Chapter 10: Bullseye was Pierced Through

Wall-penetration shots are something often seen in FPS games, whether as a feature or a bug.

Sometimes it’s intentional—allowing bullets to pass through thin curtains. Other times it’s just sloppy—like forgetting to assign collision to a giant boulder and turning it into a sponge. It’s one of those inseparable quirks of FPS, and while bugs do get patched out, a little leakage is considered part of the charm.

But one game wasn’t satisfied with that: Gunfield.

Gunfield implemented hit detection not just on the visible surface of a wall, but on the inside as well, anticipating and preemptively countering wall-penetration exploits the devs hadn’t even discovered yet.

――An FPS where wall-bangs don’t exist.

That was the proud tagline of Gunfield.

Top Chat: So yeah, corner-shots were known about, but since they didn’t really need fixing they just left them.
Top Chat: It’s a bit heavy, but honestly it’s a really solid system with zero weird penetration.
Top Chat: Well, the downside is you can block bullets with tree leaves.
Top Chat: And towns barely have any cloth, so everything looks kind of blocky lol.

"You guys sure know your stuff."

Top Chat: Aww, you’re making me blush.
Top Chat: I mean, I am that good.
Top Chat: Didn’t know, but I’ll pretend I did.

"I didn’t know about the elves though."

Top Chat: Didn’t even realize elves originated from mythology.
Top Chat: I just assumed they sprouted out of fantasy novels.
Top Chat: Didn’t know, but I’ll pretend I did.
Top Chat: So, how are you planning to attack?

"Head-on. No tricks."

Top Chat: Bold!
Top Chat: Cool!
Top Chat: …Wait, have you ever actually used tricks before?
Top Chat: Did you even use your head? Got your hanky? Got tissues?
Top Chat: The temperature difference in this chat is giving me a cold.

"Anyway, is there even another route of entry?"

Top Chat: Nope.
Top Chat: It’s a pretty big hangar though.

Apparently, the place was designed as a hangar for private planes, with runways stretching out around it.

Top Chat: But since the runways are wide open, everyone just rated it as useless for ambushes.

『That was true… until I, the ultimate archer, appeared!』

"Kirishitan, you’ve been watching this stream the whole time?"
『Of course!』
"Man, you must be really bored."
『I have to time your! Breach! Properly, don’t I!?』

Top Chat: lol
Top Chat: Here they go with the comedy routine again.
Top Chat: Poor Kirishitan, wasted such a cool line.
Top Chat: ※ For the record, Kirishitan’s not actually marketing herself as an angry comedian.

"But I don’t think that’s what you should be watching, Kirishitan."
『…What’s with the cryptic tone? If you think you can mess with my focus, you’ve got another thing coming!』
"Mm. We’ll talk later.――Now then, fight fair!"

Top Chat: He’s running!
Top Chat: He’s running, he’s running!
Top Chat: Go go go!
Top Chat: Chargeeeeeeee!!
Top Chat: Kirishitan just held her breath!
Top Chat: It’s coming…!
Top Chat: Did Elf-san hold her breath too?
Top Chat: Why?
Top Chat: Why?
Top Chat: Why??

『……Shh!』

Kirishitan’s killer shot sank into the corner of the underground ceiling. The arrow disappeared from her stream’s view as it pierced the wall—and less than a tenth of a second later, it broke through exactly as intended, bursting out at the corner of the hangar entrance.

"Urya!"

I loosed my arrow straight into that path.

Top Chat: …Huh?

Arrows flying at over 40 meters per second crossed mid-air. Passing through the ground corner, through the underground ceiling corner, it popped into view on Kirishitan’s stream—and slammed right in.

『――!?』

Top Chat: Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhh!?
Top Chat: Whaaaaaaaaaaaat!?
Top Chat: No way!!
Top Chat: He shot it back!?

In that split-second exchange, the result was clear.

Player Name 『Blanc Rieleffi』 has died.
Player Name 『Kirishitan＠Bows4Life』 has died.

Both sides—headshot. A double KO.

『Aah, guess I lost.』

Kirishitan’s avatar let its arms drop and leaned slightly back. She was probably leaning against her chair in real life.

"Doesn’t really count as a loss, does it? I couldn’t dodge it anyway."
『Wait… you actually planned to dodge that?』
"Of course."

