Protagonist (Fatal Bullet)

The Protagonist (主人公) is the player's character in Sword Art Online: Fatal Bullet. The Protagonist began playing Gun Gale Online (GGO) due to the request of their childhood friend Kureha.

Appearance
In the gameverse canon, the Protagonist is a male with short black hair and blue eyes. He wears a battle jacket with a blue collar and black pants with metal knee pads. The alternative female version of the Protagonist, by default, has long black hair and green eyes. She wears a white battle jacket and red and black skirt. The Protagonist is depicted using a FAMAS G2 model assault rifle as well as a pair of Beretta 93R machine pistols in promotional art and pre-rendered cutscenes.

Personality
The Protagonist is an untalkative person, even having a unique aura of both friendliness and unsociability, according to Kureha. According to Kirito, the Protagonist is similar to Kirito's solo player self in the way he has zero friends.

Fatal Bullet
The Protagonist was invited by Takamine Momiji (Kureha) to assist her in a special update tournament in GGO, which was rumored to have a hidden rare item. Having been joined by Kureha almost immediately after logging into GGO for the first time, the new player was given a brief overview of the history of VRMMOs and the unique characteristics of GGO before heading to the tournament registration area. Along the way, the two encountered Itsuki, a top player and leader of the renowned Alphard squadron, who praised the Protagonist's resolve to participate in the competition despite their inexperience. After the man took his leave to enter the tournament himself, the Protagonist followed Kureha into the teleporter to the event dungeon to learn the basics of combat.

Once the Protagonist felt they understood GGO's battle system, they and Kureha proceeded further into the dungeon in search of the rare item. However, the duo encountered Itsuki again, accompanied by his partner Python. Sensing they were outmatched by the top players, the Protagonist and Kureha agreed to Itsuki's request to handle a difficult monster deeper within the dungeon, in exchange for being allowed to leave unharmed. Having managing to defeat the enemy, they parted ways with the top players at a fork in the road not far ahead, with the Protagonist given the privilege of choosing their path first. Shortly afterwards, the pair found a dormant warp gate. While Kureha fiddled with the controls, the Protagonist unwittingly stood in the middle of the structure when the girl accidentally activated it, which teleported the new player to a large room in a different area of the dungeon.

In the middle of exploring their new surroundings, the Protagonist's attention was drawn towards a strange capsule at the far end of the room. Curious, the new player touched the capsule, triggering the device to register them as some sort of master. Then the capsule opened to reveal a person inside, who slowly levitated out of the pod before collapsing. The Protagonist rushed to catch the falling person, narrowly avoiding a gunshot from an enemy player behind them. Immediately afterwards, they spotted the enemy player's partner charging at them with a photon sword, whereupon the new player instinctively moved to shield the mysterious person from the attack. However, they were spared when the mysterious person addressed the Protagonist as their master, causing the photon sword user to stop their ambush at the last moment.

Having been joined by Kureha, the Protagonist learned from the photon sword user and his partner, who respectively revealed their names as Kirito and Asuna, that the mysterious person they had attempted to protect was an ArFA-Sys Unit (Afasys), a player support Non-Player Character (NPC) companion who had just permanently registered the new player as their master. While Asuna and Kirito took their leave to continue advancing in the tournament, the Protagonist and Kureha remained with Afasys until the android had finished starting up their main system, after which the new player spent the rest of the competition learning how to use the NPC's first gift to them, the unimplemented Ultimate Fiber Gun (UFG). Once the trio were automatically transported to the SBC Glocken upon the tournament's conclusion, they were reunited with Itsuki, Kirito, and Asuna, the first of whom the Protagonist thanked for enabling them to meet Afasys before accepting the Photon Sword Wielder's invitation to a party to become better acquainted with each other and their circle of friends.

