Kibaou/Synopsis

#### Pre-Episode 2

On November 6, 2022, Kibaou got his hands on a NerveGear and a copy of Sword Art Online, a VRMMO set in a multifloored castle in the sky called Aincrad. He logged into SAO and was trapped in the game along with 10,000 other players. Not much is known about what he did during the following month, but he had at least one encounter with a player named Diabel, which ended with Diabel being more than annoyed by Kibaou.

#### Episode 2

On December 2, 2022, Kibaou was in the town of Tolbana on Floor 1 and attended a strategy meeting, led by Diabel. However, as soon as Diabel mentions that they've been formulating strategies thanks to info from the beta testers, Kibaou becomes enraged and steps out of the crowd, much to Diabel's dismay. Kibaou proclaims that the beta testers are responsible for the death game's existence, but when Diabel asks for evidence, Kibaou claims he does need any. When the players don't believe Kibaou's claims, he switches tactics and starts chastising the beta testers for the not helping the beginners out when the death game started.

Kibaou's comments causes another player to emerge from the crowd. Kibaou asks who the player is, to which the player says he's known by many names: "Mountain Slayer", "Thunder Lion", "the Chocolate Axe", but in SAO, his name is currently Tiffany. With Kibaou both intimidated and confused by his surprisingly feminine name, Tiffany points out to the other players that the beta testers have been helping them all along, as every player was given a guidebook with tips and strategies on how to survive the game when they logged in, which was written by the beta testers. However, Tiffany is shocked to learn that none of the players have read the book, mostly out of laziness. Having learned this, Tiffany gives up on trying to help the other players.

With Kibaou silenced, and Tiffany defeated, Diabel brings out the guidebook Tiffany mentioned, stating that, not only does the book contain tips on how to survive the game, but it also has advice on how to defeat the first Floor Boss, Illfang the Kobold Lord. Diabel then reads the passage on the Boss, which says that Illfang will switch his weapon from an axe and buckler to a talwar once his health bar turns red. However, Diabel stops reading when he realizes that the guide is full of non-helpful info, which involves sacrificing annoying players, with one category fitting Kibaou, and culminates in a joke about the Final Solution. With the guide no longer of any use, Diabel decides to form his own battle strategy for the assault team, but when he fails to do so, he asks the players for suggestions. Two players then suggest that they "group up and hit it 'til it dies", which Diabel reluctantly accepts, due to not having any better ideas. After everyone groups up, Diabel tells the assault team to get plenty of rest, as they will be leaving at noon. However, after hearing complaints from most of the players, he begrudgingly delays it to 2:30pm.

The next day, after walking up the stairs to the Boss Room for five hours, most of the assault team are exhausted from the trip, as SAO bases a player's stamina on their real-life athletic abilities. Annoyed, Diabel jokingly tells the assault team to take an extra hour to regain their stamina, only to become even more annoyed when they actually take an hour.

Once they finally enter the Boss Room, the assault team is greeted by Illfang and three Sentinels. As Diabel tries to lead the charge, most of the assault team ignores the plan and starts aimlessly attacking Illfang, with one player yelling, "EVERY MAN FOR HIMSELF!!!" Diabel tries to regain control of the situation by barking orders to each Squad, but none of them listen to a single order, with one Squad stopping in the middle the fight to play Bejeweled.

Eventually, all the Sentinels are defeated and Illfang's health goes into the red. As Illfang goes to switch weapons, Diabel decides to land the finishing blow himself, believing the other players are not skilled enough to do it. However, Illfang pulls out a nodachi instead of a talwar, and strikes Diabel down with a combo, who was unprepared for the nodachi's longer reach and harsher damage. This distracts Kibaou, allowing Illfang to sneak up on his Squad and roar at them, earning them the rare item "Soiled Pants". Kibaou and the other players continued to fight the Boss, but he eventually stopped when he witnessed Diabel die from his wounds, which shocked Kibaou.

Luckily, two players named Kirito and Asuna team up and defeat Illfang, with Kirito dealing the final blow. As he catches his breath, Tiffany walks up to Kirito and declares that he and the other players will follow Kirito to hell itself, telling him to "address [his] people". However, despite the players cheering him on, Kirito decides to leave his position as leader of the assault team. Kirito then arrogantly proclaims that he could've defeated Illfang himself, calling the other players incompetent teammates whose only value was absorbing damage from the Boss, despite Tiffany pleading him to stop. Kibaou tries to cut Kirito down a peg by claiming he's not better than the rest of them, but Kirito disproves him donning on his newly acquired Coat of Midnight, signifying his status as a solo player, before leaving the Boss Room.

#### Post-Episode 2

After the first Floor was cleared, Kibaou joined a Guild called the Aincrad Liberation Front where no one took Kibaou seriously due to his foul attitude. At some point, he discovered a Secret Dungeon on Floor 1 under the ALF's base, the Black Iron Palace, which was guarded by a Grim Reaper-like Boss called the Fatal Scythe.

At some point, the ALF was thrown into infighting after a series of devastating losses. Seeing this as an opportunity, Kibaou took advantage of the situation and began amassing an army of followers within the Guild. Because no one took Kibaou seriously prior to this, his rise to power caught everyone off guard. While most weren't strong enough to face Kibaou, a player named Thinker bravely stood up to his tyranny and pleaded for an end to the fighting. Due to his bravery, Thinker was soon joined by a player named Yulier.

#### Episode 10

Seeing Thinker as a threat to his plans, Kibaou plotted to get rid of Thinker trapping him in the Secret Dungeon he discovered. Kibaou then arranged to have a peace talk with Thinker, telling Thinker not to bring any weapons or items. Kibaou then told Thinker to meet him him in the Dungeon, where Kibaou left Thinker to die, telling him that he couldn't use the game's messaging system due to "poor reception", which Thinker believed.

#### Post-Episode 10

It's unknown what happened to Kibaou after Thinker was rescued by Kirito and Asuna, but he was most likely freed from SAO after Kirito defeated Kayaba, along with all of the other players.

## References

1. ↑ Episode 1
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Episode 2
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Episode 10
4. ↑ Episode 11