-1756- Not just a rumor?

Currently, almost all fully immersive VRMMOs are constructed and operated using the development support program suite known as The Seed.

GGO is no exception.

As games developed and run on the same system, these games inevitably share many similarities.

For instance:

- The design style of the main interface is nearly identical.

- Sensory feedback is limited, with sensations like pain almost entirely eliminated. However, being hit by explosive attacks can still cause dizziness or nausea.

- Strict restrictions and settings are imposed on age-appropriate content.

These fundamental rules are unchangeable, even by the developers, for any game utilizing The Seed. This was a safeguard put in place by Kayaba Akihiko.

The components governed by these rules were meticulously designed, much like the server system of SAO, which was essentially a black box—untouchable by anyone.

In other words, these fundamental aspects make many VRMMOs remarkably similar.

Since The Seed was also the system used to operate SAO, encountering elements similar to SAO in other games is entirely normal.

What Rozen was facing now did not exactly fall into this category, but it bore striking resemblance to an experience he had in SAO.

In this case, to destroy breakable objects or items, one must deplete their durability, much like weapons or armor, before they can be destroyed.

Back then, Rozen had used this method to destroy Hanachou's necklace.

Now, Rozen was facing a similar problem. To destroy the chains binding Shinon, he needed to reduce their durability.

[995/1000].

This was the value displayed in a window after Rozen attacked the chain with his dagger.

In other words, Rozen's recent attack had only reduced the chain's durability by 5 points. To break it entirely, he would need to strike it 200 more times.

But time was not on his side.

[2:59].

[2:58].

[2:57].

This was the countdown timer on the bomb strapped to Shinon.

In less than three minutes, the bomb would detonate.

At that point, Shinon would die without question.

To strike the chain 200 times in under three minutes, Rozen would have to attack non-stop at a rate of more than one strike per second.

In the real world, this would be trivial for Rozen. However, in GGO, he was merely a super STR-type player, making this task exceptionally challenging.

These attacks were not casual swipes; each one required Rozen to muster his full strength to deal 5 points of damage to the chain. A weaker attack might not even reduce the durability by a single point.

"This chain must be made from some extraordinarily rare metal," Rozen mused. "Even with my high STR and this rare combat knife, a full-power strike only reduces its durability by 5."

Therefore, breaking the chain to free Shinon was no easy feat without a specialized unlocking tool.

Rozen turned his attention to the pillar to which Shinon was chained.

If he could destroy the pillar, he could also free her.

But Rozen had already observed the warehouse structure. It was practically in ruins, held together by this one pillar. Destroying it would collapse the warehouse, burying both him and Shinon alive.

"The location was carefully selected as well?" Rozen concluded.

Clearly, whoever captured Shinon had meticulously planned this.

This left dismantling the bomb as the only remaining option to save her.

However, disarming a bomb of this caliber required a specific Disarming skill.

Based on Rozen's assessment, the bomb strapped to Shinon was not something ordinary Disarming skills could handle. Without a proficiency level above 500, disarming this bomb was impossible.

Having only been in GGO for less than a week, Rozen had focused on combat skills, leaving him no chance to develop the Disarming skill.

In other words...

"My only option is to attack the chain."

Rozen calmly came to this conclusion.

He promptly set aside the RT-20 slung over his shoulder, raised his dagger, and began striking the chain.

"Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!"

The rapid and rhythmic sound of strikes echoed through the warehouse.

Rozen attacked the chain with incredible speed, each strike at full force, hitting the same spot repeatedly.

Under this relentless assault, the chain's durability steadily decreased.

At the same time, the bomb's countdown continued to tick away.

Meanwhile, Shinon, bound to the pillar, began to tremble.

It wasn't fear but anger.

"What is the meaning of this...!?"

Shinon's voice carried barely concealed fury.

The cloaked figure who had captured her did not kill her outright but instead took her prisoner and set a timed bomb. Now, Rozen appeared intent on rescuing her, a situation she found utterly humiliating.

She couldn't understand what either Rozen or that cloaked figure was thinking.

But while Shinon was confused, Rozen understood perfectly.

"You must think that being shot and killed would have been better than enduring this humiliation, right?"

Rozen spoke coldly, not lifting his head as he continued his rapid strikes.

"In this tournament, every participant is an enemy, and killing opponents is the only way to win. Yet, the person who defeated you didn't kill you, and now I'm trying to save you. That's what you find humiliating."

However...

"Have you heard of the name Death Gun?"

Rozen suddenly mentioned this name.

"Death Gun?"

Shinon froze for a moment, but she recognized the name.

"Isn't that the rumored killer who supposedly murders players in the game?"

Shinon recalled the rumors.

Death Gun had made public declarations during his two known killings, with the players struck by his bullets disconnecting and vanishing, never to return.

Because of this, rumors about a killer who could kill players in-game had spread widely, though Shinon, like most, dismissed them as mere gossip.

But Rozen said:

"What if it's not just a rumor?"

Rozen continued attacking the chain, his voice calm.

"Not just a rumor?"

Shinon couldn't immediately grasp Rozen's meaning.

But that was fine.

Rozen spelled it out for her.

"The person who captured you is Death Gun."

Rozen's voice remained unnervingly calm.

"And the rumors are true."

"If you die here, there's a real possibility you'll die for real."

"A real death."