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 decides to leave her current party after arguing with one of its members, Rosalia, and decides to return to town on her own. However, due to field dungeon's design, she gets lost and encounters the local monsters multiple times. However, after multiple battles, she runs out of potions and healing crystals and is nearly killed by the attacking monsters, several Drunken Apes, but her familiar, the Feathery Dragon Pina intercepts the 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 accross her by chance. After being saved, Silica cries 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 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 in the corridor and runs out of the room to check. However, the intruder had already ran away.

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. The players turn out to be members of an Orange guild named «Titan's Hand». While facing off against the group and its leader, Rosalia, Kirito reveals to Silica that his reason for being at the lower floors earlier was to lure out the Orange guild and arrest them by the request of one of their victims: the leader of a fallen guild, «Silver Flags».



Some of the Orange guild members recognize Kirito, and despite being fearful of him at first because of his status as a «Beater» and being one of the «Lead Groups», they still try to fight him. However, they soon learn how futile their efforts are against him, thanks to the overwhelming differences in level between Kirito and the guild members. 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 Kirito threatens that he has no problem harming her and becoming an orange player in the process, due to being a solo player.

Afterwards, Kirito brought Silica back to the «Weathercock Tavern» in the town of Mishe. Silica was unhappy that she and Kirito would soon part ways, so they made a promise to meet again in the real world once they were freed from this world. As Kirito watches, Silica uses the revival item, and readies herself to tell her story to Pina about her one-day adventure with the «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 Castle 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

 * "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

Episodio 4