In the future, "The World" is the best selling online game ever. Players from across the globe can meet up, trade items and go on quests into strange lands.
Episode One: Role Play
Enter Tsukasa, a boy who quickly discovers that he is unable to logout of "The World" and that the Crimson Knights (a group of players that help moderate "The World") want to ask him some questions about an illegally modified player he was seen with (a cat). When he happens across a mysterious item, he hears a voice saying, "As long as we walk together, I shall protect you." The Silver Knight, a high up in the Crimson Knights, corners Tsukasa, but a strange golden monster appears, and defeats him.
Episode Two: Guardian
Bear and Mimiru, two players Tsukasa has met are concerned about him, but he ignores them. Tsukasa keeps trying to log out, but the Crimson knights block him at every gate. The cat player leads Tsukasa to a secret place with a mysterious sleeping girl. Bear and Mimiru contact Tsukasa, voicing their concerns and telling him that the silver knight was harmed in the real world when he was defeated. Tsukasa doesn't care, and when they pursue him, the golden guardian shows up and attacks, but Tsukasa cannot control it.
Episode Three: Folklore
The Silver Knight returns and a shifty player named Sora allies with the Crimson Knights. He asks Lady Subaru (a leader of the Knights) about the Key of the Twilight, a hidden item that can break the rules of "The World". Tsukasa's contact with the sleeping girl evokes strange memories within him (memories of his real world persona?). Mimiru and Bear call Subaru and the Silver Knight, asking if they can get Tsukasa's player info. They vacillate, saying they will do what they can, but for now they can only restrict his access.
Episode Four: Wanted
Rumors about Tsukasa are rampant. Subaru is bothered when she finds that he has been online for ten days straight. In the secret place, a voice evokes more memories in Tsukasa, leading him to believe that the voice is his mother. Sora suggests that Subaru create a bounty on Tsukasa as an event in order to capture him. Bear Does some searching offline and finds a girl in an unexplained coma. He and Mimiru ask Tsukasa if he's a girl in real life, but he denies it. When some hunters are demolished at the hands of Tsukasa's guardian, Subaru approves the wanted notice for Tsukasa.
Episode Five: Captured
Crim, a former member of the Crimson Knights, returns to "The World" and briefly meets Tsukasa. BT, Bear's partner, asks for Sora's cooperation on a plan to lure out Tsukasa. They spread rumors of another player with a golden guardian, which will draw Tsukasa out into an ambush of Crimson Knights. Bear and Mimiru learn of this, but are too late to warn Tsukasa. Despite the power of the golden guardian, Tsukasa is beaten and captured by Crim, Silver Knight, and nearly a hundred Crimson Knights.