Sword Art Online Alternative – Gun Gale Online - Volume 4 - Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7 
Special Rule Takes Effect 
12:49 PM. 
The truck carrying Llenn’s team made its way out of the switchyard at last, unharassed by any enemies. Most of the switchyard itself was now underwater. 
The border between the yard and its adjacent territory was a rusty fence. Two fences, in fact, meant to keep people out of the area, but M drove the truck right over the flimsy chain-link barriers. 
Ahead of them was grassland. 
Naturally, it was very easy to get the lay of the land once they were there. No manmade structures blocked any of the view. There were many rolling bulges and divots in the ground with room to hide a person. The land gently rose as it approached the center of the island. 
A variety of grasses covered about 80 percent of the plain, all of them a rotten-green color. They looked like they would be fatal in the span of a single night if ingested. 
The grass was about a foot or two tall, enough to hide a person lying down, but which wouldn’t offer protection against any bullets, of course. As usual, the visual range was poor, so it was still impossible to tell what lay atop the tallest hill, in the UNKNOWN area. 
M commanded, “Everyone get ready to disembark. Watch the perimeter after that.” 
“Come on, M, drop us off at the house on top of the hill. You really want to force all these girls to walk?” Fukaziroh complained. 
“We’re almost out of gas.” 
“You can move it with spirit, right? That’s a thing, isn’t it?” 
“I didn’t bring any with me today.” 
“Guess we’ll just have to spin the pedals, then. They put those on all trucks, don’t they?” 
“This one must be defective.” 
“Damn. Gotta complain to the event hosts after this is over.” 
“All set…and out!” 
They jumped out of the rear of the truck bed while it was still moving. This little stunt wasn’t for showing off flashy action, but to make it harder to get shot. Filing out of the vehicle after stopping it just meant that you were offering a stationary target, so it was better to hop out while it was still moving, even if slow. 
The three women hopped out and went low, making themselves small targets, and found dips in the ground a good distance apart to hide. Lastly, M stopped the truck about fifty yards away, tossed his backpack out first, then leaped out of the driver’s seat and got flat on the ground. 
With each of them watching out in one of the cardinal directions, they prepared for the fifth scan to start. Once again, only M would be checking the map. 
12:50 arrived without a sound. 
Llenn peered out cautiously through blades of grass. In her ear, M reported, “Seven surviving teams. Not one within fifteen hundred. You can all look at the scan.” 
“Fifteen hundred,” of course, was about the distance (in meters) at which one needed to worry about long-distance sniping. That was about a mile. It was the effective range of a .50-caliber sniper rifle or SHINC’s anti-tank rifle. In other words, the range that you could effectively aim and deliver damage with the power of the bullet. 
With the wind strong today, it was very unlikely that a single shot at that distance would hit the target, but even a lucky hit could be fatal, so there was nothing wrong with being cautious. 
“All right! Time to check this out!” Fukaziroh crowed. Llenn sat down on the ground and pulled out her Satellite Scan terminal. 
When she brought up the map on the screen, she yelped, “Yipes! Look how small it is now!” 
The shape of the island was still a square, but what had started at a bit over six miles to a side was now no more than two and a half. The switchyard in the southwest, town in the northern corners, forest to the east, and rocks in the southeast were all underwater now. 
And as usual, the UNKNOWN label sat in the middle. 
The scan moved slowly, so Llenn had plenty of time to count the dots and tap them to bring up the team names. They, of course, were the dot in the southwest part of the map. As M said, there was no one within a mile of them. Of course, any of the teams could be using a decoy strategy, leaving the leader behind so the rest of the team could roam undetected. 
She touched the dot in the southeast corner. “Please…yes!” 
It was SHINC. They were still alive. They were around two miles away—and there were no teams in between. 
Just about two and a half miles north of SHINC, in the northeast corner, was MMTM. Their rival was still alive and well. 
