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In the year 2022, the gaming industry has reached a new height after the development of the NerveGear, a helmet-like controller that allows the user to fully dive their senses into the world of virtual reality. After a closed beta with only 1,000 testers, the Virtual Reality MMORPG Sword Art Online is launched.

By its eleventh expansion pack, the massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) Elder Tale has become a global success, having a following of millions of players. However, during the release of its twelfth expansion pack: Novasphere Pioneers, thirty thousand Japanese gamers who are all logged on at the time of the update, suddenly find themselves transported inside the game world and donning their in-game avatars.

Veteran gamer Shiroe and other players have been trapped in the world of the online game Elder Tales for six months. The once chaotic city of Akiba has regained its everyday hustle and bustle following the formation of the self-governing organization Round Table Meeting.