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Gale Warriors: Gun Gale Online Chapter 1: Dystopia, WITH GUNS!
In the year 2025...a lot has changed, actually. For one, the world has become quite a technological marvel, to the point Virtual Reality (VR) has become a commercial reality, even if mostly just in Japan. Sad to say, however, that it's conception was far from pretty: the first (fully) functional VR application was a MMORPG known as Sword Art Online.
Three years ago, a Game Dev with possibly the sickest sense of humor lured 10.000 people inside SAO and rigged their NerveGears, these helmet-looking devices people used to play the game, to fry their user's brains if they died in-game, effectively killing them in real life as well. Furthermore, since neither logging out nor pulling the NerveGear off of people's heads were valid options, players were stuck with no way out until the Final Boss was found and defeated, which took a little over two years. Unfortunately, even after the game was finished, 300 of the 6.000 players who survived SAO remained trapped in the VR world for reasons unknown, and it wasn't until the "Hero of SAO" dove into another VR game called Alfheim Online (ALO) that this mystery was solved and the evils of Virtual Reality laid to rest...for now.
In Gun Gale Online...
The world of GGO is one that looks like the apocalypse just came in... And well, let's just say society still moves forward. Even though that society is consisted of people, who simply want to play a popular shooter game with RPG elements. In recent events, the world of Gun Gale had finished with their second Bullet of Bullets tournament. "Welcome back to MMO Stream's This Week Winners," yelled a young woman with a somewhat appealing orange outfit and cat ears, "The corner dedicated to top players of MMOs all over the Virtual World!" Her line was followed by a short opening skit and sponsor names the likes of Pizza Hut and Heatap. "This week's program is about the hottest Shooter VR game around, Gun Gale Online. And here with me are the winner and 2nd place of the last BoB, XeXceeD..." she gestured at the blue-haired guy to the left "...and Yamikaze, the Run 'n Gun Devil!"
She kept shouting her lungs out, hoping to keep everyone watching hooked all the way. "Now first off, let's hear some words from our winner, XeXeeD. Tell us, you seemed to be at quite a disadvantage with your fight against Yamikaze, how did you pull off your amazing victory?" XeXceeD smiled at the question, and while fiddling with his hair responded "You see Julie, Agility builds are so last year! Ya see, the next update's gonna bring some new Assault Rifles with higher DPS rates and there's no way those guys can carry anything heavier than SMGs, let alone take the recoil, unless they got Strength and Vitality. Now those are what's hip these days!" Many people watching the stream from a bar in-game booed at XeXceeD's words. "Eat a Dick!" One of them angrily shouted. The interviewer then said "Now that's the kind of comment I'd expect from GGO's finest! Talk about controversal!" XeXceeD shrugged and responded "Yeah, but who knows if I'll be on MMO Stream again. Might as well stir things up..." Julie then felt quite amused by XeXceeD's reasoning and said "Oh please! So, do you think you have a shot at the upcoming Bullet of Bullets?" XeXceeD couldn't help but answer "Damn right honey! I wouldn't be in it if I didn't!"
The booing got so out of hand some of the angry crowd begun throwing drinks at the screen, despite it being kind of pointless due to "screen" being just hologram in and said drinks just dissipate after being used. "Don't be so sure, XeXceed, BoB is a tournament with no restrictions, so you never know who or what you'll run into..." Yamikaze said to XeXceed, letting him know that he might not be lucky again. "Yeah, well if anything, my victory just proves my point. You're all about AGI and SMGs, Yamikaze, go figure you'd be in denial." Yamikaze cringed at that statement. "Wake up, people! Till now, the best strategy was boosting your AGI and shooting a two-handed SMG as fast as you could. But the reality is that the balance of gameplay in an MMO is always changing! Especially in games like this one, where levels don't let you re-spec your stats. You have to think ahead and be smart about using your points. Cause the best weapon today might not work for you in the update! Besides, Assault Rifles aren't the only new guns with higher STR and VIT requirements on the horizon." He then took a bow, as though he were acting on a stage. That made Yamikaze sigh and think "Was this really the guy who beat me?! I should've just ended him when I had the chance..."
