"There they are, that way," Pitohui pointed.
"Got it," Shana replied, dropping to the ground and peering through the scope of his M82. The lens framed a group of players poised to ambush a mob-hunting party. Pitohui flopped down beside him, squinting as she observed the scene. Noticing her interest, Shana materialized an item and handed it to her.
"Hey, Pitohui, here."
"Oh, thanks!"
It was a monocular with a distance-measuring function. Pitohui peered through it and nodded.
"Yup, that six-person group is definitely the one I saw. See the girl with aqua-blue hair on the left? She stood out, so I remembered her."
"That's pretty rare," Shana agreed.
"But soon you'll have three rare female players around you—me, the Flash, and Rosalia-chan."
"There's one more, and she's a woman too."
Pitohui gave him a dumbfounded look.
"Seriously? How many rare resources are you hoarding, you harem jerk?"
"Harem jerk?" Shana bristled, a bit self-conscious. "Resources? And don't sneak yourself into this so-called harem. It's my girlfriend, my family, and two subordinates—not a harem."
"Oh, so the other one's family?"
"Touch her, and I'll kill you for real."
"Hey, that's not what you said before!"
Shana shrugged. "That's different. Perfectly normal."
"Normal? No way! But that's why I like you, you weirdo!"
"Just shut up and watch."
"Fiiine."
Pitohui returned to her monocular, then spoke up, as if noticing something.
"Hey."
"What, Pitohui?"
"Call me Pit. Pitohui's a mouthful, right?"
"True. Alright, Pit, what's up?"
Pit ignored the question, striking a triumphant pose.
"Yay, Shana called me Pit!"
"Ugh, just get to the point."
"Oh, right. That aqua-haired girl—think she's a newbie?"
"Hm? Something catch your eye?"
"Looks like she's getting a sniping lesson or something."
"Hm."
Shana studied the aqua-haired player through his scope. She did seem to be receiving instruction. But the sniper rifle she held required decent strength stats, suggesting she wasn't a complete beginner.
"Judging by her gun's rank, she's not a total rookie. Hang on, I'll check what they're saying."
"What? You can tell that?!"
Pitohui's eyes widened in shock.
"Yup. Lip-reading."
"Where'd you learn that?"
"Training."
"From who?"
"My adoptive sister."
"You've got a brother?"
"Nope."
"The Flash's sister?"
"Nope."
Pitohui racked her brain, trying to figure out how someone could have an adoptive sister, but came up empty.
"I'm so lost. What's the deal?"
"She's like a sister to me."
"Oh, got it. Must be super close if you call her that. What's she like?"
"A demon lord."
Pitohui froze, then burst into laughter, clutching her stomach.
"What?! Haha, you're too much, Shana!"
"I was being dead serious."
"Huh?"
She stopped laughing abruptly and leaned in, whispering.
"For real?"
"Dead real."
"Compared to me?"
"If you're a private, she's a supreme commander."
"No way!"
"Way."
"Eek!"
Pitohui reeled back, practically flipping over, then looked at Shana with awe.
"Hey, Shana."
"What?"
"The world's still full of stuff I don't know, huh?"
"Yup."
"If I stick with you, will I get to see some of it?"
"Who knows?"
"I feel like my world's changed since meeting you."
"That's in your head."
"Ugh, come on! At least toss a bone to the puppy you picked up!"
Shana looked up sharply, staring at Pitohui's face before chuckling.
"Hah, that's what Rosalia said too—feed the stray you took in."
"No way! Grr, Rosalia beat me to it…"
"I'm new at this, so I don't know how well I'll do, but I'll try."
"Huh?"
"You asked what they're saying, right?"
"Oh!"
Pitohui snapped back to their task, peering through her monocular at the aqua-haired player with renewed curiosity.
"Hmm, a rare female player and a rare sniper to boot."
"If guns were more available, long-range snipers wouldn't be so rare."
"Right? Until I saw your rifle, I'd never even heard of a gun built for that kind of range."
