Akiri: Link start!

As per usual when FullDiving into virtual reality, he was met with bright, colourful lights and is sent straight into the game, as his account had already been converted and set up beforehand.

Akiri opens his eyes and looks down to see his own avatar and he lets out a sigh.

Akiri: What have I gotten myself into this time?

He then takes a look at his surroundings.

Akiri: (thoughts) This game really has some Cyberpunk vibes to it...

The surroundings have a metallic feel. The streets are paved by metal plates and there are neon-coloured hologram advertisements everywhere, getting more abundant nearer the ground.

Akiri: (thoughts) Let's just hope it isn't as buggy as that game

He then took a deep breath and released.

Akiri: (thoughts) Yup. I can already smell the sweaty tryhards. Can't wait to get drop shotted the second I get into a gunfight

With a swipe of his finger, he opened the menu and looked into his stats to see that he has the starter amount of money and the starter gear.

Akiri: (thoughts) Right, first things first. I should probably head somewhere to buy some gear. The problem is...

He looks around the massive city.

Akiri: (thoughts) Where the hell can I find it?

He then started to approach the first player he comes across to ask for directions.

Akiri: Excuse me, can you show me to a weapons shop?

Player: Find it yourself, noob

The player rudely said before walking away and Akiri just let out a tired sigh.

Akiri: This is gonna be a long day...

(Timeskip)

After about 30 minutes of walking around, he still hasn't found a place where he could buy equipment.

Akiri: (thoughts) I gotta ask someone for directions. Otherwise, I would be walking around like an idiot forever

He looked around the area he is in. Someone then caught his eyes, a girl with blue hair, wearing a green jacket and a white scarf wrapped around her neck.

Akiri: (thoughts) Let's hope she isn't as rude as the other players

He thought before approaching her.

Akiri: Excuse me

Girl: Hm?

She turns to face him and he blushed a little seeing her face before immediately regaining his composure.

Akiri: I'm kinda lost

Girl: Is this your first time playing this game?

Akiri: Yeah, it is. You mind helping a guy out?

Girl: Not at all. This game is pretty hard on beginners. Where do you want to go?

Akiri: A place where I could buy weapons and equipment. Oh, and also a place called the Governor General's office

Girl: Sure, I'll take you there. Follow me

Akiri: Thanks a lot

Feeling grateful that he had finally gotten someone to help, Akiri then started to follow the blue-haired girl. As they were walking, she looked back at him.

Girl: By the way, what are you doing at the Governors General's office?

Akiri: I want to enter an event called Bullet of Bullets

The girl looked at him shocked.

Girl: BoB? A-ah, you just started today, right?

Akiri: Yes

Girl: Well... Your stats might not be good enough

Akiri: That won't be a problem. This is a converted account, I'm bringing my stats from another game

Girl: Oh, I see. Can I ask what brings you to a game like this that's dirty and stinks of oil?

Akiri: Well, I've always played colourful, fantasy type games before and I wanted a change of scenery, I guess

Girl: I see. And you're starting with BoB? You've got guts. Then, I'll take you to a big market with lots of stuff. We're almost there

Akiri: Right. Lead the way

After about 10 minutes of walking later, Akiri and the blue-haired girl reached the market and they both walked in.

Akiri: Woah... This place is massive

Inside, was an assortment of different guns and weapons on display, as well as other players scattered around, looking at the catalogues.

Girl: GGO has two major weapon types, energy and physical ones. Energy weapons are light and accurate, but players can equip a defensive field that halves their damage. If you're doing a PvP fight like BoB, you want a physical gun

Akiri: Got it

Girl: Now then... What type of stats do you have?

Akiri: My agility stat is the highest, followed by strength

Girl: An agility-strength type, huh? Then your main weapon should be a submachine gun or an assault rifle for mid-range type. But you just converted, right? So not much money?

