Hello everyone, thank you for checking out my Fatal Bullet rewrite.
I don't want to bore you with a long speech, so I'll save that for after the chapter. The only things I should state is that this chapter is basically the first part of Fatal Bullet, before Kureha and the Protagonist go into the dungeon, only with dialogue changes and an added scene.
This will be told from a first person perspective. [YN] stands for Your Name. Feel free to insert your OC's name into this.
I do not own or am affiliated with Sword Art Online.
Chapter 1
Link Start!
A world of guns and guts.
That's what she told me over the phone. It had been so long since we had talked that I could hardly believe she was inviting me to meet in this virtual world. I didn't hesitate to accept, buying the game and paying the connection fee. And now I was joining the world of Gun Gale Online.
Everything seemed to faze into existence around me, the main safe area appearing right before my eyes, the SBC Glocken. Player numbers were thin, but that was probably due to many being out in the field. After all, the reason she had were invited here was to help her with a brand-new quest. Many people were probably out grinding.
As more of the world began to render, the digital effects around me disappeared. It was strange. I hadn't played many VR games before this. In fact, this account had only been played for about an hour in another game called Alfheim Online. It wasn't much, but it gave me a little boost in terms of stats. Either way, I had better find my friend quickly otherwise I would be wandering around aimlessly.
"Sorry to keep you waiting!"
A wave of nostalgia hit me as I heard the voice I hadn't heard for a couple of years. I turned to see a pink haired girl with a bright smile. Her whole outfit was a combination of pink, white and grey. She hadn't changed at all from what I could see.
"Registering for the tournament took longer than I expected." She let out a small sigh. "I see you managed to log in okay. Been waiting long?"
"Not at all." My whole body relaxed. "Long time no see."
She shook her head. "I'm surprised you recognise me, considering my avatar looks so different than how I look in real life. Oh, my name is Kureha in here by the way."
I took mental note of Kureha's new name. After all, it was generally a bad idea to use your real name as your avatar's. "I'm [YN]. Hang on, how did you know it was me?"
Kureha shrugged. "You're the same old [YN] I knew as a kid. Of course I recognised you right off the bat." She folded her arms, thinking for a second. "You've got that aura of friendliness and unsociability around you. Same old [YN]." Her smile returned. "Anyway, welcome to GGO. I guess this is your first VRMMO."
I shook my head. "It's a transferred account, but I only played a little."
"Well then, let me show you the ropes. We have a little time before the tournament starts." Kureha grabbed my hand and dragged me along the path.
The SBC Glocken was massive by itself. Several short walkways attached the main one to shops, houses and alleyways. Already I could see several merchants trying to push some sort of weapon onto passing players, or players losing at the several gambling games that were side attractions. Even with the wide variety of stores, Kureha dragged me straight to a terminal inside what appeared to be a café. A large list of various weapons towered over me.
"You won't have much money yet." Kureha opened her menu. A notification popped up in the top right of my vision. I swiped downwards, index and middle finger together, to open the menu. I had received a friend request and a message. Inside the message was 4,000 credits. "There, that should be able to get you a better gun than the cheap ray gun."
"You didn't have to…" I muttered under my breath.
"Geez, I forgot how stubborn you can be." Kureha sighed. "I have plenty of money. Plus, I kind of dragged you out here. Think of it as a welcoming gift."
I thanked her before turning to the terminal. Upon placing my hand on it, a large menu opened up. At least fifty items were listed, ranging from guns and ammunition to outfits and gadgets. I selected the first gun, a blank window being filled with an image of the gun and a brief description.
"That one's kind of good for beginners." Kureha was leaning over my shoulder, looking at the gun. "Assault rifles are very middle of the road. Once you start getting skills, they can easily become very powerful. Although if you want high damage, you'd be better off going for a rocket launcher or a sniper rifle."
I laughed. "You really know a lot about this game."
Kureha froze for a second before laughing as well. "Well, I have spent a lot of time here."