On the north end of the map was none other than ZEMAL. Back in SJ1, they were just a rabble of machine-gun-loving weirdos, but they had grown much tougher since then. 
The remaining three were in the northwest corner, the upper left part of the map. Two of the dots glowed about two-thirds of a mile apart. They could even be in battle at the moment. 
She tapped the one on the right, which brought up the name TOMS. That was unfamiliar to her. They appeared to be new to Squad Jam. 
The one on the left was DDL, which Llenn did remember. They’d been in SJ1, but not SJ2. She couldn’t remember much about their preferred gear, but she did recall from watching the tape that they had fallen prey to SHINC in the desert. 

 

The last one was in the middle of the water in the upper-left corner, in the part of the map that had formerly been the city. In other words, they’d been left on top of one of the tall buildings there. 
Llenn remembered being surprised at that earlier, too, so she took the time to tap the dot, which revealed the name T-S. 
Aha. So it’s you. I see. 
She had conflicting feelings about that. She’d never forget the name T-S. That was the team of six dressed up in future sci-fi soldier armor with their faces hidden. 
The last time around, they rode atop the fortress walls on bicycles, until at the very end, when Llenn and Fuka were exhausted from fighting Pitohui, they picked the girls off from a long distance. 
She wasn’t going to hold a grudge—competition was competition. In fact, she was even a bit grateful that they’d waited until she had already finished off Pitohui. 
“The people stuck out on the ocean can’t move from there, right?” Fukaziroh wondered. That was probably correct. 
“Those were the champions from last time! What are they doing?!” Pitohui demanded, incensed. But she wasn’t scolding them for incompetence; she was frustrated that she wouldn’t have the chance to kill them herself. 
Llenn understood exactly how she felt but chose not to say anything. 
 
Meanwhile, the members of T-S were sadly fading into the distance atop their building. 
“Who was it? Who said that if we took up a high position, we’d be able to shoot off any oncomers?!” 
“That was me! But nobody argued against it!” 
“Stop it, you two. This is embarrassing.” 
“Man, I’m so bored…” 
“I haven’t taken a single shot so far.” 
“Neither have I! Dammit…” 
The soldiers in full armor sat with their arms around their knees, like action figures arranged in poses. The GR9 machine gun arranged on a bipod looked like a life-size toy next to them. 
They had begun SJ3 in the northwest corner, in the middle of the city. As the defending champions, they came into SJ3 with high spirits, but in the pub just before the event started, they learned of a dramatic turn of events. 
Yes, by being invited into the proposed alliance of teams, they learned that they, too, were targets. The color of their signal flares, incidentally, was purple. 
“That’s messed up! It’s bullying!” 
“No way! We’re gonna get surrounded right away!” 
It was easy to imagine enemy squads converging on their position as soon as the first scan started. Visibility was poor in the city, so even if they tried to escape, it was quite possible that they’d get trapped on multiple sides. 
The only area in which they truly excelled was in defense, thanks to their full-body protective armor. If they got into a firefight with multiple enemies, they didn’t stand a chance—and they knew it. 
“We’ve gotta focus on defense!” 
“Yeah, let’s find advantageous terrain and set up a defensive perimeter.” 
So they decided upon an ambush plan. Coincidentally, there was a tall building right in front of their starting position. Probably twenty stories? It looked like a luxury high-rise apartment next to the beach. 
One of the members of the squad suggested they take a position at the very top of that sturdy-looking building, where they could fire down on anyone who attempted to come after them. 
A team in SJ1 had occupied a spot inside of the crashed spaceship. Coincidentally, it was similar to the way they raced around atop the castle walls last time to avoid danger. So they couldn’t be blamed for feeling like this strategy might work, too. 
“Let’s go!” 
“All right! Hurry!” 
They’d moved right away for the seaside high-rise, rather than waiting for the 12:10 scan first. The interior was desolate. Naturally, the elevators didn’t work anymore, so they used the one emergency stairwell to move upward. 
