Aincrad
Aincrad (アインクラッド, Ainkuraddo?) is the first «Realized World» shown in the Sword Art Online series and the stage for the first VRMMORPG, «Sword Art Online», created by Kayaba Akihiko. It later became one of the nine realms of New ALfheim Online and the stage for the game's second Grand Quest.
Background
Aincrad is the world set as the stage for «Sword Art Online», declared to be the world's first VRMMORPG in history. It was incorporated in «ALfheim Online» in May 2025.
The base currency of Aincrad is the Cor.
Etymology and Meaning
The castle's name came from the concept of a «Realized World», called An Incarnating Radius (アン・インカーネイティング・ラディウス, An Inkāneitingu Radiusu?), which has been abbreviated as Aincrad.[1] It is also inferable that its design is symbolic for time and space. The vertical axis represents time and the circular floors represent space.[2]
Setting
According to the dark elven legends, in the long-distant past, the world was split into the forest elven kingdom Kales'Oh (カレス・オー王国, Karesu Ō Ōkoku?), the dark elven kingdom Lyusula (リュースラ王国, Ryūsura Ōkoku?), the human Alliance of the Nine (九連合王国, Kyū Rengo Ōkoku?) kingdoms, the underground realm of the dwarves, and various other groupings. While there were skirmishes at times, the land was at peace.[3]
But one day, a hundred varied regions from around the world were cut into circles from the earth and summoned up to the sky. The circles were under three kilometres across at the smallest and over ten kilometres at the largest. They were stacked in a conical formation to form a gigantic floating fortress a hundred floors tall.[3]
The castle held its countless towns and villages, mountains, forests and lakes, and never again returned to earth. The magic powers that caused the old civilization to flourish were lost, and with them, the nine kingdoms of man. Most towns reverted to maintaining themselves, and the floors lost contact with one another. A great length of time passed. Legends and tales of the Great Separation (大地切断, Dai Chi Setsudan?) still existed among the two elf races, the only people to keep their kingdoms intact from that fateful time.[3]
Geography
Aincrad is an iron-and-stone made floating castle that has about ten kilometers floor base diameter and consists of a hundred floors stacking straight upwards, meaning that each floor's diameter is a bit smaller than the previous one. On each floor, there are a couple of large cities along with countless small scale towns and villages, forests, plains, and even lakes. Only one stairway links each floor to another, and the stairways exist beyond the boss room of each Labyrinth. The «Teleport Gates»[4] of every unlocked cities are connected to one another.
It is possible to climb the outer circumference of Aincrad, but trying to climb beyond a floor that has not been unlocked will result in being blocked by a barrier and a visual error.[5]
Monsters
A variety of unique monsters that can be found on every floor and in every dungeon in Aincrad. They are the main source of income for most players, as they drop Cor and other items to the victorious players. Like NPCs, monsters, except for most if not all Bosses, re-spawn after a certain amount of time has passed since they were killed.
- «The Fatal Scythe»
- 1st Floor (Bonus) Boss
- Monster of the Black Iron Palace Hidden Bonus Dungeon[5]
- «Illfang the Kobold Lord»
- 1st Floor
- «Nato the Colonel Taurus»
- 2nd Floor Mid-boss
- «Baran the General Taurus»
- 2nd Floor Closed Beta Floor Boss
- Mid-boss in the death game
- «Asterius the Taurus King»
- 2nd Floor Boss in the death game
- «Bullbous Bow»
- 2nd Floor (Field)
- A Field Boss of the 2nd Floor.
- «Nephila Regina»
- 3rd Floor (Quest, Dungeon)
- One of the Flag Mobs for the 3rd Floor portion of the first campaign quest in SAO, as well as the dungeon boss of the Queen Spiders Nest.
- «Fallen Elven Commander»
- 3rd Floor (Quest, Dungeon)
- One of the Flag Mobs for the 3rd Floor portion of the first campaign quest in SAO.
- «Nerius the Evil Treant»
- 3rd Floor
- «Biceps Archelon»
- 4th Floor Field Boss
- «Wythege the Hippocampus»
- 4th Floor Floor Boss
- «The Witch of the West»
- 22nd Floor (Quest)
- Can only be defeated with the help of the roar of a lion.
- Two-Headed Giant
- 25th Floor
- 25th Floor
- Metallic Elemental
- 27th Floor
- «Nicholas The Renegade»
- 35th Floor (Event)
- A Christmas event Flag Mob in the Forest of Wandering
- Six-Armed Metallic Buddha Statue
- 50th Floor
- «X'rphan the White Wyrm»
- 55th Floor (Quest)
- «Geocrawler»
- 56th Floor (Field)
- A Field Boss of the 56th Floor.
