Vertical

«Vertical» (バーチカル) is a basic, 1-hit, One-handed Straight Sword category Sword Skill in Sword Art Online, New ALfheim Online and Project Alicization.

Description
«Vertical» consists of a single slash from top to bottom. Although it is a beginner skill, it is much more powerful than a simple, non-system assisted, vertical swing with a sword.

The skill is activated by spreading one's feet out to the front and back and then holding one's sword up as though letting it rest atop one's shoulder

Usage

 * Volume 8, First Day:
 * Coper uses this skill to puncture the «seed» of a Little Nepent to draw a horde of the monsters in an attempt to kill Kirito.


 * Progressive Volume 1 Chapter 1 Part 14/Episode 2:
 * Kirito activates «Vertical» to block Illfang's attack, but he misreads the monster's move and is not able to cancel the skill in time to block Illfang's «Gengetsu».


 * Volume 11 Chapter 5 Part 1:
 * Humbert Zizek uses the skill in his duel with Eugeo and is able to overpower the latter's «Slant».
 * After Eugeo's «Slant» is overpowered, he lets the sword be pushed back to his shoulder and chains in «Vertical», instantly pushing back Humbert's sword and breaking his posture.


 * Volume 12 Chapter 8 Part 1:
 * Eugeo uses «Vertical» against Deusolbert Synthesis Seven's flaming fist. However, this leads to a brief stalemate, after which Eugeo's sword causes an abrupt chill, which creates an opening for Eugeo and he changes «Vertical» to «Vertical Arc».

Trivia

 * In Episode 2, «Vertical» was executed as a diagonal slash from bottom-left to top-right, which would actually be one of the two possible directions of «Slant».
 * In Volume 12 it's not clear whether Eugeo used «Vertical» and later switched to «Vertical Arc» or whether he used just «Vertical Arc», as «Vertical» was mentioned as being used, but this is contradicted when Eugeo says that the first skill he used was «Vertical Arc».