The Scrap Tamer - Chapter 93

Chapter 93: The Challenge
Some might wonder why Reid wanted access to Garrick’s forge when he already had Evo’s forge lab at his disposal.

But for him, there were plenty of reasons.

First, he needed a cover. If he suddenly started producing high-level forged beast without anyone witnessing him creating them, questions would arise.

People would wonder how he got access to rare materials, and why no one had ever seen him practice. Working under Garrick would provide a believable explanation.

Second, there was value in learning from a master forgemaster—especially one with military connections.

Evo’s forge lab might have advanced technology, but Garrick had experience and a deep understanding of forging techniques. If he wanted to refine his craft beyond just what he learned from the professors in his family, this was the best way to do it.

And lastly, having unrestricted access to a public forge meant freedom. He couldn’t always rely on Evo’s lab, not when he had to work under watchful eyes.

Sometimes, the best way to hide something was in plain sight.

But the main reason was because of what the nightmare Reid said. It was right, everything he had achieved so far was from Evo and not earned.

If somehow Evo was taken from him, even though she assured that wasn’t going to happen after they had bonded, he’d just become nothing but a Scrapyard rat again.

He needed to increase his forging knowledge so he’ll at least have one thing he feels like he earned.

He was determined to convince Garrick no matter what it took.

Seeing that Reid didn’t say anything else after he denied his request, Garrick turned to the four making their choice.

“Hurry up will ya, I have something to work on” His grumpy voice had returned.

“How about you test me” Reid spoke up, gaining Garrick’s attention again.

“Give me a test of your choosing” he repeated “and if I pass, you’ll allow me access to your Forge and also take me in as an apprentice”.

“Very funny kid” Garrick said with a chuckle “firstly, I don’t take in apprentices, Ember is all the assistant I need and secondly, why would I do something that’s just a waste of my time.”

By now, Lisa, Clara, Marcus and Ethan were done choosing their forged beasts, so they focused on the exchange going on between Garrick and Reid.

“What if I make it worth your time?” Reid said, “If I don’t pass your tests, I’ll offer you something instead”.

“I don’t mean to brag, kid” Garrick started “but with the amount of credits I make from the military, there’s barely anything in this world that I can’t afford.”

“Even if it’s a solution to the century long forging problem?” Reid mysteriously stated but Garrick, a an experienced forgemaster knew exactly what he was talking about since there was only one forging problem that had lasted over a century.

Garrick’s demeanor completely changed as a frown marred his face “listen kid, if there’s one thing I hate in this world, then it’s liars.”

“I’m giving you one last chance” he took a pause as he calmed himself down “take your words back now or prepare to make an enemy out of me.”

Although Garrick’s tone seemed calmer, the temperature in the room had dropped and by the aura he emitted, they knew he was still angry.

In response to Garrick’s word, Reid summoned Rusty and Nyx from his inventory in their mini forms.

Rusty regarded the old man with a squeak and Nyx simply flapped his wings in greeting. Garrick seemed confused as to why Reid summoned his forged beasts.

“These two are Rusty and Nyx, my first forged beasts” Reid introduced.

“How do they relate to the solution you claim to have?” Garrick asked.

“When I first found them, they were at iron-tier, just like I was” Reid explained, causing everyone’s eyes to widen.

The century old forging problem was that forgemasters had no way of evolving their forged beasts to the next rank, that’s why some forgemasters scrap their forged beasts if it does not meet the required tier.

For centuries, forgemasters had searched for solutions to this problem but nothing worked. Replacing the cores with higher tiered ones would always cause the vessel/ forged beasts to breakdown. Everthing they did led to failures,

yet, here Reid was claiming to possess a solution to a problem that even highly ranked forgemasters couldn’t solve.

“I need proof kid” Garrick stated “you can’t just state the impossible and expect me to believe you”.

Reid was glad that the old man was even willing to listen to him. Other forgemasters would have either immediately dismissed his words or take it as a sign of mockery.

‘Evo’ Reid called out in his mind.

[On it] she answered.

A second later, a small stack of papers appeared in Reid’s hands which he handed to the skeptical Garrick who took the papers from him.

He started reading with a bored expression at first but the more he read, the wider his eyes became.

“That’s an incomplete solution to the problem” Reid stated but the old man suddenly dropped them to the counter and gripped his hands.

“You, where did you get these?” Garrick demanded in his gruff tone.

Reid’s calm gaze met Garrick’s intense ones as he simply answered, “I figured it out myself using the already available research on it.”

“That’s bullshit,” Garrick growled as he tightened his grip on Reid’s wrists “this level of research isn’t something you just ‘figure out'”.

Curious, Ethan took the papers on the counter and his eyes also immediately went wide.

Although Reid’s request was to simplify rank increase in forged beasts, the research was still advanced enough for Garrick to know that Reid was lying. If not, why would someone with this much knowledge want to become an ordinary apprentice?

Reid, on the other hand, kept his calm “believe what you want, but the evidence is right in front of you and I’m willing to hand it to you if you grant my requests”.

Garrick let go of his wrist and rubbed his bald head as he sighed. He turned to the notes that had been placed back on the counter by a shocked Ethan. His mind already processing how to apply the information on it.

“Why would you just offer something like this out?” Garrick asked in a tired tone. He could swear that this short exchange with the kid had made him age at least a century.

Reid rubbed his wrists as he answered, “Because you’re a military forgemaster, which means you have the resources and experience I didn’t when i figured all this out.”

“Also, with what I’ve observed, you seem to have too much pride to backstab me” Reid completed.

Garrick grumbled under his breath, he then stared at Reid for a long while before saying “Alright kid, you want a test? I’ll give you one.”

“What’s the challenge?” Reid asked.

“It’s simple, you just have to create a forged beast” Garrick said, but the wicked grin on his face suggested that this test was going to be anything but simple “should be easy for someone who could figure out a solution to a century old problem right?”

“And the catch?” Reid asked with a raised eyebrow.

“The catch is,” The sh- Garrick took a dramatic pause “I’ll also be forging one at the same rank and if yours lasts five minutes against mine, then you win.”

The room went silent. One had to remember that Garrick was a frogemaster capable of creating platinum-tier forged beasts and been forging for a longer amount of time.

So even if it seemed fair for them to create beasts of the same rank, everyone was sure that the old man’s forged beast will still be stronger.

“So,” Garrick spoke up again “do you accept?”

“Yes” Reid answered. He knew he was at a disadvantage since he wouldn’t be using the forge lab or Evo’s help, but he knew he had to do this, to prove to himself that he had one thing he earned.

“Great then,” Garrick then started walking to the door he came from earlier “Let’s go to the forge.”

___________________

While Reid was busy going through a challenge, a certain group was running experiments with their newly acquired codex.

Strapped to some cables was a black metal box with red lines running through it in a specific pattern. If Reid was here, he would have recognized the similarities this cube had with the evolution codex he found in the scrapyards.

Around the cube was a group of people in white lab coats which matched the lab like setting they were currently in. They were rapidly typing on the computers in front of them as a line of text constantly showed up on their monitors.

On one of the monitors, a bold text was displayed.

The Hybrid Codex.

Yes, the cube that was strapped to cables was the hybrid codex but unlike what Reid and Evo suspected, the cube refused to form a bond do the cult was manually extracting information from it.

“Sir” one of the people in lab coats called out “You might want to take a look at this.”

A man with round glasses, dressed in the same white lab coat approached the man who spoke.

He looked at the line of text on the screen the other man was pointing to.

“Catherine” The man who wore the glasses called out “contact the master immediately, we’ve discovered something else about this box.”