BTOG 214 – Skin Shedding

**Suu’s point of view.**

(…so that’s a magic bullet)

I heard gunfire from my back, and I saw the damage effect in my front.

In WLO, the damage inflicted by allies is visible to the party members. And since the damage is over 100, it must be a headshot from a sniper rifle.

This was because such damage could only be dealt with a headshot by a sniper rifle. There are, of course, some exceptions if you use explosives like grenades.

And normally, it was only possible using a special weapon that only dropped with the supply cart 10 minutes after the match started.

Currently, it only has been about 6 minutes since the match started. This means it still needed four more minutes before the said supplies dropped; at this point, it was reasonable to assume that Nana was the one who had done it.

Two shots were fired consecutively. This time, I glanced back and caught a glimpse of Nana taking a shot.

And when I returned my gaze to the front, somehow damage had been done to an enemy who was clearly out of the line of fire.

This time it doesn’t seem to be a headshot, but it does 52✕2 damage to the enemy who took the first headshot.

The kill log that streamed across the edge of my field of vision proved that Nana’s sniping had forced one person to a down state.

(The down itself doesn’t mean much, but it does make it a little easier to pick them.)

Zero Wars VR also follows the iron rule of battle royale.

Basically, if your HP reaches zero, you will be defeated, but when you’re in a team, you won’t be immediately killed even when your HP bar drops to zero.

Instead, you will enter the so-called [down] state. In this state, one cannot attack or defend oneself and can hardly move at all.

And even the moments will be sluggish, but at least one can position themselves into the cover and wait to be revived by their teammates.

The resurrection time would take about 15 seconds at most, so [down] at this distance would make little significance.

Since the damage was done at a distance of 220 meters, it would take at least 30 seconds to close the distance, and if there are few obstacles, so some detour is necessary.

And there’s a hassle to kill an alerted team. They will be on their guard after reviving their teammates.

Before, I was a bit concerned since Nana didn’t shoot at all.

But her sniping accuracy seems to indicate that she knows where the enemy is, perhaps the echoing sound of the gunfire obscured their location before.

I know from observing her since yesterday.

Nana is not the type to waste bullets. In my opinion, [Rufa] should just keep shooting since she doesn’t consume sniper rifle ammunition.

But then again, there is a big risk that the wasted shots will make them more alert and give away their location.

So if her principle is not to shoot bullets that don’t hit, that’s fine.

If the three bullets you just fired are not accidental, that’s great.

If you make away, I will do it.

That’s good enough for me.

(…Yeah, I should give it a try.)

“Nana.”

“What is it? Suu-chan.”

“I’m going to dive from the front. Cover me.”

“Alright.”

A carefree reply.

A light response that gives an impression that she wasn’t concentrating at all.

Well, how bad could it be? Even if I go down or get killed with this, we should be able to win with the rest of the team.

That’s why this is my golden opportunity to check Nana’s [Magic Bullet].

I then put strength into my legs and speed up.

Just as Nana’s character, [Rufa], has specialized sniping abilities, each character in Zero Wars VR has unique special abilities.

There are active and passive abilities, which are commonly known as [AA] and [PA].

Some characters have both, while others have only one.

For example, [Rufa] has a special ability related to sniper rifles that are always activated as a passive ability.

In contrast, my character [Ritu] has the active ability [Enhanced Body].

The effect is simple. [It greatly increases the avatar’s physical abilities for 28 seconds and also reduces the damage taken from enemy bullets].

It has a cooldown of 3 minutes. Which is not short, but it is a powerful AA most suited for front-line assaults force.

(It’s rare for a skill to increase the basic performance of the character avatar itself.)

One can use this to act as a barrier to protect an ally.

Or for scouting purposes.

Or even purposely triggered traps to disable them.

[Ritu] ‘s AA skill is not so common compared to others, especially considering that this is a shooter game.

There is not a shred of strategy in it.

The character’s speed is increased, its durability is increased, and it is specialized only for head-on shootouts.

But I always choose Ritu as my avatar because she is the only one who resonates with my style.

13 seconds to contact. Even though I don’t have the same sensitivity as Nana, I can still pick up some sound at this distance, and I can see shadows through the warehouse windows.

There is no doubt that an ambush is coming. After all, it’s easy for the other party that has stationed itself in a warehouse to get behind protection, while I, as the invader, need to enter through the open door without meaningful cover.

Their party member was killed in the opening attack, so it’s unlikely that they can set up a pincer attack. Then again, there isn’t necessarily only one team inside the warehouse.

It will take a bit of time before the safe zone starts to shrink, and since they will almost certainly attack us en route to the next step if left unchecked, there is no alternative from our side but to finish them here.

“There!”

The shadow moved.

It crouched for a moment and shifted its course to the left front.

And at that moment, a bullet passed through my right side.

Sniping at an [Enhanced] avatar who is charging straight at you is almost a gamble, except for the first shot.

Unlike a regular FPS, where you can aim by moving the mouse or stick just a little bit, shooting in VR requires a lot of effort to align the tip of the muzzle with the opponent’s body.

If the shooter’s aim simply moves too far, you won’t hit them unless you are very good at anticipating.

The sniper rifle is useful enough in terms of power and accuracy to shoot a stationary enemy from a distance, but it is a double-edged sword that becomes useless as soon as the enemy starts moving.

Or at least, that was what I thought before.

And it wasn’t too long ago. I still believe that was the truth minutes ago.

“Too bad, I can see you!”

Such a voice could be heard from my teammate I left behind.

Her rifle roars, and the Bullet lands slightly later after the sound.

 (It hit, fufu, it hit!)

