The Beyond-Grade Colossal Behemoth, Ouroboros.
The moment I showed her the scale of this stage boss-class creature, Maybelle Pilgrim's eyes filled with shock.
"This should be enough, right?"
"…First, I'll have to take a closer look."
Maybelle Pilgrim took the scale from me and disappeared into the back of the lab.
Not intending to interrupt her, I quietly sat in a chair near the lab's entrance and gazed through the glass window.
'Hmm…'
Like most body parts from regional lord-class monsters, Ouroboros's scales were incredibly useful. Besides feeding them to Janus or Horus, they had tremendous value for upgrading or crafting equipment.
'Especially Ouroboros's scales should drastically improve the stability of the Zeus-444 Railgun, which has known durability and maintenance flaws.'
I don't know how long I waited.
Eventually, Maybelle Pilgrim came out holding the scale, her hand trembling as she looked at me.
"…I've confirmed it."
"How is it? Think you can manage?"
Maybelle gave a slight nod.
"It's not just manageable. Where did you get this? Its tensile strength and hardness… they're unbelievable. I didn't think such material existed…"
"I killed a monster."
"You… killed a monster wearing this? Yourself?"
"Yeah."
Maybelle stared at me in disbelief.
That was natural. Ouroboros's scales boasted such unnatural strength that even imagining slaying a creature clad in them stretched common sense.
"Every being has a weak point."
"…I suppose."
Maybelle probably couldn't fully grasp how someone could take down a monster like that, but regardless of how strong the armor, life is still life.
No matter how tough the scales were, weapons like plasma swords could wear them down with sustained assault.
"Think you can use it?"
"…I'll try."
"No pressure."
"A-Ah! I'll give it my all."
Uncharacteristically unconfident for Maybelle Pilgrim—but considering the material, it was understandable.
Its incredible hardness and resilience meant it would be all the more difficult to process.
'Not that I'm worried.'
This was the Special Purpose Weapon Lab. More than that, this was her personal lab, the place where Ark's best equipment came to life.
Even a material as stubborn as Ouroboros's scale wasn't a challenge for Maybelle Pilgrim.
"Please wait just a moment."
"Take your time."
As she reached for the Zeus-444 Railgun, she suddenly looked up at me.
"…Could you lift it?"
"Ah. Right."
I hadn't considered it. The Zeus-444 Railgun was massive—far beyond what a normal soldier could carry. Naturally, Maybelle couldn't handle it alone.
I carried the railgun into the lab.
"Right here is fine."
"Got it."
The stand in her lab was sturdy and spacious—more than enough to hold the behemoth weapon.
"Anything else you need?"
"This will do."
"I see."
I nodded and walked back to the chair near the lab entrance.
From there, I watched through the glass as Maybelle busily got to work.
Ziiiing…
THUNK! BOOM!
The lab echoed with noise.
'…It'll succeed, right?'
No matter how much I tried to stay calm, I couldn't.
Until now, thanks to Maybelle's skill—or maybe just dumb luck—every upgrade had succeeded.
But there was no guarantee it would be the same this time.
CLANG—
CLANG!
Steel rang under hammer blows.
Again and again.
Then—
CRRRACK—!
A sound I desperately didn't want to hear echoed from beyond the workbench.
"…Ah!"
A cry, faint yet unmistakably strained.
I rose involuntarily.
"…."
Beyond the glass, I saw Maybelle standing frozen, at a loss.
She trudged toward me from the workbench, and as I looked at her expression, I could no longer deny what had happened.
"I…"
A face I'd never seen on her before—guilt and deep regret twisted her features.
"…It failed, didn't it."
"I'm truly sorry. I don't know what to say."
Failure.
The word hit with a deep resonance.
Even though I'd prepared for the possibility, hearing it from Maybelle herself knocked the strength from my legs.
The Zeus-444 Railgun.
How many contribution points had I hoarded to acquire that weapon?
["…Master? "]
"..."
I knew.
