The Blacksmith and the Warrior

The Sniper and the Reborn Nightmare

November 4th, 2025, After Survivor’s School

“You look exhausted.”

I drop my head on the door of my locker after slamming it shut. Beside me, Rika giggles at her oh-so-obvious comment of my physical status. Rolling my eyes and groaning, I stand up and sling my backpack over my shoulder, following her out the school. “Really, you think I’m tired?”

“Oh, everyone knows, I’m just kind enough to voice it. Anyway, how do you feel about that statistics test coming up? You’re good with that subject, aren’t you?”

I nod. “Yeah.”

“Well, do you think you could spare a few hours to study sometime this weekend with me and Asuna? I think we both could use the help. But that’s only if you’re not going to drop dead on us.” I yawn as we exit the school building and head for the parking lot. If only she knew how late I accidentally stayed up last night playing Gun Gale Online, she would berate me. But I have a good reason, one she understands as a friend of mine and Kazuto.

But first, I should explain the last two months: In September, I joined GGO at the request of my childhood friend, Momiji Takadane, known as “Kureha” in the game. On my first day, we participated in a tournament, but the real news that came out of it was the finding of a rare item, a Type-X Artificial Financial Adviser System Artificial Intelligence. The owner just so happened to be the new player, me. After learning that a new update would be coming that utilizes the Arfa-sys, which I named “Rei”, Kureha and I searched over the various lands of the game to collect Rei’s missing parts to prepare for the update. Along the way, I made a few new friends: Itsuki, one of the top players in the game who I met during the tournament and later joined our group; LLENN and Pitohui, the two players who were close to obtaining Rei before I accidentally claimed her; Fukaziroh and M, friends of LLENN and Pitohui; and Zeliska, another top player and owner of of Type-X named Daisy. Together, we are Crimson Squadron.

The reason I was up so late is because we became stuck in the new update. Rei and Daisy’s home, the SBC Flügel, launched this past weekend, so the entire squadron is now in a race with other groups to find what lies within. However, we got barred from going deeper in the ship by a large door. It requires key cards to gain access, so last night, Rei, Kureha, LLENN, Fuka, and I went searching for the second key after Itsuki, Pitohui, M, and Zeliska found the first. However, I promised another friend of mine from GGO that I’ll meet up with her today for a while before resuming the search for the second key.

But it would be nice to take a break from GGO once we have all the keys. I haven’t spent time with Asuna or any of our friends in the real world outside of school since I moved to GGO, so it’ll be a nice thing to do. Only Asuna, Rika, and Strea know why I haven't been in Alfheim Online for two months, while everyone else assumes it's because of my “work” with my family’s company that’s stealing my precious game time. I’m actually proud Strea hasn’t spilled the beans yet, I’ll have to applaud her when I get back to ALO.

“Joshua? Joshua!”

“Huh?”

Rika frowns at me, her arms across her chest. Beside her is Keiko, who must’ve joined while I was unattentive. “I asked if you want to go get an after-school snack with me and Keiko. You sure you’re fine? What the heck are you even doing in GGO?”

I shake my head as I unlock my car. “No, I’m good. Everything is good.”

“Uh huh.”