Sword Art Online - Project Alicization Volume 01 (manga)

​Sword Art Online - Project Alicization Volume 01 (ソードアート・オンライン プロジェクト・アリシゼーション)​ is the first volume of the Project Alicization manga adaptation. The volume partially covers Volume 9 of the light novels.

Summary
One day, Kirito awoke and found himself in Underworld, a virtual world that he used to dive to with his memories sealed as part of a part-time job. Unaware of his reason for being there and unable to establish contact with the real world, the boy explored the area, looking for the source of a mysterious sound he kept hearing. At the origin of the noise, Kirito met a young woodcutter named Eugeo.

Chapter.001
As part of a part-time job, Kirigaya Kazuto (Kirito) entered a virtual world through a device known as Soul Translator. In this world, with his memories of his real life suppressed, Kirito was an eleven-year-old woodcutter at a remote village. With his workmate and childhood friend Eugeo, he was assigned the lifelong Sacred Task of felling the Gigas Cedar, a giant tree that had withstood more than three hundred years of diligent daily chopping over several generations, in order for their village, Rulid, to acquire lands to expand its fields and pastures. Due to their different opinion on their job, the two boys began tickling each other upon finishing their quota for the morning. Just then, they were interrupted by the scolding of Alice Zuberg, their friend, as well as the village chief's daughter, who had come to bring her homemade lunch to them. While discussing how they could maintain their food's «Life» longer, the three children decided to search for ice in the forbidden «Mountain Range at the Edge».

Chapter.002
On this day off, Kirito, Alice and Eugeo gathered at the edge of the village and proceeded towards the mountains. While walking, Eugeo and Kirito discussed about their future if they could manage to cut down the «Gigas Cedar». A few hours later, they had reached the mountain before lunch. As they went into the dark cave, the air grew considerably colder, making their breaths visible, even though it was summer. To their surprise, when they walked further into the cave, they discovered white dragon bones. According to its wounds, the dragon did not die on its own, but by an Integrity Knight. They also discovered the Blue Rose Sword that the hero Bercouli tried to steal it from under the sleeping of the white dragon. Realizing that the sword was absurdly heavy, they gave up on taking it and return to their original goal to retrieve some ice. After they took some ice, they got ready to return to the village, but they took the wrong path, which led them to the entrance to the Dark Territory, the land of the devil races. The three of the children arrived just when a white Integrity Knight was in a battle with one of the Dark Knights.