Sword Art Online - Phantom Bullet

Prologue

"AGI(Agility) being all powerful is just an illusion!"

The man's high tones spread throughout the spacious bar.

"It is true that AGI is an important attribute as it determines firing speed and avoidance rate. These two factors could make you very strong, until now that is."

That speech came from a player in the square holo-panel floating in the center of the dim shop.

It was the net broadcast, «MMO Stream»'s popular corner, «This Week's Winning Group». You could watch it in the real world from a television or a computer, but it was also broadcasted in many VRMMO worlds' inns and bars simultaneously, so most players liked to watch it «inside».

Especially when the guest player was from «This World».

"But AGI is a relic of the past and to the cripples who had been increasing AGI for 8 months, I can only say this— you have my condolences."

This sarcastic speech caused a loud chorus of booing to erupt in the shop, and many bottles and glasses were smashed onto the floor scattering as tiny pieces of polygon before disappearing.

But «he» ignored all the fuss and sat curled up in the sofa at the shop's deepest corner.

With his camouflage cloak's hood pulled down to his eyebrows and his lower face covered by a thick cloth, he coldly surveyed the shop interior.

He hated not only the man on the screen with his nose in the air, but was also displeased with the dumb looks of the players watching the TV. Everyone booing and howling like wolves, but still enjoying the festival-like disturbances.

Why were they so mindless, «he» could not understand. The man in the TV became the strongest in the world only by pure luck, and at the same time became the biggest exploiter.

In front of all the players who paid connection fees, he was a strutting gamer.

Like «him», all the players should envy and hate that guy. If that feeling was ugly, so be it : to hide it by just laughing with a mixture of ugliness, it wasn't funny at all.

«He» was very tense under his cloak, and he breathed out from between tightly clenched teeth. It was not yet time, and pulling the trigger would come just a bit later.

He returned his gaze to the holo-panel, as the camera zoomed-out, the show's host to the speaker's right and another guest sitting to his left came into the frame.

The hostess of the show, a girl dressed in a full body techno-pop style outfit, said sweetly :

"Truly, as a top player in one of the hardest of all the VRMMO games, «Gun Gale Online», what you just told us is a bit extreme."

"No, being interviewed on «MST» is a once in a life time thing and I've said what I wanted to say."

"Well, well, well, You will be aiming to win the «Bullet of Bullets» this time too, right?"

"Of course, if I enter I would want to be the winner."

The man combed his long silvered-blue hair, and faced the camera with an undefeated announcement. The shop was once again ravaged by a storm of booing.

MMO Stream wasn't Gun Gale Online's, normally called GGO, internal content, but the host and guests were avatars, not their real bodies. «This Week's Winning Group» went to different VRMMO games each week and invited their top players for the interview show. This week's guests were from GGO's previous monthly battle royal, known as Bullet of Bullets (BoB). It was used to determine the strongest players, and the guests were the winner and runner-up player.