Back at the bar, some people who managed to remain somewhat calm said "You remember when he said how great being AGI-based was? That dick totally scammed us!" Around that same time someone from the berserking mob must've pulled out their gun and shot the projector, which of course did nothing...or so most people would've assumed. "Now then, onto the- Urgh!" XeXeeD's monologue was abruptly cut short by what looked like a sharp pain in his chest before being forcefully disconnected from the game. "Uh oh...I guess we have a really bad connection here... Don't worry folks! I'm sure he'll be back on here shortly! So, stay tuned for more MMO Stream!" Julie said, trying to reassure the audience, sadly to little avail.
The people on that bar however, turned looked for the source of that bullet, a person still pointing his gun to the screen. This guy... or gal? It was anyone's guess thanks to a black robe and skull mask; Heck, as they asked the bartender "Would you mind giving the public a message?" their voice was disguised by a voice modulator. Their freaky appearance and voice scared the living heck out of said bartender, who asked back "W-w-who a-a-are you?!" Given that person did the most unlikely kill in the history of that game, it was obvious that the bartender feared being next; but instead, all they said was "Tell the world of Gun Gale...those who wish to challenge me...will die. As for my name, I share the name of this gun...Death Gun." Those who witnessed that were paralyzed in fearful awe. "Holy shit...he just shot someone on the TV and killed him!" They were saying all sort of things, like "He sounds just like Kylo Ren" or "Nah man, that's obviously Vader." As for this Death Gun, they just ignored the crowd and said "move" to the those standing between them and the door. None of them dared to stand their ground, so the "sea" of powerless peasants opened and the macabre figure took their leave. "Soon, this entire world will know the meaning of fear...just like back then..."
In the Real World...
After the SAO incident, its survivors had stuff like muscle atrophy and school to deal with. Hence a makeshift school to help those kids catch up was made, though chatter of ulterior reasons has yet to die out, even though it's been over a year since then. Speaking of which...
"Sigh...I really am hopeless." Whined a female teenager in a male high school uniform. "All that time in the gym and strangers still think I'm girl..." ...or not. This trap- I mean, this girly-looking lad, walked away from the aforementioned school, just like a few others heading their own ways around the city. A few moments after he crossed a street, he recieved a text on his phone that said "SAKON, ARE YOU HOME YET?" Naturally he replied "NOT YET, SORRY..." but when he tried calling this number his call was immediately shut down. "JUST CALL YOUR FATHER WHEN YOU GET HOME." They wrote back.
"What did ya do that for?" The punk who was hit asked, but by the time those two realized, Sakon was long gone. "Whoa, that was weird...wait a sec, dude?" The lad helping his 'wounded' friend up remember something "I've heard about that chick before ...I think." However, when the 'wounded' guy inquired further all he got was "Dunno, heard that in class. You know I always nap in class." Which the now black-eyed punk comically nodded about. The girls watching scene from across the street knew a little more though: "...and the 'Ichijou Trap' strikes again, huh?" That name alone did the trick for the dope-looking punk, but of course the one who learned it the hard way still needed an explanation: "Sakon Ichijou, a MALE. Don't worry though, you're only his twentieth or so victim to fall for his ludicrous girl-charm...it's infuriating really..."
A few minutes later, Sakon's Apartment...
"Hm? What's this?" Sakon found a package and letter with all too familiar stamp waiting outside his front door. He powdered whether to read it or not, but inevitably he figured it was better to know what was that all about. The letter read as such:
"My son.
I have a small favor to ask: this box here is filled with gifts I recieved, but have no use for; I ask that you have a look inside, see if you want any of it. Perhaps you can keep these from gathering dust in the attic back home? Just remember to keep whatever you don't want until I send someone to take it away. Make sure to let Kyoko know if you decide to use it. Sincerely, Keiji Ichijou... P.S. Your mom and I still miss you."
Sakon opened the package and saw just the usual, some souvenirs, dull-looking shirts, a VR Console and game disk...wait, what? "Nope!" Sakon walked inside and left the box next to his shoes. "What the heck is he thinking? Sending me a VR after what I went through, insensitive prick." He kicked and punched the air around him as he walked into his single-room apartment, a simple room with a lonely bed on the left side, a television and several game systems to the right, among other everyday things.
"Maybe I should play something instead, this tantrum is not helping..." Sakon said to himself before booting up a game. However, as he played an old game called Ghosts and Goblins, he was constantly distracted by the package, sitting by the door and tempting him into doing something stupid. Sadly, despite not being enough to make him give in, it was to get him killed in the game. "Dammit, Arthur!" Sakon shouted before peeking towards the package again. "Hmm... Still no!" He shouted again, before going back to another game but it was useless, that slow temptation to grab that headgear and dive into a VR game was too much for him.
