Chapter Summaries

Wang Shui repaired a half-dragonite girl's Black Sword mobile armor and prepared to leave Steel Edge City for his mandatory solo mission. At the mission plaza, he reviewed his weak status and unusual talent before spotting something black among the low-level stalls.

• Wang Shui agreed to repair the half-dragonite girl's damaged Black Sword for five silver coins and signed a contract promising delivery around the day after tomorrow.
• A delivery cart brought Wang Shui a nearly new Black Sword, which he bought from Scrappy for 1,500 Dream Points; he installed a fire-control system, maintained the armor, tested its basic functions, and arranged to send it back on schedule.
• Wang Shui left Kazan to watch the shop and headed toward the mission center, reflecting on his failed first mission, his choice of the life class, and the danger of his upcoming mandatory solo mission.
• At the mission plaza, Wang Shui checked his personal information and considered the strengths and limitations of his Arrogant Knower talent, which required him to learn skills rather than receive them through system infusion.
• Wang Shui wandered past low-level stalls with his savings, and his attention caught on a patch of black.

Wang Shui bought a key to an unknown altered dungeon, which he recognized as the real-world setting of Sword Art Online, and stocked up on survival supplies and firearms. He began the solo exploration mission, leaving his destination and its dangers unknown.

• Wang Shui learned from a stall owner and the Dream Network that the third batch of dungeon keys offered exploration missions in a world with rising danger and little known information.
• Wang Shui recognized clues pointing to Sword Art Online and bought the Elucidator key for thirty-five thousand points, along with an orphan identity and basic supplies.
• Wang Shui bought a pistol, ammunition, clothes, food, and water, then reviewed technical books before sleeping.
• Wang Shui received a warning that he had to start a solo mission before 23:00 and bought more ammunition and food before leaving for the mission plaza.
• Wang Shui inserted the Elucidator into the mission panel and began his tier-one exploration mission in the altered fantasy dungeon.

Wang Shui arrived in the Sword Art Online world as middle-school student Satō Itsuki and received a quest to obtain the World Seed. After meeting Shino Asada and buying a NerveGear before SAO’s launch, he researched Akihiko Kayaba’s technology and began preparing to examine the device.

• Wang Shui woke in a Tokyo apartment, learned that his main quest was to obtain the World Seed, and discovered that he had become fourteen-year-old Satō Itsuki.
• Wang Shui found that Satō Itsuki had a school identity, an apartment, and only a hundred thousand yen, then went to middle school and met his classmate Shino Asada.
• Wang Shui noticed that the teacher seemed afraid of Shino Asada and correctly solved a math problem when the teacher called on him.
• Wang Shui learned from classmates that SAO and NerveGear were on sale, then bought a NerveGear and game disc at a nearby game center.
• Wang Shui returned home without speaking to Shino Asada, studied Akihiko Kayaba’s papers on FullDive, and took out a disassembly kit to examine the NerveGear.

Wang Shui discovered that SAO’s launch and player count differed sharply from what he remembered, raising fears that the altered plot could prevent him from obtaining The World Seed. After calming Shino, he learned she was being bullied by Endou and two other girls, though she said they had not known about her past.

• Wang Shui found an announcement that SAO’s open beta would support 300,000 players, far more than the 10,000 he remembered, and worried that the world alteration had changed the plot.
• Shino arrived in distress, and Wang Shui restrained and reassured her until she calmed down.
• Shino joined Wang Shui in his room, where he offered her hot cocoa and asked about her bullying.
• Shino named Endou and two other girls as her bullies, while Wang Shui wondered why the bullying had begun earlier than in the original story.
• Wang Shui asked whether Shino had a close male friend who fit a specific description, and she said she did not remember anyone like that.
• Shino clarified that Endou and the other girls had not known about her past.

Wang Shui confided in Shino and, encouraged by her advice, decided to enter SAO after preparing to protect himself. On launch day, he joined the game, wrote down combat knowledge, and learned that Kayaba had turned SAO into a death game—while also revealing that Wang Shui’s safety modification had made him the only player who could resurrect, at least temporarily.

• Shino told Wang Shui how Endou and the others had exploited her living situation, then blackmailed her over her fear of guns.
• Shino urged Wang Shui to take the initiative, and he decided to enter SAO rather than wait helplessly for events to unfold.
• Wang Shui ordered supplies, studied combat material, and modified his NerveGear with a power limiter before SAO’s launch.
• After logging in on November 6, Wang Shui spent his starting Cor on writing materials and began copying down the combat knowledge he had memorized.
• Kayaba announced that players could escape only by clearing Aincrad and that dying in the game would kill them in reality.
• Kayaba revealed Wang Shui’s NerveGear modification and said Wang Shui alone could resurrect until the system update reconnected the battery.

