Armories. Colossal megastructures that appear out of nowhere when no one is looking. Like the name suggests, they are full of many varieties of weapons, from useless, to extravagant, to extremely dangerous. Through them, humans discovered firearms, or more accurately, were given firearms. Like a god bringing down fire from a mountain, the Armories brought with them a new age. An age of conflict. An age of advancements. An age of lawlessness. As the weapons from the Armories fell into the wrong hands quite quickly, those who weren't able to fend for themselves formed segregated communities, small villages far from the remains of what once were great cities of steel and metal. With time, some names became known across the world, and feared. The Copperheads, the Ambersteins, the Firejades... Those names came and went, as Armories kept appearing, and new, dangerous weapons within them. Eventually, the world stabilized, a sort of peace was established, with the Warlords from the past either retiring or becoming little more than wandering bandits.

BOOT-UP SEQUENCE INITIATED

In one of these Armories, a child was strolling around. The place was oddly empty, she thought, as her father's stories always had him braving some dangerous monster before finding the weapons he had come for. She kept on walking, looking in awe at the imposing empty halls, before stumbling upon a small room, one that looked almost normal in size compared to the corridors she just explored. Once she walked in, the door shut behind her. Decorating the walls were many different kinds of weapons, some axes, some swords, some bows, some guns... But one of them glimmered. She felt as if it was calling to her. It was bigger than all the other weapons, in fact, it was bigger than her. She took a few steps towards it, and then touched it with the tip of her fingers.

WELCOME NEW USER

YOU HAVE BEEN SELECTED

TO PROCEED, ACQUIRE THE RAILCANNON

The little girl fell backwards from fear, but promptly got back up and used all her strength to grab the gun and mount it on her shoulders.

UTILIZE THE RAILCANNON TO CREATE AN EXIT

The little girl was confused, but she placed down the gun, aimed it at the door, and readied her shot...

Many years later, Elaine was sitting at the local tavern, slowly drinking her seventh pint of fermented gold.

YOU ARE EXCEEDING THE RECOMMENDED ALCOHOL INTAKE FOR A WOMAN YOUR AGE, ELAINE

The girl rolled her eyes. "Could you just shut off for a bit, please? I'm trying to enjoy my beer."

NEGATIVE. I AM UNABLE TO TURN OFF UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE. ALSO, BEER IS MADE WITH WHEAT, WHICH WENT EXTINCT ALONG WITH ALL BIOLOGICAL LIFE EXCEPT HUMANS MANY YEARS AGO. ALTHOUGH THE GOLD THIS WAS MADE FROM RESEMBLES WHEAT AS IT ONCE LOOKED, IT IS SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT

Elaine got up from the table and approached the request board on the tavern's wall. "System, anything here for me to take?"

CALCULATING

...

THE MOST PROFITABLE REQUEST IS THE ONE REGARDING THE BAUXIUM BAT, IF YOU SUM BOTH THE BOUNTY AND THE REVENUE FROM SELLING THE MATERIALS. SHOULD I CALL SOMEONE TO COME PICK UP THE CORPSE ALREADY?

"Eh, I got time to waste, let's call them after, we'll need to see how much of it is salvageable first." Elaine approached the bartender, empty pint glass in hand. "Gonna close my tab. Actually, before that, get everyone a free glass of beer, I'm cashing a big bounty today. If they ask, tell them Goldfield paid for it." The tavern, usually filled with chit chat, suddenly went quiet. Everyone's gaze turned to Elaine, the whole room shaking in fear as her eyes rolled. "Gee, calm down everyone, I don't bite. Guess you hadn't realized I was here yet..." After paying, she made her way out of the tavern as everyone let out a sigh of relief, almost as if they had just been in the presence of a ravenous beast.

It didn't take much walking for Elaine to get to the location the Bauxium Bat was last seen at. "This is pretty close to the orchards, it should be swooping in any moment now." Almost as if in response to Elaine, a giant shadow suddenly came crashing down from the sky. The enormous mechanical bat, made entirely of a black and orange metal, began screeching and stomping its winged arms on the ground.

THIS SPECIMEN SEEMS TO BE, ROUGHLY, 1.3X TIMES LARGER THAN THE AVERAGE FOR ITS SPECIES. ADVISING INCREASE IN RAILCANNON POWER

"Oh? Alright then, it's been a while since I've last had to adjust the power level. I think 23% will do." Elaine turned a rotary switch on the side of her gun before taking aim. She figured that since it's her first time using such a high power percentage, it would be better to play it safe and aim for center mass. It'd yield less scrap, but she wasn't confident in hitting a headshot, and not getting the money right after offering everyone a round of beers would be far too embarrassing. She slowed down her breath, and right before the bat took off again, she pulled the trigger. Instantly, a huge beam of energy shot out of the Railcannon's mouth, completely engulfing the bat's body and pulverizing it, leaving behind only its head, unscathed, as it had stayed outside the blast. "Shit, System! Why didn't you warn me this would destroy almost all of it?!"

