Sword Art Online Progressive Volume 02


 * This article is about the original Progressive light novel volume. You may be looking for the manga adaptation.

Sword Art Online Progressive Volume 2 (ソードアート・オンライン プログレッシブ 002, Sōdo Āto Onrain Puroguresshibu 002) is the second installment in the "Progressive" series, a reboot of the original Sword Art Online light novel series written by Kawahara Reki. This volume covers the events that took place while clearing the 3rd Floor of Aincrad. It was released on December 10, 2013.

Part 1
As Kirito and Asuna climbed the stairs to the 3rd Floor, the former, remembering the designs and themes of the 1st and 2nd Floors, declared their next destination was in a sense the true starting point of Sword Art Online (SAO). At the latter's inquiry, Kirito explained that the 3rd Floor marked the first appearance of human mobs, indistinguishable from players aside from their color cursor, and like Non-Player Characters (NPCs) could talk and utilize expert sword skills. He added that Kayaba Akihiko, the one responsible for the players' imprisonment in the game, had stated in interviews that the term Sword Art in the VRMMO's name was referring to the light and sound of sword skills clashing against each other: a concerto of life and death.

Wondering if Akihiko had been planning his crime from since that interview, Asuna pondered on the man's intended usage of the word concerto to apply to players fighting against humanoid enemies. She clarified that a concerto was not a performance of two instruments playing against each other in a pair, but an orchestra accompanying in the background a soloist or small group of independent players; not one-on-one, but one-on-many or few-on-many. Kirito, who was walking backwards to converse with her, reflected on the game's design of having battles with monsters be solitary or in small groups and declared that the closest battle to correspond with an actual concerto would be a boss fight. Asuna repeated that she might be overthinking the matter, and tried to warn Kirito where he was heading, but was too late as he collided with the door at the top of the stairs and fell through them on his rear into the 3rd Floor.

While Asuna enchantedly marveled at their surroundings, which was a vast forest of gigantic trees, Kirito messaged to Argo the clearing of the 2nd Floor and the opening of the 3rd Floor within the hour. He then asked Asuna, who was still admiring the scenery, if she would not mind following him on a detour from the path to the main city to take care of a errand. Her earlier euphoria fading away, she recognized what he wanted to accomplish would best be handled first, and agreed to hold off on repairing and restocking for supplies for the time being. Briefly pondering on his emotions ever since the start of SAO, Kirito followed the fencer down the path to the next village.

After five minutes of walking, Kirito, sensing a change in the air, warned Asuna of the design and denizens of their current location: the Forest of Wavering Mists. The monsters, though no more difficult than those on the previous floor and lacking sword skills, would attempt to draw them away from the path. At the same time, the areas of the forest explored by players would be obscured on their maps, and they would occasionally encounter mist too thick to see through. Asuna in turn alerted Kirito of a Treant Sapling approaching them from behind, which had successfully managed to hide its presence while the two had passed. Berating himself for his lapse in vigilance, Kirito readied for combat.

After dispatching the monster, which brought them some distance into the forest, Asuna expressed guilt over having to defeat a plant monster, though Kirito assured her she would change her mind if she saw the advanced form it would grow into. When they returned to the path, Kirito revealed the task he had wanted to do was a quest initiation and inquired Asuna on her hearing. She jokingly interpreted his request as a fascination for ears, but seriously wondered what they were supposed to be listening for, to which Kirito elucidated as the clashing of blades. After standing with their backs to each other and tuning out all background noise, they heard such a sound coming southwest of their position, upon which Kirito moved towards it, reassuring his partner he had a camping set if they failed to return to the path.

After following the clanging of metal for less than five minutes while avoiding any monsters, Kirito and Asuna came upon a clearing wherein two NPCs, a light-colored man and a dark-colored woman, were locked in combat with each other. While Asuna watched in awe the lifelikeness of their expressions and movements, Kirito drew attention to the NPCs' pointed ears and the quest markers above their heads. He explained that both elves, a Forest Elf and a Dark Elf respectively, were questgivers for a campaign quest lasting until the 9th Floor, adding that they were only allowed to choose one questline; starting over or switching sides were not permitted. In light of their circumstances, Asuna decided to follow the same route Kirito took in the beta test, and correctly deduced he chose the Dark Elf woman, though he claimed the decision was based on her color rather than her sex. Before she could move to assist the Dark Elf against the Forest Elf, Kirito grabbed her and warned that as both NPCs were elite mobs, it would be impossible for both players to prevail against either of them. When Asuna expressed unease at the new information, Kirito reassured her that once half of their hit points (HP) were depleted, the other elf would unleash a special attack to win the fight, so all they needed to do until then was to remain calm and prioritize defense. However, he omitted how the Dark Elf, whose name was Kizmel, would sacrifice herself with the secret move in the process.

