E1 - The World of Guns

Source: Crunchyroll
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(Please feel free to edit the speaker names if incomplete or inaccurate. Names are handled on a best-effort basis depending on the info on the source file. Dialogue is left as is.)
[00:14] Z
    The idea that agility is the only stat
    that matters is only an illusion.
[00:20] Z
    Sure, agility is an important stat.
[00:23] Z
    Firing speed and dodging...
[00:25] Z
    If you were good at those two things,
    you were good.
[00:28] Z
    Until now, anyway.
[00:30] Z
    But that's all in the past now.
[00:33] ---
    And to those of you who spent
[00:35] ---
    the past eight months never
    leaving the house, raising that stat...
[00:38] ---
    Sucks to be you.
[00:43] MC
    That's what we'd expect to hear
SIGN    Zexceed
SIGN    Dark Wind
SIGN    Presenter
[00:46] ---
    from the top player of the most hardcore
    VRMMO, Gun Gale Online.
[00:50] MC
    Pretty extreme!
[00:52] Z
    Well, I may only get one chance in
    my life to be on MMO Stream...
[00:56] MC
    Oh, don't say that.
[00:58] MC
    Aren't you aiming for the next Bullet of Bullets?
[01:00] Z
    Of course.
[01:02] Z
    If I'm going to enter,
[01:03] Z
    I'll play to win!
[01:07] Guy
    But you know, Zexceed-san...
[01:09] Guy
    BoB is a solo tournament, with random encounters.
[01:12] Guy
    Doing the same doesn't guarantee
     you'll get the same result.
[01:15] Guy
    I'm not sure you should be chalking
    your victory up to your status type.
[01:19] Z
    No, the results were indicative
    of a broader trend within GGO.
[01:24] Z
    You're an agility-based character, Dark Wind-san,
[01:26] ---
    so I can understand why you'd want to deny it.
[01:30] Z
    It's true that, until now, the strongest strategy
[01:33] ---
    has been to raise your AGI, and fire a powerful
    physical weapon as fast as possible.
[01:37] Z
    But the balance of a MMO
     changes all the time.
[01:41] Z
    In particular, games with levels
    don't let you re-spec your stats.
[01:46] Z
    You need to constantly predict the future
     when you spend your points,
[01:48] Z
    because the best style for your level zone
     won't always stay the same.
[01:53] Z
    Minimum strength requirements
    and accuracy bonuses
[01:56] ---
    keep increasing for new equipment introduced...
[02:01] Guy
    Zexceed always used to talk about how
    awesome agility-based characters were.
[02:06] Guy
    I can't believe I listened to him.
[02:13] Guy
    Zexceed... False victor...
[02:17] Guy
    You will now be judged by true power!
[02:36] Z
    So you see...
[02:37] ---
    In the end, what's really important
    is the player's own ability—
[02:50] MC
    Oh, my...
[02:52] MC
    Looks like we lost the connection.
[02:54] MC
    It should be back in a second,
[02:56] MC
    so don't touch that dial!
[03:03] Guy
    This is true power!
[03:05] Guy
    True strength.
[03:06] Guy
    Fools... Remember this name, and fear!
[03:11] Guy
    The name this gun and I share! Death Gun!
SIGN    The World of Guns
[03:30] [Messenger] A
    Be sure to be home
     by dinner.
[03:30] [Messenger] A
    Mom
[03:30] [Messenger] A
    I'll be home by 6.
[03:33] A
    December, 2025...
[03:37] A
    Soon, it'll be a year.
[03:49] A
    What's the difference between
     the real world and the virtual one?
[03:54] K
    The amount of information. That's all.
[03:59] A
    You surprised me...
[04:01] K
    I got here right on time.
[04:06] A
    I guess I was running on autopilot.
[04:08] A
    Anyway... Hello, Kirito-kun.
[04:12] K
    That's dangerous.
[04:14] K
    Hey, Asuna.
[04:17] A
    Wh-What?
[04:18] K
    It's just...
[04:19] K
    Those clothes look good on you.
[04:22] K
    They bring back a lot of memories...
[04:25] A
    Yeah, but I don't have a rapier.
[04:29] A
    And I see you're wearing a lot of black today.
[04:32] K
    Well...
[04:33] K
    Sugu washed all my clothes this morning.
[04:35] K
    This was all I had.
[04:37] A
    That's why you shouldn't let
    your laundry pile up!
[04:41] A
    So we both happen to be wearing
    our old colors today...
