"First published in Japan in 2021 by Kadokawa Corporation, Tokyo"--Copyright page.

The mysterious player Morte has manipulated the human guilds into fighting on BOTH sides of the Elf War! While Kirito challenges him to a duel, Asuna has an important task of her own: steal the battle plans from the Forest Elves so she can end this quest before it turns deadly. They need to stop the war before anyone loses their life--permanently!

"There's no way to beat this game. The only difference is when and where you die..." One month has passed since Akihiko Kayaba's deadly game began, and the body count continues to rise. Two thousand players are already dead. Kirito and Asuna are two very different people, but they both desire to fight alone. Nonetheless, they find themselves drawn together to face challenges from both within and without. Given that the entire virtual world they now live in has been created as a deathtrap, the surviving players of Sword Art Online are starting to get desperate, and desperation makes them dangerous to loners like Kirito and Asuna. As it becomes clear that solitude equals suicide, will the two be able to overcome their differences to find the strength to believe in each other, and in so doing survive? Sword Art Online: Progressive is a new version of the Sword Art Online tale that starts at the beginning of Kirito and Asuna's epic adventure--on the very first level of the deadly world of Aincrad!

The party is shaken when their leader, Diavel, is struck down by the boss of the very first floor. Asuna and her teammates are confronted for the first time with the cruel reality of their situation: Sword Art Online is no mere game--death here is final. Their commander lost, the remaining fighters begin to lose heart and plan their retreat. But the fight must go on if they are to escape this game world, and in his dying moments, Diavel managed to convey his appointment for the next commander--Kirito!

After successfully untangling themselves from a dangerous encounter with the Black Poncho Man and clearing the fifth floor of Aincrad, Kirito and Asuna head to the next challenge, an area filled with...puzzles? What's more, because of the precarious balance of power between two large guilds aiming for the same item, "The Flag of Valor", there's also a murderous PK group to be wary of. As the problems seem to pile up, Kirito and Asuna face the sixth floor of Aincrad completely unaware of the malicious trap awaiting them!!

LUCK BE A LADY TONIGHT! ​The seventh floor of Aincrad—a massive casino where over half the game’s beta testers dropped out before launch. Kirito was among the many who lost everything in its Battle Arena back then. When an informant named Argo the Rat entices Kirito and Asuna with knowledge that could aid in their investigation, the pair soon plunge into the casino’s dark underbelly once more. Meanwhile, the “Elf War” quest also reaches a sudden turning point when a flurry of crises rock the dark elves’ home!

A RACE AGAINST THE CLOCK! The secret feud between the Nachtoy and the Korloy families, who control the Volupta Grand Casino on the seventh floor, takes an unprecedented turn when Kirito and Asuna intervene. But when Kirito attempts to expose the Korloy family’s misdeeds, he ends up stumbling into a trap. Now he has just two days to unravel a mystery, put an end to an unscrupulous conspiracy, and defeat the floor boss. It’s all leading up to a showdown in the arena where everything’s on the line!

The Elf War rages on, with Kirito and Asuna caught in the middle! The forest elves seek the dark elves' Secret Key, but to what end? Though Kirito tries to stay detached, Asuna can't help being swept along for the ride. Kizmel is supposed to be just an NPC, right? But then why does she seem so very human...?

Kirito, having explored the latest beta test, has a pretty good idea of what to expect from the newest SAO launch. With Asuna along, the pair hope to experience the official playthrough together, but there's something about the release that's a little different from before...Certain unexpected tweaks from the previous version have Kirito and Asuna tackling a flood of puzzles anew!