After the party, the Protagonist and Afasys followed Kureha and Kirito on a tour of the SBC Glocken and the facilities therein, during which they met several of Kirito's friends that were not present at the reception. The new player also encountered Bazalt Joe, who saved them from being swindled by a shady merchant player; Daisy, another Type-X ArFA-Sys Unit who Afasys befriended; and Daisy's master Zeliska, a mysterious player who seemed to know more about ArFA-Sys Units than she let on. Having finished their exploration of the city, the Protagonist learned they needed to recover Afasys's missing parts in order to restore the android's functionalities and enter the SBC Flügel, a new area to be implemented as part of the Gold Rush Update. To that end, they began exploring the Remnant Wasteland, where they quickly found the first component.

A short while later, the Protagonist was approached by Bazalt Joe, who inquired on their relationship with Afasys out of concern for the latter's bouts of clumsiness. Realizing the man was under the impression that the android was a regular player, they clarified Afasys was their Artificial Intelligence (AI) companion, whereupon the new player was requested to transfer their ArFA-Sys Unit ownership rights to Joe. Once it became clear the gunman would not be easily swayed, the Protagonist accepted Joe's challenge to a duel over the matter; with assistance from Afasys and Kureha, they defeated the man and his allies in two successive fights, after which they respectively received as a reward an expensive item and information on the location of the other missing ArFA-Sys Unit parts.

Immediately afterwards, the Protagonist was in their residence with Kirito, Kureha, Sinon and Yuuki discussing the SBC Flügel's upcoming implementation when they were unexpectedly visited by Daisy and Zeliska, who had found Afasys lingering in front of a store without any funds to purchase equipment or knowledge on how to return home. After it was revealed the situation was mostly caused by the Protagonist's ignorance of the ArFA-Sys Units' allowance function, the new player learned they could give Afasys money which the android could use to buy items for themself or their master. Promising to not let the issue repeat itself, the Protagonist utilized the system to prepare themselves for a deeper expedition into the Remnant Wasteland. Following the information they had won from Bazalt Joe, they managed to locate the second missing ArFA-Sys Unit component.

While wandering the streets of SBC Glocken some time later, the Protagonist, Afasys and Kureha spotted two players harassing another. Despite Kureha's recommendation that they should notify a game administrator first, the Protagonist was about to intervene on the beleaguered player's behalf when Itsuki preempted them by forcing the bullies to retreat. Grateful for his intercession, the trio accepted the man's invitation to Alphard's headquarters. There, they discussed what motivated each of them and other people to start playing GGO, which eventually resulted in Itsuki offering the Protagonist to join Alphard. Though flattered by his interest in them, they declined the proposal but consented to adding each other to their friend list, after which they could have the man accompany them on their adventures.

Not long after encountering Spiegel, Sinon's friend from real life with whom the sniper had a complicated history in Sword Art: Origin, the Protagonist, Afasys, and Kureha were given hints by Zeliska on where to find the last of the missing ArFA-Sys Unit parts. To that end, they liberated the Remnant Wasteland by defeating its field boss in order to access the Solitary Sands, where they repeated the feat to enter the Old South. Although the trio needed to purchase information from Argo to progress further, they eventually managed to unlock a sealed dungeon in the city ruins, where they collected the third and last component. With Afasys's functionalities fully restored, the Protagonist was able to focus on vanquishing the remaining area bosses in the region so as to access the Forgotten Woods, where the SBC Flügel would be implemented.

Once the SBC Flügel was finally released, the Protagonist gathered in Kirito's quarters along with the others to debate their next course of action. Since the group still only knew little about the ship, the Protagonist agreed to first scout the new area to determine the difficulty of entering it, with Afasys, Kirito and Kureha accompanying them. Having reached the SBC Flügel's gate, the party was surprised to be designated as trespassers by the Gatekeeper boss guarding the entrance. Unable to deal any meaningful damage to the Gatekeeper despite their best efforts in the ensuing battle, they realized they somehow must have missed an important prerequisite for accessing the ship. Therefore, the Protagonist and Afasys reluctantly retreated back to SBC Glocken while Kirito and Kureha stayed behind to cover their escape.

Once Kirito and Kureha had safely returned, the Protagonist was in the middle of discussing how to find the last requirement for entering the SBC Flügel when they perceived Afasys had disappeared. Sensing the ArFA-sys Unit blamed themselves for failing the entry quest, the player decided to search SBC Glocken for them. With assistance from Zeliska, Daisy, and Bazalt Joe, they located the android in the plaza in front of the governor's office, where they comforted Afasys over their guilt. This enabled the ArFA-Sys Unit to remember the final condition for gaining access to the ship, which the Protagonist consented to fulfill before they could return to the others.

