The Scrap Tamer - Chapter 95

Chapter 95: Titan Bear Vs Gravity Tiger final: Test Completed
The clash between the two forged beasts continued as the gravity tiger attacked from a distance and the Titan Bear tried getting in close.

The fight seemed drawn out and Reid was only two minutes away from completing Garrick’s test. He just had to hold on as the time slowly trickled by.

But the bear wasn’t about to let that two minutes pass easily. It was already annoyed at the hard to catch tiger, which sent attacks from a distance and only closed in to deliver bites and scratches.

With a loud roar, the size of the bear doubled as it activated its domain. A dreadful aura washed over the tiger as the bear locked eyes with it.

Its previous massive frame was already intimidating enough but growing in size placed it on a whole other level.

Reid could feel the tiger’s fear through their connection but it was determined to hold on, even when faced the the bear’s collosal size.

The bear then lunged forward, leaving a huge crater where it previously stood. Its claws cut the air as it approached the tiger that didn’t get enough time to react.

Left with no choice, the tiger used [Gravitational Burst], not to repel the bear back since the tiger instinctively knew the attack wouldn’t affect it, but to send itself back just in time to narrowly avoid the bear’s claw.

Before the bear could go in for another attack, the tiger used [Gravity well] on it.

The sudden force that started pulling it back messed up the bear’s balance for a short while, the floor beneath it cratered as it struggled to resist,

but seeing that the well was still pulling it in, the bear quickly slammed its paws into the floor, causing the effect of the tiger’s skill to fizzle out as [Seismic Slam] passed through the area of effect.

The tiger didn’t get enough time to use another skill or move out of the way as the bear was suddenly upon it.

The bear’s front paw slammed into the tiger, sending it flying towards the barrier that surrounded the arena.

Before it could recover from the attack, the bear’s paw slammed into it again, sending it to the opposite end of the arena.

The attacks continued like this for a couple of seconds as the bear tossed the tiger around the arena as if it was an oversized tennis ball.

Most of the skin on the tiger’s body was riddled with claw marks from the bear’s attacks. The bear was upon it again to deliver another attack when a blast of energy that originated from the tiger slammed into the it.

Using whatever energy it had left, the tiger activated one last desperate [Gravitational burst] not knowing if it would work or not.

Luckily, the bear bad let its guard down seeing that it now has the advantage, which was a grave mistake.

The force sent it flying into the barrier which absorbed the force and completely nullified it, prevent it from breaking.

Since this was a simple test, Garrick hadn’t bothered to use advanced barriers that would almost endlessly stretch the space within them, he instead used ones that completely absorbed force if the fight ever reached them.

The bear stood back up. It didn’t seem hurt, only disoriented. The tiger, on the other hand, looked like it could barely stand, its glow had visibly dimmed.

The Titan Bear shook off the disorientation, its eyes narrowing at the battered Gravity Tiger as it let out a threatening growl.

It planned on ending this fight now, the tiger had gotten it annoyed enough. The bear stomped the ground, cracks webbing out from the impact as the earth beneath the Tiger rumbled.

It had used [Seismic slam] once again but this time, the effect was more pronounced since it felt like the bear was controlling the earth itself.

The once-solid arena floor became unstable, the ground shifting in unpredictable patterns, making it nearly impossible for the Gravity Tiger to regain proper footing. Each step it took sent tremors through its weak legs, and before it could stabilize—

BOOM!

A massive boulder erupted from beneath it, slamming into the Tiger’s underside and sending it airborne once more.

The bear was already moving, its massive form casting a shadow over the Tiger’s airborne body. Its paw swung down, a final strike that was sure to end this battle.

“Damn it” Reid cursed.

Even he knew that it was impossible for the tiger to escape the attack. Especially since it barely had any energy left.

But he was surprised when he felt its plan to escape the attack.

Using up all its remaining core energy, the tiger activated [Gravity well].

A point of immense gravitational force formed right between the Tiger and the Titan Bear’s descending paw. The very air warped, pulling everything toward its center.

The Titan Bear’s attack slowed. Its entire weight, its massive form—everything—was dragged toward the [Gravity well].

For a moment, silence.

Then—

BOOM!