Akiri: Yeah... Just the starting amount. 1,000 credits

Girl: I thought so. With that money, you can't buy more than a small ray gun. If you wanted a physical gun, I doubt you could even buy a used revolver

Akiri: Oh...

The girl then looked at him, as if judging him.

Girl: You seem like a trustworthy guy. I could lend you some if you want

Akiri: No, no. I appreciate the offer, but I have to refuse. I heard that there are casinos and gambling games where you can get a lot of money really quickly. Can you show me to one?

Girl: Sure. But I wouldn't recommend it, though. There's one right over there

She pointed towards a gambling game called, "Untouchable".

Akiri: Untouchable, huh?

Robot: Hey, chicken, come on!

Girl: You enter from that gate, and dodge the NPC's bullets. The goal is to make it as far as you can. And if you can tag the gunman, you'll get all the money other players have put in

Akiri then looked up and was shocked when he saw that there were 301,500 credits.

Akiri: All of it?

Girl: About 300,000 credits, huh?

Akiri: Sounds easy enough

???: It's impossible

Akiri: What do you mean?

Girl: Once you pass the eight-meter line, he starts doing these cheap quickdraws. By the time you see the prediction lines, it's too late

Akiri: Prediction lines?

The girl then got in his face.

Girl: Watch... Someone's about to add to the pool

Akiri and the girl, along with some other group of players, watched as the player attempted the game.

The countdown hits zero and the player ran straight towards the robot. He then suddenly stopped and got into a weird pose, and Akiri looked at him confused.

Akiri: What the-

The robot then fired at him, and Akiri was surprised when all the bullets missed its target, seemingly as if the player knew where the bullets would hit, and the crowd cheers on.

Akiri: Were those the prediction lines?

Girl: Yes. A defensive assist system, the bullet line. Except for a sniper's first shot, a targeted player will see a display, showing the path a bullet would take

The player ran up for a distance before avoiding more shots and he started to run again as the robot reloads. However, this time, it reloads its weapon a lot quicker, and the player was caught off guard as he frantically tried to avoid the bullets.

His efforts were in vain as he tripped and fell over, making him an easy target. Three shots to the chest ends the game, adding more credits to the pool.

Girl: See? You can't move far to the left or right, so you have to run right down the middle. That area's the limit

Akiri then walked over towards the minigame and the girl looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

Girl: What are you doing?

Akiri: What's it look like I'm doing? I'm trying it out

Girl: You can't be serious

He then started the game and the other players all started to laugh at him.

Player: Heh, a beginner's gonna try?

Akiri just ignored them and as the countdown started, Akiri got into a running stance. As soon as the countdown hit zero, the doors opened and he ran towards the robot as fast as he can.

Robot: I'll kill you!

The robot cowboy aimed its gun at Akiri and he saw three red lines hit his body.

Akiri: (thoughts) So these are the predictions lines, huh?

He then jumped out of the way of the bullets and continued to speed down at the robot cowboy.

Robot: You loser!

The robot cowboy then aimed its gun at his head, arm and chest, but he effortlessly dodged it while still being on the move and made it past the 10-meter mark as everyone looked at him surprised.

Player: Who is this kid?

Akiri continued to run towards the robot cowboy while dodging the bullets. The robot kept firing until, it finally ran out of ammo and Akiri smirked.

Akiri: Looks like you're out of ammo!

The robot cowboy then started to quickdraw an energy pistol and Akiri saw this and he jumped out of the way before it could even fire it. The girl along with the other players looked at him completely shocked as Akiri landed right next to the robot cowboy and tagged it, winning the game.

Akiri: Too slow!

Robot cowboy: No!

Money then started to shoot out of the building behind the robot cowboy and everyone looked at Akiri in complete and utter shock.

He then collected all 301,500 credits and he walked out and the girl and other players ran up to him.

Player: What was that...?

Girl: What kind of reflexes do you have? And your movement speed is completely insane. At the end, in front of it, you dodged the lasers fewer than two meters away. There's hardly any time between the predictions lines and the actual shots!