We spent a few minutes looking through the weapons, annoying a pair of players who wanted to use our terminal. Eventually I settled on an assault rifle and the ray gun everyone was supposed to buy. After buying ammo and a First Aid Kit, Kureha lead me up towards the gate to the dungeon.
The dungeon, from what Kureha had explained, was underneath the safe area. It was a rather odd choice, but the quest was labelled as a beginner quest. Many players who had been there since launch were apparently signing up because it would reward a powerful item and they'll be able to blaze through the dungeon with ease. It made me wonder why Kureha even needed me here, but I was happy all the same. Maybe she too had realised how long it had been.
"Whoa, is that Itsuki!?"
Kureha's cry of surprise made me look to where she was staring. Standing by the gate, surrounded by players that were mostly female, was a rather bored looking individual. The density of the crowd made his white and grey battle suit hard to see, but his tall body made it easy to see his sharp eyes, despite one being mostly covered by long hair swept forwards over it.
I couldn't deny it. He was cool.
Kureha looked kind of disheartened though. "If he's entering the tournament, our chances have gone down a lot…" She shook of her sorry expression and sighed. "He's one of GGO's top players, and the head of Alphard, a squadron made up of strong players."
I raised an eyebrow, confused. "Squadron?"
"It's basically a guild."
Itsuki caught us staring and looked a little relieved. He moved through his army of fans to join us. "Hey, you two entering the tournament too?"
"Yes!" I noticed Kureha tense up.
"You're Kureha, right? I've heard about you."
A noticeable blush appeared on her cheeks as Kureha's eyes widened in surprise. "Y-you have!?"
Itsuki nodded. "You've got quite a reputation of jumping between squadrons, helping out wherever you go. Your analysis skills are unparallel."
I had no idea that Kureha held such a reputation. It did make me feel rather lucky that I was going to be fighting alongside such a well renowned player. Kureha just smiled and bowed, thanking him.
Then Itsuki turned his attention to me. "And who's this? Your equipment looks beginner tier. I'm guessing you're a newbie."
"This is [YN]. We've been friends for years. I invited him to play because he's really good with games." Kureha spoke before I even got a chance to open my mouth.
"Only outside of VR…" I muttered under my breath.
Despite the fact I knew he heard me, Itsuki raised an eyebrow in surprise. "You must be brave to enter a tournament so early. But I like that. After all, guns and skills aren't the only thing you need to bring to a gun fight to be successful."
"I hear you can bring a sword too." I nodded.
Kureha rolled her eyes while Itsuki chuckled. "Nice to meet you both. I look forward to an…interesting fight."
We waved goodbye as Itsuki walked away from us. Kureha's blush had disappeared, now replaced with a confident smile and a focused look. "Itsuki is amazing, but I'm almost strong enough to make it into the top rankings. I won't let someone like him stop me." She turned her attention to the teleporter. "Shall we go? That treasure isn't going to find itself."
I readied my gun, nodding. We both stepped towards the teleporter, the link between here and the dungeon. The same glowing blue light that brought me to this world surrounded my body as the world turned dark.
My name is [YN]. This is how I gain everything, and lost everything else.
I did warn you it was going to be a retread. Hopefully you enjoyed though and got an idea for my style of writing.
I took on this project thanks to the Gamerturk Discord Server after discussing Fatal Bullet's story and how we found it lacking and advertised poorly. I will say it right here, this will have little choice involved. I was planning on a choice system, but scrapped it after deciding it would result in a mess of a story. But hopefully now you know, you won't be disappointed when the only decision you get to make is which waifu do you want to save.
After around Chapter 3, I will be making changes to the story/story structure. No more Bazalt Joe fights back to back! If I was handed the keys to Fatal Bullet, story and gameplay would be balanced a lot more. Please assume if there was a gap in the story, that there was a gameplay section.
Anyway, I'm rambling for too long. Just so you know, I have no planned upload schedule. I will try and update regularly and finish this, as I am prone to half completing projects.
Reviews are appreciated, especially constructive criticism. Until next time, whenever that is :)