[04:44] A
    What are the odds of that?
[04:46] K
    Well, if we meet all the time over a year—
[04:49] A
    Just say, "Yeah, you're right!"
[04:51] A
    Come on. Let's go.
[04:57] K
    Hey, don't you think the palace
    is kind of interesting?
[05:01] A
    Interesting?
[05:02] A
    How?
[05:04] K
    It's 2 kilometers long and 1.5 kilometers wide.
[05:08] K
    It covers 20% of Chiyoda Ward.
[05:10] K
    No tunnels or subways run under it.
[05:13] K
    Planes aren't allowed to fly overhead, either.
[05:14] K
    It's a giant off-limits zone
    in the middle of Tokyo.
[05:21] K
    And it's cut off, not only physically,
    but information-wise, as well.
[05:25] K
    See that security camera?
[05:28] K
    This place has its own unique closed network,
[05:32] K
    and you can't access it from outside at all.
[05:35] A
    That's a strange-looking camera.
[05:37] K
    Yeah.
[05:38] ---
    This place is in the middle of Tokyo,
    but it's also its own, isolated world.
[05:43] K
    Maybe that's taking it a bit too far.
[05:47] A
    Maybe.
[05:56] K
    This is where Edo Castle's
    inner citadel used to be.
[05:58] A
    Let's go.
SIGN    Former Cannon Emplacement
[06:17] A
    Hey, remember the survey about
    what we'll do after graduation?
[06:21] A
    What are you planning to do with your future?
[06:25] K
    I think I'm going to go
     from a player to a creator.
[06:29] A
    A creator?
[06:31] A
    What kind of game will you make?
[06:32] K
    Not a game... A man-machine interface to replace
[06:35] ---
    our current full-dive technology.
[06:37] K
    I've been frequenting a lot
    of tech forums, to study.
[06:40] K
    But they're all in English, so it's pretty rough.
[06:46] A
    I want to stay with you forever, Kirito-kun.
[06:50] A
    It'd be great if Yui-chan could
    be with us here, too...
[06:54] K
    That'll be possible,
[06:56] K
    once we can use an augmented reality
    environment whenever we want.
[07:00] K
    Right now, there's too much difference
    in the amount of information.
[07:03] A
    You were saying that earlier, weren't you?
[07:06] A
    The real and virtual worlds are
    only different in the amount of information...
[07:10] A
    What does that mean?
[07:12] K
    Well...
[07:13] K
    You know how there's a difference
    between holding hands like this
[07:16] ---
    in the real world and in ALO?
[07:20] A
    You're right.
[07:22] A
    I can feel a lot more from your real hand.
[07:25] A
    Oh!
[07:26] A
    That's what you mean by more information.
[07:28] K
    Yeah.
[07:29] K
    But what if, someday, we could replicate
    the sensations your skin feels?
[07:33] K
    Could you tell
[07:35] ---
    the difference between a real hand and
    an avatar's hand just by touch?
[07:38] A
    I could.
[07:39] A
    If it were your hand.
[07:42] A
    It isn't only touch.
[07:44] ---
    Don't sound and taste convey a lot
    more information in reality, too?
[07:49] A
    So even if the Amuspheres had AR capability...
[07:54] K
    Yeah.
[07:54] K
    You'd know whether something was real or not
    the minute you saw or touched it.
[07:59] K
    But if there's a huge technology
    breakthrough someday,
[08:03] K
    and we're able to receive
[08:04] ---
    a large amount of sensory
    information in the real world...
[08:08] A
    We could cross the boundary between worlds
    and be with Yui-chan all the time.
[08:13] A
    That day is coming, right?
[08:15] K
    Yeah.
[08:16] A
    Make something like that for us, okay?
SIGN    About 4 hours earlier
[08:39] Guy
    Welcome.
[08:42] Ki
    Hey, Kirito-kun!
[08:44] Ki
    Over here!
[08:53] Ki
    I'll pay, so order whatever you want.
[08:57] A
    I'll do that, then. Thank you very much.
[08:59] Ki
    Oh, don't be so formal...
[09:02] Ki
    Just talk to me like you would in ALO.
[09:05] K
    S-Sure... I'll have...
[09:15] K
    Um...
[09:16] K
    I'll have the parfait au chocolat,
    the framboise mille-feuille,
[09:20] K
    and a hazelnut latte.
[09:23] Ki
    Sorry to bring you all the way here, Kirito-kun.
[09:26] K
    If you're really sorry, don't bring
    me all the way to Ginza...
