off, leaving an odd mix of exhaustion and excitement.

They had survived against a platinum tier primal. Although they hadn’t won, they had held out long enough for help to arrive.

But the question still remained, how did the AI suddenly generate a primal way above anything the cadets were ready to face.

Even the gold tier ones generated were very few since there were barely fifty gold rank tamers among the cadets.

For some reason, the first suspects that popped up in Reid’s mind was the cult. He dismissed the thought at first, since this was the military and the chance of the cult infiltrating it were low.

But the more he thought about it, the more plausible it sounded. The beast siege at the Scrapyard, Malrath’s summoning in the city, all those had the cult’s involvement so he wouldn’t be surprised if they were also involved in this.

But how?

Both the simulation that involved the Hydra and the abomination was controlled by trusted military technicians, so either one of them was a mole for the cult or the cult member had somehow hacked into the systems.

If it was the latter it means they were dealing with someone who can slip past military-grade security without being noticed.

And if it’s the former, it meant that they were dealing with an equally dangerous insider.

Reid suddenly sat up, massaging his temple “Well, no point in overthinking it now. I’m sure commander Ajax will figure it out one way or the other.”

[I don’t think it’ll be that easy] Evo suddenly spoke up [if the person can infiltrate the military without being caught, it means they’ll be smart enough to cover their tracks and ensure that they don’t get caught].

Reid sighed, rubbing his face. “You’re not wrong.”

If the cult had someone capable of bypassing the military’s security, they wouldn’t just leave an obvious trail behind.

Even if Ajax and the other commanders launched a full-scale investigation, the chances of finding concrete evidence were slim.

[You should assume this won’t be the last time,] Evo continued [especially now that they have him by their side].

Reid picked up on her tone, and the mention of a certain him made him ask, “Who are you talking about?”

Evo hesitated.

[One of my siblings] she hesitantly said but this just gave Reid more questions than answers.

“You have siblings?” Reid asked, per all the information in his about Evo, none stated anything about Evo having siblings.

She took a while but eventually replied [Yes, but I don’t remember much about them.]

Reid narrowed his eyes. “How do you forget something that important?”

[It’s not forgetting in the way you think,] Evo said, her voice carrying an unusual strain. [It’s… like missing data. I know I wasn’t the only one created, but some details are gone.]

“So how did you know one of your siblings was involved” Reid asked.

[Let’s start from the beginning] she said [well, the beginning I can still remember since I have a lot of missing data]

[We, the codices, were created for a reason unknown to even us, just like our creator] she took a small pause before continuing [but one thing was for certain, we were meant to grant unimaginable power to whoever weilder us.]

[Our creator created three of us, me( the Evolution Codex), the Hybrid Codex and the Genesis Codex] Evo explained.

[A large part of my data is missing so I don’t know how I ended up in the Scrapyard or where my other siblings are]

[That is, until you faced that abomination today] she continued [the reason why that primal was not in the beast memoir is because it was not supposed to exist]

She took another long pause.

[Except, if one of my siblings made it exist] she said [and from the scan I did, I’m sure the beast was created by the Hybrid Codex].

[And if your suspicion that the cult was involved is proven true, then that means they have a tool capable of making the cult powerful enough to become a world ending threat] she completed.

Reid slowly exhaled as he processed what Evo just said “let me get this straight, so you’re telling me that I’m up against a cult that’s not only capable of summoning primals but they also possibly have a wielder of one of your siblings?”

[Pretty much] Evo confirmed.

“F*ck” he cursed.

[But don’t worry though, you also have me] she assured [besides, just like you, I believe that the wielder hadn’t figured out the true capability of the Codex yet, else there’ll be a lot more hybrid primals running around].

“You’re right” Reid sighed out “so this just means I’ll have to get stronger fast enough to stop whatever the wielder of the hybrid Codex plans, no pressure”.

[I’ll be here to help] Evo said.

Reid ran a hand through his hair, exhaling slowly. “This just keeps getting better and better.”

Evo said with seriousness behind tone. [But in all honesty, we need to be cautious. If the cult already has the Hybrid Codex, there’s no telling how much time we have before they start making their move.]

Reid frowned. “What exactly can the Hybrid Codex do?”

[As the name implies, it merges things that shouldn’t naturally be combined. Forged-beasts, primals e.t.c. It forces evolution in an unnatural way—combining traits, mutating abilities, and sometimes creating entirely new life forms.]

Reid’s mind flashed back to the abomination they had fought. It made sense now. That thing looked nothing like a normal primal, but more like an abomination that shouldn’t exist.

“So if someone were to fully understand how to use it…”

[They could create an army of hybrid monsters. Beasts with no natural weaknesses, no set patterns, and worst of all, no limits.]

“Yeah, that’s not terrifying at all,” Reid muttered.

[There’s also another possibility,] Evo added, her voice lower. [If the Hybrid Codex is here… then that means the Genesis Codex might be as well.]

Reid sat up straighter. “And what does that one do?”

[Creation.]

Reid blinked. “I thought that’s what the Hybrid one did?”

[No,] Evo corrected. [Hybrid forces things together. Genesis doesn’t combine—it creates something entirely new from nothing. Theoretically, if the cult were to obtain the Genesis Codex, they wouldn’t just be modifying existing beasts. They’d be creating their own from scratch.]

Reid let out a dry chuckle. “Great. Just fantastic. As if this cult wasn’t already enough of a headache.”

[The good news is that, like I said, there’s no sign that they have the Genesis Codex yet. Otherwise, we’d be dealing with an entirely different kind of nightmare.]

“Right, so that just leaves one question,” Reid said, cracking his knuckles. “How do I stop the bastard who’s using the Hybrid Codex?”

Evo was silent for a moment before replying. [Right now? You don’t.]

Reid frowned. “What do you mean?”

[You’re not ready,] she said bluntly. [The Hybrid Codex’s wielder likely hasn’t figured out its full potential yet, but neither have you with me. If we go in unprepared, we’ll lose. And we can’t afford that.]

Reid hated to admit it, but she was right. He had gotten stronger, but against something like the abomination, he barely stood a chance .

[The first step is finding the Genesis Codex,] Evo continued. [If we can get it by our side, then we’ll have the advantage, since he’s extremely powerful, possibly the strongest of us three]

“And how do we do that?” Reid asked only to be met with awkward silence “Evo?”

[I…I have no idea] she said, her tone suggested that she was embarrassed.

If she had a real body, Reid would’ve seen the blush spread through her entire face.

Reid sighed, rubbing his temples. “So, to sum it up, we have a cult with the power to create nightmare hybrids, a missing Codex that could be the key to stopping them, and no clue where to even start looking for it.”

[Pretty much,] Evo admitted sheepishly.

“Perfect. Just what I needed.” Reid let out a humorless chuckle. “At least tell me this—would the Genesis Codex recognize you? Like, if we got close to it, would you be able to tell?”

[Yes,] Evo confirmed. [If we get near enough, I should be able to detect its energy signature. But unlike me, I’m sure it’s not just going to be lying around waiting to be picked up.]

Reid laid back down, staring at the ceiling. “Right. Because nothing in my life is ever easy.”

[If it helps,] Evo said, [you’re not in this alone. Your team, your beasts, and—well, me. We’ll figure this out.]

[At least the cult part anyway]

They couldn’t afford to reveal Evo to the world yet and if the cult already had a mole in the military, revealing Evo would just notify them of Reid’s advantage.

Reid let out a slow breath. “Yeah, you’re right”