A/N: These are the guest interpretations mentioned last time of the "Spiegel" intro.

A bit of a look at the behind the scenes process, although this instance was a one-off exception to the usual drafting, brainstorming, and rewrites.

I would arguably say that these can stand on their own as short story segments in their own right. Otherwise, the "main" story content will resume next chapter.

[—]

Festus interpretation of Chapter 7 intro:

Shino gazed into the deep, black abyss before her, barely making out the silhouette of stalactites and rock formations that formed natural landmarks for adventurers to use. Winding tunnels dotted the cavern walls, each one branching off into its own dangerous journey filled with peril. And from the corner of her eye, movement. Was it another person? Or a monster straight out of her nightmares?

"–non? Sinon? Oii, Sinon!"

The familiar sound of her classmate snapped Shino— Sinon, she reminded herself— out of her daze. She turned to look at her friend— at Kyouji, but the man who stared back was like a stranger. He carried himself with confidence, his sharp eyes seemed to pierce through Sinon's whole being, and his grey hair tied in a ponytail gave him a more mature, regal air. Spiegel was everything Kyouji wished he was, and more.

"Are you okay?" Spiegel asked. "If you're not up for it, we can always just–"

"I'm fine!" Sinon replied, a bit too quickly for her taste.

She tried to wave his concerns away, but one look at Sinon's hands conveyed just how much she was shaking. Her Colt Python revolver was still hidden away in its holster, untouched since she bought it with her meagre starting funds. Spiegel had asked if she wanted to practise in a firing range before they began their mission. Sinon declined.

Verbally, she explained that she learned better in a practical environment. Mentally, Sinon was afraid of how she would react to holding a gun in public after her last experience with it.

If Spiegel was suspicious of Sinon's words, he didn't make any mention of it. He instead focused on the large text floating just slightly above the cave entrance.

"The «Howling Tunnels»," he read aloud. "It's the first major raid area players can access, so you usually don't have to deal with bumping into other players."

"Are you sure I can do this?" Sinon asked, her doubt increasing by the second.

Spiegel laughed, a hearty laugh that he would never have made in real life. It almost scared Sinon.

"That's why I'm here!" he puffed up his chest. "If things get too hairy, you can count on me to have your back!"

This just made Sinon roll her eyes. She had no idea how good Spiegel was at this game. For all she knew, Spiegel was some godlike gamer who could clear entire dungeons solo. But his attitude was definitely not inspiring any confidence in her. It sounded more like a rat boasting about how he could take on a tiger.

But at the same time, she couldn't help but envy him. People often talked about how they were born in the wrong time period, but could the same be said about dimensions? Gun Gale Online was Spiegel's true calling, a place away from the expectations of his family and peers. A place that accepted him, that welcomed him.

And perhaps one day, a place that could accept her too.

"I'll take your word for it," Sinon said, masking her apprehension with an act of bravado. "If you believe this to be the best course of action, then who am I to judge?"

Whatever response Sinon was expecting out of Spiegel, it surely wasn't the roaring laughter that escaped his mouth. Her face flushed red, amplified even more by the game's emotion enhancing algorithm.

"What's so funny?!" she stuttered, hiding her face behind her thick scarf.

"Sorry, sorry," Spiegel wiped away his tears. "It's just that— I didn't expect a model student like you to talk like that. Where did you learn that? Some high fantasy novel?"

Sinon only hid her face deeper into her scarf. "I'm not a model student…"

"Tell that to the teachers. You're the only one who can answer Kashima-sensei's math questions."

"Maybe if some people actually focused, the class average wouldn't be so bad," Sinon shot back. "I'm just… doing the bare minimum."

Noticing the sudden shift in Sinon's mood, Spiegel stopped his laughter and crossed his arms respectfully. "If you call that doing the bare minimum, then I'm looking forward to seeing you actually try your best. I mean, just look at you. One day into GGO and you've already figured out what kind of build you want. And a sniper build, too. Talk about shooting for the stars."