On the way, they pulled some furniture out of rooms to place on the stairs, and even laid a few traps with hand grenades. If any of the enemy teams tried to go into the building to chase after them, they’d get a nasty surprise. 
It was quite a trek to get up all twenty-five floors, but within ten minutes, they had gotten it done and emerged on the roof. 

“Huh?” 
And when the first scan came in, they came to understand the terrible reality around them. 
The building they were standing on top of was now in the midst of the rising waters. 
After the first scan ten minutes into the game, a purple signal flare went up, and six other teams came flocking into the city. All twenty-four of the members were fired up and ready to take down the defending champions of Squad Jam, but when they saw the ocean before them and the very tall building sprouting up about two hundreds yards out into the water, in which the enemy was hiding, they came to a simple conclusion. 
“This is impossible…” 
But vehicles were common in Squad Jam. They searched the area, assuming there would certainly be a boat somewhere, but found nothing. The height of the water was up over a person’s head, meaning that there was no longer any way to get to the building. 
There was a brief bit of gun combat between the ground and the roof of the building in the meantime, but the distance was so great, and the combatants so well-covered, that both sides quickly realized it was a waste of bullets. 
Eventually, one team decided to break away and go after Team LPFM in the southwest switchyard. Another team joined the fight against the powerhouse MMTM in the east. 
At last, after 12:20, the four remaining teams made their decision. 
“Change of plans! We’re gonna kill you guys here! Let’s have an urban battle!” 
“Sounds fun! Let’s do this! You’re on, bitches!” 
“I’m in, too! I don’t wanna bother with traveling long distances! But if we fight right now, we’re just wasting our lives, right?” 
“Let’s count to a hundred! No, make it two hundred, and then we fight!” 
They were going to make the most of SJ3, like kids looking forward to a game of tag. 
The resulting battle was quite a lot of fun for the audience watching in the bar. 
“Do you think we can shoot those guys duking it out from up here?” 
“Nah, it’s way too far away.” 
“This is so boring.” 
But the members of T-S didn’t get much more out of it than the sound of distant gunfire. 
And so, time passed mercilessly for T-S, without them having any say in the matter. A stalemate appeared to fall over the city, as they stopped hearing just about any kind of gunfire, until it started up again in the midst of the fifth Satellite Scan. 
It was a quick rattling report in the distance. The shooting stopped very soon, right as they noticed a change in the scan. 
“Hey! One of the teams vanished!” 
“You’re right. That’s the end of DDL.” 
One of the white dots on the city end of the map turned gray. That was most likely the work of TOMS, the dot adjacent to it. They would have seen on the scan that they were very close, indeed, and promptly started fighting. It happened all the time in Squad Jam. 
That left just six teams in SJ3. 
“Uh-oh, there goes one! Man, can’t people just calm down and take it easy during the scan?” chattered Fukaziroh, who was watching the map in the middle of the grassy plain. 
“That’s sure to kickstart this special rule, then. I wonder what it is,” said Pitohui through the comm. 
I mean, who really cares? Llenn silently retorted. 
As long as she could fight with SHINC, she didn’t mind what the rules were. And given their present locations, they were definitely going to fight SHINC next—or perhaps the team after that. It was time to buckle down! 
This was the perfect situation for Llenn. She was very happy at the moment. She just knew that it was all a very personal desire of hers, so she kept quiet about it. 
12:52 PM. 
After a very long and slow scan, the six remaining dots vanished from the map. 
Breeep! 
The Satellite Scan terminals emitted a totally new sound. A very obnoxious and grating buzzer sound. 
“Whoa! Geez, that startled me! Knock it off, that’s bad for my heart!” Fukaziroh snapped, furious. 
Llenn was startled, too, and she quickly pulled the device back out of her shirt pocket. Despite the switch being turned off, the screen was glowing. There was a message on it: 
“In thirty seconds, the special rule will be announced on this screen and go into immediate effect.” 
