Llenn makes her return to the battlefield in the sixth volume of Keiichi Sigsawa’s Sword Art Online Alternative Gun Gale Online light novel series, though it is somewhat different to Squad Jam events she has participated in before.
The Sword Art Online Alternative Gun Gale Online light novel series
Front cover of Sword Art Online Alternative Gun Gale Online, Vol. 6: One Summer Day, featuring Llenn
One month after the third Squad Jam, Karen Kohiruimaki is starting to consider her options outside of GGO… but fate won’t let that happen! Out of the blue, past prizewinning SJ teams receive invitations to playtest a GGO game mode with an all-new objective: capture a base defended by hyperadvanced AI NPCs. As Llenn reluctantly agrees to participate in the hopes of fulfilling her promise of a rematch with SHINC, she can’t help but wonder: Just how challenging can these AI NPCs possibly be?
After three Squad Jam events, One Summer Day provides a nice change of pace with a new event – and one that is exclusive to the high-ranking SJ teams.
Llenn returns to the battlefield alongside Pitohui, Fukaziroh and M, meaning the return of team LPFM. There are plenty of other familiar faces involved as well, most notably SHINC.
To begin with, Llenn’s decision to participate in the event is simply to have a rematch with SHINC. However, that soon gets put aside when they discover their enemies are much stronger than anticipated.
There some fighting between the teams at the beginning of the event. Their grievances with each other are put aside fairly quickly, though.
Certain teams are not so keen about teaming up with Pitohui, but sacrifices have to be made to try and secure victory. Also, Pitohui comes into the event with a secret weapon, which she tries to keep hidden for as long as possible.
As ever, Keiichi Sigsawa provides perhaps a little too much detail about the guns specific characters use. Not that I’d expect anything less. I guess it goes to show that there has been plenty of research put into the guns.
The enemy that team LPFM and their allies face this time are NPCs with deadly precision. They also happen to be holed up in an area that they have extremely well defended, making approach nigh impossible.
Fortunately, the teams participating in the event provide all sorts of skills and equipment, resulting in certain teams filling specific roles.
Whereas the previous Squad Jams have been about the teams fighting each other, the events of One Summer Day see them united. It makes a nice change from the norm, and there are some pretty impressive strategies pulled off in pursuit of victory.
There are also some impressive encounters between the players and the NPCs. Llenn is still just as ferocious as ever, but she isn’t the only one who gets to shine in the battle.
Another element that differs from Squad Jam are lives. Each player has three lives for the event, meaning that getting killed once means they simply have to wait for a bit, and then they’ll respawn. That is something the players do take advantage of.
One Summer Day may not have any battles that are on the same scale as the third Squad Jam, but it still provides a fun, action-packed read. Definitely a nice change of pace from what has typically come before in the Sword Art Online Gun Alternative Gale Online light novel series.
Rory Muses 