Despite Spiegel's praise, Sinon could only look dejectedly at the ground. It was true. Sinon had read up on the different guns and builds people could play in GGO the night before, and had immediately gravitated towards the sniper rifle. Spiegel might have thought that it was because of its notoriety and high kill potential, but the truth was far from that. Sinon merely wanted to stay as far away from any actual gunplay as possible.

"Let's just get back on topic," Sinon tried to end the conversation immediately. "So this tunnel is a good way to start playing, right?"

Spiegel nodded. "Tunnels are a pretty good training area if you know what you're doing. The enemy can only spawn in one direction, and as long as you don't get sidetracked, escaping is pretty safe too. Monsters don't spawn behind in areas you've already cleared."

"And this is faster than just following the in-game tutorial?" Sinon eyed the notification panel telling her to speak to Admiral Jackson.

"Much faster," Spiegel equipped his machine gun, doing one final check to ensure that he was fully prepared. "The tutorial is garbage. You'll learn more by actually playing the game."

Watching her friend skillfully finish his pre-game prep, Sinon realised that she should start doing hers as well. But that meant actually holding a gun. She hesitated. A small part of her was fighting back, bringing her back to that fateful day at that bank.

Her fingers twirled a lock of her hair— powder blue, like a soft patch of snow. It was a fantastical colour, one you would never find in the real world.

She paused.

Was this not why she even wanted to play this game in the first place? Why she built an avatar that looked so different from her actual, weak self? How could she ever grow up and become a stronger person if she refused to face her fears?

Closing her eyes, Sinon reached for the holster strapped around her thigh. The feel of the gun's cold grip sent shivers down Asada Shino's spine. But for Sinon, it instead froze over her quivering heart.

And on the day, the Ice Cold Sniper was born.

[—]

Ryu interpretation of Chapter 7 intro:

It was heavy.

That was her conclusion to the problem of her aching arms, the rifle she had held up to her shoulder for some time now. That alone, was reason enough for the sniper to feel ill at ease.

From the moment she arrived home with the AmuSphere, she regretted the purchase. It took a chunk out of her savings, one she felt anxiety over using given all she had to support herself with was the funds her grandparents gave her. Her mother certainly couldn't provide any support. She toyed with the idea of returning it. But that damn promise kept ringing in her head, a possible cure to the anathema that plagued her, that deep rooted trauma that haunted her every day. The sole cause of her life's misfortunes.

From the moment the initial setup and downloads finished, and she placed it upon her head with unsteady hands, she had been taken somewhere far, far away. The smell of her half-finished dinner, the still cooling pan waiting to be cleaned in the kitchen, it all faded and was instead replaced by the feeling of nothingness. Her senses taken to the void, before her world exploded in light and sound.

A whirl of experiences and sights that were far too much for her to recall, a wild ride of new sensations that swept her along to the place she now found herself. A stinking sewer, deep beneath the world she could almost relate to. But down here, this was alien.

Her breathing was slow, through her mouth, as she tried her best to ignore the rotten stench of gods only know how old of sludge and excrement. The light before her illuminated the circular walls of steel, long since rusted over by centuries of corrosion. She'd seen a castle, once. It had only been three hundred years old and yet cared for. But what she saw now, she'd never experienced before. Every smell, every texture was new and not at all desirable. A slow swallow punctuated her anxiety, as deep, distant sounds echoed up the black tunnel before her. Low, guttural echoes of beasts, horrors unseen. This is the fear old heroes and men felt in those stories of ages long past. When mysticism and wild beliefs ruled the world. Now she understood how a large cave was the entrance to Hades.

But this was a game. She had to hammer that home. Her hands gripped the old worn stock of the rifle in her hands. This wasn't real. It couldn't be real. Everything she saw, everything she'd done in her life was real. This was just a game.

A small yellow popup made her jump, a red caution symbol, with hiragana and English letters appearing, both saying the same.

It was a game. And she hadn't been breathing. She took a deep breath.

"Sinon? You good?"

