-1744- [ Dead ]

"Thud…"

With a dull thud, a player's body hit the ground, head tilted to the side, losing all HP on the spot and dying instantly.

"Dead."

A red, three-dimensional text appeared immediately over the player's corpse, signaling to others that the player had been eliminated.

Standing before the corpse, Rozen slowly holstered his smoking revolver, glanced at the body in front of him, and shrugged.

"As expected, during competitions, players don't shatter into polygonal fragments upon elimination. Instead, their bodies remain like this."

This was a setting specific to official events in Gun Gale Online (GGO), including the Bullet of Bullets (BoB) tournament.

If eliminated players were to instantly dissipate into polygons and revive outside the battlefield, they could potentially leak critical information about the competition, leading to cheating.

To prevent this, all official competitions, including the BoB tournament, implemented a rule where participants couldn't log out before the event concluded. Instead, they remained as "corpses" with consciousness intact, forced to spectate the live broadcast until the tournament ended.

This state resembled the remain light in Alfheim Online (ALO), except the fire of remain lights only lasted a minute, whereas these "corpses" remained until the competition concluded.

Thus, the first casualty of the third BoB tournament was likely staring at Rozen now, cursing him with all their might.

Nothing could be done about it.

"First to be eliminated—you're destined to take the bottom rank of 30th. My condolences."

Rozen crouched down, patted the player's cheek with a grin, then stood up and continued running.

His target was the tallest building in the corner of the abandoned city.

"That should be the vantage point."

Rozen planned to occupy it.

After all, he was a sniper too.

But…

"Before that, I need to deal with the mice lured in."

Rozen sprinted forward, and as he passed a building, he pulled a grenade from his belt. Biting off the pin, he hurled it into the building's window.

"Boom—!"

A loud explosion rang out as flames burst from the window, even shattering the walls.

"Ahhhhh…!"

A player was blasted out with a scream, landing hard on the ground.

The HP bar displayed beside them instantly dropped to zero.

"Dead."

The red, three-dimensional text appeared again, announcing the arrival of the second casualty.

Without looking back, Rozen continued running forward.

Watching this scene, players tuning into the live broadcast erupted in an uproar.

"Incredible!"

"He's amazing!"

"Who would've thought you could play like this?"

"How did he even notice the ambush?"

"It feels like nobody can hide from him!"

"No wonder they call him the Magus!"

The spectators were thrilled, shocked, and full of admiration.

Players from other VRMMOs had similar reactions.

"So this is the Magus?"

"Just like the rumors—he's ridiculously strong."

"Who said he only played fantasy games like Sword Art Online?"

"He's clearly excellent at gun games too!"

"This guy is a true gaming prodigy."

"Respect."

Even in Alfheim Online, players tuned in.

Especially members of Crimson Wing.

"Yes!"

"That's our guild leader!"

"He's unbeatable!"

"I knew it—when the guild leader went to GGO, he'd show them what a true master is!"

"Watching him makes me want to try GGO myself."

"Forget it. First, try making it into the top 16 in the next martial arts tournament."

"If you go, you'll only embarrass yourself."

"Exactly."

In a guild tavern on the 20th floor of Aincrad, members of Crimson Wing were gathered, chatting and laughing as they watched the enormous crystal display hanging from the ceiling.

This crystal was the magical equivalent of a television in their fantasy world, akin to the recording crystals in Sword Art Online. It could broadcast various programs.

With Rozen's permission, Agil had used guild funds to purchase this massive crystal, allowing everyone to watch the BoB tournament.

Seeing Rozen's overwhelming performance as he eliminated two players, the guild members cheered enthusiastically.

Asuna and the others were also present, seated at the bar and watching the broadcast.

While the guild members were overjoyed by Rozen's performance, they, knowing his true purpose for participating in the BoB tournament, remained relatively composed.

Still, seeing Rozen in action brought some relief to their faces.

"Looks like things are going well," Silica said, patting her chest in relief.

"Pi!"

Perched on Silica's head, Pina chirped in agreement.

"Gu!"

"Gu!"

The entrusted Saichou and Hanachou perched on Silica's shoulders also made cheerful sounds.

Others began voicing their thoughts.

"I never imagined nii-san could be this good at shooting games," Leafa exclaimed in awe.

"I expected it," Kirito said with a slight smile. "After all, we've played almost every type of game in the past, and Rozen always mastered the techniques before I did. A week to familiarize himself is more than enough."

"Guild leader is truly amazing," Sachi said with admiration as she watched Rozen on the screen.

"He's showing off, but it's leaving us here on edge," Klein grumbled.

"Didn't I say he wouldn't do anything he wasn't confident about?" Leafa said, letting out a sigh of relief.

"I just hope things go smoothly from here," Agil muttered to himself while polishing glasses behind the bar.

Everyone focused intently on the scene displayed on the screen. Though somewhat relieved, they dared not look away.

"Rozen…"

Asuna watched Rozen running through the abandoned city, her eyes filled with both worry and trust.

On her shoulder, Yui shared the same sentiment.

"Don't worry, Mama," Yui said with a sweet smile. "Papa will be fine."

"Mm." Asuna nodded firmly.

Everyone continued watching Rozen's battle, praying for his success.

"Let's hope he can resolve this incident without any major issues."

Unaware of this, Rozen kept running through the abandoned city, encountering no other players along the way.

"Only two, huh?"

Rozen confirmed that aside from the two eliminated players, there was no one else in the vicinity.

With only 30 participants scattered across a 10-kilometer-wide island, encountering two players in one area was already impressive.

"Now it's my turn."

Rozen reached the tallest building, entered the elevator, and pressed the button for the top floor. He ascended without any interruptions.

Soon, he arrived at the most spacious room on the top floor.

This luxurious office featured massive glass walls offering a panoramic view of most of the island.

"This will do."

Rozen quickly made his decision.

Then, he opened his main menu and materialized a weapon.