Wang Shui discovered that SAO’s realism made hunger a threat and that his awakened ability prevented him from learning skills through the game menu. He persuaded a sword-skill instructor to teach him, but the instructor called him Banbu, leaving Wang Shui frustrated with his new nickname.

• Wang Shui finished writing 202 pages of information from memory and collapsed in the square after working for eleven hours.
• Wang Shui woke hungry, found he had no Cor, and traded ten sheets of paper to a bakery owner for bread.
• Wang Shui checked his Dream System and SAO status, then discovered he could not learn the One-Handed Straight Sword skill through the menu.
• Wang Shui returned to town and begged the One-Handed Straight Sword instructor for help, claiming he had only learned the Dagger skill from his late brother.
• The instructor agreed to teach Wang Shui the basics after discussing the danger of the slums, then shortened his in-game name, Half a Heavenly Book, to Banbu.

Wang Shui struggled to learn the [One-Handed Straight Sword] skill until Instructor Seventh Brother identified his lack of combat intent and pushed him into a sparring match. After mastering the skill, Wang Shui learned that training could raise stats and hurried to find Argo, realizing players might be wasting their stat points.

• Instructor Seventh Brother taught Wang Shui basic one-handed sword movements and demonstrated the [Linear] Sword Skill, but Wang Shui initially failed to activate it.
• After Wang Shui’s practice stalled, Instructor Seventh Brother asked about his experience with violence and challenged him to attack with intent to kill.
• Wang Shui chained together several precise sword strikes, and Instructor Seventh Brother praised his unusual wrist techniques before defeating him in the spar.
• Wang Shui used the combat pressure to activate [Linear] and acquire the [One-Handed Straight Sword] skill, then asked Luke, also known as Instructor Number Seven, why he had been stuck.
• Instructor Seventh Brother explained that combat intent helped turn practiced movements into skills and that training could increase stats, so Wang Shui rushed out to look for Argo.

Wang Shui warned Argo that players should save their free attribute points until they understood how training affected equipment, then began learning to fight monsters while struggling with hunger and his skill-slot limits. After leveling up by defeating wolves, he considered entering the dense forest.

• Wang Shui told Argo to spread the warning about free attribute points, and she messaged other players and prepared to release her strategy guide early.
• Wang Shui sold the information to Argo for 2,000 Cor and learned that monster Cor drops had fallen by ninety percent.
• Wang Shui fought Frenzy Boars through the night, but felt little triumph after his first kill and continued grinding.
• Wang Shui discovered that [Gathering] had occupied one of his two skill slots, then endured a meal of badly roasted boar meat while suffering from the [Hunger] debuff.
• Wang Shui learned to exploit wolves' vulnerability to debuffs, defeated one with [Rage Spike], and considered entering the dense forest.

Wang Shui reached Horunka, learned that the Anneal Blade quest had become more expensive, and secured the sword with the strength bonus he wanted. While grinding Nepenthes for the quest item, he discovered that [Gathering] could harvest monsters for unfamiliar materials, leaving him planning a return to the village to sell his finds and buy gathering tools.

• Wang Shui visited the quest-giver in Horunka, who explained that her husband was making extra Anneal Blades and that she now accepted fifteen thousand Cor or valuable herbs for the quest.
• Wang Shui examined the three Anneal Blades, reserved the one with a strength bonus of 7, and bought leather armor, boots, bread, and salt with most of his money.
• Wang Shui explored the forest, learned how Nepenthes attacked, and began luring and killing them one at a time to find the rare quest Ovule.
• Wang Shui found that a dead Nepenthes could be harvested with [Gathering] and obtained a bottle of unfamiliar Nepenthes Honey.
• Wang Shui told Argo that the quest had become harder and learned that his [Gathering] skill occupied a valuable slot, so he resolved to earn money before removing it.
• Wang Shui spotted medicinal herbs with different tool requirements and decided to return to Horunka to buy gathering tools and find out what his herbs and honey were worth.

Wang Shui trapped Nepenthes in a spiked pit, harvested a rare flowered specimen for valuable drops, and tested his new [Anneal Blade] at the training grounds. After venting his pent-up fear and frustration, he planned to strengthen his skills and equipment before venturing deeper into Aincrad.

• Wang Shui used his spiked pit to kill Nepenthes and harvested a flowered specimen, obtaining a [Nepenthes Flower] and an extra [Little Nepenthes Ovule].
• Wang Shui collected his [Anneal Blade], sold his gathering materials, and discovered that the rare flower brought in 1,210 Cor.
• Wang Shui tested the heavier sword and found that it increased his attack power but made recovering from some Sword Skills slower.
• Wang Shui destroyed a training target while releasing his bottled-up fear and frustration, then slept peacefully for the first time in half a year.
• Wang Shui decided not to rush into the labyrinth and planned to farm Nepenthes, reach level five, and choose a combat skill before pursuing weapon enhancements.

