Railgun Online, Book 5. Alicization Running

Synopsis and Prologue

Synopsis of Railgun Online:

In the year of 2022, Virtual Reality video games have progressed to a state that is nearly indistinguishable from reality.  Eager to try out the first Virtual Reality Mass Multiplayer Online game, Level 5 esper Mikoto Misaka, also known as the Railgun due to her amazing powers over electricity, buys one of the first 10,000 copies of Sword Art Online and logs on under the username: Railgun. However, this proves to be a deadly mistake. She, along with the other 9999 players who are 'lucky' enough to get the copies,  are instantly trapped in the game by the creator of the VR headset known as the Nerve Gear. Those who have their health reach zero in the game are instantly killed by the Nerve Gear, and the only way to escape the game is to reach the 100th floor of Aincrad, the massive floating castle in which SAO is played.  However.. Mikoto has it worse then the other gamers.. as Kayaba deletes Mikoto's memories of the real world in hopes that she will not use her power to free herself or the other players.

1 month pasts and the current strongest surviving players gather together to fight the First Floor Boss, Illfang the Kobald Lord. In the process, the leader of the strike team is killed, and Mikoto rallies the other players to fight, inspiring another player.. a Beta Tester named Kirito and his party member Asuna. They manage to defeat Illfang.. however, in the process, Mikoto's powers react.. and cause the game to glitch, making her freeze up. After that, she and Kirito are both alienated.. earning her the title Glitch Blade, while Kirito is referred to as a Beater.. one who is accused of cheating and being a Beta Tester who didn't help out new players.

A month later.. Mikoto also meets a young girl named Kurami, which she takes a liking to and takes care of.. however, Kurami dies protecting Mikoto from a rogue member of the guild Aincrad Liberation Front, also known as the Army. From that day forth, Mikoto is ridden with guilt, and also despises and distrusts guilds.. triggering her to become a Solo Player by choice.

1 year passes, and Mikoto forgets about Kirito, only to be saved by him as she is on her way back to town from a solo clearing session. By now, both have also earned different titles among the more respectable and less harsh players of Aincrad, Mikoto being called the Blurred Blade for her incredible speed, while Kirito is known as the Black Swordsman, a powerful lone player who is also know for his tendency to wear black. Mikoto, being naturally distrusting of everyone in now thanks to a combination of her amnesia and others treating her like dirt, thinks Kirito is trying to use her. Kirito, seeing the pain that Mikoto is keeping buried, comes up with a bold quest to find materials for a new sword that  is usually only found as a drop by mob bosses. During the quest, Mikoto constantly questions Kirito, nearly killing herself in a battle against a powerful dragon class monster.. but after seeing Kirito's honest caring nature, she begins to regard him with deep respect.. even revealing her real name to him. Later on, they date, only to break up.. however they both have such a deep friendship with each other by this time, that the breakup doesn't matter, and they become a brother and sister form of friends.

During this time, Kirito and Mikoto become regarded as the best Solo Player tag team in Aincrad. And it is also during this time, Mikoto meets Asuna once more.. and due to Mikoto's brash and bold tendency to jump into different situations alone, and Asuna's repeated fervent attempts to force Mikoto to join her guild, the Knights of the Blood Oath, they become bitter towards each other. This enmity reaches it's breaking point when Mikoto disrespects Asuna's authority once more, and she beats Mikoto in a public duel to make a point. However, as Mikoto  has lunch with Kirito, she admits her guilt over the matter, and Asuna comes and reveals that she feels guilt as well. After a run in with Red-Eyed XaXa, a member of the Murder Guild: Laughing Coffin, and Mikoto single handedly defeats the 66th floor boss Ancient Automaton Koloktos, the twosome become close friends, and Asuna becomes rather protective and motherly over Mikoto due to her discovery of Mikoto's amnesia.