At the same time, Kirito and Asuna jumped into the clearing, whereupon both NPCs ordered the humans to leave, but the pair ignored them and pointed their blades at the Forest Elf, triggering his aggression towards them. Calculating they would only last three minutes at most, Kirito reminded his partner to focus on defense, but grew uneasy when he saw determination in the fencer's face, despite her acknowledgement of his reminder. Twenty minutes later, Kirito and the Forest Elven Hallowed Knight expressed their shock as the latter collapsed to the ground in defeat, the players' HP still barely above half; the last time Kirito had done the quest in the beta, he and three other party members had been soundly beaten. While Asuna tiredly but casually commented on the relative easiness of their ordeal, Kirito swore he could see shock and bewilderment in Kizmel's eyes standing nearby, but hoped it was just his imagination.

Part 2
As Kirito recollected how the questline would have proceeded had both elves died as scheduled, the Forest Elf's body disappeared, leaving behind a bag of leaves containing the Jade Key quest item. Kirito gently prodded Asuna and Kizmel's attention to the item, the latter of whom retrieved the bag in relief. Thanking the players for their help, she invited them to accompany her to the Dark Elf Base to the south, where the Dark Elf Commander would reward them for their assistance and allow them to initiate the next quest. While Kirito debated whether or not to risk collapsing from exhaustion from their constant struggles since the 2nd Floor Boss fight by continuing straight into the campaign, Asuna accepted the invitation with a nuanced response. Accepting the affirmative reply, Kizmel joined the party and began leading the humans to their destination. Wondering how an NPC could possess such a natural conversation ability, Kirito checked Kizmel's name and color cursor to confirm she was not actually a player.

The Dark Elf Royal Guard directed Kirito and Asuna through the misty forest with efficiency, dispatching any enemies they encountered and bringing them within sight of the base's black flags. When Asuna commented on the quickness of their journey, Kizmel proudly stated they would not have found it so easily without her aid, as a Forest Sinking charm had been cast on the camp. Asuna wondered at the presence of charms in a world without magic, prompting KIrito to begin to explain that magic was deliberately excluded from SAO to enforce mandatory melee combat for the players, but was interrupted by Kizmel's clarification that their charms were but a shadow of the magic possessed by her people, the Dark Elves of Lysula, before they were separated from the earth. Kirito remembered that unlike other RPGs, SAO had a conspicuous absence of a backstory, and speculated Akihiko had deliberately made it that way so that the players could write the story themselves. Kirito felt compelled to ask Kizmel for more details on the history of Aincrad and her people, but stifled his curiosity and reminded himself their first priority was to beat the game and return to the real world.

As the group approached the base, they saw two Dark Elf soldiers guarding the entrance. Asuna worried about having to fight them, but Kirito assured her they would be fine as long as long as they did not assault them. Passing by the guards without incident, the players found themselves in a broad space filled with tents and other Dark Elves, which Kirito remarked was bigger than in the beta. As they walked toward the largest tent, Kirito explained to Asuna that their current location was an instance, a temporary area created for each party participating in the quest so as to reduce complications and interruptions between them. Confirming that they had temporarily vanished from the 3rd Floor map to move to the camp, Asuna questioned if they could leave at anytime.

At the Dark Elf commander's tent, Kirito and Asuna were given rewards and new equipment for the safe return of Kizmel and the Jade Key. After they each chose a ring boosting their stats, the commander initiated the second quest of the campaign, and the group left the tent. Thanking the humans again for their help, Kizmel asked for their names, much to Kirito's shock. After the players clarified the pronunciation of their names, the Dark Elf knight offered to either teleport them close to the main town with a charm or to lend them the use of a tent for the night. Sensing Kirito's desire to take advantage of free food and lodgings while the questline was still active, Asuna accepted the offer. When Kizmel offered the use of her tent as they had no spares, Kirito suddenly realized that since Kizmel had survived, they would be sharing living quarters with her, which Asuna quickly comprehended. As Kizmel left for the dining tent, Asuna asked Kirito if it was possible for them to change their answer and have the Dark Elf send them to the town, which the beater sadly replied negatively.

Within Kizmel's tent, Asuna set the boundary between her and Kirito's living spaces before they both removed their armor and weapons. While resting on the furs meant for beds, Kirito explained to Asuna the basic story of the Elf War quest series, of the Dark Elves and Forest Elves fighting over six keys to a location on the higher floors called the Sanctuary, wherein a powerful item was sealed. Asuna grew concerned that the choice of sides offered at the beginning of the campaign meant they would have to fight or compete with other players working with the Forest Elves, but Kirito assured her that the questline had been designed so that different parties could have their own independent storyline, so that they could be at different points in the story and have different endings. Though Asuna was reassured that the victory of one side in the quest would not mean the defeat of the other, she was still uneasy with the concept of instances, which would mean multiple duplicates of the same NPC would be generated for each party in the campaign. Kirito remembered how the sickly little NPC girl Agatha from the Secret Medicine of the Forest quest on the 1st Floor would be caught in a cycle of disease and recovery each time a player accepted and finished the quest, and understood how the Elf War was an expanded version of the concept, but informed Asuna such an outcome was unavoidable without the game sacrificing fairness for story consistency.

