A few days later, Hachiman received a message from Rose.
"A Christmas event? If it's a Valhalla event, that would be in ALO on the night of the 24th, right?"
"I'm talking about an official event being held in GGO. Apparently, starting from the afternoon of the 23rd, an event called the 'Mecha-Beast Reindeer Hunt' will be held in GGO."
"What is with that utter lack of naming sense...? And it's on the 23rd because it's a holiday, I assume. So, what's the content?"
"It seems teams of six will challenge a giant reindeer running rampant, competing for the fastest time to take it down. I'm sending you a reference video now. Take a look."
"Hoh?"
Hachiman watched the attached video and was left speechless.
"What is this American-comic-style reindeer with a Santa face...?"
"Well, it certainly wasn't designed with Japanese aesthetics in mind."
"They could have stylized it a bit more..."
Hachiman sighed and checked the event rules again.
"The team with the shortest total time takes first place, and each member gets to choose one item from the prize pool. The top ten teams get prizes, and once an item is selected, it becomes unavailable for the next person. Additionally, the team that lands the most hits and the team that takes the least damage get an extra selection right. So, if we sweep everything, that's eight items. Oh, and treated as a participation prize, you get a massive amount of experience points inversely proportional to the time taken to kill it?"
"Exactly. That's why it would be better for Ikoma-kun to participate instead of me."
"True enough. Sorry, Rose."
"Not at all. I'm a spy, so I don't particularly need levels anyway."
Having reviewed the rules, the two began to verify the information gleaned from the video.
"Looking at this footage, the enemy's speed is significant."
"And judging by the rank of the guns used in the attack, its armor looks incredibly tough."
"It's like fighting an armored car."
"No restrictions on weapons, but special ammo and traps are prohibited. Hmm..."
After thinking for a moment, Hachiman spoke to Rose.
"Alright, we're entering. Sorry, but could you contact Sinon and Pito and ask them to gather tonight?"
"Roger that."
That night, Hachiman explained the Christmas event to the gathered members.
"What's that? It looks fun!"
"If we're going to do it, we want to take first place."
"Let's see the prizes... Is this gun the grand prize? Shana, which one would you pick?"
"I'd go for this, or this. Or maybe this one."
Shana pointed at several suspicious-looking items with unknown uses.
"What are those?"
"Probably materials for something. Ikoma, do you know the details on these?"
"Those are all materials for weapons and armor. With my current skill level, there are many I can't craft yet, but I know the uses for a few of them."
"There you have it."
"Ooh, that sounds promising."
"What is this 'Spaceship Armor Plating'?"
"That is a versatile material with incredibly high hardness. It seems to be used mainly for armor, and the defense power is supposedly off the charts."
"Is that a cheat item?"
"Well, something like that," Ikoma replied with a wry smile.
"In that case, we should decide beforehand and snatch up all the good-looking materials. Luckily, we aren't hurting for money, and Ikoma will likely make us even better guns eventually."
"True, that might be the best course of action."
"Let's do our best!"
"B-But, in that case, wouldn't it be better for Rosalia-san to enter instead of me...?"
"It's fine. I've thought of a strategy."
"A strategy?"
Shana explained the plan he had devised while watching the video.
"With that plan, even I should be fine, but..."
"...Eh, really?"
"It all depends on Shana and Sinon-non..."
"Sino-non, can you do it?"
"Let's see..."
Faced with the proposed strategy, Sinon crossed her arms and made a difficult expression. Seeing this, Shana spoke to her with brimming confidence.
"For you, this should be a walk in the park. Easy peasy."
"...You think so, Shana?"
"Yeah. Compared to when you got that Hecate II, this is way easier. Right? You can do this, can't you? Sinon."
Hearing those words, Sinon remembered that day. Shana singing Jingle Bells echoed in the back of her mind.
She answered him with a powerful voice.
"Who do you think you're talking to? Of course I can do it."
"Yeah, that's what I thought."
"Ooh, Sino-non suddenly got aggressive..."
"Crap, that was cool!"
"I knew from the start she could do it."
"I will maintain both of your guns to perfection!"
Then, Shizuka made a suggestion.
"In that case, shall we have a light Christmas party on the night of the 23rd, doubling as a victory celebration?"
"We haven't won yet... but sure, I agree."
"I agree too!"
"The 23rd... Yeah, I'm sure I can tell M to keep my schedule clear."
"I'm free on that day too."
"I'm a little..."
At Ikoma's hesitation, Shizuka realized something.
"Ah, right. That means Ikoma-kun can't make it."
"Ah, no, it's just that I've been invited to the Sleeping Knights for the evening of that day..."
"Ah, I see. Okay, give my regards to Kaede-chan."
"Is that so? We're counting on you, Ikoma."
"Yes, of course!"
Sinon and Pitohui reacted to the unfamiliar terms and names, asking Shizuka:
"What are the Sleeping Knights?"
"Who is Kaede-chan?"
