episode_0011

“What?”

Scarlet’s voice was as clear and refreshing as her appearance, but it also held a hint of annoyance.

“No onlookers allowed. Don’t interfere with my business. If you have no purpose here, leave.”

She seemed to think I was merely an onlooker or someone who had lost their way.

“Excuse me. Are you Scarlet? I came looking for you after hearing the rumors.”

At my words, one of Scarlet’s eyebrows slightly arched.

She still hadn’t lowered her guard, and once again scrutinized me thoroughly.

My shabby combat uniform, a face marked by traces of all-night work and battle, and perhaps even the cheap inn smell wafting from my entire body.

“Yes, you found the right place. I’m Scarlet.”

She admitted, crossing her arms.

Because of that pose, the spider tattoo on her arm and her cleavage became even more prominent.

‘So big.’

“But looking at your appearance… do you have enough credits? You must know that my work isn’t cheap, right?”

She gestured with her chin towards the inside of the workshop.

“As you can see, I have no interest in fixing mediocre scrap metal for pennies.”

Her words were direct, but rather, they inspired trust.

She was different from hawkers who feigned friendliness to rip people off.

“I’ve brought plenty, so don’t worry.”

I added, shrugging my shoulders.

“However, the condition of my mech is a bit special, and the work I want done isn’t ordinary, which is why I came to you. It might be something only you can do in Eternus, or perhaps even on this entire planet.”

At my last words, Scarlet’s eyes subtly changed.

Her wariness and annoyance lessened slightly, and she uncrossed her arms before perching on one side of the workbench.

“Special condition? Extraordinary work?”

She asked back, seemingly interested.

Even a faint smile played on her lips.

“You say interesting things.”

She nodded towards me.

“It’ll be faster to see it directly than to explain it in words. How about it, want to take a look?”

Scarlet stared at me for a moment, then shrugged and rose from the workbench.

“Alright, but if this turns out to be a waste of my time, you’ll pay a hefty price for the consultation fee.”

She took off her protective suit and walked towards the workshop door in a sleeveless top.

We passed through the noisy, chaotic scrap metal alley again and headed towards the area with the landing bay.

Scarlet stopped at the entrance of the landing zone, crossed her arms, and began scrutinizing my Bugbear.

I waited for her reaction with a tense heart.

At first, she seemed to be examining the mech without any particular change in expression.

Scarlet’s gaze successively swept over the shoulder armor scratched by beam rifle fire, the abdomen dented by kicks, and the crude armor patches I had hastily added overnight.

And finally, her gaze lingered briefly around the hastily installed reactor booster and high-performance actuator.

A moment later, the faint light of interest that had been on her lips completely vanished.

“Hah…”

She let out a hollow laugh, as if dumbfounded.

“This… this is the ‘special’ mech you were talking about?”

Her voice was incomparably colder and sharper than before, filled with unconcealed sarcasm.

“A 3rd generation mass-produced Bugbear? Are you joking right now?”

She pointed a finger at the Bugbear and yelled.

Other workers and mercenaries nearby began looking our way, wondering what was happening.

“How dare you come to me with this piece of junk? And it’s in terrible condition to boot!”

She took another step closer and kicked the Bugbear’s dented armor. A dull ‘clunk!’ echoed.

“Look at all these patchwork repairs! It looks like there’s nothing you can do with this except put it in a trash compactor and turn it into a cube!”

She continued to pour out words, seemingly agitated.

“This rag-like armor, this old frame… it looks like you’ve recently attached something, but those boosters and actuators don’t suit this piece of junk at all.”

At the time, that was the best option, so what could I do?

“Did you even consider the balance when you attached them? What exactly do you plan to do with this? Did you come here to show off your scrap metal?”

Scarlet’s scathing criticism was entirely correct.

To the eyes of a professional like her, it must have looked utterly ridiculous.

“You’re right. In its current state, it’s just a piece of scrap metal.”

I admitted honestly.

Her eyebrows slightly rose. It seemed she had expected me to argue.

“But this… this is just the base.”

“The base?”

Scarlet asked back, dumbfounded.

“What kind of base? A base for recycling scrap metal?”

“No.”

I shook my head firmly.

Then I recalled one of the core elements of my Asura build in ‘Galaxy Titans,’ which was in my mind.

That which was a grand dream for me, and a nightmare for enemies.

I took a breath and spoke.

The name of that part, a symbol of overwhelming destructive power, just as it was called in the game.

“The GX-Final Impact Pile Bunker. And its dedicated high-output capacitor to power it.”

As soon as I finished speaking, even the sneer vanished from Scarlet’s face.

She stared at me with wide eyes for a moment, as if she didn’t understand what I was saying, or perhaps thought I was crazy.

The chuckles from around us also stopped abruptly.

Was it because of the weight of the word ‘pile bunker,’ especially its notorious model name?

“Are you crazy?”

Scarlet’s firm voice echoed through the hangar.

