April 27th, 2026
Weapon modifications were rare to come across. The system that allows the action was tedious, to say the least, but it doesn't mean people have tried. Kaito has been trying to modify the M14 to give the bullet a faster projectile speed. Powder only gets a player so far, so the power had to come from a second propulsion system.
"Maybe you can attach a railgun to it or something," Daisuke said.
The virtual M14 lay on the desk disassembled. Kaito picked up the handguard and attached the upgrade part near the barrel. The lights started to turn on for the upgrade part and the power port opened to accept a power unit. He picked up the power unit and attached it to the port. The gun started to hum as electricity flowed through the part.
"Woah, you managed to do it," Daisuke mentioned, "So what are the stats?"
Kaito opened the status window and showed the status of the weapon. The accuracy and recoil were similar to that of a 7.62 caliber rifle. The damage output however was equivalent to a .338 Lapua bullet. The gun also overheats faster as a counter to the higher damage output.
"This is better for snipers and back row people," Kaito mentioned while picking up the gun.
Kaito edited the stock to be akin to the M110 DMR. He kept the pistol grip for better ergonomics. He brought the M14 to his shoulder and aimed down the ACOG sight. The front of the rifle was heavier which would improve recoil management.
"Let's take her out on a test drive," Kaito mentioned.
The pair left the apartment for a nearby park. The park had a dedicated area for Ordinal Scale. When they activated the game, a handful of monsters appeared in the field. They laid down next to each other on a hill and Daisuke proceeded to spot Kaito.
"Hit the plant monster on the left. Fifty meters from us," he ordered.
Kaito took a deep breath and pulled the trigger. The rifle recoiled back while the lights in the handguard flashed blue. In a flash, a light blue tracer emerged from the muzzle of the weapon and pierced through the plant. The bullet tore through the plant and landed in the grass behind it. The plant exploded into confetti and the pair gained 500 experience. They cleared the field and managed to raise their rankings by one level.
"Not too bad," Kaito mentioned while reloading the power pack, "The barrel gets pretty hot after a while though."
Kaito replaced the magazine before Daisuke mentioned that he had to do homework. Kaito knew that was a lie. Ever since that encounter with Yuna at his first battle, he's been enamored with her ever since.
"Well, I'll stay out for a while longer," Kaito played along, "I want to see if anything interesting happens when I take on a higher caliber creature."
Daisuke smiled and left the park for the apartment. Kaito laid on the grass in the park thinking about how this could be the healing process that he had hoped for. Kaito confronts his fear of SAO and gets over the horrors of it. He had been to a few of the SAO boss battles. He relived the memories of fighting them with other people. Kaito closed his eyes to enjoy the sense of nature before he went back to the apartment. The birds chirped and the sun and grass hit his skin. It felt like his old hangout spot in SAO, but it felt more real...more relaxing than the virtual world. When Kaito reopened his eyes, he saw orange streaks crossing a dark blue sky. It was twilight before dawn.
"I thought it was supposed to be two o'clock right now."
He tucked his knees in to pull himself off the ground. When he sat up, he was lying down on marble. He got up onto his feet and faced north. He reached for his back and felt cold metal. Kato gazed down and saw the leather strap from a sling. He slid the sling off of his shoulder and grabbed the weapon.
