"There's no way to beat this game. The only difference is when and where you die..."**

"There's no way to beat this game. The only difference is when and where you die..."**

Having cleared the first and second floors of Aincrad at great cost, Kirito, Asuna, and the rest of the players ascend to the third floor. Tenuous new allies await them--most crucially, Kizmel, the elven knight. Kizmel is supposed to be a minor NPC with low-level AI, but she soon reveals herself to be much more.

With new allies come new complications, though, and the elves of the vast third-floor forest are no more united than the players who have just arrived there.

The intrigue deepens when a mysterious figure challenges Kirito, and what begins as a simple contest of skill may actually be something far deadlier!