Sword Art Online

The only way to escape from SAO, is to clear the game, and that a game over within the game would mean their death in the real world. That was the frightening true story behind this game. (c) REKI KAWAHARA／ASCII MEDIA WORKS／SAO Project

A game device “NerveGear” has been developed, making Full Dives into a virtual dimension possible. It is the world’s first true VRMMORPG device. "Sword Art Online (SAO)" has generated buzz. On its official launch day, a player, Kirito, immerses himself in VR world. But Kayaba, the developer of SAO, proclaims the following to all players. This game is inescapable unless all levels are cleared.

One month has gone by since the start of the death game - it is December 2022. Already, 2,000 players have met their deaths. Using his knowledge as a beta tester for the game, Kirito tries to overcome the dungeon on his own, but it proves to be a steep challenge. No one has yet been able to clear even the first floor of the 100-level Aincrad.

Kirito rescues a guild called the Moonlit Black Cats from a monster attack. Drawn to the warmth of this guild, whose members are all friends even in real life, Kirito joins them, concealing the fact that he is a Beater. With Kirito's help, the weak Black Cats gain newfound power, and set their sights on catching up to the "assault team." But one night, Sachi vanishes.

After quarreling with her party, the young girl Silica, who is also a beast-tamer, storms off and loses her way in the forest, where she runs into monsters. She is saved by Kirito, who just happens to be passing by, but loses her familiar, Pina. Silica is in tears over the loss of her precious friend, so Kirito tells her that there's a way to revive familiars, and offers her free help.

April 2024. As vice-commander of the most powerful guild in SAO, the Knights of the Blood Oath, Asuna is now fighting on the front lines, and has advanced to the 59th floor. It is then that a male player named Kains dies in a village that can't be invaded by monsters. Hearing a witness's scream, Kirito and Asuna rush over to investigate, and find that the man couldn't have been killed in a duel.

Kirito and Asuna investigate the "Murder in the safe zone," which should have been impossible to commit within the game system, only to see a new victim perish right before their eyes. The common link between Kains and other victims is the fact that they were all former members of Golden Apple. According to Schmidt, Griselda has become a ghost and is wreaking vengeance on her ex-comrades.

A customer arrives at the blacksmith Lisbeth's shop, requesting her to make him the best possible sword - with cost not being an issue. To give her an idea of what he has in mind, the customer - Kirito - shows her a rare sword. The confident craftswoman shows him the finest sword she's ever forged, but Kirito, wanting to tests its durability, promptly breaks it.

October 2024. On his way back from having cleared the 74th floor from the front lines, Kirito acquires a "Ragout Rabbit" - an S-Level rare food. But since he has done nothing to increase his cooking skills, it's a mere waste in Kirito's hands. Having no other choice, he tries to sell it to Agil, at whose shop he runs into Asuna. Kirito asks her to cook the rare food for him.

Teaming up with Asuna, Kirito clears the dungeon on the 74th floor and discovers the Boss Room. They attempt to obtain information on defeating him, but once they lay eyes on the formidable boss, they immediately withdraw. Retreating to a safe area, they encounter a troop from The Army, a giant guild - the largest in all of SAO. Kirito willingly shares with him his map to the Boss Room.

Asuna wants to distance herself from the Knights of the Blood Oath. Kirito decides to stake Asuna's freedom in a duel with Heathcliff, the notorious leader of the Knights of the Blood, said to be the most powerful man in Aincrad. Knowing how formidable an opponent Heathcliff will be, Asuna worries for Kirito's safety, but Kirito reassures her with a laugh that he doesn't intend to go down easily.

Thanks to an incident caused by Kuradeel, Kirito and Asuna's bond has grown, and they marry. Asuna is granted temporary leave from the Knights of the Blood Oath, and she and Kirito begin living together by a lake on the 22nd floor. Kirito and Asuna pass the days peacefully, in a land far removed from battle. One day, after hearing a rumor about a ghost-sighting, they set off for the forest.