Akiri: I just moved out of the way of the prediction lines

Girl: There's no way you could react in time

Akiri: Well... I just did

He replied simply with a shrug before walking away and the girl along with the other players kept on looking at Akiri, still in disbelief.

(Timeskip)

After winning the money from the Untouchable game, Akiri and the girl went back to the shop and he started looking at the different assault rifles.

Akiri: This assault rifle, has a smaller calibre than a submachine gun, so why is it bigger?

Girl: You don't even know that, but you have those ridiculous skills?

Akiri: Well, I'm not from America, so knowing the different sizes of bullet calibers wasn't on my school's lesson plan...

Girl: You said this was a converted account, right? What did you play before?

Akiri: Just some plain old fantasy game

The girl just gave him a look.

Girl: Hmm...

Akiri: What?

Girl: Fine. If you're entering the BoB qualifiers, I'll have a chance to see you in action. So what was it? The reason an assault rifle has a small caliber?

Akiri: Yeah

Girl: It goes back to the American M16. The design revolved around a small caliber, high speed round, with high accuracy and penetrative power. But that doesn't matter, does it?

Akiri: Well, it's still nice to know. I've always been interested to learn more about firearms

Girl: Well, now that you have 300,000 credits, you can get some really good stuff. But in the end, it comes down to what you like and want to focus on

Akiri: Focus on, huh?

As the two of them were walking, Akiri saw something that caught his eye and it looked like the handle of a katana.

Akiri: What's this?

Girl: That's an energy sword. The official name is "Photon Sword", but everyone calls them things like laser blades or beam sabers

Akiri: So there are swords in this world... Interesting

Girl: Yeah, but no one uses them

Akiri: Why's that?

Girl: You can only strike at point-blank range, and by the time you get close, you're already been blown apart by ranged weapons

Akiri: Makes sense. So I would just need to get in close

Girl: Sure your dodge skills are amazing, but against a full auto weapon...

As the girl was talking, Akiri went ahead and bought the photon sword and a little robot came over and presents the item to him.

Robot: Thank you for your purchase!

Girl: Well, everyone has their own combat style, I guess...

Akiri: They wouldn't be selling it if it's completely useless

He then activates the weapon and a low humming sound was heard as a red, curved energy blade shot up from the hilt.

Akiri: Nice. An elegant weapon from a more civilized age

He then swung it around a few times, getting a feel for it.

Akiri: Yup. This will do nicely

He then went to sheath the photon sword on his back out of habit, only to realize that there is no sheath there and the girl just looked at him confused.

Akiri: Right... I gotta get used to that...

He muttered before deactivating the photon sword.

Girl: Even with that as your main weapon, I think you'll do better with a submachine gun or handgun in your inventory. You'll need to distract them while you get close

Akiri: Yeah. I think a handgun should suffice

Girl: How much credits do you have left?

Akiri pulled down his menu and saw that he had 140,500 credits left.

Akiri: About 140,000

Girl: Energy swords are pricey. With 125,000... If you're going to enter BoB, you'll need a physical gun...

Akiri: Since I'm gonna be using it to get close, I should get something with more accuracy over power, right

Girl: Yeah. And I think I know the perfect one for you

The girl then walked over to the pistols section and pointed at one called the "FN Five Seven".

Girl: An FN Five Seven

Akiri: FN Five Seven, huh?

Girl: Yeah. It uses 5.7mm bullets. They're smaller than your average 9mm Parabellums. But their shape is similar to rifle rounds, so they have greater accuracy and penetrative power

Akiri: Impressive, you sure know your stuff

Girl: Thanks

Akiri: I'll take your recommendation then

He then bought the pistol before turning back towards the girl.

Akiri: Is there anything else I should get?

Girl: Let's see. A holster, spare ammo... And armour. A defensive field, as well. And...

Akiri: What?

Girl: You've never fired a gun, have you?