Looking at the damage, it seems that the enemy was wearing a high-performance helmet, but that was a headshot. The magic bullet landed on the enemy’s head after it bounced and pierced through the window.

Its accuracy and stability were far beyond imagination.

It was a certain hit. After seeing it repeatedly, I couldn’t imagine that the Magic Bullet could miss.

I couldn’t help but grin.

It’s fun. Oh, so much fun!

So this is Nana.

This is the [Witch of Magic Bullet].

This is the divine sniper that I have longed for.

(Crazy. Oh, that was crazy skill. How could I have possibly imitated it? No, I couldn’t. That’s one thing I couldn’t imitate.)

Yeah, it’s impossible to imitate.

After seeing it several times in happens in front of me, I finally understood.

Nana’s sniping lacked what it should have. There’s no stance and aim in it.

She handles the rifle lightly with one hand as if she does not need any support from her other hand.

She neither looks into the scope nor takes aim. And the trigger is pulled so easily as if she was shooting a handgun.

Takes a stance.

Aim.

Then shoot.

I finally realized that I was fundamentally wrong when I thought she needed to do all of that.

(The original Zero Wars was a consumer game, so when you wanted to shoot a rifle, you would naturally hold it up and look through the scope, and it was not optional, you were literally forced to do that by the game. But, come to think of it, Witch of Magic Bullet certainly didn’t aim with a scope after she held her gun up. She didn’t need to because [Magic Bullet] is a technique to shoot enemies that cannot be seen.)

If the game is controlled through a controller or mouse, there is no need to try to hold a gun up every single time, like in VR games.

With a press of the fire button, the character will automatically assume the correct stance and fire bullets at the target.

On the other hand, a VR shooting game is where you fight by moving your body in a virtual space. It would be best if you held the gun at the ready when shooting. But that also means that there is no function that forces the user to assume the shooting position on their own as they pull the trigger.

You have to take the optimal shooting position by and for yourself, then aim and shoot.

At first glance, this may seem like a tedious process, but on the contrary, it allows for greater freedom of play.

For example, you can fire a gun backward while facing forward.

Or you can pretend to be looking away and shoot in a direction you are not looking.

It is possible to play without a fixed posture like Nana, who shoots a sniper rifle with one hand.

Of course, this requires a certain level of player skill, but it also allows for a greater variety of play.

The higher-ranked players have mastered their own shooting posture, and I myself do not have a fixed shooting stance.

Still…

Nana’s stance is too flexible.

The reason for holding a sniper rifle with both hands is to suppress the recoil and stabilize your line of fire.

Even for a player’s avatar that has the physical strength of an Olympic gold medalist, a sniper rifle is still very heavy.

You can lift it horizontally with one hand for a few seconds at most. Any longer than that, the avatar’s endurance will be exhausted and you will not be able to maintain the height.

The recoil is not comparable to a handgun or assault rifle, and if you shoot with one hand, the bullets will fly in the wrong direction.

I think Nana has calculated all these factors and shoots her rifle in an ideal line of fire. I don’t know if she really did that, but that’s what it looks like to me.

It’s simply crazy that the bullets fly true while she’s doing it in such an absurd way. And she even utilizes ricochet in her shoot. Are you kidding me?

[Magic Bullet.]

It’s not something you can aim and shoot.

It was magical bullets belonging only to a monster who looked at the world from a different perspective, a twisted, terrifying perspective.

A divine achievement that cannot be reached by ordinary means.

Nana said that the name of [Witch of Magic Bullet] does not belong only to her.

I now realize that this is not true.

While it was true that Rinne was involved in some way in the creation of the witch’s name.

Nana alone is the [Witch of Magic Bullet].

I believe that the person I admire and the technical skills I want to learn is exist in Nana.

(I wonder what kind of world she sees… Tell me, Nana. Tell me what you see through your eyes.)

A silent question echoed in my mind. And, of course, I never expect to get an answer.

Still.

My cog that that didn’t fit.

The parts of me that were not spinning as they should be.

At this moment, with the arrival of my comrades, Nana, finally perfectly aligned.

(I want to know, I want to know more and more about you. That’s why…)

This excitement that won’t stop.

My inexplicable curiosity that overflowed.

I want to hear it. I want to try it, and I can’t help but be thrilled.

Yes, I believe it’s not just Nana.

But also Rinne, whom Nana trusts completely.

And Touka, whom I don’t understand the most.

They make me believe that there’s something here, something unfathomable.

“fufufu, ahAHAHAHA!”

Accidentally, my laughter spilled.

When was the last time I laughed out loud?

“Okay then… I’ll show you. This is my thank… no, this is my way of giving you payment in advance.”

I am sure Nana can hear me.

But that’s all right. I believe everything will be fine.

And it’s not like I was trying to hide it.

I was just a little not using this because I knew I wouldn’t need it anyway.

But Nana, I thank you for fascinating me.

Then again, she too, was fascinated by me. I guess we were even then.

Let me show you my most broken, strongest self.

The [me] that hailed as the strongest in this world.

“Let’s lay waste. To every last one of them.”

There’s no need for me to use this obedient cat skin anymore.

I will show you the fang of my true horrible self.

===*

Suu-chan’s sense of smell is insane. {in terms of smelling where the enemy is}

Nana’s sniping is insane.

They are extremely different from each other in their areas of expertise, and they both feel thrilled to see the other’s greatness, so they are going to show each other their all-out ability.

Tl note:

a friggin hard chapter. It was so poetic in Japanese that I had difficulty rewriting it in English.

And yes, [the fang of my true self] is revelation lol. She’s not normal, just like every major character so far.