I do not own Sword Art Online or any of the characters.
Loaded
Michael sat on his bed, plugging his Nerve Gear in and smiling, sending a message to Eugene and Kirito telling them he was going to start playing Gun Gale Online. Then, he lay down and put the helmet on, logging in using his copied stats. Before he enterred the game, the game offered him a play history reward called an M9000 Avatar Type. Michael looked at the online talk about it and grimaced.
"A chick's body?" Michael snorted. "Fuck that."
He denied the award and instead used the same avatar model as ALfheim Online but with his actual hair color. Then, he entered the game.
When he opened his eyes, he was standing in a massive metal city with roads sweeping around, detatched from everything. Search lights shone skyward from somewhere in the distance and a thick cloud of smog hovered over it. All around him, players armed with all types of outfits and guns walked or ran. He saw he had an inventory alert and looked, seeing the M9000 was in the "Speacial" section. He closed out of his inventory and walked out into the street, looking around. Out of all of the lit signs around, he saw absolutely no gun shops or armories. He did see a bar though so he decided to go see what it had.
When he stepped into it, he stopped, eyes was a boxing ring set up with a glass case around it where players were shooting at each other, the winner getting money.
"Cool," Michael grinned. "I like this place already."
"I hope you're not thinking about playing that game without any armor or weapons," a voice off to his right spoke up.
Michael glanced down at his blue jeans and black Tee-shirt then over at the owner of the voice, a girl roughly his age with blue hair with two metal clips holding most of her bangs off to the sides, an open green, midriff jacket over a white armor that was a bif low on her chest, left the sides of her hips exposed, and connected to her belt. Her shorts her also a bit low and even as low as they were ended less than a quarter of the way down her thighs. She wore a pair of green pant legs that attached to the outside of her belt, black combat boots, fingerless black gloves, and a white scarf.
"Could you help me find a gun shop then?" Michael asked.
"Let me finish my drink," the girl said turning back to the bar, revealing that her shorts showed off a bit more in back than Michael had guessed.
She took her time finishing her drink then payed the bartender and stood, turning to him.
"Alright," she sighed. "Let's go."
He followed her out of the bar and down the road until they came to a large building with every wall inside, including the pillars, lined with all kinds of weapons from handguns, to revolvers, to pump action shot guns, fully automatic shotguns, single shot shotguns and rifles, bolt action rifles, burst fire rifles, semi automatic, fully automatic, rocket launchers, grenade launchers, grenades, mines, dinamite, C4, and dozens of sniper rifles of all kinds.
"This place is awesome!" Michael gaped.
He looked around before his eyes settled on a sniper rifle and he tensed, his amasement fading.
"Um, what types of weapons are there?" Michael asked.
"Classes wise, there are the standard live ammo type that are designed for player vs player," the girl stated. "Then there are Optical Rifles, laser type. They are slower than live ammo but are more acurate. However, there are energy shields players can buy that are relatively cheap that block half the damage from Optical Rifles for several shots."
"What about secondary weapons?" Michael asked.
"Well, there's pistols, obviously," the girl stated. "There's also auto pistols. Not a whole lot of options."
"What about blades?" Michael asked. "Knives or swords or something."
"Well, there are throwing knives," the girl stated. "They're cheap and have good damage but they're real world skill based so they're unpopular because they're hard to use. Plus they have even worse range ratings than a pistol, which is only slightly more expensive."
"I want knives," Michael decided looking toward the guns then sighed. "And a blaster."
"Really?" The girl asked. "You not planning to go player vs player?"
"I probably will," Michael stated. "But...I'm unsure about using a live ammo gun."
"Why?" The girl asked, seeming a bit more interested than he would have expected.
"It's...it's a long story," Michael sighed. "So, how much is my weapons and armor going to cost?"
"A bit, depending on what we get you," the girl stated. "How much do you have?"
"Um," Michael pulled up his menu. "One thousand credits."
"More than you have," thebgirl sighed. "Do you have anything to sell?"
"The only thing I have is an M9000 Avatar Model," Michael stated.
"A-An M9000?" The girl gaped. "That's worth...fortunes!"
A male player who had overheard ran over, shouting about mega-credits. After a moment, the girl grabbed Michael's hand, manipulating it to trade away the M9000. In exchange, Michael got nearly five hundred thousand credits. The player equipped the avatar model and became what appeared to be a teenage girl with long hair qnd a slim build. Then, the player ran off and the girl sighed.
"There, that should get you some good gear," the girl sighed. "So, you said knives and an Optical Rifle right? This way."
He followed her through the store to a screen displaying several types of knives. After scanning through, he chose one with a balance of range and damage. After paying for it, a small bucket-shaped robot scurried over and the knife appeared over it. It was roughly eight inches long with a three inch rectangular grip and a five inch curved blade. It came with a scabard which automatically attached to the back of his belt. He put the knife away and the girl led him to a screen displaying Optical Rifles.
He began to scan through them and comparing their stats, trying to decide what he liked best. After a bit, he decided on one that had a balance of all the stats. Its grip was simply a thumb hole in the buttstock, the trigger in front of that, and a screen built into a raised portion of the top that read how many shots were left. He bought it and the same robot sped over, the rifle appearing over it. He took it, marvelling at how light it felt. With the girl giving him advice about what to get, he also bought a suit of haphazard armor consisting of a black shirt with lightweight black armor plates on the front, shoulders, back, and with black armor gauntlets, a pair of plain black pants, and a pair of black combat boots. He was amazed that the armor was so light. He didn't feel any weight from it, which aparently was the way it was designed, even in real life. She also convinced him to buy a strong protective field for Optical Rifles and five extra magazines for his rifle.
"There, you should be good now," the girl said. "You wanna test the weapons?"