"Anti-materiel rifle. Anyway, she's off the target list."
"What, because she's a girl?"
"Partly. But as a sniper, she could be a rival someday. Wouldn't it be more fun to fight her later?"
"I kinda get that."
Pitohui nodded, understanding his reasoning.
"Alright, Pit, just keep watching."
"No spotter duty? Not that I could do it anyway."
"A spotter would help, but this is a game. I can manage solo."
"Killing doesn't bother you?"
Pitohui teased, turning the tables.
"If you can separate it as just a game, it's fine. You know why you're the problem, right?"
"Yikes, poked the bear!"
"Let's do this. Starting with the leader."
"Got it, I'll spectate!"
With a casual flick, Shana pulled the trigger. Pitohui scrambled to look through her monocular, but in that instant, the target's head exploded. Three more players were headshot in quick succession, and Pitohui felt a chill at Shana's smooth, almost effortless precision. What stunned her more was that the enemies likely only saw the bullet line for a split second.
In GGO, a bullet line appears when someone aims a gun at you, letting you predict the trajectory. For the first shot, though, it only shows if the shooter is spotted. That's why snipers prioritize stealth. The bullet line appears the moment the shooter touches the trigger, while a bullet circle—a pulsing ring tied to the shooter's heartbeat—appears in their view. The bullet lands randomly within that circle when fired. Not showing a bullet line meant Shana was barely relying on the system's assistance.
"Hey, why's the bullet line almost invisible?"
"Reflexes. I touch the trigger with my heartbeat, adjust to the smallest circle in a split second, and fire. Also, I got drilled with live-fire training."
Pitohui's eyes widened at "live-fire training" and latched onto something.
"…By the demon lord?"
"Yup."
"She's insane!"
"Insane, right? Total demon lord."
"Introduce me!"
"Bad idea. She's terrifying to outsiders."
"I don't care!"
"Maybe if there's a chance."
"Please!"
Shana returned to his scope, locking onto the next target and dropping them instantly.
"Four down, one to go."
He aimed at the last player, about to fire casually, when Pitohui shouted.
"Shana, the girl's standing up!"
An aqua blur blocked his scope, and Shana tried to stop his finger, but it was too late—the bullet had fired. Two players, including the aqua-haired girl, were headshot in succession, wiping out the group.
"Whoops?"
"Messed up…"
"Got a bit careless?"
"Can't deny it. Still got work to do."
"Hey, Shana, look! Her sniper rifle dropped!"
"No way. Gotta grab it before it despawns. Pit, run!"
"On it!"
They sprinted full speed, managing to recover the rifle just before it vanished. When players die in the field, they sometimes drop items. Allies can retrieve them, but in a wipeout like this, items usually disappear. Shana sighed in relief.
"That was close…"
"What're you gonna do with it?"
"Return it to her."
"What?!"
"It doesn't sit right otherwise."
"Why feed a stranger?! Feed me too!"
"Shut it. Let's head back to town."
"Sorry, I'm logging off once we're there. Got a mini-live tomorrow."
Shana stared at her, dumbfounded.
"You've got a live tomorrow and were talking about staying over?"
"Hehe."
"That's not a 'hehe'! I'll watch you log off, so do it."
"Roger!"
As Pitohui prepared to log out, Shana, struck by a thought, called out.
"Oh, and you said guys hitting on you pisses you off, right?"
"Yeah."
"How about a face tattoo? It'd make you intimidating, probably cut down on the flirting."
"Hm, good idea. If you say so, I'll do it! Is that my bone?"
"Sure, call it a bone."
"Score!"
With a grin, Pitohui waved and logged out.
"Anything that stresses Pitohui out is worth avoiding. Now, to find that aqua-haired girl… Hope she's still around."
With that, Shana dashed toward town.
-------------------------------
Curious about what happens next?
You can read up to 30–40 chapters ahead right now on Patreon!
👉 [patreon.com/Greyhounds]
Thank you so much for your support! 💕