The Scrap Tamer

"I want you to simulate Malrath," Reid said with a determined look on his face.

Malrath was a wall he previously couldn't scale, a being who's power dwarfed him so much he couldn't breathe.

But now, Reid could feel it, he wouldn't be as useless as before.

"I know I can't defeat it yet," he admitted, "but I need to see how far I've come."

[Understood] Evo responded, her voice calm but laced with concern. [Simulating Malrath based on prior meeting and battle data. Warning: Full capabilities cannot be replicated due to the fact that it was only a single shard, and the information I have on it is incomplete.]

"That's fine. I just need enough to push myself. Just give me the version we fought that day..." He said.

[Initializing Simulation: Shard of Malrath.]

As soon as that screen popped up, the sky above them suddenly darkened. The previously shining sun had disappeared as if seeking refuge from whatever was coming.

The sky turned completely grey, losing all life. Even the wind stopped blowing. Before Malrath even appeared, Reid could feel the pressure descend on him.

But unlike before, the pressure was one he could handle, one that didn't force him to his knees, though it still felt like a mountain had just descended on his shoulders.

A rift tore open midair, and—as expected—Malrath stepped through with the same unsettling calm it had exuded the first time it was summoned.

Malrath's presence was suffocating, even in simulation. Its black dragon like armor remained the same and in its hand was the same massive sword.

It looked down on Reid and his forged beasts as if they were beings beneath it.

[Simulation Ready. Combat commencing in ten seconds.] A screen popped up again and a massive holographic countdown appeared mid air.

"Alright, let's see how far I've come" Reid said as he gripped the sword in his hand tighter and took a battle stance.

Rusty and the rest of Reid's forged beasts also got ready to attack as soon as the countdown started.

Malrath, on the other hand, couldn't be bothered with these pests since they didn't seem strong enough to require it to personally face them.

Summoning a throne of shadowed obsidian, Malrath seated itself with regal indifference. With a lazy gesture, several new rifts tore open in the sky.

From the rifts emerged Primal Beasts of varying ranks, each more grotesque and with presence more overwhelming than the last.

Malrath didn't even glance at them. It merely sat, as if Reid was nothing but entertainment.

But Reid didn't mind. He stood ready, calm and focused, his gaze fixed on Malrath as the final seconds ticked away.

He didn't even flinch at how massively outnumbered they were.

And then, the countdown hit zero.

As soon as it did, all the Primals surged forward, aiming to tear Reid and his Forged Beasts into nothing but scattered remnants of flesh.

That was a mistake because as soon as they got within range, they were caught in Nyx's trap.

Activating [Quantum Collapse], the fist wave of primals were immediately turned into small particles of light, as the space around them imploded, without even getting a chance to attack.

"Oh?" Malrath let out in surprise, "maybe you might be bigger than an ant after all."

But it still didn't move. An ant might be a bit bigger, but that's all it was. An ant.

Unlike most primals that would hesitate after noticing how quickly the first wave was killed, these ones continued rushing forward as if lacking the slightest bit of will.

Beel was having a field day with the primals, even though they were nothing but a simulation, it felt like it had stumbled upon an all you can eat buffet.

"This is amazing!" It let out in glee as it swallowed another primal before jumping to the next.

Rusty darted through the battlefield, unleashing [Absolute Pause], freezing the primals mid-motion as time halted around them, locking them in place.

With a swift swipe, Rusty shattered them into shards of glowing light, scattering them before they even had the chance to react.

Each forged beast was swiftly taking care for the seemingly unending wave of primals with so much ease that Reid didn't even have to lift his sword.

Since his partners wouldn't let him in on the fun, Reid turned to the biggest threat, Malrath.

Copying a skill each from his forged beasts, Reid stepped towards the amused Malrath, cutting down any primal that got in his way.

He kept walking until he stood directly in front of it, staring directly into its red vertical pupils.

Malrath tilted its head, as if curious of what this ant could do now that it was closer. It didn't stand, didn't raise its sword—just watched.

But even with its lack of movements, Reid could feel its power even clearer now that he was standing this close.

It was so vast, as if a black ocean trying to consume him.

"What's wrong ant?" Malrath's voice snapped him out of his thoughts, "aren't you going to attack?"

Its confidence in itself was clear in its words. To Malrath, Reid was just a bug that would be squashed by its simplest movements, so why not have a bit of fun with it.

Just like its real life counterpart, Malrath was about to learn why it should never underestimate a human, no matter how weak.

Reid smiled faintly, the kind of smile that didn't reach the eyes—a sharp contrast to the suffocating dread that Malrath's presence evoked.

Sitting right before him was the being that killed his mother, even if it was just a simulated version.

He had promised himself to make Malrath pay no matter what it took and this was a chance to vent some of that anger.

"Who said I wasn't attacking?" he replied.

And in the next instant, he vanished.

Malrath suddenly raised its sword, blocking Reid's approaching attack with relative ease or so it thought.

The sword seemed to have passed right through its own and smashed straight into Malrath's head.

Although the attack didn't do much damage, it flung Malrath from its throne.

Twisting mid-air, Malrath landed with a thunderous crash, shattering the ground beneath it and sending shockwaves rippling through the battlefield.

But before it could get the chance to stand back up, Reid was already upon it, launching another attack.

He swung again, this time activating [Gravity Inversion]—Atlas's power, on his sword. As Malrath blocked, its massive blade trembled slightly under the sudden reversal of its own weight, the force working against it rather than through it.

"Interesting," Malrath muttered, sliding back as a thin line split across its armored cheek.

Reid wasn't interested in hearing its praise or whatever, he wanted to see how far he could push this Malrath without his forged beasts.

And although his attacks were landing right now, he knew Malrath was far from taking this battle seriously.

With a frown, he activated [Chrono-Echo] and three more Reid's appeared beside him.

Without a word, the quartet rushed towards Malrath who was looked intrigued from Reid's use of such skill.

"You think an illusion would be enough to fool me?" It said as its eyes started glowing.

"Huh?" It scanned for the real Reid but was soon baffled by what it saw, "they're all...real?"

All four Reids charged in, no hesitation.

Malrath raised its sword to block an incoming attack from one of the Reids but he immediately disappeared, replaced by one of the Reids using [Gravity Inversion].

Their swords clashed sending shockwaves across the field, with the ground fracturing beneath their feet from the sheer force of the clash.

But even as one Reid clashed blades with Malrath, the second Reid activated [Void Step]—vanishing into thin air and reappearing behind Malrath mid-swing.

The third Reid unleashed [Hydro Construct], forming twin aquatic blades that slashed diagonally across Malrath's back just as the fourth Reid activated [Overclock Enhance], his speed and strength spiking beyond natural limits.

In the blink of an eye, all four Reids attacked in perfect sync—each strike targeting a different weak point, creating an overwhelming storm of pressure on Malrath.

Even the Shard of Malrath, with all its pride and power, was forced to move.

For the first time, it took a defensive step backwards.

Its wings burst from its back and with a beat, it repelled all four Reids in an explosion of force.

Three of the chrono-echoes were knocked away, flickering a bit before stabilizing again. The real Reid dug his heels into the ground, skidding backward but staying upright, sword still in hand.

"You're not the same insect from before," Malrath said, its voice no longer playful. "You've begun to crawl."

Reid said nothing. His silence was louder than words.

[Malrath's combat patterns have shifted and his estimated threat level has increased beyond its previous level.] Evo's worried voice rang in his ear. [Do you wish to disengage simulation?]

"No," Reid muttered. "Keep it going. I haven't even started yet."

Malrath floated upwards, looking down on the four Reid's before saying, "I guess its time I stopped playing."