Wang Shui discovered that Nepenthes Honey attracted beetles and poisoned them without making them hostile, allowing him to clear a huge swarm and reach level six. After finding a rare charm and gathering valuable materials, he continued exploring the first floor and practiced the Hide skill.

• Wang Shui left his Nepenthes grinding ground and cautiously explored the beetle area, where he tested a bottle of Nepenthes Honey on the swarm.
• Wang Shui used more than sixty bottles of honey to poison beetles across the orchard, earning enough experience to reach level six and collecting their drops.
• Wang Shui found a treasure chest containing the special charm Supernatural Instinct, whose effects he misjudged as mostly underwhelming.
• Wang Shui gathered and hid excess materials, then continued exploring instead of returning to the village.
• Wang Shui consulted Argo's paid strategy guide and practiced Hide while traveling through the forest.

Wang Shui learned [Hide] and returned toward [Horunka Village], where he joined Kirito in a fight against four Ruin Kobolds. After they survived, Wang Shui discovered that [Flying Sword] occupied a skill slot outside the normal limits, apparently because of his innate ability.

• Wang Shui unlocked [Hide] by hiding from a mantis monster, then set off toward [Horunka Village] by a different route.
• Wang Shui heard fighting and found Kirito being pursued by four Ruin Kobolds, so he leapt from a tree and attacked one with [Slant].
• Wang Shui and Kirito fought the kobolds together; Wang Shui used a pebble with [Flying Sword] to stun a kobold threatening Kirito, but the attack left his right arm unusable for two hours.
• Wang Shui and Kirito defeated the kobolds, and Wang Shui explained that [Gathering] had preserved their corpses for harvesting.
• Kirito questioned Wang Shui's lack of support combat skills, and Wang Shui invited him to be friends and noticed that [Flying Sword] appeared outside his three normal skill slots.

At a tavern in Horunka Village, Wang Shui and Kirito discussed the dangers of the labyrinth before dueling at the militia training ground. After Kirito won their match and shared training advice, Wang Shui rallied the gathered front-line players into a night of duels and new friendships.

• Wang Shui and Kirito discussed the labyrinth area's dangers, Kirito's solo risks, and Wang Shui's fighting style over dinner.
• Wang Shui challenged Kirito to a safe-zone duel, and Kirito won after showcasing his fast Sword Skills.
• Kirito told Wang Shui that training with adjustable bindings had raised his strength by 15 and agility by 18, then advised a nearby player about skills.
• Wang Shui invited the crowd to spar and fought dagger user Li Harvey, defeating him with a kick, sword attacks, and [Single Shot].
• Wang Shui encouraged the players to duel and socialize, turning the training ground into a lively gathering.

Wang Shui and Kirito cleared the ruins’ elite kobold, Man-Eating Dog Ken, and Wang Shui harvested its body before they found a powerful ring in the treasure chest. Wang Shui gave Kirito the ring and his supplies, then the two headed north toward [Tolbana] with plans to part ways there.

• Wang Shui and Kirito reached the ruins and cleared the nine Ruin Kobolds outside before entering to face the elite monster.
• Kirito and Wang Shui fought Man-Eating Dog Ken together, using Sword Skills and Wang Shui’s iron projectiles to stun and damage it until it fell.
• Wang Shui harvested Man-Eating Dog Ken’s body and collected its meat, heart, blood, hide, bones, tendons, and a Bone-Shattering Blade Fragment, leaving Kirito alarmed by the grisly work.
• Kirito opened the treasure chest and found the special ring Violent Execution, which granted major Strength and Constitution bonuses and increased damage against enemies below 10% HP.
• Wang Shui gave Kirito the ring, then took Kirito’s Cor, materials, and enhancement supplies while insisting Kirito stay alive and clear the game.
• Wang Shui and Kirito set off north toward [Tolbana], where Wang Shui said they would part ways rather than join the front-line clearing group.

Wang Shui spent eight days mining in Tolbana, unlocked [Mining], and amassed ore and ingots before exploring [Mine Level 2]. He ended the chapter resting after expanding the cramped cavern and discovering new minerals that renewed his curiosity.

