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 retelling of the Aincrad story arc. The series has been published in English by Yen Press under the Yen On imprint since March 24, 2015. It has also been released in Polish by Kotori since June 28, 2019; and in Spanish by Planeta Cómic since November 17, 2020.