Having returned to the SBC Flügel's gate, the Protagonist and Afasys fought the Gatekeeper for the former's right to freely enter and leave the ship. Since all the entry prerequisites were now correctly met, the duo were able to successfully defeat the boss. Almost immediately afterwards, they were approached by Daisy and Zeliska, who congratulated the two on their victory and offered to partner with them in exploring the new area. Once the proposal had been negotiated, the Protagonist reported their accomplishment to everyone in Kirito's residence, whereupon the group decided to create a squadron for convenience of access to the SBC Flügel. Sensing Kureha's discomfort over them being the leader of the squadron, the Protagonist offered the position to them but was instead challenged to a duel for the role, with Kirito, Sinon, and Yuuki also participating and Zeliska refereeing the battle royal, which the Protagonist won.

Following the celebration of the new squadron's establishment, the Protagonist spent some time preparing themself to officially enter the SBC Flügel. During this period, they learned from Kirito how to deflect bullets with a photon sword and wield it alongside a gun; helped Sinon acquire the rare AMR Tiamat sniper rifle; and became acquainted with Fukaziroh, LLENN, M, and Pitohui. Once they felt sufficiently ready, the Protagonist led the rest of the squadron into the interior of the ship. Despite some teasing interference from Itsuki, the player was able to safely explore the SBC Flügel's bow but encountered a sealed door that blocked access to the dungeon's deeper areas.

At a impatient Kureha's insistence, the Protagonist and the others purchased information from Argo to learn they needed to gather three keycards from the other zones to unlock the door. Having obtained two of these keycards from the Solitary Sands and the Old South, the squadron leader ordered everyone to briefly return to SBC Glocken for a break. As the crew entered a bar for refreshments, they noticed one of the bar's monitors streaming an MMO Stream broadcast featuring XeXeeD. While watching the program, the group witnessed a cloaked player approach the holo-panel and accost XeXeeD for his haughty attitude, before shooting at the screen with a pistol. To everyone's surprise, XeXeeD abruptly disconnected with a pained expression almost immediately afterwards, as if he had been killed by the mysterious player's bullet.

Before the Protagonist could contemplate on what they had witnessed, though, they received a message from Bazalt Joe challenging them to a final, one-on-one duel over the ownership rights to Afasys. Hoping this would resolve the matter at last, the player met the man at the prearranged location with about half the squadron accompanying them to spectate. Having defeated Joe, the Protagonist tentatively accepted the prize for their victory: the gunman's services and companionship. Afterwards, they learned from him how to dual-wield most firearms and were able to have him accompany them on their adventures.

Sometime later, the Protagonist was contacted by Kirito to visit him in his room, where he requested them and the rest of the squadron to discontinue playing Gun Gale Online for a time. When they pressed him for an explanation, they learned that XeXeeD and another famous player named Usujio Tarako had died in real life while apparently in FullDive. Remembering what they had seen with XeXeeD earlier, the Protagonist relayed the event to Kirito, who further disclosed that Usujio Tarako had also disconnected right after being shot by the same cloaked player, who called himself Death Gun. With both top players' real-life deaths seemingly caused by Death Gun, the Protagonist was concerned at the possibility that they might be targeted next. However, after conversing with Itsuki, Kureha, and Zeliska about the matter, they decided to follow the others in refusing to temporarily stop playing GGO, though they agreed to take precautions for the time being.

Having secured the final keycard in the Forgotten Woods, the Protagonist and everyone else returned to the SBC Flügel to unlock the door, through which they proceeded to the dungeon's depths, frequently returning to SBC Glocken for resupplying. During these breaks, the Protagonist grew closer to the other members of their squadron, particularly with Afasys, Bazalt Joe, Itsuki, Kureha, and Zeliska. This eventually culminated in the player watching a sunset alongside Kureha; covertly helping Daisy craft Victorian era-themed costumes for herself and Zeliska; being gifted with the first gun Itsuki ever purchased in GGO; learning the history behind Joe's interest in AI companions; and receiving a protective charm from Afasys as a symbol of the bonds they had made.