Akiri: Not in this game

Girl: Want to try it?

(Timeskip)

The girl then took Akiri to the firing range and he was covering his ears from how loud it was.

Akiri: Geez... It's a game, the gunshots don't need to be this loud

Girl: You could lower the volume in the settings, but I don't recommend it though. Hearing sounds like gunshots or footsteps are really important

As they arrived at a booth, the girl set up a target and Akiri took out his pistol.

Girl: Do you know how to fire it?

Akiri: Theoretically...

He said before taking a second to inspect the weapon. Looking for things like the safety switch, magazine release and slide lock, and getting the feel and weight of the weapon in his hand. Although he knew that it wasn't loaded, he still kept in mind about trigger discipline and kept his finger off the trigger.

He presses the magazine release and the magazine dropped into his hand. As he saw that the magazine was loaded with bullets, he loads it back into the gun. After he is done, he pulls the slide lock back and released, chambering a round. He placed both hands on the grip and aimed his pistol down the range.

Akiri: It's lighter than I thought

Girl: It's made from reinforced plastic. The recoil isn't bad, either. But it's best to start firing with both hands. And keep your left eye open, too

He just nodded and did as she said. As he places his finger on the trigger, a small circle appeared and it got bigger and smaller in front of where he was aiming.

Akiri: Should I be seeing a circle?

Girl: Yes. That's the offensive assist system, the bullet circle. Bullets hit randomly somewhere in that circle

Akiri: How do I increase the accuracy?

Girl: The easiest way is to get closer

Akiri: No shit, Sherlock

Girl: Hey, don't get smart with me. I've been helping you out this whole time

Akiri: Relax, I'm just messing with you

He said before aiming his gun at the target and disengaged the safety. He then held his breath and steadied his hand, making the bullet circle smaller.

He takes a shot and it landed a few inches off-centre. He then adjusted his aim and waits a while for the bullet circle to shrink before taking another shot. He repeats this process until he empties the 20 round magazine.

The girl then pulled the target over and she was impressed to see that most of the shots hit around the centre.

Girl: Impressive. Not too bad for your first time

Akiri: Thanks

(Timeskip)

After they finished buying a few more items in the market, Akiri and the girl then walked out.

Akiri: Thanks so much for the help. I really appreciate it

Girl: You're welcome. It's a nice change of pace to see a male player who isn't trying to hit on me. Plus, I wasn't really doing much before the qualifiers

Akiri: You're entering the BoB, too?

Girl: Yeah. I'm just about to enter

The girl then looked at the time and was completely shocked.

Girl: Oh, no! We only have ten minutes!

Akiri: I'm sorry. This is my fault

Girl: No, it's mine for not paying attention. Let's hurry!

The two of them then started to run to the governor office.

Akiri: Isn't there something like a teleporter here?

Girl: Nope. In GGO, the only teleportation is dying and respawning at a revival point. And your HP will never go down in the town, so you can't do that

Akiri: How far away is the place?

Girl: The governor's office is over there. It's three kilometres away... Entering will take five minutes, so we need to get there in three. Please... Please get there!

While running, Akiri started to look around and he saw some vehicles parked up ahead.

Akiri: Which one of those is the fastest?

Girl: In terms of speed, that sports car

She points to a sleek, black and red car.

Girl: But that thing is so fast barely anyone can drive without crashing it!

Akiri: Even better!

He grabs her arm and ran straight for it. The two of them got into the car and Akiri paid the fee and the engine roars to life as the vehicle starts up.

Akiri: Better hang on tight!

He pushes the clutch in and puts the car into gear. They then were pulled back against their seats as Akiri launches the car forwards and into the main road.

Girl: How? This car in particular is really hard to drive, almost no one can handle them!

Akiri: I have my own car in real life. Though I haven't driven it in a long time, so now I just play VR racing sims

He then changes gear and started to go faster as he skillfully weaves through the traffic.