[09:29] K
    And don't call me that in front of others!
[09:34] Ki
    You're so cold...
[09:35] Ki
    After you woke up in the hospital a year ago,
     I was the first person to visit you.
[09:42] K
    He's right.
[09:45] K
    He was my first visitor after I woke up.
[09:47] K
    The leader of the response team.
[09:50] K
    Kikuoka Seijirou, of the Ministry of Internal
    Affairs Telecommunications Bureau,
[09:53] ---
    Advanced Communications Networks
    Promotion Division Section 2,
[09:56] K
    AKA the Virtual Division.
[10:03] K
    Well, what else do you need?
[10:05] K
    I told you pretty much everything
    there was to know about SAO...
[10:09] Ki
    I want to discuss something else today.
[10:14] Ki
    Look at this.
[10:17] K
    Who's this?
[10:18] Ki
    Hmm, last month, on November 14th...
[10:23] Ki
    The landlord of a Nakano, Tokyo apartment
    building smelled something while cleaning.
[10:28] Ki
    She got worried and opened
    the electronic lock on the door,
[10:33] Ki
    and discovered the body of this man,
    Shigemura Tamotsu, age 26.
[10:37] Ki
    He'd been dead five and a half days.
[10:38] Ki
    His room was messy but hadn't been ransacked.
    The body was on the bed.
[10:43] Ki
    And on its head...
[10:45] K
    An Amusphere?
[10:47] Ki
    Exactly.
[10:48] Ki
    Given the possibility of foul play,
    an autopsy was held.
[10:52] Ki
    The cause of death was acute heart failure.
[10:54] K
    Heart failure? His heart stopped?
[10:58] K
    Why?
[11:00] Ki
    We don't know.
[11:03] Guy
    Here you are.
[11:07] Ki
    Given the time of death,
[11:10] Ki
    and the low probability of a crime,
     a thorough autopsy was not conducted.
[11:15] Ki
    But he'd been logged in for two full days
    without eating anything.
[11:20] K
    That isn't so unusual.
[11:24] K
    What's so special about this case?
[11:25] Ki
    The game he had installed was Gun Gale Online.
[11:29] Ki
    Do you know it?
[11:30] K
    Sure... It's the only game in
    Japan with pro players.
[11:35] Ki
    He had won a tournament in
    Gun Gale Online, GGO for short,
[11:39] Ki
    that was held in October,
    to determine the strongest player.
[11:43] Ki
    His character name was Zexceed.
[11:45] K
    Then he was playing GGO when he died?
[11:48] Ki
    No, he was appearing on a program called
     MMO Stream, as his Zexceed avatar.
[11:54] Ki
    We know the time from the logs.
[11:57] Ki
    And this hasn't been confirmed,
[12:00] Ki
    but another user wrote on their blog
     that something strange happened
[12:04] Ki
    in GGO at the same time as his heart attack.
[12:07] K
    Strange?
[12:08] Ki
    At the exact same time this was happening,
[12:11] Ki
    a player was acting strangely in a bar.
[12:14] Ki
    He screamed something about "judgment"
    at the TV Zexceed was appearing on,
[12:20] Ki
    and fired his gun.
[12:22] Ki
    One of the players watching this
[12:24] ---
    happened to have an audio log running,
    and uploaded the file to a video site.
[12:29] Ki
    The file contains a counter
    in Japan Standard Time.
[12:33] Ki
    The shot was fired at the TV
[12:35] ---
    at almost the same time Shigemura
    disappeared from the program.
[12:40] K
    That's just a coincidence.
[12:42] Ki
    There was another one.
[12:44] K
    What?!
[12:45] Ki
    This one happened on November 28th.
[12:48] Ki
    Somewhere in Saitama City, Saitama.
[12:50] Ki
    Another body found in a room,
    in a two-story apartment.
[12:54] Ki
    A newspaper salesman looked inside
[12:56] ---
    and saw a man, lying on a futon,
    wearing an Amusphere...
[12:59] Ki
    Another horrible smell.
[13:03] Ki
    Well, skipping the particulars of the corpse...
[13:06] Ki
    Another acute heart failure.
[13:09] Ki
    He was also a highly skilled GGO player.
[13:12] Ki
    His character name was...
[13:13] Ki
    Lightly Salted Tarako?
    He was playing the game at the time.
[13:17] Ki
    He was at a meeting with his squadron...
[13:21] ---
    I guess that's what they call a guild...
[13:23] ---
    in a Glocken City plaza...
