Sword Art Online Episode 07

Warmth of the Heart (心の温度) is the seventh episode of the Sword Art Online anime adaptation and its first season, as well as the seventh episode in the Aincrad Arc. It aired on August 18, 2012.

Plot
On June 24, 2024, a player blacksmith named Lisbeth, who had her own custom shop in the main town of the 48th Floor, Lindas, had just finished sharpening Asuna's rapier, the Lambent Light. Lisbeth, with interest, asked Asuna why she was not on the front lines that day. Asuna blushed and replied that she had taken the day off to meet with someone. Lisbeth then noticed Asuna's earrings, and quickly teased Asuna, but Asuna did not understand what she was implying. However Asuna quickly disregarded the comment when she heard a bell, realizing that she needed to hurry. Lisbeth then quietly remarked that Asuna had found someone precious. Asuna asked Lisbeth what she had just said, but Lisbeth told her that it was nothing and wished her good luck with the date. Asuna reacted by saying "It's not like that!", before leaving. Now alone, Lisbeth wondered if she would find someone too.

The next day, Lisbeth was busy forging swords when she heard a customer coming into her shop. The customer was Kirito who had come to order a custom-made sword. Lisbeth, concerned about Kirito's wealth, wondered if he was capable of paying the costly fee due to his unimpressive appearance. But Kirito reassured her that money was not a problem, and asked for the best sword possible. When Lisbeth asked what stats the sword should have, Kirito answered that he wanted the stats to be as good or better than his Elucidator - a Demon Sword amongst monster drops. Lisbeth gave him the best sword that she had ever forged. Ignoring her protests, Kirito tested her best-made weapon against his «Monster-Drop» weapon. To her dismay, her weapon broke upon impact.

After witnessing the demise of her best weapon, which was irrepairable due to the extent of the damage, Lisbeth became enraged. She challenged Kirito, claiming that with the materials she needed, she could create 12 other swords that could break the Eludicator in half. Kirito became intrigued and teased her, stating that he would like a sword like that. Lisbeth, even more angered, struck back, telling him that he would need to stay for the whole process, starting with the needed materials. Kirito stated that he can get it alone, and that she would just delay him. Lisbeth insisted that she was not weak, being an expert mace user, and that to get the material, a master smith needed to be present to be able to collect it. She then told Kirito that the material was from a dragon that eats crystals and was located on the West Mountain on the 55th Floor.

Traveling together on the west mountain of the 55th Floor, Lisbeth began to grow cold, so Kirito gave her one of his coats. They reach a place filled with crystals, causing Lisbeth to run forward with glee, eager to explore. However, she was stopped by Kirito, who told her to get a Teleport Crystal ready in case the dragon showed up, and to hide and not come out no matter what until the dragon was defeated. Lisbeth insisted that she could help, only to be adamantly refused by Kirito. Surprised, Lisbeth followed his instructions and stayed put.

Kirito and Lisbeth soon encountered the Frost Dragon. Listening to Kirito, Lisbeth hid in the crystals for safety while Kirito faced the monster head on. Kirito deflected the dragon's breath with his sword, and Lisbeth began to admire him. When Kirito dismembered one of the dragon's arms, Lisbeth, believing that the battle was nearly over, came out of hiding. The dragon quickly noticed her and targeted her with its ice breath, but Kirito came to her aid and shielded her. However, this would cause them to fall into a large pit.

The two survived the fall and reboosted their HP, but quickly learned that they could not use teleport crystals to get out of the pit. Lisbeth believed that the pit was a trap designed to kill players who fell down, but Kirito told her that if it was an Anti-Crystal Area, there should be another way out. Kirito ran up the wall in an attempt to escape but fell back down due to the slipperiness of the ice. The two then resigned to their fate and prepared to spend the night in the hole. Before falling asleep, Lisbeth asked Kirito why he had saved her. He responded by saying that he thought that dying with someone together was better than letting them die alone. Lisbeth then asked to hold Kirito's hand and they fell asleep in that position.

After resting for the night, Kirito dug a hole and found the Crystallite Ingot. Kirito told Lisbeth that they were in the dragon's nest and the reason why the material had been so difficult to obtain was because it was, in fact, the dragon's feces, which grossed out Lisbeth. He then told her that the dragon was nocturnal, and that it should come soon. Seeing the dragon coming back for the day, Kirito grabbed Lisbeth and ran up the wall to get on the dragon. He then stabbed the dragon with Elucidator, and the dragon flew out of its nest in surprise, carrying him and Lisbeth along with it. They held hands and detached themselves from the dragon when they were in the sky. While freefalling, Lisbeth confessed her feelings for Kirito. However, Kirito did not hear her over the roar of the wind. Undeterred, Lisbeth smiled and hugged him.

They returned to Lisbeth's shop where Lisbeth forged the material into a sword, named Dark Repulser. Kirito tested out the sword and was quite impressed and pleased with the results. Lisbeth insisted that Kirito did not need to pay, offering to become his private blacksmith in exchange, which caused Kirito to blush. Lisbeth attempted to confess again, but was at that point interrupted by Asuna, who hugged Lisbeth, as Asuna was relieved to find her safe and sound, but inquired where she had been last night. Lisbeth replied that she had been in a dungeon with the guy behind her. Shocked, Asuna finally noticed Kirito, and began to argue with him. Lisbeth then learned that Kirito came to her store based on Asuna's recommendation. Lisbeth was heartbroken when she realized that Asuna's crush was Kirito, but quickly covered her disappointment by telling Asuna that he had broken one of her best swords and also quietly told her that he was a bit of a weirdo, but was a good person, and wished her good luck. Asuna blushed again upon hearing this and Lisbeth left the shop to console her hurt feelings.