Top Chat: Yeah no, that’s not normal.
Top Chat: Of course… wait, what does “of course” even mean in this context?
Top Chat: She was gonna shoot back an arrow along the same path and dodge after seeing the first one fired?
Top Chat: This girl isn’t human! She’s an elf!
Top Chat: Elf—hey, don’t say the whole thing out loud!

『Unbelievable… But maybe I’m glad it was you who took me down.』
"Why’s that?"
『…Because I was planning to use that technique in the tournament.』
"Tournament?"
『The official tournament. I was gonna mow down all the top players with my bow and take the championship. Etch both my name and the bow into the history of Gunfield.』

Top Chat: Think that’s even possible?
Top Chat: If Kirishitan doesn’t miss a single shot…
Top Chat: Still harsh though.
Top Chat: It’s not impossible, but the odds are basically near zero.
Top Chat: And if someone figures it out, gun users could copy it too, and then the devs would patch it as a bug.
Top Chat: Either way, Kirishitan’s shot at making a splash in the tournament is gone now.

『Cold words. …But I agree.』

Kirishitan let out a soft chuckle.

『Aah, I messed up. Even if I got crushed by an elf’s bow, I should’ve swallowed my pride and kept it hidden until the tournament.』

She murmured it not with regret, but almost with relief.

『But still, this elf is stronger than any of the tournament’s heavy-hitters. She’s lacking here and there, sure, but by the time the tournament rolls around she’ll have mastered both the skills and the rules. Even if it’s not me, the bow’s strength will get shown off.』

Kirishitan’s avatar straightened its posture and faced forward with determination.

『So… can I leave the rest to you? After I retire, I mean.』

.

.

.

"I can’t. I’m busy turning myself into a bottle-bottom-glasses nerd."

Top Chat: Elf-san lmaooo
Top Chat: This elf, omg
Top Chat: That’s just terrible

『Eh? Huh? Bottle-bottom…?』

Top Chat: This Elf-san is dead set on gaming all summer break until her glasses turn into bottle-bottom lenses.
Top Chat: Doesn’t make sense, right? Yeah, we don’t get it either.

『W-wait!? Playing until your glasses turn into bottle-bottoms!? What does that even mean!? Why!?』
"I don’t know what’s weighing on your mind, but that’s not what you should be looking at, Kirishitan."
『H-hold on, if you say something that nonsensical of course I’m gonna—wait, what are you doing?』
"Just moving the camera. What you should be looking at is this."

The camera turned toward my PC monitor. And displayed there—was Kirishitan’s own stream screen.

Top Chat: Don’t stop!
Top Chat: We don’t just want the bow—we want Kirishitan!
Top Chat: Let us cheer you on!
Top Chat: Forget the bow, just keep streaming, Kirishitan!
Top Chat: We all love you, Kirishitan!

『――!?』

Dozens, hundreds, maybe thousands of messages filled the screen. There they were: the voices that had cheered her on without ever doubting her victory, even after I took the first match. Voices begging her not to quit, to take back her words about retiring.

"Look closely. Is there a single person here asking for some elf who’s only good at archery?"
『…No.』
"Then who are they asking for?"
『M-me…』
"Then what good is looking at my stream? Your people are over there."
『I… I… ngh… sniff… If I lose with the bow too… then no one will cheer for me anymore…!』
"Not a single person said that."

Top Chat: Ah, so you were reading all the chat during the match.
Top Chat: She really is an elf!
Top Chat: Elf—hey, don’t say the whole thing!

"See? My chat’s just me. Is that what you really want instead of Kirishitan’s? Of course not."

Top Chat: Aww, you’re making me blush.
Top Chat: I am that good.
Top Chat: Didn’t know, but I’ll pretend I did.
Top Chat: …Pretend you knew what though? lol

『Ahaha…』

Kirishitan roughly rubbed her eyes with her sleeve, lifted her face, and—

『Elf.』
"What?"
『Let’s play again.』
"Yeah."

She showed me a smile so bright it was almost a waste that it came only through an avatar.

"Well then, later."

Top Chat: Ah—
Top Chat: Hey, wait—

――This stream has ended――

Top Chat: The way you cut it off, seriously!!
Top Chat: I’m gonna DM her and complain!
Top Chat: Go! No wait, I’m going too!