Argo — Character Information Player ID: Argo (アルゴ) In-Game Role: Unknown / Information Broker Build: AGI-specialized player Weapons: Claws and needles Distinguishing Traits: The trademark whisker-like markings on both cheeks; loaded with money; greedy—okay, not really—and ultimately very kindhearted.
Nicknames: The Rat, Argo the Rat, Rat Sis …
Real Name: Tomo Hosaka Japanese: ほさか・とも Romanization: Tomo Hosaka Gender: Female Age: 14 Birthday: June 5 — Gemini Depending on the translation, her name may appear in several forms, including Argo and Algo.
This story will use Argo, in accordance with the official English terminology.
First Appearance: She first appears on the day after Kirito reaches Horunka Village, where she informs Shindo about the deaths of the former beta testers.
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Public Information — One-Handed Straight Sword Skills In Sword Art Online, every Skill has a proficiency value.
A proficiency of 1000 represents complete mastery, and additional Sword Skills within the same weapon category become available as proficiency increases.
The One-Handed Straight Sword Skill is one of the basic starting weapon Skills.
Its currently known progression branches include: 1.
«Vertical» → «Vertical Arc» (two-hit combo) → «Vertical Square» (four-hit combo; unlocked at 150 proficiency) 2.
«Horizontal» → «Horizontal Arc» (two-hit combo) → «Horizontal Square» (four-hit combo; unlocked at 150 proficiency) 3.
«Slant» → «Sharp Nail» (three-hit combo; original unlock requirement unknown) …
Aincrad First Floor — Town Locations and General Terrain A rough overview of the First Floor’s enormous circular map: Far North — The Labyrinth The First Floor Labyrinth occupies the northernmost edge of the floor.
North — Tolbana Tolbana lies within a valley, with mountain ranges extending across the areas south and southeast of the town.
Northeast — Farm A farm lies along the edge of the grasslands east of Tolbana.
This is the location where Kirito completes the quests «The Lost Calf» and «The Counterattacking Cow», obtaining the item Cream.
Southwest of the Northwest Region — Razer Village West — Horunka Village The dark forest extends west and southwest of Horunka, while vast grasslands stretch across the areas east and southeast of the village.
East — Medai Village Also rendered as Medai.
Numerous lakes, marshes, and wetlands surround the village, while its northern region connects to mountainous terrain.
Far South — Town of Beginnings The Town of Beginnings occupies the southernmost portion of the First Floor and is surrounded by vast grasslands.
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Asuna and Mito’s Original Route — Aria of a Starless Night Town of Beginnings → Mountain passage south of Tolbana → Witness players die after entering a trap → Retreat → Head west toward Horunka Village → Little Nepent territory → Asuna accidentally destroys a Fruit-Bearing Little Nepent and encounters a field boss → Mito leaves the party Their respective routes afterward: Asuna Asuna heads toward the Labyrinth and begins leveling with little regard for her own safety → pushes herself beyond her mental limits and collapses → is discovered and rescued by Kirito → attends the strategy meeting → participates in the First Floor Boss raid.
Mito Mito heads toward Razer Village → rescues Yuna and Nautilus when they are attacked by a field boss → travels to Tolbana → attends the strategy meeting → participates in the First Floor Boss raid.
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Coper’s Death Both Coper and Kirito were former beta testers.
On the Day of Beginnings, they separately accepted «Secret Medicine of the Forest» and traveled to the western forest outside Horunka Village in search of the quest’s rare drop, a Little Nepent’s Ovule.
The two met during the quest and formed a party to farm the required item.
When Kirito obtained an ovule first, Coper decided to take it from him.
Coper deliberately attacked a Fruit-Bearing Little Nepent, causing it to release the signal that summoned large numbers of nearby Little Nepents.
He then used the «Hiding» Skill, intending to disappear and leave Kirito trapped against the entire swarm.
However, «Hiding» was ineffective against Little Nepents because of their highly developed sense of smell.
Coper was discovered and surrounded.