- Armored Stone Warrior
- 60th Floor[12]
- «The Gleam Eyes»
- 74th Floor[13]
Known Bosses
- «The Skull Reaper»
- 75th Floor[14]
- Heathcliff
- 100th Floor (supposedly)
- Ant queen
- 46th Floor [15]
- 46th Floor [15]
- «Bull Slug»
- 61st Floor [16]
- 61st Floor [16]
- «Dark Dwarf Miner»
- 27th Floor - Labyrinth [17]
- 27th Floor - Labyrinth [17]
- «Blood Wolf Leader»
- 28th Floor [18]
- 28th Floor [18]
- «Coppice Spider»
- 3rd Floor [6]
- 3rd Floor [6]
- «Dark Elven Gatekeeper»
- 4th Floor [9]
- 4th Floor [9]
- «Dark Elven Wolf Handler»
- 3rd Floor [19]
- 3rd Floor [19]
- «Dark Elven Royal Guard»
- 7th Floor [20]
- 7th Floor [20]
- «Demonic Servant»
- 74th Floor - Labyrinth [13]
- 74th Floor - Labyrinth [13]
- «Dire Wolf»
- 1st Floor [21]
- 1st Floor [21]
- «Drunk Apes»
- 35th Floor [22]
- 35th Floor [22]
- «Dusk Lizard»
- «Elder Treant»
- 3rd Floor [20]
- 3rd Floor [20]
- Elder Sapling
- 3rd Floor
- «Fallen Elven Foreman»
- 4th Floor [25]
- 4th Floor [25]
- «Fallen Elven Guard»
- 4th Floor [25]
- 4th Floor [25]
- «Fallen Elf Warrior»
- «Feathered Little Dragon»
- «Forest Elven Falconer»
- 3rd Floor [19]
- 3rd Floor [19]
- «Forest Elven Hallowed Knight»
- 7th Floor [20]
- 7th Floor [20]
- «Forest Elven Heavy Warrior»
- 4th Floor [9]
- 4th Floor [9]
- «Forest Elven Inferior Knight»
- 4th Floor [9]
- 4th Floor [9]
- «Forest Elven Light Warrior»
- 4th Floor [9]
- «Forest Elven Rower»
- 4th Floor [9]
- 4th Floor [9]
- «Forest Elven Spearman»
- 4th Floor [9]
- 4th Floor [9]
- «Forest Elven Swordsman»
- 4th Floor [9]
- 4th Floor [9]
- «Frenzy Boar»
- 1st Floor [27]
- 1st Floor [27]
- «Frost Bone»
- 55th Floor [11]
- 55th Floor [11]
- «Gaudy Nepenthes»
- 4th Floor [28]
- 4th Floor [28]
- Gargoyle
- 27th Floor
- 27th Floor
- «Garish Gerbera»
- 47th Floor [30]
- 47th Floor [30]
- Giant Venus Fly Trap
- 47th Floor [31]
- 47th Floor [31]
- «Granite Elementals»
- 27th Floor - Labyrinth [17]
- 27th Floor - Labyrinth [17]
- «Jagged Worm»
- 2nd Floor [32]
- 2nd Floor [32]
- «Killer Mantis»
- 20th Floor [18]
- 20th Floor [18]
- Land Anemone
- 47th Floor [30]
- 47th Floor [30]
- «Large Nepenthes»
- 1st Floor [33]
- 1st Floor [33]
- «Lesser Taurus Striker»
- 2nd Floor [34]
- 2nd Floor [34]
- «Little Nepenthes»
- 1st Floor [33]
- 1st Floor [33]
- «Lizardman Lord»
- 74th Floor - Labyrinth [35]
- 74th Floor - Labyrinth [35]
- «Magnatherium»
- 4th Floor [36]
- 4th Floor [36]
- «Maroon Wolf»
- 22nd Floor [37]
- 22nd Floor [37]
- «Ragout Rabbit»
- 74th Floor [23]
- 74th Floor [23]
- «Red Spotted Beetle»
- 2nd Floor [38]
- 2nd Floor [38]
- «Roaring Wolf»
- 3rd Floor [39]
- 3rd Floor [39]
- «Ruin Kobold Sentinel»
- 1st Floor [40]
- 1st Floor [40]
- «Ruin Kobold Trooper»
- 1st Floor - Labyrinth [41]
- 1st Floor - Labyrinth [41]
- «Scavenger Toads»
- 1st Floor [12]
- 1st Floor [12]
- «Scuttle Crab»
- 4th Floor [42]
- 4th Floor [42]
- «Storm Hornet»
- 2nd Floor [32]
- 2nd Floor [32]
- Swamp Kobold Trapper
- 1st Floor [24]
- 1st Floor [24]
- «Taurus Ironguard»
- 2nd Floor - Labyrinth [43]
- 2nd Floor - Labyrinth [43]
- «Taurus Ringhurler»
- 2nd Floor - Labyrinth [43]
- 2nd Floor - Labyrinth [43]
- «The King of Lakes»
- 22nd Floor - event monster [44]
- 22nd Floor - event monster [44]
- «Thicket Spider»
- 3rd Floor [6]
- 3rd Floor [6]
- «Treant Sapling»
- 3rd Floor [20]
- 3rd Floor [20]
- «Trembling Cow»
- 2nd Floor [45]
- 2nd Floor [45]
- «Trembling Ox»
- 2nd Floor [46]
- 2nd Floor [46]
- Werelions
- 40th Floor [47]
Known Monsters
- Werepanthers
- 22nd Floor - quest area [47]
- «Wind Wasp»
- 2nd Floor [32]