Just as Kirito took his position at the start line, Rosalia contacted Sinon.
"How is it, Sinon? Find any useful info?"
"No, nothing so far. But I ran into Kirito-kun by chance, so we're moving together right now."
"Is that so?"
"Yeah. You know that NPC bullet-dodging game outside the weapons shop? He's all fired up about making enough cash from it to slam the money right back in Shana's face..."
"I see. Got it. Shana will probably show up soon anyway, so I'll let him know Kirito-san is looking for him."
"Okay."
Ending the call, Sinon turned her attention back to Kirito. With the signal to start the game, Kirito began to move slowly forward.
(I've already seen how the Bullet Lines work once,) Kirito thought.
Every time a Bullet Line stretched out from the NPC, Kirito dodged it cleanly, advancing step by step.
(Right. Based on what I saw earlier, starting from around here...)
The moment he crossed the crucial eight-meter mark, the NPC's behavior abruptly shifted, exactly as anticipated.
"This is where the attacks get crazy," Yamikaze noted.
"Looks like it, but... wait..." Sinon blinked.
"No way..." Yamikaze muttered.
Anticipating the shift, Kirito's movements had changed from moments before.
"How is he dodging those?!"
"Man, that's insane."
"It's completely different from before, though I can't quite pinpoint how."
"Is he... actually gonna clear this thing?"
"Maybe... wait, huh?!"
"Wh-What?!"
Both of them gasped in surprise as Kirito suddenly leaped into the air—even though the NPC hadn't performed a reload action yet. In the next instant, a stream of bullets whistled through the exact space Kirito had occupied a split second prior, fired without any reloading animation.
"W-What was that?!"
"That NPC didn't reload just now, right?!"
"That's so cheap..."
Before their eyes, Kirito landed gracefully and touched the NPC. A triumphant fanfare echoed loudly throughout the area.
"Whoa, what's that sound?"
"Hey, look..."
"For real?! Did someone actually clear it?!"
"That girl is incredible!"
Amidst a burst of applause from the gathering crowd, Kirito hit the prize redemption button and strutted back to the two with a triumphant grin.
"Hell yeah!" Kirito gave them a thumbs-up.
Yamikaze stared at him, utterly stunned. "You're incredible..."
Sinon asked, bewildered, "H-How did you dodge that last non-reload attack?"
"Hmm? I predicted the Bullet Line."
"Huh?"
"Sorry, say that again?"
"I said, I predicted where the Bullet Line was going to appear and dodged before it even showed up."
At that, the two turned their backs to Kirito and began whispering frantically.
"Whoa, whoa, did you hear that?"
"Is he an esper? Does he have mystic eyes or something?"
"This is bad. Valhalla is seriously terrifying."
"Seeing stuff like this really makes you realize they're a guild of monsters..."
In reality, that wasn't the case—only Valhalla's top three were anomalies. As for the other members, Soleil was generally considered monstrous in offensive magic, and Yukino in healing magic.
"Now that I've seen it with my own eyes..." Yamikaze sighed.
"We just have to accept that's how it is," Sinon agreed.
They turned back around to face Kirito, who was beaming with a wide smile. Giving bitter laughs, the two offered their praise.
"That was amazing! I'm a bit jealous, but congrats!"
"Yeah, thanks!"
"Not bad. Now your name is carved into history."
"History?"
"Yeah. Over there."
Sinon pointed toward a scoreboard displaying the names of players who had cleared the game. Up until now, it had been completely blank, but today, a player's name appeared for the very first time. In a few days, Kirito's name would undoubtedly become famous.
"Sweet! I made a name for myself without even trying hard! Nice!"
"A lot of people use this place, so you should be fairly famous by the time the BoB starts."
Yamikaze reacted instantly to Sinon's words. "Wait, you're entering the BoB?!"
"That's right. Fire lit under you yet?"
"For real? I was planning to crush Shana and XaXeeD to claim the number one spot, but now there's another player I gotta keep an eye on."
Hearing that, Sinon brought her heel down hard on Yamikaze's foot.
"Ouch! What was that for?!"
"Correction."
"Huh? What?"
"Correct what you just said."
Yamikaze blinked, then realized what she meant. He quickly cleared his throat and revised his statement.
"I was planning to crush Shana, XaXeeD, and Sinon to claim the number one spot, but now there's another player I gotta keep an eye on."
"Much better."
"Right, I'm gonna go train a bit! Later!" Yamikaze sped off like the wind.
Watching him leave, Kirito turned to Sinon with a puzzled look. "Hey, does he know Shana too?"
"Of course. Shana is one of the most famous players in GGO."
"Is that so...? Is it because he's a womanizer?"
"Huh? Shana is actually really popular with women, though..."
"Wait, seriously? A pervert like that?!"
"...Pfft." Sinon failed to hold back a snort.
"Did I say something weird?"
"N-No, it's nothing."
(This is way too funny, I'm keeping my mouth shut,) Sinon thought.
"Anyway, how strong is Shana really?"
"Well... at the very least, he'll definitely make it to the BoB finals."
"I see... Then if I get the chance to face him directly, I'm definitely beating him black and blue..."
"Pfft... ngh!"
(No, Shino, don't laugh here! Hold it in!) Sinon scolded herself, barely managing to suppress her laughter.
"Ah, right, Sinon. Are there any other essential items for the tournament?"
"Oh, yeah. You should max out on spare ammo and emergency recovery kits."
"Could you show me around the weapon shop over there? I want to check out a few things."
"Sure."
Just then, Shana contacted Sinon. Asking Kirito to go ahead, Sinon took the call.
"Yeah, it's me."
"Hey, Sinon. I heard you're with Kirito. Where are you?"
"In front of the weapon shop. You know, where the bullet-dodging game is."
"Ah, there. Are you moving anywhere soon?"
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