He was ultimately killed by the monsters, while Kirito narrowly survived and successfully completed «Secret Medicine of the Forest».
Note: The monsters referred to throughout this story as Little Nepents are carnivorous plant-type MOBs resembling pitcher plants or flytraps.
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Aiko and Yuuki — Background Information Aiko Konno Birthdate: May 23, 2011 Relationship: Yuuki’s older twin sister Aiko contracted HIV through contaminated blood transfusions.
She later became the first leader of the Sleeping Knights guild.
According to this story’s background setting, Aiko dies in 2025 from complications associated with AIDS.
Yuuki Konno Birthdate: May 23, 2011 Relationship: Aiko’s younger twin sister Like Aiko, Yuuki contracted HIV through contaminated blood transfusions.
In March 2023, she begins receiving treatment through the experimental medical FullDive system known as the Medicuboid, developed using research provided by Rinko Koujiro, Akihiko Kayaba’s lover and research partner.
On March 29, 2026, Yuuki dies at Yokohama North General Hospital from complications associated with AIDS.
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Monument of Swordsmen The Monument of Swordsmen is a monument that existed during the Sword Art Online Closed Beta Test but was removed from the official launch version of SAO.
A similar monument later appears in New ALfheim Online, where player IDs can be engraved after defeating a Floor Boss.
When a Boss is defeated by a single party, the participating players’ IDs may be recorded.
When the Boss is defeated by a larger raid, the party leaders’ IDs are engraved instead.
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Diavel, Kibaou, and Kirito — Motives and Conflict Diavel was himself a former beta tester.
His goal was to claim the Last Attack Bonus from the First Floor Boss and obtain its unique equipment drop.
Knowing that Kirito had already earned a reputation during the beta for repeatedly securing Last Attack Bonuses, Diavel viewed him as his most dangerous competitor.
His plan developed as follows: Diavel wants the First Floor Boss’s LA and its unique drop → has Kibaou approach Argo and offer to purchase Kirito’s Anneal Blade → Kirito refuses → Diavel instructs Kibaou to continue raising the offer, eventually approaching 40,000 col → Kirito refuses again → Diavel and Kibaou use the strategy meeting to turn hostility toward former beta testers → their real objective is to isolate and marginalize Kirito, preventing him from effectively competing with Diavel for the LA → the plan succeeds, but in the original timeline Diavel is killed by Illfang’s unexpected fourth-phase attack.
Diavel does not personally hate Kirito.
As a beta tester himself, he simply wants to become stronger, and Kirito’s reputation as an exceptionally successful Last Attack hunter makes him an obvious rival.
Securing an LA gives a player a significantly higher chance of receiving the unique equipment dropped by a Floor Boss, potentially creating a substantial advantage over the rest of the front-line group.
The Anneal Blade may also be translated as a tempered or hardened sword, but this story will use the official name Anneal Blade.
Kirito’s weapon at this point is an Anneal Blade +6 (3A3D), successfully enhanced six times.
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Revised EXTRA SKILL Progression — Kirito and ShindoKirito «Meditation» — Basic ↓ «Awakening» — Advanced form of «Meditation» ↓ «Dual Blades» ↓ «Double Circular» — Advanced, charging attack ↓ «Cross Block» — Advanced, defensive technique ↓ «Starburst Stream» — Advanced, sixteen-hit combination ↓ «The Eclipse» — Highest-level technique, twenty-seven-hit combination Henshi Shindo «Meditation» — Basic ↓ «Awakening» — Advanced form of «Meditation» ↓ «Stance Blade» — Shindo-exclusive Unique Skill ↓ «Entering Blade» — Advanced, single thrust with knockdown ↓ «Humble King» — Advanced, single rising slash ↓ «Ranra» — Advanced, eight-hit combination ↓ «Thousand Cuts» — Highest-level technique, sixteen-hit combination …
Asuna’s Home in the Real World Asuna Yuuki’s family home is located in Miyanosaka, Setagaya, Tokyo.