I knew all the previous successes had been near-miraculous.
But did it have to fail now?
"…."
Time felt like it stopped.
Not just a feeling—my brain was likely going into overdrive.
Emotions churned.
Despair. Regret. Fury…
Yet I shook my head.
What's done is done. Wallowing won't change anything.
'Still… not even one clean use…'
Despite acquiring one of the most prized weapons in The Defense, I hadn't even had the chance to properly use it once.
That made it all the more bitter.
'…No helping it, I guess.'
No matter how skilled Maybelle was, perfection was impossible.
I'll think of this as getting my future failure out of the way.
"Truly… I'm sorry. That precious material you brought…"
"…It's fine."
I forced the words out, though of course it wasn't.
Zeus-444 Railgun.
That name would haunt me for days.
"…It's still on the workbench. You can take it."
Maybelle bowed her head.
But something about her words struck me as odd.
"…Hm?"
I headed to the workbench, unease stirring.
Then I saw it—
The Zeus-444 Railgun sat there, perfectly intact.
"…This is…"
I checked thoroughly, but it was unharmed.
"…I'm sorry. I wasted such valuable material…"
Maybelle had followed behind me, her head low.
Then it made sense.
When she said "failure," she didn't mean the weapon was ruined.
"Hah… hah…"
My legs went weak with relief.
Sure, Ouroboros's scale was valuable, but I had a small stockpile in my [Rift Space]. I'd carefully harvested them after slaying the creature.
'A failed upgrade that left the weapon unharmed… I suppose that's thanks to my relationship with Maybelle.'
In The Defense, relationship level with the upgrader greatly affected upgrade outcomes.
Maybelle's affinity was practically a known meta route.
"Whew…"
At least the Zeus-444 Railgun was intact.
I now had two choices.
Risk another upgrade.
Or walk away.
Logically, I should stop.
There was no guarantee it'd survive another failure.
"Carl Marcus?"
My decision didn't take long.
"This one should be fine."
"…Excuse me?"
I reached into the Sky Whale Cloak, opening a [Rift Space] to pull out another scale as if I'd simply had it in my cloak.
"That's…"
Maybelle's eyes widened once again.
Of course—this wasn't something one could just have lying around.
"I'm asking you again."
"…Are you sure?"
"Yes. I trust you."
Maybelle's eyes trembled violently.
"…I'll make it worth it."
With firm resolve, she took the scale and returned to the workbench.
* * *
CLANG—!
CLANK!
Metal shrieked.
Time dragged, slow as eternity.
"…."
I don't know how long I waited.
But finally, it ended.
"…It's done."
Maybelle emerged, wiping sweat from her brow.
I walked toward the bench.
And saw it.
The Zeus-444 Railgun, its entire frame now midnight black.
───────────────
[Zeus-444 Railgun MK.II] [★★★★★★★★★★(+★)(11 Stars)]
─ Ark-made railgun.
─ Combines Ark's pinnacle technologies and uses an internal miniature reactor as its power source.
─ Enhanced durability and stability thanks to special upgrades by weapons engineer Maybelle Pilgrim.
─ Uses the scale of the Beyond-Grade Colossal Behemoth, Ouroboros, as the upgrade material.
─ Possesses devastating firepower.
"View Details"
───────────────
'…Impressive.'
A rare 11-star weapon.
Two stars above my previous best—the BLT-47 Plasma Launcher MK.IV at 9 stars.
And even among same-tier weapons, the Zeus-444 Railgun boasted absurdly high base stats.
It was, in every way, a legendary or unique-tier weapon.
"Well done."
"No, I should thank you. Getting to work with such rare material was a valuable experience."
Maybelle smiled.
But she was misunderstanding something.
"It's not over yet."
"…Sorry?"
I reached back into my cloak and pulled out a few more Ouroboros scales.
Maybelle's eyes widened.
"What in the world…"
"I'd like to upgrade a few other things. Think you can handle it?"
Maybelle let out a stunned laugh.