Sword Art Online

Volume 1 Cover

Sword Art Online (ソードアート・オンライン, Sōdoāto Onrain) is a light novel series written by Reki Kawahara and illustrated by abec.
The series has currently 10 volumes.

It was written as a Web novel with the penname "Kunori Fumio" since 2002, and was published in 2009 at the same time as Accel World, in the label Dengeki Bunko.

The Sword Art Online series is also available in the following languages:

• Deutsch (German)
• Polski (Polish)
• Русский (Russian)
• Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
• Italiano (Italian)
• Português Brasileiro (Brazilian Portuguese)
• Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
• Español (Spanish)
• Français (French)

Story Synopsis

Escape was impossible until it was cleared; a game over would mean an actual «death»―.
Without knowing the «truth» of the mysterious next generation MMO, «Sword Art Online» (SAO), approximately ten thousand users logged in together, opening the curtains to this cruel death battle.
Participating alone in SAO, protagonist Kirito had promptly accepted the «truth» of this MMO.
And in the game world, a gigantic floating castle named «Aincrad», he distinguished himself as a solo player.
Aiming to clear the game by reaching the highest floor, Kirito riskily continued alone.
Because of a pushy invitation from a female warrior and rapier expert, Asuna, he teamed up with her.
That encounter brought about an opportunity to call out to the fated Kirito―.

The legendary novel made an appearance with browsing numbers exceeding 6.5 million page views recorded at the personal website.

Timeline

Warning : This page is full of spoilers related to the story. You have been warned of its content.

Translation

Registration

Those who wish to contribute are asked to first notify a supervisor beforehand.

Translators are asked to register which chapters they're working on

Format Standards

Every Chapter (after editing) must conform to the general format guidelines.

• General Format/Style Guideline
• Project specific Guidelines: Names and Terminology (might contain spoilers)

Updates

• July 23, 2012 - Chapter 16.5 deleted from the wiki for now. See the discussion on the forum.
• July 23, 2012 - Side story 'Caliber SS' completed
• June 13, 2012 - Sound of Water, Sound of Hammer completed
• June 8, 2012 - Volume 9 - Completed
• June 7, 2012 - ME7: Continuation: Aria in the Starless Night completed
• May 31, 2012 - Volume 8 - Chapter 1 completed
• May 22, 2012 - Volume 9 - Interlude I completed

Older updates can be found on the Sword Art Online Updates page.

The Sword Art Online series by Reki Kawahara

You can find the PDF, EPUB and MOBI version of the Volumes in the forums here. If you are interested in sharing your version in any format please post in that topic or contact Carj.

Volume 1 - Aincrad (Full Text)

• Novel Illustrations
• Prologue
• Chapter 1
• Chapter 2
• Chapter 3
• Chapter 4
• Chapter 5

• Chapter 6
• Chapter 7
• Chapter 8
• Chapter 9
• Chapter 10
• Chapter 11
• Chapter 12

• Chapter 13
• Chapter 14
• Chapter 15
• Chapter 16
• Chapter 17
• Chapter 18
• Chapter 19

• Chapter 20
• Chapter 21
• Chapter 22
• Chapter 23
• Chapter 24
• Chapter 25
• Author's Notes

Volume 2 - Aincrad (SAO Side Stories) (Full Text)

• Novel Illustrations
• Prologue
• The Black Swordsman (Aincrad 35th Floor, February 2024)
• Warmth of the Heart (Aincrad 48th Floor, June 2024)
• Morning Dew Girl (Aincrad 22nd Floor, October 2024)
• Red-nosed Reindeer (Aincrad 46th Floor, December 2023)
• Author's Notes

Volume 3 - Fairy Dance (Full Text)

• Novel Illustrations
• Prologue
• Chapter 1
• Chapter 2
• Chapter 3
• Chapter 4
• Author's Notes

Volume 4 - Fairy Dance (Full Text)

• Novel Illustrations
• Prologue
• Chapter 5
• Chapter 6
• Chapter 7
• Chapter 8
• Chapter 9
• Author's Notes

Volume 5 - Phantom Bullet (Full Text)

• Novel Illustrations
• Prologue
• Chapter 1
• Chapter 2
• Chapter 3
• Chapter 4
• Chapter 5
• Chapter 6
• Chapter 7
• Author's Notes

Volume 6 - Phantom Bullet (Full Text)

• Novel Illustrations
• Chapter 7
• Chapter 8
• Chapter 9
• Chapter 10
• Chapter 11
• Chapter 12
• Chapter 13
• Chapter 14
• Chapter 15
• Chapter 16
• Author's Notes

Volume 7 - Mother's Rosario (Full Text)

