Sword Art Online Episode 04

The Black Swordsman (黒の剣士) is the fourth episode of the Sword Art Online anime adaptation. It aired on July 28, 2012.

Plot
On February 23, 2024, within a field dungeon called the Forest of Wandering, a mid level player and Beast Tamer Silica decided to leave her current party after an arguement with one of its members, Rosalia, and she decided to return to town on her own. However, due to field dungeon's design, she got lost and encountered the local monsters multiple times. However, she forgets to grab some healing crystals and potions from the party before leaving. She then encounters several Drunken Apes, but her familiar, the Feathery Dragon Pina intercepts a fatal blow and is killed in the process. The shocked Silica is then nearly killed by the monsters, but is saved by Kirito who had come across her by chance. After being saved, Silica cried over the loss of her pet and dear friend, Pina.



Silica regains some hope when Kirito explains to her that it is possible to revive her partner with a special flower at the 47th Floor. However, she is soon discouraged when she realizes that the difficulty would be too high for her current level as well as there being a three day time limit to revive Pina. Feeling obligated for not being able to save her familiar, Kirito provides her with some sturdier equipment to increase her protection, and partners with Silica to retrieve the flower. Kirito would have gotten it himself, however the presence of the deceased pet's owner was required for the item to appear. Silica asks him why he helps her and, after she promises not to laugh at his response, Kirito says that she reminds him of his sister, which causes Silica to burst into laughter.



Silica returns with Kirito to Mishe, the main town of the 35th Floor to discuss their plans for retrieving the flower. While in-town, Kirito deals with some troublesome encounters with some of Silica’s fans and an old team member named «Rosalia». After having dinner, Silica is considering of visiting Kirito's room, before the latter comes knocking at her own door. After Silica barely remembers to get dressed before letting her new party member in, Kirito brings out a «Mirage Sphere» to show the known data on the 47th Floor to Silica, before he suddenly hears someone eavesdropping on the two, going out to see who was there, but the player had already fled. Silica asks Kirito why he did that, and Kirito tells her that players with a high Listening skill did not have to knock on the door to hear what was going on in the room.

After spending the night at the second floor of the «Weathercock Tavern», Kirito and Silica begin their journey to the southern section of the 47th Floor from the main town on the floor, Floria. As they defeat the plant monsters along the way, Kirito and Silica are able to make it to «The Hill of Memories» and retrieve the Pneuma Flower. However, when returning with the item, Kirito senses a group of players waiting to ambush them, and gives Silica a teleportation crystal. Rosalia, the leader «Titan's Hand» guild appears, and demands them to give the flower. Silica thinks that she is bluffing (because of her green cursor), and Kirito tells her that this is a PKing trick, where players like her find targets for the PKers. Kirito then tells Rosalia that he was looking for her, on the request of a leader of the fallen guild, the «Silver Flags», who wanted her and her guild to go to jail.



One of the members, after hearing Silica call Kirito, recognizes him as the Black Swordsman, who uses a one-handed sword with no shield. The member then tells Rosalia that he is a «Beater», and one of the «Lead Groups», but Rosalia refuses, thinking that Kirito isn't a clearer because of him being on the lower floors instead of the front lines. She then tells her members to attack him, and despite being worried because of Kirito's status, attack him.

As the PKers attack Kirito, he does nothing, and Silica begins to worry that he will die, and is almost ready to attack them. As she looks at his HP bar, she suddenly sees it rising again. The PKers still attack Kirito, but eventually get exhausted from fighting him. Kirito then tells the PKers that they did around 400 damage in 10 seconds, and being a much more higher level then them, his battle healing skill heals 600 within 10 seconds.



Kirito takes out a rare «Corridor Crystal», bought by the fallen guild's leader, and plans to send them all to the prison on the 1st Floor governed by «The Army». All the Orange guild members give in to Kirito’s supremacy except for Rosalia, who tells him that if he attacked her, he would go orange. Kirito then threatens her, stating that because he is a soloer, he wouldn't mind being an orange player for a few days. Rosalia drops her spear, and all of the members are sent to the Black Iron Palace's jail.

Afterwards, Kirito brought Silica back to the «Weathercock Tavern» in the town of Mishe. Kirito then apologizes, stating he used her as bait to lure the PKing guild Titan's Hand out. He tells her that if had told her the truth, she would be scared, but she denies it, stating that he is a good person. Silica wants to join him, but their levels are too far apart, and Kirito needs to get back to the front lines. As Kirito asks her to use the flower on Pina's heart, she does so, and is ready to tell Pina her one-day adventure with «Black Swordsman».

New Characters

 * Silica
 * Pina
 * Rosalia

Named Monsters

 * Feathery Dragon
 * Drunken Apes

Guilds

 * Titan's Hand
 * Silver Flags

Inventory

 * Silica
 * Pina's heart
 * Ivory Dagger - Given by Kirito
 * Silverthread Armor - Given by Kirito
 * Moon Blazer - Given by Kirito
 * Fairy Boots - Given by Kirito
 * Florit Belt - Given by Kirito
 * Teleport Crystal - Given by Kirito
 * Pneuma Flower
 * Popping Corn
 * Sekiren
 * Fullmelon Skin
 * Manbaad
 * Samep Tail
 * Tough String
 * Worn-out Meal
 * Gem Bottle
 * Rominel Water
 * Pretty Fragment
 * Potion
 * Hi-Potion
 * Antidote Crystal
 * Minemurg
 * Bombom
 * Blue Soda
 * Tricoll Juice
 * Minicase
 * Lemming Bell
 * Cacacocori Fruit
 * Kirito
 * Mirage Sphere
 * Corridor Crystal - Given by Unnamed Silver Flags Guild Member

Locations

 * Aincrad Floor 1: Town of Beginnings, Black Iron Palace's Prison (Mentioned)
 * Aincrad Floor 35: Forest of Wandering, Mishe: Weathercock Tavern
 * Aincrad Floor 47: Floria, Hill of Memories

Adaptation Notes

 * Adapted from Volume 2, The Black Swordsman.


 * In the light novel, Kirito throws Rosalia into the portal, while she attempts to plead to him for mercy and even attempts to persuade him to join forces with her.
 * The scene involving Silica in the Inn room is altered in the anime. In the novel, Silica visits Kirito's room and falls asleep on his bed, resulting in Kirito sleeping on the floor. This happens again to him at the beginning of the Fairy Dance story arc, when Suguha falls asleep in his bed, reinforcing Kirito's impression that Silica reminds him of her.
 * The Anime depicts a member of the Titan's Hand guild dual wielding a pair of hand-axes, and even using a Sword Skill involving the pair of weapons. As Kirito's skill is unique, this is likely a mistake on the part of the animation team.

Quotes
Episodio 4
 * "Don't leave me, alone, Pina"- Silica
 * (While being attacked by a plant monster) "Kirito, save me! Don't look, but save me!" - Silica
 * '"I don't think that your sister hates you. You can't work that hard for someone who you don't like" - Silica
 * "In this world, strength is just an illusion. There are more important things" - Kirito
 * (Before the revival of Pina) "Pina...I'll talk to you lots and lots, okay? About my amazing adventure today...and about the one day in my life that I had a big brother." - Silica