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SAO: Progressive 4/4 - Sword Art Online

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Summary

Sword Art Online Progressive , or "Progressive" for short, is a light novel and manga series written by Kawahara Reki that is a reboot of the original SAO series. The manga continues in Sword Art Online - Foam Barcarolle Progressive.

Chronology

Volume 001

Rondo of a Fragile Blade (Continued)

The raid struggles to defeat the boss, and just as he's almost defeated, a new, unknown boss appears. Kirito must use martial arts, but he and the others are paralyzed. Suddenly, Nezha, who wields the chakram, and even Argo appear to save the day, buying them time and giving them a strategy. Kirito and Asuna finish off the boss.

Kirito learns that the boss data is provided by side quests. Nezha is happy to finally be a fighter, but she is confronted by scam victims and takes the blame. An angry mob ensues, and Kirito believes that making player killing (PK) not unthinkable was the poncho-wearing stranger's goal all along. But the Legendary Braves join Nezha to atone for the problem, defusing it.

Kirito and Asuna head towards the entrance to the 3rd floor while discussing how Kirito took the final attack boosts from all the bosses. Kirito tries to evade Asuna's questions and thinks ahead about how SAO "really starts" from there, wishing Nataku luck in his mind.

Volume 002

Floor 3 consists entirely of a forest of enormous ancient trees. The southern part, separated by mountains and smothered by thick fog, is called the Forest of Swaying Mists. The main city to the northeast, Zumfut, is built inside the hollow tree trunks. The Dark Elf Stronghold to the south and the Forest Elf Stronghold to the north of the Swaying Mists are the bases for campaign quests that allow players to recover without having to return to Zumfut. Beyond the mountain pass guarded by the field boss are the northern part and the Labyrinth Tower.

Concerto in black and white

Floor 3 is special because from there, human monsters appear that are exactly like the players, except for their colored cursors. Kirito and Asuna talk about Kayaba Akihiko saying that the term Sword Art refers to sword skills clashing in a concerto of life and death, with Asuna pointing out that a concert is a concert of many people supporting the solo, not a duo. Kirito takes Asuna to look for a quest. They find a light-colored man and a dark-colored woman fighting, both elves and quest givers for a campaign quest that lasts until the 9th floor. They decide to help the woman, Kizmel, and win, contrary to what Kirito remembered in the beta.

Kizmel retrieves the Jade Key quest item and, speaking like a real person and not an NPC, takes them to the base where they are rewarded and Kirito explains the Elf Wars quests and that they are designed so that players who complete the quest do not have to fight. That night, Kizmel visits her sister Tilnel's grave.

Again during a quest in the forest, Kizmel mentions the Great Separation, Aincrad's creation. When the trio has explored most of the map, they hide from Kibaō, complaining about open chests and others, including a player wearing a chain headdress. Kizmel recalls her own faction, the Pagoda Knights' relationship with others. Asuna decides to reforge her rapier, holding Kirito's finger again, and now she has an overpowered knightly rapier with 15 upgrade attempts instead of the possible 6; the two upgrade their swords.

Kirito and Asuna witness the difficulties Lind and his Dragon Knights encounter when launching the quest, and the flow is identical to the beta test experience, unlike their recent experience. Kirito wonders why the man with the shield and the hatching looks familiar. The trio then reaches the baobab buildings of Zumfut. When asked for advice, Kirito recommends Asuna explore the games with company for safety, but Asuna wants to know if she is a support or a nuisance to him, and Kirito thanks her for fighting alongside him.

The following evening, Lind and Kibaō found their guilds and begin recruiting in Zumfut. Things get heated. Kirito senses that his presence is influencing Asuna's profile and distinguishing her, exposing her to danger; Asuna is angered by the two guild leaders' selfishness. He tells her he wants her to survive, and to do so, to make peace with the Dragon Knight Brigade, and Asuna simply complies. Then he discovers that Kizmel has been spying on them all along, and wonders how NPCs can follow their curiosity and think outside the box to infiltrate human cities. Kizmel explains that she has been ordered to serve and protect the duo. On the way back to base, Kirito thinks deeply about how he feels about Asuna and Kizmel, then blurts out that he would like to marry them. He wants Asuna and himself to spend time with Kizmel, for each group to help each other, and for them to start tackling the 3rd floor boss as soon as possible.

Three days later, on December 18th, Kirito tells Asuna the story of Aincrad as told by Kizmel, and Asuna remarks on the lack of any divine intervention in the myth. Later, Kirito and Kizmel talk alone, and she tells him that she, an NPC, dreams of different outcomes of the fateful starting duel, where things happen like in the beta version, over and over again, with Kirito (his real appearance) surrounded by different people each time. This leads them both to wonder what this means. Later, Argo tells Kirito about the man in the chain headdress, named Morte, who has since joined the Dragon Knights.

Kirito goes alone to the forest elf camp on a spy quest. It's not the elves, but Morte who stands in his way. Morte waits for Kirito to specifically tell him to wait a day before breaking in, but instead of telling him why he wants to duel, Kirito realizes that Morte might be a PK using a duel loophole, who has been training with another such PK. Suddenly, Morte has to leave, interrupting the duel, which ends in a draw.

Kirito follows angry voices to find the two human guilds near his quest, and remembers how Morte was seen by both sides. He completes the quest before the guilds can, and the fortress disappears. Kirito puts on his villainous beater show again, but the guilds don't make peace, and Kirito thinks back to the stranger in the hooded poncho, wondering if it wasn't Morte. Asuna and then Kizmel appear to support his position. The balance of power shifts, forcing the guilds to talk, as Kizmel says she knew the human players weren't of this world, summoned to repair the world and unify the floors again. The two guilds abandon the questline and agree to a raid on December 20. Kirito makes peace with Lind and Kibaō.

The trio is tasked with bringing the Jade Key to the 4th floor via the Spirit Tree, west of the Rippling Mists. They test the waters and return to rest. Deeper in the dungeons, they confront Fallen Elves who were cooperating with the Forest Elves and take the key to the Spirit Tree. Kizmel hugs Asuna and Kirito and enters the tree alone. The duo learn of a new boss challenge in the campaign quest and present it to the guilds to see how Morte reacts. On December 21, the raid boss is defeated, and Morte is gone.

Kirito has recovered the last attack boost again, and Asuna complains as they head to the 4th floor. They reflect again on the meaning of a concerto, and Asuna thinks Kizmel was playing solo there. They hope to see her again.