I WASN'T ASKED

Elaine sighed before walking towards the bat's head. "There's no point in selling just this for scrap. I might as well keep it as a reminder to make sure how big the blast actually is before shooting... And it could make for a great conversation starter with the ladies."

THE GIRLS AT THE BROTHEL DON'T ACTUALLY CARE ABOUT YOUR STORIES, ELAINE

"Hey! They love when I talk about my hunts! Anyways... Let's head back to the town, Sys, this should be evidence enough for me to get paid."

Back at the tavern, Elaine grabbed the tablet with the request about the Bauxium Bat on it and brought it to the counter along with the spoils. "This should be good, right? You handle it, I'll go open my tab, bother me if you wanna take a look at the bat's head again." Elaine sat at a table, alone, by not by choice. In fact, not a single person in the tavern was within 3 tables of her. No one approached her to get her order either. As usual, she had to get up and ask for the drinks herself, and then also come pick them up herself. But she was used to it. She was drinking the Rubiant Resort, her favorite drink after a bittersweet victory, and playing with the bat's head, tipping it from side to side, when a young waitress approached her. "Hello ma'am! I noticed no one has come to take your order and it's been a while, so... Anything you'd like?" Elaine was a bit shocked. People usually feared her and just avoided any interaction, but this girl was treating her normally. She was knew and didn't know about Elaine, evidently. "I don't know. I never looked at the menu here, I usually only grab drinks." The waitress looked a bit worried. "Ah? Well then, mind if I pick for you?" Elaine nodded. "Alright then, I'd recommend you try our Howlite cheese bites! Just eat them one by one while you have your drinks, they fit really nicely with what you're having!" Elaine looked around. "Have them with me. And get yourself a drink. I'll pay." The waitress was taken aback. "I don't think I can, I need to tend to the other tables and-" Elaine let out a short cackle. "You'll be lucky if any table even lets you near them after chatting with me... Come on, I promise your boss won't get mad." The girl's face turned red as she hurried to the kitchen and came back shortly after with a big basket of cheese bites, as well as a drink for herself, a Kyanite Moon, which has low alcohol content. Upon sitting next to Elaine, she started speaking. "So... uh... what's your name, ma'am? I-I'm Marlowe Opaleyes, pleasure to meet you..." Elaine smirked. Her eyes were indeed like an opal. They fit her black hair and slightly tan complexion quite well. "Hmmm.... I'm Elaine Goldfield." She said while slowly moving her finger along the rim of her glass, using her other hand to sustain her head as she leaned towards Marlowe. A few gears began spinning in the waitress's head upon hearing that name. Her face suddenly turned pale and she began shaking a little. "Y'know, I think I hear some customers calling me..." She said before beginning to get up from the table. Elaine looked a bit disappointed. "I thought you promised..." Marlowe stopped, and after a bit of deliberation, decided to sit back at the table. She tried to strike up conversation again to make up for almost leaving Elaine alone. "So, uh, your father-" Elaine's expression suddenly turned stone-cold. "I don't talk to him." The air in the tavern suddenly got lighter and everyone's shoulders got less tense. "And I don't like talking about him either." Marlowe looked slightly shocked, before she quickly changed topic. "So uh, that Bauxium Bat you have the head of... I assume you called someone to sell them the rest of the corpse? But why keep the head?" Elaine took another sip of her drink. "No, I uh... accidentally pulverized the rest of its body. Only the head survived, and I figured it was worth more as a souvenir than scrap. I could always fashion it into a hood or something..." Now, instead of slightly shocked, Marlowe looked highly shocked. "You what."

"I pulverized it, by accident. Didn't realize the Railcannon shot would be so big at just 23%..."

"The Railcannon... Is it like a railgun?"

WHILE SIMILAR TO A RAILGUN IN LOOKS, THE RAILCANNON BEHAVES FULLY DIFFERENTLY, SHOOTING CONCENTRATED ENERGY RATHER THAN PLASMA, AND DISINTEGRATING EVERYTHING IT HITS

"Well... I think showing you would be the best way. Maybe meet me outside the town after you're done with work, using it near people is... not ideal."

WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO ESTIMATE THE NUMBER OF CASUALTIES IF YOU WERE TO SHOOT THE RAILCANNON IN A POPULATED AREA?

"What the fuck?! No!" Marlowe was suddenly taken aback. "Oh, uh, sorry, I was just... talking to myself. The cheese bites were very tasty. I'll get going." Elaine rapidly got up, paid for the food and drinks, and rushed out of the tavern. "Fuck you Sys! You blew my chance with the pretty girl!"

GIVEN EVERYONE'S FEAR OF YOUR FATHER, I'M AFRAID YOU WOULDN'T HAVE SUCCEEDED. I RECOMMEND STICKING TO BROTHELS, ELAINE. DO YOU WANT ME TO CHART A COURSE TO THE NEAREST ONE?

"No! I'm going outside the town and waiting for Marlowe!"

UNDERSTOOD. MARLOWE'S SHIFT SHOULD END IN APPROXIMATELY: 7 HOURS

A NAP IS RECOMMENDED

"I'll nap when I get there, Sys..."