[13:26] Ki
    When he was shot by another player.
[13:30] K
    Was it the same guy as Zexceed?
[13:33] Ki
    Probably.
[13:34] Ki
    He said the same things about
    power and judgment,
[13:37] ---
    and used the same character name.
[13:40] K
    What was it?
[13:42] Ki
    Death Gun.
[13:44] K
    Death Gun?
[13:53] K
    You're sure it was heart failure, right?
[13:56] Ki
    What do you mean?
[13:58] K
    There wasn't any damage to their brains?
[14:02] Ki
    I wondered that, as well.
[14:04] Ki
    I spoke to the coroner who
    handled the autopsies,
[14:07] Ki
    and they said there was nothing
    wrong with their brains.
[14:10] Ki
    And what's more,
[14:11] Ki
    the NerveGear used microwaves
    powerful enough to burn out
[14:15] ---
    the signaling devices
     and destroy part of the brain.
[14:19] Ki
    But the Amusphere is designed for that kind
    of power emission to be impossible.
[14:23] Ki
    The developers were insistent on that.
[14:25] K
    You've done a lot of homework, Kikuoka-san...
[14:28] K
    All this for something that seems like nothing
    more than coincidence and rumor?
[14:32] Ki
    Well, I'm ninety percent sure it's coincidence,
    or someone's making it up.
[14:36] Ki
    So we're speaking hypothetically here.
[14:39] Ki
    Do you think it's possible
[14:41] ---
    to stop a player's heart with a bullet fired
    from within a video game?
[15:05] K
    I don't think so, but assuming this Death Gun
[15:10] ---
    could send some kind of signal to Zexceed's
     and Lightly Salted Tarako's Amuspheres...
[15:16] K
    Some sensation of touch that
    would stop their hearts...
[15:19] K
    Or taste, or smell, or sight, or sound...
[15:22] K
    Some kind of sensory information...
[15:27] K
    Hey, wait.
[15:29] K
    You've already looked into all this, haven't you?
[15:32] K
    If you smarty pants have thought this through,
[15:34] K
    there shouldn't be much left for me to do.
[15:37] Ki
    No, no...
[15:38] Ki
    I'd never do that to you, Kirito-kun.
[15:41] Ki
    I enjoy talking to you.
[15:43] K
    I'm done.
[15:45] ---
    Here's my conclusion.
[15:46] ---
    Stopping a player's heart from
    within a game is impossible!
[15:50] ---
    The gunshots and heart failures are unrelated—
[15:52] Ku
    W-Wait!
[15:53] Ku
    You can order another slice of cake.
[15:55] Ku
    Just stay for a while!
[15:58] Ku
    Well, I'm relieved to hear you say that aloud...
[16:03] Ku
    I was thinking the same thing.
[16:06] Ku
    These two deaths
[16:07] ---
    weren't caused by gunshots
    from within the game.
[16:10] Ku
    So I'd like to ask you...
[16:13] Ku
    Will you log into Gun Gale Online
[16:15] ---
    and make contact with this Death Gun?
[16:19] K
    Why not just say it, Kikuoka-san?
[16:21] K
    "Go get shot."
[16:23] Ki
    Well...
[16:24] K
    No way in hell!
[16:25] K
    What if something happened to me?!
[16:28] Ki
    We both just agreed that was impossible!
[16:31] Ki
    And it looks like Mr. Death Gun has
    pretty strict criteria for his targets.
[16:37] K
    Criteria?
[16:39] Ki
    Yes.
[16:41] Ki
    Zexceed and Lightly Salted Tarako
    were both renowned top-level players.
[16:46] Ki
    In other words, he won't shoot you
    unless you're good. Probably.
[16:49] Ki
    Kayaba-sensei recognized you
    as the strongest player—
[16:52] K
    That's impossible...
[16:53] K
    GGO isn't that easy a game!
[16:55] K
    It's filled with pros.
[16:57] Ki
    That's it.
[16:58] Ki
    What does it mean to be a pro?
[17:01] K
    Just what it sounds like.
[17:02] K
    Gun Gale Online is the only virtual MMO
[17:06] ---
    that lets you exchange
     game coins for real money.
[17:10] K
    Basically, you can take the
    money you earn in-game
[17:13] ---
    and exchange it for real cash.
SIGN    Description Amount Deposit 1 GGO 132,000 yen Deposit 1 GGO 65,000 yen Deposit 1 GGO 157,000 yen
[17:16] K
    The pros are the ones who can earn
    money in GGO every single month.
