Sword Art Online Light Novel Volume 10

Summary
After Kirito is attacked by Johnny Black, an old player of SAO, he is rushed to the hospital. He falls into a coma due to his injuries, and then mysteriously disappears from the hospital. Asuna tries to find his location with help from her daughter Yui and Koujiro Rinko (the deceased Kayaba Akihiko's lover).

They discover that he is currently in the custody of Kikuoka Seijirou and Takeru Higa, who is currently experimenting with Soul Translator, the fourth generation FullDive technology.

Meanwhile, Kirito and Eugeo journey south to the town of Zakkaria in order to find the location of the abducted Alice.

Chapter 2 (Project Alicization, July 2026)
Asuna, Sinon and Leafa discuss Kirito's situation in ALO  after he is attacked. Kirito is transported to the hospital in order to receive emergency treatment for the poison that was injected into him. The doctors are successful in removing any lingering poison from his body and restore his heart beat. Soon afterward, he's transfered to a different hospital for better treatment, the ambulance leaves from the hospital but never arrives at the new one.

Asuna tries her best to search for his location with the help from Sinon, Lyfa and her "daughter" Yui by trying to figure out why he was kidnapped. They eventually reached a breakthrough, and determined that he is on a secret facility in the middle of the ocean - The «Ocean Turtle».

With the help of Koujiro Rinko, Asuna infiltrates the Ocean Turtle. They managed to track down Kirito, who is currently under custody of Kikuoka Seijirou. Kikuoka Seijirou transported Kirito's body to a place where the fourth generation FullDive technology, Soul Translator, is being experimented with. Kikuoka explains that Kirito's heart and body have recovered from the poison, but that he has incurred brain damage by decrease in the amount of oxygen that reached to it due to his heart stopping. Kikuoka explains that they are currently trying to recover his mind, which was damaged, through the Soul Translator.

The workings of the Soul Translator is further explained. Kikuoka's goal of creating artificial intelligence (from bottom-up) to substitute front line soldiers is revealed. This is done through duplicating the "souls" of infants in "light cubes" and growing them in an accelerated virtual environment. Kikuoka further explains that the soul translator can accelerate a person's sense of time by 1,000 times. (1 hour in real time = 41 days in accelerated reality)

Nurse Aki is revealed to be working under Kikuoka, and is taking care of Kirito in his comatose state.

Chapter 3 (Zakkaria Sword Arts Tournament, 8th Month of Human World Calendar 378)
After a couple of months, Kirito and Eugeo are waking up in a barn in the town of Zakkaria. They have stayed in the barn for a couple of months, which is being taken care of by a pair of sisters.

Kirito and Eugeo will be participating in a swordsmanship competition, where the top two performers will be able to receive positions as guards in Zakkaria. This is as a stepping stone on their way to reach Centoria's Grand Church.

Chapter 4 (Master Sword Academy, 3rd Month of Human World Calendar 380)
Kirito has now spent almost 2 years in the Underworld, which is considered to be about 18 hours in the real world. Kirito and Eugeo are now in a swordsmanship academy, training themselves to be the top students.

Kirito became an entourage to a more senior student called Solterina Sorult. He trained with her on most days, and had a great respect for her and her family's Celulute style of combat, which consisted of using unorthodox weapons such as whips. One day after a sparring session, Sorult asked Kirito to show her everything he has, and so he promised that the next day he would and told her to consider it a present. The reason for postponing this was because he intended to show her Sword Skills consisting of consecutive strikes, but the wooden sword he currently had would be unable to do anymore than 2 strikes. He planned to ask Eugeo for his sword, but he got around to that, he was reminded of the Gigas Cider branch, which was intended to be carved into a sword.

Early the next day, the duo went to Satore's shop, the man who they were told by Garitta to take the branch to. The previous year they had left the branch with him to make it into a sword, and since that day, Satore had completed the one-handed straight-sword at Kirito's request. He allowed him to keep it for free, with a custom name of his own with the name used as his shop's signature. Later that day, he decided to travel to a secluded area in the woods near the school, and attempted to see how many consecutive stikes he could manage. He discovered that like with Eugeo's Blue Rose Sword, he could only make 5 strikes. When he attempted to exceed that limit, Kirito's pose was thrown off balance, and the sword struck the ground, sending mud flying in Uolo's direction, who'd been standing there the whole time watching. Uolo, being the head student of that year, told Kirito that he would be punished for that, but rather than forcing him to clean on a rest day, he said that they would spar in the practice arena. On reaching the arena, about 50 students had gathered and his senior, Sorult tells him that she believes in him and to win. The spar began, and the two exchanged blows, but before either could exchange a hit, Miss Azurika, the dorm supervisor, halted the battle with the authority of being the first Swordsmen Representative of the Norlangarth Empire, during the Four Empire Unity tournament, 7 years prior. Uolo told Kirito that his punishment is complete, and left the arena.

Later, Kirito, Eugeo, and both their seniors went to Sorult's room and celebrated. After taking Eugeo to their shared room, Kirito went to water the Zephyria Flowers that he had been attempting to grow the whole year, in order to prove that The Underworld had parameters guided by "imagination". Upon arriving at the garden, he spotted 2 boys, Rainos and Wanbell, nobles whom had harassed Kirito and Eugeo for most of the year. He discovered that they had cut away all the Zephyria flowers he planted, and realized that though the Taboo Index protected property, the law did not claim these flowers as his property, due to being grown on soil that "belonged to nobody." However, a voice in his head told him to ask the Sacred Flowers in the garden, to help revive the life of the fallen Zephyria, and just like that, they all grew before his eyes.

In the final tournament of swordmens, Solterina finally defeated Uolo, graduating as the best of the year. During the final graduation of Kirito's senior, Kirito gave her the pot of flowers as a gift, to which she happily accepted.

Interlude II
Kirito and Eugeo are now Elite Swordsman trainee with their own valet. Ronie, with tea colored hair, as Kirito's valet and Teiza, with red hair, as Eugeo valet. Teiza informs that she has finished cleaning and Eugeo is about to dismiss her, when he wonders where's Kirito, since Ronie has finished already, but she can't leave before Kirito dismisses her. In that instant Kirito enters the room by the window, with a bag filled with honey pies. He takes one, gives one to Eugeo and gives the rest to Ronie and tells her to share it with her roommates.

Then Eugeo asks Kirito if he remember what was their goal, and he reassures that they'll defeat the other 10 elite swordsmen in the academy, become Integrity Knights and continue to move forward to achieve their goal, finding Alice.