What?
She's too small!
Why, you!
Are you human?
M! How many are in pursuit?
None.
It seems they gave up and resigned.
Then we... b-beat them?
That's right. Well done.
We did it!
How is she so fast?
They were on the run, but then she wiped them out in moments!
The Pink Devil, huh?
Using the corpse as a shield? That's harsh!
She utilized the special rule and took advantage of it!
Three teams left, huh?
Amazing! Why? How? What for?
What now?
Your guidance up till now! That mazelike route!
That's my unique player skill.
Ever since I was a kid, I've had a good sense of geography.
In reality or in games, I've never gotten lost.
If I look at a map, I can draw it in my head, no matter what kind of place it is.
I see! I got it!
Your name, "M," stands for "map" or "mapper," right?
W-Well...
That totally makes sense! It's kind of cool!
It's almost time.
M! There are only three teams left!
Amazing! We're guaranteed third place. A bronze medal!
Pito told me we have to win.
I know, but...
One team is in the desert wasteland. They're over 5 km away.
The other one is closer, huh?
Even so, we would need to detour around a lake.
I don't think we'd reach them within ten minutes.
One hour from the start...
What?
Nothing, sorry. Let's proceed along the waterfront.
Roger!
At least third place.
And if things work out, we may actually win.
The enemy!
To the right!
Get down!
It hasn't even been five minutes.
How is this possible, M?
They got hold of a vehicle.
A vehicle?
Death Game
Hovercrafts!
Roll left to evade!
Dammit!
M, are you okay?
Yeah.
What should we do? Run away?
No. They'd just come after us.
How? We're on land.
A hovercraft can go on flat land, too. This place is perfect for them.
What? That's not fair!
If we run, they'll come after us.
And they've probably realized it's just the two of us.
They're good, too.
How about I run around as a decoy, while you go hide?
Good idea. But instead of running away, I'm going to shoot from here.
M, are you desperate?
Does it show?
I'm gonna use this.
What, an amazing weapon?
No.
M, what is that?
I'm a chicken, so this is my too-chicken protective gear.
It looks like a tank!
Here they come!
I'm their target, huh? That's fine.
M, run!
M!
You don't have to hit them! Just Fire!
R-Roger!
M, that shield is incredible! Their bullets can't get through?
Bullets up to 7.62mm class will bounce off, even at point-blank range.
Really? That's amazing!
It doesn't exist in reality, but in the game, it's supposed to be space battleship armor plate.
It's GGO's strongest material.
It's sold for an exorbitant price at the underground materials store.
Now they know how strong my shield is. They'll likely all attack together.
I've got a plan!
Serpentine. Full speed.
When the Bullet Lines appear, drop and roll to evade.
And you'll be shooting at them then?
Yeah.
But if I wait for the Bullet Lines, it'll be a disadvantage.
True.
Then, why?
We'll talk later.
We'll take them out by the next scan!
Everyone, prepare to charge!
Be careful of Bullet Lines! We'll go on land and attack from behind.
Jake, you guys go right and provide supporting fire!
Roger!
Attack!
200 meters to go.
Begin containment!
Run around!
Jeez, I am!
Come on! Try and tag me!
How?
The Line...
...I can't see it.
That's two to start.
Did you get them?
They took out Jake and Lax!
Don't let your guard down! Dodge their Lines!
I don't believe it.
One hovercraft left.
M!
Get down!
A deca-nade?
It missed!
Finish him off, LLENN!
Sorry.
I'm really sorry.
M! I got him!
Yeah. Good work.
But you were amazing! You picked them off so easily!
But why didn't they dodge the Bullet Line?
Because they couldn't see it.
They couldn't see it? Why not?
I mean, it appears when you put your finger on the trigger.
That's why I didn't put my finger on the trigger.
Then, the Bullet Circle...
Of course it wouldn't appear.
Then how did you aim?
Directly.
LLENN, GGO is a game, so a lot of things are simplified.
As far as shooting goes.
Shooting is simplified?
For example, if the real you had a real P90,
could you shoot a target from 100 meters away like you can in GGO?
Um... I'm not sure.
It'd probably be impossible.
Reality doesn't have system assist.
In other words...
In GGO, if your target is in the Bullet Circle,
the game system will count that as a hit when you fire.
The player thinks it's their own skill, though.
I see.
The assist increases your level
and lets you obtain high performance guns, which makes you stronger.
It's made easy for the player, so you can get better and better.
So it's like how I can run faster here?
In this way, center your target in the circle,
then pull the trigger roughly, so the gun moves slightly off-center.
So, what will happen to the bullet you fired?
It'll hit the target?
That's right. Right in the middle of the Bullet Circle.
The trigger of a GGO gun is the same thing as a controller button.
Then what would happen in GGO if there was no assist and you tried a difficult shot?