“Oh! Here it comes! Yeah, baby, about freakin’ time!” Fukaziroh exclaimed, all of her anger forgotten and replaced with excitement. As a gamer, this was the kind of stuff that seemed likely to appeal to her—and appeal it did. 
“Let’s check it out before we move. Everyone, together,” M commanded, bringing the group closer. Every other surviving team would be watching their devices for the rules, so the likelihood of being attacked was almost nil. 
“All right, kids! Everyone line up here!” Pitohui called out, waving her gun around. The KTR-09 with its seventy-five-round drum magazine must have been quite heavy, but she waved it about as lightly as if it were a flag. 
Llenn quickly darted over to the hollow in the ground where Pitohui was located and slid into it on her tush. One of the benefits of grassland was the extra momentum one could get when sliding. Next came Fukaziroh, with an MGL-140 in each hand, and lastly M, with his M14 EBR. 
The hollow space was about five yards across. The four of them faced one another and waited out the last ten seconds. 
Breeep! 
The ugly alarm went off again, lighting up their device screens. 
Whatever this special rule is, I just want to fight SHINC, Llenn repeated to herself, waiting for the text to pop up on the terminal in her hands. She wasn’t particularly worried. It wasn’t like they were going to say Stop fighting right now, and whoever makes friends with everyone else first wins! Squad Jam was, from start to finish, a virtual bloodbath, one that would last until there was only one team remaining. 
“Special rule announcement and activation.” 
There was the text. It scrolled automatically from bottom to top. There was also a scroll bar on the right edge to go back and reread the message. 
Okay, what’s it gonna be? Llenn wondered, following the moving text. 
“At the end of this message, one person will be designated from each surviving team.” 
All right, so one person will be picked by the staff. I suppose that the special rule will apply to that person, she thought, reading on. The message was nice and slow and clear, to ensure it was properly understood. 
“The designation will be spelled out on the terminal of the chosen player.” 
That’s why they were supposed to stop and watch their devices. No fear of the message getting lost. 
“The designation is not by random, but chosen for the purposes of game balance by the staff and sponsor observing the event.” 
Well, if they’re going to implement this special rule, they might as well make sure it plays out ideally and doesn’t get wasted because of a fluke random draw. And if balance is important, that would be why they gave themselves some breathing room by stating the range of “six to eight teams.” 
“Victory conditions will be altered for the chosen players.” 
Hmm? How so? 
“The chosen players will leave their teams as betrayers. The betrayers will form a new team that will fight together from this point onward.” 
What?! Llenn thought, right as Fukaziroh exclaimed, “Whoo!” 
“For a period of time, all weapons will be locked. Transportation will be provided to send the betrayers to convene with the rest of their team, opening up travel to the UNKNOWN area.” 
Huh? Wha—? Why? Hwah? Um? Wait? What? 
Llenn’s mind was mostly stuck. 
“Ooooh! Llenn, I’ve never seen you make that stupid of a face! Damn, wish I could take a picture!” raved Fukaziroh from her left. 
“I see. So that’s why they set up that central area and submerged the island. The teams left over have no choice but to go there,” M observed calmly. 
Llenn recovered enough of her wits to speak again. “Hey! Wait a second! This is messed up! What about the team?! What about our inseparable bond of friendship?!” she lamented, punctuation flying. 
“But rules are rules. They’re meant to be followed,” Fukaziroh replied. 
It was absolutely the most serious expression Llenn had ever seen Fukaziroh make. Damn, wish I could take a picture. 
“Now go forth and kill. Your former comrades are now your enemies,” the message continued, as it scrolled upward. 
And then, seconds later, just over the top of her own Satellite Scan terminal, Llenn saw a wicked smile on Pitohui’s face. 
“Whoo-hoo! Yeah! It’s meeee! Now I get to fight Llenn!” 
“Pardon?” 
To be continued…