A male voice rang in her ears, as she brought her breathing back into the picture, the light shifted as her companion she'd all but forgotten about turned some to look at her. Silver hair, silver eyes. Just like a hero in a fantasy anime. Slim build, green fatigues and a smile that belied his lack of confidence. This man, she knew. Kyouji. But what was it he said to call him? Spiegel. That was it. She remembered now because she had to correct his pronunciation of it. An odd name to say, when your only language is Japanese.

"Yeah," she didn't need to portray anything. He'd explained the notion before, that in a VRMMO you could be anyone you chose to be. It was a strange notion, almost embarrassing. She was much more into reading books, not acting them out.

A boisterous laugh left him, "Well, I remember my first day too you know? You almost can't believe you're in a game. There's a reason the media is always going on about how dangerous the addiction becomes."

A curt nod was her response, and she didn't miss the small twinge on his lips. She knew he wanted more out of her but her tongue was tied. She didn't exactly do this often, especially not after the last time she'd opened up to others. She let out an exhale, she had to push that sort of thought out. She came this far, maybe it wouldn't end up like the last time she tried to make friends. "I. . . Mmn, I feel almost overwhelmed. Which is why I have to ask again, are you sure we shouldn't go back and do the introductory quests? I know how to shoot a gun and all, but you mentioned something about an inventory and I'm not -"

"Ah don't worry about all that!" he parried her concerns with a thrust of a reply, "Honestly those quests have zero fluff to them. The story in this game is meh anyways. Most guys just skip through the NPC RP. I mean, you got some guys who get reeeeally into it. But cmon, its a gun game. We all just wanna shoot sweet guns and kill big monsters! I can teach you what you want to know."

Her expression was something she couldn't see, but she knew it likely reflected her annoyance at the way he spoke, and her non-verbal sign had its unintended effect on the boy. It was an insult to the writers who tried their best, she felt, to skip what he referred to as 'NPC RP'. "Maybe you do, but if I'm going to play this, I'd rather do it the right way. Besides, it's like jumping to the Balrog chapter because you can't be bothered to appreciate the rest of the book. You'd have zero understanding of the stakes and plot."

"I, er. . ." his reply was about as dull as he could be. But maybe that's why she enjoyed his company. He wasn't someone who shared her interests, but at least he seemed earnest and honest enough. After being tricked all the times before, having someone she could read was a welcome change.

The silence that fell between the two was interrupted by a low clang deeper within the tunnel. That brought them both back to the present, a hazardous sewer that was infested by monstrous aberrations that some twisted soul created as an affront to God.

She remembered now, why they were here. A quick way to get her past early levels by completing quests he could escort her through although he was still new himself and his level barely matched the things they were fighting – in his words. She knew it was a game, she reminded herself again, so why did she feel her fear creeping up her throat and her palms sweat as her hands tensed around the rifle. That, is what astounded her. Rather than heart stopping fear, she was actually relying on the thing in her hands to safeguard her virtual life. After all, pain is pain, regardless of imagined or virtual and she didn't want to imagine what terrible fate could befall her in a place she was given system warnings to not enter.

"It's gonna be okay, p-promise!" the faux hero of light promised her, holding up a metallic device, "All we have to do, is find the corpse of the NPC down here and retrieve the quest item, we don't even need to fight anything. Er. . .better we don't really. So, try to keep low and quiet."

"But, what about the light?"

A moment passed between them, and she saw the quick flick of his eyes away from her. She knew what that meant. A deeper sigh escaped her as he stuttered out some words she didn't really care to hear, as she already knew what it meant. As he stepped forward, however, so did she.

And with every step deeper into the ruinous tunnels before her, something blossomed within her mind, the sounds of footsteps echoing off rusted sewer pipes. With every step into old sludge that formed a jelly like substance under her boot, it further cemented the concept. This world, by all accounts was a game. Yet here she was, the experiences within indistinguishable at the moment from her day to day life.

And she held a rifle in her arms.

And she took another step forward.

Sinon, she thought. That is her name. It was a stronger name than Shino and one she could put herself behind.

A sudden roar bounced off the walls, and her companion jumped. She stepped forward, and raised her rifle.

It wasn't heavy anymore.