Sword Art Online - Progressive Volume 01 (manga)

Sword Art Online - Progressive (ソードアート・オンライン プログレッシブ) is a manga adaptation of the Sword Art Online Progressive light novel series, a reboot of the original light novel series by Kawahara Reki. This ongoing manga is illustrated by Kiseki Himura, published as part of the monthly Dengeki G's Magazine, and will cover Progressive Volume 1.

Summary
On November 6, 2024, the new generation Virtual Reality Massively Multiplayer Game, Sword Art Online is finally released with 10,000 copies of the game sold in the first batch. However, on the first day of its release, the creator of the game, Kayaba Akihiko, announces that the only way to log out of the game is to conquer the 100 floors of the Floating Castle Aincrad by defeating the Floor Bosses at the top of the Labyrinth of each floor and that if the players die in-game, the NerveGear used to play the game would fry their brains, the same case would apply if someone from outside would attempt to remove the NerveGear by force. To prove how serious the game is, he transforms the avatars of each player to look as their real life bodies.

Nearly a month has passed since that faithful day and about 2,000 players have died during the 1st month of the game, while the 1st Floor's Labyrinth is yet to be cleared. On December 2, 2022, a solo player Asuna is ready to meet her demise at the hands of the Ruin Kobold Troopers, when another solo player, Kirito intervenes.

As Meteor
On November 19, 2022, Yuuki Asuna, a hardworking high school student with high expectations from her family, had a nightmare about how she failed her high school entrance mock exam due to being stuck in a game, even after saying that games are a waste of one's life. In reality, it had been 13 days since the launch of the new generation VRMMO game, Sword Art Online, during the official release of which, about 10,000 players were trapped in the game, until they could manage to complete it by defeating the final boss on the 100th Floor of Aincrad.

As Asuna, now awoken from her nightmare, checked the date and noticed that the uniform mock exam was supposed to be held that day. After getting up, Asuna left her inn room and went to the market to buy her daily black bread. While eating, she overheard a rumor about a hidden log-out point within a cave in the West Forest. After finding out where the cave is located, Asuna left the Starting City to search for the hidden log out point in a hurry to make it to her mock exam on time.

After avoiding the monsters, she finally reached the cave. However, while navigating the cave, she ran into a monster and got hit by hit, with her HP bar decreasing immediately to the red zone with barely any HP left. But, just as the creature was about to deal the last blow to her, it was killed by a mysterious swordsman. After the swordsman left, his friend, Argo the Rat, took care of healing the wounded Asuna.

After recovering her lost HP, Asuna asked Argo whether the log out point was just a rumor and Argo confirmed that it indeed does not exist. Asuna then asked Argo to sell her information on how she could become strong. Argo then gave Asuna a first tier reference book for free, as she only charged more experienced players. Asuna immediately started reading the reference book and learnt about the weakest creatures who roam Aincrad, the Frenzy Boars as well as how to activate the beginner Rapier Sword Skill «Linear».

Asuna soon put her new knowledge to the test by using «Linear» at a god-like speed to defeat a Frenzy Boar in one strike, greatly surprising Argo. Changing her mind about giving the reference book to Asuna for free, Argo asked the rapier user for her name. As Asuna was inexperienced with games, she gave Argo her real name, instead of just her username, but Argo then found out that Asuna was using her real name for her username. After practicing her newly learnt Sword Skill, Asuna asked whether she could defeat the monster that almost killed her as well.

A couple of weeks later, on December 2, 2022, Asuna had spent several days within the 1st Floor Labyrinth with barely any rest. Suffering great mental fatigue, she ran into a large group of Ruin Kobold Troopers. Even though she attempted to fight the monsters, she was soon paralyzed, which was the most deadly status to a solo player. As Asuna was prepared to meet her demise, she was again saved by the mysterious swordsman, who claimed that he saved her for her map data. With her last drops of strength, Asuna got up, and the two swordsmen attacked the monsters surrounding them.