The energy imploded, sending a shockwave across the arena. The Titan Bear, unable to fully resist, was pulled off balance and slammed into the ground, skidding back with a deep growl.

The effect of the ability faded.

And the Gravity Tiger, barely standing, held its ground.

{Time’s up} Ember suddenly announced and everyone watching turned to the holographic timer.

The timer had hit zero.

Silence.

Then, a slow chuckle from Garrick. “Not bad, kid.” He uncrossed his arms, a smirk playing on his lips. “Not bad at all.”

“Pay up” Clara moved her watch towards the sleepy Owen.

They had made a bet on wether or not Reid’s forged beast would last the full five minutes and of course, Clara went all in on their leader.

She almost lost hope when the bear activated its domain but the tiger’s last attack came as a surprise.

With a tired sigh, Owen tapped his watch on hers. It let out a beep as Clara received a 100 credits from their newly appointed senior officer.

Clara grinned victoriously at her watch. “Easy money,” she said, stretching her arms above her head.

“Are you sure it’s okay to make a bet with our senior officer” Lisa whispered to her.

“It’s fine” Clara waved her hand, the victorious grin still on her face “besides, he didn’t seem to mind”.

She was right, most other seniors would take a bet suggestion as a sign of disrespect but Owen didn’t care.

“You really brought me an interesting kid, Owen ” Garrick said as he and Reid approached the team.

The arena had disappeared into the floors of the lab and both forged beasts had shrunk down to smaller sizes.

The once intimidating now looked nothing like it previously did. It’s form was now similar to a cute little red panda, with its color being the only difference.

The tiger on the other hand, was peacefully sleeping in Reid’s hands in the form of a house cat. It’s wounds were no more, thanks to Axie Reid had summoned just after the fight.

Since the wounds were shallow, Axie was able to heal them relatively fast.

Reid could’ve just chosen Rusty since it could even reverse the tiger’s energy loss but he didn’t want Axie to feel left out, since it was technically a child right now.

The tiger was asleep because it was low on energy but it was mostly fine.

Seeing how cute the forged beasts were, Clara immediately got the urge to hug and cuddle them but restrained herself since Reid might just deny her request like before.

“I thought he was just a talented fighter” Owen answered “but turns out he’s a forgemaster too”.

“Why don’t you drop taming and become a full-time forgemaster” Garrick turned to Reid “You’ll earn a lot more than the scraps the military pays its tamers”.

Reid thought about the question and glanced down at the now peaceful Gravity Tiger in his arms, its chest rising and falling in a slow, steady rhythm.He absentmindedly ran a hand along its fur. The fur felt just like the real one even though it was technically 3d printed.

“I don’t know,” Reid finally said, his tone thoughtful. “Forging is definitely something I enjoy, but taming—” he looked up, meeting Garrick’s gaze, “—that’s something else entirely. The battles I get to fight alongside my forged beasts brings me the same satisfaction.”

“I understand kid” Garrick said but didn’t seem to be disappointed with his choice.

He turned back to the other members of team 7 and said “come back for your forged-beasts tomorrow”.

“And you,” he addressed Reid, “will visit the shop every two days. The only exception is if you’re on an assignment that I’ve been informed about.”

“Yes sir” Reid answered, relieved.

Garrick gave a satisfied nod before turning on his heel. “Good. Now get out of here before I decide to make you all clean up the lab.”

Owen chuckled, as they walked out of the lab and shop. “He likes you guys.”

“It didn’t seem like that” Marcus stated.

“Him letting you guys walk out of the shop on your own proves it” Owen said again.

Clara, on the other hand, had her attention elsewhere. She slowly approached Reid and called out “Reid?”.

“Yeah?” He answered as he turned to her.

“Can I ….” She mumbled the last part so Reid couldn’t hear what she said so he asked.

“What?”

“Can I pet your new forged-beast?” She asked again, this time a bit louder with her arms outstretched.

She closed her eyes waiting for his rejection to her request but was surprised when something soft and fluffy was placed on it.

“Here you go” Reid said.

Clara’s eyes snapped opened as she looked at the sleeping tiger in her hand. Her expression quickly changed to one of glee as she brought it closer and started petting it.

“Can I also—” she started but was cut off by Reid with a sharp “no”.

She pouted a bit before saying “worth a shot”.