Blue Archive story · Volume 2: Game Development Department, Chapter 1, Episode 7
Vol. 2 Ch. 1 Ep. 7: Much Too Big to Be Called a Gun
2 scenes, 170 lines
1. Millennium Game Development Department / Engineering Department Workshop
157 lines
All students in Millennium, or well, Kivotos, have their own personal weapons.
So, you'll need one too, Aris.
And there's only one place that'll get you what you need on short notice.
The Engineering Department.
That is a new word. "En...gineer...ing"?
It's a club of experts who make and repair machines here at Millennium.
Their members are called meisters.
They do a bunch with machines in general and also handle remodeling the school's weapons...
So I betcha they've got some spare weapons lying around.
All right, let's go!
...I see.
You want to get a better weapon for your classmate.
Well, you've come to the right place.
A competent student is nothing without an appropriate weapon.
If you look to that corner there, you'll see some prototypes we've put together.
It's all fair game, so help yourselves.
Wow! Thanks a bunch, Utaha!
Uh, hi. I'm Hibiki, and, um, I'm a first year here... Let's find you something special.
How about this?
Oh, a pistol.
I get the feeling this girl, uh, doesn't have much combat experience. Am I right?
Negative. I have already saved humanity 27 times, defeated the demon king 46 times, and explored hundreds of dungeons.
...
That's, uh, pretty prolific of you.
Still, it seems like you're new to guns.
In which case, a pistol is ideal. It has a light plastic frame, and there isn't much recoil..
It's a good starter gun, but there's something even better about it.
This model has a never-before-seen feature that, until recently, has never existed in the history of our school.
Wh-What is it?
It sounds impressive. Please tell us.
...Huh?
This pistol is the only one in the world that allows wireless music playback and file sharing via Bluetooth.
It also functions as a digital car key, and can be used to tag into IC panels on public transit services.
And to top it all off, if you enable the NFC feature, you can use it to make payments at convenience stores.
Th-That's amazing.
But imagine how the store clerk would freak out if you whipped out a pistol and said, "I'll be paying with this!"
What do you think, Aris, wait, where did she go?
Heh heh. You have a good eye, customer.
Who are you?
I'm Kotori, one of the Engineering Department's meisters and a master of explanations!
...?
And you must be Aris, the fourth member of the Game Development Department!
Excellent deduction, Midori. This here was produced using about 70 percent of the club's budget for the second half of the year...
Allow me to introduce our most ambitious project yet, a railgun fit for an intergalactic battleship!
An intergalactic b-battleship... That's nuts...
Didn't a lot of people get horrible colds when you tried making that cryo-sleep hibernation device?
Well, I mean, the Direct to Future Express is still in use today...
...but now as a refrigerator. We're sending the food into the far future, so it wasn't a complete failure.
That's quite the name for a fridge!
The Engineering Department is going to develop an intergalactic battleship, right after some helicopters and general-purpose work robots!
This railgun is the beginning of that plan. A live-ammunition weapon developed for use in the vacuum of space! No one's ever attempted this in the history of Millennium!
When you put it that way, it gets me kind of excited!
Me too! If anyone can do it, it's our Engineering Department!
Heehee! You can count on us!
But, actually, we, uh... The whole plan is on ice for the time being.
Why'd you hype me up just to shoot me down?!
Like usual, our problem is not a lack of imagination or passion, but one of budget.
It took 70 percent of this semester's budget just to make this one gun. To make an intergalactic battleship, we're going to need a thousand times more...
Then why did you make this gun in the first place?!
*nod nod*
Well said, Utaha. I agree wholeheartedly of course. If Momoi can't appreciate laser beams, then she's surely a fool.
I'm surrounded by idiots!
By the way, the official name of this passion project is...
"Supernova: The Sword of Light"!
Another overblown name...
Whoa! Look at Aris' eyes sparkle!
Wow! Incredible!
I-I've never seen her so excited.
I...want it.
...Huh?
O great formers of steel, bequeath unto me the might of the dragon's breath.
Uhhh... I'm glad to hear you're so...passionate.
But we couldn't possibly fill that request!
But you said everything in this corner was fair game!
...We have our reasons.
Ah. I knew it. This is about the money.
Don't worry, Aris. If I must, I'm willing to part with Midori's FlyStation.
...That's not it either.
What are we getting realistic about if the issue's not money?!
Don't get me wrong, the budget is something to be concerned about.
However, there is something more pressing here.... This weapon is way too heavy-duty to be used as a personal weapon.
By itself, the railgun probably weighs 140 kilograms. Add the optical accuracy device and battery...and that's almost 200 kilograms!
Hmm...
Exactly. We're all happy you're so interested in our creation, and were you able to actually handle it yourself, I imagine we could part with it.
Huh? She's speaking weird again...
I-I think she wants to know if you're serious about what you just said.
Of course I am. How about this, do you want to try holding it?
Haha! That's the spirit.
*grab*
Hup...!
B-Be careful. Don't hurt yourself... We really should have the crane over here to...
Haaaaah!
Wha...
HUH?!
*woosh*
Hooray! I-I did it!
No...way...
Umm...So how does button layout work? Would this be the R trigger...?
W-Wait!
Blinding Light!
*booooom*
Ahhh! The roof!
W-Wait! Pick something else! We put so much of our budget into that one...
Is that really okay, Utaha?
No one else can use it anyway.
Hibiki, put together a shoulder strap and add some handles so Aris can carry it more easily.
Can do.
On the plus side, we're going to be able to collect a lot of good data from, uh, real combat scenarios.
This is crazy. I feel like we just got a super rare item! Thanks guys!
Th-Thank you!
It's a little early to be thanking us.
What now?
Hibiki. Go get all those drones and robots we were going to throw out.
...Okay.
What's Utaha up to?
Ah! Maybe she's not going to let the railgun go so easily.
...you'll have to get through us!
Oh?!
S-Seriously?! I thought you said we could have it if she could lift it, Utaha!
W-We just wanted a weapon for Aris...
Were it any other weapon, I would happily let it go.
But for this project, you need to earn my approval first.
Wh-What does that mean?
I guess it's more of a qualification exam than a bid for approval.
I don't understand...
Eeek!
2. Part 2
13 linesUgh! I can't believe we lost, but I guess a deal is a deal.
Aris! The Sword of Light is now yours alone!
Hooray!
Phew, everything worked itself out.
I still can't believe you can even lift that gun...
Anyway, uh, come here, Aris. I can give you some operating instructions and reinforce the grip some more.
Grip strength of at least one metric ton, the ability to maintain balance while firing, and superhuman strength. Not to mention a "body" which perfectly maintains itself...
It could be self-repairing itself via nanomachines, meaning it was designed for use in harsh environments where constant maintenance is required...
Obviously, one such environment immediately springs to mind...
...the battlefield.
Just who is Aris, really?