Well?
Are you gonna fight me too?
Nah.
My magic skill's about to hit 900.
I don't want a death penalty now.
At least you're honest.
How about you, Miss?
I've had enough as well.
Victory will be mine next time.
I'd rather not fight against you one on one.
The Captive Queen
Hey, what's with those flames?
Shh! They're Remain Lights.
They can still hear us from inside.
So, what should I do now?
Do I thank you or run away?
Or do we fight?
I thought I was the gallant knight who had just rescued the princess.
And this is the part where she tearfully embraces me.
Are you stupid or something?!
I was just kidding.
That's right!
That's not allowed!
Hey, don't come out!
Only Mama and I are allowed to hug you!
P-Papa?!
W-Well, uh...
Hey, is that a Private Pixie?
Y-Yeah, it's something like that.
Fair enough, but what is a Spriggan wandering around here for?
I-I got lost.
Your territory is way out to the east!
How could anyone get that lost?
You're so weird!
Anyway, I appreciate what you did.
Thanks for saving me.
My name is Leafa.
I'm Kirito, and this is Yui.
So, Kirito... kun.
Do you have some time?
If you don't mind, I'd like to thank you by buying you a drink.
Well?
That'd be great.
I was actually looking for someone who could answer some questions.
Questions?
About this world.
And especially about that tree.
That tree? Yggdrasil?
Sure.
I may not look it, but I've been playing for a long time.
It might be a little far, but let's fly to the neutral village up north.
Huh? Wouldn't the town of Sylvian be closer?
You really don't know anything, do you?
That's Sylph territory.
And?
You can't attack Sylphs inside the town, but they can attack you.
They wouldn't just attack me without warning.
I also have you with me, Leafa-san.
Just call me Leafa.
I don't mind if that's what you want, but I can't guarantee that you'll make it out alive.
Okay, let's fly.
Huh? You can fly without a controller?
Yeah. What about you?
I only learned how to use one a little while ago.
There's a trick to flying on your own.
Turn around and don't take out your controller.
O-Okay.
Can you feel where I'm touching you?
Imagine you have virtual bones and muscles protruding from here, and try moving them.
Virtual bones and muscles...
Yup, that's it!
Just like that.
Try repeating that movement, but stronger.
Oh no!
Papa!
Kirito-kun, are you all right?
Make it stop!
Sorry, Papa!
It's too funny!
This is great!
It is!
You learn things pretty quickly.
Now follow me.
Okay.
We can take it slow for now.
Or we can speed it up.
Oh?
Is this your top speed?
You're on your own.
This is too much for me!
You're probably the only one I've met who can keep up with this speed.
Sylph Territory • Sylvian January 20th, 2025
We're here!
We'll land at the base of the center tower.
Wait.
Kirito-kun, do you know how to land?
I don't.
Um...
Sorry!
It's too late now.
Good luck!
Y-You've gotta be kidding me!
That wasn't nice, Leafa.
Don’t be angry, I’ll heal you.
Zuu Fylla Heill Astral.
Wow, so this is magic?
Only Undines can use high-level healing magic.
It's still an indispensable spell, though, so make sure you learn it.
So there are differences between the races?
What are Spriggans good at?
Treasure hunting skills and illusionary magic, I think.
Neither of which are any good in battles.
So this is a Sylph town?
It's beautiful.
Isn't it?
Leafa-chan!
You're okay!
Oh, Recon.
I knew you'd be fine, Leafa-chan.
Whoa, a Spriggan?!
R-Relax, he was the one who saved me.
This is Recon, my friend.
Hi there, I'm Kirito.
Oh, nice to meet you.
No!
No, this isn't right!
Are you sure about this? He's not a spy, is he?
Don't worry.
He's too much of an airhead to be a spy.
Whoa, that stings.
Sigurd and his team are waiting for you at our usual bar.
Oh, I see.
I'll pass for today.
Huh?
You're not coming?
Yeah.
I promised Kirito-kun I'd treat him to a drink.
See you!
Hey, w—
Leafa-chan!
Was that guy your boyfriend?
Was he your lover?
N-No, he's not!
He's just a party member!
You two seemed closer than that.
I know him in real life as well.
We're in the same year at school.
But that's all!
Anyway, thanks again for saving me.
Those guys were pretty hostile.
Do people often PK in groups like that?
Salamanders and Sylphs aren't exactly on good terms to begin with.
But they've only recently started doing organized PKings like those.
They'll probably attempt to take on Yggdrasil soon.
About that.
Please tell me more about Yggdrasil.
Oh yeah, you did mention that.
But why?
I want to reach the top of Yggdrasil.
I think every player feels the same.
In fact, that's the grand quest of ALO.