"Ah, well..."
While Shizuka explained it to them, Shana quietly whispered to Ikoma.
"Ikoma. I've sent a present for Kaede to the Sleeping Knights, but there's another package inside. Could you give that one to the twins, Ai and Yu?"
"Is that so? Understood. I will definitely deliver it."
After hearing Shizuka's explanation, the other two seemed satisfied and got excited about the "Party! Party!" Their gazes, occasionally directed at Shana, contained a light of respect, causing Shana to awkwardly avoid eye contact.
"What should we do about presents?"
"Hmm, we just received souvenirs recently..."
"True..."
"Ah, in that case, I will prepare the prizes, so why don't we play some games!"
"Agreed! Wait, Kay, what do you mean by prizes?"
"I have a source, so don't worry about it. My wallet won't feel a thing."
"If that's the case, sure. Shall we do that?"
"Sounds good to me."
"Then leave the preparations to me!"
With the schedule set, the group decided to disband for the day. As they were leaving, Shana spoke to Sinon and Pitohui.
"You two. You're going to be facing off directly in the tournament, so you should join casual 'wild' parties often. Train in various ways so you don't reveal your hand to each other too early."
"Ah, okay."
"Yeah, that might be good once in a while! But I wonder if there's anyone who would team up with me?"
"In that case, just take M with you."
"Right, I'll do that!"
"Well then, I'm going to talk to Ikoma at the workshop for a bit before logging off. See you later."
"Yeah, see you later, Shana."
"See you."
Shizuka and Benkei seemed to have logged out already. Sinon and Pitohui left the base and began walking together.
"Hey, Sino-non. We talked about it earlier, but are you going to get Shana a present?"
"Let's see... But given how that conversation went, do you think he'd accept one?"
"But he didn't say we couldn't give him one, right?"
"Ah... that's true."
"Maybe it's okay if we get permission from Shizu the next time we see her?"
"You're right. It might be better to run it by her."
"Then, whoever talks to her first will contact the other."
"Okay, let's do that."
The two parted ways. Pitohui disappeared off to somewhere, while Sinon headed toward the tavern she used to frequent, her first visit in a long time.
As Sinon passed through the tavern doors, Spiegel, spotting her sharply, called out.
"Sinon! It's been a while. Have you been busy with things?"
Sinon realized she hadn't spoken to Spiegel at all recently. Thinking that if she was going to join a wild party, it would be better to have someone she somewhat knew, she decided to show her face here occasionally until the tournament.
"Yeah, well, this and that. By the way, Spiegel, are you entering the BoB?"
"Yeah, that's the plan. What about you, Sinon?"
"I plan to enter. Winning that thing was my goal, after all."
"I see. In that case, want to go hunting together for a bit?"
Spiegel intended the invitation to imply "just the two of us," but Sinon replied matter-of-factly.
"Sure, I don't mind. Are there any parties currently recruiting?"
Spiegel felt disappointed by her response but thought it couldn't be helped.
"Wait here. I'll ask an acquaintance."
"Okay."
Spiegel began talking to another player he likely knew. Meanwhile, Sinon accessed her personal locker from the tavern and stored the Hecate II.
(It's a wild party. If I was with people I knew, that would be one thing, but I'd hate to have an accident with a newbie and lose this.)
Sinon returned to her original spot, leaned against the wall, closed her eyes, and waited for Spiegel to return.
After a while, Spiegel came back accompanied by another player. The player looked surprised when he saw Sinon, but quickly composed himself and introduced himself.
"I'm Dyne. Nice to meet you. Uh, Sinon, was it?"
"Oh? Dyne-san, do you know Sinon?"
Asked by Spiegel, Dyne made a strange face for a split second. Spiegel looked puzzled, wondering what it was, but Dyne put on a look of understanding and said:
"Yeah, well, I know the name at least."
"I see. Well, Sinon has been playing for quite a long time, so I guess that happens."
In reality, Dyne knew Sinon from watching the video where she, Shana, Shizuka, and the others had stared down ZeXceed. However, figuring there were players who didn't watch videos, he gave a safe, non-committal answer.
Thinking it would be rude to Sinon to explain the video explicitly, Dyne didn't add anything further. However, Sinon vaguely realized why Dyne knew who she was. She felt a little embarrassed but was grateful he chose not to say anything.
Then, together with Dyne and the others, Sinon went on a rampage in a wild party for the first time in a while.
Sinon's level had risen significantly since before, and her skill was in a league of its own, even without the Hecate II.
The person who realized this most acutely was Spiegel.
While bewildered by this change in Sinon, Spiegel felt frustrated that his own skills were clearly inferior to hers.
After the hunt ended and he parted ways with Sinon, he muttered under his breath.
"Dammit... It's no good like this. What should I do...? That's right. There was that rumor recently. It was... yes, AGI. I need to raise my AGI more..."
And so, Spiegel began to charge headlong down the path of AGI specialization.
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