Faster Than Anyone Else
During their battle with the Ruin Kobold Troopers, Kirito was amazed by Asuna's amazing speed and grace, comparing it to a meteor he had seen years ago while playing a game. After an opening was made in the ranks of the kobolds, Kirito told Asuna to run to the safe area, but Asuna continued attacking the kobolds until she passed out from exhaustion.

Some time later, Asuna woke up in the middle of a grass field outside the Labyrinth. As she got up, she noticed Kirito sitting calmly next to a nearby tree. As Asuna asked Kirito why he had saved her, he revealed that it would have been a waste of map data to have let her die, accidentally mentioning that once she passed out, he could do anything he wanted to her body, like manipulating her menu to get her map data, however, Asuna misunderstood Kirito's intentions and was about to strike him with her rapier.

At that moment, Asuna's stomach started growling, making Kirito burst into laughter. While Asuna was pondering why was there a need to eat in-game if it had no effect on their real life bodies, Kirito took out two loaves of black bread and a bottle of cream from his inventory and gave one loaf and some cream to Asuna to pay her back for her map data. Although Asuna doubted Kirito's taste at first due to the bread being the cheapest one from the store, after adding cream to it, she finishes off the bread in a sheer second while enjoying its taste. When asked whether she wanted another, Asuna denied by saying that she did not survive this long so that she could eat delicious food, but did so so that she would not have to rot in the Starting City and could instead fight for her existence and die satisfied, feeling that it was impossible to clear the castle if 2,000 people had died already while the 1st Floor was not yet cleared. At that moment, the bells from the nearby town of Tolbana rang, announcing that it was already 3'o clock. Kirito then told Asuna that they should be going to town for the for the boss strategy meeting.

At Tolbana, Kirito and Asuna split up, agreeing to meet up at the amphitheatre at 4 o'clock. Meanwhile, Asuna was approached by Argo, who offered a discount at purchasing information on Kirito and also mentioned that she might spread a new rumour about a certain red riding hood hunting with the black wolf. Asuna quickly denied such a rumour, saying that she had only just met the guy, so Argo agreed to keep the rumour for herself for now, saying that it might serve her in case she needed to blackmail her. Asuna then asked Argo whether she had information on Kirito's history, leading to Argo to tease Asuna for asking a person's history before anything else. Argo then revealed that as long as Asuna offered a good price, she would not be stingy about giving Asuna the information she desired, but warned her that the act of purchasing information would immediately become new information to sell. Asuna then suddenly changed her mind, saying that she had no interest in that person.

Later, when Asuna arrived at the meeting, she was surprised by the number of people who had gathered, though she remarked that they would probably die. Just then, Kirito, who had just come to the meeting as well, explained that the people who gathered here did not do so in the spirit of self-sacrifice, though mentioning that some people might be like that. He explained that most people in the meeting were there because they had a fear of not falling behind the others and not witnessing the battles themselves. Hearing that, Asuna asked whether it was similar to not wanting falling behind the top 10 in school and the confused Kirito replied that it might be a similar case. As the meeting began, Asuna began wondering about spending one's life chasing after something intangible without a clear goal and, in the end, never having thought about it. Asuna then set a goal for herself: to beat the boss of the 1st Floor and to keep going until the 100th Floor, moving forward faster than anyone else.

Adaptation notes

 * Most of the first chapter, until her meeting with Kirito in the Labyrinth, was not part of the original light novel.
 * In the original light novel, Asuna was not surrounded by the Kobolds and Kirito did not have to help her fight them. Instead Kirito came across Asuna overkilling a Ruin Kobold Trooper and only came out after the kobold was killed.
 * In the original light novel, Asuna fell unconscious on her way to search for another kobold to fight, while in the manga, she continued fighting the kobolds that surrounded her with Kirito's help.
 * In the original light novel, Asuna herself gave Kirito a copy of her map, thus Kirito did not manipulate Asuna's window without permission and only carried her out of the Labyrinth.
 * In the original light novel, Asuna was eating bread in Tolbana when she was approached by Kirito who offered her his cream.