He growled and made a fuss...before picking that box up and knocking on his neighbor's door. "Be there in a moment!" True to her words, the door opened shortly after, this neighbor being a woman in her 30s, dressed in a store clerk's uniform. She also had brunette hair and had a single earring on her left ear. "Oh, Ichijou! How are you?" She asked Sakon, who answered "Mostly fine, Ms. Kyoko, but I'm need your help with something." He showed her the contents of the box.
"Isn't this the Amusphere?" She asked. "Why would Keiji give that to you, didn't you say you'd never play in Virtual Reality again?" Sakon pondered about her words before answering "Knowing him, it's likely his way of telling me to get over it or something along the lines. Only he forgot, I'm done with this sort of nonsense!" Kyoko gave Sakon a long, hard look before asking him a simple question: "...and yet here you are, asking me to check on you every so often, no?" Sakon sighed in defeat and nodded, "Please check every hour...and if I don't take this thing off by 9, call the police."
Kyoko nodded at Sakon's request and told him to be careful. Sakon nodded back and went back to his apartment, then stripped down to his underwear and tanktop before lying on the bed with the headgear and disk in hand. "Can't believe I'm doing this...I must be the biggest moron ever." Despite such words, there he was, following the instructions to set the rig's plugs and slapping the gamedisk in. He then looked at his rather void ceiling from the comfort of his pillow, but before he could say the magic word, a feeling all to familiar came over him. "Really...? It's not even on and I'm already having a panic attack? Just...great." Sakon felt his heart spike, almost like adrenaline, only his eyes and ears were erratic, and it drove him nuts. "...calm down...calm down. Ok, I'm good to go...Link Start!"
In Gun Gale...
Sakon comes across what appears to be a character customizer, and sees the various options he could take. "Okay then... Let's make this bad boy..." He says before cracking his knuckles and inputting the design of his character. After finishing the customization, with the information regarding his character... He then came up to the name portion. "Hmm... How about something a little nostalgic... S-Y-B-E-R. Syber." Sakon put in as the character's name and now he was known as Syber. He then closed his eyes and waited for the game to show his character. Once he opened his eyes again, he looked upon the world of GGO... Where he was taken by the sights of the game.
"Whoa... Is this what VRMMOs look like these days? I guess at least that's a positive..." Syber said to himself before he took a couple steps into the game. Though, once he took said steps he noticed something when he looked to the left and saw the mirror. "No... No... NO!" He said taking a closer look, and seeing that, even though most of his body looked masculine... He still had that cute face. "Why...? Why this?" Syber muttered before continuing through the area, muttering to himself "Just get through it... It's what your therapist told you that one time..." As he went around GGO, he kept on ignoring the players who were staring at him... Whether it was because they thought he was cute or not, was something he didn't care to know about.
He eventually settled on taking a seat on a bench in the town. He sighed and pulled up the stats on his character, and immediately checked for the logout function. To his relief, it was there. "Phew... At least I know that I can leave this game and get actual sleep." Syber said to himself and looked at his other game stats. "I gotta wonder if AGI is still the most relevant stat. It's enough that speed was a huge factor back then, but is it still a huge factor now?" Syber asked himself, and continued to look through his menus. "I see the menus are still crap..." He muttered. "I gotta wonder... What's a cute guy like yourself doing here in GGO?" Someone asked, before Syber winced and responded angrily "FOR. THE. LAST. TIME! I'M. A. Guuuuuuuuuuuuuyyyyyyy..." He then realized the person called him a guy. The person in question, was a girl around his age with blue hair and eyes, she seemed to wear a scarf along with her green sweater and black pants.
Though she had some square hair clips on both sides of her long hair. Though it was only long on the sides, not the front or back. Syber blinked at the sight of this girl, and blushed in embarassment. His eyes widened and he shouted "I'm sorry! My name's Syber! It's nice to meet you! I didn't mean to shout at you!" She inspected his demeanor and thought to herself "I thought he was gonna be some boring guy... But, this... This'll be fun for sure..." She then said "My name is Sinon... It's nice to meet you Syber." Syber then shook her hand and responded "Could you show me around GGO? I don't know my way around to be honest..." Sinon looked at the gun store and answered "Alright, I'll give you the basics..."
To Be Continued...