The Final Trial Summary
The party checks for Cal's name at the Black Iron Palace, and sadly, his name has been crossed off.
The team rethinks about how to get to a sanctuary now and Stina suggests looking into ruins that have some elven carvings. Iori remembers raiding one during the beta and the party decides to check it out. They also talk about how each of them should think about whether they should stay on this quest or not since their life is on the line.
While everybody goes off, Iori cries by herself. She feels emotional about what happened to Cal and is scared about losing someone else while pursuing this quest, and just trying to beat the game.
And the next day. it seems that the rest of the team share similar fears. They want to do better, but are shaken by the fact that they can truly die in this world.
After finally finding the Warp Terminal to the sanctuary, the team talk about Lara's performance of an older idol group's song. Iori is a bit perturbed by the conversation but Musoh's singing of the song shifts the attention.
| Previous Quest | Next Quest |
|---|---|
| Cati's Sanctuary | Founding of the Order |
The Final Trial Walkthrough
[1] Check for Cal's name at the Black Iron Palace.
Follow your teammates and check for Cal's name on the board.
Input Cal's name.
You learn he died from a head injury. It's hard to believe, but his name is crossed out.
[2] Reconvene with Lara and decide what to do next.
Lara notices that the team seems rather down, but no one tells her their findings.
Stina suggests looking for ruins with carvings of high elves, perhaps those will be sanctuaries. After all, before the weapons started showing the way, it was finding these strange ruins that began the search.
Iori remembers raiding some ruins like that in the beta. The group decide to go take a look at them.
Iori gives the whole group a chance to think about whether they will continue the quest with her. While she intends to follow through, she doesn't want anyone to lay their life down on it if they don't want to. The team decides that if anyone has doubts, they are free to leave at any time and the rest will understand.
After everyone leaves, Iori can be seen crying. Only Lara notices.
[3] Talk to Iori.
Go to the park and talk to Iori.
She is surprised to see you there. She shares her feelings about how scary the quest actually is with their lives at stake and how she doesn't want to see any of her friends die like Cal did. However, she's thankful she has you by her side.
[4] Head to the ruins from the beta.
You go down from you room to see the party in discussion. Seems like Lara wants to join in since she's bored from sitting put. There's a bit of banter, but eventually you guys go off on the road.
As you arrive at the Safe Area, Iori will tell you the the other three had gone off ahead because of their anxiety. Lara will join you and your partner.
There are three Arks that you must activate in order to progress the story. You may do them in any order.
| Character | Map | Location |
|---|---|---|
 |  | Illusory Path |
 |  | Ephemeral Path |
 |  | Sacred Mountain Temple |
FIRST AREA: Sacred Mountain Highway
| Collectible | Map | Item |
|---|---|---|
 Needs Ark Access |  | Singularity Blueprint |
 |  | Dark Adaptation Blueprint |
 Through Spiral Path |  | Chivalric Rapier Blueprint |
SECOND AREA: Sacred Mountain of Lulue - Illusory Path
| Collectible | Map | Item |
|---|---|---|
 Needs Blink Talisman |  | Ohg Mohg Blueprint |
 Needs Ark Access |  | Nightstalkers |
After finishing the first phase of the guardian, Zash will join the battle to help you defeat it.
Zash reveals the source of his anxiety is because before in real life, he had turned a blind eye when someone needed help. He had promised himself to do better now that they were in this situation in the game, but he still felt doubt whether he would be of help or not to the team.
THIRD AREA: Sacred Mountain of Lulue - Spiral Path
| Collectible | Map | Item |
|---|---|---|
 |  | Collapsed Bridge |
FOURTH AREA: Sacred Mountain of Lulue - Ephemeral Path
| Collectible | Map | Item |
|---|---|---|
 Through Illusory Path |  | Ghosthunger Blueprint |
When you fight the guardian, after the first phase of the boss-class enemy, Stina will come and join in the fight.
Lara speculates that Stina is scared and Stina says she's been scared from the start. She wanted to change once meeting the party, but in the end, she's still scared.
FIFTH AREA: Sacred Mountain of Lulue - Volor's Sanctuary Entrance
| Collectible | Map | Item |
|---|---|---|
 | Map Not Available | Scouting Party Note 3 |
 Needs Ark Access | Map Not Available | Dreamgale Blueprint |
SIXTH AREA: Sacred Mountain Temple
| Collectible | Map | Item |
|---|---|---|
 |  | Titan Sledgehammer Blueprint |
After the first phase of fighting the guardian, Musoh will turn up and help you defeat them.
Musoh confesses that he saw himself as a loser in real life. He thought that since he's the adult in a team full of kids, he should step up and act like a guiding figure of sorts and he isn't sure if the "correct" adult thing to do is let these kids try their hardest to save everyone by putting their lives on the line.
Once all three guardians have been defeated, disengage the seal at the Sacred Mountain Temple. Lara will be surprised none of the other three are there.
Be ready for a boss fight once you cross the bridge.
[5] Defeat the Red Mordred
Red Mordred is like a giant bear that is full of fire. Ice Essence are a must unless you;re alright with burning throughout the whole battle. It creates large balls of flames with its hands and throws them at you. They're easy to avoid, but don't close the gap with the boss right after! Their surroundings will burst into flames!
They will also summon bears that can blind you, so Eyedrops are also recommended. It will also try to attack you with fiery claws.
It has 3 phases. Once both of its arms are cut off, it will flop around and try to ground smash you.
[6] Activate the Safe Area.
FIFTH AREA: Sacred Mountain of Lulue - Volor's Sanctuary Entrance
Find your way south to the Safe Area. The rest of the team will greet you when you get close to it.
[7] Rest at the Safe Area with everyone.
Lara expresses her fatigue and Zash agrees that they should rest first before going straight to the sanctuary.
Lara is surprised since Zash seemed so eager, but Zash explains that they don't know what's waiting for them at the sanctuary so it's better to enjoy now and rest well.
They start talking about Lara being an idol in real life. She says that she hadn't debuted yet and was just a trainee. SAO was part of the publicity plan by her agency and now she's stuck here in the game.
When she was feeling low, a woman named Lucy encouraged her. Lara wants to be able to make it to the third floor and perform there because she believes Lucy expects her to be there as her number one fan.
Zash recalls the song that Lara sang at the Town of Beginnings. Stina remembers hearing the song everywhere while studying in Japan, and Musoh remembers belting the song in karaoke. The original singer of the song had retired and Stina remarks that she looked like Iori...
Probably sensing Iori's discomfort, Musoh starts to sing and brings the attention to him before Lara can comment on the matter. The party then decides to head back to town before exploring the sanctuary.