• Wang Shui went to Tolbana’s mine, mined on [Mine Level 1], and unlocked [Mine Ore] after his yield suddenly increased.
• Wang Shui spent eight days mining and smelting ore, unlocked [Weight Carrying], and raised his mining proficiency to 402 while nearly exhausting his Cor.
• Wang Shui returned to town and noticed that more players had gathered in Tolbana, but no one had begun a raid on the first-floor boss or taken up [Mining].
• Wang Shui entered [Mine Level 2], found it dark and cramped, and excavated in every direction for seven and a half hours.
• Wang Shui uncovered iron, lead, sulfur, silver, and increased coal deposits, then went to rest at the [Mine Level 1] camp.

After leaving the mine, Wang Shui rescued Shino from orange-cursor players who had killed her teammates, killing three pursuers himself. He confronted Shino about her grief and his influence on her, then promised to help her grow stronger as his new teammate, leaving them together in the valley.

• Wang Shui left the mine after running out of food and water and headed toward Tolbana to rejoin the other players.
• Wang Shui attacked the players chasing Shino, killed three of them, and drove the last two away.
• Wang Shui recognized Shino and learned that her teammates had been killed after resisting the pursuers’ demand that she disable the Ethics Code and submit to them.
• Wang Shui explained how Shino might become dependent on him and told her he wanted her to keep her independence and strength.
• Wang Shui embraced Shino, apologized for bringing her into the death game, and offered to become her teammate and help her grow strong enough to protect them both.

Wang Shui and Shino hid in the wilderness while grinding down their orange status, and he helped her process the trauma of killing by explaining how players grew stronger. He then began training Shino in player-versus-player combat, leaving them ready to continue their duel practice.

• Wang Shui and Shino hunted monsters in the remote grassland and camped between boulders to avoid NPCs and players.
• Wang Shui told Shino that killing the three orange players had been his first experience of killing, and urged her to focus on surviving and recovering.
• Wang Shui explained that levels and equipment provided most of a player's strength, while combat ability separated the strongest players.
• Wang Shui challenged Shino to a controlled duel, and she attacked with a dagger but was outmaneuvered and struck by his sword skills.
• Shino asked Wang Shui to teach her how to beat him, and he switched to a dagger to continue training her.

Wang Shui began developing a training method from Chinese martial arts fundamentals while teaching Shino to fight and practice basic stances. After they returned to Tolbana ahead of the labyrinth boss briefing, Shino confronted her loneliness and fear that she might never see her family again.

• Shino landed her first successful strike on Wang Shui during their sparring, but he stopped her follow-up and later used boxing manuals to explore how martial arts could improve combat in SAO.
• Wang Shui tested stance training by holding a heavy rock in a horse stance until exhaustion, then offered to teach Shino the fundamentals; she agreed without much comment.
• The next morning, Wang Shui taught Shino stretches, stances, and footwork before they resumed grinding monsters, and they trained and leveled for three more days.
• After their cursors turned green again, Wang Shui persuaded Shino to leave their secluded leveling ground, and they traveled to Tolbana and rented a cottage.
• Wang Shui told Shino about a strategy briefing for the labyrinth boss raid scheduled for four the next afternoon, and they settled in for the night.
• Alone in her room, Shino remembered her family and the isolation following her father's death and her killing someone; she fell asleep in tears, afraid she might never see her family again.

Wang Shui sold refined steel, gathered information, and shopped with Shino before attending the first-floor boss strategy meeting. At the meeting, Diabel announced the approach to the boss room, and Agil challenged Kibaou’s accusations against beta testers as the group prepared to unite for the raid.

• Wang Shui sold Argo two stacks of Refined Steel Ingots and paid her for information about front-line players and the strategy guide.
• Wang Shui and Shino shopped in Tolbana, then joined Argo to watch the boss strategy meeting from above the fountain plaza.
• Diabel announced that his party had found the route to the first floor’s twentieth labyrinth level and expected to reach the boss room within days.
• Kibaou accused beta testers of hoarding resources and demanded that they apologize and surrender their money and items.
• Agil defended the beta testers, citing their contribution to the free strategy guide and arguing that veteran players had died by trusting their past experience.
• Diabel urged the players to set aside infighting and work together to clear the game.

Wang Shui and Shino followed the assault team into the first-floor labyrinth, then trained and hunted kobolds while the team searched for the boss room. After learning the raid was planned for the next day, they decided to return to town, observe the team’s preparations, and help if needed.

• Wang Shui and Shino followed the assault team into the labyrinth, where Diabel sent the parties to map the unexplored twentieth section.
• Wang Shui and Shino returned to the nineteenth section and hunted kobolds, with Shino fighting using her dagger while Wang Shui practiced martial arts and tanked monsters.
• Wang Shui and Shino discussed mental energy as a possible combat resource and continued training, refining their footwork and combat techniques.
• The assault team found the boss room and withdrew to rehearse their coordination for the next day’s raid.
• Wang Shui and Shino decided to return to town, learn more about the team’s preparations, and watch the raid the following day.