In order to search for Yui's guardians, Kirito and Asuna set off for the Town of Beginnings. When they hear that Thinker, a leader of The Army, has been left trapped in a dungeon, they take on the job of rescuing him. Along with Yulier, who sought their help, and Yui, who insisted on tagging along, Kirito and Asuna descend to the underground dungeon on the first floor.

While fishing at the lake, Kirito is approached by an elderly player, Nishida. As Nishida is an avid fisherman, the two hit it off, and Kirito decides to help him try and catch the guardian, said to live in that very lake. After knowing nothing but battle, day in and day out, on the front lines, the two, through their encounters with Nishida, realize that there are ordinary people around them.

November 2024. The battle against the Skull Reaper, boss of the 75th floor, is ferocious beyond anyone's imagination. In a space where teleport crystals are ineffective, one battle-scarred player after another succumb to the boss. Although they just barely manage to defeat the Skull Reaper, the faces of the front-line fighters are grim, as they have sustained heavy casualties.

After a battle to the death with Heathcliff, Kazuto Kirigaya, a.k.a. Kirito, returns to the real world. Although the other survivors of the death game also make it back home, 300 of the players, including Asuna, have yet to regain consciousness, and are still comatose. Two months later, Kazuto heads to the hospital to visit Asuna where he meets two other visitors, Asuna's father and Sugou.

Summoned to Agil's shop, Kazuto's gaze is drawn to a screenshot that Agil shows him - that of a VRMMORPG called ALfheim Online (ALO). A girl resembling Asuna can be seen in this screenshot. When he finds out that the company that launched ALO is RCT, where Sugou works, Kazuto is convinced that Asuna is trapped inside the game.

Leafa, a Sylph player, finds herself under attack by the player-hunting Salamanders, but is saved when a Spriggan named Kirito suddenly appears on the scene. Although Kirito, who has brought along a private pixie named Yui, appears to have significant skills, he doesn't seem to know much about ALO.

Leafa leads Kirito to the World Tree, which stands in the center of ALfheim. But when they try to depart Sylvain, a member of Leafa’s party, Sigurd, stands in their way. Annoyed by this, Leafa announces that Kirito is her new partner. Meanwhile, trapped at the top of the World Tree, Asuna, not knowing weather Kirito is dead or alive, is filled with anxiety and fear…

On their way to the World Tree, Kirito and the others are advancing through a gigantic cave, the Legrue Corridor, when Leafa receives a message from her friend, Recon. In it, he urges cautions, but it is too late - a Salamander squad is fast approaching. Driven into a corner, Kirito finds himself with no option but to fight, and he designates Leafa as the Healer of their group.

In order to clear the Grand Quest, the Sylphs and the Cait Sith hold a top-secret meeting between leaders, only to be attacked by a massive force of Salamanders, led there by a mole. They are in hopeless danger when Kirito arrives on the scene, and tries to get the Salamanders to withdraw by announcing himself as an emissary of the Spriggan-Undine Alliance.

At last, Kirito and the others have reached Central Arun, the largest city in ALfheim, located at the foot of the World Tree. But because the servers are scheduled to be closed soon for maintenance, Kirito and Leafa log out temporarily, promising to see each other again the next day. Meanwhile, Kazuto's younger sister, Suguha, agonizes alone over her budding feelings for her elder brother.

Yui senses Asuna's player ID. Upon hearing from Yui that Asuna is at the top of the World Tree, Kirito can hold back no longer, and spreads his wings. But he is blocked by a system barrier, and fails to reach even the lowest branch. But Asuna herself is also aware that they're there. Asuna throws a certain item into the sky, pouring all of her hopes into it.

Kazuto is shocked to discover that Leafa is, in fact, Suguha. When Suguha goes on to confess her buried feelings for him, he realizes that his own careless words and actions have been wounding his younger sister deeply, and is aghast. Even so, Kazuto hopes to meet with Suguha face-to-face. Telling her that he'll be waiting in Central Arun, he logs in to ALO once more.