Eugeo

Eugeo (ユージオ) is a protagonist and Kirito's best friend and partner in «Project Alicization».

Appearance
Eugeo is described as a slender-looking boy with soft-looking flax color (light/ash brown) slightly wavy hair, green eyes and a cream color skin. Before getting accepted into the Sword Mastery Academy, he wears the same unbleached rough cotton or flax short-sleeved light blue tunic with irregular texture, hand-sewn threads on the cuffs and a V-shape cut on the chest, tied with a light brown cord, and trousers as Kirito.

After joining the Academy, he wears a standard grey uniform, but, after becoming an Elite Swordsman-in-Training and being given the privilege to customize the color of his uniform, Eugeo chooses to wear a blue uniform.

Background
Eugeo is a wood cutter of Rulid Village and Kirito's childhood best friend in the beginning of the Alicization arc, during Kirito's first dive when his memories of the real world were suppressed. He, along with Kirito, were given the «Sacred Task» of cutting down the «Gigas Cedar». After their friend Alice was taken away by Integrity Knight Deusolbert Synthesis Seven, Kirito seems to have disappeared from the memories of the people of Rulid, including Eugeo, who is later shown to somehow still have faint memories of a person who tried to save Alice from the Integrity Knight, but doesn't remember who the person was. However, upon Kirito's return to Underworld, in which he has no memory of his first dive, Eugeo is the first person Kirito (as Kazuto), encountered upon awakening.

Alicization Beginning
In the prologue, Eugeo has been Kirito's friend since childhood, and has recently received the Sacred Task of cutting the Gigas Cedar tree with Kirito. While having meal with Alice and Kirito, they decide to travel to a cave in the Mountain Range at the Edge, though Eugeo is reluctant to do so at first due to possibly breaking the rules, to acquire some ice, which they could use to make their meals last longer in the heat of the summer (the heat greatly decreases the Life of the food, making them go bad if not consumed quickly).

They find ice in the cave, along with the bones of a dragon, which was said to have been the guardian of the Human World from the forces of darkness, and the Blue Rose Sword, which Bercouli once tried to steal from the dragon. Because the sword is too heavy to lift and because they do not want to commit grave robbery (even though it is not against the Taboo Index), they decide to only take the ice that they came for and leave. Unfortunately, after filling their basket with ice, they realize that they cannot remember which cave they used to enter the cave (both Eugeo and Kirito point to different tunnels when Alice asks them which way did they come from).

They choose the cave on the nearest side to try first and, soon enough, they see the exit and Eugeo rushes towards it. However, it turns out that the cave lead them to the Dark Territory, instead of Rulid Village. At that moment, they see the battle between a Black Knight and an Integrity Knight, during which the Black Knight is pierced by an arrow from the Integrity Knight's bow and crash lands near the children. When Alice attempts to help the dying knight, Eugeo remains without reaction, until he sees Alice falling, he, along with Kirito, reflexively tries to grab Alice's clothes, but, unfortunately, only slices the air with his fingers and Alice touches the ground of the Dark Territory. Eugeo tries to comfort Alice by saying that she had only touched the ground and that she shouldn't be punished for it, but quickly turns to Kirito for support.

The next day, while cutting the Gigas Cedar with Kirito, they notice an Integrity Knight flying towards the village. After Kirito takes the axe off of Eugeo and starts running towards the village, Eugeo starts chasing after him. When they reach the village, they try to hide Alice from the Knight, when announces that he has come to take away Alice to take her away for interrogation and execution, but the Knight is able to easily locate Alice. Although Kirito encourages Eugeo to help him save Alice from the Integrity Knight, but Eugeo's doubts and the pain in his right eye prevent him from doing anything and they are soon dragged away by the villagers.



6 years later (in Underworld time; a few days IRL), he is the first person Kirito encounters when he returns to Underworld and helps him find where to stay in the village. The next day, he shows Kirito the Blue Rose Sword he brought from the cave in the Mountain Range, but they are unable to use it efficiently (due to their Object Authority being too low to wield the sword properly and use Sword Skills with it). He helps Kirito look for Selka when she heads for the cave where Alice touched the ground of the Dark Territory and fights the Goblins in the cave, but is gravely injured. Kirito and Selka save his life by Selka using a Sacred Art to transfer Life from Kirito to him and after two days he returns to his task of cutting the Gigas Cedar. He finds it easier to wield the Dragon Bone Axe, so Kirito attempts to use his Sword skills with the Blue Rose Sword again, this time, successfully. Eugeo watches this in amazement and asks Kirito to teach him the Aincrad style. With Kirito's assistance he manages to master the use of the Horizontal Sword Skill and cut the Gigas Cedar in the process in just five days. On the festival organized to celebrate his feat, he reveals that he wants to be a swordsman and leave the village, but is challenged by Jink, the town guard, to a duel to decide who will leave the village. With Kirito's advice and his own experience, he easily defeats Jink using Slant, a Sword skill he learned on his own, and with Kirito they depart to Zakkaria.