Kirito found her after searching through the town. Lisbeth told him that she was not used to the adventure and to forget everything she had said. Kirito told her that without meeting her, he would still be thinking that dying was better than to live life alone and promised her that they would clear this game and free themselves from this world.

New Characters

 * Lisbeth

Known Monsters

 * Frost Dragon

Inventory

 * Kirito
 * Elucidator
 * Dark Repulser
 * Healing Potion
 * Asuna
 * Lambent Light
 * Lisbeth
 * Teleport Crystal
 * Healing Potion - Given by Kirito

Locations

 * Aincrad Floor 48: Lisbeth's Smith Shop in Lindas
 * Aincrad Floor 55: West Mountain

Adaptation Notes

 * Adapted from Volume 2, Warmth of the Heart.


 * In the novel, Lisbeth was sleeping in her rocking chair in her shop's terrace when Kirito came to the shop, as she had already finished forging swords for that day. In the anime however, she is still forging a sword for her day's orders.
 * In the novel, Lisbeth hired a NPC to watch the shop while she and Kirito went to get the ingot from the Frost Dragon. The NPC is not mentioned or seen in the anime.
 * In the novel, the ingot was only obtainable after starting a quest and one of the popular speculation about the requirement to obtain the crystal was that a master smith was required to be part of the party for the crystal to drop. In the anime, this speculation is treated as a fact and is rephrased to that the item would only spawn with a master smith nearby. The activation part of the quest was completely excluded: listening to a village elder and picking up the mention of a crystal-eating dragon in the NPC's life story.
 * In the novel, Kirito gave Lisbeth his coat while they were still in the hamlet where they had to accept the quest. In the anime, as the hamlet part was omitted, he gives her the coat while climbing the mountain.
 * In the novel, Kirito and Lisbeth actually peer down the pitfall-trap of a dragon nest before battling the dragon.
 * In the novel, Kirito used «Spinning Shield» to deflect the Frost Dragon's breath attack, while in the anime, Kirito uses an unknown 1-hit Sword Skill, the execution of which is not shown.
 * In the novel, when Kirito and Lisbeth were falling into the nest, Kirito actually tried to stop their speed of descent by jamming his sword into the wall.
 * In the novel, before they went to sleep, Kirito and Lisbeth first ate soup and then Kirito told Lisbeth about some of his adventures. This is omitted in the anime.
 * In the novel, when Lisbeth woke up, Kirito was making tea and Kirito thought of the idea of digging the ground while they were chatting.
 * In the novel, Kirito rather escaped the nest by holding onto the Frost Dragon's tail, not by using Elucidator as a handhold as the dragon sailed out of its nest.
 * Although the monster Frost Bone is mentioned in the novel, they do not appear in the anime.
 * In the novel, Lisbeth does not hint that they left Kirito's sleeping bags and lantern in the dragon's nest. Kirito brushes it aside, saying that they left it there for the other players that would fall inside.
 * In the novel, after giving Kirito the Dark Repusler, Lisbeth asked why Kirito needed a second sword with similar stats to his Elucidator, and he replied by showing her his «Dual Blades» skill and requested her to keep it a secret. This is omitted in the anime.
 * In the novel, Lisbeth takes Asuna to a small sidewalk cafe to chat, instead of doing so within her shop, after Asuna asks whether Kirito had said anything rude.
 * In the anime, when Kirito chases after Lisbeth from the shop, he doesn't mention about his guilt experience with his former guild, the «Moonlit Black Cats», while comforting her with gratitude.

Errors

 * The anime states that Asuna came to Lisbeth's shop on June 24, while Lisbeth and Kirito arrived at Lisbeth's shop with the Crystalite Ingot on June 25, even though Kirito also states that he last met Asuna 2 days before, which should have been June 24.

Quotes

 * "Rather than letting someone die alone, it's better to die with them together" - Kirito
 * "I've honestly always thought it would be better to die than to survive alone. But when we fell into that hole, I was glad we both made it out. I was able to think that everyone and I are living as best as we can. So, thank you, Liz." - Kirito
 * "I've been searching all this time for something real in this world. For me, the warmth of your hand was that" - Lisbeth

Trivia

 * When Kirito and Lisbeth fall into the dragons' den, according to the Light Novel, Kirito used his sword to decrease the speed of their fall and rotated to be the one at the bottom to take most of the fall damage. They hit the ground with enough impact to put Kirito's HP into the red zone and bring Lisbeth's HP down to half, but they do not make a hole in the snow. Later, when Kirito attempts to run up the wall, he doesn't even get close enough to see the top, but when he falls he makes a knee-deep, Kirito shaped, hole in the ground.
 * After they get out of dragon's hole, although they seem to be falling from a high place that would cause their HP reduced to zero once they land, but as it is a special event in a quest, thus their HP are protected in the process.

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