Soon, the Protagonist and the rest of the squadron reached the lowest part of the SBC Flügel's depths. There, they eventually found the mainframe of Mother Claudia, the corrupted AI governing the ship's core system, being guarded by the final boss of the SBC Flügel questline. Sensing Afasys's reluctance to follow the intended strategy of clearing the quest via formatting the system, which would delete Mother Claudia, the squadron leader decided to instead fight the Wary Hierophant boss so the ArFA-Sys Unit could physically connect to the mainframe. Once the group had beaten the boss and repaired Mother Claudia, the Protagonist was awarded with the unique Hyper Awareness skill, before returning to the SBC Glocken with everyone else to celebrate being the first ones to complete the quest series.

During the party, the Protagonist noticed Itsuki had mysteriously vanished; when he failed to return by the end of the festivities, they decided to search SBC Glocken for him. Upon finding the man at the observatory, the Protagonist listened to his long-winded ruminations on Akihiko Kayaba's transformation of Sword Art Online into a death game and what virtual reality meant to Itsuki. This culminated in the man inquiring the Protagonist what he was to them, to which the Protagonist responded they viewed him as a good friend just like the other members of the squadron. To the Protagonist's shock shortly afterward, they and everyone else except for Itsuki were suddenly disconnected from GGO's server, with the man apparently being the cause behind the phenomenon.

Having managed to log back in the next day, the Protagonist assembled with the rest of the squadron in their quarters to discuss how the mass disconnections could have happened. Although they remembered Itsuki's seeming involvement in the incident, the other player kept their suspicion to themself, instead agreeing to organize a hunting expedition so everyone could distract themselves from what had occurred. In the middle of planning where to go for their excursion, however, they were challenged to a duel by Kureha, who was incited to prove she was still stronger than them. To the Protagonist's distress, their victory over the girl caused her to leave the squadron and remove everyone from her friend list for a while. Further compounding their depression almost immediately afterward, Zeliska and Itsuki announced they were also temporarily leaving the squadron, the former explaining she needed focus on affairs in both virtual reality and real life, and the latter claiming he had to return to Alphard.

While lonelily contemplating Kureha's, Zeliska's, and Itsuki's departures from their squadron, the Protagonist was contacted by Kirito to visit him in his residence for a private conversation with him and his friends. There, they learned the Photon Sword Wielder was entering the upcoming Bullet of Bullets (BoB) to lure out and apprehend Death Gun with government assistance; as such, he would be unable to join their party for the time being. Additionally, several NerveGears had been reported stolen from a research facility. Though it was unlikely Death Gun was behind the thefts, the Protagonist promised regardless to be extra careful until both matters were resolved. To their surprise, Sinon quietly disclosed to them that she intended to secretly participate in the tournament as well to confront Death Gun but requested them to not divulge her plan to the others.

Having loaned the UFG to Kirito for the BoB, the Protagonist and Afasys informed Itsuki of the boy's plan to capture Death Gun so the man would not accidentally involve himself. While mulling over their next course of action in their room immediately afterward, the pair received an unexpected message. To their shock, the sender was addressed as Death Gun, who claimed the Protagonist had only earned their reputation through sheer luck and challenged them to prove their true power via an invitation that would be sent to their real-world address, threatening to kill someone close to them if they failed to follow the instructions or notified anyone else of the message. Remembering Spiegel's and Itsuki's warnings that the mysterious gunman might target them next, the Protagonist was inclined to accept the threat as legitimate. However, at Afasys's request, they undertook a hasty expedition into the underground ruins beneath SBC Glocken in a last-minute effort to strengthen themself before they officially received the real-life invitation. Once the ArFA-Sys Unit was satisfied and they felt sufficiently prepared, the player logged off, vowing to protect Kureha and Zeliska if they had also been involved.