Alicization Running
Since leaving the village, Eugeo and Kirito have been working as stable-boys in the «Wolde Farm» on the outskirts of Zakkaria for about 5 months, training and waiting for the tournament. On the 28th Day of the 8th Month, the day of the tournament, Kirito and him are about to enter the West gate of the town a when a horse goes wild and charges them but fortunately they are able to calm it down and discover the cause of its distress to be a «Large Marsh Horsefly». Kirito gives his suspicions on why one is so far from the nearest swamp and warns him to be wary of future incidents.

As the pair stop to get some food, Eugeo gets a bit nervous from seeing more people than he is used to in Rulid Village but Kirito tries to get him to loosen up. After signing up for the tournament, both of them enter the tournament restroom and after scouting quickly they are relieved that none of the participants are female. While they prepare Kirito comes up to him and warns him of one of the participants named Egome Zakkalight, whose personality is similar to Jink's.

Both he and Kirito are able to be in different blocks during the tournament and are somehow able to pass the preliminaries, win the tournament in their respective blocks, and both become guards. By next spring, each of them receive letters of recommendations to attend the Sword Mastery Academy. After they enter, he becomes the valet of the 3rd best swordsman in the academy, Gorgolosso Baltoh.

One and a half year has passed since the tournament. After practice, he talks with Kirito during dinner and later helps him with the plants he is growing, where he asks about what will Kirito do after recovering his memory. After Kirito asks for his sword, he reminds him that the next day, March 6th, something important was going to happen.

The next day was a rest day, so they went to the city and visited Sadore's shop in the 7th district of North Centoria, Sadore gives Kirito the sword he crafted from the branch of the Gigas Cedar. After Kirito takes the sword they return to the academy.

Later he hears some commotion, and discovers that Kirito was going to face Uolo Levanteinn the head Elite Swordsman-in-Training of the Academy in a duel. After the duel, he is invited, along with Gorgolosso, to Sortiliena's room to celebrate Kirito's duel.

A few months later, he's ranked as an Elite-Swordsman-in-Training in the Academy, and is about to dismiss Tieze, his valet, when he sees Kirito's valet, Ronye, waiting for her mentor to dismiss her, and offers her to request a change of her mentor, as he sees that Kirito isn't a good example. She declines and, at that moment, Kirito enters from the window with a bag of honey pies for them and dismisses their valets by telling them to share the pies with their roommates.

Alicization Turning
After Tieze and Ronye are dismissed, he reminds Kirito about an advanced Sacred Arts exam that they are going to have the next day and that Kirito hasn't studied for yet. While Kirito studies, he decides to practice in the Arena that's exclusive for elite swordsmen.

When he arrives, he finds Raios and Humbert practicing. After a while of practice, they start mocking Eugeo about his lack of style and mockingly invite him to duel them, but, to the nobles' surprise, Eugeo agrees to duel with Humbert, while Raios is left as the referee of the duel. Eugeo manages to make Humbert stumble by connecting two skills and repelling his attack. At this point, Raios stops the duel before Eugeo is able to land the final strike.

Days later, he has a picnic with Kirito, Ronye and Tieze, where the latter two explain the difficulties that their friend, Frenica, was having as Humbert's valet, since he was venting his anger of his duel with Eugeo being a draw on her. Eugeo immediately goes with Kirito to talk with Raios and Humbert about the issue, but they play dumb and provoke Eugeo to mention how improper it was for Humbert to ask his valet to undress to her underwear, which was what the two nobles were expecting him to say and they respond by saying that Eugeo himself had undressed in front of his mentor many times (though this was done so his mentor could inspect his muscles and the training he lacked). After this, Kirito and Eugeo leave with a supposed improvement achieved, as Humbert and Raios leave them alone for awhile.

2 days later, the 22nd of the 5th month, was a stormy day and the time for Eugeo and Kirito's weekly sword maintenance in their rooms. As the four-thirty bell rings, they realize that Ronye and Tieze are late for their usual 4 o'clock room cleaning. Eugeo waits in the room while Kirito goes out to look for them. But, moments later, Frenica knocks at the door and, to Eugeo's surprise, tells him that Ronye and Tieze went to Raios and Humbert's room to complain about their actions because they didn't stop harassing her. Having a bad feeling, Eugeo rushes to the room of the nobles, but forgets to leave his sword. With no time to spare, he carries it along.

At Raios and Humbert's room, he finds them drunk and they take him to one of their rooms, in which they have Ronye and Tieze bound to the bed. There they make him watch as they rape the girls as "punishment" for offending them. Eugeo fights with his conscience and his inability to go against the Taboo Index, while the pain in his right eye increases. With Tieze's last scream, Eugeo finally builds up the will power to go against the rules and attacks the nobles, unintentionally cutting Humbert's arm in the process, while his own right eye is blown away. After this attack, Raios decides to execute him for the crimes of interrupting the punishment and harming Humbert, while Eugeo is unable to resist due to his state of shock, but, at the last moment, he is saved by Kirito, who blocked the attack.

Aincrad Style
Taught by Kirito. Just like Kirito, he is able to perform Skill Connect.
 * «Horizontal»
 * «Slant» (self discovered)
 * «Vertical Arc»

Baltoh Style
Taught by Gorgolosso Baltoh.

Equipment

 * Dragon Bone Axe (Former)
 * Blue Rose Sword
 * Spirit Iron Chain (only during Chapter 6)

Юдзио Eugeo