The Bloodforged Kin

Chapter 246 - 240: Mason’s Test of Strength

"Where are we going?" Mason was irritated, a sure sign to General Tom that he was worried.

"It's not much further. There's an old warehouse that some of the troops have managed to trap a gorilla creature."

"Gorilla? Here? There's no gorillas in Milwaukee!" Mason didn't know if that was true, but he was pretty sure.

Tom shrugged. "The System has been giving all sorts of weird creatures, especially now that we're supposed to be looking for items. I think we're going to see a lot of odd things. The analysts say that we're supposed to be watching for item drops. I have orders for them to kill anything they can, but to trap unique or larger creatures so we can study them before killing them. We have a lot of resources, so I think we can come out ahead of everyone else when it comes to building these unique items."

Mason wasn't listening, his eyes scanning ahead as they walked. He hated walking - he would have taken his bike if he could, but General Tom had insisted that they bring others with them. Mason glanced back at the men following them. There were only five - some big muscley guy and some weirdos that could do some sort of magic shit. The general wanted to make sure they were ready for any eventuality, since they didn't know what they'd be facing. They'd Identified it, of course, but these things could surprise you.

He was startled out of his review when General Tom spoke up.

"We're here, sir."

One of the men held a door open for the approaching group. Mason looked the building over - it was just like every other industrial warehouse or manufacturing plant in Milwaukee, all brick and metal and ugly. Mason loved them. They just felt so real to him, not like all those pussified condos that were popping up everywhere, filled with men who stuffed them full of plants and rugs and shit. He stepped through the door, letting his eyes adjust to the dim environment.

The space was cavernous and tall, with bare metal rafters and unfinished walls. Orange and green shelving had been pushed into piles against the walls to clear space in the middle. Mason's eyes went wide when he saw it - 12 feet of muscle and silver fur. Its eyes shone with a dangerous hunger and it bared long, yellow canines as it watched the group approach. It was covered by a bubble of opaque light that shimmered as dust motes settled on it.

Tom approached a man that was sitting on a folding metal chair. The man stood up quickly, snapping a salute.

"How have the defenses held?"

"Good, sir. It beat on them for a while, but it doesn't seem to have any magical attacks, so it didn't do anything. I was able to keep it contained."

"Good," Tom nodded. "Did you learn anything new?"

The man eyed the gorilla askance. "Not really, but it creeps me out. It beat on the barrier for a while, then tried smashing through the floor. I guess it realized that my bubble extends underground, too, so it stopped. It's not just some dumb brute. I don't like how it watched me, sir."

Tom nodded. This creature was smart - not to be underestimated. He would have to handle this carefully. The plan was for Mason to test his strength. Tom had convinced him not to try it on his men - at best he would defeat the men, which could easily lead to any of them dying. Tom didn't want to lose valuable troops that way. At worst, one of them would manage to win against Mason, which would be certain death. The System had granted him the perfect out when it started the next phase of the Cryptid Challenge, though, and Tom had jumped on it. He had personally inspected many of the creatures that were caught, looking for one that was a good matchup for Mason. It couldn't be something magical - Mason didn't have any defenses against that. It had to be strong enough to push the man to grow, but not so strong as to beat him. Unfortunately most of the beasts they'd encountered so far had been unique one-offs or in small groups, so they didn't have the luxury of testing them to get a full read on their skills.

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Tom hoped that this one wouldn't have any surprises up its sleeve. He had told his men to fight it for as long as they could, and to try and get it to use as many skills or powers as it had. This one had put up a good fight and had managed to kill half a dozen of his men before they'd finally snapped a barrier around it. It hadn't used anything other than brute strength and an almost supernatural amount of rage, which made it just right for Mason.

"Attention!" Tom snapped and everyone in the room except Mason clicked their heels together, arms rigid at their sides. "One more time, here is the mission: Mason is going to fight and kill this thing. None of you are to step in unless I say so. You are here as support, nothing more. Do not act unless given the order. Understood?"

"Understood!" The responses rang out in unison. Tom nodded in approval and motioned them back against the wall. He approached Mason.

"Are you ready, sir?"

"This fucker is huge," Mason said. His eyes were deadlocked on the ape's, who was returning it with equal intensity. They watched as it climbed slowly to its feet and stretched its arms wide, never taking its eyes off of Mason.

"Size isn't everything sir."

"It is in my world."

"You got this sir. The men are standing by in case you need it."

Mason glanced over Tom's head at the men standing against the wall. His reply was a hushed whisper. "Do you think I'll need them?"

Tom knew better than to speak the truth. "No, sir. They are only here as a contingency."

"If you say so," he said. He rolled his shoulders and clenched and unclenched his fists. "Okay then, guess we gotta get this shit show on the road. Do it."

Tom nodded and did a smooth about-face. He walked back to join his men, signaling for the Barrier Defense Expert to join him. Once they were against the wall the Barrier Defense Expert snapped his fingers twice. The shield around the gorilla disappeared on the first snap, reappearing over the group on the second.

"All right you big, ugly bastard - let's see what you got!"

The gorilla roared and beat its chest. Mason charged.

They met in the middle, Mason's double-punch slamming into the massive palms of the creature. The air around them exploded and dust blew away from them from the impact. Tom actually heard the building shudder from the aftershock. They were locked in place, Mason's fists held tightly in the gorilla's grip. The gorilla bent down slowly, lowering its head to stare Mason in the eye. It huffed out a low laugh that blew Mason's hair back.

If it was trying to intimidate Mason it didn't know who it was facing. Mason leaned forward, tilting his head up to look the thing in the eyes.

"Fuck you."

Mason ripped his fist from the hand that held it and punched out, catching the gorilla on the side of the head in a wide haymaker that was too fast to dodge. The gorilla was sent sliding across the smooth floor to slam into the shelving on the back wall. Mason grinned when he heard the men cheering behind him. He pumped a fist in the air and looked back at them.

"You want to see a show erk-!" His cheer was cut short when a hairy fist caught him in the back, launching him through the air to slam into the barrier. The men flinched backwards as he bounced off of it. He climbed to his feet and shook his head, clearing the buzzing sound away. Back in the center of the room the gorilla huffed another laugh.

"Shut the fuck up! Wipe that look off your face."

He turned to look at the men behind the barrier. "You didn't see nothing, got it?" They nodded frantically. Mason turned to face the beast.