Having found a NerveGear that had been sent with the invitation, the Protagonist reluctantly equipped the device and followed the instructions to log in at a designated date and time. To their surprise, they found themself in an unfamiliar place seemingly in GGO, with the logout button disabled and Afasys somehow transported along with them. They were quickly joined by Kureha, Zeliska and Itsuki, who revealed they had received similarly threatening messages and NerveGears from Death Gun as well. Seeing the girls were adamant on confronting Death Gun, the Protagonist decided to join them in searching the area for the mysterious gunman. During their exploration, they learned Kureha's and Zeliska's motivations for fighting Death Gun, the former due to wanting to finally stop being overshadowed by her older sister and the Protagonist, and the latter out of an obligation as a Zaskar programmer to investigate the possibility that the mysterious gunman had inside access to the company's operation of GGO. Having assured the two and Itsuki that they would all survive Death Gun's death game trap, the other player led the group deeper into the area, where they were teleported into an arena with a powerful boss monster, The GM.

Twice during the subsequent fight, The GM attempted to charge a devastating attack. However, with Afasys's charm, the Protagonist managed to disrupt the attacks before they finished charging, enabling the team to defeat the boss without serious injury. In the middle of pondering their surprising victory as well as Death Gun's conspicuous absence, they were suddenly contacted by Yui, who revealed they were actually in a separate VR space from GGO. Then Kirito was transported to their location, who explained that the real Death Gun and his accomplice, whose actual names were Shinkawa Shouichi (Sterben) and Kyouji (Spiegel), had already been arrested; the Death Gun who had sent them the messages and NerveGears was only an imposter. To the Protagonist's shock, Itsuki announced he was the one who orchestrated the creation of the death game area with Python's assistance; his entire plan was to manipulate the other player into relying on him alone. While the man retreated to an elevated, safer position, everyone else was forced to contend with the appearance of Last Judgment, an even stronger variant of The GM.

With the arrival of the rest of the squadron reinforcing them, the Protagonist and the others succeeded in vanquishing Last Judgment, after which everyone attempted to persuade Itsuki to surrender. When he refused and pointed his weapon at Kureha and Zeliska, the other player used the UFG they had reclaimed from Kirito to reach the man's position and engage in a standoff with him, using the same gun he had gifted them. Silently admitting they could not bring themself to hate Itsuki even after all his machinations, the Protagonist was challenged by the man to shoot him, which would result in the NerveGear killing him. Before they could answer the challenge, the system began an emergency shutdown of the death game area. As everyone was being logged out, the Protagonist was promised by Itsuki that they would eventually meet again.

Shortly afterward, the Protagonist, Afasys, Kureha, and Zeliska were debriefed by Kirito on how Itsuki and Python had constructed the death game area, as well as how the former had purposefully given everyone misinformation about his real life, meaning his current whereabout were still unknown. In addition, only he and the Protagonist had actually worn NerveGears; the devices Kureha and Zeliska had been given were just disguised AmuSpheres. Despite learning all this, the other player was uncertain what to think of Itsuki's actions. After taking a moment to rest, they followed the others to Kirito's quarters for a party celebrating their survival and safe return.

Sometime later, the Protagonist participated in a mission to ambush a large company of player killers with Kirito and the rest of the squadron, in fulfillment of a promise they had made prior to the boy's registration in the BoB. While waiting for their targets to approach, the other player confessed to the boy their guilt over not shooting Itsuki during their confrontation with him. Comforted by Kirito's reassurance that their inaction was not necessarily a sign of weakness and that he empathized with their situation due to being an Sword Art Online (SAO) Survivor, the squadron leader was able to join the Photon Sword Wielder in springing the trap once everyone was in position, teleporting into the enemy players' midst for a counterassault while their friends teleported to safety.

Trivia

 * The Protagonist is highly skilled at non-VR games. This ends up contributing to their quick learning of GGO despite it being their first VRMMO game, allowing them to even block bullets with a photon sword like Kirito.
 * The Protagonist has high real life luck, contributing to finding their Afasys (ArFA-sys) unit as well as various high rarity items.
 * The Protagonist is skilled in riding a motorcycle. Whether that is from video games, having a real license, or some other reason is up to the player.

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Protagonista (Fatal Bullet)