Have a Plan
"Be polite. Be efficient. Have a plan to kill everyone you meet."
«ISL Ragnarok» was an imposing name, perhaps more imposing than it had any right to be. You'd expect a three-letter abbreviation like «ISL» to be a ship prefix, like «HMS», 'Her Majesty's Ship,' or «JDS», 'Japanese Defense Ship,' or even Gun Gale Online's invented «SBC», of the 'Space Battle Cruiser Gurokken.' But alas, «ISL» was merely short for the word 'island,' and the location, though large, was just that: a roughly circular 10 kilometer diameter, featuring typical biomes of forests, hills, and deserts.
So the first bit of the arena's name was a bit of a disappointment. Ragnarok, however, was apt as could be. In Norse mythology, Ragnarök was an apocalyptic event where the most powerful warriors—gods, legends among men—would come together and engage in mortal combat.
Some legends are stronger than others.
In Sinon's crosshairs was the man by the name of «Dyne», a man without much to boast in terms of character, but plenty to be respected in terms of skill. But he was positioned on a flat, straight bridge, focused on the enemy he expected to approach him, and Sinon, looking at the bridge from the side, had a completely clear line of sight to his body. Her's finger went to «Hécate»'s trigger.
"You've forgotten something, Dyne," she muttered. "Always watch your back."
But then she felt an icy chill. There was someone behind her.
In one motion, she rotated her body 180 degrees, pulled her backup «MP7» from its holster, and rose from prone to a crouch -
- and then a terrific cascade of five explosions sent shudders through the wooded hills in which she hid.
Sinon smiled. Always watch your back. Always cover for your weaknesses. Basic principles, vital to success in solo «PvP» combat. When a sniper was focused, looking through their scope, they could cause immense damage to the area they were covering. At the same time, a sniper would be at their most vulnerable, to close-range attacks from the rear.
So, Sinon had sacrificed a bit of ammunition to free up the weight to bring several «M18 Claymore» anti-personnel mines. And before she'd taken up position within the brush, she'd set them down with crisscrossing fields of coverage and tripwire triggers.
Sinon knew it was unlikely they would outright kill a player, and it was possible that someone could notice the mines or tripwires and avoid them, but she would take any chance she could get to avoid being caught unawares and taken out of the tournament.
She scooped up «Hécate» and crept forwards, «MP7» ready. If her enemy had survived, they would either be retreating, wounded, easy to pick off, or would be continuing to approach with aggressive intent. Either way, the blast of the mines would attract unwanted attention. Sinon suspected that even Dyne would have realized the direction it'd come from and taken better cover.
She was surprised when she heard a voice calling out through the trees.
"Ow! Sinon! What the hell was that?"
Unmistakably, it was the voice of her arch-enemy, that bizarrely feminine Kirito. Her brow furrowed, and she switched to «Hécate», scanning in the direction the voice had come from through the scope.
"We're fighting!?" she called back. "You tried sneaking up on me, what did you think would happen?"
"I was going to propose a compromise!" Kirito yelled. "But then I get randomly blown up out of nowhere? What's up with that!?"
She spotted him, picking himself up off the ground, amidst a patch of conspicuously scorched shrubbery.
"What is there to compromise on?" she asked, taking aim. "It's just a matter of seeing who's to die first!"
"I didn't want us to attack each other right away," Kirito said, glancing around. Though they weren't all that far apart, he clearly still hadn't spotted her. "You know, give us both a chance to get further into the tournament? And there's something I want to talk to you abou-"
He suddenly stopped. "Sinon," he said. "Why am I getting the impression that you're about to shoot me?"
Sinon let out a deep breath, watching her aim circle pulse smaller and smaller, shrinking into Kirito's head with every beat of her heart.
"You've got ten seconds to talk," she said, barely loud enough to be heard. "Starting now."