Sword Art Online - Project Alicization Volume 01 (manga)

​Sword Art Online - Project Alicization Volume 01 (ソードアート・オンライン プロジェクト・アリシゼーション)​ is the first volume of the Project Alicization manga adaptation. The volume partially covers Volume 9 of the light novels.

Summary
One day, Kirito awoke and found himself in Underworld, a virtual world that he used to dive to with his memories sealed as part of a part-time job. Unaware of his reason for being there and unable to establish contact with the real world, the boy explored the area, looking for the source of a mysterious sound he kept hearing. At the origin of the noise, Kirito met a young woodcutter named Eugeo.

Chapter.001
As part of a part-time job, Kirigaya Kazuto (Kirito) entered a virtual world through a device known as Soul Translator. In this world, with his memories of his real life suppressed, Kirito was an eleven-year-old woodcutter at a remote village. With his workmate and childhood friend Eugeo, he was assigned the lifelong Sacred Task of felling the Gigas Cedar, a giant tree that had withstood more than three hundred years of diligent daily chopping over several generations, in order for their village, Rulid, to acquire lands to expand its fields and pastures. Due to their different opinion on their job, the two boys began tickling each other upon finishing their quota for the morning. Just then, they were interrupted by the scolding of Alice Zuberg, their friend, as well as the village chief's daughter, who had come to bring her homemade lunch to them. While discussing how they could maintain their food's «Life» longer, the three children decided to search for ice in the forbidden «Mountain Range at the Edge».

Chapter.002
On their day off, Alice, Eugeo, and Kirito embarked on the journey towards the mountains. After a few hours of walking, whilst the boys mused on their future should they fell the Gigas Cedar, they arrived at a dark cave, which they concluded was the entrance to the «Mountain Range at the Edge». The three proceeded inside, illuminating their path with Alice's «Sacred Arts», until they discovered the skeleton of a white dragon, and the Blue Rose Sword inside a large cavern filled with ice. As the weapon was too heavy to take with them, Alice, Eugeo, and Kirito gathered some ice and prepared to return to the village. However, the children used the wrong exit from the cavern and instead reached the opposite side of the mountain range, finding themselves themselves in front of an entrance to the Dark Territory.

Chapter.003
At the end of the cave, Alice, Eugeo and Kirito witnessed an aerial duel between an Integrity Knight and a Dark Knight. Upon the latter's defeat, Alice instinctively rushed to help the moribund knight; however, she tripped along the way and accidentally touched the soil of the Dark Territory. Just as Eugeo began comforting the girl, a mysterious head appeared behind the children and compiled a report on Alice, before vanishing moments later. Perplexed by the phenomenon, the children decided to return home in a hurry. The next day, an Integrity Knight arrived in Rulid Village, announcing that Alice was to be arrested and sentenced for breaking the Taboo Index.

Chapter.004
Seeing Alice in shackles, Kirito attempted to persuade the Integrity Knight of the girl's innocence. When his arguments proved futile, the boy quickly formulated a plan to attack the knight, hoping to provide Eugeo with an opportunity to save Alice in the meantime; however, before his plan could be executed, the youth was repelled by an invisible force and subsequently restrained by the other villagers. Despite Kirito's pleas for his help, Eugeo was unable to come to Alice's aid due to a seal on his right eye preventing him from disobeying the Taboo Index. With both boys powerless to stop him, the Integrity Knight departed the scene with Alice bound to the dragon's saddle. Some time later, Kazuto awoke confused in one of Rath's rooms, with Kikuoka Seijirou and Higa Takeru at his side.