Hey, you're here early.
Does anyone ever come here besides me?
Shut up.
It's busy at night.
So what was that picture you sent?
It's a bit of a long story.
Ever hear of this?
A game?
It's an MMO for the Amusphere, a successor to the NerveGear.
Then another virtual MMO like SAO?
ALf Heim Online?
It's pronounced ALfheim, supposedly.
It means "Land of the Fairies."
Fairies?
Land of the Fairies
Land of the Fairies?
Mostly social, then?
No, supposedly not.
There's a heavy emphasis on player skill.
PKing is encouraged.
Player skill?
No actual levels, as such.
Using skills improves them.
Combat depends on the player's athletic ability.
Hardcore.
Like an SAO with magic, but no Sword Skills.
It's really popular.
I've heard it's because you can fly.
Fly?
You're a fairy, so you have wings.
It has something called a "flight engine,"
and once you're used to it, you can fly.
How do you control it?
I don't know.
But I hear it's pretty hard.
It certainly would be hard
to control wings when humans don't have any.
Maybe you use the muscles on your back?
So what does this popular game have to do with Asuna?
What do you think?
It looks like Asuna.
I thought you'd say that.
Just tell me.
Where is this?
Inside the game, ALfheim Online.
At what's called the World Tree.
A legendary castle sits atop this tree.
Players are divided into nine races,
all of them racing to reach the castle first.
Can't they just fly there?
Supposedly, there's a limit to how long you can fly, so you can't do it forever.
And so, five players lined up, bigger ones on the bottom,
and flew up like a rocket.
I get it...
It's dumb, but pretty smart.
And they didn't even make it to the tree's lowest branch,
but they did take a few pictures.
And something strange was in one of them.
A birdcage?
And when they zoomed in on the cage as best they could,
they found this.
But why would Asuna be there?
RCT progress?
You could even say
that I'm the one who's keeping Asuna alive...
Agil, can I take this?
I don't mind, but are you going there?
I need to see for myself.
A game where you can die is too easy.
I'll have to buy the hardware, too.
It works with the NerveGear, as well.
The Amusphere is just a NerveGear with better security.
Glad to hear it.
Go save Asuna.
Otherwise, our fight can't really end.
Yeah, we can all meet here someday.
I'm so stupid!
I'm back.
Brother!
Here.
I thought I was going to die.
You're always so careless.
Calm down a little.
Sugu, about last night...
Y-Yeah?
Um... Well...
Thank you.
Thanks to you, I felt better.
I won't give up.
I'm going to get Asuna back.
Yeah.
Good luck.
I want to meet her, too.
I'm sure you'll like her.
I'll see you later.
The ceremony will be held in this hospital room, in one week, on January 26th.
I'll invite you.
Please help me one more time.
Link start!
Welcome to ALfheim Online.
First enter your gender and character name.
So you're the hero Kirito-kun?
Now select your race.
Please select one of the nine races.
I'll take this one.
Spriggan, correct?
Your character's appearance will be decided at random.
Is that all right?
You will now be transferred to the home town within Spriggan territory.
Good luck.
What?
What's going on?!
ALfheim, Ancient Forest, Neutral Territory January 20, 2025
I'm back...
After everything that happened.
Wait, where am I?
There it is!
You cannot instantly log out in the field. Is that all right?
Now where's the status window?
What is this?
Is it a bug?
One-Handed Sword ???? Thrown Weapon Weapon Defense Combat Regen Search Pursuit Hide Night Vision Carry Weight Bonus Run
They're just like my SAO parameters...
What's going on?
Is this inside SAO?
Wait.
Please be here...
It's me, Yui!
Do you remember me?
I got to see you again, Daddy!
Yui...
Mommy.
You must be hungry!
Let's eat.
Yeah!
It's good...
Mommy...
Daddy...
Daddy!
Daddy...
Miracles really do happen.
So what's going on here?
We aren't inside SAO.
It's another game, called ALfheim Online.
Hold on a second.
This world is a copy of the Sword Art Online servers.
A copy?
Yes.
The engine, programming, and graphics format are identical.
But the version of the Cardinal system is a little outdated.
RCT took over operations after Argus, the company that originally made SAO.
In other words, RCT took Argus's programs and is using them.
But why is my personal data here?
Let me have a look at your data, Daddy.
This is definitely
your character data from SAO.
The save data format is nearly identical,
so any skills common to both games had their levels overwritten.
Come to think of it, my dual-wielding was gone.
Your items appear to be lost, as well.
You should delete them before the error detection program finds them.
I see.
Do you want to delete all items?
Now, what about my skill levels?
Your skills shouldn't be a problem unless a human game master sees them.
O-Okay...
I'm not a beater anymore. I'm just a cheater.
How is the system treating you, Yui?
Let's see...
I'm classified as a player-support artificial personality program,
a Navigation Pixie.
This is my form as a Pixie.
That tickles.
Then do you still have admin privileges like before?
No.
All I can do is access the reference and wide-area map databases.
I see.
Actually, it seems Asuna...
Your mommy is here.
Mommy?
What do you mean?
Even after SAO was cleared, Asuna never woke up in reality.
I heard about someone who saw her in ALfheim.
So that's what happened...
I have a good idea of where to look.
It's called the World Tree.
I think that's it.
Mommy is over there?
Actually,
why did I log in at this empty forest?
I was supposed to be warped to the home town...
I don't know.
Maybe your location data got corrupted?
Or something got confused?
I wish it'd dropped me near the World Tree.
These are the wings, huh?
How do I fly?
There's an assist controller.
Raise your left hand as if you're grabbing something.
Pull toward yourself to elevate.
Push to descend.
Left or right to turn
Hold down the button to accelerate.
Release to decelerate.
You can fly as long as your wings are shining.
After a certain amount of time,
you need to let them rest.
I see...
I think I've got it.
For now, where's the closest town?
There's a town in Sylph territory called Sylvein to the west.
That's the closest one...
What's wrong?
There are players nearby.
Lea...
Leafa-chan, wait!
You can do it, Recon!
If we can escape to Sylph territory...
Recon, dodge!
Back off, already!
Fine...
Prepare for battle!
We can't...
I'm sure Sigurd and the others are already...
I'll draw as much of their attention as I can,
so try and knock one down.
I'll do my best.
You should do something useful once in a while, okay?
Damn it!
We can win this!
Idiot! Don't stop!
Sorry!
Recon...
Sorry,
but we're on a mission.
Leave your money and items, and we'll let you go.
Why are you being a gentlemen, Kagemune?
It's been ages since we fought a woman.
Let's kill her.
I'll take at least one of you with me.
Anyone who doesn't fear the death penalty can come and get me!
You're a strong-willed girl.
Very well.
I'm going to have to practice my landings...
What are you doing? Run!
Three heavy fighters attacking a single girl?
That's kind of lame.
What did you say?!
Stay out of this, newbie.
Then we'll fight you, too!
Um...
Can I kill them?
I-I guess so...
They plan to kill you.
All right, then.
He's gone?
Who's next?
Next Time: Captive Queen