In 2026, four years after the Sword Art Online event, a new technology emerged called Augma. It uses an Augmented Reality system and allows players to use it while being conscious. This device became very popular on the market due to its safety compared to Virtual Reality systems like NerveGear and Amusphere. The most popular application for Augma is Ordinal Scale, a fantasy role-playing game with player rankings and rewards. Kirito's friends join this game despite his initial reservations about the system. As they play, they discover that the game has more depth than expected.