How story tracking works
Episodes 1 through 3 are the current story. The mission list marks Episode 4 as coming soon. The set is described as about 45 minutes of scenes, quick-time prompts, and fights. A blue marker sits on the compass and the map. Kirito is marked with green overhead text. Recommended levels on early Floor 1 objectives run up to level 17.
Story fights use the same death rule as the field: the current level bar is wiped, the level number stays. Parries use F and, after the combat change described with the story, a 1.5 second cooldown. Lock on with Z. Quick-time prompts want the shown key or click; a clean chain is described as a high teamwork rank and it avoids a counterattack.
Episode 1
- Talk to Kirito in the Town of Beginnings. A scene sends you to the Plains of Beginnings.
- Parry and sidestep wolves with him, then defeat them.
- Watch the Kayaba broadcast about the logout button and the death stakes.
- Follow the north road toward Tolbana.
- Help Agil, also spelled Eggiel in the same scene, defend a trade cart from boars. Finish the switch prompt. He gives beginner healing potions.
- Enter Tolbana. The recorded payout for this leg is 550 EXP and 450 Col.
Episode 2, The Violet Mark
The chapter opens one month later, after the text says 2,000 players have fallen and the Floor 1 boss room is still unknown.
| Step | Level band cited | Where | What you do | Recorded reward |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meet Kirito in Tolbana | 5–7 to start the rescue | Tolbana | A party leader, Caeda (also spelled Caede or Katie), is missing in the west fields | Story EXP, amount not fixed |
| Rescue Caeda | 5–7 | East of Medai, rock formations | Defeat boars, find her in the rocks, take the glitched fragment from a violet boar | Not separately listed |
| Argo | 6–8 | Tolbana, then North Plains scars | Buy the rumor, kill level 6 wolves, kill a level 8 violet wolf with Kirito. A hooded fencer appears at the second scar | 600 EXP and 600 Col from Argo |
| Caeda's wolf hunt | 9–10, and level 10 to accept the next mission | Tolbana outskirts | Help Tomo kill six wolves and a level 8 corrupted wolf, then the team prompt | Unlocks the finale steps |
| Antidote | 10–11 | Eight level 14 Wind Wasps, then the lake nest by Rorunka (Horanka) | Kill level 11 wasps and the violet wasp with break-and-click prompts | 1,500 EXP and 1,000 Col from Caeda |
Episode 3
Episode 3 is the Floor 1 Labyrinth and it asks for character level 14. Clearing the story requirement is what opens that dungeon path. A separate note says the Floor 1 boss raid itself asks for level 15. Bring Tolbana gear before the wasps in Episode 2: Iron Longsword needs level 5 and 5 Strength, and the Bronze Shield needs level 13.
If a blue marker points through a high-level field, go around. Level 14 Wind Wasps are a story target, not a roadside pull, while you are still in starter armor.