“The GX-Final Impact Pile Bunker? You’re going to attach that insane thing, which can pierce even battleship armor, to this 3rd generation piece of junk?!”

She ran a hand through her hair, dumbfounded.

“Do you have any idea how much massive energy is needed to power that? Those cheap boosters you just attached won’t even cut it. And where are you going to attach the dedicated capacitor? Do you think this flimsy frame can withstand that weight and energy load?”

She approached the Bugbear again, and this time, truly disgusted, flicked the surface of the mech with her finger.

“And even if you miraculously manage to attach it, what about the recoil when you fire it? There’s no reinforced frame or shock absorption system here to withstand that recoil, no matter how hard I look!”

Scarlet messed up her red hair, as if frustrated.

“Your mech will be ripped apart like paper the moment you fire the first shot! No, before that, your own neck will probably break first!”

Her anger extended beyond technical issues to tactical ones.

“You lunatic, think for a moment! Do you really think you can approach an enemy with that cumbersome and heavy thing attached? In this day and age, who would willingly let you get close enough for a pile bunker hit?”

Her voice was laced with blatant contempt.

“Beam rifles and missiles will be raining down from all directions! Do you think you can penetrate all that and approach them with that slow piece of junk?!”

She pointed a finger at me and yelled.

“You’ll be riddled with holes before you even get close, you idiot! You’re not a mercenary, you’re just a volunteer for suicide. Are you in your right mind? Or are you just desperate to die?”

Scarlet was thoroughly agitated, seemingly genuinely thinking I was crazy, or perhaps feeling that her professional field had been insulted by foolish delusions.

She whirled around, as if I was no longer worth talking to.

All her points were correct. Logically, technically, and tactically, my plan was tantamount to suicide.

That is, if I were to only follow the rules of this reality.

But I possessed information that could transcend the common sense of this reality.

Specifically, the vast database inside my head from being an old pro at ‘Galaxy Titans.’

And within it, the key to solving the problems she had pointed out existed.

“Wait!”

I desperately called out to her retreating back.

If I let her go here, my plan would be shipwrecked before it even began.

Scarlet annoyedly stopped her steps and glared at me over her shoulder.

I felt an unspoken pressure to leave immediately.

I calmly continued speaking.

“You’re right. In its current state, a pile bunker would be impossible. There’s not enough energy, and most importantly, I wouldn’t be able to control the recoil.”

I acknowledged her points for now.

Scarlet merely continued to look at me with contempt.

As if she wanted to hear what other nonsense I would utter.

“But there is a way.”

I said, looking directly into her eyes.

And I recalled my memories of scouring for information on all sorts of rare parts in the game.

Especially the legendary parts that could be obtained through the black market or hidden quests on Eternus Station.

“The recoil problem. What if there’s a part that can solve it?”

“A recoil control part?”

Scarlet scoffed.

“If you want something that can offset a pile bunker’s recoil, you’d need military-grade inertial dampeners, or perhaps even alien technology that defies the laws of physics, wouldn’t you? Something like that wouldn’t just be lying around in this scrap metal alley.”

“It wouldn’t be lying around, no. But I know ‘information’ about something like that, which is dormant somewhere in Eternus.”

I said with a voice full of conviction.

“The Atlas V-type Graviton Damper.”

As that name left my lips, Scarlet’s eyes instantly widened.

For the first time, surprise and strong disbelief flashed across her expression.

“A Graviton Damper? Atlas V?”

She asked back, as if she couldn’t believe it.

It seemed she had also heard of that part.

“Are you believing in legends? That’s either forgotten ancient technology, or something that would be buried deep in a military research lab. How would you find that in the garbage heaps of Eternus?”

“I said it was information, not a rumor.”

I said firmly.

I recalled the path to obtaining that part in the game.

It wasn’t easy, but it wasn’t impossible.

“And I intend to acquire it.”

I challenged her directly.

“If I bring that to you, right before your eyes, will you take my request then? The work of implanting the GX-Final Impact Pile Bunker into this Bugbear.”

Scarlet stared intently at me for a moment without saying anything.

Intense calculations seemed to be taking place in her mind.

The truth of my words, the probability of success, and the ramifications if I truly brought that part.

Finally, a laugh escaped her lips, one that was dumbfounded yet oddly curious.

“Alright, what’s your name?”

She said, crossing her arms.

“Kang Jin-woo.”

Her gaze still treated me like a madman, but it held a different kind of interest than before.

“Jin-woo? Alright, go ahead and try to find that legendary part with your so-called ‘information’.”

She declared, pointing a finger at me.

“If you truly bring the Atlas V Graviton Damper before me, I’ll go along with your crazy plan for free. I’ll attach the pile bunker, or whatever else you want.”

Her voice turned cold again.

“If you fail or come back empty-handed, don’t even think about crossing the threshold of my workshop ever again! Understood?”

Her offer was clear.

Succeed, and gain everything; fail, and gain nothing.

High risk, high return. It was exactly a mercenary’s kind of contract.

I nodded without hesitation.

“Understood.”