Michael nodded and she led him to a shooting range where several players were firing live ammo weapons. She rented them a target point and told him that he would have unlimited ammo while he was testing his weapon since he bought it there but that once they left he would have to start buying ammo. He nodded and raised the rifle, a hologram appearing on top. It was an oval with a circle inside. The circle had two lines forming a cross inside and he smirked.
"Nice sights," Michael smirked.
He moved his finger to the trigger and a spinning green circle appeared in his vision. He moved his finger off the trigger and the circle disappeared.
"What's the circle?" Michael asked.
"It's the program in the game designed to help the player shoot but make it a challenge too," the girl explained. "The speed with which it expands and contracts is controlled by your heart rate. The faster it's beating and the less calm you are, the faster it moves. It adjusts for windage on its own, you'd see it slightly off to whichever side. Your shot will hit randomly within the circle."
Michael nodded, placing his finger onto the trigger again. The circle appeared, expanding from taking up the entire target, therefor also extending a ways away from it on the sides, then shrinking to a small circle taking up only the chest. He waited, getting a feel for timing then squeezed off a shot as the circle was almost fully shrunk. He fired off a few more, watching them streak past the target, and the girl brought the target to them. Michael groaned. He had hit the target only once and that one was just barely on the target.
"It takes practice," the girl stated. "I've been playing for months. I couldn't hit anything when I started."
"I suppose," Michael sighed. "I thought for sure that first shot was good though."
"That probably was," the girl laughed. "Remember, I said it hits randomly in the circle. I'd guess it just happened to hit on the edge of the circle."
Michael nodded and sent the target back out, sighting in and trying again, paying more attention to the circle this time. Each time he shot, it jumped back to its biggest, accounting for his other shots missing. He slowed down, letting the circle shrink down between shots and this time managed to score several hits in a row, all but one being bull's eyes.
"That's more like it," the girl smiled.
The target reset itself and Michael sent it back out, slinging his rifle diagonally across his back and drawing his knife. He hurled it as hard as he could and it sailed theough the air about three quarters of the distance before dropping. It hit roughly ten feet in front of the target and Michael sighed, the girl staring in shock. Michael reached back but there was no new knife in the sheath.
"Uh, do I have to buy a new one now?" Michael asked, panicked that he had waisted a lot of money on the knife.
"No," the girl chuckled. "Just hold your hand like you have it and are going to throw it again."
He did as instructed, mind flashing back to when he first learned how to fly in ALfheim Online. The knife appeared in his hand, the one he had thrown still in the ground. He began to throw and generate new ones rapidly, aiming higher. This time, they began to hit the target, just too low to be considered a hit if he was being scored.
"Holy crap," the girl said. "I didn't know they could reach that far."
"Can you kill someone with it without throwing them?" Michael asked.
"You mean a melee kill?" the girl asked. "Yeah. Melee kills have doubled damage with blades but no one ever gets close enough to use them so no one bothers."
Michael nodded and put his knife away then thought of something else.
"Can the knife be placed anywhere else?" Michael asked.
"Yes," the girl nodded. "You just dragg it to whatever spot you want it."
Michael gripped the sheath and it detatched from his belt. He put it vertically on his right thigh where he kept his right knife in ALfheim Online and a strap appeared, securing it in place. Once he had decided he was content, they left the store.
"I gotta go," the girl said. "Maybe we'll meet up some time."
"Probably with you shooting at me," Michael smirked.
"You would never know," she smiled. "I'm a sniper."
He couldn't help but smile and nod, thanking her. Then, she turned and walked away. He left the city, finding himself in a barren wasteland. As he walked along, he saw players running around in the distance but not paying him any mind. Even so, given the game's nature, he rested a hand on his knife. It would be easier to draw then his rifle at a moment's notice.
After a bit, a red line appeared in his field of view, aiming directly between his eyes. He instinctively dropped and a bullet streaked through the air where the line had been.
"Helpful," Michael mused, drawing his rifle and ducking into cover.
He peeked out, another line appearing instantly. He saw a player at the other end with what looked like an M16 and smirked. He ducked back into cover as the bullet streaked past. Then, he stepped out, firing. Two shots hit beside the player, making him flinch, then one hit a barrier around him. Michael fired several more times, walking forward. Suddenly, three red lines reached his chest. He dove aside, avoiding the bullets then put his rifle away and drew his knife, sprinting forward. The player began to laugh, firing rapidly at him. Michael turned, circling the player to stay out of his aim. Then, he spun, hurling the knife and summoning another. The knife spun through the air, sticking into the ground about twenty yards short.
"Knives?" The player laughed. "You'll never hit me with that!"
Michael sprinted forward and the player began to fire as fast as he could, red lines filling Michael's vision. Michael dropped, sliding under the bullets then stood and hurled another knife. The knife stuck into a dirt mound the player had initially been hidden behind. The player, being in the process of reloading, dropped the magazine in surprise, stumbling back. He managed to get another magazine out and load the rifle just as Michael began to pepper him with laser shots. After a moment, the barrier flashed and the next shot hit thw player in the thigh.
"Shit!" The player shouted aiming at Michael.
Michael fired one last time then ducked under a shot from the player, watching his own shot smash through the scope on top of the M16 and then through the player's head. The player exploded into data shards and Michael slung his rifle across his back again then turned, walking away. As he walked, he saw two groups of players fighting. One group had only Optical Rifles and the other had nothing but live ammo. Within minutes, the group with the Optical Rifles was defeated and the other group turned toward Michael.
He groaned as his body lit up red and bullets began to fly toward him. For a moment, they simply whizzed past but before he could try to move, they began to punch holes in him as well. Then, he was standing outside the gun shop again. He had all of his gear and weapons still but the hundred thousand or so credits he had had left were gone.
"Shit," Michael sighed. "That could have gone better."
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