File:Introduction to SAO Progressive- Aria of a Starless Night - Sword Art Online Wikia Features

November 6, 2020. That was the day everything had changed. Everything had ended for Asuna, as she got trapped inside Sword Art Online with 10.000 other players. Escape was nowhere in sight and 3 weeks into the death game, one thing was clear to Asuna. The only choice was in how to die... Until she met him... 🐤 Follow SAO Wikia on twitter for the latest news! - https://twitter.com/sao_wikia 🔔 For more information on Sword Art Online, make sure to visit Sword Art Online Wikia! - https://swordartonline.wikia.com/

Aria of a Starless Night is the beginning of Sword Art Online Progressive, a spin-off series that fills in the gaps of the main series by covering Aincrad floor by floor. The SAO Wikia would like to remind you that “spin-off” does not mean Progressive is not canon; rather, it simply means that Progressive is released separately from the main light novels. Although the stories in the Progressive series have a few minor differences from the main series, these changes are considered as retcons to the original story that do not invalidate their canonicity.

Aria of a Starless Night was first written as an original story to fill in the gap between episodes 1 and 3 of the first season of the Sword Art Online anime adaptation. As the author wrote far too much content to contain in a single episode, the anime version of the story was greatly condensed; however, the author did not stop there. Aria became the foundation for a series of stories focused on expanding upon the Aincrad arc of the original series floor-by-floor. Aria is set just over 3 weeks after the Sword Art Online players became trapped in Aincrad, meaning that it serves as a sequel to the flashback at the beginning of Sword Art Online V1, as well as the First Day side story featured in V8. The story covers the final days of Floor 1.

One day, Kirito was exploring the Labyrinth of Floor 1 when he stumbled upon an unusual sight. He wasn't sure what he was more surprised about: the fact that he found a solo female player with beginner equipment in the middle of the dungeon… or the flawlessness with which she executed the basic Rapier Sword Skill that made it hard to believe she was just a first time MMORPG player… or that the girl, named Asuna, was so exhausted that she outright collapsed in the middle of the dungeon, which prompted the boy to carry her out to safety outside the dungeon..

It was just over 3 weeks ago that Asuna, a diligent middle schooler, decided to briefly try out the new toy of her older brother on a whim and logged into Sword Art Online, only to find herself trapped in the floating prison. After spending several weeks weeping inside an inn at the Town of Beginnings, blaming herself for throwing the meticulously planned life of hers away by becoming a prisoner of a game, she decided that she would not lose herself to this fake world. Yet, her goal wasn't to survive, but rather to gain control of how she died instead. Having bought a bunch of starter rapiers, she set out to the fields, hoping to go as far as she could before she eventually died when her equipment inevitably shattered into polygons during her restless and reckless battles. Although Asuna did not appreciate the boy in black saving her from the fated clutches of death after she spent entire days holed up in the Labyrinth, he did leave a mark on her… in addition to an invitation that would give her a way to avoid losing herself to this prison. The boss room of the first Floor had just been found, thus a group of players were meeting in the town of Tolbana in 2 hours…

The encounter had left a mark on Kirito himself as well. Unlike him, she was not a beta tester. The girl had no experience, yet her technique and speed seemed unmatched. If he were to guide her, she would surely become one of the top players who would lead everyone back home. But for now, he had more pressing concerns… someone was proving to be very persistent in their attempts to get him to sell his sword. His Anneal Blade +6 was a top tier weapon for the first floor and would probably serve him well for at least 2 more floors. He had almost lost his life for the weapon when another Beta Tester, named Coper. But even then, the Anneal Blade itself was not exactly unique. Yet, another player was using Argo the Rat to offer way more Cor for the blade than it was worth. Surely, it would cost a fraction of the price to do the quest and even get it up to +6 upgrade level themselves. Thus, he couldn't help being curious about who would be so stubborn on purchasing his blade…… and more importantly… what was the motive behind such a generous offer? Was it just one of the Clearers who needed a powerful weapon… or perhaps someone with a more devious plan, right when everyone was preparing to face the boss of the 1st floor… Illfang the Kobold Lord!


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