Firing an assault rifle from 100 meters away would consistently result in missed shots.
Without it, it'd be a laughable, crappy game.
Nobody would play it, huh?
That's right. A game's a game.
There's no point in making it completely realistic.
This is how GGO should be.
Pito, I have a question.
If someone who was really good at shooting in real life did this,
what would happen?
I'd wondered the same thing,
so I invited an acquaintance with real world shooting experience to play.
And then?
At first he was bewildered,
but soon got a feel for it and hit the targets one after the other.
But this is what he said after playing the game.
"The Bullet Circle is a double-edged sword."
How so?
Thanks to the assist, you can hit your target without really aiming,
so you're not getting any real shooting practice.
Instead, your skill will get rusty.
I see. So what's the upside?
Well, he said that this makes it extremely easy to make long-distance shots.
In real life, it's really difficult to shoot an enemy from far away. Did you know that?
I learned that in the tutorial.
Long-distance shooting requires experience and a lot of calculations.
Real-life snipers, who don't have assist,
practice making hundreds of shots, firing and firing and firing.
So, they have thorough knowledge of how bullets fly.
M, you "aimed directly." You didn't use the Bullet Circle assist.
You were firing without it.
You looked through the scope and aimed using your own skill.
That's right.
You didn't put your finger on the trigger until right before you fired.
So there was no Bullet Line!
Amazing, M! That's a huge advantage!
We're winning! There's one team left!
We can beat them!
We can get a gold medal!
I hope. It's almost time for the scan.
Oh. It's only been an hour.
One hour...
What's that?
The scan's about to start.
If they're still in the desert, we'll go to them.
So, where are they? How far away are they?
I-I've been shot?
A-A sniper?
Weren't they... in the desert?
LLENN, we're getting out of here!
Don't fall out!
Break out the medkit!
Oh, okay.
Am I going to lose? After making it this far...
After all this...
It's unlikely they'll hit us at this distance.
Looks like they got away.
Boss, they're moving across the lake.
Anna, have you seen any other enemies?
No, I haven't spotted any.
Me either.
Then it's likely there are only two of them.
We'll head to the southwestern wasteland.
Everyone, get on the truck!
It's okay now. They're over a kilometer away.
Sorry, M, for getting shot...
No need to apologize.
Even if you're on guard,
it's not easy to spot a shooter who's 600 meters away.
Even more so if they're hiding.
What should we do now?
We'll get away from them.
We'll recover our hit points completely, too.
I'll give you a shot too, okay?
Please.
They were so far away. How did they get that close?
It's the same as this.
They got their hands on something.
I see.
This is a guess, but near the end of the game, it's easier to find stuff all around
that increases the teams' travel speed.
From vehicles with four-wheel-drive to trucks.
And they have a player who's a good driver.
I underestimated them.
Don't get down about it.
You're a lucky girl, LLENN.
H-How so?
You didn't die from that sniper shot, right?
If the bullet had hit you 10 cm lower,
it would've damaged your heart or lungs, killing you instantly.
I-I guess.
The enemy must've taken a questionable shot.
You lucked out there, too.
But you were shot too, M.
They got lucky. And I'm a big target.
I saw the Line, but it was at my thigh, so I ignored it.
That sniper's rifle is 7.62 mm-class.
It has a narrow firing interval,
so it's equipped for automatic, minimum ten-shot magazines.
It's more annoying than a bolt-action. Don't let your guard down.
Okay. I swear I'll keep my guard up until this is over. I won't be prideful either.
That's a promising answer.
Where are we heading now?
Southwest. We'll go ashore in the wasteland you see on the left.
Wouldn't it be better to cross the lake and marshland?
There's not much fuel left.
There's no guarantee we could cross all that.
Things aren't exactly going our way, huh?
Not bad.
We can defend here and I can snipe from the top.
The enemy will be in the same situation, but we've got your agility.
Let's go west.
We'll get further away and wait for the next scan with our backs to the water.
Two more minutes.
Okay. This'll do it.
M, before, were you about to read a letter? Did you want to?
I was told to read it at 15:00 exactly.
I'm on guard.
Thanks.
One more team. If we beat them...
No, with M's shield and shooting skills, I'm sure we'll win.
Because of that...
LLENN.
I'm sorry.
Nobody is going to...
...kill me!
If you move, I'll pull the trigger, M.
Thanks for telling me about the safety. It came in handy.
Also, I want to ask you something.
Why did you try to kill me?
We made it this far, all the way to the end, so why?
To be killed and not know why doesn't sit right with me.
If you can't go on, then you should talk to me about it.
Am I wrong?
If you're not gonna answer me, then fine! I'll fight alone!
No!
I don't want to die! Please!
P-Please, wait! Please!
Please, don't shoot me!
No! Please, don't!
I beg of you!
Next time: Leave the Last Battle to Me.