• Novel Illustrations
• Prologue
• Chapter 1
• Chapter 2
• Chapter 3
• Chapter 4
• Chapter 5
• Chapter 6
• Chapter 7
• Chapter 8
• Chapter 9
• Chapter 10
• Chapter 11
• Chapter 12
• Author's Notes

Volume 8 - Early and Late (Full Text)

• Novel Illustrations
• A Murder Case in the Area (Aincrad 57th floor, April 2024) (SAO Side Story)
• Caliber (Alfheim, December 2025) (ALO Side Story)
• First Day (Aincrad 1st floor, November 2022) (SAO Side Story)
• Author's Notes

Volume 9 - Alicization Beginning (Full Text)

• Novel Illustrations
• Prologue I (7th Month of Human World Calendar 372)
• Prologue II (June 2026)
• Interlude I
• Chapter 1 - Underworld (3rd Month of Human World Calendar 378)
• Author's Notes

Volume 10 - Alicization Running

• Novel Illustrations
• Chapter 2 - Project Alicization (July 2026)
• Chapter 3 - Zakkaria Sword Arts Tournament (8th Month of Human World Calendar 378)
• Chapter 4 - Master Sword Academy (3rd Month of Human World Calendar 380)
• Interlude II
• Author's Notes

Side Stories

Note: Please be advised that these stories might or might not be canon and might also have details that are slightly different than the volumes above.

• Aria in the Starless Night (Aincrad 1st Floor, December 2022)
• Rondo of the Transient Sword (Aincrad 2nd Floor, 8 December 2022) (~10%)
• Sound of Water, Sound of Hammer (SAO Lisbeth Side Story) (Aincrad 48th Floor August 2024)
• Caliber SS (Failure Side)
• Versus (Roppongi, April 2026) (Accel World crossover)
• Cradle of the Moon (0%)
• There is but one ultimate way (Underworld, August 2026) (Warning: Alicization spoilers)

Sword Art Online: Material Editions

The Material Edition (ME) series is a series of doujinshis created by Kawahara Reki himself using the pen name "Kunori Fumio" (the same pen name he used when he wrote the web novel of SAO).

• ME1: The Progressers
• ME2: Early Characters
• ME3: Ceramic Heart
• ME4: Cold hand, Warm heart (Aincrad 50th Floor, September 2024)
• ME5: Salvia (Kawagoe, January 2025)
• ME6: Algade Showdown (Aincrad 22nd Floor, October 2024)
• ME7: Continuation: Aria in the Starless Night (Aincrad 2nd Floor, 4 December 2022)
• ME8: Rondo of the Transient Sword - first chapter (Aincrad 2nd Floor, 8 December 2022)
• ME9: Monochrome Concerto - first chapter (Aincrad 3rd Floor, 14 December 2022)

Project Staff

• Project Administrator: Vaelis
• Project Supervisor: Sharramon

Translators

ACTIVE

• Tap
• Pryun
• Teh Ping

RETIRED

• Sharramon

M.I.A.

• BakaSama
• Thinklife
• Aiko
• Thunder
• Black Cats of the Full Moon

Editors

• Aorii
• Black Cats of the Full Moon
• Saorian
• Thinklife
• DrFaust
• Chancs
• Zero2001
• Amario
• Jasou
• FreedomAngel
• Spartan 3355

Series Overview

Sword Art Online series

• Volume 1 - Aincrad (April 2009) - ISBN 978-4-04-867760-8
• Volume 2 - Aincrad (August 2009) - ISBN 978-4-04-867935-0
• Volume 3 - Fairy Dance (December 2009) - ISBN 978-4-04-868193-3
• Volume 4 - Fairy Dance (April 2010) - ISBN 978-4-04-868452-1
• Volume 5 - Phantom Bullet (August 2010) - ISBN 978-4-04-868763-8
• Volume 6 - Phantom Bullet (December 2010) - ISBN 978-4-04-870132-7
• Volume 7 - Mother's Rosario (April 2011) - ISBN 978-4-04-870431-1
• Volume 8 - Early and Late (August 2011) - ISBN 978-4-04-870733-6
• Volume 9 - Alicization Beginning (February 2012) - ISBN 978-4-04-886271-4
• Volume 10 - Alicization Running (July 2012) - ISBN 978-4-04-886697-2

Sword Art Online: Progressive series

• Volume 1 (October 2012)

More Information

Wikis

• Sword Art Online English Wiki

Wikipedia Articles

• English Sword Art Online Wikipedia Article
• Japanese Sword Art Online Wikipedia Article
• Chinese Sword Art Online Wikipedia Article