Escape is impossible until the game is completely passed; the game means real death ... Not knowing the whole truth about the mysterious multiplayer game of the new generation «Sword Art Online», ten thousand players logged in at the same time and thus began a deadly battle. Going on SAO, the main character Kirito accepted the rules of the game. In this game world, in a giant soaring fortress called "Einkrad", he became a single player. However, unable to resist the perseverance of the warrior and master of rapier Asuna, he began to work with her in pairs. This meeting and predetermined the fate of Kirito...The version of the text from 24. 01. 12. The latest version can be found at http://ushwood. narod. en/sao/sao. html. Translated from English by Ushwood. Beta Editing Lady Astrel. Russified illustrations Danholm . Any commercial use of this text or its fragments is prohibited.