[17:21] K
    A top player can make anywhere
    from 200,000 to 300,000 yen a month.
[17:26] K
    For that reason, the high-level GGO players
[17:29] ---
    spend far more time and passion
     on their game than other MMO players.
[17:35] K
    I can't just log in and expect to match them.
[17:38] K
    Find someone else.
[17:39] Ki
    Wait, wait...
[17:41] Ki
    I don't have anyone else!
[17:43] Ki
    If you don't think you can fight the pros,
[17:45] Ki
    I'll pay you to cooperate with the investigation.
[17:48] Ki
    This much.
[17:51] K
    Why is this such a big deal to you?
[17:54] K
    It's just another Internet horror story.
[17:57] Ki
    You see, my bosses are worried about this.
[18:01] Ki
    The effects of full-dive technology
    on the human body
[18:05] ---
    are the single biggest focus
     of research right now.
[18:08] Ki
    I want to know what's really going on
[18:11] ---
    before they start trying to use this
    to restrict the technology.
[18:14] Ki
    I want to be sure.
[18:16] Ki
    How's that for a reason?
[18:18] K
    Wouldn't it be faster to ask the administrators?
[18:21] K
    Zaskar, the company that
    develops and operates GGO,
[18:25] K
    has its servers in America.
[18:27] K
    The real company's address, phone number,
[18:30] ---
    and e-mail are all confidential.
[18:32] K
    Since The Seed went public,
[18:34] ---
    all kinds of shady virtual worlds have popped up.
[18:39] K
    Which means the only way to get at the truth
[18:43] ---
    is to make contact with them within the game.
[18:46] K
    Of course, we'll take every safety precaution.
[18:49] K
    And I won't tell you to get shot.
[18:51] K
    Just tell me your impressions,
    and give me your judgment.
[18:54] K
    Will you go?
[18:59] K
    Four thousand people died in Aincrad.
[19:04] K
    After a year, I've almost put that behind me.
[19:09] K
    But now, more people are being
    murdered in virtual reality,
[19:13] K
    and I'm being called back.
[19:16] K
    It's like someone is telling me not to forget.
SIGN    Former Cannon Emplacement
[19:25] A
    I think I understand
[19:27] ---
    why you brought me here.
[19:30] K
    Y-Yeah?
[19:33] A
    If the world is composed of an axis called
    time and a plane called space,
[19:38] A
    then Tokyo's center—in other words,
    our reality—is this place.
[19:44] A
    The center of the endlessly expanding
    virtual worlds, thanks to The Seed,
[19:49] ---
    is the castle that's gone, right?
[19:52] A
    That's why this twilight brings
    back so many memories.
[19:57] K
    I see...
[19:58] K
    You're right.
[20:00] K
    There's something your words just
    now helped me to understand.
[20:03] A
    Huh? What?
[20:05] K
    The shape of Aincrad.
[20:07] K
    It's possible that its shape represented
    an axis of time and a plane of space.
[20:13] A
    But that would mean that the world
    the commander tried to create
[20:17] ---
    was intended to taper off to a point,
     and someday disappear.
[20:22] A
    And a certain person made it explode midway.
[20:26] A
    Without waiting to see the end.
[20:28] K
    I'm s-sorry, Miss Second-in-Command...
[20:37] K
    Asuna, listen...
[20:42] K
    Nothing, it's getting cold.
[20:44] K
    Let's get going.
[20:46] A
    Yeah, let's come back with Liz,
    Leafa-chan, and the others.
[20:50] A
    I'm sure eating lunch on that lawn would be fun!
[20:52] K
    Yeah, in the spring.
[21:10] Gu
    I'm in position.
[21:11] S
    Roger.
[21:13] S
    The enemy hasn't changed course or speed.
[21:16] S
    They're 400 meters from you, 1,500 from me.
[21:19] Gu
    That's pretty far.
[21:21] Gu
    Can you do it?
[21:22] S
    I'll be fine.
[21:23] Gu
    Okay, open fire.
[21:25] Gu
    I'm counting on you, Sinon.
[21:27] S
    Roger.
[21:32] S
    This pressure, this unease...
[21:36] ---
    This terror...
[21:38] S
    1,500 meters?
[21:40] S
    That's like tossing a wad of paper
    in a wastebasket.
[21:46] S
    Yes...
[21:47] S
    Yes... Compared to that time...
[22:02] S
    Next.
SIGN    Next Time: Cold-Hearted Sniper