At 6:00 P.M., a horn blew to signify the hour as Kizmel entered the tent. She apologized for the simplicity of the camp, but offered the services of the dining and bathing tents, as well her own assistance. When Asuna immediately left the tent to take advantage of the latter service, Kirito pondered on whether to focus on sleep or food when Kizmel disrobed for resting. Distracted by her appearance and form, he was pulled out of the tent by Asuna. As he followed the fencer, he suddenly remembered about the high level of the Dark Elf blacksmith and reminded her to upgrade her Wind Fleuret to the maximum while they could, allowing it to last until the middle of the 3rd Floor. Recalling how she had nearly lost her weapon through the blacksmithing scam on the 2nd Floor, Asuna recollected how Kirito told her she could melt down an old sword as material for a new one and decided to have her Wind Fleuret reborn as a new blade rather than risk a failure upgrade if she would be outlasting it. Accepting her decision, Kirito began heading for the blacksmith's tent, but Asuna prioritized having a bath first.

While Kirito contemplated on the possible effects of elven bathwater on players and how such an activity seemed pointless in the beta, he and Asuna arrived at the bathing tent, wherein only a single bath was contained. Apprehensive at the possibility of male Dark Elves coming inside while she was bathing in a place outside the Area without her equipment on, Asuna suggested having one of them standing guard outside while the other took their bath. Remembering how he had accidentally allowed Argo to enter the bathroom while Asuna was still bathing back on the 1st Floor, Kirito volunteered to take guard first and have his bath after hers, before sitting next to a support pillar, while doing his best to ignore Asuna's sounds of contentment from within the tent.

Part 3
After Asuna and Kirito finished their turns bathing, they had a satisfactory dinner in the dining tent before returning to Kizmel's tent. Upon finding the Dark Elf already sleeping peacefully, the players took their places on the furs and fell asleep as well. Seven hours later, Kirito suddenly awoke at 2:00 A.M.; unable to return to sleep and seeing Kizmel had disappeared, he exited the tent to find no one but the sentries moving in the camp. After some thought, he decided to look behind the commander's tent to find Kizmel dispiritedly standing in front of three gravestones, dressed in only thin underclothes. Sensing the human approaching her, Kizmel advised him to rest himself fully, but accepted his thanks for allowing them the use of her quarters. When Kirito examined the leftmost grave she was surveying and the name thereon, Kizmel explained it belonged to her sister Tilnel, who had perished the previous month after the Dark Elf advance forces had descended to the 2nd Floor. Wondering how much the Dark Elves knew about Aincrad, Kirito elected to wait until Asuna was present and instead asked about Tilnel. Kizmel revealed her sister was a herbalist who was only skilled in carrying a dagger and had been at the rear vanguard when Forest Elven Falconers launched an ambush from behind them.

While Kirito silently grimaced on the deadly effectiveness of the Falconers, Kizmel recommended him to sit, then drunk from a wineskin of moontear herb wine before offering some to Kirito. After he had his sample, Kizmel poured the rest onto Tilnel's grave marker, explaining it had been her sister's favorite beverage and admitting she had snuck it out of the castle in hopes of sharing it with her, though she never had the opportunity. Crouching, Kizmel confessed her willingness to die when she had accepted the Jade Key retrieval mission and attributed Kirito and Asuna's intervention to the act of the gods she had lost faith in. Rebuking himself for not understanding Kizmel's situation before accepting the Elf War campaign and for not giving his all to protect himself and everyone, Kirito declared that he and Asuna had arrived and helped her of their own volition, and that they would accompany her to the end, to which Kizmel pledged to defend them for as long as they were together.

When Kirito and Kizmel returned to the tent about an hour later, they found Asuna already dressed and prepared for departure, who questioned Kirito on his whereabouts upon seeing him without his equipment and Kizmel in only her undergarments. Skeptically regarding his claim that he had been ready beforehand, she accompanied them as they left the base camp at 3:00 A.M. for the next quest, stopping to wonder at palely blue moonlit beauty of their surroundings, which even Kirito could not help but marvel at. Pausing to wait for Asuna, Kizmel softly remarked of the reminder of Tilnel's similar love for the night forest, before quietly urging them to continue their journey.

Adaption Notes

 * Dark Elven Royal Guard, Dark Elven Wolf Handler, Forest Elven Hallowed Knight, and Forest Elven Falconer were Dark Elf Sentry, Dark Elf Wolf Handler, Forest Elf Officer, and Forest Elf Falconer in web version respectively.

Errors

 * The page for the start of Concerto of Black and White is dated November 2022, despite the story actually taking place in December 2022.

Trivia

 * Progressive Volume 02 is Kawahara Reki's thirtieth published book.

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Volumen 2 (Progressive) ru:Sword Art Online: Progressive (Ранобэ, Том 2)