Grand quest?
Remember how we can only fly for so long?
All races can only fly for ten minutes at a time.
But the first race to reach the floating city above Yggdrasil and hold an audience with Oberon the Fairy King
will have every member transformed into a superior race called the Alf.
As an Alf, you can fly as much as you want.
I see.
That does sound pretty attractive.
Any way to reach the top of Yggdrasil?
There's a huge dome at the tree's base that you can use to get to the floating city,
but it's guarded by an army of powerful NPC guardians.
That powerful?
Nobody's cleared that quest in the year that the game's been running.
Maybe some kind of key quest was overlooked,
or it's probably not something any one race can clear on their own.
Oh?
You've got good intuition.
Everyone's working hard to verify if there's a quest we missed.
But if you're talking about the latter, it won't happen.
Why not?
It's contradictory.
How could different races cooperate to tackle a quest that only one race can clear?
So it's literally impossible to get to the top of Yggdrasil?
That's what I think.
But it's not something you can just give up on after experiencing the joy of flying.
Even if it takes years, eventually—
It'll be too late then!
Papa?
Sorry.
But I really have to get to the top of Yggdrasil.
Why are you so desperate?
I’m searching for someone.
What do you mean?
It's a long story.
Thanks, Leafa.
I appreciate all that you've taught me.
Wait.
Are you going to Yggdrasil?
Yeah. I have to see for myself.
That's crazy.
It’s really far away, and you'll run into a lot of powerful monsters.
I know you're strong too, but...
Fine, I'll take you there!
But I can’t ask that much of someone I had just met.
Do you know how to get to Yggdrasil?
What about the guardians?
I'll think of something.
I’m coming along.
And that's final!
All right, then.
Um...
Can you log in tomorrow?
Y-Yeah.
Then I'll see you here at 3 PM.
I have to log out now.
Um, you can use the inn above us to log out.
I'll see you tomorrow.
Wait!
Are you sure you want to log out?
Thanks.
Fine, I'll take you there!
What a strange person.
Kirito-kun, huh?
So tomorrow will be the next time I see you, Papa?
I'll be back soon, Yui.
Um...
Can I sleep next to you until you log out?
Y-Yeah, sure.
Let's rescue Asuna quickly and buy another house somewhere.
It's like a dream.
I'll get to live with you and Mama again.
It's not a dream.
I'll make it happen soon.
Good night, Papa.
That look on your face is exquisite, Titania.
When you're about to cry, that is.
I want to freeze it and hang it on my wall.
Then do it.
You can do anything you want, since you're the system administrator.
Don't be so cold.
Have I ever laid an unwanted hand on you, Titania?
Stop calling me by that weird name.
My name is Asuna, Sugou-san.
You're such a killjoy.
In this world, I am Oberon the Fairy King.
As the ruler of Alfheim, all players look up to me in awe.
And you are my queen, Titania.
Isn't that enough?
When will you accept that and open your heart to me as my bride?
Never.
All I have for you is scorn and disgust.
My my, you've got a strong will.
But still...
You know, I've been thinking lately how fun it would be...
...to take you by force.
Stop...
I was just kidding.
I told you I'd never lay an unwanted hand on you.
Very soon...
...you'll be the one who will want me.
You're insane.
You’ll change your mind soon enough.
Right now, tens of thousands of players are enjoying this game.
But they don't know the true value of the Full-Dive system.
By expanding its neural control, you can control people's thoughts, emotions and even their memories.
No way!
They won't let you do this!
Who would stop me?
Such research is already taking place in many countries.
However, we can't experiment on humans whenever we want.
But I saw the news that day, and there they were.
Ten thousand ideal test subjects!
Kayaba-senpai may be a genius, but he's also a fool.
He had set up the perfect testing ground, but he was satisfied with the creation of some imaginary game world.
It wasn't difficult to set up the routers to capture some of the players as they were being freed.
And so, I have 300 test subjects of my own!
My research has made huge progress in just two months.
The technology to rewrite people's memories and induce emotions is all but complete.
Don't be ridiculous.
My dad would never allow that kind of research!
The research is being conducted in secret by me and a very small team.
Otherwise I wouldn't be able to sell my results.
Sell them?
An American corporation is waiting hungrily for the fruits of my research.
I'll be selling it to them for a fortune.
And eventually RCT, too.
I won't let you do that.
Once I return to the real world, I'll expose your crimes!
You're no different from the rest of my test subjects.
If I wanted to, I could change your memories as well.
I'll be there. Wait for my command.
However, I don't want to turn you into a living doll.
I pray you'll be more obedient the next time we meet,
Titania.
Farewell for now.
Save me, Kirito-kun.